Star Fleet Command Volume II Empires at War Demo Manual

Installation

Double-click on the setup file to install the SFC vol. II demo. Please take the default directory path as this will enable correct game startup via the Mplayer.com matching service.

Before running SFC II, run Configure 3D Acceleration to setup the game for use with your video card.

STARTING THE GAME

When you first start the game you will presented with two choices. If you chose Single Player you will be able to play the tutorials and learn how to play Starfleet Command Volume II. Choosing Multiplayer will allow you to play Demofest either as a single player game against the computer or against a human opponent via MPlayer.com . To choose either Left-click on the appropriate button.

Tutorials

The tutorials will teach you the basics of how to play Starfleet Command Vol. II. To start a tutorial use the following steps:

1. Left-click on SINGLE PLAYER in the Select Game screen.

2. Left-click on TUTORIALS to go the Tutorial screen.

3. Pick the tutorial you wish to play by Left-clicking on it.

4. Left-clicking on the START button on the left hand side of the screen to begin.

MPlayer Multiplayer games

When you are ready to go into combat choose Multiplayer you will then be presented with the Game Connections screen. If you want to play on MPlayer via the Internet Left-click on LOG IN under Standard Multiplayer. This will close your session of Starfleet Command Volume II (this is a planned event and no cause for alarm). You will then be prompted to log onto MPlayer.com using your existing MPlayer username and password. You can also create a new account at this time. When you have logged onto MPlayer you will either need to create a room in which you will host a game or enter a room created by someone else to play in their game.

If you enter a room and are ready to play, click on Ready to Play? in the middle of the screen. This will change to OK, I'm Ready!. When the host sees the OK by the other players name they can click on Launch Game to start a game.

The Mplayer SFC1 lobby

If you are want to create a room for yourself, click on the create room button while in the SFC 2 demo lobby. When everyone is ready you will see OK by the other players name then click on Launch Game to start a game.

The host will be taken to the Create Multiplayer Game screen. From here you can set the game speed (pace of the game) and choose the map on which you wish to play. You should give your game a unique name and type it in the Game Name box. Once you are ready click on ANNOUNCE GAME.

While the host is creating the game the other players will wait here at the Select Game screen. Once the session is ready, it will appear in the list, join by Left-clicking on the Join button.

Once you have either created the game (as host), or joined the game that someone else has created, you will go to the Multiplayer Startup screen. From this screen you can choose which of the four empires available in the demo, Federation, Klingon, ISC or Mirak. To change your empire from the default of the Federation, Left-click on the arrow just to the right of your STAR EMPIRE box. This will cycle you through all of the available choices.

Teams may be chosen if desired by Left-clicking on the arrow to the right of the TEAM box. All players with the same team letter will be on the same "side" for the game and will have be unable to target each other. The goal of the Demofest is to be the last team standing.

When you are ready Left-click in the READY box to the left of your PLAYER NAME. When all players are ready the Start Multiplayer Game button, in the lower right hand corner of the screen, will become lit for the host. When this button is clicked the game will begin.

Single Player Demofest

If you would like to play Demofest without having to go online, you may play against the computer. To start a single player game, Left-click on MULTIPLAYER at the Select Game screen. On the Game Connections screen, there is a TCP/IP button which is found under LAN Connections Left-click on it. At the Select Game screen Left-click on the CREATE button. Select Demofest, set your game settings as desired and Left-click on announce.

The Multiplayer Startup screen is where you will change settings to allow you to play against the computer. Choose your Empire as above, then Left-click on the arrow to the right of the second TYPE box (it should say NO ONE), this will change it to AI. You can then change the STAR EMPIRE for that team. When you have all the teams you want Left-click on all their READY buttons and then click on START MULTIPLAYER GAME.

1. Left-click on MULTIPLAYER at the Select Game screen.

2. Left-click on the TCP/IP button under LAN Connections.

3. At the Select Game screen Left-click on the CREATE button.

4. Select Demofest and Left-click on announce.

5. Choose your Empire as above.

6. Left-click on the arrow to the right of the second TYPE box (it should say NO ONE). This will change to AI and a philosophers name will appear under PLAYER NAME to indicate it is being played by the AI.

7. Left-click on all their READY buttons for all active teams.

8. Left-click on START MULTIPLAYER GAME to begin.

TAKING THE CONN

Once you have accepted a mission you will be transported to the tactical screen. From here you will command your ship, and eventually, a fleet of up to three ships. Take a quick look around the screen. There is a lot of information available to you, Captain, and once you gain experience with it, you will have the ability to utilize the entire screen in any mission as you see fit. We will take a step-by-step approach in learning to use your ship’s systems.

