Hráč 1998 July & August/Hrac_23_1998-07-08_cd2.bin/Info/WalkthruFAQ/Stars_!.txt

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Last modified: 24-8-'96
This article is a FAQ about the Mystery Trader (MT) in Stars! version
2.5a by Jeff McBride and Jeff Johnson.

After a period of 9 months this is still pretty accurate for Stars!
2.6d/2.7b. As I'm back to add to this FAQ I will again draw notice on
it; it still answers most of the MT questions on the newsgroup.
If you want to add this document to your webpage you have my
permission in advance. I would appreciate an email to say you do, and
of course I welcome any additions, typo reports and updates from
whoever who wants to give them!

Written by Rogier 'Konradius' van Vugt, [e-mail] (the email
has changed now I live in Ireland)

If you have anything to add to this FAQ feel free to email me. This
also applies to typos and other errors. I will try to post this FAQ
regularly to the newsgroup and hope to find some pages on the World
Wide Web to carry it.

The following topics are addressed:

   1) The Mystery Trader.
1.1) What is the Mystery Trader?
1.2) How do I notice the Mystery Trader?
1.3) Where in the help file is info on the Mystery trader?
1.4) So why do you supply the info on the Mystery Trader?
1.5) Is info on the Mystery Trader a spoiler for the game?
1.6) What game options influence the Mystery Trader?
1.7) What will change in v2.6 for the Mystery Trader?

   2) How to trade with the Mystery Trader.
2.1) What do I need to trade with the Mystery Trader?
2.2) Can I bring additional minerals?
2.3) How do I meet with the Mystery Trader?
2.4) Can you give me an example?
2.5) When does the Mystery Trader change direction?
2.6) Why does the Mystery Trader go so fast?

<lines of spoiler space inserted here>

   3) What the Mystery Trader trades.
3.1) What can I get from the Mystery Trader?
3.2) Is there an order to the Mystery Trader?
3.3) What if someone else trades from this Mystery trader too?
3.4) Can I trade again with the Mystery Trader?
3.5) What if I already have got what the Mystery Trader trades?
3.6) That's lousy! Can I kill the Mystery Trader?
3.7) Can I keep others from trading with the Mystery Trader?
3.8) Is there another way to get the Mystery Trader items?
3.9) Is the stuff from the Mystery Trader useful?

   4) Appendix A: All items from the Mystery Trader

   5) Acknowledgements

     ---------------------------------------------------

1)   The Mystery Trader

1.1) What is the Mystery Trader?

The Mystery Trader, often abbreviated as MT, is the lightblue ship
that cruises the Stars! universe at warp 7 to 13. All lightblue ships
are Mystery Traders and each can be contacted by any player, also by
the AIs (the computer players)

1.2) How do I notice the Mystery Trader?

When a new Mystery Trader appears in the universe the following
message is send to all players:

> A mysterious trading vessel broadcasting a proposal
> has been detected entering known space.

You will be able to see the Mystery Trader even though he might be
outside of your scanners. In other words, if you don't see a Mystery
Trader there is none (anymore).

1.3) Where in the help file is info on the Mystery trader?


That's easy. There is no info on the Mystery Trader in the help file.
That's why I am writing this FAQ. The information the game supplies
when the Mystery Trader turns up and the information supplied by the
Mystery Trader himself, together with the general knowledge of the
game should be enough to learn all there is to know about the Mystery
Trader. I suppose that is why they called it the _Mystery_ Trader
anyway.

1.4 So why do you supply the info on the Mystery Trader?

At this time the Mystery Trader is one of the most asked about
subjects in the newsgroup 'rec.games.computer.stars'. However most
questions are asked frequently, and their answers are pretty standard.
A good reason for writing a FAQ.

1.5 Is info on the Mystery Trader a spoiler for the game?

Some will surely consider it that way. However most people have played
Stars! some times against the computer and have had the chance to
catch the Mystry Trader often enough to know all about it. For them
the game isn't spoiled because they know exactly what they can expect
from the Mystery Trader. When you havn't traded with the Mystery
Trader yet you might not want to look into section three of this FAQ.
There is written what you can get from the Mystery Trader. I will put
a big spoiler warning between section 2 and 3.
Section 2 contains information on how to trade with the Mystery
Trader. This I consider to be information on the workings of the game,
and they can be read by anyone without being 'spoiled'.

1.6) What game options influence the Mystery Trader?

