Shareware Overload/ShartewareOverload.cdr/games/tw2_100.zip/TWINSTR.DOC

Text File | 1989-08-04 | 21KB | 384 lines

    TradeWars Release 10.0
by Chris Sherrick & John Morris

Copyright 1986-1987-1988-1989
by Chris Sherrick & John Morris
     All Rights Reserved

The Latest versions of Tradewars are at:
        The Reno RBBS
      [phone] Data
      [phone] Data

(this DOC updated on 08/04/89)

    This is a multi-player game that is a cross between a war game and
a space trading game.  Players compete against one another and are even
able to attack and kill each other.  You have a ship that can roam the
universe, from space port to space port trading metals, organics and equipment
to earn credits (money.)  Once you've earned some credits, you can buy
fighters or cargo holds.  With more cargo holds, you can carry more merchandise
and earn more credits.  With fighters, you can attack and destroy other
players' ships and steal cargo holds from them.  You can also defend a
space port (or a series of sectors and space ports) which will give you
exclusive trading and make even more credits.  The goal of this game is
simple:  to control the universe.

GETTING STARTED
     All you have to do to play this game is to log on.  The computer
will automatically recognize you and enter you in the game if there is
room for you.  If there isn't room for you, don't worry.  Old players
are often deleted and room should open up in several days. You should
also leave a message for the sysop telling him you want to play because
he might be able to delete an old player before his time to make room
for you.  When you start, the computer will give you a ship along with
some cargo holds and some fighters and you will be on your way to becoming
the most powerful person in the universe.

ONCE YOU'RE IN...
     Once you're in, the computer will remember everything you do.  If
you exit the game in the middle, or even hang up on the game, it will
remember what you did and and allow you to continue the next time you
decide to play.  You are allowed so many turns a day, and each time you
move from sector to sector or land at a space port, you lose one turn.
Unfortunately, how many turns you've used up is remembered.  If someone
has left some fighters to protect the sector, you have to fight off his
fighters before you you are allowed to do anything in that sector.  You
can also retreat with a chance those fighters will counter-attack.
     However, once you're in a sector, you can trade at space ports, take
or leave fighters within the sector to defend it, and even attack other
peoples' ships.  Every time you attack someone's ship, they will know
who did it.  This also goes for you; if someone kills your fighters, you
will know who did it.  So experiment!  Feel free to wipe someone out...
they might even return the favor.  Start a war!

THE CABAL
     You're not alone in the universe.  The evil Cabal, a race of warring
creatures, wander around seeking whom they can devour.  These evil warriors
dwell in a portion of the known universe and if you are mighty enough,
you can conquer them.  The Cabal exist for the sole purpose to annoy players,
but an outstanding Trade Wars player can actually defeat the Cabal and
receive 100,000 points!  Also, there is a bounty on the Cabal:
For every Cabal fighter you destroy, you will receive a set amount of points,
and even more Credits! The Cabal take their fighting seriously, and will
occasionally tell you what they think of you! Beware, these guys are
EXTREMELY tough.

ONCE YOU'RE IN A SECTOR      Once you're in a sector, there are several
things you can do.  The following is a list of available commands:

A - ATTACK
     This command allows your fighters to attack another player's ship
in the same sector.  When you attack another's ship, the computer will
ask you the number of fighters you want to use.  Then the computer will
do the fighting for you.  On every attack, someone will lose a fighter,
and there is a 50% chance it will be yours.  If you don't lose one, the
other guy will.  The computer will keep fighting until either you lose
that many fighters, or you wipe out all the other persons fighters.  Then
it will give you a total telling you how good (or bad) you did.  It is
possible to lose 500 fighters in one stroke, so be careful with this one.
If you kill off all the fighters protecting another player's ship, you
can attack the ship and salvage 1/4 of its cargo. One more note, if you
have a cloaking device, and it was on, and you use the A command, the
cloak will be turned off. To re-activate the cloak, use the K command.
Attacking in an unoccupied sector results in a one turn deduction..

B - BANKING CREDITS
     Banking credits are used to buy certain items. They are used to
buy Fighter Factories on planets. They are used to pay the workers in
the factories. You can also buy sector mines with the Banking Credits.
You can withdraw credits from the Bank, with a slight penalty, and your
credits in the bank will earn interest, which changes daily.

