Copyright: © 1995 Malfador Machainations


Contents
 Space Empires II

The following Help Topics are available:

Overview

Galactic Structure

Game Play

Control Windows

The following are the different control windows used in the game. Click on an item to jump to a description and picture of that window:

Game Options

Tactical Window

Sector Info Window

Ship Selection Window

Ship Design Window

Purchases Window

Combat

Combat Window

Fire Control Window

Ship Actions

Q&A

Registration

Legal Stuff

For Help on Help, Press F1


Overview

Space Empires II is a game of galactic conquest where the goal is to build your empire to span the galaxy and eliminate all obstacles in your path. You do so by designing and building starships which travel the galaxy and extend your sphere of influence. As time progresses, your empire will expand by exploring solar systems and depositing colonies. You will encounter in your exploration other star-faring races and empires. Your empire is yours to lead as you see fit. You may choose to peacefully coexist, or conquer your enemies.

The backbone of any empire are the populations that comprise it. As your ships move out into the galaxy and explore its solar systems, you will take your populations out with you and form colonies on planets. The sizes of colonies are outpost, colony, and settlement, and each has a maximum population that it can support. This population in turn determines how much money the planet generates for the empire. The money that a planet generates is based on its population and the inherent value of the planet. As your empire colonizes more and more planets, the empire will have more money coming in to spend on purchases.

The workforce of an empire is its fleet of starships. The lifecycle of a starship is to be designed, purchased, built, and then maintained. Designing a starship is making a blueprint for the ship which specifies what size it is and what components it contains. Once a design for a starship has been created, the ship can then be purchased. An empire uses the money it collects from its colonies to spend on these starships. When purchasing the starship, you must decide where it will be built. Starships can only be built by space yards or around planets with settlements. Once you purchase a starship, it will be created on the next turn in the location you specify. When a starship is newly created, it is just a hulk in space. It needs to be constructed by your space yards. The more spaceyards you have present, the more components will be repaired each turn. Once a starship has a few engines built, you can then move it out into the galaxy. Starships require periodic upkeep and materials to be able to continue operating. Your empire provides these materials by paying a maintenance cost for each of your ships every turn.

Your empires current level of technical sophistication is represented by your Tech Level. An empires Tech Level dictates the ability that empire has to build ships and the components that go in them. As an empires Tech Level increases, it is able to build larger ships with more advanced weapons. Tech Levels can be purchased by your empire each turn for a sizable cost. Remember, a few very advanced ships can destroy 10 times as many less advanced ships.

Yours is not the only sentient race in the galaxy. Other star-faring races have also evolved and have decided to move out amongst the stars. Each game of Space Empires can have from 1 to 4 human players participating. In addition to the human players, there can be computer players as well. There are a maximum of 4 empires allowed in the game. Therefore, if you have 3 human players, you can only have 1 computer player. In addition to the computer players, there are also neutral players that exist in the galaxy. All neutral players are computer controlled. Neutral races are the same as the 4 empires but they do not have a desire to conquer the galaxy. Neutral players will not move outside of their own solar system.

Space Empires II can be played by a mix of both human and computer players. If more than one human player is involved then the following guidelines should be followed. Each player should take his turn alone, without any other player present to see the screen. Since each player has his own unique view of the galaxy, other players obtaining this information would have an unfair advantage. You can provide other players with information, but this should be done through messages in the game. The only exception to this rule is in combat. When combat occurs, all involved players should be present at the computer to give orders to their ships. When combat is concluded, which ever players turn it is should be left alone to finish his turn.


Galactic Structure

The galaxy consists of a multitude of solar systems which contain a variety of stars and planets. Space travel between planets was an early development in the technology of most races. Unfortunately, the great distances between solar systems prevented inter-system travel. In the year 2495, a startling discovery of weak points in the fabric of space were uncovered. These warp points were found to connect solar systems and allowed travel between them. Starships were equipped with sensors to detect and navigate through these warp points. Thus the empires of the galaxy set out to explore and expand...

The various systems of the galaxy are connected by a network of warp points running between them. By traversing the points, your starships can make their way into new systems and move throughout the galaxy. The solar systems of the galaxy are comprised of many different spacial bodies like stars , planets, asteroids, and storms. Your empire can place colonies on planets and asteroids thereby deriving money from them. Stars in solar systems can be of various colors and stages in their life-cycle. When a star dies, it takes all life in the solar system with it.

As your ships proceed into the galaxy, your map of the galaxy will be filled out. You begin the game only knowing your own solar system, its warp points, and its location in the galaxy. When your ships move into a new solar system, it will appear on your map of the galaxy. When you view a solar system, you will see all spacial bodies that are contained within it. You will also see any ships or colonies you own. If you have ships or colonies in a solar system, then they will be able to scan and detect any enemy ships or colonies present in that system. Therefore, if you have no ships or colonies in a solar system, you will not see any enemy ships or colonies in that system even if they are present. Though you can scan enemy ships and detect their size and class, you will be unable to detect their exact weapons and capabilities until you are in combat with them.


Game Play

Game play is turn based where each player takes turns giving orders to their empire. An average turn would go something like this:

News and events are displayed

If any news worthy items happened since your last turn, they will be reported. If there are messages from other empires to you, they will be displayed now.

Orders for ships are automatically executed

Any orders youve given to your ships will be performed. The Tactical Window will display the ships as they move through the galaxy.

Review of purchase log

From the Tactical Window, you can select Purchase Log from the Logs menu. This log will show you all the purchases that you made last turn and how much they cost. This report will let you know if you were unable to purchase a selected item for monetary reasons.

Review of repair log

From the Tactical Window, you can select Repair Log from the Logs menu. This log will show you all the repairs that were made last turn. It is important to know what ships your spaceyards were repairing and where they are.

Design new ships

From the Tactical Window, you will select Create Design from the Empire menu. This will bring up the Ship Design  Window. Typically, when ever you gain a new Tech Level, you will want to design a few new classes to take advantage of the new weapons. Its also a good idea to create new starship designs when you know what your enemys weaknesses are.

Move ships / Colonize Planets / Issue orders / Attack enemies

This is where you will spend the majority of your time in a turn. You will now move your ships through the galaxy and perform various Ship Actions . This sometimes involves a little combat...

Send messages to other players

From the Tactical Window, you can select Send Message from the Empire menu. This is when you want to send messages to other Empires to express your mutual affection...

