Warpath97 Help
Table of Contents

Warpath 97...
...is a real-time, multi-player, space conquest and strategy game for up to eight players on Mplayer, LAN, modem, or the Internet.  Chat with your opponents, real and synthetic, while building one empire and tearing down seven others.  Select  New Game from the Main Menu to get started, and the built-in tutorial should  get you up and running in no time.  Certainly less time than it took to cram all this functionality into such a tiny download.

Be sure to visit our web site at http://www.synthetic-reality.com to give us your suggestions (and to register on line).

Introduction:
What is Warpath97?
Registering Your Shareware
Paying by Credit Card - Online!
Acknowledgements

How To...
Begin a Game
Enlist In The Galactic Patrol
Pilot Your Ship
Manage Your Energy
Mine Planets for Resources
Colonize Planets
Terra-Form Planets
Use Your Weapons and Shields
Customize Your Ship at the Space Dock

More About...
The Tactical Sector Screen
The Galaxy/Political Map
The Planetary Guide
Empires and Aurae
Meters and Counters
Icon Controls and Button Bars
Population and Development Level
Investing in Planets, and borrowing money
Planetary Malls and Trading Posts
Distress Calls
Terminal Emulator
Mission Settings
Tek Levels
Warp Drive and Worm Holes
Game Options
Warpath Tips and Tricks


What is Warpath97?

Warpath places you in the distant future of a galaxy not unlike our own. In this galaxy, several empires have evolved, spread out and discovered they were not alone.  After the usual adolescent conflict stage, the empires settled down to a long period of quasi-peace.  A few empires have ascended to pre-eminence and have divided the galaxy between them into quadrants (well, octants, actually, but quadrants sound better), each  ruled by a different house.  The peace between houses is maintained by an artificial energy barrier which separates the quadrants.  This barrier was designed to destroy any ship which attempted to leave its home quadrant.  The barrier itself is left over from an ancient civilization which intended to keep the empires apart until they were mature enough to deal with each other.

Progress is sometimes the enemy of peace.  The Simpson's Chaos theory of AD 4923 led to the development of the chaos-deflecting shield layer.  For the first time, it was possible to add shield layers together for a cumulative effect.  As a result, it is now possible to cross the energy barriers separating the quadrants, although it is still very damaging to a fully equipped ship, and there is no guarantee you will survive.

Into this universe, you were born.  Your youth on the home planet of your quadrant was uneventful.  However, recently a major change has come to the galaxy.. the Path.  Although knowledge of the Path was suppressed for millenium by the philosophers of the galaxy, a popular television show has released its details to the masses. It is now known that all philosophical and economic pursuits can be divided into two Paths:  The Path of Peace (symbolized by the green flag) and the Path of War (symbolized by the red flag).

As news of the Path spread throughout the galaxy, each of the galactic houses were quick to adopt one Path or the other.  The other planets, slow to adopt to new trends, have remained uncommitted (as symbolized by the yellow aura of indecision).

Your job is to embrace the Path of your empire, and to influence the uncommitted planets into following your Path.  Of course, you may have a fundamental disagreement with the Path of your empire and may choose to create a Path of your own.

How To Play Warpath

Warpath is a game of galactic conquest and development.  Two philosophies (red and green Paths) vie for the heart of the galaxy.  Your opponents are either computer synthetics, or friends connected to your computer via a modem or IPX Local Area NETWORK (LAN) or just somewhere on the internet (preferably on Mplayer).

At the beginning of the game, the universe is populated by several empires.  Your goal is to colonize uninhabited planets for your empire, while convincing the planets of other empires to follow your Path. Meanwhile, your opponent does the same.  Each planet you bring to your Path is one less to succor your enemy.

When you encounter a planet which follows the opposing Path, it will launch robotic warships to attack you.  Your only choice is to avoid the planet, or to blast it back to an uninhabited status.  Such an act of war, however, will further damage your relationship with that planet's home empire and may push other planets into following the opposing path.

You win the heart of planets and empires by the simple expediency of buying their love.  Your Investments enhance the development level of the planet. This, in turn, will allow that planet to stock its stores with the weapons and ship extensions you need.  You won't be able to invest, so long as you have any loans outstanding at the bank.

To ensure an adequate supply of credit for investment, you must carry out an active mining program to collect dwindling resources from the remaining uninhabited planets and then journey to inhabited planets to sell them. The universe's resources are non-renewable and dwindling.

Your mission is to capture the hearts of all the planets in the galaxy, or at least not run out of ships in the pursuit of that goal.  We know you can do it, or you would not have been issued this training program.


Beginning a Game

To begin a new game, select "New Game" from the Main Menu.  You will then be presented with this dialog:

The dialog has its own help button with additional details, but basically it lets you choose with whom you would like to play.  Your choices are solo or multiplayer.  If you select multiplayer, you can also specify one of several connection options.

The multiplayer selection will lead you through a few steps until you are connected to the other players, after which you will all be required to  enlist in the Galactic Patrol, after which time the game can be started.  The solo selection will take you directly to the enlistment screen where you will select some bot opponents.  (Unless you want a REALLY short game!)

On the Enlistment Screen, you will be asked to enlist your player by specifying a home empire, ship design, name, and Path (red or green) and then the game will begin.  A new Universe is created for every game. The strange planet names will be different each time, so enjoy them while you have them.  You may choose to spice up your galaxy with a varying number of robot opponents and friends.

The actual steps involved in connecting to the other players in a multiplayer game vary with the technology involved, but are summarized here:

Playing on Mplayer 2-8 players

This is the best place to play (you can get a free account by visiting the Mplayer home page at http://www.mplayer.com).  To start a game on Mplayer, do NOT run Warpath97 first.  Log on to Mplayer first, visit the Warpath 97 lobby, rendevous with your friends and let Mplayer launch the game for you when you are ready.

Beginning a MODEM or TCP/IP (internet) Game of 2-8 players

If you select the MODEM or TELNET options, you will be shown your address book containing the phone numbers and IP addresses of your favorite places and people to play against. From there, you will establish a connection to the other players and then find yourself on the ANSI terminal emulation screen until you decide to play  the game.  You can connect directly to one friend (for a two-player game) or to a game server (like The Game Connection., to connect to multiple friends.

Beginning an IPX NETWORK Game of 2-8 Players

If you select the IPX option, you must specify a 'socket number' on the 'Configure Network Options' screen.  Then everyone on your IPX LAN segment who has selected the same socket will be able to chat on terminal emulation screen until you decide to play the game.

Game Overview

After you and your friends have gotten connected together in the same game server and pressed your begin-game buttons, you will each see the Enlistment Screen where you must specify your name, empire, path, and ship design. All the players must enlist and then the HOST of the game presses the LAUNCH button to actually start up the universe. A fresh new universe will then be created and all users will begin playing in that new universe.

At the beginning of the game, you and your opponents will each command a small empire of only one planet. You will each be in your own quadrant (octant, actually, but who's counting), separated one from the other by the energy barrier.  Each quadrant starts with the same amount of planets and resources. Roughly half the planets in the universe will be uninhabited.  The remaining planets will be distributed amongst the other empires.  These empires begin the game with no allegiance to you or your enemy.

You command the game with your mouse.  You may click within one of the many icon controls to navigate, select weapons, mine planets, and other activities.  Clicking within the Sector Screen will either launch a weapon to explode at that point, or will steer your ship in that direction.  Clicking within the Galaxy Map charts a course to that region.

If you are playing in single player mode, you still have opponents.  Only now they are played by the computer and they sort of cheat.  That is to say, since YOU have all the adaptability and intelligence of a human being, THEY are given a complete knowledge of all planets at the start of the game. They know where the best prices are, the most resources, etc.

So get in there and go to work!  He is the Turtle, you are the Hare.  Do not take a nap.


Galactic Enlistment
Enlistment in the Galactic Patrol

As soon as players press the PLAY GAME button from the terminal emulator screen, they are taken to the enlistment screen.

This screen allows each player to register their enlistment choices.  As soon as all players have enlisted, the host player presses the LAUNCH button to start the game.

Before a game can begin, each of the players must register their selection of Path, empire, ship, and name.  This information is then shared with the other players so that when the game begins, all players start with the same universe.

Enlistment choices:

PLAYER NAME
Each player choose a name for themselves.  This helps the other players identify which ships to shoot.  So choose a name which is unlikely to draw fire.

PLAYER PATH
Each player must choose which Path they follow: green or red.  The green Path is generally known as 'the Path of Peace' which makes the red Path 'the Path of War.'  There must be at least one player following each Path or the game will end quickly.

PLAYER EMPIRE
Each player must choose an empire for themselves.  They will then be given a quadrant of space and a home planet of that empire.  Technically, players of the same empire could follow different Paths.  This makes the allegiance dynamics a little odd, but...

PLAYER SHIP
Each player should select a unique ship design to facilitate recognition. Unless otherwise specified, all ships are created equal.

The Enlistment Phase

When the Enlistment Screen appears, you should fill in your choices on the right side of the screen.  As changes are made, they are automatically sent to the other players after a moment or two.

As each player registers, the top left portion of the screen will reflect the enlistment information of each player.  You may change your enlistment criteria at any time, up until the host launches the game. You can also chat with the other players througout this period.

Meanwhile, the host player can modify the mission settings  shown on the lower left of the screen.  These are also published to the other players after a  moment or two.

Beginning the Game

Only the player who is hosting the game will have the ability to press the LAUNCH button.  That player should wait until all the enlistments are complete and then press LAUNCH to actually start the game.


Mission Settings

The HOST of the game (hey, that's YOU in solo mode) gets to select the mission settings.

These are displayed in the lower left of the screen during the  Enlistment phase.  These control the fundamental nature of the game about to be played, including:

Initial Galaxy Map

At the start of the game, each player is assigned to the home planet of one octant of the galaxy.  Each octant begins with the same number of planets and resources. This option allows you to control the initial mix of those resources.

NORMAL MAP
In this map, each player begins with one fully developed home planet, 7 yellow aura planets, and 8 uninhabited planets.  It is a good starting point for a game of mining, colonization, and investment.

DENSE MAP
In this map, each player begins with one fully developed home planet, and 15 yellow aura planets.  It is a good starting point for a game centered on investment.

EMPTY MAP
In this map, each player begins with one fully developed home planet, and 15 uninhabited planets.  This is a universe which requires colonization or you might be quickly exterminated.

POWER MAP
In this map, each player begins with 16 fully developed home planets.  This is the map for people who just aren't in to resource management and want to just have one epic battle after another.

Artificial Intelligence Level

This option sets the intelligence level of the robot players from  'fodder' (easy to kill) to 'insane' (best left alone).

Number of Robot Players

This option selects the number of robot players in the game.  Before launching the game, the HOST may click on a robot's face in the political map to select the robot's path. Hence you can have some robots working with you, while others are working against you.

Initial Cash Reserves

If you desire a game of resource management, you should begin with a limited amount of money.  If you just want to shoot shoot shoot, then start everyone off with a pile of cash.  Everyone gets the same amount of starting capital.

Initial Tek Level

Sets the starting Tek Level for all players in the game.  Some items become available only at the higher Tek levels.  In general, individual players raise their Tek level through increased population and development of their Path.

Time Limit for Game

You may choose to allow your game to run as long as it takes, or you can specify an upper time limit after which the game will end, with victory going to the highest-scoring path.

Fiddly Little Options

There are also a handful of little tweaky options which are hopefully self-explanatory,  but a small description here might be helpful.

Cheat Codes Allowed
When this is checked, players are allowed to use whatever cheat codes they know.  Otherwise, they can't.

Energy Barriers Cause Damage
When this is checked, the energy barriers are red (instead of yellow) and pack a severe wallop when you try to cross them.

Dead Ship Loses All Items
When this is checked, if your ship explodes and you have to switch to a reserve ship, your reserve ship inherits none of the equipment from your destroyed ship.  This is a big drag, but more realistic.  (Except for the fact that you weren't killed when your ship was destroyed, but that was because of your teleportation life vest thingy.)

See Enemy Point of View
When this is checked, you can change your point of view to track the activities of enemy vessels by clicking on their captain's face in the political map.  Normally you can only do this for friendly ships.

Quick Return on Investment
When this is checked, your investments in a planet take effect within a few seconds. Without it, it takes a few minutes to build spaceports, factories, etc.

Atmosphere Management
When this is checked, the actual atmospheric make up of the planet is important  to its population.  You won't want to colonize a planet with a poisonous atmosphere.   Use the  Planetary Scanner to analyze the atmosphere.   You modify the atmosphere with gas bombs, for the pleasure or harrassment of the planet's  occupants.

No Worm Holes
When this is checked, Worm Holes are suppressed.

No Plague Bombs
I love plague bombs, but they really are mean, so if you want to play a game without them, check this box.

No Plague Cure
Even worse than plague bombs is to allow plague bombs without possibility of cure. Sort of the Mutually Assured Destruction plan.

No Warp Drive
Tired of having your enemy warp out just before you nail them?  Turn this on to deny them the quick escape.

No Barrier Shields
Doesn't allow the development of Barrier Shields (which let you pass undamaged across the energy barriers.)

No Buster Bombs
Doesn't allow the development of Buster Bombs, which can destroy a planet in a single shot.

No Pausing Allowed
Disables the pause key.  Mainly for multiplayer mode where you don't want an immature player constantly interrupting the game.


