Table of Contents

 Introduction  
 Starting the Game 
 Confirm System Requirements 
 Installing Star Control II 
 Start-up 
 Play Controls
 Menu Controls 
 Keyboard Menu Controls 
 Joystick Menu Controls 
 Combat Commands 
 Default Keyboard Combat Controls 
 Joystick Combat Controls 
 Navigation 
 The Effects of Inertia and Gravity 
 Interplanetary Travel 
 Encounters in Interplanetary Space 
 Entering Planetary Orbit 
 Planet Types and Descriptions 
 "Pushing" Up into HyperSpace 
 HyperSpace Travel 
 Fuel Use in HyperSpace 
 Encounters in HyperSpace 
 Returning to TrueSpace 
 Ship Commands 
 Starmap 
 Alien Spheres of Influence 
 Using the Autopilot Feature
 Scanning a Planet
 Specific Scans 
 Mineral Scan  
 Biological Scan 
 Energy Scan 
 Dispatching a Lander 
 Planet Surface Exploration 
 Lander Status Display 
 Returning to the Flagship 
 Gathering Minerals 
 Planetary Hazards 
 Collecting Life-form Data
 Flagships Manifest 
 Checking Cargo 
 Using Devices 
 Ships Roster 
 Game Options 
 Saving a Game in Progress 
 Loading a Saved Game 
 Changing Game Settings
 Changing Names 
 Quitting the Game 
 The Earth Starbase 
 The Starbase Commander 
 Transferring Minerals to the Starbase 
 Outfitting Your Flagship 
 Flagship Characteristics 
 Fuel
 Flagship Enhancement Modules 
 Adding and Removing Modules 
 The Shipyard
 Adding and Removing Crew 
 Combat Vessels 
 Leaving the Starbase 
 Encountering Alien Races 
 Combat Sequence 
 Conversing with Aliens 
 Attacking Aliens 
 Combat 
 Selecting a Ship 
 The Battlefield 
 Navigating Your Ship in Combat 
 Collision with Asteroids and Planets 
 Ship Status Displays 
 Crew 
 Batteries 
 The Basics of Blasting 
 Victory and Defeat 
 Running Away 
 Analyzing Enemy Wreckage 
 Appendix I: Known Alien Races
 Races in the Alliance of Free Stars 
 Races in the Ur-Quan Hierarchy 
 Appendix II: Play Tips for Star Control II 
 Maximizing Available Memory 
 Enhancing Game Performance 
 Solving Possible Conflicts with TSRs 
 Known Conflicts 
 Specifying Sound Card on the Command Line 
 Loading Problems 
 Garbled Graphics or Blank Screen 
 Graphic Adapter Fix 
 Booting Clean 
 Technical Support 
 Online Support 
 Appendix III: Instructions for SuperMelee 
   Starting SuperMelee
   The SuperMelee Main Screen 
   Creating a SuperMelee Team 
   Game Settings 
   Who Controls Each Team 
   Input Device 
   Computer Opponents Skill Level 
   Leaving Settings Menu 
   Saving and Loading SuperMelee Teams 
   Fighting in Melee 
   Picking Ships 
   Fighting a Battle 
   Winning SuperMelee 
   Replaying Melee with the Same Teams 
   Returning to the Team Edit Screen 
 Appendix IV: Keyboard Configuration Utility 
 Appendix V: Combat Vessel Descriptions 
 Appendix VI: Flagship Modules 
 Game Credits 
 Legal Mumbo Jumbo 

INTRODUCTION 
Welcome aboard. Star Control II will take you on a far journey,
a space odyssey encompassing the realms of science-fiction 
and role-playing. This epic adventure spans hundreds of light
years, and evokes a history reaching back over 250,000 years.
As you travel out among the stars, your decisions and actions 
will directly affect the destiny of 18 intelligent, star-
faring species, including the inhabitants of Earth. Star 
Control II is only in part a sequel to Star Control, which 
focused exclusively on the strategy and tactics of the bitter 
Ur-Quan Slave War (known by the philosophical as the Great 
Crucible of Sentience). You need not have played the first 
game to enjoy this one. However, if you have never fought 
a Star Control spacebattle, you may wish to practice with 
the SuperMelee game before facing enemy forces. The evil 
aliens you will encounter are adept at the art of war, 
and unforgiving of weakness. The history that follows 
details the critical involvement of Earth in the conflict 
between the Alliance of Free Stars and the villainous Ur-Quan 
Hierarchy. Study what happened, learn from the mistakes of those 
that went before. Only in this way will you be prepared for the 
mystery, the intrigue and the blazing action of Star Control II.


In the Beginning 
The time is in the year 2155. Yet the story begins over two 
centuries before, in the 1930s, a time when surface vehicles 
on Earth burned fossil fuels. Its all hard to imagine now, 
of course, getting from place to place in a dangerous noisy 
machine with an engine that set fire to spurts of prehistoric 
goo. Makes one shudder. Humans had another quaint oddity in 
those days; it was a little box called a radio that transmitted 
a mindless mix of music and speech. The radio was a harmless 
diversion, really, until the radio towers got taller and the 
broadcasts got stronger. Until the transmissions began to pulse 
out into the vacuum of space, riding electromagnetic waves 
throughout the universe. It wasnt long before the broadcasts 
from Earth reached distant stars, and several alien races 
took notice of this new evidence of life on the far-off blue 
planet. One of the species listening was the Ur-Quan, a life-
form devoid of conscience or character, a race genetically 
compelled to conquest. As early as 1940, the Ur-Quan began 
to formulate sinister schemes to attack Earth. Other aliens, 
meanwhile, benign species that wished only peace, lay plans 
to warn Earthlings of the Ur-Quan threat.


The Scrutiny of Earth Intensifies 
From their strange worlds many light years away, both good and 
evil aliens watched with growing interest as Soviet Cosmonaut 
Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the planet in 1961. 
Less than a decade later, a tremor swept through the advanced 
life-forms beyond the solar system as American Astronauts 
Armstrong and Aldrin became the first men to tread Earths 
satellite moon.

Alien scrutiny of Earth intensified. Meanwhile, the fratricidal 
conflicts that had scourged mankind since the species evolved 
continued unabated. The Small War of 2015 came close to 
obliterating civilization on Earth when nuclear combat broke 
out between several Middle Eastern countries. Fortunately 
the exchange was relatively small, limited to less than 
a dozen warheads, and a global conflagration was narrowly 
avoided. Even so, nearly a million people died. The terrible 
loss of life and the near-thing of a planetwide Armageddon 
sobered heads of government around the world. The leaders of 
the industrialized nations and the Third World met at the 
United Nations headquarters in New York and agreed to cooperate 
in an immediate strengthening of U.N. authority. Within six 
months, the U.N. Security Council had assembled a large Peace-
Keeping Army and assumed worldwide control over all weapons of 
mass destruction. "Mass-kill" devices were gathered up from 
every country that possessed them. The weapons were then 
dismantled and their components stored in huge subterranean 
bunkers that came to be known as "Peace Vaults." Simultaneously, 
the U.N. outlawed the sale of smaller arms. It took nearly a 
decade to end all armed conflict on earth. Yet the goal was 
finally achieved. Ten years after the U.N. summit, in 2025, 
the Earth experienced its first year without war. To ensure 
the total destruction of the arms trade, the United Nations 
prohibited future weapons research, including the development 
of nuclear fusion and fission technologies that might be adapted 
for bomb-making purposes. Laser applications were also closely 
monitored to prevent the design of "Star Wars" like weapons.

Despite these restrictions, science continued to advance across 
a wide spectrum of disciplines, especially in bio-technology. 
Brilliant Swiss Scientist Hsien Ho combined the now-complete 
human genome map with sophisticated genetic-engineering 
techniques and perfected the artificial parthenogenesis 
- cloning - of humans at the Zurich BioTeknik in 2019. 
Though the clones were, to all external appearances, human, 
Hsien Ho modified their genes so that they were not capable
of producing offspring. 

Meanwhile, a new religious order, known as Homo Deus, or "The 
Godly Men," was founded in the aftermath of the Small War and 
the emotional turmoil caused by the destruction of the Holy 
Lands. Its charismatic founder, former car salesman Jason 
MacBride, built his worldwide following on the thesis that 
the Millennium was near. MacBride even predicted a specific 
date, March 11, 2046, when Heaven and Earth would join, and 
each devout person would be elevated to a divine status. The 
movement captured the imagination of millions of poor and 
disillusioned individuals worldwide. Within a few years, 
"Brother Jason" was one of the most powerful and influential 
people on the planet.

For most people on Earth, the following two decades were a 
golden time of peace and prosperity. This was not the case 
for Hsien Hos now adult clones. Seeing Hos creations as 
a threat to his "Godly Men," Jason MacBride fought to have 
the clones declared sub-human. Calling them "Androsynths," or 
the "fake men," he used the vast resources of his Homo Deus 
organization to strip the clones of their human rights. 
Sadly, as the years passed, the Androsynths became little 
better than well-treated slaves.

Not unexpectedly, March 11, 2046 came and went without the 
arrival of Jason MacBrides promised Millennium. Citing a "lack 
of genuinely devout people," MacBride withdrew from public life 
and faded into obscurity, his power and fortunes rapidly declining.

By the middle of the 21st Century, Earthlings had begun to colonize 
their solar system. Planet orbiting factories led to lunar bases 
and soon there were mining and research outposts scattered across 
the Asteroid Belt. Yet the expansion of mankind into deep space 
was limited by the relatively slow speed at which spacecraft could 
travel. Research began in earnest to develop a ship that could 
warp toward distant stars faster than the speed of light.

The Androsynth Rebellion 
In retrospect, the Clone Revolt of 2085 was inevitable. Stronger, 
smarter and more adaptable than normal humans, the Androsynths 
despised and deeply resented their status as slaves. By the late 
70s there were tens of thousands of Androsynths distributed 
across the planet, many of them doing sophisticated scientific 
and technological research. Then, in the spring of 2085, the 
Androsynths staged a worldwide rebellion, throwing off their 
chains with the help of a sympathetic human underground.

The uprising had been exquisitely planned. Within 24 hours, the 
clones had captured nearly every space-flight facility on the 
planet. Androsynths working at the centers had secretly fueled 
and readied over a thousand spacecraft to carry their people off 
this hated planet. Two days after the rebellion began, the freed 
clones took over all orbital and lunar bases, leaving not a single 
Androsynth on the face of the earth. "Star Control," the recently 
established wing of the United Nations military forces, made 
several attempts to evict the clones. Each time the Star Control 
ships approached, the craft were burnt to ashes by colossal MASER 
weapons that Androsynth scientists had fashioned out of formerly 
benign energy broadcast units.

After two months of futile strikes on the Androsynth strongholds 
with conventional weapons, the U.N. leadership decided to use 
the means of mass destruction stored in the Peace Vaults. Yet 
before the nuclear bombs and laser rays could be reassembled, 
Star Control scoutships watching the orbiting bases reported an 
amazing sight. Eight of the largest space stations were 
accelerating out of Earth orbit, heading towards the periphery 
of the solar system. The Androsynths had somehow modified the 
huge space-stations for flight, including the recently finished 
StarLight Hilton.

Though Star Control chase ships were never able to catch the 
space-stations, a ten thruster ore freighter on its way home 
from an Asteroid Belt mining base with a hold full of titanium 
was able to make a high-V interception of the ragtag fleet. As 
the freighter pilot approached the fleeing space-stations, they 
suddenly began to glow with a bright energy field that spun around 
the ships with blazing speed. According to the pilots recorded 
testimony, a "great red hole" over 500 meters across appeared 
in front of the space-stations. As he watched in disbelief, 
the stations flew into the hole one by one and vanished in a 
starburst of white lights. When the last of the Androsynth 
strongholds had disappeared, the hole collapsed rapidly inward, 
imploding finally to nothingness.

Over 30 years would pass before humans encountered the Androsynths 
again.


Aliens Contact Earth 
In 2112, the largest and most remote space installation, Ceres 
Base, was built on the 700 kilometer-wide asteroid of the same 
name. Three years later, Ceres Base would be the site of mankinds 
first official contact with an alien life-form - the crystalline 
Chenjesu. The alien vessel suddenly appeared out of nowhere, a 
scarlet flash of light announcing its presence as it took up a 
position 3 kilometers above the asteroid. Almost immediately, 
the alien ship began broadcasting this message:

	People from Earth: We are the Chenjesu. We mean 
	you no harm. We come in peace with an urgent message. 
	Heed these words: there is a horde of conquering 
	warriors advancing toward your solar system from 
	deep space. They are called the Ur-Quan. They know 
	you are here. They will make slaves of you as they 
	have made slaves of a thousand races across the 
	galaxy. They will enslave both our species, Chenjesu 
	and Human, unless we stop them now. We are not alone 
	in our struggle. There are others who will fight with 
	us against the Ur-Quan. Together - in an alliance with 
	the remaining free stars - we may yet turn back the 
	enemy, defeating the Ur-Quan and its Hierarchy of 
	Battle Thralls.

	We beseech you to join us, for we desperately need 
	your help. But we do not have much time. What is your 
	answer?

For over a week, the answer from Earth was stunned silence.


The Alliance of Free Stars 
The Chenjesu representatives were patient. Beings of vast intellect 
and perception, they understood the psychological shock their sudden 
appearance had on the inhabitants of Earth, a people who, amazingly, 
had never before had contact with a species other than their own. 
The aliens remained in the solar system for several months, 
conferring with the political, military and scientific leaders of 
Earth. Meanwhile, the Chenjesus starship transported U.N. observers 
through HyperSpace to visit several worlds that had been attacked by 
the Ur-Quan and their Hierarchy of Battle Thralls. The sad evidence 
of wholesale slaughter and devastation, and the accounts of dazed 
survivors, proved that the Chenjesu account was true. On August 1, 
2116, Earth joined the Chenjesu and their other allies - the 
Mmrnmhrm, the Yehat, the Shofixti, and unofficially, the Syreen - 
to form The Alliance of Free Stars. Following formal ratification 
of the pact by the United Nations, Star Control was placed 
under the direct authority of the Alliance Command Council. The 
Chenjesu expected Earth to play a major role in the Alliance, both 
as combatants and suppliers of war material. Even though Earthlings 
were technologically primitive, their civilization had thousands of 
huge modern factories and millions of skilled workers able to 
manufacture both munitions and spacecraft. The tens of thousands of 
thermonuclear weapon components stashed away in the Peace Vaults 
were an additional bonus which surprised even the Chenjesu.