Select purchases

From the Tactical Window, you will select Purchase Items from the Empire menu. This will bring up the Purchases Window  where you can select the purchases your empire will make before the next turn. You will typically go into this window every turn to purchase new starships for your empire.

End turn

From the Tactical Window, you will select End Turn. This ends your turn and proceeds to the next players turn. When you end your turn certain functions are performed for your empire. Purchases are executed which will create new ships at their selected destinations. Space Yards will repair any damaged ships that are located in the same sector. Ships will regain their movement points. Money for your empire will be collected. Populations will increase.


Game Options

Empires allowed in the same system

This option will allow the galaxy generator to place empire homeworlds in the same solar system.

Empires positioned in separate quadrants of the galaxy

If this option is selected, the galaxy generator will place the homeworlds of the various empires in separate sections of the galaxy.

Neutral players allowed

Neutral players are computer controlled races that you will encounter in the galaxy. Neutral players are distinct from empires in the fact that they will not leave their home solar system. This option dictates whether there will be any neutral players in the galaxy.

Starting Tech Level for Empires

This option specifies the Tech Level that each empire will begin at. Note: Neutral players can begin at any tech level.

Chance for Warp Points

As the galaxy generator creates a new galaxy, it will connect the solar systems with random warp points. This option will dictate the number of warp points there will be in the galaxy.

All Warp Points must be connected

This option specifies if all the solar systems of the galaxy will be connected in a wide net of warp points. With this selected, there will be a path from any solar system to any other solar system. Typically, this option is selected. If this is un-selected, then the galaxy will be connected in groups of solar systems. The only way you will be able to reach all of the solar systems is to develop the technology to open warp points.

Computer Difficulty

Computer difficulty influences all empires and neutral players controlled by the computer. The higher the setting, the more intelligent the computer will be in its strategy, ship design, and combat.

Class Name Files

When creating new ship class (design), you must select a name for that class. You can type in a new name, or select a name from the drop-down list of class names. This list of class names comes from the text files that are specified here. If you wish to create your own class name file, you can specify it here.


Tactical Window

The Tactical Window is the master control center for running your empire. The window is divided into five areas: System Display (left top), Galaxy Display (right top), Sector Description (left bottom), Command Buttons (right bottom), and the Tactical Menu at the top of the window. Along the top of this window is the main menu, your empires name, your player number, and the current Turn.

System Display

The system display shows the currently selected solar system from the galaxy map. The various planets, ships, and colonies are displayed in each sector of the solar system. As you  left-click the mouse on different sectors in the display, a cyan square will show which sector is currently selected. When you select a sector, the Sector Description will change and show you information about the selected sector. When you right-click on a sector, the Sector Info WIndow will be displayed. The Sector Info window shows both the sector description information and a list of all the ships that are in that sector.

Ships can appear in one of two ways. If ships are located in empty space, then they will be represented by that empires icon. If the ships are located in a sector which contains a planet, warp point, or star, then a mini icon for that empire will appear in the upper left-hand corner of the sector. A sector is surrounded by a square of the same color as the empire who owns it. A solid square is a visible ship, a dotted line is a cloaked ship. Warp points on the System Display will have the name of the system they connect to displayed under them.

Colonies on the System Display are displayed as colored bars located in the upper right-hand corner of the sector. One bar for an outpost, two bars for a colony, and three bars for a settlement. The color bars and the square will both be the color of the empire that owns it.

Galaxy Display

The galaxy display is a computer generated model of the systems of the galaxy and their connections. Each solar system is represented by a circle with the solar systems name just to the lower right of the circle. The warp points from the solar system are represented by lines stretching out from the circle to various parts of the galaxy. The map will only show solar systems that you have explored with your ships. Often times you will see lines stretching out and then ending in nothing. This represents a warp point that you have not sent ships through yet.

Left-clicking the mouse on a circle (solar system) will make that system the currently selected solar system. The currently selected solar systems circle will change to a cyan color. When you select a solar system, it will be displayed in the System Display. A complete version of the Galaxy Display is obtainable by selecting Show Galaxy Map from the Map menu on the Tactical Window.

Circles on the galaxy map display a range of colors. If you have never entered a solar system, then its circle will not be displayed on the galaxy map. If you have been in a system but no longer have any ships or colonies in the system, then the circle will be dark gray in color. Each empire that has ships or colonies in a system will have its color displayed in the circle that represents it. Therefore, if both player 1 and 2 have ships in a system, the color of the circle will be half red and half green. Remember: you can only see ships and colonies in systems where you have a ship or colony. When you have no ships or colonies in a system, the circle will always be dark gray and you will not see anything but space bodies when you view it in the System Display.

Sector Description

The sector description provides information about the currently selected sector. It will tell you the sector number of the sector selected and a description of any spacial bodies that are in that sector. If there is a planet or asteroids in the selected sector, then the sector description will also tell you the name of the planet and the inherent value of it.

Command Buttons

The command buttons are short-cuts to issue commands to your empire. Each of the command buttons represent one of the Ship Actions that you can perform from under the Ships menu on the Tactical Window. When you press one of these buttons you will get the Ship Selection Window which will allow you to choose the ships in the selected sector that you wish to perform the action with. You can skip the Ship Selection Window by pressing Shift when you click the command button. When you hold Shift and click on a command button, you are instructing the computer to use all available ships for the action.

Tactical Menu

The Tactical menu presents a menu interface to all command options available. The structure of the menu is as follows:

File

Load  	Brings up the Load game window so you can choose a saved game to load up.

Save  	Brings up the Save Game window so you can choose a game slot and name your saved game.

AutoSave  	This selection turns on the autosave feature which will autosave your game every so many turns. You can select how often it should save.

Exit  	This will exit Space Empires II.

Empire

Purchase Items	This selection brings up the Purchases Window .

View Designs	Brings up the View Designs Window. This window will allow you to view all of the designs that you have created. You can also mark designs as being obsolete. This will prevent the design from showing up on the Purchases Window.

Create Design	This selection brings up the Ship Design Window .

Repair Options	This will bring up the Repair Options Window. This window will allow you to select the priority of different criteria when space yards decide who they will repair in a turn.

Status	This selection brings up the Empire Status window. This window will give you status information about your empire.

Send Message	Brings up the Send Message Window. This window will allow you to send messages to other empires in the game.

