Shareware Overload/ShartewareOverload.cdr/games/galxzw40.zip/GALXZW40.TXT

Text File | 1988-08-02 | 24KB | 395 lines

                             Gal-XZ Wars 4.0
                     (c) Copyright 1988 Barry Kearns
                         The Ultimate Space Game


     The main objective in Gal-XZ Wars is to pilot your ship through the
universe, moving commodities from one place to another in order to generate
funds, which can be used to purchase additional fighters to guard your ship, to
enhance the abilities of your ship, or build colonies of your own.  Commodities
available for trading in this game are, in order of price:  Food, Minerals,
Equipment, and Computers.  Governmental planets and colonies produce all
commodities which can be taken for free, and can be sold at various ports.

     The ports in the universe are the main source of commodities in the
universe, and they operate in the following manner:  Class 1 ports offer Food
for sale, and will purchase all other commodities.  Class 2 ports sell Minerals
and buy all others, Class 3 ports sell Equipment, and Class 4 ports sell
Computers.  Class 5 ports are a special case, as these are the ports to which
you must go if you wish to purchase additional fighters or upgrade your ship's
status.  Class 5 ports are always located in the lowest-numbered sectors in the
galaxy, and there is one Class 5 port for every 500 sectors in the galaxy
(Galactic size is determined by the System Operator --  If you'd like to have
the universe resized, leave a message to the Sysop asking to have the program
registered...).

     Ports, planets and colonies will all produce a set amount of these
commodities per day, up to a maximum level of seven day's worth of production.

     The ship you will be given at the beginning of your first game (and
afterwards, if you are destroyed) comes equipped with a fuel generator that
will generate 50,000 grams of fuel for your ship, each and every day,
regardless of whether or not you play in the interim.  Fuel production is
cumulative, and there is no upper limit to the amount of fuel or gold that your
ship can carry.  Your ship also begins with 30 empty holds, 100 fighters with
which to protect your ship, and 5100 grams of gold (abbreviated gAu).

     There are many functions available to you in your quest to rule the
galaxy.  The options available to you from the main prompt are as follows:

<I>nfo -  Pulls up an information listing about your ship, detailing all
          relevant information, such as time remaining, fuel, gAu (the standard
          abbreviation used in this game, it stands for grams of gold..),
          number of fighters with your ship, installed options, and the amounts
          of the various commodities that you carry...

<M>ove -  Use this command to move your ship to one of the listed connecting
          sectors.  The <I>nfo command lists the amount of fuel it will cost to
          move your ship to the new location.  Fuel is generated at a fixed
          amount per day, and the only way to alter your daily fuel production
          is to upgrade the class of your ship, or to purchase a RamScoop.

<F>ighters -  Use this command to station some of your fighters to guard a
              particular sector... you will be prompted for a the type of
              formation in which to place your fighters. The possible
              formations are Berserker, Chameleon, and Normal.  Berserker
              fighters will automatically attack ANYONE except yourself who
              comes into the sector, and will fight to the death.  These
              fighters attack at double efficiency, but this is an unwise
              option if you have allies..  The Chameleon formation instructs
              your fighters to tell anyone who "asks" that they belong to the
              "asker"... So if an enemy entered a sector with 10 of your
              Chameleon fighters, he would see "There are 10 fighters here,
              attached to you"...  BUT if he attempts to pick them up without
              verifying their ownership, they will attack at TRIPLE
              efficiency..   Normal fighters will allow for allies to enter the
              sector if they know the proper password, chosen by you. This
              password can be used by your allies to enter the sector that you
              have claimed without having to destroy the fighters.  Those who
              do not know the password will be forced to either retreat, attack
              the fighters, or attempt to commandeer them.  Commandeer attempts
              can, however, be quite costly..  If the attempt fails, the sector
              fighters will attack at twice their normal efficiency. To recover
              fighters you have previously stationed, simply station zero
              fighters in the sector.

