LSD Docs/LSD Docs.iso/FILEZ/lsdspr13.dms/lsdspr13.adf/ReachSta.doc.pp/ReachSta.doc

Text File | 1993-03-18 | 68KB | 1,362 lines

                         REACH FOR THE STARS

                             Part One
                             ~~~~~~~~
                         THE GAME ROUTINES
                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. INTRODUCTION

Reach for the Stars is a game of galactic exploration, colonization and
conquest. Throughout the game you must explore new star systems and
colonize the most promising planets. Your colonies produce resources which
you must locate to defence, research and development, environmental and
social factors, consumer contentment and industrial expansion. You must
also develop a (military) policy to deal effectively with the alien threats
which are certain to arise.

Part One of this manual, The Game Routines, contains an introductory
tutorial and explains all you need to know to play the game. Part Two, The
Game Options, describes the options that may be applied to vary the rules
of play. You may begin a game of Reach for the Stars immediately by
following the instructions in the tutorial chapter (Chapter 3), although it
would be advisable to read Chapter 2 first in order to get a little
background information.

The complete package consists of one 3.5" disk, a map card, an instruction
sheet for your computer type, an album and this player's manual. If this
isn't the case, let us know about the missing components, or return
defective ones, and we'll replace them immediately. If you live in North
America, send defective components to our US Office; if you live elsewhere,
send them to our Australian Office.

Please address any questions you may have relating to the play of the game
to our Australian Office, regardless of where you live.

Note that the game disk is not copy protected. We recommend you make a
backup before playing the game. The instruction sheet for your computer
type will tell you how to do this.

2. WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT

The following information describes the standard game. Information about
the advanced game can be found in Part Two.

The galaxy is a 34 by 23 hexagonal grid as displayed on the map card. It is
important to note that the map is also wrap around (a toroid), so movement
off one edge results in a return on the opposite edge. This would mean, for
example, that Pollux is 4 hexes from Capella and that Saiph is 9 hexes from
Zosma.

There are always four empires in the game. Any number of these may be
controlled by human players and he rest will be controlled by computer
players.

In each turn, every empire is given orders by its controlling player. Every
odd numbered turn is a production and movement turn, even numbered turns
are movement only. Production orders are given and executed first (if it is
a production turn), and then movement orders can be given.

While giving your orders, you can examine a number of reports given by the
Status Menu. These show a summary of explored star systems, the current
status of all task forces, current victory points and the status of all
game options including all production and movement costs and your current
spending on technology.

When all four players have completed giving orders, the computer then
executes the movement of ships. When ships of different empires end up in
the same star system, combat will occur. Each player is given the option of
withdrawing his ships after each round. Combat continues until there are
only ships belonging to a single player left in the system. When warships
are in a system containing an enemy planet, and no enemy ships, the
warships may attack the planet's defenses. If they destroy all the
defenses on the planet, or there were none on the planet to begin with,
then the population in any transport ships may be used to invade and
conquer the planet.

After all combat is resolved the next turn begins. This process repeats
until the last game turn is executed or an overwhelming victory has
occurred. The player with the highest victory point score is the winner.

3. PLAYING YOUR GAME FIRST

Starting the Game
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Following the instructions in this section will take you through a tutorial
game for the first nine turns; enough to get your space empire started. You
must enter the items exactly as shown, otherwise the tutorial will diverge
from the script with undefined results.

Turn on your computer and place the disk in the drive. You will see the
Reach for the Stars icon. Use the mouse to double click this and the
program will start. You will be presented with a start up window which
allows you to change the names of the four empires, select each as a human
controlled empire or one of the three levels of computer controlled empire,
a slide control for the length of game you wish to play and some buttons that
will open various option dialogues.

Player one is highlighted and set as human so select this as your empire.
Begin by typing in a name for yourself. When this is done, click on each of
the other empires' name fields and after you highlight each, type in a
name. For this tutorial, name the empires as follows: 1) Esesgees 2)
Esesions 3) Gadawr 4) The Forth. Being your first game you don't want to
get wiped out so, for players 2, 3, and 4, click on the Beginner options.

The only thing left to do is turn on the Tutorial option. Use the mouse to
select the Optional Rules button and the options window will open. Select
the Tutorial option, at the top of the window, by clicking on it. The
option name will be highlighted to show that it is active. Then put the
window away by clicking on the go-away box on the left hand side of the
window's title bar.

That's it. You're ready to go. Pull down the File menu and select the New
Game item to start a new game with the parameters you have just set.

Turn 1
~~~~~~
You now see before you the space background and the player select window.
Since you are the only human player, only the Esegee button is highlighted.
Press it to begin your turn.

You now see the production set up for your home planet. On the space window
your home star system, Furud, is indicated by the special colony world
icon, the star system window is open giving details of your planet and the
production window has also opened.

Select the Advice option found under the Production menu. The computer will
fill in its recommendations for production. Note the order for four scout
vessels, a good idea for the beginning of a game. For now accept the
computer's advice. The End Production command is the last option under the
Production menu. Select it to end the Production phase. You will see a ship
symbol appear on the space screen to indicate the scouts that have just been
built and the star display will update to show any improvements made to
your planet. The Task Force Control window also opens to allow you to give
orders to your scouts. At the moment it shows 4 scouts in orbit; i.e.
without a destination.

Again, let's get the computer to do the work for us. Choose Auto Explore
from the Control menu. After a moment you will see that each of your scouts
has been placed in a separate task force, each has its own different
destination and has an ETA of one turn. That's all you need to do for this
turn so select Normal from the End Turn menu.

As each computer controlled empire is given orders you will see a message
indicating which empire is active. After all orders are entered you will
see ship symbols come and go on the space display, indicating the arrival
of task forces at star systems, and then you will be prompted to start your
next turn.

Turn 2
~~~~~~
This is a movement only turn so no production windows open; instead the
Task Force Control window is open for your scout at Phaeda. Before giving
any orders select Explored Systems from the Status menu. The window that
opens is a summary report for information on star systems. Use the scroll
bar on the side to scroll down the report and you will see data for the
star systems you have just explored with your scouts as well as your home
system. At this point it may be best to explain what data is available to
you in the Star System display.

The star system window shows the name of the star system in the title
followed by its spectral class. Under this is the data area for each
planet. The owner line will show which empire controls the planet and, if
it is conquered, the ID of the original owner to the right of this. The
number to the left of the slash for Population and Industry is the actual
level whilst the number to the right is the maximum level. The two values
for Environment are, from left to right, social and planetary. The last
line shows the planet's defenses, normally the number of PDBs. The size of
the local army is shown to the right of this in the advanced rules.