Ships

The actions covered here are discussed in Ship Actions .

Info

Sector Info	This will bring up the Sector Info Window  for the selected sector.

All Ships	This will bring up the All Ships Window. This window gives information about all of your ships and where they are located.

Colonies	This will bring up the Colonies Window. This window gives information about all of you colonies like what its population and money generation is.

Map

Names On	This option will determine if names are displayed on the Galactic Map when it is shown.

Show Map	This will bring up the Galactic Map Window. This window is a complete view of the galaxy which you dont have to scroll. You can resize this window to fit your display.

Logs

Purchases	This will bring up the Purchases Log Window. This window will show you what purchases you successfully made last turn.

Repair	This will bring up the Repair Log Window. This window will show you the repairs that were made and where last turn.

News 	This will bring up the News and Events Window. This window will show you the news and events that occurred since your last turn. This window will automatically come up at the beginning of your turn if there is something to report.

Next Ship	This selection will cycle to the next ship you own that has movement points remaining.

End Turn	This will end your turn and go to the next players turn.

Help	This provides access to the Help file.


Sector Info Window

This window will be displayed when you right click on a sector in the Tactical Window. It shows you the description for the current sector and what ships are present. Each ship shows which empire it belongs to, its name, and an abbreviation for its size. The abbreviations for size are shown in the Ship Design Window . For ships which you own, two more columns will be displayed giving information. The second column of the list will show you how many movement points that ship has left. The third column will show you what class type the ship is. You can select any ship that you own from the list and press the Ship Info button to see more detailed information about that ship.


Ship Selection Window

The Ship Selection window is presented any time you select a sector and select a Ship Action . This window will display all ships that are present in the selected sector which can perform the selected ship action. You then select which ships you wish to use, and press OK. If you wish to cancel the action that you selected, you can just un-select all ships on the list and press OK.

Some examples of available ships are:

If you select Move, the ships that will be displayed will be any ships that you own in the selected sector which have movement points remaining.

If you select Colonize, the ships that will be displayed will be any ships that you own in the selected sector which have colony modules and movement points remaining.


Ship Design
Ship Design Window

Through this window you will be able to design your ship classes. The window is divided into 3 sections: Current Design (on the left), Ship Systems Available (on the right), and Command buttons (at the bottom).

Current Design

The left side of the Ship Design Window shows your current ship design. Your first decision when making a ship design is to pick the size of the ship class you wish to design. This will govern how many spaces you have available to fill, and how much your starting cost is. When you change this, any systems on the ship will be removed. Class Type is an optional description for your ship to put it into a general classification. The class type of your ship will show up on the Sector Info Window . Class Name is the name that will represent this class that you have designed. Class Name can be either typed in or selected from the list of sample class names.

Ship Systems Available is a list of ship systems (components) that have been placed on your ship. You select a system from the Ship Systems Available list, then press the Add button to put it on your ship. The Remove button removes the selected system from your ship class. Move Up and Move Down will move the systems on your ship into different positions on your ship. The position of ship systems on your ship is very important. When your ship takes damage, ship systems will be destroyed in the order that they appear. Therefore, the most important systems on your ship should be placed at the bottom of the list.

The Cost of your ship class will change as you add shields and ship systems. When you have completed your ship class, the Cost will show the amount that you will have to pay to purchase a ship of this class. Space Left is something that will govern your entire design process. It reflects the amount of space you have left in the ship and how much it started with. Speed is how many movement points you will receive at the beginning of every turn. This is based on the number of engines you have divided by the Engines per 1 movement. Engines per 1 movement is based on the size of your ship, it is how many engines are required to move the ship 1 sector. Shields of course are the defensive energy barrier around your ship. Each shield takes one space and has a cost of 1.

Ship Systems Available

The Ship Systems Available list is actually one of three lists. The option buttons at the top determine what list is shown. The three lists are the Component List, Weapon List, and Weapon Range List. At the bottom of the list is the Info button which displays the Ship Systems Info Window based on the component that is selected in the list.

The Component List shows all the components that are available for you to use based on your current Tech Level. The Component List shows the Tech Level of the component, its name, its cost, and its size. Components consist of Space Yards, Ion Engines, Fighter Bays, Colony Modules, ECM, Combat Sensors, and Multiplex Tracking.

The Weapon List shows all the weapons that are available for you to use based on your current Tech Level. The Weapon List shows the Tech Level of the weapon, its name, cost, size, range, damage, rate of firing, and decrease in damage every square moved. Rate of firing is how many turns will be taken by reloading/recharging the weapon until it can fire again. Therefore, a value of 1 means that the weapon will fire every other turn. The decrease in damage is used only for seeking weapons. Each square the seeking weapon moves, it loses this much damage when it hits.

The Weapon Range List shows the same weapons as the Weapon List, but this list shows the damage each weapon will do at various ranges. The ranges are in squares from the firing ship and the number listed is the damage that will be done if it hits.

Command Buttons

Save design is the completion of your ship design process. It will save the design under the current Class Name and you can then purchase it on the Purchases Window . Clear Design will clear the Ship Design Window so that you can start fresh. Done closes the Ship Design Window.


Purchases Window

This window allows you to select the items your empire wishes to purchase. First an item is selected from the Items Available List. Then a location in the Destination selection list is chosen. When you press Add Item, the Purchases list will show that you have purchased the item, and that it will be built at the location specified. The top of the window displays the amount of money (credits) that you have available to spend on this turn. The total amount that you have spent is shown at the bottom. In the middle is a display of the current Maintenance cost of all of your ships. If you spend more than you currently have, some items will not actually be purchased at the end of your turn. You can view the Purchase Log at the beginning of your turn to see exactly what was purchased.

All purchases are transacted when you end your turn. You purchases are not executed when you press Done on the Purchases Window. You can therefore go back and make any changes to your purchases that you wish during the course of your turn. Just be sure that they are correct when you end your turn. Since the possible destinations for your ships can move as space yards are moved out through the galaxy, it is highly advisable to make purchases at the very end of your turn. It is a good idea to completely move all of your ships before making purchases.

When ships are created they will be named according to their class and how many ships of this class have been produced. For example, the first ship of class Barracuda that you build will be named Barracuda 001, the second will be named Barracuda 002, etc.

