Double-click on the
setup file to install the SFC vol. II demo.á
Please take the default directory path as this will enable correct game
startup via the Mplayer.com matching service.á
Before running SFC
II, run Configure 3D Acceleration to setup the game for use with your video
card.
When you first
start the game you will presented with two choices.á If you chose Single Player you will be able to play the tutorials
and learn how to play Starfleet Command Volume II.á 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 .á To choose either
Left-click on the appropriate button.
The tutorials will
teach you the basics of how to play Starfleet Command Vol. II.á 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.
When you are ready
to go into combat choose Multiplayer you will then be presented with the Game
Connections screen.á If you want to play
on MPlayer via the Internet Left-click oná
LOG IN under Standard Multiplayer.á
This will close your session of Starfleet Command Volume II (this is a
planned event and no cause for alarm).á
You will then be prompted to log onto MPlayer.com using your existing
MPlayer username and password.á You can
also create a new account at this time.á
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.á This will change to OK, I'm
Ready!.á When the host sees the OK by
the other players name they can click on Launch Game to start a game.á
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.á When everyone is ready you
will see OK by the other players name then click on Launch Game to start a
game.á
The host will be taken to the Create Multiplayer Game screen.á From here you can set the game speed (pace of the game) and choose the map on which you wish to play.á You should give your game a unique name and type it in the Game Name box.á 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.á 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.á From this screen you can choose which of the
four empires available in the demo, Federation, Klingon, ISC or Mirak.á To change your empire from the default of
the Federation, Left-click on the arrow just to the right of your STAR EMPIRE
box.á 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.á 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.á 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.á 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.á When this
button is clicked the game will begin.
If you would like
to play Demofest without having to go online, you may play against the
computer.á To start a single player
game, Left-click on MULTIPLAYER at the Select Game screen.á On the Game Connections screen, there is a
TCP/IP button which is found under LAN Connections Left-click on it.á At the Select Game screen Left-click on the
CREATE button.á Select Demofest, set
your game settings as desired and Left-click on announce.á
The Multiplayer
Startup screen is where you will change settings to allow you to play against
the computer.á 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.á
You can then change the STAR EMPIRE for that team.á 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.á
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).á 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.
Once you have
accepted a mission you will be transported to the tactical screen.á From here you will command your ship, and
eventually, a fleet of up to three ships.á
Take a quick look around the screen.á
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.á We will
take a step-by-step approach in learning to use your shipÆs systems.
The 3d Tactical
view
RANGE AND TURNS
All ranges and
distances will be stated in standard units.á
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.á The way ranges are calculated
is as follows: A range includes the area from the actual number up to just
before the next range.á 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.á
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.á 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.á Once at
Red Alert, the shields will come up and shipÆs battle systems will come on line
and begin charging.á
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.á You have just targeted an enemy vessel, if
any are in range.á 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.á Above the ship is your targeting lock-on indicator.á This tells you if your shipÆs computer has a
good æfixÆ on your target for fire control purposes.á If the word "Allied" appears above this, your current
target is an ally.á Not to fear, your
ships computer will prevent you from accidentally firing upon an allied
ship.áá Below the ship will be given its
class and your current range to the vessel.á
Tap on the "Y" key to cycle through the enemy ships, taking
note of their ranges.á The final item of
information is the targetÆs current speed.á
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.á
The next item you
will want to take care of is giving your ship some speed.á At the bottom middle of the Tactical screen
is the speed bar.á
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.á Alternatively, using the "S" key to accelerate and the
"A" key to decelerate can control your shipÆs speed.á As you change your speed, you will notice
that there is a marker set at your desired speed.á Your ship may take some time to reach this speed due to
acceleration rates.á You may also never
reach a desired speed due to power limitations, particularly after taking
damage during a battle.á 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.á
If you Left-click on an enemy ship, your heading will change to put you
on a course directly for that ship.á As
you begin a turn, you will notice an arc that has appeared between your current
heading and your desired heading.á 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.á
The Turn Rate determines how long it will take a particular ship to
complete a 180-degree turn.á The lower
the Turn Rate, the faster the turn will be completed.á 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.á This is the amount of energy required to move the ship.á 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.