The Task Force Control will open if there are any ships on which to report,
and will show any enemy ships as a separate task force at the top of the
window.

These complete details are only visible to a player who has a colony or
ships in the system. Otherwise only the factors of maximum population,
maximum industry and planetary environment can be seen and the ship display
will not open.

O.K. It's time you give a direct order to a starship. First, close the
Explored Systems window. The scout at Phaeda has no destination, and is
considered in orbit around the system. Click in the title bar of the Task
Force Control window to make it active. Click on the destination location
of the scout at Phaeda. Now click once at the bottom of the screen and you
will see space scroll up one hex. Do that until the star Megrez is visible.
Point at Megrez and click, you will see the Task Force window update the
destination to say Megrez and give the distance to it as 7 hexes.

Note that while reviewing space you just click near the edge to scroll it,
double click near the edge to move that hex to the center. Hold the button
down for a continuous scroll. Clicking on a star will open the star
display. Double clicks will open production and/or task force control
windows for that system if valid.

Now select Auto Explore from the Control Menu to assign the other three
scouts and Normal from the End Turn menu, or use their keyboard equivalents
if you like. You will again be informed as each computer controlled empire
has its turn and then you will see ship symbols moving around, including
the arrival of your scout at Megrez.

Turn 3
~~~~~~
After pressing the Esesgee button to start your turn you will again see the
production window open for Furud. It's time to start building a space
armada to go and conquer the first alien you find. Type 1 and press enter.
You have ordered one more industry factor to be built on Furud. Now point
at the units column on the Mark 1 line and click. The field should
highlight. Type in 12 and press enter. Choose End Production from the
Production Menu. The beginnings of your star fleet are constructed and
appear on the screen. Click on the bottom of the space screen to scroll
Megrez up into view and click on Megrez to see what your scout there has
discovered.

Look at the star system display; you have come across the Esesions home
world! What a co-incidence! Your current fleet of 12 Mark I's is no match
for the Esesions' PDB's at this time, and you have no invading troops, but
that can be remedied over the next two production cycles. Again select Auto
Explore and then End Turn Normal.

Turn 4
~~~~~~
This is a movement only turn and you will only be moving the scouts. First,
select the Victory Conditions item to see how things are going. You will
see that all the VP scores are very close. That's normal this early in the
game. Select Auto Explore and End Turn Normal again.

Turn 5
~~~~~~
Production again. This time click on the Mark 1 field and type in 15. That
will use up almost all of your resources; the few remaining may as well be
saved for next turn so end production now.

Since you are planning an invasion of Megrez and it will take two turns for
slow Mark 1's and Transports to reach there, it may be an idea to send one
warship to spy on and harass the system, blocking the Esesions off from
their global resource points. Select the New Task Force (TF) command from
the Movement menu. Click on the Mark 1 field of the new task force and type
1. Select Full Map from the Control menu. You will now see the strategic
display of the game map. Your home system, Furud is highlighted. Find
Megrez toward the top, right corner. Click on it and you will see the Mark
1 task force is assigned Megrez as a destination.

Once more select Auto Explore and Normal end turn. You may see brief
moments of combat as other computer players fight amongst themselves. It's
likely that one of your enemies just lost a scout to enemy action but you
have no way of knowing for sure.

Turn 6
~~~~~~
Open the Task Forces display (Select it from the Status Menu). You will see
the locations of your scouts, the 26 Mark 1's in orbit about Furud, and one
Mark 1 In Flight to Megrez. The Mark 1 In Flight is still in hyperspace; it
has not completed its voyage. You will not see it on the map and you cannot
give it any new orders until it arrives at Megrez. For now, send your
scouts off automatically and then pick End Turn Normal.

As the turn is executed you will be notified that your lone Mark 1 has
arrived at Megrez and is in position to attack the planet. What you see is
the Star System window for Megrez and the Task Force Control window for
your lone Mark 1. One Mark 1 against all those planetary defense bases is
not a good idea. It is better to hold off in orbit, blockading the planet
so choose Cancel from the Attack Menu and allow the turn to finish
executing.

Turn 7
~~~~~~
This production turn your Mark 1 at Megrez is causing the Esesions a few
financial problems while you complete the construction of your grand fleet.
Order the construction of 10 colonists and 14 Mark 1s and end production.
You are now prepared to launch your invasion. Select the destination field
on the TF Control window. Now begin to type in the name of the destination,
Megrez. The computer will recognize the name before you finish typing and
finish it off for you. All your ships should now be on their way to Megrez.

End the turn with automatic scout exploration and select Normal from the End
Turn menu.

There is again the sound of laser fire but this time it's bad news. The
combat window opens and you see that some newly constructed Esesion Mark 1s
have just eliminated your Esegeean "peace mission". With your fleet on the
way you know they must pay for this outrage! Press the Continue button on
the combat screen to resume play.

Turn 8
~~~~~~
Select Task Forces from the status menu. You will see your fleet In Flight
to Megrez. Their ETA shows they will arrive during the execution of this
turn. Select Auto Explore and Normal end turn.

The moment you have been waiting for arrives; the combat screen opens and
you see that your fleet's initial encounter was a success, the Esessions
have lost their entire fleet! Press continue. Your ships are now poised to
attack the defenses on the Esesion planet.

Form a new Task Force and allocate all your Mark 1's but none of your
transports to it. The destination will be shown as the enemy Planet and the
ETA will read Attack (ATK). Select Attack from the Attack Menu. You could
abort the attack by selecting cancel from the Attack Menu but you show no
fear. Order the attack!

Notice that you are the only one with the option to withdraw as the Esesion
defence bases cannot flee. Victory is guarantied so press continue until the
PDBs are all eliminated.

You will then be given the option to bombard the planet. A good idea since
you do not have enough troops to easily control a planet with such a large
population, and you can get a few victory points for colony destruction.
Choose the option and you will see any damage reflected in the star system
display.

Now it is time to invade. You should send all ten transports down to plant
your flag on alien soil. Type 10 in the invade window and hit the Drone
button. Your flag is now planted on alien soil.