The 3d Tactical view

RANGE AND TURNS

All ranges and distances will be stated in standard units. Each unit has a value of 10,000km, so if you were at a range of 5.0 units from your target, your distance from the target would actually be 50,000km. The way ranges are calculated is as follows: A range includes the area from the actual number up to just before the next range. For example a range of 0 is anything from 0.00 to 0.99, a range of 1 is from 1.00 to 1.99.

A Turn is a convenient way to measure the passage of time. There are no artificial breaks in the flow of action, turns are just a way of expressing the amount of time an action, such as arming a weapon, will take.

RED ALERT

The first thing a new captain should do when entering a battle is go to Red Alert. You can do this by pressing the "R" key or by clicking on the Red Alert icon in the lower right hand portion of the tactical screen. Once at Red Alert, the shields will come up and ship’s battle systems will come on line and begin charging.

You may control your alert status here.

TARGETING

Once you have gone to Red Alert, press the "Y" key and take a look around you. You have just targeted an enemy vessel, if any are in range. Your ships targeting reticle will bracket the enemy's position and the Heads UP Display, or HUD, will give you vital information about the enemy ship. Above the ship is your targeting lock-on indicator. This tells you if your ship’s computer has a good ‘fix’ on your target for fire control purposes. If the word "Allied" appears above this, your current target is an ally. Not to fear, your ships computer will prevent you from accidentally firing upon an allied ship. Below the ship will be given its class and your current range to the vessel. Tap on the "Y" key to cycle through the enemy ships, taking note of their ranges. The final item of information is the target’s current speed. You will notice that this information is also repeated in the lower left hand corner of the 3-D display along with the Attack and your currently selected weapons.

MOVEMENT

The next item you will want to take care of is giving your ship some speed. At the bottom middle of the Tactical screen is the speed bar.

You can change your speed by clicking on the speed slider at the bottom of the screen.

You may click anywhere on the speed bar to set your desired speed. Alternatively, using the "S" key to accelerate and the "A" key to decelerate can control your ship’s speed. As you change your speed, you will notice that there is a marker set at your desired speed. Your ship may take some time to reach this speed due to acceleration rates. You may also never reach a desired speed due to power limitations, particularly after taking damage during a battle. Regardless of available power, the absolute maximum speed for any ship is limited to 31.

Special movement commands are handled using the Helm Officer multi-function display (MFD.

Special Movement is controlled via the Helm Officer Display.

TURNING

Turning your ship to a new heading is easily accomplished by Left-clicking in the 3-D tactical display where you want your new heading to be. If you Left-click on an enemy ship, your heading will change to put you on a course directly for that ship. As you begin a turn, you will notice an arc that has appeared between your current heading and your desired heading. There is a color code to let you know the approximate time to complete this turn.

As your ship completes its turn, the indicator will change color to show you how much further it has to go.

Turn Rate

Each type of Starship has an associated Turn Rate. The Turn Rate determines how long it will take a particular ship to complete a 180-degree turn. The lower the Turn Rate, the faster the turn will be completed. As the speed of a ship increases, the amount of time to complete a turn will increase.

Movement Cost

Each type of Starship has a Movement Cost associated with it. This is the amount of energy required to move the ship. Smaller ships tend to have low movement costs while Dreadnoughts and Battleships have the largest costs.

The actual amount of energy required to move at any given speed is the Movement Cost multiplied by the desired speed.

Emergency Deceleration

Emergency Deceleration uses the warp engines to quickly bring your ship to a complete stop. This can be a useful tactic to help keep your ship in a desirable location that would otherwise be overshot. The drawback is that the maneuver puts a high amount of stress on the engines, causing a delay before your ship will be able to move again.

When you need to stop on a dime, this is your button.

Erratic Maneuvers

Erratic Maneuvers (EM) is putting your ship into a series of jink actions. This causes your ship to move back and forth in an unpredictable pattern. This makes your ship harder to hit. Your ship also feels the affect of EM in that your own weapon’s ability to hit their targets is equally degraded. The cost of performing EM is six points of movement energy. The use of EM puts the following restrictions on your ship:

No shuttles, fighters, missiles, or plasma torpedoes can be launched.

Mines cannot be laid, nor can tractor beams be used.

Your ship is more difficult to turn. The turn rate of your ship is increased by one.

High Energy Turns are more difficult to accomplish. The chance of failure is increased by approximately 17%.

If nothing else EM will make you dizzy.

Intercept Target

Clicking on the Intercept Target button puts your ship under the Helm Officer’s control. He will attempt to plot the best course towards the current target. You will retain control of the ship’s speed.

Clicking on this button will help you stay on his six.

High Energy Turns

High Energy Turns, or HET's for short, are a fast but dangerous way to quickly turn your ship around in battle using Warp Power.