<A>ttack -  Used to attack other players.  The program will give a prompted
            list of ships in the sector with you, along with the pilot's name.
            After choosing who you wish to attack, you choose whether you wish
            to attack with a laser cannon (if you have one), or with fighters.
            If you attack with a laser cannon, fighters are ignored, and the
            determining factor is laser shielding and ship armor.  If you can
            destroy all laser shielding, and then destroy all ship armor, the
            mothership will be destroyed.  If you wish to use fighters instead,
            simply determine how many fighters you wish to send against your
            enemy's fighter guard and ship armor. When (or IF) you destroy your
            enemy, you will salvage a percentage of your enemy's gold and
            fuel...

<L>and -  Used to land at a governmental planet or colony.  If you did not
          create the colony, you must know the password to the fighters
          guarding it in order to land there.  If there are no stationed
          fighters, you have two options.  Either you can station your own
          fighters, effectively "stealing" the colony from it's creator, or you
          can destroy the colony.  If you wish to destroy a colony, you must
          first destroy all defensive units stationed on that colony.  If any
          defensive units have been stationed, only the colony creator can take
          products from it.

<P>ort -  Used to dock at a port in order to trade commodities or purchase
          fighters and other upgrade options for your ship.  The <I>nfo command
          lists the cost in fuel to dock at a port.

re<D>o -  Use this command to reprint the sector information listed when you
          enter the sector, best used after gambling or using a RamScoop.

<C>olonize -  Used to either create or upgrade the production of a planetary
              colony, or station defensive units.  Initial creation of a colony
              costs 20,000 grams of gold, and will establish the following
              daily production levels (the numbers in parenthesis are the
              maximum levels that a colony can achieve).

                         Food -   25     (125)
                     Minerals -   15     (75)
                    Equipment -   11     (55)
                    Computers -    8     (40)

              Defensive units cost 150 gAu each, and have the same strength as
              an individual fighter, but once they are stationed, they cannot
              be removed, and no allies can use your colony...

<T>urn on -  Used to energize the Vampire Trap upgrade option.

<R>eport -  Use this command to check on the status of fighters that you have
            stationed in various sectors throughout the galaxy.

<O>ptions -  Use this command to call up the secondary menu of commands, which
             are as follows:

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

s<T>asis -  If you have purchased a Stasis field generator at a Class 5 port,
            you can use this command to create an impenetrable sphere in which
            you can store fuel and gold for later recovery, or for transfer to
            an ally.  You can create a field for only 10,000 grams of fuel, and
            will be prompted for a password.  With this password, allies can
            open your stasis fields.  The upstart of this being that allies can
            transfer fuel and gold between each other.  If there is already a
            stasis field present in this sector, and you have purchased a
            stasis field disruptor, then you can forcibly open a stasis field
            if you don't know the password.  However, this requires a HUGE fuel
            expenditure (200,000 grams of fuel).

<W>arp -  If you have purchased a Warp field generator, this command will allow
          you to access the various functions of this device.  A standard warp
          field generator will allow you to randomly move yourself to another
          sector in the galaxy, an ability that really comes in handy if you
          are blockaded by enemy forces and do not wish to commit suicide.  If
          upgraded to a 'Mega-Warp' you will be able to initiate an 'Emergency
          Warp' feature.  If this is energized, then your warp drive will be
          initiated ONCE upon an enemy attack, thereby removing you from the
          scene of the assault.  If this happens, however, you must return to
          the game and re-energize it to restore its' protective abilities.
          If you upgrade to an 'Ultra-Warp' you will be able to activate a
          'pinpoint' warp field, allowing you to choose the sector to which you
          will warp.

<O>thers -  Will produce a list of other players in the game, along with a
            relative strength figure.  For comparison, you can check the <I>nfo
            command to determine your own strength.