Turn 9
~~~~~~
A production turn. This time you may give production orders for the planet
at Megrez as well. The best advice here is to create the maximum number of
colonists at Megrez in order to reduce the population and, after production
is over use the transports to colonize Megrez. This will add those
transports to your current garrison and improve your control of the planet
(Remember you need 1 garrison per 2 population to hold a conquered world
securely). The Production Menu now has Prev Planet and Next Planet buttons
highlighted to allow you to cycle through your planets.

Select Victory Conditions from the Status menu and you will see how many
victory points you have gained from all this activity. You have now
mastered the basics of Reach for the Stars. Plan on from here and enjoy the
game!

4. THE GAME FUNCTIONS DESCRIBED

(a). Building Your Forces
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Resource points are the crux of the game. Throughout the game your
planetary economies produce RPs; the better developed a planet is, the more
RPs it will produce. The player who makes the most of the productive
capacity of his planets will invariably win. Production occurs on every
second turn of the game, beginning with turn 1. Each populated planet
produces RPs according to the following formula.

           RPs = (popn x2) + (ind. cap x soc level)
                             ----------------------
                                      16

Note that population in excess of the maximum population capacity for the
planet do no contribute to this formula.

Each player is then presented with the production window which shows the
production units ordered and resource points available for the current
planet. Orders are given for each planet under the empire's control,
including conquered planets, and no order is permanent until End Production
is chosen.

RPs not consumed in a particular production phase are transferred to Global
RPs and become available on subsequent production turns to other planets of
the empire. This represents interstellar trade and Global RPs earn interest
at the rate of 6.25% per production phase.

The production order entry window gives a list of items that may be
ordered. The first column, under Units, is where the number of units
required are entered by the player. The column under the heading RP will
show how many RPs that quantity will cost to manufacture. As RPs are spent,
they are taken first from RPs produced on the planet this turn, then from
Global RPs.

When enemy warships are present in a star system, the planets in that
system are interdicted. This means there is a blockade on all interstellar
trade to those planets so they have no access to Global RPs during the
production phase.

The Production Window identifies the planet currently being given orders,
shows available Global and Planet RPs. The GPP (Gross Planetary Product,
the total RPs produced by this planet at the beginning of the turn) is
shown in the star window. The total RPs spent on research and development
since the beginning of the game are shown in the Technology option under
the Status Menu.

The Next Planet/Prev Planet option under the Production Menu will cycle
through all of the empire's planets. It will probably be easier to use the
keyboard equivalents for these commands. When all planets have at least
been inspected the End Production option will highlight. Choosing this will
cause all production orders for your empire to be carried out and then
place you into the movement routines.

The following items may be ordered for production. Note that the RPs
necessary for Servicing Population and Maintaining PDBs are automatically
entered by the computer. You may, of course, change these but you should be
aware of the dire consequences of so doing.

Industry. Each unit of industry ordered will increase the planet's actual
industrial capacity. The number of units that may be ordered is limited to
the available RPs and the planet's industrial maximum.

Social Environment. The Social Env level is a factor in determining
planetary RP production and population growth. If the Social Env is less
than 40, the population will decrease, if greater than 40 then the
population will increase. The social level will tend to move towards the
Planetary Environment from turn to turn and may also be affected by riots,
natural disasters and warfare. An uninhabited planet always has a social
environment of 0.

Planetary Environment. The Planet Env strongly influences the level of the
Social Env and thus, indirectly, production and population growth. Building
up planetary environment may well be of greater value than continual
investment in the more cheaply improved social level. Planet Env is only
increased by ordering units in production but may be decreased by riots,
natural disasters and warfare.

Service Popn. This represents the provision of consumer goods and services
to your populations. Each unit of population serviced costs 1 RP. You
cannot service more than the existing population but if you service less
you may cause riots and unrest proportional to the extent of your tyranny.
This will manifest itself in a lower birthrate, industrial sabotage and
pollution of the environment, possibly reducing a once profitable economy
to a worthless junk-pile.

PDB Maint. Every PDB requires maintenance and will be eliminated without
it. The cost is dependent on the current ship tech level.

PDB New. A Maximum of 4 PDBs may be constructed per turn for each planet.
Again, the cost of a new PDB is determined by the current ship tech level.
The maximum number of PDBs that may be constructed on each planet is 50.

Colonists. These are the population that are to be embarked on transports
to become colonists or invading troops. The population unit and transport
are constructed together and become inseparable until put down on a planet,
at which time the transport is permanently destroyed. Up to 25% of a
planet's population will be available for emigration each turn as well as
all population in excess of the planet's population capacity. In combat,
transports have no fire power but, if escorted by warships, will take on
the defensive capability of the highest tech level warships present.
Unescorted transports are sure to be atomized in droves during combat.

Other Starships. Scouts are unarmed, exploratory vessels, the Mark I
through Mark IV series are warships with progressively greater offensive
and defensive strengths as well as higher movement allowances. The total
number of these ships that a planet may construct in a turn is limited to
the current industrial capacity. Further more, Mark II to Mark IV warships
cannot be constructed until the research and developments costs have been
paid for the appropriate ship tech level.

Ship Tech. All players begin the game with the technology to produce Mark I
warships. To reach Mark II technology, and thus be able to construct Mark
II warships, an investment of 400 RPs is necessary. The computer keeps
track of your installments and displays the accumulated amount in the
Technology window under the Status Menu. The investment of a further 1000
RPs and 2000 RPs respectively, will develop Mark III and Mark IV
technology. In addition to enabling the construction of better starships,
ship development investment improves the fighting capability (and increases
the cost) of all of your PDBs. Note that, regardless of technological
development, the maximum rating for PDBs is a Mark III equivalent.

(b). Moving Your Ships
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every turn you may give orders to some, none or all of your ships. They can
form Task Forces and travel from star to star to colonize a planet orbiting
their current star.

At the beginning of your turn all ships are unassigned. By double clicking
on a star where you have ships, the Task Force Control window will open.
The leftmost column displays a task force destination, the others detail
the number of ships of each type present and the Estimated Time of Arrival
at the destination. To get your ships moving you must form some or all of
them into a task force and give it a destination. No orders given are
permanent until you choose to end the turn.

Once a task force is IN-FLIGHT it is out of contact until the turn it
arrives at its destination, so ships cannot be reassigned once they are on
their way.

(c). The Task Force Controls
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The task force controls are found under the Movement Menu. Most have
keyboard equivalents. At the start of the turn the computer consolidates
all ships present in the system into a single task force without a
destination. This may be considered as the pool of ships from which you
draw ships for your task forces.

Prev Star/Next Star. This will change the Task Force Control window to show
ships about another star system. Repeated selection will eventually bring
you full circle to the original system. y9ou may go to another system
directly by double clicking on it.

New Task Force. This will create a new line in the Task Force Control
window without ships or a destination. Ships are added to a new task force
by moving the cursor to the appropriate column and typing in the number os
ships desired. The ships will be subtracted from the pool and added to your
new new task force. Do this for each type of ship that you wish to include.

A destination is specified by moving the cursor to the destination column.
You may then click on a star or type the star name of your destination. Any
task forces without a destination at the end of a turn are considered in
orbit, and will be consolidated into the system pool for the next turn.

Reform. This will de-allocate the highlighted task force and return all its
ships to the pool It will combine any existing task forces which are
without destinations.

Colonize. If you have transport ships present these may be assigned to
colonizing uninhabited planets or planets you won within the current star
