IBS PEGASUS from DETO SOFT is released as a Shareware item. It is not a free program, but has been released so that you might use it on a trial basis. If the program is not for you and you have no intention of making it part of your library, just delete the files or give your copy to a friend. If, on the other hand, you enjoy and use this program the writers anticipate compensation. A charge of $15.00 is asked for the program, though you may remit any amount that you feel the program warrants or your wallet can part with. You determine the worth of the program--any remittance is appreciated. Should you find bugs lurking in the program, or should you wish to make comment on the program, you may do so by writing to the address below or by leaving e-mail on GEnie Services in the mailbox of d.edwards8. *************************************** * * * D. L. Edwards * * 52 Smith Rd. * * Bellville, OH 44813 * * * *************************************** Remember that your support of DETO Software determines its future. Thanks, Dan Edwards & Ted Oney Disclaimer: Neither the writers of this program nor Deto Soft make any warranty, express or implied, with respect to this program or the accompanying documentation as to quality, performance, or fitness for any purpose. It is the responsibility solely of the purchaser/user to determine the suitability of the products for any purpose. In no case will Deto Soft be held liable for direct, indirect or incidental damages resulting from any defect or omission in the program or its documentation, including, but not limited to, any interruption of service, loss of business, anticipated profit, or other consequential damages. IBS PEGASUS The Mission: In this, the third in a series of IBS games, your mission continues to be the total eradication of enemy forces. As in past games, this requires that you command your ship in a proper manner, maintaining the integrity of the ship, keeping your crew healthy, and watching closely the remaining power aboard ship. The stakes, however, have reached universal proportions, the enemy having gained a formidable foothold within the reaches of the known universe. The future of the human race depends upon the ability of the captain and crew of the IBS Pegasus to search for, probe, terraform, and colonize heretofore uncharted planets. Only in this manner might the forces of the enemy be totally, and forever, destroyed. Limited supplies are available from home base necessitating the colonization of planets that can produce the supplies required to destroy the enemy. Careful planning and control of the planets are required to win the game. Some Features: Most of the game can be played with a point and click of the mouse, though on occasion you will be required to input data by way of the keyboard. Digital sounds have been included in many areas of the game to enhance realism. A Save/Load option is incorporated to allow the user to save progress during the lengthy game. Scene scrolling gives a more realistic feel to navigation, unlike in previous IBS games. Three views of the command center are available with IBS Pegasus (forward, left, and right), and can be selected with the mouse. An interrupt routine updates the game on a regular basis. A Few Notes: To successfully win the game you must be made aware of a few things. Let's take a look at them now before we go charging gung-ho toward certain defeat. NEVER launch shuttles when enemy ships are present, unless you want to risk losing the shuttle crafts. True, the shuttles may get through and complete their mission, returning successfully to the Pegasus. Then, again, they may not. It is always wise, when first entering an area after hyper jump, to view the radar screen located on the right view to ascertain that the area is free of hostile ships. Once a shuttle is lost, it cannot be replaced. As with launching shuttles, care should be taken when navigating in an area when first arriving. Check that radar screen! If the Pegasus is in a weakened condition, thoughtless navigation can bring about retaliation from the enemy causing the destruction of the Pegasus. Keep your planets supported once they have been colonized. Don't forget that they will not only use their supplies but the colonists will reproduce (happens even in war), further draining the supplies on hand. With an increase in population, however, production rates also increase. Carrying many colonists aboard the Pegasus for a lengthy time can put a terrible stress on the hydroponics. Make sure you have enough food aboard to feed both crew and colonists, and get those colonists onto a habitable planet as soon as possible. They can do you no good aboard ship. As a matter of fact, should you engage enemy ships, you could risk innumerable fatalities among the colonists. The crewmen in the hold areas are immensely important. They secure cargo dislodged during enemy attacks, thereby lessening losses. In the colonist quarters personnel enhance the safety of the passengers. Keep your hold crewmen healthy and at recommended levels. Certain areas of the ship must be protected from damage at all cost. Keep these areas repaired and the crewmen healthy. No ship's personnel can survive a loss of life support. No bridge can function with too few crewmen or too much damage. Use your discretion, Captain. Munitions from a munitions producing planet can be distributed among your colonized planets so that they can protect themselves and help you destroy the enemy forces. Munitions can also be taken to home base for re-arming for the Pegasus. When produced, these munitions are armed for ground to air combat. For the Pegasus to use them, they must be re-armed at home base. This is very important should the supply of torpedoes and missiles at home base be