Just one. If you select 'No random events' when starting a game no
Mystery Trader will come by. This option also stops asteroids
colliding with planets, environment changes on planets and the
discovery of artifacts and unknown mineral deposits.

1.7) What will change in v2.6 for the Mystery Trader?
<Ok, this is outdated...>

No idea. I got this as answer to this question from Jeff McBride.

->Hi Rogier,
->
->Well, I can tell you that the MTs do have a new trick up their
->sleeves for version 2.6. You'll just have to wait an see what
->it is. I think you'll like it.
->
->      Jeff

2)   How to trade with the Mystery Trader.

2.1) What do I need to trade with the Mystery Trader?

The Mystery Trader gives the following message when selected in the
scanner pane:

> The trader requests interested parties to send it a fleet with at least
> 5000kt minerals on board to be absorbed into the trader. It offers
> technological aid in return.

This means that you need a fleet that carries 5000kt minerals. It
doesn't matter if you use large freighters with only engines or
galleons complete with armament and escort ships. However as the whole
fleet will be absorbed it is better to use large freighters with only
engines than galleons. You can escort the fleet with a seperate fleet
with armed ships. Even if that fleet follows the freighters to the
exact location of the Mystery Trader they will not be absorbed (unless
of course you carry 5000kt of minerals with them too).

2.2) Can I bring additional minerals?

Well of course. Even though the FAQ once mentioned you might be able
to get additional tech levels M ([e-mail]) wrote to me

after extensive testing:
->As near as I can tell the type and amount of minerals DO NOT matter at
->all. The MT's gave me the same things no matter what was in the fleet.

He also mentioned he had tested amounts up to 50k. That's indeed
50,000 kt!

2.3) How do I meet with the Mystery Trader?

You have to arrive at the exact same location as the Mystery Trader
does. The Mystery Trader travels the universe at high speeds. Speeds
can go as low as Warp 7 and as high as Warp 13, three levels higher
than any normal ship at a speed normally only managable for mineral
packets.
This poses a problem when you simply select the Mystery Trader as
waypoint. As soon as you are close to the Mystery Trader it will be
far gone the next year, well beyond your reach.

To help you get to the Mystery Trader you can select it and look at
the 'ticks' on the Mystery Traders most probable path. On these points
the trader will be in the following years, so if you are near those
ticks the year before he is you can select the Mystery Trader and be
almost sure you catch it.

In other words you can set a waypoint near one of those ticks and
select as next waypoint the Mystery Trader. That waypoint will say it
is reached years after the Mystery Trader is gone past, but the
waypoint doesn't correct his readings for the speed of the Mystery
Trader, so it is simply wrong.

2.4) Can you give me an example?

Yes. Suppose you see a Mystery Trader you want to meet. You will still
have to build the ships for it. Now the path of the Mystery Trader
comes within 150 lightyears from a planet of yours that has a lot of
germanium you won't use anyway.
The Mystery Trader is going at Warp 13. Looking at the ticks you see
one that is 165 lightyears from that planet, and one that is 180
lightyears away. However the tick that is 165 ly away will be reached
in three years (it is the third tick) and the tick that is 180 ly away
will be reached in four years.
The best engine you have can only go at Warp speed 9 safely. You need
one year to build the freighters and then you would need to reach that
tick that is 165 ly away in two years. As you only travel 81 ly at
warp 9 you would miss it by 4 lightyears. The next year the Mystery
Trader would be 169 ly away from that point.
So you have to use the fourth tick. In one year you build the
freighters and then you can load the minerals and set a waypoint 162
ly towards the fourth (then third) tick and then directly at the
Mystery Trader. Two years later your fleet will be 18 lightyears from
the tick the Mystery Trader will reach the next year, you could even
slow down to warp 5, even though the Mystery trader is more than 100
lightyears away from you.

Of course, right then it changes direction so you can never reach it
again (murphy's law)

2.5) When does the Mystery Trader change direction?

Whenever it feels like it. It doesn't seem to like crowds. If the next
waypoint is very close to a lot of ships, or ends in a minefield or so
it is likely the Mystery Trader changes direction, and probably
increases speed. M ([e-mail]) even thinks this is too much
order. He wrote:

->MT's become frightened for NO REASON. This test universe had
->no players but me, and I know I wasn't laying minefields in the middle
->of nowhere! Also, they were NOT frightened by my fleets with
->20+ battleships and 50+ cruisers in them.

2.6) Why does the Mystery Trader go so fast?

Well, the most likely reason for this is the following, posted on the
newsgroup by Nathan Kronenfeld ([e-mail]).

