* COMBAT + + + Empires have waged war since the beginning of time. The chaos may abate, - allowing periods of calm when you can forge new alliances, but at times - you must bow to the inevitable and lead your people into battle. + + Battles are divided into two parts, space battles and ground battles - (see below). Space battles occur when one fleet attacks another fleet - or a planet which is guarded by space bases or planetary guns. Ground - battles occur if the attacking fleet has tanks and, in its attack - against the planet, has managed to get through the space defences - (defending fleet, space bases and planetary guns). If there are no - defences on a planet, that planet is automatically taken over by the - attacker without a battle taking place. + + * + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + If you do not want to fight the battles yourself, you can simulate them. - To do this, you need to access the options screen by pressing either the - 'Escape' or '0' key, access the 'Game' options menu and change the - 'Simulate space battles' or 'Simulate ground battles' option to off. + + Before you attack an enemy, you should make sure you have a good chance - of winning. Inventions like the enhanced radar let you examine the size - of enemy fleets in your radar range. Spy satellites, when deployed in - orbit around an enemy planet, can provide information about the tanks - and buildings on the planet's surface. + + When you are ready to attack, left click on your fleet to select it and - right click on the target. Your ships will move towards the enemy, with - a red arrow showing the route. + + + SPACE BATTLE + + When a space battle starts, the time is paused. During this time you are - able to choose the formation of your fleet using the icons displayed on - the right side of the screen. Left click on an icon to select the - desired formation. When you have chosen your formation, left click one - of the time icons to start the battle. Your ships will attack the - enemy according to the strategy you have chosen. + + * + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Composition of your fleet: + Your fleets can consist of the following units: + Large ships: destroyers, corvettes, cruisers and battleships. + Small ships: fighters + + + Giving orders to large ships: - Left click on a ship to select it. To select multiple ships, left click - and hold on an empty area then move the mouse to create a selection box. - All the ships inside the box will be selected. Holding down the shift key - and selecting a ship can also add it to your current selection. + + When a ship is selected during a battle, various icons will appear on the - right side of the screen. These icons represent equipment fitted to your - ships such as lasers and missiles. All weapons have different recharge - rates which are displayed on the icon. You may want to hold back weapons - with long recharge rates for special situations by switching them off. - To disable a weapon, left click on its icon. Disabled weapons have a red - sign on their icons. To enable a weapon, left click on its icon or right - click on its icon and select a target. + + Giving orders to your fighters: - Left click on an empty area and the small information window will change - into the battle status window. The battle status window lists the ships, - fighters and firepower of each side in the battle. You can alter the - attacking or defensive strategy of your fighters using the slider at the - bottom of this window. Left click and hold the small box on the slider, - then move the mouse to adjust it to the desired level. If you divide your - fleet into two groups and attack the enemy, the attacking fighters will - also form two groups, dividing the enemy targets between them. The - fighters assigned to defend will stay with your ships, and protect them - from enemy ships. + * + + + + + + + + During battles it is a good idea to occasionally pause time and take - a view of the battlefield. You are still able to assign new orders to - your ships, or use your more powerful weapons (by enabling their - firepower) against a particuarly strong enemy. There are some default - camera views which you can activate with the icons around the radar or - you can zoom in and rotate the camera to see the enemy ships close up. - A special "fighters eye" view can be activated by pressing the C key - as long as you have fighters remaining. + + Retreat: It is sometimes better to retreat from a battle than - risk losing. You can retreat by left clicking on the retreat icon at - the bottom right of the screen. If you use the retreat option, ships - may be destroyed by enemy fire, space debris or collide with another - object as they try to get away. + + Ship information: Selecting a ship and left clicking on the - small information window in the bottom left corner will bring up a - detailed ship information window. The ship's hull strength, shield - strength and its weapons are listed. The ship's crew can have several - levels of experience, from novice to veteran, which are also shown in - this window. The experience level depends on how many battles they have - survived. Crews with higher experience levels are more accurate with their - weapons and inflict more damage upon the enemy. It is worth remembering - that the ships' hulls have different strengths at the front and rear. If a - shot hits a weaker part of the hull the ship will take more damage. + * + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Attacking planets:When you attack a planet, you have several lines of - defense to cut through before you can land the ground forces that your fleet - is carrying, + + - Space fleets defending the planet. If a fleet is near the planet - you are attacking they will automatically join battle before you can - land your forces. The same applies to your own fleets - if you leave a - fleet near one of your planets, it will defend that planet when it is - attacked. + + - Space bases defending the planet. If you have produced a space - base (see production) on a planet, it will be placed in orbit. - Space bases are extremely effective at stopping invaders. + + - Planetary guns and shields. These buildings are constructed on the - planet surface and are used during space battles as an extra line of defense. - The guns fire shots from the ground into orbit and can be protected by the - shields. + + Once you have defeated these defenses, the ground battle can start. + + + GROUND BATTLE + + Ground battles are fought on planet surfaces. As with space battles, - when you first enter a ground battle the game is paused, allowing you to plan - your attack. Using the radar in the bottom right of the screen, you can see - the defenses and tanks on the planet, represented as different colored dots. + + White dots are functional buildings. + Grey dots are non-functional buildings. + Small red dots are enemy tanks. + Big red dots are enemy defense buildings. + Green dots are your tanks. + + To win the Ground Battle and occupy the planet you need to destroy - all the enemy tanks and defense buildings. The first step is to land your - forces on the planet surface. + + + Landing your forces + You can only land your forces on flat areas outside the red borders. - To land your forces move the mouse cursor to a suitable area outside - the red zone and left click. A tank carrier will place one tank on - the planets surface at that location. You can then repeat the procedure - until all your forces are in place. If you want to land all your forces - at one location, move the mouse cursor to where you want them to land - and then right click. + * + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Tank Information + To select a tank, move the mouse cursor over the desired tank and left - click. Information regarding the tank will appear in the small information - window at the bottom left of the screen. The name, owner, damage level, - maximum speed, and turret type of the tank are displayed. + + Moving your Tanks + Left click on a tank then right click on the desired destination. Some - tanks cannot cross certain types of terrain and will try to move - around the obstacle to its destination. To select multiple tanks, left click - and hold on an empty area then move the mouse to create a selection box. - All the tanks inside the box will be selected. Holding down the shift key - and selecting a tank can also add it to your current selection. + + + Attacking + Select the tanks you want to use, then right click on the target. If a - tank has more than one weapon fitted it will attack using the weapon - with the greatest range. If you hold down CTRL when you left click on - a target the tank will move closer to the target and use all its weapons. - This does, however, increase the risk of the tank being destroyed by - return fire. + + * + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Special Weapons + When you select a tank that has any special weapons fitted to it icons - are displayed at the bottom of the screen. The weapon can be activated - by Left clicking on the icon. + + Starting the Battle + To start the battle, move the mouse cursor over any of the time icons - then left click. You can pause the battle at any time - by left clicking the pause icon. Alternatively you can use the 1, 2 or - 3 keys to select the speed and space bar to pause. + + Retreating + If the enemy are destroying too many of your tanks, you are able to - retreat from the battle. To do this, move the mouse cursor - over the retreat icon then left click. In order for your tanks to - retreat, they will need to find a safe area from where the tank - carriers can safely retrieve your tanks.