On the day following Earths formal induction into the Alliance, 
an alien race known as the Ariloulaleelay appeared, landing first 
on the Earths moon. They transmitted a request to meet with 
Alliance representatives, and a delegation of human and Chenjesu 
diplomats journeyed to the lunar surface to establish contact. 
The Arilou explained that they too were threatened by the Ur-Quan 
and had come to join the Alliance of Free Stars. Alliance 
headquarters was consulted, and soon afterwards the Arilous were 
welcomed into the coalition. Although the Arilou were extremely 
secretive - being unwilling to discuss even the locations of 
their homeworlds - they provided additional strength to the 
Alliance. This strength was to be tested almost immediately.


The Course of the War 
There were many great battles between the Alliance of Free Stars 
and the Ur-Quan and their Hierarchy of Battle Thralls. Both the 
Alliance and the Hierarchy built hundreds of asteroid forts all 
across the spiral arm of the Galaxy. Only a small fraction of 
these fortified positions, and the colonies and mining bases 
that surrounded them, survived the fighting.

As the war spread, new alien races were drawn into the conflict 
until finally there were 14 separate species at war. On the 
Alliance side there were the Earthlings, the Chenjesu, the 
Yehat, the Mmrnmhrm, the Ariloulaleelay, the Syreen, and the 
Shofixti. Fighting with the Ur-Quan were the Mycon, the Spathi, 
the Androsynths, the VUX, the Ilwrath, and the Umgah. By 2134 it 
was becoming clear to both sides that the Ur-Quan and their 
Hierarchy of Battle Thralls were slowly but surely winning the 
war.


Captain Burtons Discovery 
On March 16, 2134, Star Control Captain I. Burton, a highly 
respected 28-year old female Earthling, was leading a task force 
of heavy cruisers on a deep recon into what was believed to be a 
friendly sector near the Zeeman-Vela star cluster. Burton was 
brilliant and beautiful, with wide-set deep blue eyes, a white, 
even-toothed smile and silky straw-colored hair. She also had a 
figure that turned heads, even aboard a warship hurtling through 
deep space. She had just taken a navigational star fix when the 
ships from Earth were suddenly ambushed by an elite force of 
Androsynth Guardian combat vessels. The Androsynth ships had been 
modified for extended blazer mode, giving them increased speed 
and range. The task force was cut to shreds and only Burtons 
vessel, the Tobermoon, escaped immediate destruction. Knowing the 
Tobermoon could not outrun the Guardian ships, Captain Burton 
engaged in a desperate ploy to save the ship and crew. Fear 
crinkling the corners of her deep blue eyes, she warped her 
craft toward the heart of Zeemans Star, a nearby supergiant 
sun. She had a desperate plan, a last ditch ploy she prayed 
would confuse the pursuers sensors. The bridge crew began to 
panic as heat in the cabin climbed to oven-like temperatures. 
Two enlisted men finally broke under the pressure and came for 
Burton, terror in their eyes and sweat pouring down their faces. 
But the captain had guts as well as beauty. She drew her 
sidearm and held the mutineers off, gaining the precious 
minutes she needed. Finally, the cabin temperature now nearing 
150 degrees Fahrenheit, she judged they were close enough to the 
titanic star for her plan to work. As the Tobermoons outer hull 
began to liquify, Burton jettisoned the ships entire stock of 
nuclear missiles and detonated them. From the Androsynths 
perspective, the vessel they were chasing had exploded when it 
flew too close to the superhot sun.

As the Androsynth task force warped out of the system, a severely 
damaged Tobermoon slowly emerged from its hiding place behind 
Zeemans Star. Burton ordered a damage report. As shed 
suspected, the craft sustained severe damage. Worse, the ships 
engineers informed her they couldnt make repairs without a 
planetfall on a world with a breathable atmosphere. Like most 
supergiant stars, Zeeman did not have any Earth-like planets 
in orbit around it. The Tobermoon limped through space for almost 
a week before Hyper-Radar reconnaissance located a hospitable 
planet orbiting the dwarf star Vela. The planet was called 
Vela II, and it proved to have both an oxygen rich atmosphere 
and deposits of metal ore the humans could refine and use to 
repair their ship.

After a successful landing, Burton ordered the engineers to begin 
repairs. She sent the rest of the crew off to explore their 
surroundings. It was only pure chance that a young ensign chose 
to enter an unremarkable cave in a nearby hillside. What he found 
within the cave was the most remarkable discovery of the century 
- a huge underground installation, the size of a small city, 
built in the distant past by an extinct race known only as the 
Precursors. The cave was massive, over 2500 meters long and 
averaging 50 meters from floor to ceiling. Off the main tunnel 
were countless side passages and hidden niches, almost all 
crammed with futuristic equipment and hundreds of long-dormant 
robots. Halfway down the main gallery, a deep crevasse sliced 
across the tunnel floor, evidence of a tremendous prehistoric 
earthquake that had offset the adjoining walls by more than ten 
meters. Over the centuries, water trickling into the cave from 
the planets surface had carried countless minute traces of 
calcium carbonate that settled out as lime. As the limestone 
sediment built up, the deposits covered much of the Precursors 
wondrous machinery with a smooth 14 coating called flowstone 
that was now five to ten meters thick in places. Artifacts 
of this powerful and technologically advanced alien species 
had been found in every quarter of known space. Yet this was 
the first time an entire Precursor base had been discovered. 
Captain Burton recognized that the wealth of advanced 
technology could bring the Alliance victory over the Ur-Quan 
- but only if scientists could be brought to Vela II to study 
the fantastic find.

Realizing that the surrounding region of space could fall under 
the control of the enemy at any time, Burton accelerated repairs 
to the Tobermoon and rocketed back to Earth at emergency warp 
speed to report her findings to her superiors at Star Control. 
Within a week, the Tobermoon was on the return leg to Vela II, 
crammed full of hastily assembled scientific equipment and 
experts on both the Precursors civilization and their advanced 
xenotechnology.


Expedition to Vela II 
The most respected but least liked Precursor expert in the 
expedition to Vela II was Professor Jules Farnsworth. The 
professor was well known for his formidable intellect and his 
extensive knowledge of the Precursor civilization. Though 
recognized as a great mind, Farnsworth was also widely disliked 
for his flamboyant egotism and rude impatience with peers who did 
not hang on his every word. The man was simply impossible to work 
with for anyone with a modicum of self-respect.

It wasnt long before both his fellow scientists on the mission 
and Captain Burton rued the decision to bring Farnsworth along, 
for the professor did little but complain during the voyage from 
Earth to Vela II. Yet, as irksome as he was, Professor Farnsworth 
proved his worth almost immediately upon his arrival at the 
Precursor installation. Within hours he located the bases 
deactivated central control computer. While the professor worked 
feverishly on the ancient aliens computer, Captain Burton 
received a fateful message from the Star Control High Command. 

As feared, the Ur-Quan had smashed through the defensive lines 
drawn between the Mira and Indi constellations. Star Control 
reconnaissance ships reported that a large Hierarchy task force 
was hurtling toward the Vela star system. Captain Burton was 
ordered to evacuate all personnel from Vela II and return to 
Earth immediately. Burtons heart beat like a hammer in her 
chest as she read the rest of the message. Star Control was 
paranoid that the Precursors advanced technology would fall 
into the hands of the hated Ur-Quan. To prevent the Hierarchy 
from obtaining these ancient secrets, Burton was ordered to 
install nuclear devices throughout the Precursor installation. 
Once the Tobermoon was in orbit, she was to set off the weapons 
and destroy the entire complex.

The non-military members of the Vela II research team were stunned 
by the order. Destroy the most significant discovery of the 
century? It was unthinkable! Professor Farnsworth was especially
distraught for he was in the middle of several critical research 
projects that promised to unlock ancient Precursor technical 
secrets. In an uncharacteristic display of courage, Farnsworth 
offered to remain behind, promising to detonate the nuclear 
bombs if the Ur-Quan found the Precursor caves. The majority 
of the other scientists and engineers also asked to stay on 
Vela II and continue their research. Finally, Captain Burton 
was persuaded that saving the treasure trove of advanced 
Precursor technology was more important than obeying a direct 
order from the High Command. Still, she didnt trust Farnsworth 
to det-onate the nuclear bombs should the Ur-Quan land. She 
decided the only logical thing to do was to remain behind herself.

On August 11, 2134 Captain Burton gave over command of the 
Tobermoon to First Officer Chi, with orders to leave the star 
system immediately. He was to return to Earth at best speed and 
brief the High Command on the expeditions desperate attempt to 
save the Precursor installation. Chi promised to return with a 
relief party and supplies as soon as the Ur-Quan attack was 
repulsed. After the Tobermoon had lifted-off, the team quickly 
moved all their equipment deep into the cave system and obscured 
all signs of their presence from the planets surface. Now, if an 
Ur-Quan reconnaissance ship scanned the terrain, Vela II would 
appear uninhabited. The weeks turned into months as Captain Burton 
and her team of 200 waited for the return of the Tobermoon.


Marooned 
After six months in the caves, food reserves grew critically short 
and Captain Burton imposed strict rationing. Professor Farnsworth 
found a data bank in the computer memory describing Vela IIs flora 
and fauna. Burton felt her spirits soar as Farnsworth pointed out 
several plants and animals that could be harvested for food. 
The most likely sources of meat were the red-brown Libixx, animals 
that looked like winged rabbits, and the six-legged Ortogs, 2,000 
pound beasts with pendulous udders that resembled a cross between 
a cow and a lizard. Both had cell structures, internal organs and 
flesh remarkably similar to mammals on Earth. The Precursor data 
also indicated that several plant species - especially the giant 
blue-flowered Iccamullon - had the same proteins, sugars and 
starches as crops humans had been raising for centuries. Captain 
Burton assigned teams to hunt wild animals and harvest food 
plants, allowing them out of the caves only under cover of dark 
for the first year they were there. Then, gradually as the years 
passed, the marooned Earthlings grew confident they were safe from 
discovery by the Ur-Quan on this out-of-the-way little planet. 
They began to see themselves as colonists and most moved out of 
the caves to settle on the surface. Still, with Captain Burton 
prodding them, the humans remained cau-tious, building camouflaged 
houses and planting crops in purposefully chaotic patterns. 
Eventually they gave their planet a name: Unzervalt. It meant, 
simply, "our world." 

Ten years slipped past, marked by the deaths of a dozen colonists 
from accidents or old age, and the birth of 42 children. Several 
of the scientists had now become full-time farmers. Others 
fabricated old-fashioned bullet-firing rifles and disappeared 
into the Unzervalt wilderness, appearing months later clad in 
Ortog skins and bursting with tales of strange landscapes and 
even stranger life-forms.


Farnsworths Breakthrough 
After more than a decade of hard work, Professor Jules Farnsworth 
announced with considerable fanfare that he had finally succeeded 
in unlocking the secret of the Precursor Control Computer. Without 
Captain Burtons permission - indeed without even knowing what would 
happen - Farnsworth commanded the computer to initiate its prime 
function. The resulting near-disaster almost got the professor 
put in the stockade.

Suddenly, the immobile machinery within the cave roared to life. 
Huge electrical arcs shot between massive electrodes, incinerating 
a wooden storage shack. Robotic vehicles began tearing across the 
cavern floor along pre-programmed paths - paths which led them right 
through several man-made buildings. A 30 meter tall crane-like 
machine detached itself from one wall and swiftly rolled through 
the cave, nearly crushing a group of panicked scientists. It was a 
miracle that no one was killed in the ensuing chaos as humans fled 
the caves in terror.

The next day, robotic vehicles emerged from the cave, and cut down 
a nearby forest. They levelled the ground, covered the surface with 
some kind of metallic plastic, and then returned to their cave.

Bronzed from the Vela sun, her straw-colored hair pushed up under 
her commanders cap, Captain Burton led a squad of volunteers back 
into the caves on a cautious reconnaissance mission. Inside the 
main cavern, the squad came upon the robots assembling the spine 
of a huge ship - a starship! Although the robots clearly knew the 
humans were there, turning to focus benign scanners on the 
volunteers several times, they obviously did not consider the 
Earthlings a threat. Captain Burton decided it was safe for humans 
to return to work in the caves, so long as people kept out of the 
robots way.

Days later an abashed Farnsworth was finally coaxed back to the 
Precursor Control Computer to continue his research. Almost 
immediately, the professor discovered two significant facts. 
First, the construction process would soon transition out of the 
caves and assembly of the starship would continue on the planets 
surface. Second, as far as Farnsworth could tell, the construction 
was going to take a long time.

The "long time" that Farnsworth predicted turned out to be nearly 
a decade. The colonists grew accustomed to the framework of a great 
starship looming above their tiny village. Day after day, a hundred 
robots moved across the surface of the vessel, welding and fitting, 
assembling and fabricating.

Then one day, without warning, the construction robots stopped work 
and returned underground. They assumed their original positions in 
the cave and shutdown completely. The cave was exactly the way the 
research team had first found it  silent, motionless. A flustered 
Professor Farnsworth frantically asked the Control Computer for an 
explanation, and got an immediate answer. There were not enough raw 
materials left to finish the vessel, nor were there suitable 
substitutes any-where on the planet. A week of tests by Burton 
and her team proved the ship was complete enough to blast off from 
the surface of Vela II. But it would have to cruise slowly through 
HyperSpace, lightly armed, and with only enough room for a skeleton 
crew.

There was another problem. The controls for the vessel were not 
designed for humans. It became obvious from the interior layout of 
the starship that the Precursors were giants, and seemingly not 
bipedal. Levers were almost impossible to move, three people were 
required to actuate a single switch, and the chairs, beds and other 
furnishings were better suited for a wooly mammoth than a human.

Some kind of automated control system was needed. After mulling over 
the problem for several days, Captain Burton decided that the only 
answer was to remove the Central Control Computer from the cave and 
configure it to run the ship. Surely Professor Farnsworth knew enough 
about the Precursor com-puter system to give it whatever commands 
were necessary to take the ship back to Earth. Despite vehement 
protests from Farnsworth, the Captain ordered the Precursors computer 
installed in the vessel. After 20 years marooned on Vela II, the 
colonists were at last ready to return to Earth.