Terminal Emulator
Terminal Emulator Screen

Welcome to 1980!  Yes, this help topic describes the 24 row by 80 column terminal emulator screen you see when you select most forms of multiplayer game play.  Back when you were selecting your communications medium (modem, IPX, telnet, tcp, etc. you should have been given a help button to describe what thos different options were all about.  If not, you might want to get back to that dialog box and push its help button before reading on..

Is he gone yet?  OK, well, the idea is this.  If your computer just magically connected to the other players (like it does on Mplayer), then we wouldn't need this screen at all.  The idea here is that in order to connect to one or more friends' computers, you need to be able to navigate the menus of some third party communications gear. This could be as simple as commanding your modem to do some trick, or logging on to some third party game server and working your way through its menu system into its gaming arena.

For purpose of keeping things simple, let's sort of pretend you have just given the command to dial into a Game Connection - equipped bulletin board service (BBS). You either dialed your modem or made a telnet connection and the next thing you saw was this boring old terminal emulator screen.  Here's what you would have to do before you could be considered to be 'playing a game of Warpath.'  If you want to know more about just playing via modem with one other friend, jump straight to step seven below (after placing the phone call.)

 1.) Look for the 'connected' response.

Until you have seen some response message indicating that your attempt to dial your modem, or place a telnet connection, was successful, well... you just can't be sure. So wait a reasonable period for something to have happened.

 2.) Wake up the other side.

Most nice things to which you might connect will generally greet you right after you connect to them.  But some things like to keep their presence a secret until you hit carriage return or something.  In any case, do what you gotta do to get the thing you dialed into to say hello.

 3.) Pay the bill.

After saying hello, most things to which you might connect will ask you for your id and password, or to create a new account if you don't already have one.  This is often a harbinger to asking you for money, as well.  If you gotta logon, though, you gotta logon.  So grit your teeth and get over it.  And remember your password for next time.

 4.) Find the Game Connection.

Most BBS systems provide a zillion services for you to peruse, all neatly itemized under a multi-level hierarchical menu.  Hiding somewhere at the bottom of the hierarchy is the Game Connection.  Your first mission is to locate the Game Connection.

 5.) Finding the Game Room.

OK, the Game Connection itself is built on a room metaphor.  Your friends are probably all waiting for you in one of those rooms.  Your second mission is to locate the proper room and enter it.  Failing that, your mission is to create a NEW room (using the so-called 'line mode' protocol)

 6.) Starting the Room.

When you first get into a Game Connection room, it is a chat room.  This is a nice place to...well... chat.  It's not the best place to play Warpath since it adds a  lot of characters to everything your computer sends.  These characters make it pretty to look at, but confuse poor mister Warpath.  You need to wait for all your friends to get there and then 'start' the room.  This turns off all the pretty chat stuff and you get to see just how little the computers themselves were doing.  This also brings you up to where you would be if you had just dialed your modem straight into the modem of another friend.

 7.) Starting the Warpath Game.

Say, this is starting to sound complicated, isn't it?  Well, everything seems complicated when you write it down in any detail at all.  Anyway, now all your friends are sitting at their copy of Warpath's terminal emulator screen, and are chatting away with minimal special effects.  As each of them feels ready to do so, they press their begin-game buttons.

 8.) Enlisting in the Galactic Space Patrol.

As each player enters the game, they are taken to the enlistment screen where they get to choose their name, empire, path, and ship design.  Once all the players have enlisted, the host (usually the first person to have pressed the begin-game button) presses the LAUNCH button and the game is finally under way.

Two-Player Modem Example

Here is the same example over again, but more tuned for the case where you and one other friend want to play together over modem.

 1.) Select NEW GAME from the Main Menu.

When you get the "Where do you want to Play Today? (tm)" dialog, select 'multiplayer' and 'modem' (or 'telnet' if this is going to be a tcp/ip game).  One of you will be the ANSWER guy and the other will be the CONNECT guy.  In the case of Telnet, the ANSWER guy will have to tell the CONNECT guy what his IP address is.  The CONNECT guy needs to know the IP address, or the phone number, of the ANSWER guy.

The ANSWER guy should press the 'Wait For Call' button now, and wait.

 2.) Dial your modem

The CONNECT guy should enter the phone number or IP address of the ANSWER guy and press the 'connect' button.  This should initiate the connection, and if all goes well, the ANSWER guy will detect an incoming call.

The Terminal Emulator Screen connects your keyboard straight to your modem.  If nothing appears to be happening, you might want to type "AT<enter>" a couple of times and see if your modem says "OK".  If not, it might indicate the wrong COM port is selected, or an inappropriate baud rate. You do HAVE a modem, don't you?

Of course, you may already be connected to your friend. In such a case, you would obviously not bother to re-dial.  In case you're not sure if you are already connected or not, type the following command: "My friend [friend's name here] is a mindless dirt-bag"  Most modems will not respond to this command.  Most friends will.

 3.) Verify that your connection is OK

Assuming you just dialed your modem, just sit back and watch for awhile. Hopefully you will hear encouraging noises and see nice phrases come back from the modem.  If all is well, you will eventually probably see something like "CONNECT 9600 RELIABLE" appear from your modem.  If you type anything before you see this, you will probably cause the call to be disconnected, so make sure you and your friend have both seen CONNECTED before typing anything.  Now would be a good time to practice your telepathy.	Or buy another phone line.  After you have seen CONNECT, you can have a little type-written dialog between you to get that warm fuzzy feeling that all is OK.  This is how we nerds had fun in the 70s.

Repeat the above steps, frantically, until you are able to have a chat with your friend, or until your mom says it is time to go to bed.  Now would be a good time to jump to step 7 of the previous example.

Hopefully you will find this procedure easier than it sounds!  But modems are one of those things about computers that we all love to hate.  But imagine how much more fun you have today living in the 90s instead of back then, working with 110 baud!


IPX Network Play

The Network Play option allows you to play Warpath across a Local Area Network. Of course, this might imply that you are at work, where one really should not play games.  So don't get me in trouble!  Of course, I play games at work all day long.  But I work for Mpath Interactive (the company behind Mplayer), so  that's OK!

Before you get TOO excited, let's make sure you have the right kind of network. The fact that you are running this program at all means you very likely are using an IBM compatible PC, running Windows 95.  That means you are PROBABLY on the right kind of network, if you are on a network at all.  In fact, most of the network-specific help I have to offer is in a separate help file (the one which opens when you press the HELP button on the "Where Do You Want To Play Today (tm)" screen.

Network Compatibility

What you need is a network which supports the IPX transport layer.  You also need to make sure that IPX is loaded when you are running Windows.  It probably is, but I can't really help you here if it isn't.  For windows 95 users, you should look in the Windows Control panel folder, and double click the NETWORK icon.  This will show you more than you wanted to see, but look for something along the lines of "IPX Protocol for network adaptor" in that main list box.  If you don't see it there, you should, like, get it there. And stuff.  Either you'll know how to do it, or you'll know someone else who can figure it out.  Windows 95 makes the networking stuff about as simple as it is going to get, but that's still not simple enough to make it easy.

Network Segments

While we're specifying what WON'T work, let's also talk about segments. To oversimplify things, ethernet travels on a big black wire from your computer to the next to the next.  (Well, ok, nowadays it is usually just a phone wire kind of thing, but a lot of this was written in the prehistoric period of 4 years ago.  By the time you read this everybody will probably be funning 9 million gigahertz super duper Septium Chips (still with Intel Inside, no doubt), with more memory that currently owned by the entire city of Burbank. Anyway, back to our story. Everybody who is on the same big black wire is on the same segment.  Your company may have several segments which are separated by a file server, or a router, or some other device.  You will only be able to play Warpath with friends whose computers are on the same segment as your computer.  There are actually some good reasons for this, but one of them is that since Warpath uses IPX broadcast packets, you would become unpopular in a hurry if those broadcasts were allowed to cross segment boundaries.  Of course, your LAN administrator could ENABLE IPX broadcast if you asked sweetly...

Socket Numbers

In order to find other players, Warpath uses an IPX Socket Number to separate one 'game room' from another.  Up to eight people may play in a single Warpath game (all these players would configure their copies of Warpath to use the same socket number).  Another set of players might be playing a separate game of Warpath using a different socket number.

So, before you can start playing, you need to pick a socket number.  There is the possibility that your network administrator would like to know which socket numbers you are using to minimize conflict with other network applications (like DOOM or QUAKE <g>).  First, I should mention (sorry to beat around the bush) you set your socket number on the Network Options screen you saw when you selected where you wanted to play.

Playing on the Network

Assuming you have all selected the same socket number, starting a network game is the same as starting a MODEM game, only you don't have to dial. Just select NEW GAME from the main menu, select IPX LAN as the style of game, and you will be taken to the CHAT LOBBY.  If anyone else on the same LAN segment, using the same socket number, has also started a NETWORK game with their copy of Warpath, then you will be able to chat with one another, just as if you were connected via modem.

When you have enough people to play with, push the PLAY GAME button to start the game (every player must do this).

Performance

Not to draw TOO many comparisons to DOOM, a program which broadcasts something on the order of 35 packets per SECOND per PLAYER, Warpath is much more Network-Friendly.  Warpath basically sends a small packet in response to each command you issue (each time you click the mouse, for example) and not much in between.

As a result, a large number of Warpath games could be played on the same network before the load would be significant (i.e. before you would get CAUGHT!)

Stay in the Light

Did I mention that you should only play Warpath during non-working hours?  And only with the permission of your boss and network administrator, and within the confines of Permissible Corporate Activity?  Used properly, Warpath is a force for GOOD in the workplace, fostering a stronger sense of community and enhancing public values.

And, by the way, Synthetic Reality is not to be held liable for any corporate bankruptcies which may result out of the inattentive performance of addicted Warpath players.  Unlike Bradshaw, you must all take personal responsibility for your behaviour!


Piloting Your Ship

The left mouse button is your navigation button.  Clicking with the left button anywhere in the sector or galaxy maps will start your ship on a journey in that direction.  It will not automatically stop when it gets there unless you have specifically clicked on a planet. The right mouse button is your weapons button.  It fires your currently selected weapon at the spot click in the Sector Screen.

This icon, displayed in the sector map, represents your ship. At the beginning of the game, your ship is in orbit around your home planet.  Certain activities (mining, shopping, colonizing) can only take place while you are orbiting a planet.

When you leave orbit, you will move in a straight line at your current speed until you select a new direction or speed.

Ship Command Buttons:

About mid-screen you will find your ship's engine controls.  These control your speed, while clicking in the sector map controls your direction.  Please see the  keyboard shortcuts for these commands.

This icon commands your ship to speed up one notch.  Remember that going faster than a certain speed will begin to consume energy.  (And what is that speed, you ask?  Well... it changes with the number of extra Energy Pods you've bought..  They each have their own energy conversion unit, see, so it all makes sense.  They each convert stellar light into enough energy to go one more tick for free.)  Your speedometer will indicate your current maximum "energy free" speed.

This icon commands your ship to slow down one notch.  it will do this automatically if you start to run low on energy.  The meters section has a meter which indicates your current speed setting.

This icon commands your ship to stop on the proverbial intergalactic credit unit.	That is, your speed goes to zero.  And you stop moving.  Your inertia-less drive makes this possible without knocking all your expensive Gryllian crystalware onto the floor.  While stopped, your energy pods will slowly recharge as they convert stellar light into a packed electron format.

This icon commands your ship to instantly reverse direction.  The safety of your crockery is not ensured. There is a certain probability that the stress this places on your hull could cause it to rupture.  Then again, we may just be saying that here in the help file and it may not hurt to do it as much as you like.  Are we lying?  Hmmmm... well... even WE don't know!

Remember to train your LEFT mouse finger to do all your navigating. Otherwise you will eventually shoot a planet when you meant to orbit it. That will cause you to lose esteem with that planet, kill off any potential colonists it may have had, set its industrial base back to the stone age, and destroy the goods in its trading post.  It's just not a good idea.


The Galaxy Map
The Galaxy/Political Map

Located in the upper left corner of the screen, the Galaxy/Political Map can be toggled between two settings, the Galaxy Map and the Political Map.  Both maps show the division of the galaxy into 8 quadrants (yes, 'octants' would be more accurate), each controlled initially by a different player.

You toggle between the two maps by using the selector buttons to the left, or by right-clicking anywhere in the map.

The Galaxy Map

The Galaxy Map maintains a record of that portion of the galaxy which you have visited.	When your ship first enters a sector, the galaxy map immediately shows the locations of any planets within that sector.  However, you must orbit each planet in turn before its aura (the Path it has chosen) is known.  Once visited, however, planets report their status to you via deep space radio, so any changes in aura are instantly reflected in the Galaxy Map.

Visiting a Sector for the First Time

When a sector is cool blue on the galaxy map, it means you have never entered it. After entering it, it will change to black and the planets it contains will be shown as solid colored circles indicating their aura, if known.  The current sector (where your ship is) is highlighted by a white outline.

When a planet is gray on the galaxy map, it means you have never orbited it. After orbiting it, the display will take on the color of the planet's aura (white, yellow, green, or red).  If a planet is enlarged on the galaxy map, it means they are in distress.  You should go to them immediately. Failure to respond will result in the planet's empire losing faith in you.

Locating other Players

The locations of other players following your Path are indicated by a box of the color of your Path.  You may also see the locations of enemy players (indicated by a box the color of their Path), but only if they are in sectors containing planets which follow your Path.  I.e. only if you have spies in that sector. The yellow box always shows the location of the current "point of view."