Items Available

This list will display Tech Levels and ships that you can buy. All ships classes that you have designed will be listed here, except for the ones that you mark as obsolete in the View Classes Window. The amount of each ship you want to buy can be selected using the # to Purchase box. You can only purchase one Tech Level on a turn. If you wish to view the classes that are listed in the Items Available list, you can press the View Classes button to bring up the View Classes Window.

Destination

This list will display all locations that you can build ships at. You may only build ships in sectors where you have a spaceyard. Settlements have a built in spaceyard. The Destination list shows the system name followed by the name of the planet (if there is one) and the sector number in parenthesis.

Purchases

The Purchases list will display all of the purchases your empire wishes to make. When you select a purchase and a destination, and press the Add Item button, the purchase will be displayed on this list. When you select an item on the Purchases List, and press the Remove Item button, that item will be removed from the purchases list. The total amount shown at the bottom of the window is the sum of all of the items in the Purchases List and your current Maintenance cost for your ships. The maintenance cost for your ships is shown in the Maintenance box just above the Purchases List.

The Purchase List displays the system name and the sector number for the destination of the item first. The sector number is in parenthesis after the system name. Then theres a dash and the name of the item to be purchased. Following the name of the purchase item is a number in parenthesis. This is the # of items purchased. Then comes a C: and a number which is the total cost of this purchase.


Combat

The Combat Window will appear when enemy forces enter the same sector of space. This window is a zoom-in on that sector of space. The sector is divided up into 143 squares (an 11 by 13 grid) which track the movements of various ships. Ranges given for weapons are measured in the squares of the combat window. The Combat Window has 3 areas: the Sector Map (left side), the Ship List (right side), and the Combat Menu (top). A Combat Turn is divided into distinct phases which are discussed below. Combat will last for 20 combat turns. When 20 turns have expired, the attacker is forced to retreat.

Typically as you play Space Empires II, when you take your turn, no other player should be present to witness your actions. Combat is the exception to this. When Combat between you and another human player begins, both players should be present to move and command their ships. When combat is concluded, the other player should leave you alone to finish your turn.

Sector Map

The Sector Map displays all ships and spacial bodies that are present in the sector. When combat begins, the attackers and defenders are divided into separate sections. The defenders ships start at the top of the Sector Map, and the attackers start at the bottom and move up. The Sector Map displays ships by using the ships picture if the ship is alone in the square and displays the empires icon if there are multiple ships in the square. By clicking the Sector Map with the left mouse button, you can select a square. The currently selected square will be surrounded by a cyan square. When you select a square, the ships that are in that square will be displayed in the Ship List. The right mouse button has various effects depending on the current Combat Phase you are in. If this is the Place Ships Phase then the right mouse button is used to drag and drop ships onto the Sector Map from the selected ships on the Ship List. If this is the Movement Phase, then the right mouse button will select the square that you wish to move all selected ships to. If this is the Fire Phase, then the right mouse button will bring up the Fire Control Window  for all of your ships that are in that square.

Ship List

The Ship List will display all of the ships that are in the currently selected square. The Ship List allows you to select which ships in the currently selected square you wish to use for your next action. If you are placing ships, then you would select which ships you wish to place from the ones that are present. If you are moving ships, then you would select which ships you wish to move. The currently selected ships in the Ship List are surrounded by a cyan box. You may select ships by clicking on them or by pressing the Select All button. Ships may be un-selected in the same way.

Above the Ship List are displayed the current system, the sector, and the phase of the combat turn you are in. Below the Ship List are the Ship Info, Select All, and Next Phase buttons. The Ship Info button will display information about the currently selected ships on the Ship List. The selected ships can be either players. The Select All button will select all ships present in the Ship List. The Next Phase button will end the current phase and start the next combat phase. If this is the last combat phase, then the next combat turn will begin.

The Ship List provides information about the ships and colonies that are involved in combat. Each ship displayed has a picture, the ship name, class, and size, and the movement and damage points remaining. Colonies, seekers, and fighters have a subset of this information. You can only get Ship Info on starships and fighters, not seekers or colonies.

Combat Menu

The Combat Menu provides various useful selection in controlling the flow of combat. The structure of the menu is as follows:

Fire Control

All	Brings up the Fire Control Window  for all ships you own in combat.

Current Square	Brings up the Fire Control Window  for all of the ships in the currently selected square.

Targeting Options	Targeting options are used for when you have the computer Calculate Targets for your ships. The options govern whether these criteria should be taken into account when considering who to fire on. The default setting is to have them all on. The options are :

Fire on Nearest

Fire on Largest

No duplication of Targets

Calculate Targets Now	This will use the Targeting Options to calculate what the best fire pattern for your ships are. It will then target the weapons of your ships on these chosen targets.

Auto Calculate Targets	This option will let the computer automatically target your ships weapons for you at the beginning of every Fire Phase. You can still change these targetings if you wish.

Ships

Carriers - Launch Fighters	This command is only available for carriers. It will launch all of the fighters the carrier has on board (1 for each fighter bay).

Ranges	This will display a colored area around the currently selected ship which includes all squares that the ship can hit with at least one of its weapons.

Halt Ship	This will set the movement points of the currently selected ships to zero.

Next Ship	This command cycles through your ships to the next one which has movement points.

Auto Move Ships	This option will allow the computer to move your ships for you. This option only takes effect at the beginning of the Movement Phase when the computer will move your ships.

Options

Fast Combat	When ships fire weapons, a description of the event is displayed in the top left corner. By selecting the Fast Combat option, this description is not displayed and combat proceeds much more quickly.

Next Phase	This is the same as the Next Phase button which proceeds combat to the next combat phase.

Retreat	This command will cause the attacker to retreat. Retreat merely means that the attackers ships will be moved back to their source sector. This command is only available for the attacker.

Combat Phases

There are three combat phases: Place Ships Phase, Movement Phase, and the Fire Phase. Each player gets to take a turn during each phase. The Attacker goes first then the Defender. Therefore the phases actually go like this: Attacker Places Ships, Defender Places Ships, Attacker Moves, Defender Moves, Attacker selects firing, Defender selects firing, all ships fire at each other.

The Place Ships phase only occurs at the beginning of combat. In the Place Ships phase, the players get to determine how their fleets are arranged. All the ships begin in a single square. You select that square and all the ships present will appear in the Ships List. You can then select ships in the Ships List and then drag and drop with the right mouse button to squares on the Sector Map. You can only place ships in the 4 rows of the Sector Map on your side. If youre the Attacker, your at the bottom, and if youre the Defender, your ships go at the top.