system. Colonize is found under the Movement Menu. Choosing it will open
the Colonize Form window which allows you to select how many of your
transports you wish to land on each planet.

When you press the Done button, the transports will be placed in a task
force for each planet specified with a destination of "Colonize". This is
also a method for adding to a garrison on a conquered planet as all
colonists put down on such a planet automatically join the garrison.

The Task Force Control window will also show the presence of enemy task
forces over your system. These will be highlighted and their destination
will read "Enemy". Regrettable, it si not possible to edit an enemy task
force.

(d). Starship Battles
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(i). Ship to Ship

Whenever ships belonging to different empires are in the same star system
and at least one warship is present (Mars Is through Mark IVs), then a
round of combat will occur.

Scouts are automatically wiped out on encountering enemy warships and no
combat report is given other than to quickly highlight the star where the
battle took place and bring you the sound of atomizing metal as the scout
is vaporized.

If ships other than scouts are involved and any of the controlling players
are human the combat screen will open. For each player it shows how many of
each type of ship are still operational under the OP heading and how many
ships were destroyed last round under the KIA heading.

At this point players may elect to withdraw some or all of their ships by
pressing the appropriate withdraw button. This will enter the normal ship
movement system. You are not forced to withdraw all of your ships at once or
in the same TF. Once you close the Task Force Control window the Combat
screen will then be re-opened. You may continue combat by pressing the
Continue button or make further withdrawals.  Withdrawn ships move normally
to their next destination in the next movement phase.

The winner of a ship to ship combat (i.e. the last player to have ships
left in the star system) will receive victory points for all destroyed
enemy ships. If you withdraw from a combat, or are eliminated, you receive
no points for any ships you may have killed.

The combat system is heavily weighed in favor of the side with the most
ships, assuming equal ship types. A fight between a force of 100 ships and
one of 75 fought to the finish, should result in the extinction of the 75,
with losses of about 50 to 60 for the larger side.

(ii). Ship to Planet

When warships are in a star system containing one or more enemy planets and
no enemy ships are present, they may attack enemy planets. The player will
be presented with a display of the star system and a window similar to the
Task Force Control window. The attack may be canceled by selecting Cancel
from the Attack Menu.

For attacks on more than one planet in the same star system, all Task
Forces must be assigned to those attacks before selecting Attack from the
menu.

If proceeding with the attack, warships are formed into Task Forces in the
normal manner. A default target planet is indicated. If there are several
planets that my be attacked use the Prev Planet/Next Planet item in the
Attack Menu to select the target world.

To initiate all attacks in a star system, choose Attack from the Attack
Menu. The Combat window will open in turn for each attack. The planetary
defence bases will appear as warships of the appropriate level and combat
proceeds as normal, although only the attacking ships may withdraw.

If all the PDBs are wiped out, the attacking warships may then bombard the
planet for one round in an attempt to damage industry and reduce the
population. Victory points are awarded for colony destruction.

(e). Conquering Worlds

Colonies undefeated by PDBs may be invaded if transport ships are present.
The Invade window (similar to the Colonize Form window) will open. Enter
the number of transports you wish to use as storm troopers for each valid
planet and then press Done. Invasion takes place immediately.

Conquered planets are important both in terms of the additional RP
production and the victory points awarded.  To keep hold of a conquered
planet, a garrison equal in size to at least half the population is
required. That garrison then acts as PDBs in defense of the planet. If the
garrison is not large enough you will see the rebellion marker in the star
system display and the planet will suffer a loss of PDBs due to guerilla
activity. If for any reason the PDB garrison is reduced to zero the
population has successfully rebelled and the planet rejoins its original
empire.

Transports built on a conquered planet are identical to your own
transports.

5. VICTORY CONDITIONS

Each player's performance throughout the game is assessed by the
accumulation of victory points. There are four categories for which victory
points are awarded, namely colony development, starship battles, planetary
conquest and colony destruction. Appendix A details the exact point awards.
The computer keeps a running total of the VPs awarded to each player and
this total may be reviewed by calling up the victory point display.

At the end of every game, the computer will break in with the final
compilation of VPs and declare the winner. You have the option of
continuing the game which will extend it for another 100 turns. This means
the game could be extended indefinitely for those of you with a desire to
try and colonize every planet.

Overwhelming Victory occurs if, at any time, one player's VP total is
greater than all other players combined (If variable victory conditions are
in effect this means the true VP totals, not the displayed ones).

6. SAVING GAMES

Games may be easily saved to any disk using the standard file saving
system, simply select Save As... from the File menu, fill in the name you
wish to save the game under, and follow the instructions in the window.

If the game has been previously saved or was loaded from disk you may also
pick the Save option from the menu which automatically saves the game to
its file without asking any questions.

Loading a saved game is just as simple, Select Restore Game.. from the file
menu. This may be done either from the start up screen or while another
game is in progress. A dialogue box appears with instructions. The game
will return to the same turn in which it was saved, allow any human players
who had not finished their turns to enter orders and then proceed as
normal.

7. THE MENU BAR

(a). Control

Full Map. This item will open the strategic map. It indicates your colonies
as solid markers and other stars as open markers. It also indicates the
presence of ships in the correct corner of the marker for the owning
player, starting with player one at top left and then moving clockwise
through to player four at bottom left (The same order as used for
displaying icons on the space screen and locating combat reports in the
combat display).

Auto Explore. Upon choosing this item all currently unassigned scout ships
will be placed into individual task forces and given an unexplored star as
a destination. The auto explore feature is then disabled until your next
turn. The choices made are, as usual, not permanent. You may go to the
newly created task forces and alter their destinations or reform them if
you wish.

(b). Status

Victory Conditions. This will open the victory point display. It shows the
VPs accumulated by each player for each of the four categories and the
total of these. It also shows the true victory points for your empire under
the normal VP line for your empire. When the variable victory point rules
are not in effect, the true VP total will be the same as the one shown.
When the game ends this screen is displayed with all player's true victory
points visible.

Explored Systems. The explored systems list allows you to review all the
star systems with details for all planets in systems that have been
explored, with the normal visibility restrictions.

Task Forces. A list of all unassigned ships and formed task forces is given
showing the number of each ship type present, their location, destination
(if any) and ETA to that destination.

Technology. This item shows current spending on technologies, with the RPs
left to the next tech level.

Options. This menu item will open the options display to show you what
options are currently in effect and the movement and production costs of
all elements in the game.

Production Costs. This item shows the production costs of all elements in
the game.

Movement Points. Shows the movement points of all ships in the game.

(c). Production

Advice. This enters the computer's figures for what it would produce this
this turn. You can easily edit this, so it is recommended that you check
this from time to time when you are still learning the game, especially in
the early game turns.

Next Planet/Previous Planet. Moves you forward or back along the list of
planets for which you have production.

End Production. Causes all your decisions to be implemented and advances
you to the movement phase. There is no going back, so the command is not
active until all planets have at least been inspected.

(d). Movement

New Task Force. Creates a new task force entry in the Task Force Control
window. You may create as many empty task forces as you wish using this
command and fill in the details in the Task Force Control window.

Next Star/Previous Star. Moves you forward or back along the list of
systems at which you have ships.

Reform. De-allocates the current Task Force and returns all ships to the
pool. All Task Forces without a destination are consolidated.

Colonize. Brings up a colonize window which allows selection of the target
planet and the number of colonists. Transports in a Task Force which has a
destination other than the current system are not eligible for
colonization.

(e). End Turn

Normal. This ends your turn and allows other players to enter their orders.