Navigating via the Galaxy Map

Clicking somewhere in the galaxy map with the left mouse button will change your ship's heading as required to reach that point.  If your goal is to orbit a specific planet, you should use the Planetary Guide, or click on the planet once it appears in the Sector Screen.

If you currently own Warp Drive, and it is engaged,  then clicking in the Galaxy map will cause you to warp to the designated sector.  This consumes a fair amount of charge.

The Political Map

The Political Map recaps the home quadrants of the eight players, as well as their Path color, empire, name, and ship design.  When a player runs out of ships, the ship design disappears from the planet map and that player becomes a spectator until the end of the game.

Changing Your Point of View

In SOLO mode, you can click on the face of one of your opponents (shown on the political map), and the sector screen and galaxy map will show the universe from HIS point of view.  This is akin to watching ants.  Even though you are watching his ship, you are still flying yours.  Any commands you issue will be followed by your own ship.

To return to your own point of view, click on your own face.  The point of view will be automatically returned to your own ship, should it be damaged in any way.

In multiplayer mode, you will only be able to click on the faces of players following the same Path as yourself, unless the game host has enabled the "See Enemy Point of View" option on the Mission Settings screen.

Planet Counts

This meter recaps the total number of planets in the galaxy currently following each Path.  In a multiplayer game, these counts may not completely agree due to delays in radio transmissions from distant planets.


The Sector Screen
Sector Screen/Tactical Display

The Sector Screen is an enlarged view of the sector of space which contains your ship.

When you enter a sector for the first time, all the planets in that sector appear on your Galaxy Map. However, you do not know the status of a planet until after you visit it. After orbiting a planet, it will thereafter display an aura which will be white for an uninhabited planet, yellow for an uncommitted planet, green for a planet which is following the Path of Peace, and red for a planet which is following the Path of War.

Navigating Your Ship

To navigate your ship, just press the left mouse button while pointing at the place you would like to go.  You will immediately assume a new heading and will travel to the selected spot.  You will stop when you get there only if you clicked on a planet.  Otherwise you will continue on your new trajectory.

You may recharge your energy only on planets with an aura matching your Path. Planets following the opposing Path will launch robotic fighters to destroy you whenever you enter their sector.  A yellow planet may be turned to your Path by significant investment.  It can be turned away from your Path either by your enemy investing in it, or by your attacking it.

Firing Weapons

All weapons activity must be targeted on this screen. While in flight, the available weapons selections are shown along the bottom of the screen.  (While in orbit, these buttons are replaced by the orbital services buttons.)

To fire a weapon, select the weapon type first,  then press the right mouse button anywhere in the sector screen to fire that weapon.	The weapon will explode when it reaches the spot you clicked on.  Remember to fire in lead of moving ships and factor in the time it will take the weapon to arrive.

Energy Barriers and Protective Shields

If the current sector is on the edge of a quadrant, you will see a shimmering energy barrier.  Crossing this energy barrier can be very painful, so make sure you are properly prepared before doing so.  A red barrier hurts.  A yellow barrier is painless.  To be prepared, your ship should be carrying 5 defensive shields, and they should be turned ON.  Alternatively, if your ship is equipped with Barrier Shields, it may pass through unharmed.

Inhabited planets will build protective shields, after you have invested in their factories and planetary defenses.  This makes them much more resistant to attack.

Plague Infected Planets

A planet which has been infected by the plague will be displayed with a sprinkling of green dots.  If you orbit such a planet, you will pick up a bit of plague, which you will then pass on to other planets you orbit.


Using Your Weapons
Using Your Weapons and Shields

It is possible to play Warpath without ever firing a shot.  But in this violent world in which we grew up, you will no doubt be unable to keep your finger off the trigger.  All those perfectly good resources tied up on an unfriendly planet.  If only something were to "happen" to that planet.  Something which rendered it say... uninhabited.	Then you could mine those resources and sell them at a profit.  The temptation is great.  But your will is strong. But perhaps your greed is even stronger.

On the other hand, there are bad guys out there.  They may lack your refined sense of duty and purpose.  They might shoot first.  You can only turn the other cheek so many times.  The day may come when you feel the need to fight back.  For this reason, Warpath comes complete with a growing panoply of weapons of destruction of varying strengths.

You select your current weapon by clicking on it in the weapons toolbar. Thereafter, the right mouse button becomes a trigger for that weapon. To fire a weapon, point to the target in the Sector Screen and press the right mouse button. The weapon will travel to the selected point and then explode, wreaking damage upon anything near that point, including you. Your challenge is to aim at the point where you think the enemy will be by the time your weapon gets there.

Also keep in mind that no more than seven weapons can be equipped on your ship at any given time.  You must visit the Space Dock to change your ship's equipment. A short description of available weapons follows.

Beam Weapons:

This control selects your lasers.  Lasers emit a beam of coherent light which radiates from your ship until it reaches the targeted location.	At that time a small crack is rendered in the ether, and a large explosion ensues. You have unlimited laser shots, but they consume charge as they are being projected.  You will be unable to support laser fire when your ship's charge drops below a certain level.

Missiles and Mines:

This control selects your torpedos.  Once triggered, torpedos travel to their selected target location and then explode.  Anyone within the radius of their explosion will be damaged. You have a finite number of torpedos (indicated on the control), but may buy more at any trading post.  Torpedos are approximately twice as powerful as fully charged lasers. A small amount of charge is required to launch the torpedo.

This control selects your proximity mines.  These devices proceed to a designated target and then arm themselves.  Thereafter they can be triggered by any passing vessel, including your own.  They will also expire after a timeout period.  You may replenish your stocks at any trading post. Mines explode with a force roughly double that of torpedos.  A small amount of charge is required to launch the mine.

This control selects your hot plasma missiles.  These missiles are much more effective at controlling those nasty enemy outbreaks.  However they are also more expensive.  They require charge to be launched.

This control selects your neutron bombs.  This is your most powerful destructive weapon.  It actually attacks the cohesive effects of the atomic nuclei in its vicinity (this is why the universe shakes whenever one is used).  Be careful not to target too close to your own position. It is intended as a planetary weapon, but has general usefulness. It requires charge to be launched.

This control selects your hunter-seeker missiles.  These are only effective when used against piloted enemy ships.  You must click directly on the targeted ship, at which time these missiles will automatically seek out that target and detonate when they get close enough.  While chasing the target, they will also fire small missiles and laser attacks on the target.  If the target goes stealth, the seeker will go quiescent until the target uncloaks, at which time the chase will resume. A small amount of charge is required to launch the weapon.

Planetary Attack Weapons

This control selects your plague bombs.  These are only effective when used against planets.  Each plague bomb carries a certain amount of infection to the planet.  An infected planet is toxic to itself and all who orbit it.  If you orbit an infected planet, you will carry the contagion to all other planets you orbit.  Because of your sealed cockpit, you will never feel the plague yourself, but you may inadvertently spread it around your alliance.  The anti-plague sterilization beam is the only cure for plague. A small amount of charge is required to launch the weapon.

This control selects your Atmospheric Gas bombs.  These are only effective when used against planets.  Whether they are considered a weapon, or a planetary terra-forming tool depends on which gas you bomb with and who is on the planet at the time you launch the bomb. A small amount of charge is required to launch the weapon.

This control selects your Buster bombs.  These are only effective when used against enemy planets.  And then they are very effective.  A single Buster Bomb, scoring a direct hit can terminate all life on a well-protected planet. Only a limited number of these weapons are available since the only planet which knew how to make them suffered a freak  accident. A small amount of charge is required to launch the weapon.

This control selects your Planetary Raiders.  These are only effective when used against enemy planets. Think of these as 'economic plague bombs.' A stealth shuttle full of Planetary Raiders lurks on the planet, committing acts of sabotage which eat away at the infrastructure of the planet.  Amongst other things, this allows you to re-invest a planet which had already achieved 100% development.  Unfortunately, the Raiders commit suicide after each  sabotage mission. A small amount of charge is required to launch the shuttle.

This control selects your Planetary Spies.  These are only effective when used against planets. Your spy sneaks onto the target planet (which could be of any Path) and therafter enemy ship movements in that sector will be reported on the The Galaxy Map, just as if you had a friendly planet in that sector.  Because spies have to live outside the normal planetary support structures, they are easily killed with the slightest attack on a planet. A small amount of charge is required to launch the weapon.

Weapon Accessories and Shields

You can buy extension charge pods at most planetary malls.  They boost the total charge capacity of your ship.  This lets you run your lasers for a longer period before they have to recharge.  Charge is also used to power the weapons launch accelerator.  Without acceleration, your weapons would never be able to cross the vast distances separating you from your enemy.

Shields are also available at most stores.  They are fairly expensive, but a wise investment.  You may carry several layers of shields simultaneously. Each layer cuts the damage of an incoming attack by a factor of two.  Hence with 5 shield layers, you can tolerate a blow 32 times stronger than with no shields.  However, shields wear out with use and must be replaced by new ones. Shields consume some energy which causes your energy pods to deplete when traveling at higher speeds.

Barrier Shields provide 100% protection against damage from energy barriers (and zero protection against anything else.)  They are expensive, and hi-tek, but they make local navigation a less thought-provoking application.

The stealth invisibility shield is an optional piece of ship equipment which you can purhase at most developed planets.  It uses a conventional photon warp field to curve space in your vicinity so as to render you undetectable.  It consumes a fairly high rate of charge while in use. Your defensive shields and weapons become inoperable while stealth is in effect. There is also an uncomfortable change-over period during which you are unshielded, unarmed, AND un-invisible.

This control activates your sonic scream shield disrupter.  This effects all shield generators in your sector (including your own).  It cuts the effective number of shields in half.  Since each shield provides a factor of 2 in protection, this control can make quite a difference in weakening an opposing ship or planet.  The shield disrupter consumes charge while active.

This control selects your Android Slave Ships.  These are a form of active defense. Once launched, they hold in formation around your ship.  If you receive damage, they instantly target your aggressor, and launch a barrage of missile and laser fire whenever he is in range. A small amount of charge is required to launch the weapon.

Special Transportation

If you can't afford Warp Drive, or  Barrier Shields aren't available at your current Tek Level,  perhaps you could give Worm Holes a try.   You'll need to purchase a  matched set of WormGates at your local trading post.  Then travel to some spot (not too close to a planet, please!), activate your WormGate control, and then click somewhere in the The Galaxy Map.  A Wormhole will then be created between where you are, and where you clicked.  Travel in wormholes can damage you shields if you come in contact with the edge of the hole.

Activating this homing-warp generator more or less instantly warps you back to your home planet.  Think of it as the 'chicken switch.'

Activating your Self-Destruct trigger starts a countdown (click again to cancel it) at  the end of which your ship's engines are imploded.  The Good News is that your ship releases as much energy as a Buster Bomb.  The Bad News is... well, you figure it out.

Plague Cure

This control activates your anti-plague sterilization field.  All infected planets in your sector will be cured by application of this field.  The degree of infection controls how many applications of this field may be necessary for complete cure.  Your own ship is cured by a single application. You must purchase additional antibody seed crystals to use this device.


Energy Management
Managing Your Energy

Energy is the life blood of your ship.  Energy is required for high speed travel.  You lose energy when damaged by enemy weapons.  If your energy level ever reaches zero, your ship will be destroyed. If you have any ships remaining, you will be teleported back to your home planet.  Otherwise, the game will be over.

Energy Pods Extend Your Life

This meter shows your current energy level and capacity.  Your ship has a primary energy reservoir whose contents are shown in the meter.  When it is depleted, one of your reserve energy pods is cracked open to refill it.

You may purchase additional energy pods at most trading posts at reasonable prices.  Additional energy pods also increase the speed at which your ship may travel without consuming energy.  You may go one tick faster for each additional energy pod.  This is because each pod comes with its own stellar conversion unit which slowly recharges it from ambient star light.

Refueling Your Ship

To recharge your ship's energy, you should dock on a planet with a green (or red, if you are on the red Path) aura.  This will charge you up to a level commensurate with the planet's development.  This is a good reason to invest heavily in the spaceports of planets which are located in strategic areas where a powerful refueling center would be desirable.

You may also recharge slowly by stopping and waiting while your ship converts dim starlight to energy.  But listen carefully for the incoming threat alarm or you may find yourself to be a sitting duck!


Empires and Aurae
Empires and Planetary Aurae

Each planet you encounter is either inhabited or uninhabited.  If it is inhabited, it will belong to an empire.  That empire will have some level of allegiance to the Path chosen by you or your enemy.

A planet's attitude towards you is indicated by its aura.  The aura can be seen as a thin atmospheric envelope around the planet on the Sector Screen. It is also displayed as the planet's color on the Galaxy Map.  Until you have once orbited a planet, its aura is unknown.

A Measure of Love

A planet's aura is really a combination of both its own feelings about you (based upon specific things you have done to it or for it) and the feelings its empire has for you.  If you invest heavily in a planet, not only will it love you, but its parent empire will begin to love you.  So much so that it will require a much smaller investment in other planets of that empire to make them love you.

In the final analysis, however, a planet's aura towards you is a private thing and you had better treat each planet as an independent entity.  Remember that each time your improve the aura of a planet, you correspondingly weaken its aura towards your opponent.