WEAPONS

There are two basic types of ship-mounted weapons in Starfleet Command: Phasers and Heavy Weapons. All Starships have at least one type of Phaser and usually have at least one type of Heavy Weapon. Your ship’s weapons and their current status can be found in the Tactical Ship Schematic and System Multi-Function Display (MFD). Each icon represents a specific location, or hardpoint, on the ship where all the weapons are of the same type and can fire in the same direction. The main portion of the icon indicates the type of weapon, while the small dots at the right, or front of the icon, indicate how many of that weapon type are in that hardpoint.

Your ship and it's weapons status available at a glance.

Phasers

Phasers are the primary and most plentiful of the weapons on a starship. Phasers are Direct Fire Weapons, which means that they hit or miss instantaneously when fired. There are five different type of Phasers, four of these are carried onboard Starships. The Type I phaser is the strongest of the ship bound phasers, followed by the Type II, and then the Type III and Type G. The Type G has the same firing strength as the Type III, but may fire as many as four times during a turn while all others types of phasers can only fire once. All shipboard Phaser types take 1 point of energy to fire except the Type III, which takes 1/2 point. The final type of Phaser is the Type IV. The Type IV is the strongest of all the phasers, and is only mounted on Bases and Planets.

From L-R Phasers Type I, Type II, Type III, Type IV and Type G

When energy is allocated to Phasers it is not allocated to a specific one. Instead, there is a Phaser Capacitor that stores the energy in a pool. When a Phaser is order to fire, it draws the energy it needs from this pool.

Heavy Weapons

Heavy Weapons are high yield weapons carried by Starships. They come in many different types based upon the Race of the ship that carries them. There are two different classes of Heavy Weapons: Direct Fire and Seeking Weapons.

Direct Fire Weapons

Direct Fire Weapons are weapons that hit or miss, instantaneously when fired. Examples of Direct Fire Weapons are Disruptors, Fusion Beams, Hellbore Cannons, Photon Torpedoes, and the Plasmatic Pulsar Device.

Disruptors are the primary heavy weapons used by the Klingons, Lyrans, and as support weapons by the Mirak. Disruptors take two units of energy and one turn to arm. Once armed, it takes 2 units of energy per turn to hold a Disruptor until fired. Disruptors have a maximum range of 40 but are most effective at short ranges, 4 or less, as their destructive energy dissipates over greater ranges.

Fusion Beams are one of the heavy weapons of the Hydrans. Fusion Beams take 2 units of energy and one turn to arm. After firing a Fusion Beam, the weapon must be cooled for one turn before arming. Fusion beams have a maximum range of 24 but are most effective at very short ranges, 1 or 0, as the beams destructive energy greatly dissipates as range increases.

Hellbore Cannons are the other heavy weapon in use by the Hydrans. Hellbore Cannons take 3 units of energy for 2 turns to arm. Once armed it takes 3 units of energy per turn to hold a Hellbore Cannon until fired. Hellbore Cannons have a maximum range of 40 and are most effective at ranges of 15 or less. Their strength does decrease over range, but does not decline as rapidly as the than Fusion Beam, making this an effective long ranged weapon.

Photon Torpedoes are the primary heavy weapons of the Federation. Photon Torpedoes take 2 units of energy for 2 turns to arm. Once armed, it takes 1 unit of energy per turn to hold a Photon Torpedo until fired. Photon Torpedoes have a maximum range of 30. Photons are most effective at ranges of 8 or less. The Torpedoes strength does not dissipate over range so a Photon that hits at a range of 30 does the same damage that one fired at range of 2 does.

How would you like your Photon Torpedoes? Normal or Overloaded?

The Plasmatic Pulsar Device (PPD) is the primary heavy weapon in use on large ships by the Interstellar Concordium. The PPD takes 4 units of energy for 2 turns to arm. Once armed, it takes 2 units of energy per turn to hold a PPD until fired.

The Phaser, though not a heavy weapon, is a direct fire weapon. This is due to the fact that it either hits or misses instantaneously when fired.

From L-R Disruptor, Fusion Beam, Hellbore Cannon, Photon Torpedo and PPD.

Seeking Weapons

Seeking Weapons are weapons that, after being fired, must seek or travel to their target before detonating. Seeking Weapons may be degraded or even destroyed before they reach their target. Examples of Seeking Weapons are Missiles and Plasma Torpedoes.

Missiles are the primary heavy weapon of the Mirak, and are used as secondary heavy weapons by the Klingons and the Federation. Missiles take no energy to arm but must be reloaded from their rack after firing which will take between 1/2 to 2 turns depending on the type of Missile rack. They have speeds that vary from 12 to 34, and will track the target for 3 turns before running out of fuel. Missiles have fixed warheads that do the same damage when they hit a target, no matter what range they are fired from.