During the Movement Phase, you move your ships around the Sector Map. Once youve selected ships on the Ship List, you click with the right mouse button on the Sector Map to move your ships towards that square.

The Fire Phase comes next. This is where you select which enemies your ships are going to fire on and with what weapons. You do this by either letting the computer do it for you by selecting Auto Calculate Targets, or by using the Fire Control Window . The easiest way to do this is to right mouse click on the Sector Map which brings up the Fire Control Window for all ships in that square.

The final occurrence of a Combat Turn is for all ships to fire their weapons. Which player fires first is determined randomly. Firing then goes back and forth between the players. The Combat Turn is concluded when all ships have completed firing.


Fire Control Window

The Fire Control Window allows you to give firing orders to your ships. This window can be accessed by either selecting Fire Control/All, Fire Control/Current Square, or by right mouse clicking a square in the Fire Phase of a combat turn.

Source Ship

The Source Ship List will display all of your ships in the currently selected square (or all of them if you chose Fire Control/All). The ships name will be followed by its class and its size abbreviation. The next column displays how much damage the ship has taken and how much damage it can take in total. The third column shows what multiplex level the ship has. Multiplex level determines how many different ships can be targeted in a single turn. For example, if the ship has a multiplex level of 2, then you can only target the weapons of this ship on two different enemy ships. When you select a ship from this list, the Target Ship and Weapons Lists will be filled in with the enemy ships and ranges to them from this ship, and a list of the weapons on this ship. The Ship Info button will display details about the currently selected ship in the Source Ship List.

Target Ship

The Target Ship List display all the enemy ships that can be fired on by the currently selected Source Ship. This list will be empty until you select a Source Ship. This list displays the enemy ships name, class, and size abbreviation in the first column. In the second column is listed the damage that the ships has taken and how much it can take total. The third column shows the range in squares from the Source Ship to this ship. Pressing the Ship Info button will display details on the currently selected Target Ship.

The % to Hit button will display a dialog which shows the chance of the currently selected Source Ship to hit the currently selected Target Ship. The values for the calculations are as follows:

Firing Ship Modifier:

+20% per level of the highest level Combat Sensor on the Source Ship

+40% if Source Ship is a fighter

Target Ship Modifier:

+20% per level of the highest level ECM on the Target Ship

+40% if the Target is a fighter

+20% if the Target is a seeker

-1000% if the Target is a planet

+35% if the Target is in a square containing asteroids

+50% if the Target is in a square containing a storm

Range Modifier:

+10% for every square in distance between the two ships

(The minimum probability to hit is always 1. Therefore you will have at minimum a 1 in 100 chance of hitting an enemy ship.)

The chance to hit an enemy ship is calculated as:

100% + Source Ship Modifier - Target Ship Modifier - Range Modifier

Weapons

The Weapons List displays all of the weapons on the currently selected Source Ship. The first column displays the weapon name, the second column displays the name of the ship that the weapon is targeted on, and the third column displays the reload time for this weapon. The reload time is the number of turns from this turn. If the reload time is 0 then the weapon can be fired this phase, if the reload time is 1 then the weapon can be fired next turn, etc. When you select a weapon in the list, the weapon is targeted on the currently selected Target Ship. By selecting Target Ships and then clicking on weapons in the Weapons List, you can target your weapons on various enemy ships. The All Weapons button will change all of the weapons in the list to be targeted on the currently selected Target Ship. The Clear All button will clear the targetings of all of your weapons. Remember: weapons that do not have targetings will not fire in the Fire Phase. The Info button will provide details on the currently selected weapon.

Many weapons have 0 reload times and so do not actually reload. Their reload value on the Weapons List will always be zero. Weapons that do have a reload time will begin combat with that weapon ready to fire. Once the weapon is fired, the reload time will become the number of combat turns that is specified. When the reload time reaches zero again, the weapon can be fired. Note: When a weapon reaches reload time 0 it does not have to be fired. You can just hold the weapon and wait until a time when it best suits you to fire it.


Ship Actions

The following command buttons when pressed will bring up the Ship Selection Window  (except for Execute Orders which applies to all ships in your empire). You can specify that all available ships in the currently selected sector be used by pressing the Shift key when you press the button.

 Move

This ship action is what is performed when you wish to move a ship from one sector to another sector. You select the source sector by clicking a sector with ships in it and making it the currently selected sector.  If you click another sector in the solar system while holding the Shift key down, you will move all of your ships from the currently selected sector to the sector you just clicked in. You can also select Move from the Ships menu on the Tactical Window (or press the command button) and you can select the individual ships you wish to move. After pressing OK on the ship selection window, you then click the sector you wish to move the ships to. If you attempt to move into a sector where there are enemy ships (unless your ships are cloaked), the computer will ask you if you wish to attack. Moving requires one movement point per sector your ships move through.

 Warp

This action will move your ships through the warp point in the currently selected sector and into the system that this warp point connects to. It is of course useless to attempt to warp your ships unless they are in a sector which contains a warp point. Warping requires one movement point. If there are enemy ships at the other end of the warp point (unless your ships are cloaked), the computer will ask you if you wish to attack.

 Unload Cargo

This action will unload all of the people from your ships cargo bays to the planet below. You can only perform the unload action if you are in the same sector as one of your colonies. It requires one movement point to unload a ships cargo.

 Load Cargo

This action will load people from a planet into the cargo bays of your ship. Each cargo bay can hold 5 million people. When you perform the load action the computer will load your ships with as many people that can fit and that are present. You can never completely drain a planet of people, the minimum population of any planet is one million. You can only perform the load action if you are in the same sector as one of your colonies. I requires one movement point to load a ships cargo.

 Colonize

This action will create an outpost, colony, or settlement on the planet or asteroid belt that is in the currently selected sector. To create a colony (outpost, colony, or settlement), a ship must have a colony module on it. When a colony is created, the ship that is carrying it will be de-constructed to be used for raw materials. Therefore, be prepared to lose any ship that has a colony module on it. Every colony module has a population that accompanies it. An outpost brings 1 million people, a colony 50 million people, and a settlement 200 million people. Each colony type also has a maximum population that it can support. An outpost can only support a maximum of 250 million people, a colony 500 million people, and a settlement 3,000 million people. Also note that asteroid belts are too small to place settlements on. Settlements have a Space Yard built in. The real money your colony generates for your empire is:

Real Money = Population * Planet Value

500

 Halt

This action will bring all the selected ships to a halt. This effectively expends the ships movement points.