Uninhabited Planets

A white aura denotes a planet which is uninhabited, bereft of life, unpopulated, dead (an EX-planet), and fair game. These are the only planets which you can mine for resources.  This is what your home planet will look like after your opponent has killed off all life upon it.  If you colonize one of these planets, it will instantly take on the aura of your Path and become a member of your empire.  But it will probably have too low a level of development to be of much use as a refueling center unless you invest heavily in its port facilities.

Unaligned Planets

A yellow aura denotes a planet which is still uncommitted.  You can shop here and sell your ore here, but no refueling is available.  It is a prime candidate for investment and other forms of influence.  Your goal is to turn it green before your opponent turns it red. (of course, if you are playing the red Path, your goal is the opposite!)

Planets following The Path

A green aura denotes a planet which follows the green path. If you also follow that path, this planet thinks you are special.  It will provide you with free refueling to the best of its spaceport's abilities.  Likewise, it will create green drone attack ships to battle your opponent whenever he is in the vicinity. And of course it will buy your ores, and offer you special rates in the shopping malls.

A red aura denotes a planet which follows the red path. Assuming that you do not, this planet hates you. This could be because you were mean to it or just that your opponent was nicer than you were.  Perhaps your opponent just bought them off with cold hard cash.  Now they will refuse to trade with you and will launch red drones to attack you whenever you are nearby.  Now it's probably too late, but you might be able to win them back by investing in other planets of the same empire.  Your only other choice is to attack.  Which will pretty much upset all the planets in their empire, so think twice.  Maybe it's a small empire.  Check the Planetary Guide.

The Paths are in Opposition

In case it wasn't clear: Planets whose aura is the same color as your Path (red or green) love you.  Planets whose aura is the opposite color, hate you. The meters area shows how many planets are so far aligned into each Path.  It's sort of like your score.  Kind of. Really, the end of the game happens when there are no more resources left to distribute.  Kind of depressing really.  Every game ends with the heat death of the universe.  (Important warpath secret:  If you invest in MINING, a planet can get resources on its own, from deep within its crust, and can then live FOREVER!!!!)


Mining Planets for Resources

   In order to pay for your exploits around the universe, you will need a solid line of credit at the galactic bank.  One way to achieve this is to help planets meet their resource needs.  You can mine uninhabited planets and sell the resources to inhabited ones.

How to Mine a Planet

 While orbiting an uninhabited planet, this button causes your ship to emit a teleportation mining ray which scours the planet looking for rare resources.  These are then beamed directly into the cargo pods of your ship. While your mining beams are active you are incapable of flight (and your shields are down), so be sure no enemy ships are in the neighborhood before you turn them on.

This meter shows how full your current cargo pod is.  Each use of the mining beam can pick up about this amount of ore, assuming the planet has that much to give.	Once a pod is filled, its indicator is lit and the meter switches to showing how full the next pod is.

Carrying More Ore

You can buy these cargo pods at most trading posts.  It's a good idea to have as many as possible to increase your earning potential for each trip between the mine and the market.	They are self-contained units which include both a mining beam and a channeled-ion phased matter compactor which can store a large amount of mass in a small space in the form of a packed electron array.  This makes them very similar to charge pods, except charge pods are optimized for high speed discharge while cargo pods really retain more of the teleportation information density. That is to say, the resource beamed into the cargo pods is not fully decoded and is really still in a teleportation protocol format.  It requires matching equipment at the receiving end to be removed from the pod.

Selling Your Cargo

Selling mined resources to inhabited planets can be very lucrative, depending on how starved for resources the planet is.  Planets consume their resources to maintain their populations.  However, the more developed a planet becomes, the more efficiently it uses its remaining resources.

Whenever you enter orbit around an inhabited planet, you are given the opportunity to sell your cargo.  The price the planet will pay is a function of supply and demand.	If they are low on resources, they will offer more. They will purchase as much of your cargo as they can afford.  You may wish to refuse to sell, waiting for a higher price later, or from another planet. The Planetary Guide will list the current resource level of planets you have visited and can be a useful tool for determining where you might get the best price.

Auto-Miner

 Most stores carry the auto-miner ship's extension.  It doesn't use an equipment slot since it is really just a sub-routine added to your ship's computer.  Once installed, your mining beams will stay on until all your cargo pods are full,  instead of just filling one pod at a time.  This is a convenience until you realize your shields are down that entire time and you're a sitting duck.  Once installed, you have the autom-miner until your ship is destroyed.  So, in a way, it can be thought of as self-uninstalling...


Colonizing Planets
Establishing Colonies

As planets develop, some of their citizens become dissatisfied and yearn to begin new lives elsewhere in the galaxy.  These citizens become potential colonists which you can take on board when orbiting a friendly inhabited planet.  These colonists are transferred on board automatically as you enter orbit. You can see how many are currently on board by the number printed on the long-range scanner.

Building a Colony

As you travel the galaxy, visiting planets, you will discover uninhabited planets which are crying out to be colonized.	By orbiting such a planet and then pressing this button on the Planetary Scan screen,  you deposit some portion of your current load of colonists (200 minimum) upon the planet.

This has the secondary effect of claiming the planet for your empire.  You may then add additional colonists later. It is in your interest to add as many colonists as you can, as that will increase the.. ahem.. population rate, as well as the tax base.  It will also make the planet more immune to devastation through attacks by your opponents.

Investing in Colonies

However, it would be unconscionable to leave a few colonists on a planet and thereafter ignore them. To help ensure the longevity and success of your new planet, you must invest in it.  This will increase its level of development which will increase the efficiency of its use of resources, and the level to which it can refuel you when you visit it.

Planets in Distress

If a planet comes under attack, or runs dangerously low on resources, it will post a distress signal which you will see as a blinking planet on your Galaxy Map.  You must then go to it and comfort it, or it may change its allegiance. It is losing faith in you continuously from the moment it issues the distress call until the moment you are in orbit, so get yourself in gear and visit your friends in need!

Plagued Planets

Remember, however, that being living entities, colonists are prime carriers of the plague, and you may unintentionally contaminate, or be contaminated by contact with them each time you orbit a planet.


Population and Development
Planetary Development and Population

Planets evolve over time. Given an adequate supply of resources (either native, or sold to them by you), they will experience increasing population and technical development.

Likewise, should a planet run low on resources, it will experience dwindling population and will have to dismantle some of its developed infrastructure to make ends meet.

How Planets Earn Money

Empires obtain the credit required to purchase your resources via taxation of their population.  So it is to your advantage to keep the populations high.  It is also to your advantage to keep a planet's resource level at a bare minimum, since that keeps the price of resources as high as possible. But you are, no doubt, too altruistic to factor that into your planning.

Should a planet run completely out of resources, it will post a distress signal.  This is your cue to come running, preferably with a full cargo hold.

You can only mine uninhabited planets (white auras).  You can only colonize uninhabited planets.  You can, however, render any planet uninhabited via the application of enough weapons.


Meters
Meters, Counters, and Tell-Tales

The left of the screen contains several meter panels.  These panels contain real time meters showing aspects of your ship.

Remaining Energy

This meter shows your current ship's energy level.  It changes color to indicate when your energy levels are dangerously low.  If your energy level reaches zero, your ship will explode.	You may purchase additional energy pods to increase your useful range and battle endurance.

Available Charge

This meter shows the current charge available in your charge pods.  These pods are used by your weapons and the hyper drive.  They recharge quickly from the electron density of space itself.	However, your lasers will have limited range if the charge is too low.  You may purchase additional charge pods to enhance your weapons.

Cargo Storage

This meter shows how full the hold of your ship is with mined resources.  These can be sold to planets to replenish their own dwindling supplies.  You can only mine uninhabited planets.  You may purchase additional cargo pods to increas the total resource load you can carry to market.

Defensive Shield Information

This meter shows the state of your defensive shields.  The left meter area shows the temperature safety-range of your outermost shield layer.  If this ever gets fully empty, the outermost shield will pop.  Allowing it to cool down will extend your shield life.  This meter also indicates the total number of shield layers you have in place.  The button on the left is what you use to turn your shields on and off.  For the most part, however, leave them on!

Ship Velocity

This meter indicates your ship's current engine speed.  It can range from a value of zero (empty meter, full stop) to ten. Speed ten is actually a bit faster than your torpedoes, so be careful not to accidentally shoot yourself.

A small tick mark on the meter indicates the maximum speed at which you may travel without consuming energy from your pods.  This 'free speed' will increase as you purchase energy pods, but decrease so long as your shield are active.  If you cannot support your current speed (insufficient remaining energy,) you will automatically be slowed down to your current free speed.

Long-Range Scanner:

This display recaps the status of the 'scan planet' (the last planet you orbited, or scanned with the Planetary Guide)

It also contains information about your available credits in the bank, how many colonists you are carrying, and how many spare ships you  have back at your home planet. (Note: when it says 'zero' you still have one ship left - the one you're flying.  And if that one dies, it's "Game Over, man, Game Over" - Bill Paxton)

For the current 'scan planet' the following information is displayed:

- Planet Name, Empire, and Population
- Current Path Alignment Meter
- Total Resources Remaining on Planet
- % of Planet's populace infected with plague
- Total Development Level of planet


Your Controls
Controls

Your controls are distributed around the screen in the form of buttons with icons on them.  You activate a control by clicking on it with your mouse.  Some controls (for example, the weapons selection controls) influence what happens when you subsequently click within the sector screen or The Galaxy Map.  The middle mouse button, if you have one, is not used by Warpath - but your system probably maps it to either the left or right function.

The controls are divided into several groups on sub-panels of the display. Each group is defined below.  Several controls have keyboard equivalents.

Ship Controls:

The engine controls determine your speed when not in orbit.

Increase ship speed one notch.	Higher speeds cost additional energy to maintain. You will be decelerated automatically should your energy level drop below the minimum required to maintain these speeds.

Decrease Ship Speed one notch.	Speed zero is a full stop.

Bring ship to complete stop.  While stopped, your energy will automatically recharge (slowly) as you absorb photonic emissions from nearby stars.  You are also a sitting duck for any passing enemy ships.  Stopping near a planet is not the same as orbiting it.

Reverse ship direction.  This executes an abrupt U-Turn, thanks to your inertia-less drive system.  This is useful when, at high speed, you have just flown past your desired target.  Slow Down and make a U-Turn.  In some cases, it will also return you to a planet when you have just left orbit.

The Button Bar

Just below the Sector Screen is the button bar.  While in orbit around a planet, the Planetary Services controls are shown.  These allow you to take advantage of what the planet has to offer you by way of shops, scanners, and government interactions.

While in flight, the button bar displays your current ship extensions (usually weapons).  Generally only one weapon is selected at a time.

If you need the weapons selections while you are still in orbit,  right-click anywhere in the button bar to toggle it between weapons and planetary services.

Weapons Selections:

Weapons may be selected while in flight (while in orbit, the orbital services bar is shown instead of the weapons selection bar).  Only those weapons which you have both purchased and installed will be available. Your ship may only have seven ship extensions installed at any time (though you may own more items than that).  You will need to visit a Space Dock to re-equip your ship as desired.

Selects laser as current weapon.  You have an unlimited supply of phaser power.	Actually, it is limited by your charge level.

Selects torpedo as current weapon. The number shown on the control is the number of torpedoes you have left.  You must buy additional torpedoes from planetary malls.

Selects proximity bomb as current weapon.  You have a limited supply of these and must visit a store to buy more.

Selects hot plasma missile as current weapon.  You have an limited supply of these, which can be purchased at planetary shopping malls.

Selects neutron bomb as current weapon.  This is a very powerful weapon which destroys planets or ships.

Selects plague bomb as current weapon.  This infects its target with a highly toxic plague which is then propogated via subsequent planetary orbiting.  It has no direct effect on ships, but ships may propogate plague while docking.

For additional information on all available weapons, see the topic: Use Your Weapons and Shields

Planet Controls (orbital services bar):

While orbiting a planet, the orbital services button bar is displayed instead of the weapons selection bar.  The following services are available.

Activates resource mining beam. This works only when you are orbiting an uninhabited planet.  It transfers resources from the planet to your cargo hold.	While the mining beam is active, your ship cannot be piloted and you are an easy target.  It takes several mining passes to fill your cargo hold.  When orbiting an inhabited planet, this button acts as a short-cut for selling your resources (rather than by scanning the planet first).

Activates your planetary scanner. The planetary scan window gives you a summary of the planet you are orbiting, and its home empire.  It also describes the planet's current offer for any resources you are carrying, and presents you with the colonization controls.

This control takes you to the Banking/Investment investment console.  This console allows you to invest in six different categories of a planet's development.  You must be orbiting an inhabited planet which has a yellow or green aura.  Your investment is used to build infra- structure on the planet.  This creates goodwill towards you with the planet's empire.  The more developed a planet is, the more efficiently it uses its remaining resources.  You may also  take advantage of First Galactic Bank activities here,  where you may borrow money, or repay loans.  You will be unable to make further investments in planets until you have repaid all outstanding loans.

If a planet has a marketplace, this control takes you into it.	There you may purchase weapons and other items.

If a planet has a space dock, this control takes you into it.  Once in Space Dock you can re-equip your ship to optimize it for the task at hand.

This control takes you to the planetary government and other activities screen.  Hopefully this will be really cool someday, but for now is just a map of the planet. As it turns out, the local planetary governments are all in exile until the end of hostilities in the Galaxy.