Plasma Torpedoes are the primary heavy weapons of the Gorn and the Romulans. Plasma Torpedoes come in many types, and in normal mode, they all take three turns to arm. For a plasma torpedo, the amount of energy to arm, the amount of energy to hold, and the maximum range are dependent on the type of plasma torpedo. The amount of energy to arm can vary between 5 and 9 units spread over the three turns, and, once armed, it can take up to 3 units of energy per turn to hold until fired. Plasma Torpedoes have a maximum range that can vary from 15 to 30, with their warhead strength beginning to dissipate at ranges greater then 10 (5 for an “F” type) until they eventually degrade down to a strength of 1 when at maximum range.

Expanding Sphere Generators

The Expanding Sphere Generator (ESG) is neither a Direct Fire nor a Seeking Weapon, but a different breed of cat altogether. The ESG is used by the Lyrans as both an Offensive and Defensive heavy weapon. The ESG creates an energy sphere around the firing ship that will damage enemy ships and weapons that come in contact with it. The ESG may have its diameter set from 0 to 3 units. The amount of damage it will cause is dependent on the size of the sphere and the amount of energy that has been allocated to it.

Each particular Heavy Weapon has it's own characteristics and modes of fire. For example Photon Torpedoes may be fired in Normal, Overload and Proximity mode.

Firing Arcs

Each weapon has a specific firing arc. This is the direction relative to the forward portion of the ship (bow) that the weapon can fire. There are many different arcs, and your weapons may use any of them or a combination of several arcs. There are two simple ways to tell which arc a weapon may fire in. The first indication is when a single weapon hardpoint is selected; the highlighted portion of the Firing Arc pie chart will indicate the direction, relative to the bow of the ship that the weapon may fire. The second method, is when a target is selected, all weapons that can currently fire at that target will be indicated by highlighted lines that border the weapon box.

Weapons that could fire are bordered by bright lines.

Weapon Status

Weapons have various states, of which, they can only be in one at a time. The states are as follows: destroyed, stunned, discharged, charging, and fully charged. When a weapon is destroyed, it may no longer fire unless first repaired, and while down, it will no longer use any energy. A stunned weapon has been damaged by enemy weapons fire, and may not itself be fired until the time period of the stun is complete. An icon that is a light color than usual indicates a discharged weapon. A weapon that is charging is indicated by a darker shade of the same color filling the icon from left to right. The progress of this change from light to dark will indicate to you the progress of the charge. An icon that is completely filled with the dark color indicates that at least one weapon on that hardpoint is fully charged and ready to fire.

Selecting Weapons

To select a weapon to fire, you may Left-click on each individual weapon. To select a group of weapons by Left-clicking, select the first weapon, then hold down the shift key while Left-clicking on other weapons until you have selected all the weapons you desire. In the heat of battle, though, this is not an acceptable solution. To remedy this, four hot-keys have been provided to allow you to automatically select your favorite weapons’ groupings. These are the "1", "2", "3" and "4" keys located on the top row of the keyboard (note: not the ten-key pad). As you press each of these, you will see the selected weapons, indicated by the brackets surrounding the corners of the weapon icons. You may change these groups to reflect your personal taste. When allocating a hot key, select the grouping you want using the Left-click and Shift+Left-click method described above. When your desired group is selected, let go of the Shift key and hold down the Ctrl key while pressing the hot key you want to associate with this group. To select all weapons you can Left-click on the Select all Weapons button.

Firing Your Weapons

When a target is selected and is at the optimal range, you may fire your weapons by one of several means. To fire a weapon, it first must be selected. Press the "Z" key or Left-Click on the Fire button in the Weapons MFD to fire the weapon. To fire all selected weapons in one massive volley known as an Alpha-Strike, hold down the "Shift" key and press the "Z" key.

Shields

When weapon fire hits a target, the first thing it will damage are the ships shields. When a ship is brought to Red Alert, the shields are raised to normal levels. The ship’s shields are not a single entity; instead they are six separate arcs that work together to protect the ship. Once one of these shields has been destroyed, weapons fire can reach the ship through that shield’s arc, and do internal damage.

Internal Damage

Once weapon fire goes through a downed shield, internal damage occurs to that ship. Internal damage will be spread out over all the ships systems. Ship’s internals include: batteries, bridge spaces, hull (crew space), impulse engines, labs, probe launchers, sensors, scanners, shuttle bays, tractor beams, warp engines, weapons, as well as and other systems depending upon the individual ship. As these systems are destroyed, the ship grows weaker and less able to fight, until it is finally destroyed.

If you have not already, now would be a good time to work through the first two tutorials. These are Command 190 and Command 290. Much of what you have learned so far will be reinforced and expanded upon in the tutorials.

Electronic Warfare (EW)

Electronic Warfare (EW) is the use of the ships sensors to produce a jamming effect that will diminish an enemy ship’s chance to hit your ship. EW can also be used by the firing ship to try and break through the jamming of the target.