<B>uy -  Purchase fighters long-distance using this command.  This is
         recommended only in emergencies, as the price is significantly higher
         when purchasing fighters in this fashion.

min<E> -  Use this command to launch mines that you have purchased at a Class 5
          port to a connecting sector... DON'T launch them to the sector you
          are in, or you may suffer the consequences..  Mines destroy fighters
          stationed with the flagship, but will not destroy the flagship
          itself..  That is still up to YOU to accomplish.  If you have a mine
          disruptor, you can destroy mines in connecting sectors, and if you
          have upgraded it to a Minesweeper, you can set it to automatically
          alert to to the presence of mines in connecting sectors.

<G>amble -  This command will allow you two options:  Straight gambling, and
            the Galactic Lottery.  Straight gambling will allow you to make
            even-money bets of any amount, so long as you have at least that
            much gold (Sorry, no credit..).  The Galactic Lottery will allow
            you to purchase as many 100-gAu tickets as you wish...  Each ticket
            will allow you to make a guess at the Winning Number, which is
            always between 0 and 999, inclusive.  If you don't guess it right,
            a portion of your purchase price is added to the pot, and it just
            keeps growing until someone guesses it, at which time it all starts
            over at 50,000 gAu.

<S>can -  Allows you to determine the existence of certain factors within
          sectors in the universe.  A prerequisite for the use of this command
          is the purchase of a scanner at a Class 5 port.  A low-power scan of
          a sector will tell you all connecting sectors, and whether there is a
          planet, port, or both in the sector.  Low-power scans cost 200 grams
          of fuel.  A high-power scan will give you the same information, plus
          the amounts available at present ports or planets, will tell if a
          stasis field is present, the number (if any) of sector fighters
          present, and the total number of player ships in that sector.  High
          power scans cost 1000 grams of fuel.  An upgrade option of the
          scanner is the Searcher scanner.  This will alert you to the presence
          of fighters in connecting sectors (before you stumble into them..
          Good to have if someone has stationed Berserker fighters)..  The
          Searcher can be upgraded to a ManHunter scanner.  This VERY expensive
          device will allow a user to scan large ranges of sectors looking for
          one particular player, and/or their fighters.  Provided the user had
          enough fuel to support it, a scan of the entire galaxy would most
          probably give the exact location of the player in question...

<P>athfinder -  This FREE navigational service is readily available to allow
                for ease of movement from place to place... simply input the
                target sector, and the Pathfinder will compute the shortest
                possible path to the target.  A highly handy service,
                considering the incredible complexity of some of the created
                universes...

r<A>mscoop -  This device will, after purchase, allow the user to sweep sectors
              of the galaxy attempting to recover residual fuel left in these
              sectors by hundreds of other, less efficient ships.  Simply
              energize the field (which consumes 1000 grams of fuel), and you
              will recover a certain amount of fuel.  Now, admittedly, this may
              be less than the cost of the field, but it may be more.  That's
              just the chance you take..

     Ship armor can be purchased, which will act defensively in the capacity of
a fighter.  Armor is cheaper than fighters, but will add to your fuel
consumption..  Laser shielding is also available... this will only deflect
laser cannon shots, but is weightless.

     Various classes of laser cannons can be purchased, with each class costing
an additional 100,000 grams of gold.  Each higher class of cannon is more
efficient than the previous class.  Laser cannons allow you to destroy a
mothership without having to go through the fighter complement.  Cannons use
fuel to destroy shielding and armor, and fuel is one of the most plentiful
things in this game...  You could simply run off somewhere and hide (perhaps
under an allies' fighter cover) and wait for your fuel to build up over many
days...  then a few well-placed shots, and your opponent is history.

     You may also purchase a cloaking device..  This will enable you to make
your ship and all fighters with it both invisible and immune from attack until
you return to the game, or you run out of fuel (whichever comes first).  This
consumes incredible amounts of fuel, eating up four times your daily issue of
fuel for each day that it is active, including the day on which it is
energized.  If (When) you run out of fuel, your ship and fighters will re-
appear, but if your fuel then exceeds 4 times your daily issue, the field WILL
NOT reactivate itself... you must do this manually...