Once this is selected you may make no further changes until next turn.

Automatic. This item also ends the turn but before doing so the computer
will give any production orders that seem necessary, if the production
phase is still in effect, and will give move orders to any unassigned ships
that it feels should be moved or assigned to colonization. In effect you
may play as a computer player by choosing this item without giving any
orders in your turn, or use it to take care of trivial details you are not
concerned with.

                            PART TWO
                            ~~~~~~~~
                        THE GAME OPTIONS
                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. BASIC OPTIONS

Tutorial. Selecting the tutorial option causes the random number component
of the game to follow a predictable sequence. This means that once the game
is started, if you perform precisely the same actions each time you will
get precisely the same results. The tutorial game in Chapter 3 uses this
option. If playing with the Tutorial option on you must enter items exactly
as they are listed in the example. The results of not doing so are
unpredictable.

Novas. This option allows stars to become unstable and means that a few of
them will probably go nova in the course of a game. The risk becomes
greater as the higher starship technologies are achieved because of their
effect on the fabric of time-space. You will usually get some notice of the
impending disaster in the star system display and you will be permitted to
emigrate most of your population. In addition there is a chance that the
star's outer atmosphere will restabilize and the star will revert to
normal.

If the star does go move all planets ad ships in the system are obliterated
and any ships dropping in from hyperspace in this system on subsequent
turns will meet a similar fate.

Natural Disasters. Plague, earthquakes, pollution and other natural and
technological disasters can visit a planet in the course of a thousand
years. At any time a disaster may hit a planet, damaging population,
industry and environment. Plague may linger on a planet for two or three
generations.

When a planet has suffered from a disaster the type of disaster is
indicated on the star system display.

Xenophobes. Xenophobes are a miasmic life form which drift in clouds from
system to system. Their effect on all known forms of life is to cause
extreme xenophobia and interstellar trade with such infested star systems
becomes impossible; the planets are, in effect, interdicted. Furthermore,
combat in such a system results in a battle frenzy of unparalleled
proportions, and losses from combat are greatly increased.

Xenophobes can not be attacked or manipulated in any way. They may be seen
in deep space as well as in a star system, but have no effect there.

Solar Debris. Solar debris hexes represent navigational hazards and limit
faster than light travel. Whenever a task force enters such a hex it will
end its move immediately and continue on next turn.

Random Star Map. The 54 star systems will be scattered about the galaxy. A
challenging alternative with the advanced rules since it produces
interesting territorial problems in conjunction with the navigation limits.

Task Force Setup. Rather than begin the game established on a planet, each
player begins randomly in orbit about a star with no habitable planets. The
players each have a fleet of 4 Mark Is, 4 scouts and 60 transports, as well
as 400 Global RPs that will become available when there is a colony to use
them.

Note that this option is not compatible with the Advanced Scenario option.

Automatic Scout Movement. At the beginning of every player's move phase all
scouts will automatically be assigned destinations. This option can really
speed up the game. Note that there are no scouts in the Advanced Game.

Hidden Victory Conditions. This will make the Victory display inaccessible
until the game is over so everyone is in the dark as to how well they are
doing.

2. ADVANCED OPTIONS

Enhanced Veterans. If you ever feel that the computer veteran players aren't
presenting you with enough of a challenge try a game or two with these good
'ole boys. Remember, find them early and clobber them or you could be in
for a resounding defeat!

Variable Victory Conditions. The actual VPs awarded for the various goals
do not change with this option. Rather a multiplier is introduced to allow
each player to emphasize some goals at the cost of others. During a normal
games the VPs for all four categories have a multiplier of two. You may
change any or all of these multipliers as long as the total is equal to
eight and no multiplier is reduced below one.

When this option is selected the Victory Conditions button becomes active.
Press it and then each human player selects the VP Adjust window by
pressing the button for their empire.

Slide the VP multipliers back and forth and you will see that you may only
press Done when the total is eight. The computer will assign multipliers
for its players without needing access to these windows.

During the game a player will always see his own multipliers and true VP
total on the Victory Condition display but must wait until the game is over
to see those of the other players.

THE ADVANCED SCENARIO

Selecting this option will cause a number of additions and changes to the
normal game mechanics and options. It is recommended that you play a few
games with the normal rules before trying these. Here are the changes.

Armies. Each planet may now support an army, drawn from the population
during production. The army comes from the same pool of population as
colonists so every population put in transport will reduce those available
for recruitment and vice versa. Up to one eighth of the population will be
available for colonization and recruitment. The army will appear as a value
to the right of the PDB value on the star system display.

Armies must be maintained but this is no longer true of PDBs, instead 1
army unit is required in order to support every 2 PDBs.

When a planet is invaded the landing troops must now fight and defeat the
local army in the combat system before the planet is conquered. If
successful the invading troops become a local garrison.

PDBs. The maximum number of new PDBs that may be purchased during
production is altered to one eighth of the planet's industry level. PDBs
are not maintained and their production cost is fixed independent of
current Ship Tech level. There is no maximum to the number of PDBs that may
be constructed, provided they are supported. PDBs will fight at the current
ship tech level.

Navigation Technology. Each empire has a maximum navigation range based on
the current navigation tech level. All players start at Nav Tech 1. This
means that no ship can be given a destination outside of navigation range
from a friendly colony. When assigning a destination to a task force stars
that cannot be reached are highlighted, on the strategic map their names
are blanked out. RPs may be allocated to R&D for Nav Tech just as with Ship
Tech. Each new level of Nav Tech increases the radius from 3 to 4, then 5
and finally 7. All computer players get a bonus of one hex to their
navigation range at each new Nav Tech level except level four.

Industrial Technology. Each empire begins with an Ind Tech level of 1. RPs
may be allocated to R&D for Ind Tech just as with Ship Tech. Each level of
industrial technology gives planets in the empire a bonus to their GPP
(Gross Planetary Product). This can be very important due to the high
production costs with the advanced rules. The bonus at each tech level is;
2 - 25%, 3 - 50%, 4 - 100%.

Overpopulation. There is no overpopulation in the advanced scenario. At the
end of each turn excess population are simply removed. Excess population
may be placed in transports during the production phase as with the basic
game but it is no longer an urgent problem.

Servicing the Population. The cost of providing consumer goods to the
population increases as the social environment gets higher. For a Soc Env
of 0 to 60 the service cost is still only 1 RP/Population, for 61 to 75 it
becomes 2 RP/Population, for 76 to 90 it is 3 RPs and for 91 and higher it
becomes 4 RPs.

Conquered Planets. These become much harder to maintain, here are the
changes.

To hold on to a conquered planet you must maintain an army equal to at
least once quarter of the population. You may not recruit conquered
population into this army but must land more troops if you do not have
sufficient for a garrison.

The following items have their production cost doubled on conquered
planets; Industry, PDBs, starships, social and planetary environment, army
maintenance, Ship and Nav technology.

Conquered planets may not contribute to Ind Tech R&D.

Planet Improvement. Once a planet's social and planetary environments are
both at 80 or higher the planet's maximum population and industry both
begin to increase. This is more likely for primary class planets and
becomes less likely in order for secondary, tertiary and hostile planets.
The ultimate maximum for Population and Environment is 100, and for
Industry is 200.

Production Costs. Many of these are altered. Consult the variable
production cost screen with the advanced rules option turned on to see the
full list or consult Appendix A. Be warned that major changes to the
production costs can have a profound on the game. There is no interest on
saved RPs in the advanced game.

VARYING THE PRODUCTION COSTS

Just press the button and you will be presented with a window with slide
controls for the level of RP expenditure for the production items.
Experiment with changing these and record combinations that you find
satisfying.

VARYING THE MOVEMENT FACTORS

Again, just press the button to get a window with slide controls for the
different ship class movement allowances. Remember that the game is often
limited to the speed of the transport vessels, so a game with 1 MP for
transports will be very long...and very interesting!