Caption: Scramble your opponents picture and decode his with the EW panel.

ECM

Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) is used to degrade an enemy's ability to fire accurately at a ship. It is a form of jamming which the ship’s sensors produce in order to prevent an enemy's firing computer from providing an accurate fix on a target.

ECCM

Electronic Counter Counter Measures (ECCM) is the firing ship’s attempt to break through the jamming of ECM. If used properly, this will reduce or even remove the negative effects of ECM.

USE of Electronic Warfare

ECM is used when trying to prevent an enemy from hitting your ship. If you use more ECM than your opponent uses ECCM, you produce a Net ECM Shift. This shift reduces both the enemy's ability to hit your ship and the damage a weapon will do when it hits.

To help ensure that your weapons have a good chance of hitting your opponent, you must use more ECCM than the target’s ECM. If an imbalance exists that is not in your favor, a Net ECM Shift is produced and is shown on the lower left hand corner of the 3-D display.

The total amount of EW that your ship can produce is based on the current number of sensors on your ship (sensor rating). At the beginning of an encounter, this number is usually six. If you set your ECM to 6 and then set your ECCM to 2, your ECM would automatically be reduced to 4 in order to keep your total amount of EW used under the limit of 6. The actual ECM value may be higher due to other factors such as Erratic Maneuvers and terrain.

Direct fire weapons, such as Disruptors and Photon Torpedoes, are particularly vulnerable to Electronic Warfare. For all the aspiring Federation Captains out there, unless you want to see your valuable Photons that took two turns to arm sail off into the sunset, you’d better keep a close eye on your opponent’s ECM.

Shield Reinforcement

Shields may be reinforced to provide extra protection to the shield arcs that you expect to come under enemy fire. To reinforce a shield, you must Left-click on that shield in the Shield System MFD. Then, you must allocate the desired amount of reinforcement by moving the Reinforcement slider to the right. Left-click on the Reinforce button to complete the process.

Reinforcing your shields is a snap with the handy dandy shield panel.

You can reinforce multiple shields by selecting more than one shield, or all shields may be selected by Left-clicking on the Reinforce All button. You may Left-Click on the ship in the center of the arc selector to toggle to select all shields, or no shields.

As you select more than one shield, the amount of energy allotted becomes diluted over the selected shields. When all are selected, shields share only ½ the added protection that you would have gotten by selecting a single shield.

Defensive Officer

In the Defensive Officer panel, you are able to set up automatic defensive options to help protect your ship from incoming seeking weapons. You access this through the shield icon.

From L-R, Top to Bottom, Emergency Stop, Point Defense toggle, Defensive Tractor selector and Sensor decoy shuttle panel.

Point Defense Phasers

If the Point Defense toggle switch is on, the Defensive Officer will automatically fire any available phasers at an incoming missile or plasma torpedo. He will continue firing at the target until all phasers that can fire have, or the target is destroyed.

Defensive Tractors

Here you may allocate as many tractor beams as you wish, up to the current maximum of your ship, to grab any incoming missiles and hold them until they run out of fuel.

Sensor Decoy Launch Panel

From the Sensor Decoy Launch panel, you can launch an unmanned Senor Decoy Shuttle to distract incoming seeking weapons. The shuttle will draw all enemy seeking weapon’s fire to itself until it is destroyed or the launching craft does something to void the protective power of the decoy, such as fire weapons or travel at high speeds.

Science Officer

In the Science Officer panel, you can launch science probes, activate your ships Deep Scan capability, and order your ship to Self-Destruct.

I need answers Mister.

Probes

Probes can be used to gather data on targets from great distances. When launched, they will travel to the target, and then provide a glimpse of the target’s internal configuration.

Probes may also be converted into crude weapons using the Scan/Weapon toggle. They take two units of energy to arm, have a maximum range of 6, and can only be fired directly ahead of the ship. Despite all this, a resourceful Captain can still make effective use of them.

Special Probes may become available from time to time. Your Science Officer will notify you of their availability.

Deep Scan

Your Science Officer can divert more energy into the sensors to improve their range. For an additional 3 units of energy, your sensor range will be increased by 33%.

Deep Scanners can also be used at close range to scan an enemy ship for hidden items. If your Deep Scan is on and you get close enough to an enemy ship that is hiding something, your Science Officer should inform you of what he has found.

Self Destruct

Activating the ship’s Self Destruct control will set your ship on a short 5-unit countdown to destruction. You may abort the countdown by Left-clicking on the control again.

Communications

The Communication Officer panel provides the Captain with access to a log of all previous communications. It also provides you with the opportunity to communicate with the Captains of other ships in the game.