>Assume, for example, that the MT comes in near me at warp 8, and is
>going to stay that way.  I get my stuff from him, but I also send off
>with him a fleet of 15 cruisers and a bunch of fuel transports,
>thereby blowing out of the water all the other unsuspecting shmos who
>want stuff from him.  If he changed course to go warp 11 even, I can
>never do this.

<<<<<  SPOILER WARNING  >>>>>





















<<<<< END SPOILER WARNING  >>>>>

3) What the Mystery Trader trades.

3.1) What can I get from the Mystery Trader?

The Mystery Trader gives out tech levels or special items that can be
gotten only from the Mystery Trader (originally that is).
Tech levels are no longer the lowest possible. It was that way in
v2.0x, but this has changed. I have yet to discover how they are
determined.
If the Mystery Trader gives out tech levels they are anywhere from 6
to 2 levels. From what I have seen this is determined mostly on the
number of tech levels you already have. Some reported the number
decreases by each hit that gives out tech levels. I am not sure this
is the case though.
M ([e-mail]) has noticed the tech levels gained are
completely random:
->The gifts are predefined EXCEPT: the exact tech levels you recieve
->are NOT set. If you save your files before meeting an MT, get tech
->levels, then restore and do it again, you get DIFFERENT techs. The
->same number, but different fields.

In appendix A I have a list with all the items the Mystery Trader
gives out.

3.2) Is there an order to the Mystery Trader?

No. The items and/or tech levels the Mystery Trader carries are
randomized.

3.3) What if someone else trades from this Mystery trader too?

They will get the same you did. If someone trades with the Mystery
Trader it is even likely the trader will make another pass through the
universe to get more customers for that particular item or those tech
levels.

3.4) Can I trade again with the Mystery Trader?

Not with that particular one. When you have traded once with a Trader
the Trader will no longer have the 'The trader requests interested...'
message when you select it. You can trade with other traders of
course.

3.5) What if I already have got what the Mystery Trader trades?

Richard Kurnadi ([e-mail]) ran a testbed for this and
this is what he came up with:
>If the MT offers an item you already have, you'll get
>another item, as long as there are still MT items that you don't have, or
>tech levels if your tech isn't maxed out yet. If your tech level is maxed
>and the MT offers tech levels, then you'll get an item you don't already
>have. If your tech is maxed and you already have all the MT items, then
>you won't get anything.


At that point your fleet gets still absorbed and you will get this
message:

> <fleet> has been absorbed by the Mystery Trader. However, the trader
> was unable to teach you anything new.

No one has reported refunds yet.

3.6) That's lousy! Can I kill the Mystery Trader?

No you can't. You don't even get a battle when your fleet 'attacks'
the Mystery Trader. Be glad your expensive fleet wasn't simply
absorbed with a message that they didn't have enough minerals with
them to trade...

3.7) Can I keep others from trading with the Mystery Trader?

You can attack enemy fleets that want to meet with the trader just
like you can attack any fleet. This you can do even on the actual turn
the enemy fleet would have traded with the Mystery Trader, your fleet
will attack first, and if they kill enough freighters to bring the
amount of minerals carried by the others below 5000kt no deal will be
made with the Mystery Trader. Be advised that freight is divided
between ships in a fleet. So if a fleet with a cargo hold of 10.000kt
and 500kt minerals loses half its ships the remaining ships will have
only 2500kt on board...

3.8) Is there another way to get the Mystery Trader items?

Yes there is. Just like you can gain tech levels by destroying enemy
fleets or by allies scrapping ships at your starbases you can also
gain Mystery Trader items this way. Jeff McBride explained it to me
like this:

>There are two issues here.

>1) What is the %chance of learning a tech when someone scraps a
>   ship at your starbase?
>2) Why does it seem to happen less often than it should?
>
>The answer to #1 is a little hard to calculate but the general algorithm
>goes like this:
>
>If you have already learned something from battle or from scrapping
>this year that's all she wrote. You don't get no more. This helps prevent
>serious abuse.
>
>Then there is a 50% chance you will learn nothing from this scrapping
>right off the top.
>
>Then we give you a chance to learn how to build an MT toy:
>      You get 1% per identical part scrapped up to 25% per toy.
>      The chance for each toy is computed separately.
>
>Then up to 6 times we:
>      Pick a random research field and check to see if the tech
>      level in that field that is required to build the ships in
>      that fleet is greater than your current level in that field.
>      If it is then you have a 50% chance of gaining a level in
>      that field.
>
>As soon as you learn an MT toy or tech level we stop. One item
>per customer per year.
>
>The answer to #2 is very simple. There is a bug I just fixed
>that the planet owner wasn't getting the right message if they
>did not have Ultimate Recycling and did not own the ships being
>scrapped. The good news is that the Goto button works correctly.
>So, if you get a weird/incorrect message when someone scraps a
>fleet at your planet try the Goto button. If it takes you to the
>Research dialog then you gained a level in something. If it takes
>you to the Tech Browser you learned a new part. If it takes you
>to the planet then you learned nothing. The message is fixed for
>version 2.6 which will be out before the end of Sept. Exact date TBD.


