STAR TREK: BIRTH OF THE FEDERATION WALKTHROUGH Going boldly where many would like to go but don't know how to get there, Mark Hill leaves a trail through the galaxy for you to follow  REVIEWED PCZ #78, 89% Birth Of The Federation offers so much depth that we'd have to devote an entire issue to cover every aspect of it (Don't even think about it - Ed). Even then there would be lots of eventualities we'd have to miss out. Not only does each game start with a randomly generated map, there are also many random events that pop up unexpectedly and change the way the campaign goes. What we can provide are some general guidelines to steer you through the diplomatic minefield and resource mismanagement that stand in the way of success. SEEK OUT AND EXPLORE You start off the game with a scout and a colony ship for a very simple reason: your immediate objectives are to explore the galaxy around you and start expanding. Your scout ship has the greatest range and enables you to choose which way to expand (where the uninhabited systems are, those rich in materials, those with a large capacity for growth.). Don't spend too much time deciding where to establish your first colony though, you need to expand quickly if you want your empire to be a force to be reckoned with (and you can count on your rivals doing the same). You should also invest some time terraforming all the planets in the system you want to control. Habitable planets are crucial in terms of resources and future growth. If you encounter systems with dilithium, colonise them at once. Dilithium is the most precious material in the Star Trek galaxy, as it's essential for the construction of ships. Having these systems in your possession also means other major races can't access the dilithium in them - unless they're after a fight. Don't waste time grouping your ships into task forces - at this stage speed is of the utmost importance - otherwise you'll be left lagging behind. Which ships you decide to build next depends largely on how the galaxy appears around you as you explore it. If you see that there are a number of stars within scanner range that are in opposite directions, you should build another scout ship so you can cover the maximum amount of space. On the other hand, if you've found a system with a wealth of materials and has loads of M-class planets close by, you should build another colony ship and start expanding. Try to balance out your build list with structural improvements and essential facilities. If all you do is spit out ships, you'll soon reach a point of stagnation. The next ship you do build should be a troop transport, which you can use to establish an outpost. These are essential for expanding your range and area of influence, besides being of extremely high strategic importance. If you expand quickly and early enough, you'll have a large part of the galaxy under your control before you even have to start worrying about the other major races, particularly if you're playing in a large galaxy. THE DIPLOMACY GAME Another way to expand quickly is to convince minor races to join you. Not only will your range grow dramatically (especially if their systems are some distance from yours), you can also use their resources and turn their worlds into factories. It's always a good idea to wait for them to develop before you offer them membership, because while a minor race is on its own it builds and evolves very quickly. Some races allow you to use special bonuses, like the Vulcan Science Academy, which boosts your research. The Bolians, the bright blue-skinned creatures, give a you 50 per cent increase in espionage, thanks to their aesthetic skills which are perfect for surgical alterations. The Mentakans give you a 100 per cent food production increase, and the Sheliaks give you a 100 per cent biotech research increase. Always try to get friendly with races that have similar features to your own, otherwise you could be wasting time and credits on a species that is never going to have more than a neutral attitude towards you. If you pretend to be loving, caring and peaceful, and then involve your new members in wars they have no interest in, you'll see their morale drop. Keep an eye on morale in all your systems, as affects production ability. Content people give you an increase of up to 10 per cent, while apathetic (0% to -13%), disgruntled (-32% to -47%) and defiant (-50%) all decrease your production, which eventually affects research and intelligence. MAKE IT SORE Diplomacy might be the key to the game, but it's not only the Klingons who enjoy a fight. Unless you have a strong military presence you're eventually get wiped out by someone who does. It's always a good idea to build up your weapon systems with defence in mind to begin with, then you can start thinking about going on the offensive. If your outposts or starbases are threatened, leave a starship there. When enemy fleets attack, they tend to concentrate on destroying the starbase, enabling your starship to destroy them unhindered. If you leave your starbases unprotected they're soon obliterated. Create task forces of warships and keep them in strategically sound places. When you're ready to go on the offensive, it's much more effective to confront an enemy fleet with a large task force than it is to have many ships scattered about. Keep command ships out of these task forces, since they only have a short range, thus crippling your strike area. To make sure the more powerful ships can reach faraway places, you need to build outposts or gain control of minor race systems. When your borders have been established and you've expanded as far as you can through peaceful means, you should concentrate your production solely on warships, ignoring colony and scout ships unless they're really necessary. At this stage, troop transports are much more useful than colony ones, since they greatly reduce the time required to take control of an enemy system. THE UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS With scarcely a dishonest bone in its multicultural body, the Federation is the only empire to be made up of several different species. It's no surprise, then, that its greatest strength lies in diplomacy - the only way to keep so many races happy is to balance everyone's interests and find means of settling disputes other than by armed conflict. When playing as the Federation, you need to keep your reputation in mind and remember that your citizens expect nothing less than total honesty and peaceful exploration. Declare war on an empire that isn't threatening you or colonise a planet using brute force, and you could have a potential revolt on your hands. Likewise, break your treaties or turn your back on a friend and your people will be unhappy. On the other hand, when you play against them, you can manipulate their uprightness to your own advantage. Once you have their confidence, it takes nothing less than evil tactics to make them declare war on you. When they do, their first priority is to protect their own systems. If one of them falls under your command, they'll pull all their military resources to regain it. Because the Federation expands through the generosity of its gifts to minor races, you need to convince these races to join you first. The virtuous humans (it is science