 Scrap

This action will scrap all of the selected ships. Scrapping a ship is basically destroying the ship and salvaging what you can from its raw materials. When you scrap a ship, your empire will receive 20% of the cost of the ship back. Scrapping a ship is usually done when the ship is hopelessly crippled, old and out of date, or when maintenance costs for all your ships are just too high to be maintained.

 Destroy Sun

This action fires a beam weapon from the selected ship into the sun of a solar system. The inverse-polaron beam begins an explosive collapse of the star in a span of minutes. When the star reaches its maximum density, it explodes outward and releases a shock-wave of terrific intensity. This shock-wave will destroy all ships and planets in the solar system. All planets will be obliterated and turned into asteroid belts. All ships, including your ship that fires the weapon, will be destroyed. Warp points in the system will be unaffected. To use this action, you must have a ship in the same sector as the sun of the system, and this ship must be carrying a sun destroying weapon.

 Cloak

This action will cloak all selected ships that have cloaking devices. Cloaked ships are signified by a dotted box that surrounds them. Of course you can still see all of the cloaked ships you own, but other players will be unable to see them. Your cloaked ships will be able to move anywhere in the galaxy they wish since cloaked ships can move through sectors containing enemy ships. Cloaked ships are unable to perform most operations like colonizing and loading/unloading cargo.

 De-Cloak

This action will de-cloak all selected ships that are cloaked. De-Cloaked ships (ships that are visible) are signified by a solid box that surrounds them. You would normally de-cloak ships so that they can attack, colonize, or perform various other actions. If you attempt to de-cloak your ships while they occupy the same sector as enemy ships, then you must attack.

 Open Warp Point

This action will use a phased tachyon beam to induce the space at the edge of a solar system to become weaker and form a warp point. This warp point can be directed from the source solar system to any other solar system in the galaxy. Unfortunately, a solar system can only support five stable warp points at any time. Therefore, you cannot open a sixth warp point in any system. This action requires an open warp point device and will use up all the movement points of the ship that uses it.

 Close Warp Point

This action will use a phased tachyon beam to induce a warp point to collapse in on itself. The warp point will disappear and no passage through it will be possible. This action requires a close warp point device and will use up all the movement points of the ships that uses it.

 Issue Orders

This action allows you to give orders to your ships. Orders will allow ships to move and perform actions without your intervention. After you select which ships are used for this action, you will be presented with the Ship Orders window. This window allows you to choose which orders you wish to give to the ships. These orders are:

Clear Orders

This will clear any orders the ship may already have.

Hold Position

This order will cause the ship to hold its position. This effectively causes the ship to expend all its movement points at the beginning of every turn when orders are executed.

Move To

This will give the selected ships orders to move to a selected sector in a selected solar system. After hitting OK on the Ship Orders window, you then click a sector in a solar system and the ships will be given orders to move to that location.

Colonize

This will give the selected ships orders to move to a selected planet and colonize it. After hitting OK on the Ship Orders window, you then click a sector in a solar system and the ships will be given orders to move to that location and colonize it.

 Execute Orders

This action will cause any ships with movement points left and orders, to execute those orders until they have completed the orders, or have run out of movement points. Execute Orders is automatically performed at the beginning of every turn. Execute orders applies to all ships within your empire.


Q&A

Trouble Shooting

1. I run Space Empires II but the System Display just shows blank white. The Galaxy display is fine but where it would show the solar system, I get nothing but a blank white space. What's going on?

    Space Empires II will only run in 16 or 256 colors. The problem your having is caused by running on a Windows system that is using more than 256 colors. Just set your display to 16 or 256 colors and everything should be fine.

2. When I run Space Empires II, the computer errors with the message Invalid Property Value. Whats going wrong?

     Space Empires II requires that the font Times New Roman be installed in your Windows. This font is installed automatically when Windows is setup on your machine. For some reason, this font is missing on your machine. You need to install this font before Space Empires II will work.

Common Questions

1.  I just built ships but they don't move. What's going on?

    When ships are first purchased, they are merely empty hulks sitting in space. You must now use your space yards to build (repair) them. When a ship is first purchased it will have all of its components destroyed (there will be 3 stars next to each of the component names). Each turn after that, the space yards in the same sector as the ship will repair it. Once the ship has some engines repaired, it will get movement points. Remember to not move the ship away too early or it may still have components that are not built yet.

2.  What is Armor used for?

    Armor is a hold-over from Tech Level 0. When you get Tech Level 1 (every empire starts at this level) you attain shield technology. Shields render Armor obsolete. You can buy it, but economics say its not wise. Shields are cheaper.

3.  What are Hulls used for?

    Hulls are free hits inside your ship. They act like shields in that they absorb damage. Other than extra damage points for your ship, Hulls serve no useful purpose.

4.  My ship won't colonize a planet. Why?

    There are several criteria that must be met before a planet can be colonized. First, you must have a ship in the same sector as the planet with movement points remaining. This ship must be carrying an outpost, colony, or settlement module. Next you select colonize, and then select the ship from the Select Ship list. You're all done!

5.  How are Space Yard 2's better than Space Yard 1's?

    Space Yards will repair 3 components for each level they have. Therefore a SY1 will repair 3 components while a SY2 will repair 6.

6.  Does my ship do better in combat with 2 Combat Sensors on it?

    No. Combat Sensor and ECM are not cumulative. The highest level component will dictate the bonus your ship gets, and the extra components do nothing. There is one advantage however to having 2 on your ship. If the first one is destroyed, then the second one will still give you a bonus.

7.  Turns take a long time. How can I speed up the game?

    You can speed up the game by starting a game that does not have neutral players. This can be done when you start a game by going into the Game Setup Window and un-checking the Neutral Players Allowed option.

8.  How can I be player 2 in a 1 player game?

    Sorry, you can't. When you play with only one human player, that player has to be player 1.

9.  How many ships can I have in Space Empires II?

    Space Empires II has a limit of 2000 ships total in the game. This is limited by how much memory you have, but most machines can go all the way to 2000.