á
Emergency Deceleration
Emergency
Deceleration uses the warp engines to quickly bring your ship to a complete
stop.á This can be a useful tactic to
help keep your ship in a desirable location that would otherwise be
overshot.á 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.á This causes your ship to move back and forth
in an unpredictable pattern.á This makes
your ship harder to hit.á Your ship also
feels the affect of EM in that your own weaponÆs ability to hit their targets
is equally degraded.á The cost of
performing EM is six points of movement energy.á The use of EM puts the following restrictions on your ship:
ááááááááááá No shuttles, fighters, missiles, or
plasma torpedoes can be launched.
ááááááááááá Mines cannot be laid, nor can
tractor beams be used.
Your
ship is more difficult to turn.á The
turn rate of your ship is increased by one.
High
Energy Turns are more difficult to accomplish.á
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 OfficerÆs control.á He will attempt to plot the best course
towards the current target.á You will
retain control of the shipÆs 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.á
There are two basic
types of ship-mounted weapons in Starfleet Command: Phasers and Heavy
Weapons.á All Starships have at least
one type of Phaser and usually have at least one type of Heavy Weapon.á Your shipÆs weapons and their current status
can be found in the Tactical Ship Schematic and System Multi-Function Display
(MFD).ááá 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.á
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.á Phasers are Direct Fire Weapons, which means
that they hit or miss instantaneously when fired.á There are five different type of Phasers, four of these are
carried onboard Starships.á 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.á 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.á All shipboard Phaser types take 1 point of
energy to fire except the Type III, which takes 1/2 point.á The final type of Phaser is the Type
IV.á 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.á Instead, there is a Phaser Capacitor that
stores the energy in a pool.á 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.á
They come in many different types based upon the Race of the ship that
carries them.á There are two different
classes of Heavy Weapons: Direct Fire and Seeking Weapons.á
Direct Fire Weapons
are weapons that hit or miss, instantaneously when fired.á Examples of Direct Fire Weapons are
Disruptors, Fusion Beams, Hellbore Cannons, Photon Torpedoes, and the Plasmatic
Pulsar Device.áá
Disruptors are the
primary heavy weapons used by the Klingons, Lyrans, and as support weapons by
the Mirak.á Disruptors take two units of
energy and one turn to arm.á Once armed,
it takes 2 units of energy per turn to hold a Disruptor until fired.á 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.á
Fusion Beams take 2 units of energy and one turn to arm.á After firing a Fusion Beam, the weapon must
be cooled for one turn before arming.á
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.á Hellbore Cannons take 3 units of energy for 2 turns to arm.á Once armed it takes 3 units of energy per
turn to hold a Hellbore Cannon until fired.á
Hellbore Cannons have a maximum range of 40 and are most effective at
ranges of 15 or less.á 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.á Photon Torpedoes take 2 units of energy for 2 turns to arm.á Once armed, it takes 1 unit of energy per
turn to hold a Photon Torpedo until fired.á
Photon Torpedoes have a maximum range of 30.á Photons are most effective at ranges of 8 or less.á 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.á The PPD takes 4
units of energy for 2 turns to arm.á
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.á 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 are
weapons that, after being fired, must seek or travel to their target before
detonating.á Seeking Weapons may be
degraded or even destroyed before they reach their target.á 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.á
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.á They have speeds that
vary from 12 to 34, and will track the target for 3 turns before running out of
fuel.á 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.á Plasma Torpedoes come in many types, and in
normal mode, they all take three turns to arm.á
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.á 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.á 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 ôFö type) until they eventually degrade down
to a strength of 1 when at maximum range.áá
The Expanding
Sphere Generator (ESG) is neither a Direct Fire nor a Seeking Weapon, but a
different breed of cat altogether.á The
ESG is used by the Lyrans as both an Offensive and Defensive heavy weapon.á The ESG creates an energy sphere around the
firing ship that will damage enemy ships and weapons that come in contact with
it.á The ESG may have its diameter set
from 0 to 3 units.á 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.á For example Photon Torpedoes may be fired in
Normal, Overload and Proximity mode.