depleted. It's tough to wage war with no ammunition. Unprotected colonies will actually fuel the enemy war machine. A planet that cannot defend itself from enemy attack will lose all its supplies. Not only are your colonists likely to die, but the supplies will be used to produce more enemy ships and to feed its armies. Look out for mutated viruses! Not often does a planet suffer a plague for which they seem to have no medicines to ward off the disease, but, when it happens, colonists can die by the scores. The Pegasus should, immediately upon discovering such a situation, evacuate as many colonists as is feasible and attempt development of a vaccine. Colonists cannot survive without food. Neither can production continue if any component of manufacture is missing. Keep them well stocked. The IBS Pegasus needs power to operate. Should you find that power requirements have nearly drained the reserve power of the ship, first ascertain that the reactor is properly staffed and repaired. If all seems to be in order, you must be placing too much stress on the reactor. You may find it necessary, since minimum power usage is required when the Pegasus is idle, to remain in the area of space in which you find yourself in order to allow the reserve power to increase. Remember, however, that while you recharge your systems, the colonists could be dying! If you find that no food exists aboard the Pegasus, get food immediately! Make repairs to hydroponics! Bring the hydroponics crew up to level! If you don't generate some food quickly, you risk starvation of the entire crew. The Controls: Following is a list of the controls of the Pegasus. Some controls will be explained more completely later in this documentation. For now, familiarize yourself with your ship. Later, when you understand the usage of each control, you can begin a new game and go after the enemy in ernest. Some controls are deactivated at home base, and others are only active in certain circumstances. Don't be concerned if a control doesn't seem to work. It probably needs to be used in conjunction with some other control or in another manner. VIEW ARROWS--To the left and right of the main screen and on either the left or right of the other two screens you will notice arrows pointing either left or right. These arrows are located at the edge of the screen and just beneath the viewing windows of the Pegasus. Clicking on an arrow will cause the corresponding view to be displayed. NAV--This button is used to navigate the ship. It is found near the middle of the main screen. Navigation requires that you choose a direction and speed. RETRO-ROCKETS--Located near the NAV button are four button depicting rocket flames. Pressing one of these buttons will cause the ship to advance, retreat, turn to port, or turn to starboard. Remember that port is left while starboard is right and that you must fire the port rocket to turn to starboard while the starboard rocket causes the reverse effect. SPEED--Between the RETRO buttons and the HYPER button is a button allowing for speed control of the Pegasus. Left clicking this button increases the chosen speed, while right clicking decreases your choice. The speed button is used for both normal navigation and hyperspace jumps. HYPER--To the right of the speed selection button is the button to make hyperspace jumps. Jumping through hyperspace necessitates that you choose a destination and speed. EMERGENCY--This button, located at the extreme left of the main screen and emblazoned with bold, red letters, calls all available personnel from their stations to assist in emergency repairs of the computer and/or communication systems. This, however, is at a great expense of power. DESTRUCT--At the far right of the main screen is the button to destroy the IBS Pegasus. Should a captain find that his ship has come into such a precarious situation that he risks losing the ship to the enemy (ie. lack of power and dead in space), he can destroy the ship. This button should not be taken lightly, as destruction is immediate and complete, killing all aboard and shattering the ship. The captain must remember, however, that a ship or its crew must never fall into the hands of the enemy. LASER--An effective weapon for destroying enemy ships at closer range or locating those ships before firing the heavy artillery. The LASER button is located in the left column of control buttons on the main screen. TORP--Below the LASER button is the button for firing a torpedo at an enemy ship. Click this button then click in the area where you suspect an enemy ship to be. MISS--The button to fire a missile is found below the TORP button. Firing a missile works the same as firing a torpedo, but the strength of a missile is much more than that of a torpedo. TERRA--This button, directly below the MISS button, is used to fire a terra-bomb at a planet. COMP--Press this button to activate the computer functions. With the computer you can access status of the ship, search for enemy ships, and recall last used X/Y co-ordinates. STATS--Used in conjunction with the COMP button, this button accesses the ship's status. SRCH--Though enemy ships will appear on the radar screen on the right view, you may also press the SRCH button to have the area probed by the computer to find how many enemy remain. SRCH can be activated only after the COMP button has been pressed. X/Y--Pressing this button after pressing the COMP button will display the last used X/Y co-ordinates. These co-ordinates are stored each time you click in the main view port area when using functions such as weapons. SCROLL ARROWS--Two scroll arrows are located on each side of the ship's computer screen near the bottom. These arrows can be clicked to scroll through the information displayed on the screen during a