Or were they? Pressed to begin programming the computer, Farnsworth 
broke down and admitted he didnt have the foggiest idea how to do it. 
It turned out he had never understood the incredibly complicated system. 
Instead, for years he had secretly employed the natural computer talents 
of a precocious young genius. This gifted child, now a young man, had 
been born on Unzervalt  the son of an officer from the Tobermoon and a 
Research Team engineer. Each night, after Farnsworth left the Control 
Computer console, the young boy had crept into the caves and tinkered 
with the computer. Within a few months, the child had established a 
rapport with the computer far beyond anything Farnsworth had 
accomplished. When the Professor discovered the boys nocturnal acti-
vities, he used gifts and phony promises to win the childs 
confidence, then talked the young genius into activating the entire 
complex. This time, the Captain did throw the Professor into the 
stockade.

Then Burton called the young man into her office and proposed a plan. 
She would command the starship, and he would serve as pilot, acting 
as the interface with the starships Precursor computer. With 
trepidation, you accepted.

The Return to Earth 
After 3 months of intensive crew training, Captain Burton felt it 
was finally time to leave Unzervalt. You werent so sure, werent 
entirely comfortable with your new role as a starship officer. 
Burton listened as you expressed your doubts, then put an arm 
around your shoulders and reassured you. Youd make a fine pilot. 
Shed trust a ship to you any time. Besides, all the plans were set. 
The two of you would lead the return to Earth, and once there send 
back a rescue ship for the colonists left behind. If necessary, 
Burton vowed, you would fight your way through the forces of the 
Ur-Quan Hierarchy.

You, above all, will remember that trip, for during the journey you 
went through a rite of passage. You left Unzervalt a boy and soon 
found yourself forced to be a man  to lead bravely and boldly and 
wisely. Think back. Do you recall the exhilaration of blasting off 
from the tiny planet where you were born  and the sheer terror 
later? Three days out, as you approached the perimeter of that 
cursed Oort Cloud, you found the Tobermoon  derelict and tumbling 
through space. The deep burns along her hull were mute evidence shed 
seen combat. And lost. The discovery was, of course, a great shock to 
Captain Burton. Unconsciously she chewed her bottom lip, and for the 
first time her handsome face showed the awful strain of the past twenty 
years. Shed been engaged to Captain Chi. Through two decades shed 
clung to the hope shed see him again, kept alive the dream theyd 
shared of marriage and children and a life together. Now the dream was 
shattered. She knew he was gone, even though there was no body to mourn 
over. Strangely, there were no bodies at all on board. And most of the 
important ship systems were intact. Do you remember how Burton wondered, 
tears brimming in her blue eyes, if Officer Chi and the other crew 
members had been taken prisoner? How her words conjured up a picture in 
your mind of the Earthlings being tortured  their ordeal provoking mirth
in the soulless Ur-Quan. With a few days work, the engineers brought the 
Tobermoon back to life. What came next changed your life forever. With 
Captain Burton the only one aboard qualified to pilot the Earth Cruiser, 
you were put in command of the Precursor starship. Admit it. Standing 
on the bridge  those epaulets the grieving but bravely smiling Captain 
Burton pinned on gleaming from your shoulders  you felt proud, sure of 
yourself. Hey, truth be told, at that moment you thought you were 
invincible.

Your confidence didnt last long, did it? With the Tobermoon leading 
the way, you and Burton pushed your ships out into HyperSpace  the 
parallel dimension where distances are fantastically compressed and 
interstellar travel feasible. Blazing white flashes surrounded your 
vessels and everything took on a crimson hue. Something up there wasnt 
right. Remember? Your body felt like it was in a vise and your head was 
spinning. You fought for control, forcing yourself to focus on the soft 
voice of Captain Burton radioing a command from the Tobermoon: Set 
course for Earth.

A day later  you think it was a day, but now, looking back, you cant 
be sure  a sinister shadow began following you through HyperSpace. 
It moved fast, real fast. Within a couple of hours it had approached 
close enough to interact with your ships hyperdrive field, pulling 
you both back into TrueSpace. At close range, the enemy ship looked 
like a pair of spinning red globes surrounded by a crackling energy 
field. Some kind of glowing rod or energy beam connected the red 
globes. The alien craft built up speed rapidly as it zeroed in on the 
starship you commanded. Burton saw the attack coming and signalled 
you to warp out of the area immediately. A moment later you watched 
on your command console monitor as the Tobermoon flashed away on a 
trajectory to intercept the alien ship. As you pushed up into 
HyperSpace, you saw a crackling bolt of energy lance out from the 
alien vessel and strike the Tobermoon. Burtons craft wobbled 
violently, then veered off on an erratic course in the general 
direction of Unzervalt. The Alien craft was apparently satisfied with 
disabling the Tobermoon, for the strange ship made a 180 degree turn 
and rocketed at warp speed toward deep space.

Once your starship reached HyperSpace, you radioed the Tobermoon, only
to learn that Captain Burton had been killed by the aliens unexpected 
attack. You felt sick to your stomach. Then you wanted to punch the 
bulkhead. Youd been half in love with Burton, you knew that now. Life 
stunk!

Captain Burtons death left you in full command of the mission to find 
Earth. You navigated the Precursor starship back on your original 
course, your mind swirling with all that had happened. A terrible 
doubt overtook you, gnawing at the edges of what had always been your 
strong self-confidence. Could you pull this off? You, a son of 
Unzervalt, born in a cave, raised on Ortog milk and Libixx meat. You, 
a man whod never set foot in a university, never had formal space 
flight training beyond the crash course from Burton? Youd taught 
yourself everything, learning from reading computer programs and 
watching how engineers and scientists did things. The question ate at 
you now; had you been both a good teacher and a good student? Good 
enough at both to prepare you for the awesome task that lay ahead? 
Time would tell.

And time did tell. Five days after the alien attack you arrived at a 
stellar vortex leading out of HyperSpace. Your scanner showed the 
vortex spiralling down to a brilliant yellow star. You knew at once 
that this was the great star that had given life to your ancestors, 
the star your Earthling progenitors called the Sun! You warped down 
out of HyperSpace and took a navigational fix. You were just beyond 
the orbit of the ninth planet of the yellow star. Earth was the 
third planet out from the Sun. With all thrusters on, you can reach 
the blue planet in two days. A horrible thought flits across your 
mind. Had the Ur-Quan broken through the Alliance defense lines and 
attacked your ancestral home? Was there devastation? Had the cities 
been obliterated by nuclear weapons and the survivors left irradiated 
mutants, genetic freaks roaming the ashen landscape like primal apes? 
Youll know in 48 hours.


STARTING THE GAME 
It shouldnt take much more than 5 minutes to install the game and
begin playing Star Control II. Although we salute the expression of 
free will, you will get started faster if you follow the steps below.

Confirm System Requirements 
 An AT-class IBM-PC compatible computer with a hard drive and 2x 
  speed CD-ROM drive is required. A 20 MHz 386 machine or better is 
  recommended. If you have a slower machine see Appendix II. 
 Star Control II supports VGA and MCGA graphics only.
 You will need at least 580,000 bytes of low DOS memory 
  available when you start the game. 
 You will need at least 9.2 megabytes available on your hard 
  disk if you want to play Star Control II from your hard drive  
  rather than play off the CD-ROM.


Installing Star Control II onto your hard drive 
Star Control II can be installed on your hard disk. Heres how: 
1 Turn on your computer. 
2 Insert the Star Control Collection CD-ROM into 
  your CD-ROM drive (usually D or E). 
3 In DOS, a DOS Window, or MS-DOS mode, make a 
  directory for the game on your hard drive 
  (usually C). Change to the root directory by 
  typing CD\ <Enter>. 
4 At the DOS prompt, type MD STARCON2 <Enter> 
  to create the STARCON2 directory. 
5 Change to your new directory by typing CD\STARCON2 <Enter>. 
6 At the new prompt, type COPY D:\STARCON\STARCON2\*.* 
  <Enter> where D is the name of your CD-ROM drive. 
  This will copy the game from your Star Control 
  Collection CD-ROM to your hard drive, and install  
  Star Control II on your C drive, in a directory  
  called C:\STARCON2.

After you launch the game, you will be presented with choices:
 Start New Game: The game starts at the very 
  beginning, prompting you to enter your 
  captains name. 
 Load Saved Game: You are presented with a 
  list of saved games to choose from. If you 
  change your mind and want to start from the 
  beginning, press the Spacebar.


Start-up 
Follow these steps to start the game: 
1 Make sure your computer is on. 
2 Place the Star Control Collection 
  CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive. 
3 If you have Windows, exit from 
  Windows to DOS. If you have Windows 95, 
  restart in MS-DOS mode. If DOS is your 
  operating environment of choice, you 
  should already be where you need to be. 
4 Change to your CD-ROM drive by typing 
  the drive name (usually D) and a colon. 
  Press <Enter>. 
5 At the CD-ROM drive prompt, type 
  STARCON <Enter>. 
6 Choose Star Control II in the introductory 
  menu. When you are shown the picture of a 
  star, hit the <Space Bar>.

If you have copied the game to your hard drive, exchange the 
following steps for their equivalents above: 
2 Since the game is on your hard drive, you 
  dont need the Star Control Collection CD-ROM 
  in the drive. 
3 Follow Step 3 above. 
4 From the root directory of your hard drive 
  (usually C:) change direc-tories to the 
  STARCON2 directory by typing CD\STARCON2 
  <Enter>.
5 At the C:\STARCON2> prompt, type STARCON2 
  <Enter> to launch the game. 
6 When you are shown a picture of a star, 
  hit the <Space Bar>. 


PLAY CONTROLS 
Star Control II can be played entirely from the keyboard, or 
you can use a joystick for most game activities. Joysticks are 
automatically detected and calibrated at runtime, so keep your 
joystick centered and motionless until the game begins.

Menu Controls 
Many aspects of gameplay are accessed by a system of menus. 
Each menu will list various options which allow you to give a 
command, select a ship, pick a phrase, etc. To select menu 
items with the keyboard, use the cursor arrow keys to highlight 
the item you want, then press Enter. In some cases, when you 
pick a menu item, you will be given a new sub-menu of options. 
To leave a sub-menu and return to the previous menu, press the 
Spacebar.

Keyboard Menu Controls 
When selecting menu items, the joystick acts just like the 
cursor arrow keys. Pressing Button #1 is the same as pressing 
Enter, and pressing Button #2 is the same as pressing the 
Spacebar. Button #1 selects the highlighted option, and 
Button #2 returns you to the previous menu.

Joystick Menu Controls

		up
		^
  Button#2	|
Button#1	|
left	<---    --->  right
		|
		|
		v
	     down
Combat Commands 
In combat, you can control your ships with either the joystick 
or the key-board. You can redefine the control keys with the 
separate program, KEYS.EXE. The KEYS configuration will not be 
saved unless you are playing the game from your hard drive. In 
the SuperMelee bonus game, there can be two human players, and 
each uses a separate joystick or area of the keyboard.

Default Keyboard Combat Controls 
				Keyboard #1 	Keyboard #2 
Use Special Power 		N 			1 
Rotate Counter-Clockwise 	M 			2 
Rotate Clockwise 			, 			3 
Thrust 				. 			4 
Fire Main Weapon 			? 			5 


Joystick Combat Control
					     (Up)
					    Thrust
						^
(Up/Cntr Clockwise)   Button #2	|	      (Up/Clockwise)
Thrust & Rotate	   Special power	|	  Thrust & Rotate Clockwise
Counter Clockwise		  Y		|		
			\			|			/
	Button #1	  \			|		    /
	Fire		    \			|		  /
	       X		\		|		/
				  \		|	    /
				    \		|	  /
(Counter Clockwise)	      \	|	/		(Clockwise)
Rotate Cntr Clockwise<------------------------------>Rotate Clockwise



NAVIGATION 
The core of Star Control II is space flight, both in combat and 
exploration. Whether you are traveling from planet to planet or 
from star to star, or engaging in combat, the controls are the 
same. To go somewhere, you rotate your ship in the direction you 
want to go, and then press the Thrust key.

The Effects of Inertia and Gravity 
When ships are navigating in Star Control II, they are under the 
influence of two physical forces; inertia and gravity.

Inertia is the tendency of an object in motion to remain in 
motion. All moving objects have inertia, and the faster they go, 
the more inertia they possess. When you let your foot off the gas 
in an automobile it slows and comes to a stop because there are 
many forces of friction acting against your motion, like air-
resistance, the roughness of the road, and the car's mechanical 
parts rubbing against each other. 

In normal space, these resisting forces of friction are virtually 
nonexistent. Any object in motion (like a spaceship) will keep 
moving at the same speed until something stops it. The only way 
for a spaceship to stop itself is to turn in the direction opposite 
its line of travel and thrust until it comes to a stop.

Gravity is the natural attractive force that exists between all 
objects. This force is usually too small to be noticeable, unless 
an object is terrifically massive  like a sun or planet. In Star 
Control II, the only situation in which your ship will be affected 
by gravity is in space combat. As you approach a planet, its 
gravity will begin to affect the course of your vessel, bending 
your path toward the center of the planet.

Inertial ships can make use of planets gravity fields to achieve 
higher than normal velocities by performing the Leyland Gravity 
Whip maneuver. To use this trick, simply move past a planet, and 
while you are close to the planet, thrust continuously without 
rotating your vessel. Then, as you fly away from the world, stop 
thrusting and coast at high velocity.

Note: Use caution when performing this maneuver to avoid striking 
planets, which can damage your vessel.

Interplanetary Travel 
Interplanetary navigation is travel between planets within a single 
star system. The interplanetary navigation screen is represented as 
a sun surrounded by a number of planets, each situated on an 
ellipse describing its orbital path around the sun. As you navigate 
your ship toward the center of the star system, the view expands to 
show you a more detailed view of the inner planets. When you 
approach a planet, the view will expand once more, showing you a 
close-up view of the world, plus displaying any moons which may be 
orbiting the main planet.

Encounters in Interplanetary Space
Though most of the known area of space is still uninhabited, you 
are likely to encounter groups of alien starships anywhere in your 
voyages. In the Interstellar view, these ships are represented as 
small icons, which can be travelling between planets, or 
patrolling space. At typical interplanetary distances, you will 
be unable to ascertain the exact configuration of an enemy task 
force. The actual composition can be determined only when you make 
contact with the ships.