[Insert picture of Communications panel]

Communications Buttons will appear at the bottom of the panel when it is possible to communicate with the currently targeted ship. Often a Captain at war will not have kind words for you. There are times, though, when communication is essential to completing a mission.

Do not forget that it is also possible to communicate with planets and bases as well as other ships. Remember to choose your words carefully. More than one war has been started by a poor choice of words.

The Communications panel can also be used to give orders to your crew to perform special functions. As an example, your Science Officer may tell you about the availability of a special probe. You would probably order him through the Communications panel to create this "special" item.

Security Officer

The Security Officer panel provides the Captain with the ability to order the ship’s Marines to perform either Hit and Run raids on the target ship, or to attempt to capture the ship outright. There are actually two separate screens available here which are selected via the Capture and Hit & Run toggle switches.

There are a finite number of Marines aboard your ship, so use them wisely. Marines have high attrition during both Hit and Run Raids and Capturing actions.

All right Marine, take out that phaser bank on the bounce!

Hit and Run Raids

Beaming your Marines over to an enemy ship in order to destroy a particular ship’s system is called a Hit and Run raid. If the Hit & Run toggle is selected, you will be presented with a schematic of the enemy ship, showing all possible targets. Destroyed targets are shown as blacked out icons.

To perform a raid, simply choose your target by Left-Clicking on it to place it in the queue. When you are within a range of 5 to the chosen enemy ship and a downed shield is presented, your marines will beam aboard the enemy ship and try to destroy the selected system. An available, charged transporter is required for a raid.

Marines on the defending ship that are not otherwise occupied will provide protection for critical ship’s systems. Therefore, when your marines arrive, a firefight might ensue preventing destruction of the target.

Capturing Enemy Ships

When a ship has been damaged sufficiently, a capturing action may be appropriate. In a capturing action, you send as many of your marines as possible to the enemy ship in order to overwhelm the defending Marines and capture/destroy the target’s control facilities.

Left-click on the Capture toggle, when you are within transporter range (5 or 50,000km), to beam over your Marines to attempt to capture an enemy ship.

You can send over all available Marines by Left-clicking on the ALL MARINES button. If you wish to send over one Marine at a time, Left-Click on the individual Marines.

The progress of your capturing action will be shown at the top of the MFD (Multifunctional Display). The controlling race’s emblem is in the center of the display. To the left of that is the number of defending Marines and control spaces. To the right of that is the number of attacking Marines. A short period of time after the number of defenders is reduced to zero, and there are still attacking Marines remaining, the ship will be captured and the flag will change to the appropriate race.

If you capture a combat ship, it may be added to your fleet for the duration of the mission. If not, it will probably try to disengage by leaving the map.

Mines

Starships are capable of carrying mines for use against enemy targets. These mines may either by used as Transporter Bombs (see below) or they can be rolled out of a shuttle bay and laid as conventional mines.

To lay a mine, click on the deploy button in the Weapons Officer MFD, or press the "M" key. After deploying a mine, it will take a short period of time before the next one is prepared for laying.

After the mine is laid, your ship must move to a distance of 2 away before the mine will activate. When activated, the rings around the mine will change from green to red.

Transporters

The Transporter may also be used through the Transporter MFD to send items to and from your ship. Transporters can also be used to transport mines into space, creating Transporter Bombs.

The marvelous miracle machine, the Transporter.

Transferable objects

Items of interest may be available for transport to or from a ship. These will vary from the frequently present spare parts, to spies that can be useful during special missions.

In the BEAM OUT section are the items currently on your ship that you may beam to another ship (Marines not included). In the BEAM IN section are the items of interest on the currently targeted object.

When in transporter range (less than 5), you may transport an object to or from your ship by Left-clicking on the object and pressing the ENERGIZE button. In order to have a successful transport you must be in range to the object or target, the target must have no shield up in your direction, and you must have a transporter that is powered up and ready.

Transporter Bombs

Transporters may also be used to transport mines into space. When this is done the mines are called Transporter Bombs (T-Bombs).

T-Bombs can be placed by clicking on the T-Bomb icon, or by pressing the "B" key. This will change the mouse pointer to a large red X. When you move the mouse to a position in the 3-D display close enough to the ship to lay a mine, within a range of 5, the mouse pointer will change to a round reticle indicating you may transport a mine to that location. Left-click to transport the mine to that location in space. When you transport the mine, a shield will be automatically lowered to enable the transport.

To lay multiple T-Bombs in a short time, press the "B" key then hold down the shift key. As long as there are Transporter that are energized and Mines available, you can lay T-Bombs by Left-clicking at the desired location.

Shuttles

Shuttlecraft or shuttles will be available in differing quantities and types based upon your current starship type. You may launch these shuttles and depending on the type they will have different actions that they will be able to take.