status check. CCC--Below the ship's computer screen is a long bar which must be clicked during certain uses of the ship's computer in order to exit the computer. An example of this is when getting status. Clicking the CCC bar indicates that you have finished with the function. COMM--At the top of the column of buttons to the right of the ship's computer screen is the button for communications. Clicking this button allows you to contact your medical and repair teams aboard Pegasus. Bases communication can also be accomplished with this button. Your colonized planets can be reached by first depressing the COMM button, then clicking on the desired planet. When in the area of home base, clicking the COMM button immediately links you to your base. CREW--Relocation of crewmen is accomplished by first clicking the COMM button then clicking CREW. Crewmen can be removed from one area of the ship and relocated to another. HOSP--The roving medical team is reached with the HOSP button after first clicking the COMM button. MAINT--For repairs, relocate the maintenance team by first clicking the COMM button, then the MAINT button. You may then choose a deck that needs attention. BASE--After clicking the COMM button, click the BASE button to get a communications link with a base. If you are in the area of colonized planets, simply click on the planet. If you are at home base, an immediate link will be made. LNCH--The LNCH button is pressed when you wish to launch a planetary probe or the ship's shuttles. PROBE--To launch a planetary probe at a planet, press the LNCH button, then the PROBE button. Finally click on the desired planet. SHTTL--After clicking the LNCH button, the SHTTL button can be clicked to alert the shuttle crews to prepare the shuttles for probable launch. Click on a planet to notify the crews as to their intended destination. Beginning A Game: STRATEGY--There are actually two ways to play the game of IBS PEGASUS. The first is much like playing the two previous IBS games, that is: destroy as many enemy ships as possible with the available weaponry, ammunition, crewmen, and power of the ship. This, of course, may not totally eliminate the enemy forces. The other option is to play the game to its full potential. You can discover, probe, terraform, and colonize planets which will then provide you with materials for other colonies. Your most important colony will be the one (or more) that produces ammunition along with probes and terra-bombs. It is in this manner that you can find available all the materials needed to finally annihilate the enemy forces. Taking this second course demands much of a captain. You must take extreme care to support and defend your system of colonies, delivering supplies on a regular basis, beefing up their security with additional munitions, and always staying alert to the health of your colonists. AT HOME BASE--This manual will assume that you intend to set up bases on planets. Should you choose to do otherwise, please disregard any references to planets and related items. The game begins with the IBS Pegasus in orbit around its home base. To contact base and begin your game, click the COMM button then the BASE button. A voice from home base will welcome you, and menus will appear on the ship's computer screen. From these menus you will choose the items you need before making your first hyperspace jump. The first item is Repairs, and causes base to send a maintenance crew to the ship to facilitate repairs for as long as you remain in home base orbit. When the game begins, however, your ship is undamaged. The next item on the menu is Cargo. Choosing this item causes another menu to appear which lists all items which can be transferred as cargo. The selection of any cargo item will prompt you to enter the transfer type: Ship to Base or Base to Ship. After you have selected the transfer type, the amount available for transfer will appear, and you can enter the amount you want transferred. At the start of the game, it might be best if you took on no cargo. Later, when you have planets ready for colonization, you can take adequate supplies for the colonies. Third on the main base menu is Ammunitions. Choosing this item will cause home base to equip you with 10 missiles and 20 torpedoes. It never hurts to carry ammunition for your weapons. Probes is the next item on the menu. Press the number 4 so that the Pegasus will be loaded with 10 probes. You'll use these planetary probes to determine what planets should be terraformed. Fifth on the list is Terra Bombs to be used for transforming planets supporting no life into earth-like planets. Choose the fifth item to load 5 terra bombs. Crewmen can be acquired by selecting the sixth item, but only if the manpower of your ship is lacking. Enough crewmen will arrive to bring you up to power, assuming that home base has enough crewmen available. The last item on the menu will bring 100 colonists aboard the Pegasus each time you select it. If there are no colonists available or if your colonist quarters are full, no additional colonists can be received. It is best to board colonists only after you have planets ready for them. Your should be ready now to begin the game. The following sections will assist you along your way. Jumping Through Hyperspace: Select the right view within your control room. To the right of the radar screen is a numbered grid depicting space. The grid is numbered 1-10 along side and bottom allowing you to plot positions in the universe. Also on the grid will appear icons for home base, the Pegasus, and any selected destination. Sometimes all three may reside, one atop the other, in the same square of the grid. Click any position on the grid. A destination icon should appear in the selected area. After selecting a