To engage an alien task force, simply bring your ship into contact 
with the icon. But beware, the outcome of such an encounter may be 
sudden combat.

Entering Planetary Orbit 
Once youre in a star system, you may want to visit the planets 
there. Your flagship itself is not designed to land on a planet, 
but you can enter a planets orbit for a closer look and then 
send a Lander down for a more thorough investigation. To enter a 
planets orbit, maneuver your vessel until it touches the center 
of a planet. You will then automatically enter the planets orbit.

Planet Types and Descriptions 
Planets are aggregated matter which forms around suns. The size, 
composition and chemistry of each planet is unique, but the 
majority of planets fall into a few general categories which 
are described below.

Gas Giants 
These planets are huge balls of gas composed of light elements 
such as hydrogen or helium. Since gas giants have no surface to 
speak of (just an increasingly dense fog of gas), ships cannot 
land on this type of planet. Although there has been some 
discussion of harvesting the upper atmosphere of gas giants 
with enormous scoop-ships, your flagship is incapable of 
gleaning any useful minerals from such planets. To date, no 
complex life-form has ever been found in/on a gas giant; 
however, research into this field has been minimal.

Water World 
Like Earth, most other water worlds are large rocky planets 
with nickel-iron cores, fluid mantles, and a thin shell of 
H20 covering some or all of the surface of the planet. 
Depending on the distance from primary (the star about which 
the planet orbits) the surface can be solid ice, liquid, or 
gaseous vapor. Due to the unusual chemistry of water, life 
is quite common on water worlds having an average surface 
temperature in waters phase-change range, 0-100 centigrade.

Selenic World 
Selenic worlds are small and not dense, being composed of 
light, common minerals and metals. Such planets rarely 
possess an atmosphere. Earths moon, Luna, is a perfect 
example of this kind of world.

Dust World 
The surfaces of these planets are composed of silicates 
and metal oxides, with little or no usable mineral deposits. 
The thin atmosphere found on dust worlds will occasionally 
support a minimal eco-system.

Hydrocarbon World 
Hydrocarbon worlds are similar to water worlds, but instead 
of H20 these planets are covered with a layer of richly 
varied, inorganic hydrocarbons such as ethanol. Small deposits 
of useful minerals have been found on such planets, but they 
are most notable for their ability to support life.

Primordial World 
Large and rocky, these planets follow the typical metal-core, 
silicate sheath configuration found in so many worlds of 
this size. The primordial world gets its name from the 
conditions found on its surface when the primary supplies 
enough energy to volatilize the planets dense layer of CO2, 
producing a super-thick, incredibly hot atmosphere.

Metallic World 
Often found in the first or second orbital position, 
metallic worlds have been subjected to such incredible 
heat that the lighter materials burn-off the planet, 
leaving a small, dense ball of heavy metals and minerals. 
Although such metallic worlds are exceptionally valuable 
finds for their abundant resources, beware their 
occasionally intense gravity fields.

Reduction World 
The reduction world is very similar to the water world, 
except that the predominant surface gas is not oxygen, 
but instead methane and ammonia.

Radioactive World 
These rare planets have a much higher than normal surface 
concentration of valuable radioactive elements, indicating 
either atypical gas composition, or unusual mantle 
convection processes.

Other Planet Types 
There is no doubt that there are many other, less common 
types of planets to be found in the galaxy, each with their 
own unique characteristics. It is up to you to locate these 
unknown worlds, and determine their nature.

Pushing Up into HyperSpace 
To leave a star system and enter HyperSpace you will first 
have to leave the gravitational field of the primary star. 
To do so, fly away from the star until you reach the outer 
limits of the system. At this point your flagship will 
automatically engage its pushers, lifting you out of 
TrueSpace, and projecting your ship into the adjacent 
dimension of HyperSpace.


HyperSpace Travel 
All the myriad ways between the stars may be reached through 
HyperSpace, a conveniently accessible alternate dimension 
which shares time-space with our own universe. The set of 
physical laws in HyperSpace is substantially similar to our 
own (allowing starships and their occupants to survive there), 
but certain key differences involving the speed of light 
permit fantastically accelerated transit between stars.

While in HyperSpace, you can monitor your surroundings via 
the small tactical display in the lower right corner of the 
screen. On this display, stars are shown as bright dots and 
alien vessels are shown as dark dots. The Ariloulaleelay, who 
seem most familiar with the nature of HyperSpace, have 
intimated that there are other things in HyperSpace, some 
of which are good, while others are extremely bad. 
Presumably, these things the Arilou refer to would also 
appear on the tactical display, though what they would look 
like is unknown.

Things look strange in HyperSpace. The subtle differences 
in physics cause a substantial red-shift in the visible 
spectrum, casting everything in a blood red light. The 
sudden explosions of bright light and coruscating energy 
bursts which are common in HyperSpace have proved harmless, 
and it is theorized that these are manifestations of objects 
which are moving quickly through HyperSpace into adjacent 
dimensions.

Fuel Use in HyperSpace 
In HyperSpace, gravity and inertia do not function as they 
do in our dimension. Once you cease thrusting, your ship 
will gradually come to a halt, as though some invisible 
force were constantly dragging on your vessel. This is, 
in fact, the case. To continue travel, you have to thrust 
constantly, and this uses huge amounts of fuel. As a general 
rule: DO NOT RUN OUT OF FUEL IN AN ALIEN UNIVERSE. Few have 
lived to tell of the experience.

Encounters in HyperSpace 
All known star-faring races use HyperSpace as their transit 
corridor between stars. Occasionally, such ships may meet 
in this alien dimension, and the intersection of their masses 
causes them both to drop down from HyperSpace into the 
interstellar void. The confrontation between ships then takes 
place in the traditional manner, and is resolved in words 
and/or weapons exchanges.

Returning to TrueSpace 
The passage back to TrueSpace is made via the trans-
dimensional vortices produced by stellar gravity fields. 
To enter a star system, move your ship onto the center of a 
stellar vortex. You will automatically transition out of 
HyperSpace and into the star system.


SHIP COMMANDS 
Your flagship is capable of many activities beyond 
navigation. You access these abilities through the Flagship 
Command Menu. You can enter this menu from Navigation by 
pressing the Spacebar or Button #2, then moving the 
highlight to the desired command and pressing Enter. The 
Commands are as follows:

Starmap 
This command displays a map of the stars in the known 
region of space.

To find out the name of a star, move the flashing highlight 
on top of it. The name of the star and the fuel necessary 
to reach it will then be shown in the secondary and tertiary 
data displays at the top of the screen. The grey oval 
surrounding your position represents your range with your 
present fuel supply. Remember, you use fuel landing on planets 
and escaping from battle, so this range circle can change even 
if you are not in HyperSpace.

Note: Planetary excursions require fuel, and may significantly 
affect your range.

You can expand the Starmap to get a clearer look at a viewed 
region by pressing the Insert key. Use the Delete key to 
return to the original view. To scroll your view of the 
Starmap when you are zoomed-in, move the cursor off the 
edge of the screen, and the view will automatically re-
center.

Alien Spheres of Influence
When you acquire information about an alien race, either 
through friendly conversation or via minute inspection of 
enemy ship wreckage, the Starmap will display what you have 
learned by showing the aliens sphere of influence. This 
appears as a colored circle on the Starmap, labelled with 
the name of the appropriate alien race. The size of the 
sphere is an indicator of the overall strength of an aliens 
entire star fleet. Although these Spheres of Influence are 
usually centered around their native homeworld, they can move. 
Therefore, you might want to make regular examinations of your 
star map.

Using the Autopilot Feature 
You can fly to any star in space manually, using the 
navigation controls described above. As a convenience, you 
can also have an automatic pilot fly your vessel directly 
to a desired star or location in HyperSpace.

To set a course for automatic pilot, start from the Starmap. 
Position the cursor on your desired destination and press 
Return. A line of blue dashes will show you the course 
plotted by the autopilot computer. To engage, press the 
Spacebar or Button #2. You will automatically enter navigate 
mode and begin flying to your target. As long as AUTOPILOT 
is flashing, youre headed for your destination.

You can activate the autopilot while in orbit, in 
interplanetary space or in HyperSpace. If you have set a 
star as your destination, the autopilot will disengage when 
you enter the target star system.

To interrupt the autopilot at any time and assume manual 
control of your flagship, press any of your normal navigation 
controls, and the autopilot will disengage. To resume 
automatic flight, return to the Starmap and repeat the 
procedure described above.

Scanning a Planet 
Many planets exhibit important and interesting aspects, 
such as valuable mineral deposits,unique life-forms, 
and, potentially, items and artifacts left by other 
intelligent species. To avoid tediously exploring the 
surface of every planet, you can make a quick evaluation 
of each planet from orbit by using your flagships 
scanning equipment.

To get a basic scan of a planet, choose Scan from the 
Flag-ship Command Menu. This will display general 
information about the planet in the rotat-ing planet 
display, including:

Planet Type: 
A general description of the planet.

Orbital Radius: 
Distance from its primary star in A.U.s (the distance 
from Sol to Earth is 1 A.U.).

Temperature: 
The average surface temperature in degrees centigrade. 
The hotter the planet, the more prevalent are hotspots 
on the planets surface, making travel there more 
dangerous.

Tectonics: 
This value gives a general indication of the 
frequency of large seismic shocks within the planets 
surface. There are 8 classes of activity, with 1 being 
least dangerous and 8 being a stupendous tectonic 
upheaval.

Weather: 
This factor measures the force and density of 
disturbances within a planets atmosphere. Like 
tectonics, there are 8 classes of weather. The most 
dangerous effect of weather on a lander is lightning, 
which strikes more often on planets with higher 
weather factors.

Atmospheric Pressure: 
Pressure is a measure of the density of the gasses 
which make up a planets atmosphere. Atmospheric 
pressure is measured in Earth-standard units.

Mass: 
The mass of a planet is measured in Earth-
standard units, where 1.0 is equal to the mass of 
Earth.

Radius: 
The radius of each planet is also measured 
in Earth units. The mass combined with the radius 
determine a planets gravity.

Gravity: 
A planets gravity affects how much fuel it costs 
to land on the world. Gravity is measured in 
Earth units.

Length of Day: 
This measurement reflects how long it takes for 
the planet to revolve fully about its axis.

Axial Tilt: 
Axial tilt describes the angular difference 
between a planets rotational axis, and the 
axis of its orbit around the primary star. 
Typically, the greater the axial tilt, the 
greater the planets seasonal differentiation.


Specific Scans 
Based on what you have learned from the basic scan, 
you may wish to make a more focused scan of the 
planets surface. These scans include:

Mineral Scan 
This function paints low-power, deep-radar waves 
across the planet, and interprets the resulting 
echoes into dots on the mineral display, showing 
the location, size, and type of each significant 
mineral deposit on the surface. The diameter of 
the dot indicates the size of the deposit, and the 
color informs you what type of minerals are in the 
deposit.

MINERAL CHART
Mineral 			Color 	Value 
Common 			Cyan 		1 
Corrosive 			Red 		2 
Base Metals 		Gray 		3 
Noble Gases 		Blue 		4 
Rare Earths 		Green 	5 
Precious Metals		Yellow 	6 
Radioactives 		Orange 	8 
Exotics 			Purple 	25

Of course, each planet has many more resources well 
beneath the surface. However, your lander is not equipped 
to access these minerals, and must limit itself to 
what resources are readily available.

Biological Scan 
When conditions are right  the temperature, the 
atmosphere, the amount of water  certain planets 
develop life. The vast majority of life-forms are simple, 
viral or bacterial organisms, and present little to 
interest anyone but a specialist, or someone whose body 
has become infested with such creatures. Larger, more 
sophisticated life-forms tend to be more interesting. 
All living creatures change the environment around them, 
absorbing light and/or food, and excreting less pleasant 
substances. Your flagship is equipped with Biological 
Scan facilities which use such environmental changes to 
pinpoint large creatures.

Energy Scan 
The energy scan will locate power being generated on a 
planets surface, providing the generator is not shielded, 
or otherwise concealed. The primary use of this function 
is to find alien ships or installations on a planets surface.

Dispatching a Lander Scanning only provides information 
about whats on a planets surface. To retrieve something 
of value, you will have to go down to the surface. While your 
flagship is unsuited for such a journey, it carries planetary 
landing vehicles, which can make repeated trips to and from 
planetside. Your flagship can hold up to 10 landers.

To send a lander to the surface, choose DISPATCH from the 
Scan Menu. A flashing cursor lets you set your landing 
position. Move the cursor with the Cursor keys and press 
Enter. The fuel necessary to make the trip is displayed in 
the flagship data window.

Note: If you have lost all your landers, you will be unable
to visit a planets surface. You will have to return to the 
Earth Starbase for more landers.


Planet Surface Exploration 
When youve landed on an alien world, be careful because the 
conditions there could be quite treacherous. Planet landers, 
though quick and maneuverable, are not exactly invincible 
space tanks.

Lander Status Display 
To the left of the planet map is the Lander Status display 
showing the landers crew (a maximum of 12), its present 
cargo, its data stores, and its protective devices. Once you 
have launched a lander from your flagship, you will see it 
fly off toward the planet. Your command area will then be 
replaced by a magnified image of the vehicle landing on the 
planets surface. After you have arrived on the planet 
surface, you can begin maneuvering the lander vehicle using 
your normal starship navigation controls, though you will have 
to thrust continuously to move forward. As you move about the 
surface, the magnified view will scroll to keep your vehicle 
centered in the view.

Returning to the Flagship 
You can return from the surface to the flagship at any time 
by pressing the Spacebar or Button #2.

Gathering Minerals 
Mineral deposits are shown on the planets surface as colored 
dots (see the Mineral Chart, for details.) To pick up a 
mineral deposit, simply run over it with your lander. You will 
hear your harvesting equipment gather the material and bring 
it aboard. The Cargo Status Bar will change to reflect the 
presence of the minerals brought aboard, and show how much 
room you have left in the lander. If you try to gather a 
deposit when the lander is full, you will hear an unpleasant 
protest from your harvesting machinery, and you will be unable 
to load the deposit. To gather additional minerals, you will 
have to return to the flagship and off-load the material into 
your Cargo Bays.