C - COMPUTER
     Each ship has an on-board computer.  It can be called from within
a sector. The computer has Eight functions:
   Command (A) -
     The sector finder will tell you how to get to any sector you specify.
If you want to know how to get to another sector, run this program.  It
will tell you which sectors to take to get to the sector you want.  This
will be very useful until you get a map made. After the computer tells
you the route, you will be asked if you wish to input this course into
your Autopilot. If you do input it into the Autopilot, you computer will
take you all the way to the sector you were looking for, UNLESS something
is in your way.      If you have a 'Super Sector Finder' you can choose to find a
completely OPEN route (nothing to block your way) This will avoid defense
forces protecting a sector, but will NOT avoid a mine! This will, for a
reasonable sum, keep you away from the dreaded counter-attacks when
you have to retreat, potentially saving you thousands of fighters. If you
have purchased the 'SSF' then to use it enter Sxxx (where xxx is the sector
to get to) when it asks for the sector number.
   Command (C) -
     Re-Read your messages. You can re-read your messages, and erase
them as you wish.
   Command (F) -
     Locate all your dropped fighters. This command will give you a
complete run-down of your fighters, and where they are dropped.
   Command (G) -
     Another command is the 'Galactic Newspaper' this fine paper keeps
up-to-date tabs on ALL players, and it will let you in on the latest
gossip.
   Command (P) -
The port report will give the quantity of any unprotected port so you can
immediately know where there is some good trading.  The computer will ask
you for what sector the port is in.  Just enter the sector number.  For
example, for Sol, enter a '1'. If there isn't a port in that sector, or
someone is protecting that port with fighters, the computer will respond
with "No information available."
  Command (R) -
     The ranking routine ranks all the players playing the game.  Along
side the player is his or her value in credits.  This includes everything,
including fighters dropped in sectors.
  Command (S) -
     Single Sector Scan.  This function will allow you to see what is
in a sector which is one warp away from your current position. You will
be shown a list of the allowable sectors to scan.
  Command (T) -
     The next function is the Send message function.  You will be asked
for a 'search string', TEAM, or ALL.. For instance if you wanted to send a
message to Maverick, you could input MAV for the search string. Or you can
simply enter the persons full name.  If you wish to send a message to Team-
mates, just enter the word TEAM when asked who the message is to. Another
way to send a message is to input the string 'ALL' this will send a messages
that can be read by all players! Once you have located the proper player to
send the message to, you will be given a prompt for the subject, and you
will have up to 20 lines for the message (76 chars per line).
     If you send a message to a currently active player (he/she is on
another node) they will be notified of the new message!
Command (X) -
     Exit it the computer.

D - DISPLAY SECTOR
     This will give you info about the sector you are in.  It will tell
you the sector you are in, the name and class of any ports in the sector,
other players' ships and the the number of fighters protecting them, the
number of fighters protecting the sector and who they belong to, and what
sectors the warps lead to.  Note the difference between fighters protecting
the sector and the fighters accompanying ships.  The fighters protecting
the sector are the ones you have to fight in order to get into the sector.
The fighters accompanying the ships are the ones you have to destroy to
get to the other players' ships (using the 'A' command.)
     If you are playing TW on a system you know has several nodes. You
might occasionally see a player with a '*' in front of their name. This
simply means that player is also playing the game at the moment! Beware!
They can attack you just like normal!

F - TAKE OR LEAVE FIGHTERS
     This lets you leave fighters to defend a sector or take the ones
already there.  If there are fighters protecting a sector, no one can
enter that sector without defeating them.  The computer will ask you how
many fighters you want defending the sector.  Note: this is DEFENDING
THE SECTOR.  If you have some there already, and you enter a number less
than the number there, you will take the remaining fighters.  If you want
to leave three fighters in an empty sector, enter '3'.  If you have seven
fighters in a sector and want to take them all, enter '0'. (None will
be left defending the sector.)  If you have four fighters in a sector
and want to take three and leave one, enter '1' and the remaining three
will go with you.  You are not allowed to leave fighters in sectors 1-7.
Sectors 1-7 is the Union (the local government) and they don't like having
fighters in their presence.

G - GAMBLE
     You gamble with credits and have 50-50 odds.  Just type G when you're
in a sector.  Warning: DON'T BET ALL YOU CREDITS!  If you lose all your
credits, and you have empty cargo holds there is nothing you can do.
You just have to wait until someone destroys you. you will be allowed to
Gamble 20 times per session.