Administrative shuttles and fighters are the only two types of shuttles that will naturally appear onboard your ship. If you want to have any of the additional types you will need to make them out of available parts and a standard Administrative shuttle.

To launch a shuttle you must choose a shuttle from the docked portion of the panel. Next you must give it an initial order: Attack Target, Harass Target, Defend Target or Defend Me (defend your ship). The final thing is to actually launch the shuttle by clicking on the launch button. If you should need your shuttle to re-dock click on the shuttle in the Active section and the click on Return.

Send your people out to die valiantly in these small unshielded craft.

Administrative Shuttles

Administrative shuttles are the common type of shuttlecraft and almost every starship comes equipped with at least one of these. They can be used in a pinch to help harass your enemy or defend your ship.

Shuttle Conversion

You may convert your administrative shuttles into Suicide Shuttles, Wild Weasels, Scatter-packs or Ground Attack Shuttles. To convert a shuttle you must have a shuttle and the required materials. To start a conversion click on the type of shuttle you want in the CONVERT TO box. Once the conversion is complete, the shuttle will reappear in the Shuttle panel.

The material required to convert an Administrative shuttle to the following types are:

Suicide Shuttle - 1 Mine.

Wild Weasel - 1 point of energy.

Scatter pack - Missiles.

Ground Attack Shuttle - Marines (not yet implemented).

The Shuttle Conversion panel

Tractor Beams

Tractor Beams may be used to anchor a ship close to your own (HOLD), for either combat reasons or to provide assistance, such as towing. You may also use your tractors to break free from some one who is holding you (REPEL). A single ship may either hold or repel. It cannot do both at the same time.

Grab your target with your tractors and then slap it around a bit.

From the Tractor MFD, you may set the power level from 1 to 5, set to HOLD or REPEL, and ENGAGE the beam. When you have set the power level and chosen HOLD or REPEL, you can then press ENGAGE. The actual beam will not engage until you are within a range of 2.5 from the target.

In order to hold a target, you must have tractor strength greater than your targets repel strength. To repel a holding action, your tractor strength must be at least equal to the enemy’s beam strength.

Once a target is held, it may be rotated to try and give the holder an advantage. This would most likely be used to rotate towards a downed shield or away from the majority of its weapons.

Repairs

As your ship is damaged, it will become necessary to perform repairs. There are two ways repairs can take place: automatically and deliberately, through the use of spare parts.

As your ship takes damage, your engineers spring into action and repair the engines and shield systems. There is no action that you as Captain need to take, and no allocation of men or materials need to be made. The engineers just slowly bring these items back to capacity.

You can take proactive measures to repair ship’s systems by using spare parts which come standard with your ship and may also be purchased separately. These spare parts appear as 'screws' in both the Engineering Officer MFD and the Transporter MFD.

To begin manual repairs, go to the Engineering Officer MFD and Left-click on a Damaged or Destroyed system. If there are still spare parts available, it will be placed in the queue to begin repairs. If it is the first in the queue, repairs will begin and proceed until the item is restored to full capacity.

To repair ships in a more timely manner if spare parts are available, Left-click on the REPAIR ENGINES button at the top of the screen. The Repair of engines this way may take place at the same time as the repair of other damaged systems in the queue.

You want it when?

Cloaking Device

The Cloaking Device is a defensive weapon in use by the Romulans, Orion Pirates, and a few Klingon vessels. While a ship is cloaked it is invisible to the naked eye, but can still be tracked by the ship’s motion scanners. A ship that is cloaked or in the process of cloaking/uncloaking may not fire weapons.

The net effect of the Cloaking Device is not that the ship is totally invisible and can strike without warning, but rather that the enemy ships have a more difficult time hitting the target due to a lack of sensor lock-on. In fact, seeking weapons may not be fired at a cloaked ship and a cloaked ship will not detonate mines as long as it maintains a speed of 6 or less. In order to reap the benefits of the Cloaking device, a cloaked ship must maintain a low speed (usually 6 or less) to avoid being detected despite the cloak.

While a ship is cloaking and uncloaking it is vulnerable to enemy fire, as it does not enjoy the protection of being cloaked. In addition, during this period it cannot use its weapons, tractor or transporter systems.

The Cloaking Device may be activated from many places including the EW MFD and the Energy Management MFD. Using the "X" key will also activate it.

Energy

Energy is the life's blood of a starship, and the proper use of it can be the difference between victory and defeat. Starships have a limited amount of energy, and finding the proper balance between speed, weapons, and protection, is crucial to a successful campaign.

This crucial balance may be checked via the Energy Management MFD, where Power is the amount of energy your ship is producing, and Systems is the total amount of energy currently being used.

