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WHATS.NEW
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1988-05-20
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What's New in Begin Version 1.6 May 20, 1988
Well, after many delays, version 1.6 is finally here.
The major new features in version 1.6 are:
- New Game Setup
- New Systems Status display
- Damage Control
- Life support
- New ally command format
- Four new ally commands
- Fleet status report
- Improved library computer
- Chart on/off feature
- Improved ship name abbreviation recognition
- Many strategy improvements
- Line editing keys
- Ported to Turbo C
The new setup shows two fleet configuration displays. You must select
the number and type of ships in both the ally and enemy fleets before you
enter the "Begin" command to start the battle. You must also select an
ally flag ship which you will be fighting from. See if you can figure out
the commands for setup. Be sure to note what is confusing and/or what might
be a better command format.
The Systems Status is actually just an updated Weapons Status display
in the lower right corner of the screen. This display now shows the warp
drive and shield statuses. The warp drive status gives an indication of
the warp drive temperature. The dimmer the block, the cooler the warp
drive. The shield status gives an indication of the strength of the shield.
The brighter the block, the stronger the shield. The Bank status now will
indicate the last three cycles left to full charge by displaying a dash,
an equal sign and finally a triple equal sign when ready. The Tube status
works similarly to the Banks except goes one extra step to an 'o' when
loaded. All statuses now blink if a system is not functional.
Damage control functions automatically. Different ship systems are
easier to repair than others. The Damage command will show the current
repair rates. You may also see repair rates for ally ships. The damage
Control efficiency is based on the number of crew remaining.
Life support also works automatically. If you haven't enough energy
the ship's engineer will announce the problem. You have three cycles
before "Life support failure" which sets the crew to zero.
The ally command format now allows you to specify multiple ship names
or one or more ship classes. This makes commanding a fleet much more
enjoyable. The format of the command is now:
Tell <ship name> [<more names>] <order> <order arguments>
or Tell ALL [<ship class> [<more classes>]] <order> <order arguments>
where: <ship name> and <more names> are the names of any ally ships in
your fleet.
<ship class> and <more classes> are the class of any ships in your
fleet.
Examples:
Tell Enterprise attack Zantha
Tell Sirus Mars Venus attack Bismark
Tell All attack Eagle
Tell All Interceptor attack Knife
Tell All Destroyer Dreadnought attack Pulsar
There are now four new ally commands. They are: Withdraw, Phaser,
Torpedo, and Probe. The Withdraw command instructs the ally to try to
withdraw from battle but not leave the area. This is a good was to hold
ship in reserve. The other three commands instruct the ally to try and
get into a position to be able to attack using the specific weapon.
Examples:
Tell All Interceptor Destroyer Withdraw
Tell Demon Phantom Probe Higgins
Tell All Escort Phaser Nelson
The new fleet status display show you the target and mission of all
ally ships or a specific ally ship class. The format of the command is:
[Status] Fleet [<ship class>]
Examples:
Fleet
Fleet Destroyers
Status Fleet
The improved library computer will now tell you what areas it knows
about. If you enter "lib" it will display the categories it allows. If
you enter "lib torp" it will display the types and symbols of all the
torpedoes on file. Once a display is shown it will not prompt for more
information.
The auto chart on/off feature will allow you to enable/disable the
position chart that is display before the main command prompt. If you
disable the chart it will be easier to read the output from the previous
cycle before it scrolls off the top of the screen.
Examples:
chart off
chart on
There is now improved ship name abbreviation recognition. This will
reduce the confusion when specifying an abbreviated a ship name that matches
more than one ship. It now attempts to guess if you are referring to an
ally or enemy ship. It will not make a guess if more than one ship in the
same fleet matches the abbreviation.
Assumes Enemy:
Purse, Elude, Lock, Probe, Attack, Target
Assumes Ally:
Tell, Escort
No Assumption:
Scan, Chart
And there are many improvements in the enemy strategy that will
hopefully do you in. On the other hand they could also help you if you
have a lot of allies.
Line editing keys compatible with the DOS command line editing keys
have been added. The keys are:
-> or F1 - Copy and display one character from retained line.
F2 - Copy retained characters up to specified character.
F3 - Copy all remaining characters from retained line.
F4 - Skip retained characters up to specified character.
F5 - Retain current line for more editing.
Ins - Toggle insert mode.
Del - Skip one character in retained line.
Esc - Cancel current line.
<- or BS - Delete one character in current line.
This version has been ported to Turbo C Large Model. This means that
detection and usage of the math co processor is automatic. If you wish to
prevent this, set the environment variable 87=N and only emulated floating
point will be used. The Large model will allow us to expand to the full
640K if it ever comes to that. Unfortunately these changes make this version
quite a bit larger than the old Desmet C version.
Tom Nelson
Clockwork Software The Micro Foundry BBS
PO Box 610338 (408) 258-3484
San Jose, CA 95161 1200/2400 24 Hours