10. I want to have my own class names to pick from when designing classes. How do I do this?

    The names that are shown in the drop-down list when picking a class name in the Design Classes window is loaded from a text file. The text file that the game uses for each player is selected from the Game Setup Window. When you start a new game, select Game Setup. In the Game Setup Window at the bottom, you will see 4 text boxes that contain the names of 4 text files. Just change the text file name to the file you created and those names will show up in the Design Classes window.

11. I press the Move ships command button yet the Select Ships window does not show any ships to pick from. Why?

    The Select Ships window filters the ships in the currently selected sector for the command you are attempting to perform. For example, if you press the Move command, the Select Ships list will only show ships in the currently selected sector that have at least one movement point left. When you press the Colonize command, the Select Ships window will only show ships that have colony modules and have at least one movement point left.

12. Why does the Load Game window have 10 slots, but the Save Game window only has 5?

    The last 5 slots in the Load Game window are reserved for Auto-Save games. When you auto-save a game, it appears in slots 6 through 10.

13. How is Maintenance calculated?

    Maintenance is calculated at the end of your turn as 3% of the cost of each ship in your empire.

14. Where does the list of Destinations in the Purchases window come from?

    The Destinations list is a list of all sectors that contain space yards you own. Since settlements have a built in SY1, your list will show every settlement you own, in addition to the location of any ships you have that have space yards.

15. How do I make old classes not show up in the Purchases Window?

    If you do not want a particular ship class to show up in the Purchases Window, you must mark it as obsolete. Go into the View Classes window and select the ship size and class your interested in. Now just check the obsolete button and that ship will no longer appear on the Items Available list in the Purchases window.

16. Can I delete a ship class?

    No. There is no way to completely delete a ship class in the game. You can mark it as obsolete which is effectively the same thing. You will not though, be able to use that class name ever again.

17. How do I find out what Tech Level I'm currently at?

    From the Main Window select Empire and then Status. The Empire Status Window will show you all of the summary information for your empire which includes what Tech Level your at.

18. I gave orders to a ship but it didn't do anything. Why?

    If you give orders to a ship, and then want it to execute those immediately, you need to press the Execute Orders button. If the ship has movement points left, it will attempt to carry out your orders. Orders are automatically executed at the beginning of your turn.

19. How is Money calculated?

    Money is generated by all of the colonies you have in the game. The real money you get from a planet is calculated as the population of the planet times the value of the planet divided by 500. You can see the amount at any given time by going into the Info Menu and selecting Colonies.

20. How do I find out what ships were repaired in the last turn?

    Select the Logs menu and then the Repair item. The Repair Log window will show you a list of all ships that were repaired last turn.

21. How do I find out what ships were purchased in the last turn?

    Select the Logs menu and then the Purchases item. The Purchase Log window will show you a list of all ships that were purchased last turn.

22. I was in combat and the game said that I retreated, but I didn't!

    Though the Attacker can manually retreat any time he wishes, the game will automatically force the Attacker to retreat at the conclusion of combat turn 20.

23. What is Fast Combat?

    Fast Combat should be used when you have large numbers of ships in combat. This option will deactivate the display of firing information (the text that's displayed in the top left corner when a ship fires). This speeds up the firing phase of combat immensely.

24. Are there any quick keys for moving ships around?

    When selecting commands for ships remember the Shift key. When you hold the Shift key and press a command, you are telling the game to select all the ships available for that command. This means that you will not get the Select Ships window and instead the command will just be executed for all the available ships. This helps a lot when warping ships through a warp point. There's also a quick way to move ships with the Shift key. Select a sector that has ships that can move. While holding the Shift key click on another sector in that system. All of the ships that can move in the selected sector will move towards where you just clicked!

25. Why do Seekers die so quickly in storms?

    Seekers take damage when they move through an obstructed square in combat. A seeker will take 2 pts of damage when it moves through a square containing either asteroids or storms.

26. Do asteroids or storms have any effect on combat?

    When a ship is in a square containing asteroids, that ships target modifier gets an additional 35%. If the ship is in a storm square, the ships target modifier gets an additional 50%.

27. How is a ships movement calculated?

    A ships movement is calculated by taking the number of undestroyed engines on the ship and dividing it by the number of engines required per movement for that ships size. This amount is then truncated (its fraction leftover is thrown away). For example, a ship with 13 engines and an engine per move of 3 will have 4 movement points at the beginning of each turn.

28. How is a ships movement points in combat calculated?

    A ships combat movement is calculated by taking the number of undestroyed engines the ship has and dividing it by the number of engines that are required for the ship to move. This amount is then divided by 2 and the resulting number is rounded up. For example, a ship with 5 engines and 1 engine per movement will get 3 combat movement points.

29. When ships fire in combat, who fires first?

    Fighters fire first in the firing phase of combat. A computerized coin is flipped and the winner gets to fire first. The winners side fires one fighter, his opponent fires one fighter, and so on. Next the ships get to fire. Another computerized coin in flipped and the winner gets to fire one of his ships first. The computer picks which ship to fire from based on the size and then the name. The biggest ship will fire first, and then the second largest, and so on. Ship firing goes back and forth until all ships have fired all available weapons.

30. When I use Auto-Calculate for firing in combat, sometimes my ships dont fire. Why?

    The computer will assign to each ship the optimal firing pattern as it sees fit. This sometimes means that multiple ships will fire on the same target. In this case, it sometimes happens that the target ship will be destroyed by early fire, and then a later ship that is targeting it will no longer have a target to fire at. This ship then just sits on its thumbs. Targets cannot be reassigned while firing is in progress.

31. How does the computer player build bases on warp points?

    The computer player performs a standard strategy in Space Empires II used to hold points in far off locations. The computer player designs a ship which contains a Space Yard in its design. It then builds the ship and sends it to the warp point. Once at the warp point the computer player can purchase items at its location. Typically, the strategy is to build a base of some kind that has Space Yards on it so that the base can not only defend the warp point, but can also build new ships at the front lines.

32. How do I turn the sounds on?

    Sorry, there are no music or sounds in Space Empires II. Look for them in Space Empires III.

33. How big is the galaxy in Space Empires II?

    The galaxy size of the game is based on the setting of the Galaxy Size option on the Select Players Window. If you select Small the galaxy will be from 10 to 20 solar system. Medium is 21-60 solar system and Large is 61-100 solar systems.