Planetary Hazards 
Alien worlds can be extremely hostile when compared with Earth, 
and can cause the unfortunate demise of your landers crew. If 
a disaster should strike, and your entire crew be eliminated, 
your lander will be destroyed, and with it all the minerals 
and/or devices you had collected. When visiting dangerous 
planets, it is wise to keep a finger on your recall control, 
just in case you need to leave in a hurry.

The hazards you will encounter include:

Earthquakes: These massive tectonic upheavals appear on your 
magnified display as expanding concentric rings. The longer 
the lander is pun-ished by an earthquake, the more of your 
landers crew will perish.

Lightning: Unpredictable and unavoidable, lightning can 
dance around your lander for minutes, then zero in on your 
vessel and wipe-out half your crew in seconds.

Hotspots: On planets with high surface temperatures, you 
will encounter hotspots, shifting regions of intense heat 
which are incredibly destructive. Avoid these hazards at all 
costs!

Native Life-forms: On rare occasions you will encounter 
interesting life-forms on alien planets. Unfortunately, 
interesting usually means dangerous. You will be unable 
to ascertain just how dangerous a creature is until it 
attacks, and it may then be too late. Many lifeforms will 
flee from your lander instead of attacking. Some creatures 
are sessile and just sit there.


Collecting Life-form Data 
To collect life-form data, you need to thoroughly analyze 
the creature. To do so, you must first prepare the life-form 
for study. This is accomplished by aiming your lander at the 
entity and pressing Return to fire a stun blast. When the 
creature is sufficiently incapacitated, it will transform 
into a glowing specimen canister which can then be retrieved 
at your leisure by running over it with your lander. Dont 
worry, this doesnt hurt the creature at all.

Each species of alien life is different. Some are fast and 
others are slow. Some look like jumping plants, while others 
look like zeppelins with teeth. Some creatures are stunned 
by a single zap from your lander, while others wont succumb 
until theyve been shot ten times. As a general rule, avoid 
physical contact with alien creatures unless they are stunned 
and properly contained. Remember, they may bite.

Unfortunately, in general the more dangerous the alien life-
form, the more valuable its data will be. Exactly where and 
with whom you exchange life-form data for valuable 
commodities is up to you to find out.


Flagships Manifest 
This option lets you view and manipulate various detailed 
aspects of your flagship and combat fleet.


Checking Cargo 
The amount of minerals or other cargo your flagship can carry 
depends on how many Cargo Bays you have built into your ship. 
When you choose CARGO, the game will display the different 
types of minerals and how many units you presently possess, 
as well as the remaining FREE CARGO space left on your ship. 
The display also shows how much information you have gathered 
on life-forms. Should you wish to DISCARD some minerals 
(perhaps to make room for other, more valuable minerals), 
select the DISCARD command and then press Enter or Button #1. 
Next, move the flashing cursor over the type mineral you wish 
to discard and press Enter again. Each time you do so, one 
unit of the selected mineral will be discarded. You cannot 
retrieve minerals once you have discarded them.

Using Devices 
During the course of the game, you will find, buy, or otherwise 
obtain devices which you will carry aboard your flagship. To 
manipulate such items, choose DEVICES from the Command Menu. A 
list of the devices aboard your ship will be displayed in the 
flagship status area. After you have highlighted the device you 
want to activate, press Enter or Button #1. To leave the device 
list and return to the Command Menu, press Spacebar or Button #2.

Ships Roster 
This command is useful for moving crew between your flagship and 
your combat vessels. After choosing ROSTER, you can ASSIGN crew 
from your flagship to a combat vessel, or RECALL crew back to 
your flagship. After you have selected the desired command, 
highlight the ship you want to transfer crew to or from, and 
then press Return to effect the transfer, one crew member at a 
time. The number of crew aboard the selected ship is displayed 
in the Flagship Data Window. When you are finished assigning or 
recalling crew, press the Spacebar or Button #2 to return to 
the Command Menu.


Game Options 
By choosing GAME from the Flagship Command Menu, you gain access 
to several commands which let you SAVE your game in progress, LOAD 
a game in progress, change play SETTINGS, or QUIT the game 
altogether.

Saving a Game in Progress 
You can never be sure just when youre going to be blown to tiny 
bits by an evil alien, so it is a good idea to save your game as 
you play  especially right before a battle, or just after youve 
struck it rich mining. That way, should you meet an untimely end, 
all your hard work will not have been in vain.

When you choose SAVE GAME, the program will display a list of 
numbered Game State Slots on the left side of the screen. Move 
the flashing cursor up or down to pick the Game State Slot in 
which you want to save the current game. Although there are 50 
slots available, only ten are shown at once. To scroll the entire 
selection of slots, move the highlight up or down beyond the edge 
of the list.

When you have picked a slot, press Enter. The entire slot will 
highlight, and you can now type in a brief description of where 
and/or when you are situated in the course of the game. If the 
slot already has a description, you can use the Backspace and 
DEL keys to erase the old description, if desired. When you are 
satisfied with the description, press Enter. The game will save 
the necessary information, and return to the Flagship Command 
Menu.

Loading a Saved Game 
After choosing LOAD from the Game Menu, highlight the Game State
Slot with the desired description and press Return. The game will 
automatically load and return to normal play.

Changing Game Settings 
This command allows you to configure the way the game plays to 
better suit your personal preferences.

Music Level 
This command toggles music on and off.

Sound Level 
This command toggles sound effects on and off.

Reading Speed 
After choosing READING, you can either pick +SPEED, which speeds up 
the rate at which text is displayed in the game, or you can choose 
-SPEED, which slows down text display.

Combat 
This submenu of options allows you to change how the game conducts 
space combat. By modifying these settings you can have the computer 
fight your battles for you, and/or speed-up how fast the game 
conducts the combat.

Cyborg: 
If both your arms are broken, or you are suffering from a serious 
disease, you may wish to toggle the CYBORG setting on and have the 
computer fight your battles for you. Of course, some players have 
been known to use this feature WITH NO ADEQUATE EXCUSE! Harumph!

Resolving Combat: 
By using the +Resolve and -Resolve options, you can speed-up your 
Cyborg-controlled battles. The active setting is shown in the Flagship 
Data Window. The available settings are: 

Normal: The rate of play is held to a consistent speed which is 
 similar on most computers. This is the default setting. 
No Delay: The program unleashes the full power of the computer, 
 allowing battles to be greatly accelerated on fast computers. 
Flicker: The same as No Delay, but now the program shows only a 
 sample of the calculated ship and weapon positions, creating a 
 flickering, fast-forward display. 
Fastest: To achieve maximum speed, the program displays no ship-
 to-ship graphics, just sound. The status areas are updated 
 continuously, showing the progress of the furious conflict.

Remember, the Resolution setting is effective only when the Cyborg 
is turned ON.

Changing Names 
You will probably want to use this command at the beginning of the 
game to establish the name of your character and to christen your 
flagship. After choosing NAMES, you can pick CAPTAIN or FLAGSHIP. 
After you have made your selection, the current name in the Flagship 
Status Window is erased, and you can enter a new name in its place. 
To erase the old name, use the Backspace and DEL keys. When you are 
done, press Return.

Quitting the Game 
To leave Star Control II and return to DOS (perhaps to play a game 
of SuperMelee!), choose QUIT and then choose YES, QUIT to confirm 
your departure.


THE EARTH STARBASE 
Early on in the course of the game, you will gain access to a huge 
Starbase orbiting Earth. This spacestation will serve as your base 
of operations for the remainder of the game, providing you with 
enhancements for your flagship, additional combat vehicles, and crew. 
To visit the Earth Starbase, go to the Sol star system and approach 
Earth until the view expands to show you the Earth-Luna system. The 
Starbase is the object in orbit between the planet and the moon. 
Navigate your flagship until it touches the center of the Starbase 
and you will automatically take up position adjacent to the space 
station. Once you arrive at Starbase, you have the following choices: 
STARBASE COMMANDER, OUTFIT STARSHIP, SHIPYARD, DEPART STARBASE.

The Starbase Commander 
This command initiates a conversation with the commander of the Earth 
Starbase. He is the source of much information regarding the Ur-Quan 
and various developments which will turn up over the course of the 
game.

Transferring Minerals to the Starbase 
In order to build new equipment for your flagship, build additional 
combat vehicles, or commission more crew, you have to supply the 
Starbase with raw materials. These materials most often take the form 
of minerals which you have gathered from the surfaces of alien worlds. 
To transfer resources to the Starbase, initiate a conversation with 
the Commander and select the option, Commander, I have material to 
off-load. The Commander will then remove the minerals from your vessel 
and inform you of their value.

Outfitting Your Flagship 
At the beginning of the game, your flagship is incomplete. You will 
spend much of the first part of the game gradually building it into 
one of the most powerful vessels in the galaxy. To do so you must 
gather mineral or other resources from across space and bring them 
back to the Starbase.

When you choose OUTFIT FLAGSHIP from the Main Starbase Menu, you will 
see a schematic display of your vessel, its components, its present fuel 
supply and the landers you have on board.

Flagship Characteristics 
The flagship schematic display also lists the following characteristics:

Turning Rate: The rotation rate of your flagship in combat, HyperSpace 
and interplanetary travel, based on the number of turn jets on your 
vessel.

Maximum Velocity: Your ships speed in combat, Hyper-Space and inter-
planetary travel based on the number of thrusters your ship possesses. 
Combat Energy: The speed with which the energy for your weapons is 
replenished during combat. The more Dynamos you have on board your 
flagship, the faster energy will be regenerated.

Fuel 
Your flagship requires fuel to travel through HyperSpace and to send 
landers down to the surfaces of alien worlds. Your ship always has a 
fuel reserve capacity of 10 units of fuel and is initially equipped 
with one Fuel Tank Module with limited capacity. To increase your 
present supply of fuel one unit, up to your maximum fuel capacity, 
select +FUEL. To transfer fuel from your ship back to the Starbase 
(recouping some of its value) choose -FUEL. To increase your fuel 
capacity you will have to buy addi-tional Fuel Tank Modules.

Flagship Enhancement Modules 
The Precursors who designed your flagship 250,000 years ago (while 
humans were still little more than smart monkeys), would have really 
appreciated the Swiss Army Knife. This is apparent in the way your ship 
is built. The superframe of the flagship is strong but minimal, 
providing little better than a solid framework ready to accept 
additional pieces of equipment. These self-contained equipment 
packages are called Modules. You can build additional modules and 
attach them to your vessel.

Modules come in four different kinds: Thruster, Attitude, Lander, 
and Multi-Function.

Thruster and Attitude modules affect how your ship handles in space. 
The more Thrusters you have affixed to your flagship the faster it 
goes. Increasing the number of Attitude modules allows your ship to 
turn faster. You can have a maximum of 11 Thrusters and 8 Attitude 
modules. Landers are necessary for making journeys to planet 
surfaces. You may need more than one lander because hostile 
conditions on planetside may result in the untimely destruction 
of a lander now and again. You are limited to a maximum of 10 
landers.

Multi-Function modules fit along the spine of your flagship and can 
transform it from a colony space-ark to a mineral processing platform 
to a battleship of unrivaled power. The characteristics of your 
flagship depend on the selection of Multi-Function modules you make. 
You are limited to a maximum of 16 Multi-Function modules. The optimum 
layout of modules for your starship will depend on your specific 
mission, and your style of play.

Adding and Removing Modules 
To add a module to your flagship, choose +MODULE. The game will then 
display a list of available modules in the Flagship Status Window. Next 
to each module is its cost. Move the highlight to the module you wish 
to add and press Enter. A flashing cursor will now appear on the 
schematic display, allowing you to position the module on your vessel. 
Move the cursor with the Cursor keys and press Enter. The cursor will 
now move back to the module list so that you can add more modules, if 
desired. When you are done adding modules to your flagship, press 
Spacebar or Button #2 to return to the Command Menu.

There is no perfect configuration of modules, so at times during the 
game you will want to replace a module on your flagship. To remove a 
module and recover most of its value, choose -MODULE from the Command 
Menu. A flashing cursor will then appear on the schematic display of 
your vessel. Use the Cursor keys to move the highlight to the module 
you wish to remove and press Enter.

Note: You cannot remove modules which contain resources such as fuel in 
Fuel Tanks or minerals in Cargo Bays. If you want to remove such 
modules, first empty them.

For a detailed list of module descriptions, see Appendix VI  Flagship 
Modules.

The Shipyard 
In addition to enhancing your flagship, the Earth Starbase can also 
build additional combat vessels to escort you on your travels through 
space. To build combat ships, or commission new crew members for your 
flagship or combat vessels, choose SHIPYARD from the Starbase Main 
Menu.

At the top of the Shipyard Screen you will see a schematic of your ship 
which shows how much fuel, cargo, and crew you have aboard. Beneath this 
schematic are the 12 ship hangars in which you can build your fleet of 
combat vessels.

Adding and Removing Crew 
To add new crew members, select +CREW from the Shipyard Command Menu. A 
flashing cursor will appear on the schematic of your flagship. Move the 
cursor using the Cursor keys to the ship to which you want to add crew, 
and press Enter.

Additional crew are shown as green dots on your flagship. Your maximum 
crew level depends on how many Crew Pod modules you have attached to 
your flagship. Each Pod holds up to 50 crew. For combat vessels, the 
present/maximum crew levels are shown in text beneath the image of each 
ship.

When you have added sufficient crew members, you can then move the 
cursor to another ship, or press the Spacebar to return to the Command 
Menu.

To remove crew from your flagship or a combat vessel, choose -CREW from 
the Shipyard Command Menu, then move the flashing cursor over the 
desired ship and press Enter. Each time you do so, one crew will be 
transferred back to the Starbase, and you will recoup most of the crews 
value. When you are done removing crew, press the Spacebar to return to 
the Command Menu.

Combat Vessels 
You may add up to 12 escort vessels which will travel with and fight for 
your flagship. These ships may represent a less expensive alternative 
for defending yourself, rather than spending a great deal of your 
resources on transmogrifying your flagship into a battleship.

Adding Combat Vessels 
To add a ship to your escort fleet, choose +SHIP from the Command Menu. 
A list of the available ship types and their costs will then appear in 
the Flagship Status Window. Move the highlight to the ship you wish to 
purchase and press Enter. A hangar will then open, showing the newly 
commissioned ship. Remember, ships arrive in their hangar with only one 
crew member (the captain) onboard. 