3. WINNING STRATEGIES

PREPARATION

It is useful to have a copy of the map on which to scribble notes and make
plans. Your computer may also have a screen dump or print function.

If playing with other humans then it is never too early to begin making
treaties, secret or otherwise, planning double crosses and playing
Machiavelli in general.

THE BASIC GAME

The first key to the economics of the basic game is population control Each
point of population produces 2 RPs but costs 1 RP to maintain for a net
gain fo 1 RP per point of population. The rate of population growth
increases with Social Level and also with the absolute population level.
Social Level is one of the main determinants of RP production so it has to
be made as high as possible. The problem is that your subjects respond to
the good life by breeding like rabbits, leading to the disaster of
over-population.

The only solutions are to ship 'volunteers' off planet or to not maintain
your population. It is possible to create enough transports in each
production turn to get rid of excess population, however each transport
costs 10 RPs, so unless your pioneers are actually needed for starting
another colony, this procedure is wasteful of RPs. Your initial colony will
start with a population of 50 and should not be allowed to rise too much
above this level. Some players like to keep the population even lower.

The act of not maintaining your population is a desperate one. The
ungrateful populace will riot, reducing industry and social level and
possibly (hopefully) killing some of themselves off in the process. If
economic circumstances are such that you must deny your subjects some of
the necessities of life, keep the shortfall small. A large deficit could
see the population go ape and the planet back in the stone age.

Once you've sorted out your home world, it's time to deal with the rest of
the universe. You should have had your explorers scouting out likely spots.
You want something with a reasonable industry and environment that is not
too far away. Soon after starting your second colony you should think about
moving to Mark II technology, something you should achieve around turn 20.

In order to have the luxury of continuing to run an economy, you will need
a long term military plan. This will depend on the type of opponent you are
facing. We will describe the behaviour of veterans, as the others are lesser
opponents. In fact beginners deliberately make mistakes, in order to make
themselves easier to beat.

Veterans work from a hate index. All veterans hate human players simply
because they exist (for which you can't blame them). They also hate any
player who takes a colony from them (very sensible) and the player coming
first (quite human really).

If you are a human player, coming first, who takes a colony from a veteran,
you have just guaranteed retribution.  In such circumstances, veteran
computer players will hunt you down mercilessly.

Conceivably you could do this to more than one computer player. This is
what we call a high risk (or certain death!) option. The best way to win is
to come from behind.

Sometimes the burden of choosing an opponent will be lifted from you, as an
invasion fleet pays a courtesy call. Sometimes you might be left alone for
a while but, as Clark Kent continually discovers, being inoffensive
yourself is no guarantee of a peaceful existence. Choice of opponents is an
art and depends on a number of factors.

Your first task is to locate them. The disappearance of explorers as they
are vaporized by real warships over a star system is one clue. As your
economy progresses you can start sending MK Is on lone recon missions.

These will force a real space battle and at least reveal the number of
enemy ships before they are valiantly but inevitably reduced to their
component atoms. If there are no enemy warships you will get a report on the
star system and interdict it, cutting it off from all Global RPs. (This is
why you should always maintain a standing patrol over all of your planets).

There are many other ways to find the enemy. The location of space battles
between other players should always be noted, as there is almost certainly
a colony there.

Finding home planets is not difficult if you take into account the start-up
conditions. All players, computer or human, start on a system with one and
only one planet, relatively high population and industry between 30 and 45.
There are not too many systems in the universe that will fit the bill.
Simply send a MK 1 to all of the candidates and observe the results.

If the enemy is maintaining a space patrol you will still not see the
planet but will force a battle. If you are using Auto Explore then by Turn
20 all of the galaxy should have been explored. The only stars not explored
are probably those pulverizing your scouts. This calls for a reconnaissance
in force.

When it comes to space battles, the overwhelmingly important principle is
that of concentration. As the range of warships increases markedly at
higher technologies it becomes impossible to defend all parts of your
empire at all times. Your opponents will simply concentrate and crush your
detachments. You cannot stop this. You must be able to respond in kind or
you are doomed.

The basic game moves very quickly so all actions must be adjusted to the
game length. The usually winner in a basic game against three veterans keeps
out of trouble for as long as possible, building an economic base. He then
comes from behind in a withering burst, gaining enough points to leap into
the lead just at the very end of the game. Sometimes this can be done at
the expense of the weakest of the computer players, who may have already
suffered at the hands of the others.

THE ADVANCED GAME

The Advanced Game has a slower and more strategic feel. The restrictions on
movement and the higher production costs combine to make a game where
position is much more important. Moreover, the new rules for PDBs and
Armies mean that planets can be made much more resistant to attack.

Classic Opening. Resource points are, as always, the key to winning the
game. In the advanced game a problem occurs as the planet's social
environment climbs, increasing the cost for maintaining your population. As
a result it is important that you do not spend RPs to increase the planet's
social level, as it will drift up towards the planetary environment anyway.
Your first priority is to increase industrial technology as early as
possible to level two and to maximize the planet's industry.

After reaching the second level of industrial technology, increase the
planetary environment to 85 or 80. The social environment will again climb
towards this new level although you may choose to push it along a bit. Once
both the social and planetary environments cross the 80 mark the planet's
industrial capacity will begin to increase and you will rapidly climb out
of the "resource hole".

Note that once you start paying three or more resource points per
population your inhabitants are consuming more RPs than they produce in the
RP formula.

At most, build one Mark I for initial exploration purposes. This should be
delayed until turn ten. The cost of such a vessel whilst still struggling
with your initial resource problems can be prohibitive.

The Trout Variant. This variation on the Classic Opening involves
eliminating your initial planetary army on the first production round. This
means you will also lose the twelve PDBs that the army is supporting. The
advantage is that you save on the army's maintenance cost (four RPs
apiece) at an early stage of the game, giving you that extra edge on
initial development. It is unlikely that you will find yourself in need of
planetary defenses until turn 20 or later in the advanced game, due to the
navigation limitation placed on space travel.

Gilligan's Island. Once in a while you may begin a game in a star system
that has no neighbors within range for navigation technology one. Don't
Panic! This is an excellent position from which to use the Trout Variant
with a Classic Opening, based on the assumption that if you can't get to
them, they can't get to you. Do be aware of the fact that computer players,
presumably through the employment of fiendish cybernetic technology, have a
one hex bonus on all Nav Tech levels except level four. Once you have
acquired the second level of industrial technology, switch your R&D efforts
to attaining navigation technology two.

The Bell Colonization Technique. When picking early colonization targets,
consider the fact that population becomes a drag on economy. It is often
best to choose a planet that has a population capacity of between 15 and 20
with a high industrial capacity.

A planetary environment as low as 35 will suffice, as long as you land with
enough global resource points allotted to increase this to a minimum of 40,
give a quick boost to the social environment and perhaps some initial
industrial development. Unless you wish to force the population or
industrial capacity up, by going over 80 in both social and planetary
environments, do not increase the planetary environment above 59. Your
social level will then remain low enough so as not to increase your
population consumption requirements.

The Picket Play. Unlike basic Reach for the Stars there is a great emphasis
on territory, based on navigation range and colony location. This means it
is possible to place patrol ships in a cloud about your own territory that
can detect and perhaps repel alien interlopers. This is achieved by placing
one or two Mark I vessels about each star system within range. If any
aliens wish to colonize in your region of space, or build up for an attack
on one of your worlds, you are then likely to know about it.

Beware, the cost in setting up your picket is minimal once you have three
or four planets fully industrialized but setting up a picket early in the
game can be detrimental to your economic foundation.

A more complicated variation on this is to create patrol squadrons of