destination, switch to the main screen and set a speed for the hyper-jump. Finally click on the HYPER button. Your jump will begin. The Planets: Many planets will be discovered during your jumps through hyperspace. All planets should be probed and terra-bombed (if the planet is fit) so that you can come back later with colonists. If you find no planets after a jump, choose a new destination and jump again. Probing and Terra-bombing Once you've discovered planets, you'll want to probe them first. Click on the PROBE button then the desired planet. Switch to the left view. Assuming you aimed the probe properly and hit the atmosphere of the planet, the planetary data readout screen will give you the available readouts. Use this data to determine if the planet can be made habitable within a reasonable amount of time. No planet can be colonized if its gravity is above four, since colonists cannot adapt beyond a certain limit. Further, take into consideration the makeup of the atmosphere along with the atmospheric pressure and planetary mean temperature. Though all these things can be brought into tolerances, any extremes may take longer than you want. To terraform a likely planet, click on the TERRA button, then on the planet. Terraforming takes time. You'll want to go about your business and return later. You'll find some planets off the port or starboard of the ship. There may even be planets behind the ship. To bring any planet into view in the main screen, click a retro-rocket (to port or starboard), then a speed. Finally click NAV. The IBS Pegasus will turn in the chosen direction. Colonizing A planet can be colonized after its atmospheric makeup and temperature have come into tolerable ranges. The table below will show you the ideal composition and temperature along with the tolerable ranges. Symbol Gas Range Ideal N Nitrogen any 77 O Oxygen 16-24 20 CO2 Carbon Dioxide 1-6 1 H Hydrogen 1-2 1 CH4 Methane 0 0 He Helium 1-10 1 NH3 Ammonia 0 0 Gravity 1-4 1 Temperature 10-100 57 Note: I wouldn't go charging off into real space using these figures as guidelines! They are intended for game purposes only. So put that rocket back in the hanger and get back to the game. Colonizing a terraformed planet requires several steps. First, you must inform the shuttle crews of your intentions by clicking LNCH, then SHTTL. Next click the planet. The shuttles will be made ready for launch. Clicking COMM, then BASE, will cause a message to be displayed that no colonists exist on the planet. You will be prompted to enter the number of colonist to be sent. After getting colonists on their way, immediately begin food shipment. (It's amazing how quickly people can starve in a game.) Choosing Transfers from the menu will allow you to send food and other supplies essential to the survival of the colony and its production rate. Each planet will be a special production type. Assuming the supplies are available, a planet will produce quantities of the type for which it was found suitable. When sending supplies to a planet after the initial colonization, you will only need to send a small amount of the supply for which the planet is geared to produce. The list below gives you the production types and the number associated with each. 1 Metals 2 Petroleum 3 Computer Equipment 4 Construction Equipment 5 Medical Supplies 6 Sustenance (Food) 7 Munitions Whenever you return to a colonized planet, select Base Status from the menu after getting base communication. Here you are reminded of the production type, informed as to the population, told how much of each supply is available, and informed if the colonists are diseased or healthy. Remember that the colonies will use the supplies. You must keep them well stocked. Another consideration is that the colonists will reproduce. Larger colonies can produce more of its production type, but will use supplies quicker. A third selection of the communication menu, Develope Vaccine, can be chosen if you find the colonists are dying from some unknown disease. Choosing this selection will cause the lab on Pegasus to isolate the virus and develope a vaccine. While this takes place, the Pegasus must wait. Aboard the IBS Pegasus: Though the planets and their colonies provide an important link in defeating the enemy forces, the IBS Pegasus itself is the most important tool you have. Maintenance of the ship is extremely important. Failure in certain areas of the Pegasus will end a game immediately. The lab aboard the ship can provide medical supplies assuming it is properly manned and maintained. A hydroponics garden grows nutritious food. The reactor room supplies power for every function of the ship. Allowing any of these areas to fall below optimum will cause a cessation of its function. Without medical supplies, casualties cannot be treated. Should the hydroponics fail, food will eventually be depleted and starvation will begin. If the reactor is not replacing power, the reserve power of the Pegasus will soon fall below a functional level. Any of these conditions (depletion of crew, starvation, low power level) will eventually end a game. Two very important areas of the ship should be supported at all costs. Loss of either area will cause immediate failure of the ship. An area critical to the function of the entire ship is, of course, life support. Any damage greater than 50 will cause failure of life support and an immediate end to the game. The bridge (that's where you are) cannot function if damage is greater than 100. A damage of 100 equates to total destruction. Further, the manpower of either area should be allowed to fall below 4. An under-manned area can spell doom as quickly as destruction itself. Finally, keep in mind that the computer and communications of the ship are extremely important. Keep