It is highly recommended that you immediately add maximum crew to each 
new vessel as it is built. When you are done building ships, press the 
Spacebar to return to the Command Menu.

Note: The selection of ships you can build will be very limited at the 
beginning of the game. To expand this list, you need to make alliances 
with other alien races. You may only receive these gift ships from 
other races if you have room in your fleet. Therefore, you may want to 
keep two or three open slots.

Also, these gift ships may be sold for Resource Units, but you cannot 
rebuild the vessels. Once they are sold, they are gone.

Removing a Combat Vessel 
To decommission (remove) a combat ship from your fleet, and recoup most 
ofits value, choose -SHIP from the Shipyard Command Menu. Move the 
flashing cursor over the ship you want to remove and press Enter. Any 
crew on board the ship will be automatically removed, and their value 
added to your available resources. When you are done removing ships 
from your fleet, press the Spacebar to Return to the Command Menu.

Leaving the Starbase 
When you are ready to leave, choose DEPART STARBASE from the Main 
Starbase Menu. You will appear in interplanetary space, near Earth.


ENCOUNTERING ALIEN RACES 
You can encounter alien ships in HyperSpace, in interplanetary space, 
and in orbit around certain planets. Some encounters you can avoid, 
others are inescapable. In some situations, you may have to chase 
down the aliens to make contact with them.

Such an encounter may lead to a friendly conversation, or you may 
immediately find yourself in battle. In most situations, you will 
make the choice to talk or fight.

Combat Segue 
Unless you have established friendly relations with an alien race, when-
ever you encounter their ships youll hear the RED ALERT klaxon and 
the screen will change to display the combat segue screen. On this 
screen, you will see the composition of the alien task force, as well 
as the closest planetary body. At this point, the Command Menu gives you
the choice of talking with the aliens or attacking them. You may also 
use all the GAME options so that you can save the game at this point, 
should you desire to do so.

Note: The Combat Segue Screen normally displays the exact number of 
ships you have encountered. However, if alien ships fill the entire 
screen, you are facing an enemy task force of UNLIMITED size which 
you CANNOT defeat in combat. If the task force is between you and 
something you want, you will have to figure out what is necessary to 
appease the aliens, or devise a clever plan to trick them into 
leaving.

Conversing with Aliens 
When you choose CONVERSE from the Command Menu, you automatically 
open a hailing frequency to the enemy vessel. The advanced Precursor 
computer system aboard your vessel will translate messages to and from 
your ship with near perfect clarity.

When the alien commander responds, his/her/its image will appear on 
your screen. Depending on the alien races general disposition, and/or 
your relationship with them up to that point, the aliens greeting 
could range from a friendly, Hello, we come in peace. How are you? 
to the more traditional, Prepare to die, puny Earthling. The latter 
phrase would probably end the conversation, and cause an immediate 
transition to combat.

Conversations transpire in a familiar manner. You say something, the 
other being says something, and the process repeats until one of you 
is sufficiently angry, bored, or otherwise ready to end the 
conversation. The interesting part of communicating with an alien (or 
anyone else for that matter) is in what you say.

When it is your turn to say something, you will be presented with a 
set of possible phrases. Depending on what phrase you choose, you may 
alter-nately befriend or enrage the alien you are talking to. After 
you have decided on the phrase you wish to speak, highlight it with 
the Cursor keys and press Enter. The alien will respond, and either 
you will be given another set of phrases or the conversation will 
come to an end  possibly initiating combat. To repeat the aliens 
last phrase to you, press the Spacebar or Button #2.

Attacking Aliens 
If you choose ATTACK! from the Command Menu, or your conversation 
ends on a sour note, you will automatically go into COMBAT MODE.


COMBAT 
One of the most important and fun parts of Star Control II is ship-to-
ship tactical combat. If you played Star Control, you already know how
this part works. If you are new to this aspect of the game, you will 
want to read this section carefully, and then use the SuperMelee 
program to prac-tice your combat skills. If you are totally inept in 
fast action situations, and just want to watch the battle unfold, 
set the CYBORG option (see page 39 for details) and let the computer 
fight for you.

Note: Setting the Cyborg option is comparable to taking a shower 
while wearing a raincoat.

Selecting a Ship 
When combat is initiated, the screen clears. If your flagship is 
flying without any escort vessels, it immediately warps into the 
combat zone. If you are accompanied by one or more combat ships, you 
must pick the first ship to fight. Move the flashing cursor over the 
flagship or one of the escort vessels and press Enter.

The Battlefield 
Combat always takes place in a region of space near a planet or 
other large object. The area is bounded and wraps around on itself so 
that when you leave one side of the combat zone, you appear on the 
other side. The screen always centers on the midpoint between your 
ship and the enemy vessel, so when one ship wraps around the screen, 
the view will suddenly shift. At first this may be disorienting, but 
you will soon grow accustomed to the transitions.

Navigating Your Ship in Combat 
Maneuvering your ship in combat is similar to travelling in inter-
planetary space. You rotate your ship in a desired direction and 
thrust forward. All of your ship commands (i.e. thrust, turn, fire, 
and special power use) may be triggered simultaneously.

Collision with Asteroids and Planets 
Asteroids are large rocks which endlessly tumble through a solar 
system, trapped by the gravity of the star and its planets. Due to 
the sophistica-tion of modern inertial dampeners, colliding with 
asteroids causes no dam-age, just a sudden change in course.

Impacting a planet is a different matter altogether. Your ship will 
be damaged severely, and potentially even be destroyed. Once again, 
AVOID HIT-TING PLANETS.Ship Status Displays The right side of the 
screen is broken into two Ship Status Displays, one for your enemys 
ship, and one for your own vessel. In addition to showing who built 
the ship and the name of the captain that commands it, the status 
area displays key information which will be crucial to your 
success in combat.

Crew 
The bar to the left side of the large ship icon shows the maximum 
and current crew levels. Each time a ship is damaged, green dots 
(crew) will dis-appear from the bar. When all the crew are gone, 
the ship is destroyed.

Batteries 
To the right of the large ship icon is the battery charge bar 
which shows the current and maximum energy levels in the ships 
batteries. Firing weapons or using a special power consumes energy 
(the amount depends on each ships specific characteristics). 
Unlike crew, batteries recharge gradually over the course of the 
battle. The speed of energy regeneration varies from ship to ship, 
and is a significant factor in a ships unique com-bat strategies. 
Ships with constant, fast energy renewal (like the Yehat 
Terminator) will want to close on their opponents and continuously 
blast away, while other vessels with slower energy regeneration 
(such as the Mycon Podship) will want to approach their enemy and 
attack, then retreat to accumulate a fresh supply of energy.

The Basics of Blasting 
Getting your ship in the right position is crucial to firing. 
Therefore, you must keep several things in mind when confronting 
an opponent: 
The type and range of the weapon youre firing. 
The defensive capabilities of your opponent, both in defensive 
 powers and evasive potential. 
The position of other objects, such as planets and asteroids, 
 which may affect either craft, or the course of the fired 
 weapon.

The computer opponent achieves its remarkable accuracy by firing 
not at your ship, but at where your ship is going to be.

The best way to learn how to shoot and maneuver is to repeatedly 
practice in SuperMelee, either against the computer opponent, or, 
preferably, with a friend.

Victory and Defeat 
When you eliminate the last crew member from an enemy vessel, it 
is destroyed.If there are other ships in the enemys task force, 
a new ship will warp in immediately. Since each ships combat 
entry position is ran-dom, be prepared for immediate hostilities.

If one of your combat vessels is destroyed, you must pick another 
ship with which to re-enter the fray, unless your flagship was 
destroyed. WHEN YOUR FLAGSHIP IS DESTROYED, THE GAME IS OVER. In 
this unfortunate circumstance, you will be given the option to 
resume a saved game, start over from the beginning, or quit to DOS.

Running Away 
If you are worried that one of your ships is about to be 
destroyed, you can choose to flee the battlefield. To run away 
while fighting with any ship, press the ESC key. Your ship comes 
to an immediate halt and begins an emergency warp-out maneuver. 
During this maneuver, you will be unable to control your vessel, 
but it will be vulnerable to enemy attack. The glow around your 
ship will pulse faster and faster until your vessel has generated 
enough force to speed out of the combat zone.

When you command an escort vessel to flee, you are prompted to 
select a new ship to fight with. The ship that fled will not be 
available for the remainder of the battle, but will return to the 
fleet when the fight is over. When you run away while using the 
flagship, you leave the battle altogether, taking your escort 
vessels with you.

Note: The emergency warp technology for escaping from combat 
has NOT been included on your ships at the very beginning of 
the game. However, this feature will become available early on 
in play.

Analyzing Enemy Wreckage 
If you defeat all the enemy vessels in an attacking task force, 
you will scavenge and analyze the enemy wreckage. A scavenging 
report will tell you how much you have reclaimed.


APPENDIX I : KNOWN ALIEN RACES

Races in the Alliance of Free Stars
The first Alliance race to become aware of the Ur-Quan threat 
was the sophisticated, crystalline race, the Chenjesu. In 2098 
their ultra-sensitive HyperWave receivers began recording strange 
broadcasts, unshielded and strong, from the direction of the 
Cygnus star cluster. Soon after, the Chenjesu listened as the 
Ur-Quan brutally conquered the first race they encountered, the 
Umgah. By 2111 the Spathi had also been subjugated and the Ilwrath, 
one of the Chenjesus closest neighbors, was near defeat. The 
Chenjesu realized that they needed help fighting the Ur-Quan and 
their ever-growing armada of battle thralls.

The Chenjesus long-standing mutual defense agreement with the 
Mmrnmhrm became the basis for the Alliance of Free Stars. Soon the 
Yehat and their foster-species, the uplifted Shofixti, entered the 
Alliance. Following Humanitys induction in 2115, the 
Ariloulaleelay and the Syreen (unofficially) followed suit, 
bringing the Alliance to its final configuration, seven alien 
races united against a common foe.

Chenjesu: 
This race is the only known form of silicon-based life-form to 
have achieved intelligence naturally. The Chenjesu are the oldest,
most technologically advanced species in the Alliance, and while 
all mem-bers in the Alliance are officially equal, the Chenjesu 
are a bit more equal. Since this species evolved as a 
photo/chemovore (it derives its nourishment from light and 
ambient minerals) with no natural predators, the Chenjesu are 
entirely non-aggressive, preferring calm philosophical discourse 
above all other activities.

Mmrnmhrm: 
The Mmrnmhrms origin is mysterious. Less than a thousand years 
ago, the first Mmrnmhrm awakened, alone, on the surface of a dark, 
airless moon. Looking up, the conical, segmented robot saw the 
huge factory-starship which had just finished manufacturing it by 
stripping the surface of the moon for raw materials and then 
refining these crude ores into final parts within its cavernous 
interior. Within a few years, the star system teemed with 
millions of intelligent, self-aware robots who called themselves 
the Mmrnmhrm.

These non-hostile mechanical beings were assembled for some kind 
of mission by a distant alien race. When born/built, each Mmrnmhrm 
awakens filled with knowledge and purpose, though to date the 
Mmrnmhrm have not revealed the exact nature of their long-term 
mission. Within a century after the first Mmrnmhrm was built, they 
had established peaceful relations with the nearby Chenjesu and 
colonized the adjacent stars in the Virginis constellation.

Yehat: 
The Yehat are a race of avian creatures who live their lives in 
the pursuit of honor for their clan, their Queen, and themselves 
through combat. Physically, these creatures resemble a 3 meter 
high hybrid between an old Earth pterosaur and a bumble-bee. To 
succeed on their world, against larger, faster competitors, they 
evolved a complex, programmable neural control system  a thinking 
brain  which allowed them to adapt to new situations with 
lightning speed.

Like Earthlings, the Yehat entered space without the assistance of 
a more advanced race. It is not surprising that they grant 
Earthlings such high honor and status for the same achievement.

The Yehat have great pride that they did not go through this uplift 
process, and that their culture is totally intact. In fact, the 
same ruling family has been leading the Yehat people for over 2000 
years, dating back far beyond their Industrial Age. Given their 
intensely martial society and advanced weapons technology, the Yehat 
became the backbone of the Alliance Starfleet.

Shofixti: 
A Shofixti resembles a large marsupial carni-vore  sort of a killer
shrew  who exhibits furious aggressive behavior contained within a 
strong ethical framework. When the Yehat first found them in 2075, 
the Shofixti were living in fortified mud castles in a feu-dal 
society similar to medieval Japan. The Yehat had such admiration for 
these feisty little warriors that they immediately adopted them 
and took responsibility for the Shofixtis uplift, swearing that no 
peace-loving race would be allowed to dilute the Shofixtis noble 
warlike tendencies. During the war the primary responsibility of 
the Shofixti starships was to act as advanced scouts, establishing 
mines, colonies, and fortifications throughout the stars.

Ariloulaleelay: 
Arilou (as individuals of this species are called) are pale, about 
1.5 meters tall, and have large, childlike heads with dark, 
soulful eyes. Although Arilou never talk (communicating through 
direct telepathic link), they almost always wear a wide, innocent 
smile.

The Arilou may have visited Earth often in the past, especially 
in the period between 1950 and the year 2000, during which they 
are suspected of having been responsible for flying saucer 
sightings, cropfield circles, alien abductions and similar 
prankish behavior.

The Ariloulaleelay maintain great secrecy about them-selves and their 
motivations. The location of their home-world, or even their native 
region of space, is unknown, as is much else about these beings. In 
fact, the very existence of the Ariloulaleelay was not certain until 
the year 2116 when they appeared without warning on Earths moon and 
asked to be inducted into the Alliance.

Syreen: 
The Syreen people evolved on a paradise world in the Arianni constel-
lation where they built a great artistic civilization in harmony with
their environment. No citizen of Syrea suffered want or ignorance. 
Then, in 2035, a cataclysm of tectonic upheavals tore lava-filled 
chasms across the planets surface and irrevocably poisoned their 
atmosphere. The disas-ter killed off almost all the Syreen population 
 only those in the Syreen Space Patrol were untouched. The male 
population, who were rare in the Patrol, were virtually eliminated.

The Syreen Space Patrol collected what few survivors could be found 
on the surface and transformed their many orbital space platforms 
into huge starships.