Shield Generators:

While your defensive shields are standard equipment on all ships, the other shield generators are optional ship extensions and must be installed in the Space Dock in one of your ship's extension nacelles.

Turns shields on or off.  You may buy multiple layers of shields at most stores.  Each layer of shielding halves your sensitivity to weapons fire.

Activates your Stealth Invisibility Shield.  This allows you to travel in enemy territory without being sensed.  It is powered by your charge capacitors and prevents your weapons or shields from being activated while it is in effect.

Activates your shield disrupter beam. This causes a temporary loss of effectiveness for all shield generators in the vicinity. Including your own and those of friendly planets in the vicinity.

Activates your anti-plague sterilization beam.  It is used to counter the effects of plague bombs. It is more effective with repeated applications. It requires purchasing a fresh mono-clonal replicant cell between uses.

Enable Warp-Jump Drive.  (click left mouse button in Galaxy Map to activate warp).	This is an advanced ship component, available at great cost from some planetary shopping malls.  Depress this control to engage the jump drive.  Then click the left mouse button somewhere within the galaxy map.  If you have sufficient charge on board, you will be teleported instantly to the selected sector. Whie your jump drive is enabled, the Planetary Guide will offer a button allowing instantaneous leap to the desired planet.

MultiFunctional Display:

At the lower left of the screen is the MFD (Multi-Functional Display).  By pressing one of the selection buttons, you can review the following information.

Switch MFD to Game Clock and current Score information

Switch MFD to Planetary Guide.  This is an electronic guidebook summarizing all the planets you have visited.  It also allows you to easily lock in a course to return to any planet you have previously orbited.

Switch MFD to population History Graph. This screen shows how well your Path's total population is adding up against the opposing Path.

Switch MFD to Captains List


MFD - Game Clock and Score

This page of the Multi-Functional Display shows the Game Clock and Score panel.

The Game Clock advances every ten seconds, completing one revolution each minute played.  Taxes are paid 'on the minute.'  The clock also shows the total minutes the current game has taken, as well as the time limit (if selected) for this game.  During the last 5 minutes of a time-limited game, the Game Clock will turn red.

Next to the Game Clock is the current score.  The score is what determines who won or lost in a time limited game.  It is a measure of your total planetary development and population. Your score is always depicted in the  color of your path's flag.

Also shown is the last tax payment made to each Path.  Payments are evenly distributed between all players on the Path.  Generally speaking, large, developed, populations lead to high tax income.


MFD - Planetary Guide

This page of the Multi-Functional Display shows the Planetary Guide, if your ship is equipped with one.

Planetary guides can be purchased at most trading posts.  It is one of the best investments you can make, especially if you have already visited a large number of planets.

Each time you orbit a planet for the first time, its radio frequencies are entered into your ship's computers and an entry is created in your Planetary Guide. Thereafter, as conditions change on that planet, you are kept abreast via sub-ether transmissions.

For each planet, you are told:

Planet
The planet's Name, along with an icon indicating which Path it is following.  If the planet is currently in distress, an exclamation mark will precede its name.

Empire
The Planet's Empire.

Population
The Planet's population.

Ore
The Planet's remaining natural resource level.  They will pay higher rates for your cargo if they are low on their own.

Development
The Planet's overall development level.  Higher developed planets can manufacture more interesting items, and pay higher taxes to their Path.

Love
A numeric representation of the Planet's affinity for it's Path.  Very large positive numbers indicate greater degrees of affinity with the Green Path.  Very large negative numbers follow the Red Path.

Plague
The Planet's current plague infection level, in percent.

Sorting Entries

By clicking on the title of a column, the list will be sorted by rank of that column. This allows you to sort the list by name, empire, remaining resources, and love.  This information can be very valuable when selecting a target for mining, selling, or investing.

Functions Available from Guide:

After right-clicking on a planet's name in the guide, you may press one of the following popup menu items:

SCAN

This command directs your long-range scanner to display a few details about the planet. It also causes the planet to begin blinking on the The Galaxy Map, to help you identify its location in the galaxy.

SET COURSE TO PLANET

This command sets an immediate course to that planet at the currently selected ship speed.  This is the same as clicking on the planet itself in the Sector Screen, but is quite useful when the planet you desire to visit is not currently on screen. Be aware that you will chart a direct path which may cross the energy barrier separating the quadrants.

WARP TO PLANET

If your ship is currently equipped with Warp Drive,  pressing this button will more or less instantly transport you to the selected planet.  In fact, you will be warped to the correct sector, and then will travel using normal engines to the final destination.  Some care must be taken when warping to sectors near an energy barrier.

Planetary Distress Calls

If a planet sends you a distress call, it is automatically added to the Guide, even if you have never visited it.  This is possible since the distress call provided the necessary frequency and access codes for your computer to keep in touch.  A planet in distress will be marked with an exclamation mark in the Guide.


MFD - Population Charts

This page of the Multi-Functional Display shows the Population History Chart.

Although the easy way to measure your progress in Warpath is by counting the deaths of your opponent's ships, a more valid measurement of your success is the population of your alliance.  The population history chart shows you the relative growth in population of the green and red alliances.


MFD - Captains List

This page of the multi-functional display panel recaps the status of the players in the game.

For each player it tells you:

Name
The name of the player at time of enlistment.  The icon next to the name indicates if the player is bot or real.  Once a player has died, the icon becomes a skull wearing the caste marking of that player's Path.

Rank
Warpath supports only 2 ranks at present: "Captain" and "Bot", with one extra rank "CHEATER" reserved for players who use cheat codes.

Serial Number
Each registered copy of Warpath is given a unique serial number.  No two copies of the game with the same serial number will be allowed to play.  So be sure to register today.  The serial number of unregistered copies is 'shareware'  Shareware players are allowed to play for a brief time before they must become registered.

Experience
This displays the total number of hours this captain has played Warpath. (Not counting the current game so far).  In the case of bots, the time shown is that of the bot's 'host'

TEK Level
This displays the current Tek Level of that captain (which controls what level technology will be available to him or her when visiting Trading Posts).

VERSION
This shows which version of the Warpath software the player has.  Ideally everyone should be running the same version or incompatibilities might lead to program crashes.   The latest version is always available at  http://www.synthetic-reality.com, and there's never a charge for upgrading.  (which  is to say, your activation code will continue to work for newer versions.)


Selling Cargo

You may sell your cargo to any friendly inhabited planet (aura is yellow, or same as your Path).  The price a planet is willing to pay is inversely proportional to their current resource level. When you dock on an inhabited planet, they will make an offer to you for your cargo.  Your options are to refuse the offer, sell the contents of just one cargo pod, or sell all your cargo. A poor planet may not be able to afford your entire cargo and will offer to purchase a smaller tonnage.  (hint: by investing in that planet, it will have the cash it needs to buy more.)

To see the planet's offer, press the planetary scan button after entering orbit.

This meter shows how much cargo you are currently carrying.  A small blue rectangle is shown for each completely full cargo pod you have.  The bar-graph shows how full your last pod is.

Carrying More Cargo

You may purchase additional cargo pods at most trading posts at reasonable prices.  Each cargo pod holds approximately 1000 tons of ore. Each cargo pod contains an integral mass transfer mechanism which can beam ore into the pod directly from the surface of any uninhabited planet which you are orbiting.  However, you can only beam ore from the surface areas of the planet.  If you develop the mining capabilities of a planet, through investment, that planet will have access to resources held deeper within the planet's crust.


Distress Calls
Planetary Distress Calls

If you see a planet 'enlarged' in the The Galaxy Map, that means that it is sending a distress call.  This is also indicated in that planet's entry in your Planetary Guide.  You will also receive a message on your radio. There is also a audible alarm associated with the event.

With all these ways of telling you that it is happening, a distress call must be pretty important, huh?

Yes it is.  A planet generates a distress call when it is under attack, or when it has run out of resources.  Once the distress call starts, it won't go away until you orbit the planet.  Or until your opponent does.

The important thing to remember, is that for the entire time that a planet is emitting a distress call, it is losing faith in you (and in your opponent, too, for that matter).  A planet with a green aura, left unattended for too long, will slowly return to a yellow aura.  Hence your opponent can steal planets from your alliance just by shooting them once and hoping you won't get around to visiting them before their allegiance has shifted.  Once their aura is yellow, they are again fair game for both sides to woo.

So, a word to the wise, don't leave them hanging.  Keep your eye open for planets in distress and take time out of your busy schedule to go visit them once in awhile.

As planets grow stronger, they stop getting distressed over every little thing.


Inter-Ship Radio

During a game, you will wish to chat with the other players.  For your convenience, your ship comes equipped with a radio suitable for this task.  You will also receive distress signals from planets via the radio.

To keep the radio from gathering dust during a solo mode game, your synthetic enemies will keep you apprised of their actions via regular taunts and threats.

The radio is located on the lower right of the screen, just beneath the Sector Screen.  A splitter bar allows you to dynamically shrink and enlarge the radio size to meet your needs.

You shouldn't need to click on anything to use the radio as all keyboard activity (except for the numeric keypad)  is sent to the radio.  Your message is not sent until you press ENTER and can be edited up until that moment.

Private Radio Messages

To send a radio message privately to your team members (All players following your Path), begin your message with the ']' character, as in:

"]Meet me at our wormgate cluster, and we'll attack together!"


Plague

Plague is the doomsday weapon of Warpath.  Use it responsibly, if that is possible. Plague is only effective against planets, so don't bother firing it at enemy ships.  It's expensive, too, so be sure to fire right at the center of the planet for maximum effect (hey, it's not like the planet is a moving target, so you have no excuse for sloppy aim!)

Each plague bomb which scores a direct hit on a planet, infects approximately 10 per cent of the planet's population.  Infecting a planet above 100% is of no great effect.  Once a portion of the planet's population is infected, the infection will spread to other citizens of that planet, until it reaches 100% on its own.  It takes a while for an infected citizen to.. uh.. I hate to put it bluntly, but.. die.

When you scan a planet, you will see its current plague level on the Plague-O-Meter.  As you fly by a planet, you see a sparkling green pattern, which increases in intensity as the plague takes over.  If you see such a planet, you should NOT orbit it.

Plague Propogation

Plague is spread through contact between people.  Each time you orbit a friendly planet, some number of people on your ship beam down and visit. This is all it takes to convey plague from the planet to your ship, or vice-versa.  Since most of the travelers on your ship are in deep-sleep, the plague virus has no obvious effect on your ship itself (you, the captain, never get to leave the bridge!)

But the next planet you orbit will NOT be glad to see you (well, they won't even notice when it happens, but later on they will be unhappy about it, to be sure).

Of course, the trick is to plague only the ENEMY planets, and hopefully to trick an unobservant enemy into spreading the plague around between his own planets.  (Note: You can only plague an enemy planet by using a plague bomb.  When you orbit an enemy planet, NOBODY beams down or up)

Curing the Plague

"So, what can I DO about this anyway?  I'm a ship's captain, dammit, not a surgeon!"  Well, the store has what you need!  You need to buy some retrovirus crystals!  This technology is really complicated, so I might not explain it all correctly, so bear with me a moment.  Basically, you need to beam a special antidote virus down into the bodies of the citizens who are infected. This isn't like beaming a simple ore element.  This is a complex living multi-molecular structure, and you have to get it right!  Sure, it might be OK if it mutates into something like alcohol, but what if it mutated into arsenic?  Hmmm?  Want that on your conscience?  Well, send us a check and maybe we will develop a new weapon for you!

Anyway, you need to buy the retrovirus crystal which is sort of like a seed crystal when seeding clouds for rain.  It forms the matrix pattern for the teleporter beam to recreate the antidote properly.  When you launch the antibio beam, you teleport plague antidote to everyone in the current sector.  Even into the body of healthy people, and there ARE some side effects, so they don't like to be cured if they aren't sick.

It takes about 8 seconds of antibio application to cure a 100% infected planet. In addition to being the 'right thing to do', there is a side benefit to curing a planet.  It makes them LIKE you!  In fact, you might be able to win over an enemy planet by infecting it, letting it get REAL sick, and then curing it.  (They have a short memory as to who plagued them).


Planetary Scan.
Planetary Scanner - Terraforming

The Planetary Scanner screen summarizes certain key elements of the development of a planet and its empire.  You activate the screen by  depressing its icon control while you are orbiting a planet.  It measures the atmosphere of the planet and evaluates its suitability for colonization

The planet's name and population are shown beneath the cool rotating graphic  (those are true, spherically-deformed fractal continents, unique to each planet!   Watch it rotate for awhile! Be amazed that such accuracy is found in a lowly shareware game!)

The upper left gives details about any offer the planet is making you for your current ore cargo.

The upper right provides an optional button to place some colonists on the planet and shows the current atmospheric gas ratios from the perspective the current population of the planet From top to bottom, that's Good Gas (green) , OK Gas (white),  Stinky Gas (yellow), and Lethal Gas (red).  If the planet it is uninhabited, the gasses  are shown in the order that your empire (and potential colonists) care about.

On the bottom right side is an attitude meter, which shows the current alignment of the planet between the red and green alliances.  You want to sway the planet to follow your path.  It's sort of the whole point of the game..

On the bottom left are three bar graphs summarizing the planet's remaining resources, plague contamination,  and overall development level.  When an uninhabited planet shows zero resources remaining, you will no longer be able to mine it.  Investing in a planet will raise its development level.