     You will be able to upgrade your ship as often as you can afford it.. all
players start with a Class 1 Scout ship, and given enough money, could
conceivably end up with a Class 75 Ultra-Cruiser... Class 5 ports will alert
you to the amount of gold (abbreviated gAu for grams of gold) you will need to
upgrade to the next class of ship... However, if your ship is destroyed, you
start over with a Class 1 ship... The fighters you had stationed in other
sectors ARE NOT destroyed with you...  Each class of ship will generate 25,000
more grams of fuel, allow 20 more cargo holds, and give 5 more minutes daily
than the next previous class..

     The Class 5 ports are the only place to upgrade your ship and buy
goodies... It will not list things that you cannot afford to buy, so just
because you don't see it listed when you port once, doesn't mean that it's not
for sale (it's just that you don't have the cash yet..)  The goodies are listed
in a specific order, so you may want to port and "just say no" to all of the
prompts to find out exactly what you can buy with those hard-earned grams of
gold.... this will only cost you a few grams of fuel, and may well prevent some
forehead-slapping in the future..

     People have noted that most sectors have paths leading back to
themselves.. this is normal, and planned for... If you move to a sector you are
already in, you WILL be charged for it, and likewise, if you send a mine to the
sector you are in, you'll see the result...

     Government sectors are sectors directly connecting to Class 5 ports (i.e.
All sectors listed on paths when you are at a Class 5 port..).. you cannot
leave fighters in a government sector...  The program will also attempt to
prevent you from ending your game at a Class 5 port.  This could result in
traffic tie-up if it was not enforced, so please plan well if you are making an
expedition to one of these ports.

     Fuel is fairly plentiful in this game, so it should only be purchased in
emergency situations (such as being stuck at a Class 5 port with no fuel..  if
you have only a little fuel, it may be wise to attempt RamScooping before
purchasing fuel...)

The following is a listing of prices for various devices in Galaxy Wars:

        1 gAu each  Grams of fuel
      100 gAu each  Ship armor
      150 gAu each  Colony defensive unit
      200 gAu each  Laser shielding
      300 gAu each  Fighters
     1000 gAu each  Cargo holds
     1000 gAu each  Gravitic mines
            5 kgAu  Scanner                     1 kgAu = 1000 gAu
            5 kgAu  Stasis field generator
           10 kgAu  Mine disruptor
           45 kgAu  Upgrade Stasis field generator to add RamScoop
           50 kgAu  Cloaking Device
           50 kgAu  Stasis field disruptor
           50 kgAu  Warp field generator
           90 kgAu  Upgrade Mine disruptor to Minesweeper
          150 kgAu  Upgrade warp generator to 'Mega-Warp'
          300 kgAu  Upgrade 'Mega-Warp' to 'Ultra-Warp'
          250 kgAu  Upgrade stasis field disruptor to add Vampire trap
          150 kgAu  Upgrade Scanner to Searcher Scanner
          300 kgAu  Upgrade Searcher to ManHunter Scanner

         Ship Upgrades:

         200 kgAu   Upgrade ship from Class 1 to 2
         400 kgAu   Upgrade ship from Class 2 to 3
         800 kgAu   Upgrade ship from Class 3 to 4
        1600 kgAu   Upgrade ship from Class 4 to 5
        3200 kgAu   Upgrade ship from Class 5 to 6
          etc....

        Laser cannons:  100 kgAu per class (Class 5 is 500 kgAu, etc..)

     Mail-ordering of fighters costs a base amount of 2500 gAu, and each
fighter costs 500 gau.

     There has been a recent rash of attacks by Energy Vampires... these 7-
dimensional creatures feed on the same fuel that your ship uses, and they tend
to roam the galaxy looking for sources of food.... since you exist in a mere 3
dimensions, it is impossible to defend against these creatures, (unless you
have a Vampire Trap) short of ensuring that you carry little fuel with you...