3.9) Is the stuff from the Mystery Trader useful?

This is a question you have to answer for yourself. I'll quote two
people about it:

Answering a question on how to meet the Mystery Trader Daniel Chenault
([e-mail]) wrote:
>The (slightly) longer answer: the Mystery Trader is your friend. Run,
>don't walk, to the nearest MT ship.

On the other hand  Woodstock ([e-mail]) wrote:
>Every time I actually manage to catch this bugger, he always seems to
>palm me off with items I don't need. Does anyone have a list of items
>he has to sell or is it not worth going after him?

4) Appendix A: All items from the Mystery Trader

All items will be displayed with mineral and resource costs at all
tech 26 without bleeding edge. If people have the costs for these
items at the levels when they get them (without miniaturization and
without the double cost of bleeding edge) you can email them to me
([e-mail]) and I will include them in the next version of
this FAQ.

4.01) Mega Poly Shell
4.02) Multi Contained Munition
4.03) Hush-a-Boom
4.04) Multi Function Pod
4.05) Enigma Pulsar
4.06) Multi Cargo Pod
4.07) Jump Gate
4.08) Alien Miner
4.09) Genesis Device
4.10) Langston Shell
4.11) Mini Morph
4.12) Anti Matter Torpedo

4.01) Mega Poly Shell (Armour)

Tech required: Ener 14, Const 14, Elect 14, Bio 6.
Cost at all 26: 9 I, 3 B, 3 G and 34 R.
Mass: 20 kt

Armour strength: 400
This part also acts as a 100dp shield, 20% cloak, 20% torpedo jammer
and a 80/40 ly scanner.

4.02) Multi Contained Munition (Beam Weapon)

Tech required: Ener 21, Weap 21, Elect 16, Bio 12.
Cost at all 26: 4 I, 24 B, 4 G, 24 R.
Mass: 8 kt

Power: 140
Range: 3
Initiative: 6

This part also acts as a 10% cloak, increases torpedo accuracy by 10%
and a 150/75 ly scanner.
This weapon can also bomb planets (2% colonists killed, 5
installations destroyed) and lay 40 standard mines/year.

Note: This is the discription of the tech browser. However this item
acts as a 10% jammer and so I think the 'increases torpedo accuracy by
10%' line should read 'jams torpedoes by 10%'.

4.03) Hush-a-Boom (Bomb)

Tech required: Weap 12, Elect 12, Bio 12.
Cost at all 26: 1 I, 2 B, 0 G, 2 R.
Mass: 5 kt

This bomb will kill approximately 3,0% of a planet's population each
year.

The bomb will destroy approximately 2 of a planet's mines, factories,
and/or defenses each year.

4.04) Multi Function Pod (Electrical device)

Tech required: Ener 11, Prop 11, Elect 11.
Starting Cost: 5 I, 0 B, 5 G, 15 R.
Cost at all 26: 2 I, 0 B, 2 G, 6 R.
Mass: 2 kt

Cloaks any ship up to 30%, acts as a 10% jammer and manouvering jet.

4.05) Enigma Pulsar (Engine)

Tech required: Ener 7, Prop 13, Const 5, Elect 9.
Cost at all 26: 6 I, 7 B, 5 G, 19 R.
Mass: 20 kt

Adds 1/4 square of movement and provides 10% cloaking.

Fuel usage vs. warp speed: (estimated)
Warp 1-5 Free
Warp 6: 50%
Warp 7-9 : something between W6 and 10...
Warp 10: 100%

This engine can travel at warp 10 safely. It's battle speed is 10.

4.06) Multi Cargo Pod (mechanical device)

Tech required: Ener 5, Const 11, Elect 5.
Starting Cost: 12 I, 0 B, 3 G, 25 R.