Colonizing the Planet

This button (on the planetary scan window) places 200 colonists from your ship onto the planet you are orbiting. You can colonize uninhabited planets (claiming them for your empire).	You can also add colonists to any planet of your own empire.

Terraforming the Planet

As mentioned above, the four major gas components of the atmosphere are shown on the screen. (roughly one percent of trace gasses are not mentioned).  If you have turned on the Atmosphere Management option in the Mission Settings , then you will have to  make sure a planet is suitable for colonization before placing your settlers on it.

You do this by purchasing gas bombs [image] of the appropriate flavor  and then bombing the planet to increase the percentage of the atmosphere which is that gas. (The bomb actually  operates by transforming an equivalent amount of molecules of the original gasses into the desired gas, and that's why the overall gas pressure doesn't go up... obviously, the gas bombs are really a sort of chemical catalyst which enables the change.  I mean your ship couldn't possibly carry that much actual gas on board, no matter how tightly encoded storage in phase space is!)

Which Gasses are Which?

The following tables describe which gasses do what to each of the empires.  It is balanced so as to provide a galaxy 'fair to all' (i.e. pretty much deadly to YOU!)  There are only four important gasses in the galaxy:

O2	Oxygen
N2	Nitrogen
CH4	Methane
KCN	Potassium Cyanide

(And who said Warpath wasn't educational?).

Each empire finds one gas required (the 'good' gas), one that it doesn't care about (the 'ok' gas), one that it finds mildly offensive (the 'stinky' gas), and one that it finds just out and out deadly (the 'bad' gas).

Empire	Good	OK	Stinky	Bad

Human	O2	N2	CH4	KCN
Tauran	O2	CH4	KCN	N2
Ditt	O2	KCN	N2	CH4
Klepton	N2	KCN	O2	CH4
Gnarf	N2	O2	KCN	CH4
Gryll	N2	O2	CH4	KCN
Ynik	N2	CH4	KCN	O2
Bjork	CH4	N2	KCN	O2
Karg	CH4	KCN	N2	O2
Limmp	CH4	KCN	O2	N2
Merp	CH4	O2	N2	KCN
Nikk	KCN	O2	CH4	N2
Okre	KCN	CH4	O2	N2
Panz	KCN	N2	CH4	O2
Rull	KCN	N2	O2	CH4

So, for example, Humans and Gryll would find the same planet desirable if it were high in Nitrogen and Oxygen and low in Cyanide.  The Panz and the Rull could practically be room-mates, if it weren't for the fact that Rulls never pick up their underwear.


First Galactic Bank
Investing in Planets

Investing in planets is a good way to earn their respect.  It puts cash in their pockets and directly elevates their level of development.  It also influences their home empire. The money you invest is leveraged in many ways and pays back more than the price of the investment.  For only pennies a day, you can see to it that a helpless young planet has enough to eat.

On a slightly more pragmatic note, only after investing in planets will you be able to borrow money from the bank.  This could come in handy in a pinch.

 To invest in a planet, you must first be orbiting it and then press the bank/investment control.  This brings up a display of the planet's current infrastructure status, divided into six basic categories.  For details of recent activities in a particular category, press its category selector.  The accompanying chart shows the un-invested capital on the left, and a graph of recent investment activity on the right.

When you press the INVEST button at the bottom of the screen, (or right-click on one of the category buttons), money will be transferred from your bank account directly into the planet's working capital fund for the selected category.  The planet will then spend your capital at a rate determined by the  Mission Settings.

When a category becomes 100% invested it will accept no additional capital (here Warpath departs from real life... unfortunately).

While not the only way to earn the respect of a planet, investing is certainly the most direct way. The left side of the investment screen shows the current status of your own bank account. You can earn more credit by selling resources you have mined from uninhabited planets.  If you have any outstanding loans from the bank, you will be denied the right to make additional investments until those loans are repaid.

Investment Categories:

Investing in a planet's mining facilities enables it to develop resources deep beneath the surface of the planet.  (Resources out of range of your mining beams.) This is a good way to make a planet self-sufficient.  However, it will also tend to lower the price that planet will pay for your resources.

A planet with a green aura will attempt to recharge your ship's energy whenever you orbit it.  By investing in a planet's space port facilities, you enhance its abilities to fully recharge your ship. A 100% investment in spaceport will allow your ship to become 100% recharged, no matter how many pods you have.

Investing in a planet's manufacturing facilities increases the rate at which that planet can refill the shelves of its trading post.  Factories are also used to manufacture the planetary shields.

Investing in the agricultural infrastructure of a planet affects the maximum population which can comfortably live on that planet.

Investing in the planetary defenses enables a planet to defend itself using weapons and shields manufactured locally.

Investing in the educational system of a planet increases its overall development level, as well as enabling it to manufacture more complex technical items.

Important Information about the Simulation Engine

The actual simulation engine used to coordinate the effects of investing and the development of planets is an incredibly complicated model, derived from years of analysis of real world economic systems.  In fact, many users have found that this game can be used to accurately predict the New York stock market.  Those users have been glad to send in their checks and have been well rewarded.  While other users who have not sent in their registration checks have found their portfolios mysteriously collapsing in asset value. No one has been able to discover the link between these facts, but knowledgable people agree that to be on the safe side, you should definitely register. Did I mention Ben's braces?  His mother insisted, although he seems kind of young to me.  What do you think?  Perhaps you could include your opinions on the subject along with your check.  And, a few short years after I wrote that, his little sister is poised to get braces, too.  Yes, TWO children in braces at the same time.  I really need your check... today!

First Galactic Bank

Each friendly planet has a branch of the First Galactic Bank and McDOW Investment Brokerage (they merged recently) which you may visit whenever you are in orbit.  This bank will gladly loan you money on the off-chance that you need some cash to re-fit your ship after, say, you accidentally tried to cross the energy barrier with your shields down.  Not that you would ever pull such a boner.

The bank will loan you money using your current investments as collateral. The more you have invested in planets around the galaxy, the more you will be able to borrow.

You always borrow (and repay) money in increments of 100,000 credits (the bank doesn't like to deal in small change).

You might ask what sort of interest rate the bank charges?  Surprisingly enough, the answer is: "none".  What?  How can that be?  What's to stop me from borrowing continuously?

Well.. there IS the issue of your total investment collateral, but aside from that, there is a clause in your promissory note which denies you the right to make additional planetary investments until you have repaid all outstanding loans.

So, it IS in your own best interests to repay the loans as soon as possible.


Buying Items
Honest Xzyll's Trading Post (tm)

At the start of the game (or after getting blown away and issued a new ship), your ship starts out as a wimpy little thing.  You need to buy weapons and extensions for it, or you will be the laughingstock of the galaxy.

Shopping

The items you require can be found in the shopping malls and trading posts of friendly inhabited planets.  Uninhabited planets have no stores (well, none that cater to the LIVING.... just kidding, no ghouls in this game). Unfriendly planets have stores, they just won't sell to YOU.  So go to yellow and green planets when you want to buy.  Green planets may give you a better price.  (and, then again, they might not.  Could be a vaporware promise). (and if you are on the RED Path, then go to RED and yellow stores)

How to Buy Stuff

You can only shop at the planet you are currently orbiting. Once you are orbiting a friendly planet, push the shopping button to visit its store. This will display the store's catalog.  On this screen, you may rummage through the available items, check out their prices, and then buy items in lots of one or ten.  The actual items which are available will be based on the industrial development level of the planet.  Remember that investing in a planet raises its level of development, and thereby stocks its shelves with more interesting items.

The left and right arrows will step you between items you need (it won't show you stuff you are alreadf full of).  The drop-down combo box lets you go directly to the catalog page describing any item available in the galaxy.

The controls on the Shopping screen are probably self-evident.  In fact they had better be, coz I am not describing them here.  But here's a tip: you can  make this screen disappear by clicking in the yellow X at the top, or  by right-clicking anywhere that isn't a button, or by pressing the official tactical display button on the orbital services bar.

 Auto-Shopper

This control toggles your auto-shopper on and off.  You're probably going to be mad at me that I didn't mention this sooner.  When your autoshopper is turned on then each time you enter orbit around a friendly plannet, you will automatically  purchase shields, energy pods, charge pods, and more of your currently selected weapon (in that order).  Just what you need during pitched battle!

Manufacturing Items:

Each planet busily manufactures items as fast as it can, so the quantity in stock will vary with time.  Events like attack from outside can destroy goods in the store, so the shelves may be bare for awhile after an enemy attack.	The number of items a planet will keep in inventory varies with the item.  No merchant wants to carry excess inventory in something as expensive as a hyper-space bypass shunt valve!

Your ship has a maximum number of each item that it can carry, so don't be disappointed when you can't buy a million bazillion torpedoes.  A thousand should be plenty!

If you find yourself a little short on cash in an emergency situation, don't be ashamed to visit the First Galactic Bank and get a little walking-around money.


Space Dock
Amalgamated Space Docks, Inc.

Each friendly planet has a outlet of Amalgamated Space Docks, Incorporated. This chain of discount spacecraft repair, equip, and lubrication facilities is one of the more profitable enterprises in the galaxy.  Mainly because they are able to get all their spare parts for free from the salvage of destroyed ships, like yours.

For the last 17 years, the Interstellar Brotherhood of Space Teamsters has been on strike.  The negotiations were slow and painful, but eventually the negotiators ran out of donuts and an agreement was reached. The Space Docks are once again open for business.  One of the details of the agreement is that Space Docks are now self-service, so maybe we should tell you a little bit about what's under the hood of your ship, as it were.

All Galaxy-class ships (like yours) are designed around the basic structure of a central core holding cargo, life systems and engines, surrounded by a seven point 'girdle' of attachment nacelles.  Each of these nacelles can hold one piece of optional ship's  equipment (generally weapons and specialized shield generators).  While your on-board cargo area can contain an almost infinite variety of options, only seven may be  installed (and ready for use) at any given time.  The rest are held in partially de-phased stasis in your cargo area.

Installation of a ship option consists of picking a nacelle, removing whatever may already be installed there, and installing the new option.

Installing Ship Options

When you enter the space dock, you will see a revolving plate indicating which accessories are currently installed on your ship.  Above that is a conveyor belt  containing items in storage. To install a new accessory:

1.) click on the plate until the accessory slot you want is in front.  You can click on the right or left side of the plate.  Admire the cool sound effect.

2.) Up above you see hanging from a conveyor belt all the accessories you have purchased but not installed (they are in your hold, so they can get lost if your ship is destroyed).   Click on something hanging from the belt until the accessory you want is just over the front slot.

3.) Then press the EQUIP or REMOVE button to exchange the new accessory with whatever was in the accessory slot.  Admire the sophisticated animation, a Warpath first!

Now wasn't that space dock worth a 17 year wait, I ask you?  The whole idea, by the way, is to force you to make hard choices as to which items you want easy access. You can optimize your ship for scouting, attack, etc.  When playing with groups of friends you can optimize your fleet for the best overall mix for your style of playing.


Planetary Civilization.
Planetary Civilization

Big plans for this screen... BIG plans.....  But the planetary government is currently in a state of chaos (probably your fault) brought about by the end of the Space Teamster's strike, so it may be awhile.  For now, the government is in exile and has not yet announced its plans.


TEK Levels

Each item in the Warpath universe has an associated Tek Level, below which it cannot be manufactured or used.  While all players begin the game with the same Tek Level (as per the Mission Settings), during  the game their Tek Levels increase as they develop their Path.

For a complete report on Tek Levels and their relationship to Store Items, type the command word "\tekreport" on a line by itself in the radio.

Although a Weapon has a minimum Tek Level for it to be manufactured, its actual strength therafter increases with Tek Level, attaining approximately a doubling in power over the ten level changes possible.

Tek Level changes are reported in the Radio, on the Trading Post catalog,as well as the Captains List.


Warp Drive and Worm Holes

When you absolutely, positively, have to cross the Galaxy in a short time, without crossing any energy barriers, you need to look for specialized transport.

If you've got the bucks, buy a Warp Drive.  It's simplicity itself.  Turn it on, click on the Galaxy map where you want to go, and the next thing you know, you're there.  All at the price of a little charge.

But how does the poor captain achieve this feat?  What if you just don't HAVE three million bucks, and you find yourself in a distant quadrant with only one shield, no money to buy another, and nary a friendly Trading Post in sight any way?  You, sir, need a Worm Hole!

What's a Worm Hole?

As you learned in grade school, a Worm Hole is caused when space-time gets twisted onto itself such that two distant spots in the galaxy are actually rubbing up against each other on opposite sides of a high field gradient.  A Worm Hole drills through that gradient and allows you to travel from one side to the other and back again!

To access a Worm Hole, you need a matched pair of Worm Gates (don't even THINK of using an un-matched pair!)  You place one gate at one spot in the galaxy (where you are) and the matching gate somewhere else in the galaxy (where you wish you were) This works the same as Warp Drive really.  Turn on your Worm Gate launcher when you are over point A (not too close to a planet, please), and click on the Galaxy map on point B.  Two Worm Gates should appear (one directly below you).

To travel through a Worm Hole, just click on either of its gates, as if it were a  planet you wanted to orbit.  When you arrive at the gate, you will be sucked into the hole.  A word of warning, however.  Traveling through a worm hole ain't like dusting crops, boy.  They are a twisty tunnel of passages all alike.  You need to steer your ship right through the center of the hole.  Each time you brush the edge of the hole you will lose a shield.  You probably need those shields.  You never know what is waiting for you at the other gate.

