PC Zone 81/Dppcz1099.iso/Editor.ial/Tips/walkthroughs/Star Trek - Birth of the Federation.txt

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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.