Cost at all 26: 5 I, 0 B, 1 G, 10 R.
Mass: 9 kt

This pod increases the carge capacity ny 250 kt, provides a 10% cloak
and 50dp of armor.

4.07) Jump Gate (mechanical device)

Tech required: Ener 16, Prop: 20, Const 20, Elect 16.
Cost at all 26: 0 I, 0 B, 38 G, 30 R.
Mass: 10 kt

This device allows a ship to jump to planetary stargates. The range
and weight limits are determined by the destination stargate.

4.08) Alien Miner (mining robot)

Tech required: Ener 5, Const 10, Elect 5, Bio 5.
Starting Cost: 8 I, 0 B,  2 G, 20 R.
Cost at all 26: 3 I, 0 B, 1 G, 7 R.
Mass: 20 kt

This module contains robots capable of mining up to 10 kt of each
mineral (depending on concentration) from an uninhabited planet the
ship is orbiting. The ship must have orders set to 'remote mining'.
This module also acts as 30% cloak, 30% jammer and half a manouvering
jet.

4.09) Genesis Device (Planetary)

Tech requirements: Ener 20, Weap 10, Prop 10, Const 20, Elect 10, Bio
20.
Starting Cost: 0 I, 0 B, 0 G, 5000 R.
Cost at all tech 26: 0 I, 0 B, 0 G, 5000 R.
(The tech browser will discount for additional levels, but the Genesis
device will always cost you 5000 resources)

This process gives a planet a new birth. All traces of civilization
are eliminated as the planet revitalizes itself into an entirely new
world.

Note: This process will destroy all mines, factories, defenses, the
starbase and all population on the planet. However the environmental
factors (gravity, temperature and radiation) and the mineral
concentrations will be randomized again. The AR race is immune to this
process. As they live in orbit of the planet they can survive the
process (they can also build the genesis device even though it's a
planetary instalation).

Hughes ([e-mail]) writes this about it:
>Yes the AR is immune. Very annoying when they get the capability to do
>this. If they have a really large mining fleet it can be even more
>annoying . Mineral concentration only drops after the turn change(big
>bug) so if you have a suffeciently large fleet of miners it is in
>entirely possible to mine 100,000 kt of each mineral off a planet each
>time a genesis device is used.

4.10) Langston Shell (shield)

Tech requirements: Ener 12, Prop: 9, Elect 9.
Cost at all tech 26: 4 I, 1 B, 3 G, 9 R.
Mass: 10 kt

Shield strength: 125 dp
This shield also provides 65 dp armour, 5% jamming, 10% cloaking, and
a 50/25 ly scanner.


4.11) Mini Morph (ship hull)

Tech requirements: Const 8.
Cost at all tech 26: 8 I, 2 B, 2 G, 28 R.
Mass: 70 kt

Fuel Capacity: 400mg
Cargo Capacity: 150 kt
Armor Strength: 250
Initiative: 2

This hull needs 2 engines, has one slot for 3 general purpose items, 2
slots for 2 general purpose items and 3 slots for one general purpose
item.

4.12) Anti Matter Torpedo (torpedo)

Tech requirements: Weap 11, Prop 12, Bio 21
Cost at all tech 26: 1 I, 6 B, 1 G, 30 R.
Mass: 8 kt

Power: 60
Range: 6
Initiative: 0
Accuracy: 85

Note: this is a great item to transfer biotech with! Also look at the
range of 6 and the mass of 8 kt.

5) Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following individuals for contributing to
this FAQ and the Stars! game in general.


  Nathan Kronenfeld, Hughes ([e-mail]), Daniel Chenault and
Woodstock ([e-mail]) for posting their information
on the Mystery Trader on the newsgroup.

  Richard Kurnadi and M ([e-mail]) for emailing me
corrections on version 1.0.

  Jeff McBride and Jeff Johnson, the authors of Stars! and everyone
who has contributed to the development of Stars! for a brilliant game.

  Russ Hersch for his brilliant piece on FAQs, posted regularly on
'news.announce.newusers' .

     -----------------------------------------------------

Copyright (c)1996 by Rogier van Vugt, all rights reserved.
This FAQ may be posted to any USENET newsgroup, on-line service, or
BBS as long as it is posted in its entirety and includes this
copyright statement.
This FAQ may not be distributed for financial gain other than the
distribution of the Stars! game by Jeff McBride and Jeff Johnson.
This FAQ may not be included in commercial collections or compilations
without express permission from the author.
This FAQ may be included into the Stars! FAQ, if ever such a document
is made.

              Rogier 'Konradius' van Vugt