around six ships, each squadron moving continuously around three star
systems assigned to it. This requires much more administration on your part
but such patrols are more effective when they come across enemy fleets.

Fortress Whiley. The object of this game play is to determine where your
nearest opponents are and then colonize away from them. The planets closest
to your opponents, initially your oldest worlds and later in the game
worlds around the edge of your empire, become fortress planets, heavily
armoured and patrolled while your inner worlds may be significantly free of
defence spending. Thus your inner worlds become efficient RP producers that
subsidize all your other colonization and conquest efforts.

The danger with this strategy is the potential for an alien break through
when one of your fortress worlds is conquered, allowing a strike into the
soft interior. Be prepared for this and respond quickly if it occurs. The
premise behind this strategy is that the RPs saved by not fortifying all
planets will allow a larger space navy to be built when your system is
finally threatened.

The Isolationist.  Occasionally it is possible to avoid contact with other
players for a considerable time. You may then choose to "lay low" for a
while, colonizing and building up your space fleets whilst keeping an eye
on the victory points.

There is a danger that your opponents, having found each other will
generate huge victory points by going to war, and will quickly outdistance
you, so timing and control is important. When playing computer opponents
especially, the idea is to keep your own victory points from placing you in
the first place position until you are ready to make a major push from
which you hope your opponents will not have time to recover. This will
often involve knowing where your opponents have their best worlds and
leaving them alone for some time, watching them across the gulf of space
with envious eyes, and slowly but surely drawing your plans against them.

A Note on Invasions. To successfully invade a planet you must have enough
ships to survive all four stages of such a task. Firs you must defeat any
space fleet in the star system. This will result in losses to your warships
and transports. Secondly you must defeat the planetary defense bases. This
will only involve warship loses and these ships are not needed after this.

It may be an idea to hold back a few ships to ensure cover for the planet
if you succeed, and interdict vessels if you fail. Thirdly, you must invade
the planet with your transports and overcome the native army. This will
involve losses in the troops that you will need for the final stage.

Once the enemy army is defeated you must have enough remaining troops to
hold the planets population in check.

Such a conquered colony can be hard to hold. Be prepared to send back-up
colonists to the planet to increase the garrison because you can't
conscript the locals.

In general you want slightly more warships than the expected number of PDBs
and a number of transports greater than the defending army size plus one
quarter of the planet's population.

Note, also, that to rescue your own planet from the clutches of some
conquering space slime you will need not only to wipe out any PDBs they may
have built but also land troops to take on their garrison (You may just
bombard the planet from space but you are more likely to decimate your own
population than damage the conquering garrison).

The End Game. As that last turn approaches you may already know whether you
have won or lost. It is only when the points are close that you can do much
about the outcome. Remember, now is the time for the Isolationist to
strike, beware, look to consolidating and holding what you have got if you
are the winner, consider mad and ambitious schemes worthy of Ming The
Merciless if you are not.

The Long Game.  150 turns is the maximum game length that you may select
when playing Reach for the Stars but there is not theoretical limit on the
number of turns you may play by striking the continue game button on the
last turn. Many of the game testers have found it enjoyable to set
themselves the task of eliminating all opposition and colonizing the entire
universe. When playing against computer opponents, if you are at least
holding your own by turn 150 you will probably succeed in an indefinite
length game.

When playing the Long Game the game itself becomes more of a lifestyle than
a pastime, one game on record having gone on for several weeks, up to a
record 405 turns, before victory was assured. Try it....you'll love it.

4. WHO'S DONE WHAT?

Reach for the Stars is the first game published by Roger Keating and
myself; back in the days when SSG was just Roger and I...and whichever of
our luckless friends we could rope in for some help.

Now, some five years and two major revisions later, the game is still going
strong. This third edition has been mulling around in our heads for nearly
two years. A lot of things have been done to make it more enjoyable than its
predecessors.

The advanced scenario is a demanding test of your ability to manage and
develop a dynamic economy in a galaxy where space is at a premium, budget
surpluses seem impossible to generate and your populations grow ever more
greedy as the years go by. It's almost a relief to build a few warships and
embark on a simple head-kicking mission.

One thing for certain. The advanced scenario has had plenty of testing.
It's addictive! The superior graphics ability of the larger machines and
their friendlier interfaces make the Amiga, IIgs and MacIntosh versions a
delight to play. IBM users, especially in EGA mode, will enjoy most of
these advantages.

For Apple II and C64/128 users, the interface has been radically improved,
speeding up game play considerably.

No matter which computer type you own, you're in for a treat.

Some very talented people have worked with us on the conversions.

Danny Stevens created the Macintosh version as well as providing the C code
for the Amiga, IBM ad IIgs versions.

Mark Twigg created the Amiga version.

Alan Bell created the IIgs version.

Gregor Whiley had the invidious job of co-ordinating the project.

Roger and I did the work on the Apple II and C64/128 revisions.

                        APPENDIX A

             Advanced Scenario Development Costs

Industrial Capacity        10    Planetary Envir. Inc.        10
Transports            25    Mark II Tech.              +700
Mark I Starships        40    Mark III Tech            +2,000
Mark II Starships        90    Mark IV Tech            +5,000
Mark III Starships      200    Nav II Tech.              +400
Mark IV Starships       500    Nav III Tech.            +1,500
PDBs                     50    Nav IV Tech.             +4,000
Armies                   12    Indust II Tech.           +500
Army Maint.               4    Indust III Tech.         +1,800
Social Level Inc.         4   Indust IV Tech.          +6,500


                    Victory Point Awards

Colony Development
Each player receives 1 VP for every 16 population and industrial units on
controlled native planets. These points are awarded every turn.

Starship Battles
Only the winner of a battle receives VPs for destroying enemy ships.
Transports=10, Mk Is=4, Mk IIs=8, Mk IIIs=12, Mk IVs=20.

Planetary Conquest
Each player receives 1 VP for every 4 population, 8 industrial units and 16
garrisons on conquered enemy planets. These points are awarded every turn.

Colony Destruction
Each player receives 4 VPs for the destruction of each unit of enemy
population, industry and occupying garrison.

                   Distribution of Planet Types
=======================================================================
  Spectral      |                  Planet Type (%)
    Class       |-----------------------------------------------------
                | Prim.   | Sec.     | Tert.       | Host.
----------------|---------|----------|-------------|------------------
  B Class       |   2     |   13     |   37        |   48
----------------|---------|----------|-------------|------------------
  F Class       |  19     |   25     |   13        |   43
----------------|---------|----------|-------------|------------------
  G Class       |  55     |   13     |   13        |   19
----------------|---------|----------|-------------|------------------
  K Class       |  13     |   31     |   19        |   37
----------------|---------|----------|-------------|------------------
  M Class       |   7     |   10     |   37        |   37
----------------|---------|----------|-------------|------------------

                     Planetary Characteristics

=======================================================================
Planetary       |                   Planet Type
  Charac.       |-----------------------------------------------------
                | Prim.   | Sec.     | Tert.       | Host.
----------------|---------|----------|-------------|------------------
                |         |          |             |
Population      |70-100   | 40-80    | 20-50       | 20-30
----------------|---------|----------|-------------|------------------
Industry        |25-60    | 25-70    | 25-80       | 25-100
----------------|---------|----------|-------------|------------------
Environment     |55-100   | 30-80    | 10-55       | 5-20
________________|_________|__________|_____________|__________________


                     Standard Scenario

Production Costs

Item                            RPs
~~~~                               ~~~
Industrial Capacity                10
Explorers                         3
Transports                          5
Mark I Starships                   14
Mark II Starships                  30
Mark III Starships                 80
Mark IV Starships                 120
Planetary Defense Bases        4/8/16*
Defense Base Maintenance        1/2/2*
Social Level Increment              4
Planetary Environment Increment     8