In the following decades before the War, the Syreen became 
wandering space-gypsies, navigating their fleet of Habitats 
through the starways, searching for a new planet of such surpassing 
beauty that it would forever wash away the pain of losing Syrea, 
their Eden.

The Syreen became unofficial members of the Alliance in 2120, after 
suffering repeated Ur-Quan attacks on their fleets of slow-moving 
Habitats. Adapting their remaining Patrol vessels for combat, the 
Syreen became a potent force in the fight against the Ur-Quan. The 
single greatest weakness of the Syreen star fleet, its severe 
shortage of trained crew-members, was alleviated by Syreen 
scientists who developed a psionic amplifier which could compel 
even the most hostile alien to serve a Syreen ship captain with 
perfect faithfulness. Crews on board Syreen ships became a surreal 
pastiche of alien races, with Ilwrath, VUX, Spathi and others 
working dutifully side by side with human volunteers under the 
command of beautiful Syreen officers.


Races in the Ur-Quan Hierarchy
The history of the Ur-Quan is largely unknown, save that they are 
an old race who have travelled the galaxy for thousands of years 
with a single motive: To find intelligent life and enslave it. Most 
Xeno-psychologists agree that the Ur-Quan behavior indicates they 
suffered some kind of severe trauma, and are neurotically acting out 
their need to control every-thing by enslaving any intelligent 
species they meet. Most starship commanders who have faced the 
Ur-Quan in combat think the Ur-Quan attack and enslave simply 
because they are evil, hostile creatures who should be destroyed.

The organization of the Ur-Quan Hierarchy is simple and immutable: 
All alien races are inferior to the Ur-Quan. Battle Thralls, those 
other races who fight for the Ur-Quan, are granted the next 
highest status, and are permitted to maintain a small amount of 
autonomy. All other independent species are simply known as prey.

Ur-Quan: 
Physically, Ur-Quan resemble the predatory caterpillar native to Earths 
Hawaiian Islands, only grown to over ten meters in length. The Ur-Quan 
equivalent of a face is rich in sensory organs, and its expressions are 
varied and horrific. Aboard ship, these creatures cling to webbed 
ceilings with their back legs, dangling down over their controls and 
their slave-crew like hungry spiders.

Ur-Quan are extremely territorial and aggressive, having evolved as non-
social, hunter-killers. Their territorial instincts are so strong that 
only one Ur-Quan is present on each Dreadnought. When Ur-Quan meet, they 
keep several meters between themselves, lest their instincts drive them 
to engage in an unarmed battle to the death. A simple, linear dominance 
structure dictates power within the Ur-Quan species. Each member of the 
species has a number, indicating its relative power and authority. Ur-
Quan Master #1 is the ultimate lord of the entire Hierarchy.

The Ur-Quan are unwilling to communicate directly with other species 
because to do so would be demeaning. Therefore, when giving orders or 
interrogating enemies, the Ur-Quan use Talking Pets, large-brained, 
frog-like creatures which are non-sentient, but possess the telepathic/
empathic ability to translate all languages.

Mycon: 
The Mycons are neither plant nor animal, having evolved from something 
more closely resembling an ambulatory fungus. Mycons are asexual and 
reproduce by budding their own flesh into a separate off-spring. They 
exchange genetic material by exhaling and inhaling DNA-rich spores. 
Mycons are most comfortable in a hellish envi-ronment of hot rock and 
poisonous vapors which would kill most other species in seconds. 
Culturally, the Mycon are baffling. They appear to be born adult, 
instantly able to assume responsibilities. In addition, all Mycons 
occasionally undergo temporary but dramatic personality transformation, 
as though they were possessed by a different Mycon personality.

Spathi: 
The Spathi are all abject cowards and have built quite a successful 
civilization around this basic characteristic. The Spathi physique is 
slight and soft, with the vital organs being covered by a hard shell 
surface. Spathi have large, humanoid eyes atop stiff thick stalks that 
protrude from their central body mass at odd angles. When alarmed 
Spathi ooze copious amounts of unpleasant fluid from their pores.

It is somewhat confusing why the Spathi chose to fight with the Ur-
Quan, since they certainly didnt fight very hard against them 
(having surrendered after less than 6 hours of combat).

Umgah: 
The Umgah are blobbish creatures consisting of four main attributes; 
eyes, mouths, tentacles and a strong sense of humor. The Umgah make 
use of bio-logical forms in their technology and must often rely on 
biomechanical hybridization.

The Umgah prefer warm, moist subterranean dwellings, sheathing the 
interior of their ships with a thick, wet skin, and suffer from 
agoraphobia  the fearof open spaces.

Before they were enslaved by the Ur-Quan, the Umgah culture was 
relatively peaceful, content to expand slowly through the surrounding 
Orionis constellation. The most serious conflicts caused by the Umgah 
are the result of their incessant practical jokes, such as clogging a 
fleet of Spathi Eluders life-support systems with fast-growing foul-
smelling goo.

VUX: 
The VUX are bipedal, and would be considered humanoid were it not for 
their heads, which look like a tragic combination of a squid and a 
banana slug. The VUX are very sensitive about their looks. Indeed, in 
the VUX culture, physical appearance is of tantamount importance, and 
the VUX spend a great deal of their time on clothing, jewelry and 
useless finery.

The VUXs repulsiveness to most other races is matched by their 
technological achievement in linguistic translation devices. This 
combination led to the unfortunate incident in 2126, when the 
Earthling Cruiser Miwok made first contact with the VUX near the Beta 
Luyten star system. The Miwoks Captain Rand, upon first seeing the 
VUX commander on his view screen, remarked to his officers, 
Thats the ugliest freak-face Ive ever seen! Rand was unaware that 
his every word was being relayed to the VUX captian with perfect 
clarity. This grievous insult, and the subsequent ill-will between 
Earth and the VUX delayed the VUXs entry into the Alliance long 
enough for the Ur-Quan to enslave them.

Androsynth: 
These human clones established a fledgling colony in the Vulpecular 
constellation after fleeing from Earth in the year 2085. During the 
following three decades, the Androsynths focused their energies on 
reproduction and armament. The Androsynths were totally unaware of 
the Ur-Quan invasion until the aliens were on top of them, capturing 
their home star system in a few short weeks of intense interplanetary 
combat. Androsynths now fight for the Ur-Quan and many Earthlings fear 
that should the Alliance lose the War with the Ur-Quan, the 
Androsynths hostility toward Humanity could result in great suffering 
for Earth.

Ilwrath: 
Before the arrival of the Ur-Quan, these violent, religious insectoids 
were of little consequence to their neighbors, the Chenjesu and the 
Mmrnmhrm, because they possessed little in the way of advanced tech-
nology or raw resources. However, when the Ur-Quan conquered their 
species, the spider-ish Ilwrath became dangerous indeed. Now, with 
modern weapons and drive systems, the Ilwrath revel in their 
opportunities to deceive and destroy other forms of life, as is 
required by their twin gods of evil, Dogar and Kazon.


APPENDIX II: PLAY TIPS FOR STAR CONTROL II
Star Control II is mostly self-configuring, and most players will 
never have to do more than type the program name. However, in a few 
circumstances, you may have to adjust either your computer system 
or the program.

Maximizing Available Memory 
If you receive the error message, Not enough memory to play Star 
Control II., you will need to free up memory on your computer. 
Some simple ways to do this include: 
Installing the game on and playing from your hard drive. 
Removing TSR programs or unnecessary device drivers from your 
 AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. Star Control II does not use 
 a mouse, so removing your mouse driver (if your system loads one) 
 would be a good first step. In general, the only such programs 
 you will need are hard disk performance programs, such as disk 
 caches or automatic file compression utilities.

Enhancing Game Performance 
Star Control II is a complex, multi-tasking program which plays 
all sound and music by mixing up to 8 digital channels in real 
time. Consequently, if you are running on a slower machine, you 
may experience less then optimal performance, particularly if you 
are running internal speaker sound, which has the most 
significant impact on performance. To improve the games 
performance you can: 

Buy a faster computer. 
If you are running with internal speaker sound, either 
 purchase one of the supported sound boards, which do 
 not hamper performance as much and sound lots better, 
 or shut down sound and music altogether (see 
 Specifying Sound Card on the Command Line, for details).

Solving Possible Conflicts with TSRs Some TSRs and device drivers 
do not cooperate with the Star Control II program. The most common 
such problems occur on 386 machines with older, extended memory 
managers. The symptoms include system lock-up when the program 
first fires up, or INCREDIBLY slow performance. To fix these 
problems you can: 

Configure the extended memory manager NOT to emulate 
 expanded memory. 
Remove or replace the extended memory manager. 
Shut down sound and music altogether (see Specifying 
 Sound Card on the Command Line, below, for details).

Known Conflicts 

Conflict: Extended Memory Manager (only in rare instances) 
Symptom: Extremely slow performance and in rare cases, system 
         halts. 
Solution: Modify config.sys or autoexec.bat files to remove 
          memory manager. 

Conflict: Gravis Ultrasound board in combination with Soundblaster 
          or Roland sound boards. 
Symptom: System halts immediately when game is run. 
Solution: Remove all sound boards except Gravis Ultrasound, or 
          remove Gravis Ultrasound.

Specifying Sound Card on the Command Line 
Star Control II automatically detects supported sound cards 
(inside your computer) when you load the program. However, there 
are some peripheral sound devices which are not detected. For 
these devices, you willhave to add a code to the command line: 
STARCON2 /s:DEVICENAME where DEVICENAME is one of the following:

	Code 			Sound Device 
	DISNEY1 		Disney Sound Source on parallel port #1. 
	DISNEY2 		Disney Sound Source on parallel port #2. 
	LPT1 			Covox Speech Thing or other sound peripheral on 
				parallel port #1. 
	LPT2 			Covox Speech Thing or other sound peripheral on 
				parallel port #2.

If you want to specify explicitly your sound board, follow the above 
convention with one of the following codes:

	Code 			Sound Device 
	INTERNAL 		Internal speaker 
	ADLIB 		An Adlib sound board
	SBLASTER 		A Soundblaster
	PAS 			A Pro Audio Spectrum
	SM2 			A Sound Master II 
	ASC 			An ASC Media Master 
	MICRO 		Microsoft Windows 
	GRAVIS 		Gravis Ultrasound 

If you want NO sound, use the code SILENT.

Loading Problems 
If you load Star Control II and experience the following: 

 The game doesnt start properly, 
 You see a Not Enough RAM error message,
 Freezes or erratic game play,

see the Booting Clean section.

Garbled Graphics or Blank Screen 
Star Control II supports VGA or MCGA graphics only. If your computer 
does not have these graphic cards and a color monitor, this game will 
not work on your system. If you do have these and still experience a 
blank screen or garbled graphics, see the Booting Clean section below.
Graphic Adapter Fix Certain computers, (i.e. Tandy 4850 EP) have 
unusual video hardware. Therefore, colors in the game might not look 
quite right. If you experience this problem, try running the game as 
STARCON2 /g:BIOS. This will force the program to update the color 
palette using the BIOS functions. Since most BIOS calls are far slower 
than custom routines, a minor performance penalty may be noticed when 
using this option.

Note: Any command line additions can only be made if you are launching 
the game without using the front-end menu.

Booting Clean 
The easiest way to resolve loading problems, DOS conflicts, memory 
problems, erratic game play, etc., is to copy the games to your hard 
drive, and boot your computer with a boot disk each time you wish to 
play. A boot disk is a clean DOS system disk that will maximize use 
of memory.

If you are in Windows 3.1, you need to exit Windows to get back to DOS. 
From the File pull-down menu, choose Exit Windows. A dialog box will 
appear mid-screen. Click on OK. You are now in DOS.

If you are in Windows 95, go to DOS by clicking on Start, then Shut 
Down and Restart the Computer in MS-DOS Mode.

First, copy Star Control II to your hard drive.
1 At the DOS prompt, type C: <Enter> 
2 At the DOS prompt, type CD\ <Enter> 
3 Type MD STARCON2 <Enter> 4 Copy the Star Control II files to 
  your hard drive. At the DOS prompt, type 
  COPY D:\STARCON\STARCON2\*.* C:\STARCON2 <Enter>

Note: If you enter this command and receive the message, Invalid Drive 
Specification, your CD-ROM drive is not properly set up for use in 
MS-DOS mode. Contact your computer retailer or manufacturer for assistance.

Star Control II is now copied to your hard drive.

Creating a Boot Disk 
1 Make sure you have a high-density diskette on hand that will 
  fit into drive A: 
2 At the DOS prompt, type FORMAT A:/S <Enter> You will be 
  prompted to insert your diskette into drive A:. When the 
  computer asks you to enter a label name, press <Enter>. 
  When the computer asks if you want to format another 
  diskette, answer NO. 
3 At the DOS prompt, type A: <Enter> 
4 At the A: prompt, type COPY C:\CONFIG.SYS <Enter> 
5 At the A: prompt, type COPY C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT <Enter> 
6 At the A: prompt, type EDIT CONFIG.SYS <Enter>

  Note: PC-DOS users may have to type E CONFIG.SYS <Enter>

  The editing screen display is blue with several lines of white text. 
  Each line of text is one DOS command.

7 Only some of these lines are necessary for your game to 
  run properly. The lines we need can usually be left just 
  as they are. Keep the following lines intact: 

   The line with HIMEM.SYS (or any other upper memory manager)
   The line with EMM386.EXE (or any other expanded memory manager) 
   Any lines pertaining to your Sound Card 
   Any lines necessary to the normal operation of your computer 

  For all other lines, move the cursor to the left edge of each line and 
  type REM <Spacebar>. 

8 Once you have finished editing the CONFIG.SYS file, press <ALT+F> then 
  <S> to save the file. PC-DOS users will need to press the <F3> key 
  instead. 
9 Press <ALT+f> and <X> to exit the editor. 
10 At the A: prompt, type EDIT AUTOEXEC.BAT <Enter>
   Note: PC-DOS users may have to type E AUTOEXEC.BAT <Enter>
11 Keep the following lines intact: 
    @ECHO OFF 
    PROMPT $P$G 
    the PATH line 
    Any lines pertaining to your Sound Card 
    Any lines necessary to the normal operation of your computer 

   For all other lines, move the cursor to the left edge of each line 
   and type REM <Spacebar>. 
12 Follow steps 8 and 9 above to save the file and exit the editor.

The boot disk is now ready for use with the Star Control Collection.