these areas maintained. If you do lose the capabilities of either area, click the EMERGENCY button to make immediate repairs. Battles: The enemy can be anywhere. Upon first entering an area, you should check your radar screen to determine if any enemy crafts are in the area. Another way to determine this is to click on COMP then SRCH. If you find enemy crafts and wish to battle them, you should first determine your distance from the enemy ships with COMP and STATS. Too great a distance weakens your weapons' power (It also lessens the effect of enemy hits upon your ship). Close the distance if necessary. Next, locate a craft on the radar screen using the hash marks. Return to the main screen and click on a weapon. Click in the main view area in the vicinity of where you believe the craft to be. The enemy ships will no doubt attack your ship or move horizontally in your field of view. After the attack on the Pegasus has stopped, and if you missed the ship you attempted to destroy, click on COMP then X/Y. The computer will inform you as to the x/y coordinates of your last weapon use. With this, you can make adjustments to your next strike. Remember, however, that the ship you sought to destroy may have relocated. Check you radar screen before firing again. Battling many enemy ships at once can cause severe damage to the IBS Pegasus and its crew. On a regular basis take the time to relocate the repair and medical teams to areas in need. A deck may show that its level of crewmen in all areas have decreased, but remember that these are able/active crewmen. Casualties are not listed. Moving a medical team to this deck can patch up some of the wounded and get them back on the active roster. Ignoring these casualties can result in many deaths. Repair and medical teams can be moved by clicking COMM then MAINT or HOSP. When the team has acknowledged, switch to the left screen and choose a deck needing attention. Returning to the main screen, you will see an acknowledgment on the computer screen that the team is responding. During the course of a long battle, you may find need to relocate some crew members. If an area of the ship is not needed (i.e. No torpedoes left in the torpedo room), move some of these crewmen to areas in need of crew. This is accomplished by clicking COMM then CREW. You will be prompted to determine the area you wish to move crew from. Switch to the left screen, click an area, then return to the main screen. You are informed how many crewmen are available. Enter the number you wish to move. When prompted for an area to move to, again switch to the left screen and click a destination area. You may now return to the main screen. Keep a close eye on the status of your ship and crew during battles. If things look too bad, flee the area with a hyperjump. There is no shame in fleeing overwhelming odds to save the ship and crew. Saving/Loading a Game: The game of IBS Pegasus can be a lengthy game. You may want to save your progress occasionally. This can only be done at home base. Press both mouse buttons simultaneously at home base to signify that you wish to save/load a game. Click Save or Load from the alert box. When prompted, insert a save game disk into a drive. At the file selector click or enter the name of the file you wish to save/load. When the game has been saved or loaded, you will be prompted to insert Disk II into the A drive. If you have a B drive and are using it for saves and loads, ignore this prompt and press return, otherwise remove your save disk and insert Disk II. Tips And Such: A very important part of the game is to colonize a munitions producing planet. Find a planet capable of producing munitions as quickly as possible. The munitions produced there can help protect the other colonies if you load excess munitions and deliver them where needed. Let your planets help destroy the enemy. A planet well stocked with munitions can not only better defend itself from enemy raids, but will destroy enemy crafts in the process. It's a good idea to seed several planets with terra-bombs before colonizing any. In this manner you can better control the planets when they are colonized and begin producing. Draw grid maps and keep records to indicate where planets, colonies, etc. exist in space. Nothing can be more frustrating than knowing you have a munitions producing planet, but having no idea where it is. Carry aboard the Pegasus only items pertinent to any phase of operation. Carrying colonist or cargo when you are searching for planets to probe will only cause you grief. Colonists get hungry and will put a severe strain on your ship. Should you enter into battle with colonists and cargo aboard, you could stand to suffer much in the line of fatalities and losses. Keep maintenance and medical teams moving to keep the ship and crew fit. This is especially important during battles or immediately after battles which have done severe damage. Take excess munitions to home base for arming. The munitions as produced can be used by the planets but not by the Pegasus. Any munitions at home base will gradually be converted into probes, terra-bombs, torpedoes, and missiles. Further Notes: Don't forget. Colonists reproduce. Diseases can cause havoc on colonized planets if not discovered and corrected. Beware of starvation aboard Pegasus and on colonized planets. Keep the colonies well supplied. Only then can they survive and produce raw materials. Remember that the enemy will raid planets. Make sure that the planets have munitions with which to defend themselves. A defenseless planet will lose all its supplies and suffer many fatalities. The raw materials taken from planets will aide the enemy in increasing their forces. Keep critical areas of the Pegasus repaired! Good luck and enjoy, Dan L. Edwards