* Cost per item at Starship Levels I-III respectively

Development Costs

Mark II Technology                  +400
Mark III Technology              +1,000
Mark IV Technology               +2,000

Movement Allowances

Explorers                        10
Transports                     5
Mark I Starships                 5
Mark II Starships                   8
Mark III Starships                 12
Mark IV Starships                  17

                Reach for the Stars (3rd Ed.)

Amiga Version Operating Instructions

System Requirements. Reach for the Stars requires an Amiga with Kickstart
1.2 and 512K of memory. Reach for the Stars should work normally with other
multi-tasking programs but at least 1 Megabyte of memory will be required
to run Reach for the Stars in conjunction with another substantial program.

Backup and Hard Disk Install. Reach for the Stars is not copy protected.
Floppy Disk users should use the normal Workbench disk copying procedures
to make a backup of the program disk. Do not use the original disk for game
playing.

Hard disk users should copy the contents of the RFTS/ directory to a single
directory on their hard disk. There are three files, RFTS, RFTS.PIC and
RFTS.SND, which must all be located in the same directory.

Startup. Reach for the Stars will appear on the program disk as a normal
Workbench icon and can be started by double-clicking the Reach For the
Stars icon.

Loading and Saving Games. Reach for the Stars uses the standard Amiga file
requestors to load and save games. Games can be saved to the copy of the
program disk but it will not have much free space. If using a separate save
game disk, it must be initialized before starting the game.

Graphics Dump. The Graphic Dump command under the File menu will attempt to
print the current screen contents. This requires that you have a graphics
capable printer and the appropriate printer driver. The driver must be
installed on the Reach for the Stars disk using the Preferences program.

============================================================================
         DOCS PROVIDED BY  -+*+-THE SOUTHERN STAR-+*+- for M.A.A.D.
============================================================================