34. Whats the difference between a computer player and a neutral player?

    A computer player is another empire in space that seeks to destroy you and control the galaxy for itself. A neutral player is a computer controlled race that has no desire to move beyond its own system, but will defend its borders rigorously. There is a maximum of 3 computer players in the game but there can by up to 20 neutral players.

35. Wheres Space Empires I?

    Space Empires I was a game developed in the early nineties that only a small group of people ever got to play. It was never released to the game playing public. It served as a very simple predecessor to Space Empires II.

36. How come the circles that represent the solar systems on the Galaxy Map change colors?

    The colors of the solar system circles represent what players you can see in those systems. If the color is gray, then you have no ships in the solar system. This does not mean that there are not enemy ships in the solar system, but because you do not have any ships in the system, you cannot see anything in it. Each color that makes up the circle is the color of the player that you can see in the solar system.

37. What happens if you cant pay your maintenance?

    Nothing. You can, in fact, have negative money. If your maintenance gets too high, you will simply be unable to purchase new items until you bring your maintenance cost down. One sure fire way of lessening those horrendous maintenance costs is to scrap ships. This will not only eliminate the maintenance you pay for those ships, but youll get some money back on the scrap metal.


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Glossary

General

Warp Point

Solar System

Sector

Spacial Bodies

Planets

Asteroids

Stars

Storms - Magnetic Storm, Nebulae, Hydrogen Cloud

Ship Component Types

Space Yard

Weapons

Ion Engine

Fighter Bay

Colony Module

ECM

Combat Sensors

Multiplex Tracking

Shields


Warp Point

An inter-system connection point where the fabric of space is weak and can be passed through. Warp points can only occur on the fringe of a solar system where the gravity is very weak. Warp points form a two-way passageway between solar systems. Ships passing through a warp point will arrive at the end point of the warp line instantaneously.


Solar System

A solar system is a star surrounded by a number of planets and warp points. Warp points which surrounded the solar system connect it to other solar systems in the galaxy. Planets, asteroids, magnetic storms, and other things can be orbiting the star. Planets and asteroids can support colonies which the different races of the galaxy deposit. Each solar system is divided into 81 logical sectors for navigation purposes.


Sector

A sector is a logical unit of space for navigation purposes. Each solar system is divided into 81 sectors numbered 0 to 80. Ships move from sector to sector to move through solar systems. A ship moving one sector expends one movement point. Ships from opposing empires cannot occupy the same sector at the same time (unless one or both of the opposing empires ships are cloaked). When ships from one empire attempt to move into a sector containing another empires ships, combat ensues.


Planets

Planets are the building blocks of any empire. Planets surround stars and usually maintain some sort of atmosphere. With the high technology levels of most empires, all planets are available to colonize. Once colonized, the population on a planet will grow and generate money from the planet's value.


Asteroids

Asteroids are small chunks of rock that are clumped together in what are termed "Belts". When planets are destroyed, they become asteroid belts. Asteroid are usually very high in raw materials, and are therefore very valuable. Asteroid belts can support outposts and colonies but are too small to support settlements.


Stars

Stars are the fiery spheres at the center of most solar systems. They can be of various colors and without them, no life is possible.


Storms

Storms is a general category describing magnetic storms, nebulae, and hydrogen clouds. These spacial bodies obstruct sensors and pose a mild navigational hazard. When ships are within a sector filled by a storm, they are completely invisible to all sensors.


Space Yard

A space yard is a robotics module which performs repair and construction on starships. The space yard is fully autonomous and will begin repairs as soon as any damaged ship is within range. Repair is done based on the set repair priorities and each space yard is able to repair 3 ship components per turn per level of the space yard. Therefore, a SY2 can repair 6 components per turn. Settlements have a built in SY1.


Weapons

Weapons are the teeth of starships when dealing with their enemies. Starship weapons are grouped into direct fire and seeking weapons. Direct fire will hit an enemy a few moments after being fired. Seeking weapons are weapons that which when fired will move at the speed of starships and home in on their target. When they reach their target they will detonate and damage the target. Seeking weapons move slow enough that other weapons can be targeted on them.


Ion Engine

Ion engines are the basic propulsion of all modern starships. They use projected ions to propel the ship forward through space. Each ion engine will provide a certain number of movement points to the ship each turn based on the ships size.


Fighter Bay

A fighter bay is a module which houses a single fighter and all the materials necessary to repair and maintain that fighter. Fighter bay technology is very similar to space yard technology in that fighter bays can rebuild their fighters when they have been damaged or even destroyed. A fighter is a small space vehicle which moves very fast and is armed with a small beam weapon.


Outpost, Colony, Settlement Module

These modules are essentially a city in a bottle. They contain both the materials needed to build a colony and the colonists (population) that go with it. Though they contain the required materials for buildings, they still need the ion engines of the ship that transports them for power as reactors. Therefore, when a ship colonizes a planet, that ship is deconstructed for use by the colony. Outposts have an initial population of 1 million, a colony has 50 million, and a settlement has 200 million. Colonies also have a maximum population that they can support. An outpost can only support a maximum of 250 million people, a colony 500 million people, and a settlement 3,000 million people. Also note that asteroid belts are too small to place settlements on.


ECM

ECM is short for Electromagnetic Counter Measures. This ship component attempts to defeat the sensors of enemy ships in targeting it. ECM modules are not cumulative, just one will do the job. An ECM module decreases the chance an enemy ship has in hitting your ship.


Combat Sensors

Combat Sensors are advanced tracking systems used to target your ship's weapons on enemy targets. Combat Sensors are not cumulative, adding more to your ships will not increase your chances. The most advanced Combat Sensors on your ship will govern your ship's weapons and will increase your chance to hit enemy ships.


Multiplex Tracking

Multiplex Tracking is a ship component which allows ships to track and fire weapons on multiple targets in a turn. Without any Multiplex Tracking module, your starship can only fire on one target in a combat turn. With each level of Multiplex Tracking module you have, you can track that many ships and fire on them in a combat turn. Multiplex Tracking modules are not cumulative, the highest level one will control your tracking alone.


Shields

Shields are energy barriers that are generated surrounding a starship which can absorb all incoming weapons. With the invention of shield technology, armor for starships became obsolete because it was more expensive and bulky. When starships are fired upon, the damage is absorbed by that ships shields first. Once a starship's shields are gone, the ship will then take damage to its components.