I - INFO ABOUT YOUR SHIP
     This command will give you information about your ship.  It will
tell you the sector you are in, the number of turns left, the number of
fighters in your fleet, the number of cargo holds on your ship and what
they contain, and how many credits you have. ANSI graphics users will
find the Info command is slightly different in this version. To see how,
use the I command!

K - ACTIVATE KLOAKING DEVICE
     If you own a kloaking device, and you notice its OFF, you can activate
it with this command. As always when you log off your cloaking device will
be activated. If you are using TW on a multi-line BBS, you'll have to keep
your eyes open for other active players, and if you see one, get that Kloak
up!  Everytime you use the A)ttack command, your kloak will be turned off
(if it was on).

L - LAND/CREATE A PLANET
     Planets are similar to ports, only they produce everything, and give
their merchandise away instead of bartering with them. If you <L>and in
a sector containing no planets you will be able to Create a planet. But
you will need 10,000 credits to do so. Sounds nice doesn't it?
One thing you should know about planets is what productivity is.
Productivity is how many units that planet produces per 24 hours.  You can
increase the productivity (by putting money into a planet).  Planets start
with an initial productivity of 1 in ore, organics, and equipment. The
maximum is set by the SysOp of the BBS. I highly recommend leaving fighters
in a sector with a planet in it because your planet can be destroyed by a
persistent player. There is one planet allowed per sector.
  Once you are on a Planet, you will have the option of creating a Fighter
Factory. As the name says, this factory will produce fighters if you do
a number of things to help it. You must hire workers, pay them, and
supply the Factory with raw materials. The Factory Cash option is used
to pay the workers. Lets say you hire 20 workers at 20 credits a day.
You must then have 400 credits of factory cash to pay the workers every
day. You can have up to 200 workers, and you can pay them up to 500 credits
per day. NOTE: You can have too many workers, and you can also pay them
too much. It is up to you to figure out what the premium configuration is.
  If your factory runs out of cash to pay the workers, or if it runs out
of raw materials (Ore, Org, Eqp) it will NOT produce fighters.

M - MOVE
     This allows you to move from sector to sector.  The Union has established
a web of warps from sector to sector that you can travel through.  Each
move takes up one turn and you have a limited number of turns a day.
If you move into a sector with fighters protecting it, you will have to
fight them before you can enter.  You can attack or retreat.  If you retreat,
you will return to the sector from which you came from, but you won't
use up another turn.  It will cost you one fighter to retreat and if you
don't have one left, there is a 50% chance you will make it.

P - PORT
     This command allows you to land and trade with space ports, providing
there is one in your sector.  Docking at a space port uses up one turn
When you trade, you trade in units.  One unit is enough to fill one cargo
hold aboard your ship.  There are three types of merchandise: ore, organics
(org.), and equipment (eqp.) Each port has a class that determines what
it will sell and buy.  A class 1 port sells eqp. and buys everything else.
A class 2 port sells organics and buys everything else, and a class 3
port sells ore and buys everything else.  When you dock, you will haggle
over the prices.  They will give you an offer, and you will counter offer.
This will continue until either they take your offer, or decide to go
elsewhere to do business.  The prices depend on how much they have or
need.  The more they have or need, the better the bargain.  Ports produce
a limited amount of merchandise a day. If you can capture one with fighters,
don't trade with it for several days and let the prices get better and
better.  How much of a bargain varies from port to port.
     Sol-type ports are special cases.  It sells fighters, cargo holds,
turns, sector mines, cloaking devices, and super sector finders.
When you buy turns, they are a temporary one shot deal; you buy turns, not
the number of turns allotted per day. These prices of fighters and cargo
holds vary depending on what day of the week it is; you don't haggle over
these prices. Sol is considered a Class '0' port, and its class is not
displayed. Any port which does not display a class number, will sell the
same items as Sol.

Q - QUIT GAME
     This command allows you to quit the game and return to the BBS.
You can also hang up, but I would rather have you simply Quit.
It makes sure that nothing is going to go wrong.  If you quit and
you haven't used up all your turns, you can come back later on and continue
with your remaining turns.

R - PROBE
     With this command you can scout ahead of you on a certain route, or
it can be used for any reason you can think of!  You will be asked which
sector to send the probe to. After it is launched, telemetry will report
back the items it finds along the way. There is only a 15% chance it will
get back to you.. that is as long as it doesn't run into a hostile force.