Aside from emergency travel, Worm Holes have many clever uses.  My favorite is to build a nexus point just outside the galaxy, where you place several gates, each leading to a different area of the galaxy.  Then your team of ships congregate at the nexus point, pick a likely gate, and attack en mass.

My second favorite thing to do with worm gates is to surround them with proximity mines.


Game Options

Various system options are under your control throughout gameplay.  These are accessed from the Options and Help pull-down menus.

Tutorial Hints:

This Help Menu option enables the tutorial hint feature.  Once enabled, Warpath will periodically display a hint box explaining some feature and suggesting your next actions.  This hint box will overlay the radio panel until you close it.  When you first install Warpath, the tutorial mode is automatically engaged.  To turn it off, select it from the Help Menu until the check mark disappears.

Click on the yellow question mark in the hint to open this help file to a relevant topic.

In an attempt to keep you from going COMPLETELY bonkers, each tip will be shown no more than 3 times in any particular game.  We encourage you to use the tutorial until you become a Warpath expert (and addict, we hope!)

Panel Textures:

The background color and texture of most display panels comes from textureNN.bmp files in the 'art' subdirectory.  This dialog box lets you bind a particular texture to a particular panel.  You can add your own textures (just number them in sequence, starting just above the highest-numbered one in the folder when you install the game).

We'll let you figure out how to do this, since it's a game within a game.  But please send us any cool textures you do, and we wil (probably) include them in future upgrades. texture files have to be 48 by 48 pixel BMP files, using the standard 16 color windows palette.  (yuck!)

FM Sound:

The game uses both the FM synthesis and digital WAV file formats to make sound effects.  If you can tolerate a high noise level, turn them both on (and wear headphones!)  If you do not have a sound board, you might as well turn both off.  Without a sound board, the WAV files can only be played by the windows SPEAKER.DRV driver which will pause the game during each sound and generally disappoint you.  However, you are encouraged to turn this feature on at least once so that you can listen to Ben beg for money.  You *have* sent in your check , haven't you?

Digital Sound:

Several major sounds are expressed both as FM synth sounds and as WAV files for maximum impact.  This checkbox enables the digital WAV files.  It pretty much requires a sound board (see above) and proper installation of that board into Windows.  You're on your own getting that done, but you really ought to give it a try as it makes Windows much more interesting in general.  All the WAV files used by the game are just sitting in the directory called SFX. You could probably figure out which one is which and then change them to make sounds of your own choosing.  We wouldn't mind, honest. Just be sure to only redistribute the game with our sounds (the one begging for money being the important one, of course).  Yeah, we know you are all going to delete that one right away and what can we do about it?  Nothing.  But are you going to sleep better for it?	Hmmm?  Send us a check and we will send you a note specifically authorizing you to delete that file!

Status Bar:

This Option Menu item allows you to toggle the status bar on and off.  Normally,  the status bar displays a one line phrase describing the control you are pointing at with the mouse.  But on a 640x480 screen you might rather have that screen area given back to the game once you are comfortable with all the controls.


Warpath Tips and Tricks

I guess what really belongs in this section is a few words on strategy.  As I write this, I have played hundreds of hours of Warpath. I guess that makes me the world's expert.  It definitely proves that I have no life.  Take pity on me, send me money.  Let me escape from this dark prison!

Uh... How To Win Warpath

First you must choose your Path.  I play the "Path of Peace".  Dangerdav plays the "Path of War". Dave's strategy is basically to buy weapons as soon as possible (he recommends the Hot Plasma Missile as your best weapons bargain) and then to seek out and blow away my planets as soon as I make them (while they are still weak).  He likes to hunt in a pack, ganging up on me with a couple of his buddies.  Sharing secret radio messages which *I* don't get to read!

But even so, he is no match for the Path of Peace.  I almost never buy weapons.  I'm into TAXES!  Yes, I become the bureaucratic leader of a large number of highly populated planets.  CASH FLOW is the ticket!  Once you are rich you can buy the really EXPENSIVE weapons (did I say Path of Peace?  I meant Path of APPEARING peaceful until it is TOO LATE)  HA HA HA! Take that, Dave!  And That!  ALL your planets are plagued now!!!  HA HA HA!

Earn Money

How do you obtain such wealth you ask?  Well, you must begin humbly, with your puny ship.  First I mine a planet, then I go home and sell my cargo. Then I buy as many cargo pods as I can, so that each mining trip is as profitable as possible.  Next I buy all my energy pods so I can go faster. Then the charge pods and the shields.

Now, of course, I tend to eat all my peas before I eat my meat, too.  You might find it better to mix up your purchases.  However, everyone agrees that getting the cargo pods first is a great idea.

Of course, your home planet starts to fill up with ore and not pay so well, so you need to find a fresh market.  HINT: If you mine a planet dry and then colonize it, you have created a marketplace which will pay top dollar for ore.  As much as a weeny little colony can afford, of course.  Maybe if you invest in it, it will be able to afford more.  It takes money to make money, they say!

Explore and Invest

After my ship is equipped, I do a little exploring of my own quadrant, mining each uninhabited planet I find and selling in each profitable market.  As soon as I can, I start investing heavily in yellow planets.  I want them on my side because they start off with large populations.  And that means big taxes!  I invest in Food, so they will make more taxpayers!  I invest in Defense and Manufacturing so that Dave can't blow them away easily.  I invest in Space Port so I can get a refill there.  Later on I invest in Education and Mining so they can make the bigger and more complicated items.  ALSO, the more development, the more tax money!  Do I sound greedy?

Cross The Barrier

Once I have won over all the planets in my own quadrant, I purchase Stealth and go poking around in other quadrants.  HINT:  Don't try to cross the energy barrier when you have Stealth on!  Remember: your shields are down! Anyway, the Path of Peace requires rapid colonization and investment to consolidate your position before Dave has bought enough weapons.  Once you have a solid tax base, you can purchase Warp Drive and  then the galaxy is your oyster.

If you're playing a limited duration game, remember you get bonus points for each planet you colonize.  So just dump a couple hundred patsies on each uninhabited planet you find during the final moments of the game.

Cheat

That's about all there is to say about that.  You'll pick up a few more tricks during your first couple hundred hours of play.  Who knows, maybe someday you'll wrest the world championship from ME!  I'll be out there somewhere, making friends!


Keyboard Controls

By popular demand, Warpath has had some of its commands duplicated by keys on the keyboard.

Most normal printing letters and numbers are reserved for use with the intership radio. However, the keys on the numeric keypad have been assigned the following functions shown on this diagram.

Only the numbers on the numeric keypad are used for direction control (the numlock function need not be engaged).  Of course, the F1 key can be used to open the online help file, and the PAUSE key can be used to pause a game.


Relative Weapons Strength

You may be asking yourself: "Self, just how powerful ARE these weapons, anyway?"  And maybe you were hoping this help file might shed some light on the subject.  Well... as of this moment, maybe you are right.  Here is an attempt to cover that subject.

Energy Dispersal

Weapons are generally based on energy in one sense or another.  How much of YOUR energy that they rob you of, on their way to reducing you to ZERO energy (every weapon's goal).  When a weapon explodes, it releases a certain amount of energy at the exact location it explodes. If you are unlucky enough to be at that spot, you will receive ALL that energy.

But if you are just NEAR that spot, then you will receive only a portion of the weapon's actual energy released.  Being a mathematically accurate game, Warpath derates the energy with an inverse square equation, so it is MUCH worse to take a direct hit than it is to take a glancing blow.  The weapons are actually much more powerful than you think!  (Well, unless you're a crack shot, like Dave!)

Defensive Shields

"But what about shields?" I hear you say.  And you are right.  Just because a thousand kilo-Joules of energy were released right where you were standing doesn't mean that your ship will take 1000 kJ of damage!  Not if you have your shields UP, that is.  Each shield you have up cuts the damage in HALF.  So, for those of us who have trouble dividing by two, that means:

# of Shields	Damage from 1000kJ direct hit
0	1000
1	500
2	250
3	125
4	62.5
5	31.25

So it is MUCH better to have your shields UP when you get hit.  And the more shields the merrier, so buy them as often as necessary.  Remember that all 1000kJ is absorbed by your outermost shield, which heats it up.  If it gets hot enough, it pops.  Then you're down a shield.  So buy another right away!

Shield Disrupter

"But what's THIS thing all about?"  Well, you're looking at the Sonic Scream Shield Disrupter, of course!  This is an invention of Ben's, and a darn good one, to boot!  When you turn this baby on, all the shield generators in the current sector (within the current box of dashed lines) are cut in half.  That means, if you had 4 shields up BEFORE the Sonic Scream was started, you only have 2 shields up WHILE it is operating. Look at the table above to see what a difference that would make (a factor of FOUR, in fact).  If TWO players have their screamers turned on in the SAME sector, then the number of shields is cut by FOUR (so your four shields are now down to 1!)  There are no partial shields, either, so 5 shields divided by 2 is 2, not 2.5

And remember: The Sonic Scream affects ALL shields, including those of the guy who fired the screamer!  Also remember that planets can have a LOT of shields, so taking out an advanced planet almost REQUIRES the screamer, which means also that that super-advanced planet (the one with a huge stockpile of neutron bombs) is firing at you with half YOUR shields down.

Stealth Invisibility Shield

  While we're talking about things which affect the overall danger presented by weapons, let's not forget to mention your Stealth Invisibility Shield.  (It uses a different principle than defensive shields, by the way, so it isn't affected by the Sonic Scream Shield Disrupter).  In fact, it is SO DIFFERENT, that it cannot be operated even in the vicinity of a defensive shield (or Very Bad Things happen).  As a result, for the duration of your invisibility, you also have NO defensive shields.  And to make absolutely sure that you don't have both kinds of shield generators running at the same time, there is a second or two when BOTH are turned off, whenever you turn stealth on or off.  At these moments, you are very vulnerable, so be careful.... serpentine!  serpentine!

Also:  Don't forget to turn stealth off and your shields back on before trying to cross the energy barrier which separates the quadrants. You'd be pretty embarassed to lose a ship that way!  (Don't worry, we've all done it)

Weapons Strength

OK, finally we get to the promised goodies:  Just how strong are these weapons anyway?  Now that we have set the stage with the background information, I think we can just list the Kilo-Joules of damage inflicted by each weapon, on an unshielded ship, at the target point.

500

1000

2000

4000

16000

32000

320000  (don't get too close!)

Plague is in a category by itself.  A separate category.  One so separate, that to read about it, you will have to click on this secret word: Irresponsible


Secret Code Words

Oh, right... Like I'd tell YOU!  How am I gonna keep my title of Warpath champion if I let you in on my little secrets?  Still, you get extra credit for finding this topic.

Sadly, the 'gunshot' game within a game is no longer supported.


Warpath 97 Academy Application

To:	Synthetic Reality, Co.
1248 Van Dyck Drive
Sunnyvale, CA.  94087
USA, Earth

http://www.synthetic-reality.com

Please accept my application as cadet in the Warpath Academy.  My commitment to galactic peace is as follows:

[ ]	I enclose $22.95 in return for which I would
like to receive TWO activation codes, enabling
me unlimited access to the Warpath 97 Universe on
the pair of Windows 95 computers of my choice.

[ ]	At this time, I would also like to order an
additional ____  activation codes at $10 per
additional code.  I understand that Warpath 97
activation codes make fine gifts and are also liable
to make me extremely attractive to the gender of my choice.

[X]	I have read the fine print and understand that
Warpath 97 will NOT run under Windows 3.1, 3.11,
Windows for Workgroups, or any other 16 bit version
of the Windows operating system.  Warpath 97 is a 32 bit
program intended for the Windows 95 operating system.
And if it doesn't already run on my computer BEFORE
I registered it, then registering it isn't going to make
any difference at all.

[ ]	In addition to one of the above, I enclose
additional funds to indicate my support of the
current galactic government and its efforts to
keep me entertained.
This is a voluntary contribution, simply to
indicate that I am currently in possession of
more money than I know what to do with.

I understand that the galactic mail service has become unreliable and that delivery of my secret codes may be delayed, but that I am happy to have contributed to the defense of the galaxy in the meantime.  I further understand that I have a higher chance of instant gratification if I include my galactic email address since then the activation codes may be mailed to me almost instantly.

Name:	__________________________________

Addr:	__________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

(include planet)

My email address: ______________________

Please feel free to fill up the rest of this page with wonderful ideas to be included in the new enhanced super incredible version.


Shareware Registration

The development of Warpath represents many evenings and weekends spent in compulsive fixation. While you might think that this should be its own reward, my son Ben disagrees.  If you enjoy Warpath, we would appreciate a small donation to encourage us.

Please send your name, address, comments and, yes, your check, to:

Dan Samuel
Synthetic Reality, Co.
1248 Van Dyck Dr.
Sunnyvale, CA  94087

web:  http://www.synthetic-reality.com
Compuserve:  70110,434
email:    70110.434@compuserve.com

Or pay by Credit Card - Online!

Warpath97 is a mean evil game which will refuse to let you play it after a certain number of hours.  By entering in an 'activation code' you re-enable the game (forever).  You need a unique activation code for each computer upon which you wish to play Warpath97.

A Few Words About Pricing

The registration fee is only $22.95 and includes TWO activation codes so you might  go together with a friend if you only have one computer.  Or perhaps you might use one code at home, and another at work!  Your boss will love you if you share a code with him or her.

