WWC snapshot of http://www.msi.umn.edu/paradise/quickclue.html taken on Sun May 28 22:56:25 1995

The Quick Road to Clue

This document is for those who have just started playing Paradise Netrek and don't want to be a burden to their team.

Defense

One important thing to do is defend the homeworld. This is usually the shipyard that you come in at all the time. If it gets bombed to dust, you won't have a shipyard, you won't have a hive, and it won't be your home anymore. You may have another shipyard somewhere else, and that will become your new home, but it's probably not as strategically placed as the old one.

The important thing in defending the homeworld is to not let any enemies orbit. If they are foolish enough to orbit uncloaked, you can tractor or pressor them out of orbit. If they are coming in cloaked it's a little tougher because you can't see them on your tactical. Use your galactic map (the TAB key will toggle to a higher-resolution scan) to detect cloakers. The position is inaccurate, but gives you a rough idea. Fire your weapons till you start hitting and then pound the enemy to bits.

If everyone is clustered around the homeworld defending it, it will be hard to see cloakers. Bases usually can defend the homeworld by themselves, but won't mind one helper. Remember to pick a ship with good fuel regeneration. If you find yourself running out of fuel, you're probably flying the wrong ship for homeworld defense.

The enemy will try to take over your planets. To do this they need armies, and to carry armies, they need kills. Don't worry about bases, they either can't carry armies or can't orbit enemy worlds. Look for enemy ships who have kills. They might carry armies. Hunt down these carriers and kill them. You don't usually have to kill them right away. They will run to their teammates for protection. This is OK, because they can't take your planets when hiding in their own space. Whenever they come out into your space, harrass them. To take your planet they should have to get past you, which puts them at a disadvantage. You can often doosh an impatient carrier this way.

Armies

Armies are important. You must protect your armies and destroy the enemy's.

Protect yours by ferrying armies to your starbase or homeworld. Any planet that has more than 4 armies can have armies bombed off it. If you have kills, pick the armies up off that planet and carry them to your starbase or homeworld. Avoid dying while carrying armies. Your teammates will be angry with you if you do.

Destroy the enemy's armies. Get in a scout ship and fly around in enemy space. Your scout will scan nearby planets and if you find any with more than 4 armies, go in and bomb. If any other ships see you they will try to kill you. It is usually best to run from them. You can sometimes kill them if they chase you. It's usually a good thing not to die because if you die, it will take you a long time to drive back to where you were, and the enemy will have a kill.

Offense

People on your team will try to take over enemy planets. If you can help them, do so. It may mean escorting that player to the planet and battling enemies there. It may mean making a distracting attack on the enemy homeworld. If you are escorting a carrier, get between the carrier and the enemy. This will force the enemy to deal with you first. Try not to die, but if you must die, take the enemy with you. The important thing is to get the armies to the planet. If the carrier escapes after dropping his armies, that's a bonus.

If you have kills, you can carry armies, usually 2 armies for every kill. If you think you can carry armies safely to an enemy planet, do it. When you pick up armies, send a carrier notification with the F key and then send a message to your team telling them where you plan to take them. Hopefully you can get a wingman who will help protect you from enemies. Remember, the important thing is to get the armies to the planet.

Scouting

The information about your team's planets is up-to-date. Your information about all other planets is usually out-of-date. Your information window can tell you just how out-of-date your information is. There is also a set of galactic bitmaps that shows you graphically how obsolete your info is.

You should scout these planets because the enemy may have secret facilities hidden in faraway corners. Destroying these hidden facilities gets you points and helps your team.

Important Things

Defend the homeworld. Don't let the enemy bomb it.

Protect your armies, on planets or in friendly ships.

Destroy enemy armies, on planets or in enemy ships.

Get information on all enemy and neutral planets.

Paradise Netrek Hackers / <paradise-workers@reed.edu>