S - SECTOR MINE
     If you have bought Sector Mines, you can use this command to place a
mine in the sector you are currently in. These mines are smart. If you wish,
you may make them leave you alone, or allow you and your team mates to pass
thru unharmed. It is up to you. If anyone runs into a Sector Mine, they will
lose all of their cargo and a percentage of their holds.

T - TEAM MENU
     Entering T will get you the Team menu.  This menu consists of Six
separate functions. If you don't belong to a team, only three options are
visible. At the team menu prompt you can enter:
   Command (M) -
     Make a Team, you will be asked for a Team password (which will be
needed by other players to join your team).. That is all there is to
creating a Team. When you create a team, you become the team captain.
NOTE: when you create a team, you do not need to join it afterwards.
   Command (J) -
     Join a Team.  You will be asked for the Team number you wish to join,
and if a spot is open on that team, you will be asked for the team password.
If you enter the correct password, you are then recorded as a member of
that Team.
   Command (Q) -
     Quit a team. You will need to quit a team if you want to create a new
team or join another one. If you are team captain, the whole team will be
disbanded when you quit. NOTE: After you quit a Team, you will not be
allowed to Join or Create a Team until the next day you play.

If you are a member of a team, you will have 4 more functions:
   Command (C) -
     Transfer Credits. You can transfer your credits to a Team member.
(as long as they are in the same sector as yourself) Note: you cannot
transfer credits FROM a team mate to yourself.
   Command (F) -
     Transfer Fighters. This works in the exact same manner as the credit
transfer function, only with fighters.
   Command (S) -
     Locate team mates. This will give you a list of Team mates and the sector
they are located in, if any.
   Command (T) -
     Defense force Transfer. This will let you add to a team-mates fighters
defending a sector. You cannot get these fighters back, unless your team-
mate transfers them back to you.
If you are Team Captain, you have one more function.
   Command (R) -
     With this command you can remove a player from your team.
   Command (X) -
     Exit out of team commands.

? - HELP!
     This command will give you a list of the commands you can use.

Z - INSTRUCTIONS
     This will reprint these instructions.

Other Little Features:
----------------------
     While you move through the sectors, there is small chance you will
 encounter a COSMIC STORM and be thrown off course. The sector where
you regain control is all up to random chance.
     There is a 10% chance that the Cabal will sabotage your ship while
you are away.  If they do sabotage your ship, you will lose ALL cargo,
and 20% of your cargo holds.
     When you choose to retreat from a sector containing an enemies
fighters, there is a 50% chance you will be attacked while retreating!
If you are attacked, there is a possibility that you will be killed!
So be careful.
     When you log-on, your ship is already equipped with a Kloaking Device.
The only problem is you must by energy for it at Class 0 ports. This device
is useful for people who are leaving town for a week, or is an expensive
way to protect your ship overnight. Kloaking device energy will stay in
effect for 15 playing sessions, after this you must purchase more energy.
NOTE: Your ship is 'invisible' when a sector is displayed, but NOT when some
uses the A)ttack command. So your ship is still vulnerable if someone
decides to take a shot in the dark at you! Also, when you Attack another
player, your cloaking device will be turned off.   You can't attack with
the cloaking device on!
     There is a 1 in 500 chance your ships guidance computer will not be
able to avoid meteors as you move through the sectors. If you happen to
be struck by a meteor, you will lose 10% of your turns because of the
damage it inflicts.
     If you attack and kill an entire Cabal group, they will be quite
displeased with you and hunt you down WHILE YOU PLAY! They probably won't
kill you, but they'll want to get at least one attack in!

How to enter commands a little faster:
--------------------------------------
     Commands can be stacked on one line. If you want to move to sector
2 from sector 1, you could enter the command:  M 2
There are four characters you can use to separate commands. They are:
' ' (space)
',' (comma)
':' (colon)
';' (semi-colon)    (any combo of these is okay!)

So, the command:   M 3 M 4 P   (or)   M;3,M:4 P   (or)   M;3;M;4;P
would move you to sector three, then sector four, then port.

**************************************************************************
LASTLY: The official version of TradeWars is not a real easy game to play.
This is purely intentional. It takes a lot of concentration and thought,
but it is more playable than any other door game in existance. If you are
lazy, you won't live long, so be weary and lose yourself in the sectors
as soon as you can. That way, the chances are you will survive longer to
build up your credits, and fighters.
**************************************************************************

     This is all there is to the game.  Play it and have fun!