fiction, after all) won't encroach on territory you've affiliated through diplomacy, but they will try their hardest to liberate the systems you conquer. Surround Federation space with systems that have become members of your empire by choice, and you effectively cut any chance for their expansion. THE KLINGON EMPIRE Unimpeded by a whinging moral code, Klingons get to have all the fun. They're single-minded barbarians who combine the latest technological advances in weapon research with a truly primitive mentality. In some ways, playing as the Klingons involves the complete opposite of the Federation way. You expand through violent conquest, subjugating minor races and stealing their resources. Forming peace treaties is seen as a sign of weakness; but don't be fooled, you won't get anywhere in this game unless you master the subtleties of diplomacy. Because of their strict honour code, Klingons never break their pacts. Keep your side of the bargain and they respect you; cross them and they'll treat you like pathetic children. While you needn't worry about Klingons sneaking round your back and deceiving you, you can expect an ever-rising series of aggressive demands. During battles they pounce on any sign of weakness and show no mercy. Be sure to have a strong fleet before engaging them in battle, as they hardly ever retreat, and will start launching their own attacks. Their dogged worship of war leads them to invest most of their resources in battleships and, and as a result you may find that their infrastructure is weak. Set aside a large percentage of your sabotage reserves, and hit them where it hurts. THE FERENGI ALLIANCE Arguably the weakest of the main races, the Ferengi's only concern is profit. Their entire society, even their philosophy, is based on commerce and the omnipotence of money. But while they use little resources in researching and building weapons, you can be certain that they'll be buying a formidable arsenal with which to defend their profit. Because of this obsession, the Ferengi are quite predictable. Shower them with gifts and they'll be your closest friends; refuse their economic demands and they'll raise their squeaky voices to an obscene pitch of insults. Expansion is always based on bribery, since being at war with anyone hinders trade. Unlike other races though, the Ferengi can set up trade routes with any system, regardless of its status of friendship (and as long as war hasn't been declared). Finally, remember the Seventeenth Rule of Acquisition when dealing with these large-eared Del Boys: 'A contract is a contract is a contract. But only between Ferengi.' THE ROMULAN STAR EMPIRE Although descended from the pathologically peaceful and logical Vulcans, the Romulans are deceitful bastards who place their own self-interests above anything else. All their diplomatic dealings are intended to lull their victims into a false of security before they release the full power of their fleet. It's no coincidence that the Romulans developed the cloaking device, which enables them to appear in their unsuspecting opponents' space undetected. Their possessiveness leads them to treat territorial borders as sacred - cross into their space or a disputed system and they'll treat it as a major offence. Don't even bother to demand territory from them, but if you want to get on their good side quickly, concede yours to them. As you'd expect from this kind of race, they have an awesome infrastructure - their intelligence network is especially developed. Once you've encountered the Romulans, it's always a good idea to step up your internal security. And beware of spying on them or trying to sabotage them, because the Tal Shiar is extremely efficient in rooting out infiltrators and turning their capture in their favour. THE CARDASSIAN UNION Loosely based on the Nazis, this lizardy race are absolutely convinced of their own superiority and will stop at nothing to get what they want. As with the Romulans, you should be very wary of any diplomatic approach made by the Cardassians. Its usually just a ploy, and they'll betray you at the earliest opportunity. By all means join forces with them if it suits your needs at the time, but be prepared for a surprise attack and a jump from friendship to war. They won't even try to forge alliances with minor races - enslavement is the favourite past time, after all. The warning we made about the Romulan intelligence applies here too. The Obsidian Order is an extremely powerful, Gestapo-like organisation that doesn't always follow government orders. CHEAT SPACE NINE If something's worth having, it's worth cheating to get it If the Romulan and Cardassian way of things sit right at home with you, there's only one way to go: cheat. Don't use these codes if you have Klingon blood in your veins though - think of the shame, the dishonour! To enable the cheat mode, you need to run the game and add '- Mudd' to the command line (for example: C:\boft\Trek.exe -Mudd, depending on where you've installed the game). Click on the Start button, and then Run. Browse your games directory until you find Trek.exe, open it, then add the extra command. It's like having Q on your side. When the game's running, press the following: F9 Research. This puts your research up by a 100 per cent. Keep pressing it until you're happy with your technological level F10 Money. This is every Ferengi's fantasy. Every time you press it, 10,000 credits are added to your intergalactic bank account F11 Map. This reveals the entire map of the galaxy. Press it again and all the new system names disappear. TOP TEN TIPS Here we've condensed the strategy to achieve success into ten bite-sized, easily digestible chunks 1. When colonising a new system, it's a good idea to buy your way to all the essentials (organics plants, fabricators.). Waiting for the microscopic population to build them takes ages. 2. When at war, position a couple of ships in an enemy system and raid it until you've sucked it dry. Then bombard it and make it yours. 3. Food is always a priority. Make sure there's a surplus so the population can grow to its full capacity. The more people you have, the faster you can build things. 4. Only buy an item on your build list if it's going to take more than five turns or if you need them desperately, otherwise you'll be spending big bucks on something you could have had for free. 5. Make use of your cloaking device if you have it. A big fleet of cloaked Strike Cruisers can work wonders. 6. If you play as the Klingons, peace treaties sap your morale and productivity goes out of the window. If you want allies, sign a war pact instead. 7. Some technology fields, such as energy and biotech, are researched faster than others, so take away a percentage of research and invest it in slower technologies like weapons. 8. For every technological level you go up in propulsion, the range of your ships also increases. This is especially important if you're playing in a large galaxy. 9. Don't let the computer build things automatically unless you have dozens of systems and can keep track of them all. The AI tends to build what it wants to, rather than what the system needs. 10. The Vulcans make great members of your empire. As soon as you meet them, shower them with gifts, and keep offering them friendship until they accept.