If you want even MORE activation codes (like your Warpath Club is pooling its order, for example), the official Multiple Copy Discount Schedule (for 3 or more copies) is:

$10.00 per additional code beyond the first two
(i.e. $22.95 for 2, $32.95 for 3, $42.95 for 4, etc.)

All codes must be ordered at once, and delivered to a single email or real-world address to qualify for the multi-copy discount.  Also, only payment by check can be accepted for multiple-copy orders (my credit card handlers aren't equipped to offer discount pricing.)

Please feel free to include a note letting us know what you would like to see in future games.  If we're able to use some of your really great ideas, maybe we'll send you a free copy of something.  Or not.

Paying via Credit Card

An exciting business arrangement has made it possible for you to register your copy of Warpath using a credit card.  You may place this order via Web Browser, FAX, voice-mail, or email.  For details, press here.   At this time, no  multiple-copy discounts are available when paying via credit card.

Limitations of Shareware Version

This program will only run for 20 hours before it must be registered.  Registration consists of entering an activation code into the About... dialog box which appears each time you run the program.  An activation code is what you get when you send us money.  We don't send you a floppy, or a new version of the program. (Of course you are welcome to download the newest version at any time from our web site at http://www.synthetic-reality.com  Your activation code should work with all new versions of this program.)

So, to be clear, registration doesn't get you any new features. It just lets you continue to play the game.  That seems a little mean to me, but it also seems reasonable.  And I have to make a good-faith attempt to get you to register, or the IRS will dub this a hobby.  Sorry.

To get your activation code(s), please mail us your check along with this order form, or the equivalent information.

Thanks again.

Dan Samuel
Synthetic Reality, Co.


Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements and Thanks

This is the part of the file where we take a moment to say thank you to all the people who have contributed so much to the success of this game. One of the most gratifying side-effects of the development of Warpath is all of the wonderful (though possibly insane) people we have met.  Of course, we are going to fail to mention all of you here.

However, there are several people who we already know will figure prominently on the list, and we might as well list them right now so they can see their names during the beta test period.  We can always delete them later if we decide they didn't do enough to help.  Let that be a warning!

Today's Deserving People:

Kathy Samuel!
David "Dangerdav" Wolverton!
Ron "Marvin" Strumpf!
Trace Beaulieu!
Stephan Schonberg!
Steve Diamond!
Warren Habib!
Ken Rogoway!
Joe Vierra!
Ken Winograd!
The Internet (and Mplayer) Beta Testers!

Christopher S. Buck!

And, of course, co-author and major consultant: Benjamin Michael Samuel, age 13 (But he's still cute, so you HAVE to send money.   We included the original "beg.wav" file, recorded when Ben was only 9, for your amusement).

But, of course, our biggest thanks go to YOU the consumer (we mean the ones of you who actually send a check.  The rest of you can go jump in a lake.... just kidding!)  We really wrote this both to learn the Windows API and to have fun.  We secretly hope that it will spawn a huge underground of Warpath maniacs and we will have to release 500 new versions to keep up with demand.  That sentence came from the Warpath 1.0 help file of 4 years ago, and I'd like to share with you that there now IS, in fact, a huge underground of Warpath maniacs.  And the highest reported "number of hours played," as of this writing, and not counting my own (I win, by the way) is "1,321." It makes me so proud!

To you all, Ben and I would like to extend our sincerest and warmest thanks!  Now, go write that check!

(c) 1997 Synthetic Reality
Sunnyvale, California
Dan Samuel


The best little boy on Earth (well, a teenager already!)


The most understanding and long-suffering spouse on this or any other planet! The perfect companion and mother. AND the most accomplished horsewoman in these here parts!  Thanks, Kathy!


You know, if I had employees, and if he were interested, I would hire this guy!  If any prospective employers out there are looking in shareware game help files for employee references, you can take this one.  Stephan's amazing!  (By the way, you laugh, but I actually DID get my day job from someone looking at a shareware game!)


My Hero! (author of WinHangMan - a joy for all the family!)  The only person who actually spends more time on Compuserve than I do!


Hey Great!  You've decided to send us some money! Thanks a lot!  Please make your check out to: "Synthetic Reality" and mail it to:

  1248 Van Dyck Dr.
  Sunnyvale, CA 94087


President of Homebrew Software, publisher to the gods!


Thanks for teaching me everything I know, Joe!


I admit it, I am just sucking up here.  But Trace is a really decent guy and deserves his name in as many lights as available.  MST3K forever!


Steve has been part of the warpath family for a Very Long Time!  Thanks, Steve!


Ron is the author of The Game Connection which is available on Major BBSes around the country.  If your BBS doesn't have Game Connection yet, have them give Ron a call at Sirius Software. Ron is also a great guy who has been very encouraging to Ben and myself throughout the development of Warpath.


Warren is the author of the FIRST SHAREWARE CHECK for Warpath (and a long-time buddy).  I'm not gonna cash the check, dude.  It's going on the Wall!


Christopher is the author of the first REAL shareware check, the first we actually cashed!  (But we'll try to make it up to you, Christopher.)  Christopher showed faith in the shareware system, honor, duty, and all that.  Henceforth any Warpath player using the name "Christopher" will automatically be given 1 million neutron bombs! (just kidding!). Thanks, Christopher!


That's "Reality," not "Realty."


Your computer talks to your modem through a com port.  These are generally numbered 1 through 4, and most people have problems using anything but one or two.  A lot of people waste a perfectly good com port by attaching a mouse to it, instead of buying a bus mouse, like they ought to.  Anyway, you need to figure out which com port your computer is using to talk to your modem.


In the good old days, we always used 300 baud on our modems.  It was slower than molasses, but we LIKED it that way!  You young punks today, with your dad's 128K ISDN modem think you're hot stuff.  Someone ought to give you a big slap across your chubby little faces!  Except you fellers who send in a big check!  You're the salt of the earth!

Anyway...  Warpath will work best if you and your friend are both running at the same baud rate.  One which is supported by your modems.  Preferably the actual rate on the phone line (i.e. no speed conversion in the modem, if you please). 9600 is quite nice and supported by most modems purchased after this program was written.  Faster may not be better.  (Who am I kidding? Faster is ALWAYS better.)

And, while we're at it, if you know how to set it up, it is definitely a good idea to enable error correction.  Warpath leaves all that to the transport layer.


Even More Thanks!

Well, first off, let me just say if you wrote me a check, and your name isn't on this list, then I apologize profusely!  You deserve it!  Secondly, I'd like to apologize to all the people who helped with testing and suggesting (and complaining and whining) whom I have left off the list.

And, finally, I'd like to apologize to all the people who ARE on this list for burying you inside a topic instead of at the root.  But I'm sure you can understand that I needed a mechanism for emphasizing the contribution of my wife, who otherwise might have a hard time understanding all the hours I spent on this program.

Stephan Schonberg (who drew the wormgate, many of the cool ships, a couple useful utilities specialized to my needs, attended every single Mplayer meeting, found innumerable bugs, suggested innumerable features, while continuously browsing the web at the same time.  A true juggler!),  Andrew Stevenson (who sent me a CD full of 256 color icons for Warpath 1.0), Bartholomew Furrow (who sent me absolutely the most mail, always filled with great suggestions and discovered bugs!),  Enya (I definitely generate the most lines of code per hour while listening to Enya in random shuffle play in the background.  I know that sort of reduces her to 'elevator music' status, but I prefer to think 'muse'),  Mory Brenner (who was the first person on the planet to play 5-way Warpath on his home IPX LAN.  I can tell you I was really biting my nails awaiting his report!  I'll just keep his report to myself, though :-),  Olli Schmitt (for helping feed my conceit that I can speak German!),  Rillanon (Don Roberts), Matthew Parrott, Chris Norris ,  David Tyler, Adam Jachimiec, Dan Robinson  (who pointed out first that my FM sound routines were no longer compatible with NT),  Lord Myren  (who has a cool name!),  Brian Moriarty, Ron Gilbert, Gary Sowersby (who wrote me a BIG check.   Why can't you all be more like Gary?  Salt of the earth, he is!),  Aaron Chan, Isaac Hall, Ian Macdonald, Gordon&Mary Luebke, Craig Bartell (and his brother), Jon Bracken, Jorgen Hahn,  Adam Geist, Jonathan Dunn, Aaron Hamer, Yolan, David England, Stephen Benning, William Hendrix, Kevin Rich, Ryan Freckleton, Dan Rushton, Gordon Gridley, Nathan Mays, Jeremy Turner, Charles Harris, Sean Crow, Peter Hamer, Bryan Haber, Daniel Wellhousen,  Myles P. Moriarty, Dustin Hoffman, Stanley York, Ender, Aaron Hughes, Michael Wolzenski, Ryan O' Malley, Chris Stephenson, Sheryl Bevers, Grayson Peters, Bill Brock, Austin Renfroe, David Plass, Tim Eckhardt, Brett Buchanan, Mario Renger, Tom Mazanec, Josiah Reynolds, Dirk Byrd, Andy Graham, Vader56, Beldar and Kevin Dyer, Willem Groenhuizen, Nathan March, Dave Brodeur, Deniz Calisal, Brad Wyatt, Richard Kehn, Bob Moore, Pete Holiday, Ben Wilk, Andrew Peters, Ronald Diemicke, Sean Sweeney, John Brandy, Bob Larsen, John Ford, Jason Bonner, Drew Moir, Robbie Stewart, Danny Masked, Sthel Majisun, Arron Morgan, Mark Montella, Jon Laughrin, Joshua McBeth, Maki Naro, Jim Bellinger, Anthony Niven, Glen Nelson,  John Gomes, Ed Stoy (check out his BBS at 901-547-WARS (lifegate.net)!),  Shane Jeffers, Dan Kluttz (remember NetSpades?), Justin Schumacher, Jason Staples, Steve Petterborg, Brian Lounsberry, Norman Vanderhoff, R L "Lord Myren" Matt.

If necessary, I apologize again if I put your name on this list and you really would have preferred anonymity.  And I know I constantly mis-spelled everyone's names.  If it is any comfort, people mis-spell my name a lot, too. Check out Nick Daraghi's hint book for Microsoft Flight Simulator.  He never spelled my name the same way twice, and everytime wrong.  Probably my only chance at fame, too.  Drat!  So, in the immortal words of Luke Skywalker, "I  care!"

But, aside from all the apologies, what I really feel is GRATITUDE!

THANK YOU! One and all!

Dan Samuel
Sunnyvale, CA  1997


Hey, if you're wondering about all the plugs for The Game Connection, you can thank Dave!  In fact, you can thank Dave for the existence of the original four-player version.  I was gonna do it anyway, but not right away.  But Dave had this way of.. well.. not INSISTING exactly...  just lobbying strongly!  Game Connection is perfect for this sort of thing. Quick response time and separate game rooms.

Anyway, Dave really deserves a lot more thanks than he is getting here, so everybody be sure to write him a nice thank you note!  You can reach him on Mplayer under the name "dangerdav."  Let's all encourage Dave to take some programming classes, because that would open a crack in the universe out of which would spill fun fun fun.


Using The Game Connection

Many of the better bulletin boards are buying and installing The Game Connection, a product of Sirius Software.  This is a really fine piece of software which allows multiple callers to that BBS to take part in a single multi-player game (like Warpath).

The Game Connection supports many games, including Warpath.  To play Warpath on a Game Connection BBS, you need to do the following:

1.) Start a NEW GAME, in MODEM mode, and enter the lobby.

2.) While in the lobby, command your modem to dial your local BBS.

3.) Log on to your BBS and select "Game Connection" from its menu. At this point you will be able to join one of several game rooms where your friends are waiting.  While in a game room wih your friends, you may chat and plan your teams.  One of your friends will be the 'moderator' of the game room.

4.) When you are all ready to play, have the moderator start a Game using the proper Game Connection command ("/Start" as of this writing).  Your moderator should have selected "line mode" for the game protocol to be used with Warpath.

5.) After the game connection has been /started, you and your friends will be connected together as if you were all on the same modem. Each of you should now push the Warpath "PLAY GAME" button.  After that, each of  you REGISTERs your player and finally, the host presses "LAUNCH GAME" and the game begins.

6.) When the Warpath game is over, you will find yourself back in the lobby, chatting with your friends in the Game Connection.  To get back out to the game connection chatting area (where you were before the moderator typed "/start"), press three control-Zs in quick succession.

Up to eight friends may play warpath simultaneously using a single room in the Game Connection (though, frankly, unless you all have REALLY fast modems, the game will probably bog down with 8 players). Your local BBS may have a Game Connection built into it (if not, ask them to consider adding it!)  You may also access the Game Connection from various national services.


Paying by Credit Card

Our Web Site at http://www.synthetic-reality.com is now equipped to take your shareware registration via credit card (by voice, email, fax, or secure Web Browser), so skee-daddle on over there and read the details.  We *used* to stick the details right here in the help file, but that means 40 years from now (when you read this file in Bora Bora (no offense intended), the details would be all out of date.

But since we'll keep paying our $50 a year to maintain our web site forever, it makes a lot more sense to keep the time-varying stuff there.  That also encourages you to check in for newer product updates, new games, etc.  Who knows, maybe someday we will have advertising on that site and we'll make a penny or two each time you visit it!

It's Just That Simple!  I'll bet you never believed this modern world would enable you to spend $22.95 so darn quickly!