Firing Arcs
Each weapon has a
specific firing arc.á This is the
direction relative to the forward portion of the ship (bow) that the weapon can
fire.á There are many different arcs,
and your weapons may use any of them or a combination of several arcs.á There are two simple ways to tell which arc
a weapon may fire in.á 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.áá
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.ááá The states are as follows: destroyed,
stunned, discharged, charging, and fully charged.á When a weapon is destroyed, it may no longer fire unless first
repaired, and while down, it will no longer use any energy.á 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.á An icon that is a light color
than usual indicates a discharged weapon.áá
A weapon that is charging is indicated by a darker shade of the same
color filling the icon from left to right.á
The progress of this change from light to dark will indicate to you the
progress of the charge.á 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.á 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.á In the heat of battle, though,
this is not an acceptable solution.á To
remedy this, four hot-keys have been provided to allow you to automatically
select your favorite weaponsÆ groupings.á
These are the "1", "2", "3" and
"4" keys located on the top row of the keyboard (note: not the
ten-key pad).á As you press each of
these, you will see the selected weapons, indicated by the brackets surrounding
the corners of the weapon icons.á You
may change these groups to reflect your personal taste.á When allocating a hot key, select the
grouping you want using the Left-click and Shift+Left-click method described
above.á 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.á
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.á 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.á
To fire all selected weapons in one massive volley known as an
Alpha-Strike, hold down the "Shift" key and press the "Z"
key.
When weapon fire
hits a target, the first thing it will damage are the ships shields.á When a ship is brought to Red Alert, the
shields are raised to normal levels.á
The shipÆs shields are not a single entity; instead they are six
separate arcs that work together to protect the ship.á Once one of these shields has been destroyed, weapons fire can
reach the ship through that shieldÆs arc, and do internal damage.
Once weapon fire
goes through a downed shield, internal damage occurs to that ship.á Internal damage will be spread out over all
the ships systems.á ShipÆs 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.á 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.á These are Command 190 and
Command 290.á 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 shipÆs chance to hit your ship.á 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.á It is a form of jamming which the
shipÆs 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 shipÆs attempt to break through the
jamming of ECM.á 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.á If you use more ECM than your opponent uses ECCM, you produce a
Net ECM Shift.á 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 targetÆs ECM.á 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).á At the beginning
of an encounter, this number is usually six.á
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.á 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.á 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, youÆd better keep
a close eye on your opponentÆs ECM.á
Shield Reinforcement
Shields may be
reinforced to provide extra protection to the shield arcs that you expect to
come under enemy fire.á To reinforce a
shield, you must Left-click on that shield in the Shield System MFD.á Then, you must allocate the desired amount
of reinforcement by moving the Reinforcement slider to the right.á 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.á You may Left-Click on the ship in the center
of the arc selector to toggle to select all shields, or no shields.á
As you select more
than one shield, the amount of energy allotted becomes diluted over the
selected shields.á When all are
selected, shields share only ╜ 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.á 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.áá 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.á The shuttle
will draw all enemy seeking weaponÆs 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.
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.á When launched, they will travel to the target, and then provide a
glimpse of the targetÆs internal configuration.
Probes may also be
converted into crude weapons using the Scan/Weapon toggle.á They take two units of energy to arm, have a
maximum range of 6, and can only be fired directly ahead of the ship.á Despite all this, a resourceful Captain can
still make effective use of them.
Special Probes may
become available from time to time.á
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.á 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.á 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
shipÆs Self Destruct control will set your ship on a short 5-unit countdown to
destruction.á You may abort the
countdown by Left-clicking on the control again.