[Insert picture Energy Management MFD]

When there is not enough energy to fulfill all the demands placed on a ship by its various systems, the Engineering Officer prioritizes the delivery of energy. This ensures that the vital systems get the energy they need and the least important are shut out until the extra is available. The priority list from highest to lowest is provided below.

1. Life Support 7. Heavy Weapons

2. Fire Control 8. Sensors

3. Cloaking Device 9. Transporters

4. Shields 10. Tractors

5. Speed 11. Shield Reinforcement

6. Phasers 12. Batteries

Fleet Control

The eventual command of more than one ship is a logical step in the career of a Captain. Once enough experience and prestige is gained, there will be the opportunity to acquire command of a second and eventually a third ship.

To control additional ships in battle, an additional interface is required. The Fleet Control panel allows you to control the actions of the other ships in your fleet.

Fleet Control MFD

The Fleet Control MFD must be selected in order to issue orders to your fleet. The Fleet Control MFD allows you to jump to direct control of a particular ship. To jump to the command of another ship in your fleet, click on the square to the right of that ship’s name in the Fleet Control MFD.

Take Command using the Fleet Control MFD.

The Fleet Control MFD also allows you to determine if a particular ship will be a member of your formation and be controlled by the Fleet Control panel. To release a ship from your formation, Left-click on the participation toggle to the right of the ship’s name. To return a ship to the formation, Left-click on the toggle again.

Fleet Control Panel

The Fleet Control panel appears in the main tactical 3-D view and is broken up into two logical parts. The first part appears on the right of the screen and is the Formation Selection control. The second part is the Formation Detail control and there is a Detail control for each ship in your fleet.

Formation Selection Control The Formation Selection control lets you choose which formation the ships in your fleet will adhere to. There are several to choose from, including lines and chevrons. To switch to a different formation, Left-click on the desired formation. There are variants of each formation available by Left-clicking on the formation a second time. There are so many formations to choose from, it makes it hard to decide. Formation Detail Control There are four different areas in the Formation Detail control. These allow you to control your offensive options, see the current assignment target and health of that target, set the level of discipline within the fleet, and finally control the weapons status within your fleet. Your Offensive Options for the current target are to destroy, capture, or defend it. There is a final button that can be used independently of the others to order a ship to tractor its target. The current condition of the fleet ship is also displayed here along with the ships name. Caption: Set your fleets tasks and weapons settings here. The Ship State panel shows the ship’s current target, the target’s condition and the task that the ship is performing on that target. The Formation Disciple control allows you to determine how ships in formation will behave. All ships in the formation will fly in formation. In a loose formation, the ship will choose its own targets and firing time. In a Medium formation, a ship will attack your target but pick the time it thinks is optimal for firing. In a tight formation, the ship will attack your chosen target but will only fire its weapons when the Fire Now button is pressed. The Fire Now button will fire all available ship’s weapons at the selected target immediately. The final sets of controls are the Weapons State controls. These allow you to set the weapons on each ship in your fleet to: offline, normal, overload, and special if a special mode exists, such as proximity photons. The final button orders the ship to go to maximum ECM, or if equipped with a cloaking device, orders it to cloak.

Terrain

Space is often thought of as a void. For the most part this is correct, however, the high speeds traveled make the few objects that do exist more of a problem. Another factor to consider is that many engagements in Starfleet Command take place near important landmarks, like planets.

Planets

Planets are large celestial objects. A collision with one will put a quick end to even the most promising of careers. They provide cover from weapons fire and prevent detection by sensors. Planets may also have defensive weapons and shields.

Suns

Due to the large amount of radiation created by a system’s sun, it is very dangerous to approach one. They damage objects out to a range of 60,000km. As the range to a sun gets closer, the damaging effects can quickly become fatal.

Asteroids and Dust Clouds

Smaller than planets, asteroids are still large interstellar objects. Like planets, collisions with them will almost certainly be deadly. They also block line of sight, preventing weapons fire and sensor detection through them.

Asteroids are surrounded by dust clouds. These clouds are often found free floating (separate from asteroids) and are made up of various materials. An impact with a dust cloud is not instant death, though moving at high speeds through them can deplete your shields and damage your starship. Therefore, low speeds are encouraged while traversing dust clouds.

Black Holes

Who can explain the great enigma that is a Black Hole? If your starship encounters the gravity pull of one these objects, you just might be able to. That is, if you didn't die after your starship was pulled apart then compacted down to nothing before its journey through it.

Nebulas

Nebulas are very large interstellar phenomena covering vast expanses of space. They provide a natural 9 point ECM bonus to all units within them. While inside a nebula, shields operate only at minimum levels, shuttles that are launched are destroyed, seeking weapons are damaged as they fly to their targets, and sensor and deep scan ranges are halved. Cloaking Devices, ESGs, Mines, Probes, Tractor Beams, and Transporters are all useless while inside a nebula.