     Scientists have recently finished work on a capture and containment system
for Energy Vampires based on the stasis field concept, due to the fact that it
has been discovered that while the Vampires can actually enter inside a stasis
field, it appears that they cannot exit from one... This tends to lead to
confrontations with Vampires (hungry ones, I might add) that are trapped within
already placed fields... when the fields are deactivated, the creatures attack
with a vengeance....

     You can upgrade a stasis field disruptor, giving it a Vampire Trap
attachment...  this will, if it was energized when a Vampire attacks, capture
and hold the attacking Vampire until you can get to a Class 5 port..  You can
then have the trap cleaned for 20,000 gAu...  It is advised that if you have
this attachment, you energize it as soon as you begin your turn..  This will
use a set amount of fuel for the entire playing session, and must be re-
activated every time you play (if you still want the protection)....

     Recently, travelers have reported encountering a Crystal Vortex, which
caused their ship hulls to be crystallized in various colors, giving them
mysterious benefits or penalties.  There have been many more beneficial reports
than negative ones, but a few who entered have had their ships ripped apart by
the gravitational forces...  In any case, this Vortex disappears immediately
after discovery, so a decision to enter or not is immediately necessary.  Some
have said that there are twelve different hull colors, and that some benefits
are permanent.

     And finally, registered versions of this program allow a "Rebellion"
option... If you gain immense power in a particular game of Gal-XZ Wars 4.0 you
may decide to try to overthrow the government.  Using the <R>ebel option will
declare you a rebel, and the Empire will launch its' Imperial Star Cruiser
'Armageddon'... you and the Cruiser will then hunt one another until one is
destroyed...  The Empire will send waves of suicide fighters against you, so
make sure you are quite strong before attempting this, and find the Cruiser
quickly, or it's curtains for you...  If you can destroy the 'Armageddon' then
you will receive a bonus of 10 MILLION gAu and a discount on registration of
your own version of Gal-XZ Wars 4.0...


Hints and Tips for Beginning Warriors:

     This game can tend to lead to people acting very ruthlessly, so here are a
few ideas that have been worked out by myself and a few of my users.

     Each new user (or user beginning over after having been destroyed -- The
program will probably tell you who did you this favor..) will be given an
initial allowance of 5100 gAu.  This will allow for the purchase of either a
stasis field generator or scanner, and still leave a bit of gold with which to
begin trading.  I personally favor the purchase of the stasis field generator,
as this will allow you to preserve much more of your progress at the beginning
of the game.  At the end of your turn (assuming you have left at least 10,000
grams of fuel in your tanks), simply create a stasis field and place all of
your remaining gold and fuel within it.  If you are destroyed, the odds are
strong that the field will still be there when you log back on.  Simply go back
to that sector, open the field, and you've recovered fairly well from the
trauma.  If someone has disrupted your field, and there was not a huge amount
of fuel or gold within it, at least you have the satisfaction of knowing that
they spent 200,000 grams of fuel to open it.

     One of the best ways to ensure survival, however, is the establishment of
alliances with other players.  Once these are created, the possible benefits
are almost too numerous to mention.  Weaker players can leave gold/fuel within
a stasis field, and tell a stronger player the password, in exchange for the
protection given by hiding under the cover of the stronger player's fighter
guard.  Alliance members can station fighters in connecting sectors to take
over a small segment of the galaxy, and create colonies for the use of all
allies.  But before you rush off to form an alliance, be reminded of the fact
that these are PEOPLE you are dealing with, and some of them can be quite
ruthless...  Vendettas can get really messy in this game, with huge feuds
propagating through alliance ties, and it can all get quite ugly quite quickly.
It is, of course, up to the user to determine how best to survive and prosper
within the game.  My only hope is that, whatever your strategy, you enjoy the
game.


Barry Kearns (Author)