The Communication Officer
panel provides the Captain with access to a log of all previous
communications.á 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.á
Often a Captain at war will not have kind words for you.á There are times, though, when communication
is essential to completing a mission.á
Do not forget that
it is also possible to communicate with planets and bases as well as other
ships.á Remember to choose your words
carefully.á 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.á As an example, your Science
Officer may tell you about the availability of a special probe.á You would probably order him through the
Communications panel to create this "special" item.
The Security
Officer panel provides the Captain with the ability to order the shipÆs Marines
to perform either Hit and Run raids on the target ship, or to attempt to
capture the ship outright.á 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.á 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 shipÆs system is
called a Hit and Run raid.á If the Hit
& Run toggle is selected, you will be presented with a schematic of the
enemy ship, showing all possible targets.á
Destroyed targets are shown as blacked out icons.áá
To perform a raid,
simply choose your target by Left-Clicking on it to place it in the queue.áá 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.á An available, charged transporter is
required for a raid.
Marines on the
defending ship that are not otherwise occupied will provide protection for
critical shipÆs systems.á 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.áá 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 targetÆs 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.á 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).á The controlling raceÆs emblem
is in the center of the display.á To the
left of that is the number of defending Marines and control spaces.á To the right of that is the number of
attacking Marines.áá 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.á If not, it will probably try
to disengage by leaving the map.
Starships are
capable of carrying mines for use against enemy targets.á 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.á 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.á 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.ááá 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.á These will vary from the frequently present spare parts, to spies
that can be useful during special missions.á
In the BEAM OUT
section are the items currently on your ship that you may beam to another ship
(Marines not included).á 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.á 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.á
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.á This will change the mouse pointer
to a large red X.á 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.á Left-click to transport the mine to that location in space.á 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.á As long as there are Transporter
that are energized and Mines available, you can lay T-Bombs by Left-clicking at
the desired location.
Shuttlecraft or
shuttles will be available in differing quantities and types based upon your
current starship type.á 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.á 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.á Next you must give it an initial order:
Attack Target, Harass Target, Defend Target or Defend Me (defend your ship).á The final thing is to actually launch the
shuttle by clicking on the launch button.á
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.á
They can be used in a pinch to help harass your enemy or defend your
ship.
You may convert
your administrative shuttles into Suicide Shuttles, Wild Weasels, Scatter-packs
or Ground Attack Shuttles.á To convert a
shuttle you must have a shuttle and the required materials.á To start a conversion click on the type of
shuttle you want in the CONVERT TO box.á
Once the conversion is complete, the shuttle will reappear in the
Shuttle panel.
The material
required to convertá 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 may
be used to anchor a ship close to your own (HOLD), for either combat reasons or
to provide assistance, such as towing.á
You may also use your tractors to break free from some one who is
holding you (REPEL).á A single ship may
either hold or repel.á 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.á When you have set the power
level and chosen HOLD or REPEL, you can then press ENGAGE.á 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.á To repel a holding action,
your tractor strength must be at least equal to the enemyÆs beam strength.
Once a target is
held, it may be rotated to try and give the holder an advantage.á This would most likely be used to rotate
towards a downed shield or away from the majority of its weapons.
As your ship is
damaged, it will become necessary to perform repairs.á 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.á There is no action that you as
Captain need to take, and no allocation of men or materials need to be
made.á The engineers just slowly bring
these items back to capacity.
You can take
proactive measures to repair shipÆs systems by using spare parts which come
standard with your ship and may also be purchased separately.á 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.á If there are still
spare parts available, it will be placed in the queue to begin repairs.á 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
aá more timely manner if spare parts are
available, Left-click on the REPAIR ENGINES button at the top of the
screen.á 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?
á
The Cloaking Device
is a defensive weapon in use by the Romulans, Orion Pirates, and a few Klingon
vessels.á While a ship is cloaked it is
invisible to the naked eye, but can still be tracked by the shipÆs motion
scanners.á 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.á 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.á 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.á 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.á Using the "X"
key will also activate it.
Energy is the
life's blood of a starship, and the proper use of it can be the difference
between victory and defeat.á 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.á
[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.á This ensures that the vital systems get the
energy they need and the least important are shut out until the extra is
available.á The priority list from
highest to lowest is provided below.
1.áááááááá Life Supportááááááááááááááááááááááááá 7. áááááá Heavy
Weapons
2.áááááááá Fire Controláááááááááááááááááááááááááá 8. áááááá Sensors
3.áááááááá Cloaking Deviceáááááááááááááááááá 9.ááááááá Transporters
4.áááááááá Shieldsáááááááááááááááááááááááááááááááááá 10.áááááá Tractors
5.áááááááá Speedáááááááááááááááááááááááááááááááááááá 11.áááááá Shield Reinforcementá
6.áááááááá Phasersááááááááááááááááááááááááááááááááá 12.áááááá Batteries
The eventual
command of more than one ship is a logical step in the career of a Captain.á 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.á The Fleet Control panel allows you to
control the actions of the other ships in your fleet.
The Fleet Control
MFD must be selected in order to issue orders to your fleet.á The Fleet Control MFD allows you to jump to
direct control of a particular ship.á To
jump to the command of another ship in your fleet, click on the square to the
right of that shipÆs 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.á To release a ship from your formation,
Left-click on the participation toggle to the right of the shipÆs name.á To return a ship to the formation,
Left-click on the toggle again.
The Fleet Control
panel appears in the main tactical 3-D view and is broken up into two logical
parts.á The first part appears on the
right of the screen and is the Formation Selection control.á 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.á There are several to
choose from, including lines and chevrons.á
To switch to a different formation, Left-click on the desired
formation.á 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.áá There is a final button that can be used
independently of the others to order a ship to tractor its target.á The current condition of the fleet ship is
also displayed here along with the ships name. Caption:á Set
your fleets tasks and weapons settings here. The Ship State
panel shows the shipÆs current target, the targetÆs 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.á All ships in the formation
will fly in formation.á In a loose
formation, the ship will choose its own targets and firing time.á In a Medium formation, a ship will attack
your target but pick the time it thinks is optimal for firing.á In a tight formation, the ship will attack
your chosen target but will only fire its weapons when the Fire Now button is
pressed.á The Fire Now button will
fire all available shipÆs weapons at the selected target immediately. The final sets of
controls are the Weapons State controls.áá
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.á The final button
orders the ship to go to maximum ECM, or if equipped with a cloaking device,
orders it to cloak. |
|
Space is often
thought of as a void.á For the most part
this is correct, however, the high speeds traveled make the few objects that do
exist more of a problem.á Another factor
to consider is that many engagements in Starfleet Command take place near
important landmarks, like planets.
Planets
Planets are large
celestial objects.á A collision with one
will put a quick end to even the most promising of careers.á They provide cover from weapons fire and
prevent detection by sensors.á Planets
may also have defensive weapons and shields.
Suns
Due to the large
amount of radiation created by a systemÆs sun, it is very dangerous to approach
one.á They damage objects out to a range
of 60,000km.á 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.á Like planets, collisions with them will
almost certainly be deadly.á They also
block line of sight, preventing weapons fire and sensor detection through
them.á
Asteroids are
surrounded by dust clouds.á These clouds
are often found free floating (separate from asteroids) and are made up of
various materials.á 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.á
Therefore, low speeds are encouraged while traversing dust clouds.
Black Holes
Who can explain the
great enigma that is a Black Hole?á If
your starship encounters the gravity pull of one these objects, you just might
be able to.á That is, if you didn't die
after your starship was pulled apart then compacted down to nothing before its
journey through it.
á
Nebulas
Nebulas are very
large interstellar phenomena covering vast expanses of space.á They provide a natural 9 point ECM bonus to
all units within them.á 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.á
Cloaking Devices, ESGs, Mines, Probes, Tractor Beams, and Transporters
are all useless while inside a nebula.