To Play Star Control II, insert your boot disk into your A: drive and 
either turn on or reboot your computer. At the A: prompt, type 
C: <Enter>. Type CD\STARCON2 <Enter>, then STARCON2 <Enter> to launch 
the game. When you finish playing, remove the boot disk from the A: 
drive and either turn off or reboot your machine.


Technical Support (408) 296-8400

If you still need help with this - or any other - Accolade product,
please give us a call Monday through Thursday between the hours of 
8AM and 5PM (Pacific Time) and on Fridays between 9AM and 5pm. Be 
sure you are at your computer when you call. 

Also, please have the following information handy so that the 
technicians can quickly assess the problem and provide corrective 
information:

   Your name
   Your email address
   The name of the product with which you need help
   Media type (e.g., CD-ROM)
   The nature of the problem -- please be specific in describing what 
        steps led up to the problem, and include any error messages 
        that you have received.
   Computer made & model (e.g., NEC Ready System 7022)
   CPU type & speed (e.g., Pentium 90 MHz)
   Amount of RAM installed (e.g., 16 megabytes)
   Free space on your hard drive (e.g., 25 megabytes)
   DOS version (e.g., version 6.22)
   Windows version (e.g., Windows 95)
   Memory manager used (e.g., EMM386)
   Sound card make & model (e.g., Creative Labs Soundblaster AWE-32 PnP)
   Sound card settings (e.g., Port 220, IRQ 5, Low DMA 1, High DMA 5)
   Graphics card make & model (e.g., Matrox Millenium)
   Joystick make & model (e.g., Microsoft Sidewinder Pro)
   Copies of your computer's CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT

You can also write to us at:

	Accolade Customer Service
	5300 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 500
	San Jose, CA 95129

Online Support

For your convenience and support, Accolade maintains a Web site at
http://www.accolade.com. For technical support and information, email us at
techelp@accolade.com

Members of CompuServe can email us at 76004,2132 or type GO GAMAPUB to leave
a message for us in the Accolade area.

Members of America Online can go to Keyword: Web and surf the Web for us at 
http://www.accolade.com.


APPENDIX III: INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUPERMELEE 
SuperMelee is pure Star Control combat. In this bonus game you can fight 
against the computer opponent, or even better, battle another human player.
SuperMelee battles are fought between two rival teams, composed of up to 14
ships, using any combination of the 25 alien vessels from Star Control and 
Star Control II.

If you have never fought a Star Control space battle, SuperMelee is the 
necessary training ground where you will learn to survive in the hostile 
starways of Star Control II. You can begin by fighting weak opponents, 
learning the ins and outs of tactical combat. Then, as your skills 
improve, you can take on more cunning foes and begin to explore the unique
stratagems for each ship-to-ship combination.

The experienced Star Control player will relish the 11 new ship types, the 
multiplicity of ship battle combinations, and the ability to devise his or
her own SuperMelee teams.

Starting SuperMelee 
To play SuperMelee: 
1 Turn on your computer. 
2 Get to the point in DOS where you would normally launch 
  the game. If you play from the CD, choose SuperMelee from 
  the Star Control menu, and ignore steps 3 & 4. 
3 Change to the directory that contains the game. For 
  example, if you installed the game in a subdirectory 
  named STARCON2, type CD STARCON2 and press Enter. 
4 Now type the file name, MELEE, and press Enter again. 
  Note that MELEE.EXE has the same command line options 
  for sound as STARCON2.EXE (see Specifying Sound Card 
  on the Command Line, for details.)

Note: The Melee program tries to run at the same speed on all computers. 
If you would like to unleash your computers power and play at maximum 
speed, add /frenzy on the com-mand line after Melee.

The SuperMelee Main Screen 
The SuperMelee Main Screen includes three regions: The Team Display, 
which shows the ships in each team as well as their name; the Game 
Settings, which records the manner you have configured the game; and 
the Main Menu, which lists the general commands at your disposal. As 
a convenience, SuperMelee always remembers most recently used teams 
and settings, and automatically loads these for you whenever you 
start the game.

Creating a SuperMelee Team 
To create a SuperMelee Team: 
1 First highlight EDIT on the Main Menu and press Enter. 
2 Using the Arrow keys, move the cursor to the slot where 
  you want to add a ship and press Enter. The highlight 
  will now move to the list of available ships.

  Note: If you place the cursor on a slot which already contains a 
  ship, that ship will be replaced with your new choice.

3 Using the Arrow keys, move the highlight in the ship list. 
  Only two ships are shown at one time. To scroll the entire 
  list, move the highlight up or down. The list shows not only 
  the names of the ships, but their val-ues as well. Ship 
  values are useful when two or more players want to compose 
  different teams with the same overall strength. When you have 
  highlighted the ship you want to add to your team, press Enter 
  and the ship will appear in the Team Display region. The cursor 
  now returns to the Team Display region. 
4 Continue placing as many ships as you like on both teams by 
  repeating steps 2 and 3. Notice that as you add and remove 
  ships from each team, the total team value changes to reflect 
  your modifications. 
5 If you want to remove a ship from a team, highlight the ship 
  in the Team Display Region and then press the DEL key. 
6 To change the name of a team, move the cursor to the name, 
  which will then highlight. Use the Backspace and Delete 
  keys to remove the old name, then type in the new team name. 
  When you are finished naming a team, press Enter, or just 
  move the cursor up or down off the team name using the Arrow 
  keys. 
7 When you are done creating your team, press the Spacebar to 
  return to the Main SuperMelee Menu.

Game Settings 
The current game settings for both Player #1 and Player #2 are shown in
the Game Settings Display, just above the Main SuperMelee Menu. When 
you choose SETTINGS from the Main SuperMelee Menu, the cursor will move
to the Game Settings Window. To change a setting, move the highlight 
to the desired setting and press Enter.

When you are done changing the games settings, press the Spacebar or 
Button #2 to return to the Main SuperMelee Menu.

Who Controls Each Team 
In SuperMelee you can play against a human opponent (the most fun), or 
against a computer controlled foe. To change who controls a team, high-
light the setting and press Enter or Button #1. You can set both teams 
to have computer control. In this case they will fight a totally 
automatic series of battles against each other during which you can 
study their techniques.

Input Device 
You can play SuperMelee with joysticks, keyboard, or a combination of 
both. To reconfigure the keyboard configuration, run the separate 
keyboard configuration program KEYS.EXE. For consistency, the con-
figuration you set for SuperMelee will also be used in Star Control 
II.

Note: Any keyboard configuration other than the default will only be 
saved if you are playing from your hard drive. If you use the KEYS 
command and are playing from the CD-ROM, your new configuration will 
not be saved.

Computer Opponents Skill Level 
In SuperMelee you can set the computer opponents skill level to 
accommo-date beginner, intermediate or advanced players. To cycle 
through the skill levels, move the highlight to the skill 
description for the team you want to change and press Return. 
The skill levels are: 
 Standard (default setting): The standard computer opponent never uses 
  its special power, nor does it shoot very accurately. This setting is 
  suitable only for beginning players or young children. 
 Good: At this setting the opponent shoots more accurately and begins 
  to use its special power, though not necessarily at the best time or 
  place. 
 Awesome: Playing SuperMelee against a computer opponent set to Awesome 
  should remain a challenge for quite some time. At this skill level, 
  the computer only shoots when it is sure it will hit you if
  you continue along your present course. The computer now uses 
  its special power at maximum effectiveness.

Leaving Settings Menu 
When you have established your desired settings, press the Spacebar to 
return to the main SuperMelee Command Menu.

Saving and Loading SuperMelee Teams 
To save a team, highlight SAVE from the Main Menu and press Enter. Type 
in the name of your team (8 letters maximum) and press Enter. To load a 
team, select LOAD from the Main Menu and press Enter.. Highlight the 
team you want to play using the Arrow keys and press Enter again.

Fighting in Melee 
Now that youve selected your settings and created your teams, youre 
ready for a game of SuperMelee. From the SuperMelee Main Menu, select 
MELEE. You will now see a subscreen for each team in turn.

Picking Ships 
Each player now picks his first ship to fight with. If you are playing 
against a computer opponent, it will do so automatically. To pick a 
ship, move the flashing cursor over the desired ship and press Enter. 
If you want the next ship to be chosen randomly, highlight the ? and 
then press Enter.

Fighting a Battle 
Combat in SuperMelee is identical to combat in Star Control II, except 
that you cannot flee from battle. When a ship is destroyed, the ship 
selection menu will appear, allowing you or your opponent to select the 
next ship to fight.

Winning SuperMelee 
When all of one players ships are destroyed, the Melee is over. Each 
players menu will then appear, allowing the winner to gloat over his 
many victories. This final display also shows the winners remaining 
ship points which indicate the margin of victory. Use the following 
guidelines to determine the quality of the victory:

		Winners Remaining 
		Ship Points 		Quality of Victory 
		5% 				By the skin of your teeth. 
		10% 				A good, close game 
		25% 				A serious thumpin
		50% 				Totally Cree-mated! 
		75% and up 			Who are you playing with  a moon 
						rock?

Remember, if you get Cree-mated, theres always the best-2-out-of-3!

Replaying Melee with the Same Teams 
To begin another SuperMelee with the same teams, just press any key 
after the ship selection screen has been displayed.

Returning to the Team Edit Screen 
After a SuperMelee game is over, or at any time during play, you can 
quit the battle and return to the SuperMelee Main Screen by pressing 
F10, and then confirming your exit by pressing F1.


APPENDIX IV: KEYBOARD CONFIGURATION UTILITY 
The Keyboard Configuration Utility  Keys.exe  lets you reconfigure the 
keys youll use as the control keys in Star Control II.

1 Boot your computer as normal 
2 Type CD \Starcon2 and press Enter
3 Type keys and press Enter. The following options will 
  appear onscreen: 
  F1 Select a new keyboard layout  
  F2 Experiment with different keyboard combinations 
  F3 Information on keyboard configuration 
  F10 Quit to DOS When you press F1 to change the keyboard 
      layout, you are given the option of changing the 
      Player 1 or Player 2 controls. Press the corresponding 
      function key to select your option.

After youve selected your keys, youll be given the option to redo them.
Press N to keep them, or press Y to change them.

To save the new keyboard configurations, press F7 at the Control Keys 
Menu.



APPENDIX V: COMBAT VESSEL DESCRIPTIONS 
Following are brief descriptions of the combat capabilities of all 
of the ships in Star Control and Star Control II. These descriptions 
are intended to give an overview of the ships attributes and special 
powers, as well as a few tactical combat tips.

Ariloulaleelay Skiff  An Arilou Skiff, when flown skillfully, can 
be one of the most effective spacecraft. Its speed and inertialess 
drive make it the most maneuverable of all ships, and its special 
ability to teleport can help it escape from fatal situations. The 
Arilou Skiff has an auto-targeting, swivel-mounted, short-range 
laser that pumps out damage quickly. Unfortunately, the Arilou ship 
can sustain only a minimal amount of damage itself. A successful 
captain will use the teleport function, as well as an opponents 
inertia, to move in quickly along the rear or flank of the enemy 
ship, unload from a full store of energy, and then fly or teleport 
quickly away to recharge.

Chenjesu Broodhome  The main weapon of the Chenjesu, the photon 
crystal shard, is ver-satile for both offense and de-fense. As long 
as the fire button is pressed, the shard con-tinues on its way. If 
you hit an enemy with the whole crystal, it does a great deal of 
damage. If the crystal misses, release the fire button while it is 
still near the enemy ship and the shard will explode into smaller 
pieces. Since the crystals do not harm the Chenjesu, they can be 
exploded at point blank range to create a kind of ack-ack.

One powerful ability of the Chenjesu is to launch self-directed 
DOGIs (De-energizing Offensive Guided Interceptor). These little 
drones can steal the energy from ships, or just pester the enemy 
until they are ready to give up. The best strategy for a Chenjesu 
is to keep a good distance between itself and the enemy ship.

Earthling Cruiser  The Earthling Cruiser is a vessel designed 
primarily for hit-and-run long-range attacks. Stay away from the 
enemy ship, and fire your seeking nukes constantly! Use a Gravity 
Whip off of the planet, if necessary to keep your distance, but be 
careful not to collide with the planet. The only reason ever to get 
close to an enemy ves-sel is to make an honorable, point-defense 
laser coup de grace, to elimi-nate the opponents last crew 
member.

Mmrnmhrm Xform  The X-form is actually two ships in one. Its 
special power allows it to transform from one form into the other. 
The Y-Wing form of this ship is fast but not very maneuverable, 
and it fires long range homing missiles that do only a small amount 
of damage. The X-Wing form is slow, but has good turning capability,
and fires a powerful double-lance, convergent laser. One very 
effective way to take advantage of this ship is to stay mostly 
in the faster Y-wing form, transforming into the X-Wing form only 
to make quick turns or ward off would-be attackers when they get 
too close.

Shofixti Scout  Shofixti Scout ships are small and very quick. 
They have a limited num-ber of crew, and a relatively weak forward 
firing gun with a moderate range. The special capability of this 
ship is that it can detonate itself like a big bomb, and cause 
great damage to an opponents ship. Of course, this requires that 
the Shofixti ship get itself close enough before detonating.

Shofixti captains who are patient may find that their little gun 
can be quite effective when fighting slow, or short-ranged enemy 
vessels.

Syreen Penetrator  This space vessel has the unique potential to 
leave a battle much stronger than it enters it. The goal of a 
Syreen ship isalways to get close to the opposing ship and use the 
Syreen call. This causes the enemy crew from the opponents craft 
to jump ship and drift through space towards the Syreen ship. The 
Syreen can then pick them up and use them as her own crew. One 
very effective trick is to use the Syreen call and fire simul-
taneously. This way, when your opponent has only one or two crew 
members left, the Syreen can destroy them before they have a chance 
to pick any of the crew back up again.

Yehat Terminator  The powerful and direct Yehat Terminator is 
the earliest of all Star Control ships. The ship is equipped with 
extremely powerful medium-range dual cannons, as well as a shield 
that, when activated, protects it from any weapon. Avoid the 
temptation of exhausting all of your energy with your guns, saving 
some for your shields. Also remember that energy genera-tion on 
the Yehat ship is not sufficient to maintain constant shield-ing. 
Lastly, since Yehats are not particularly fast, they can often 
benefit from a Gravity Whip from the planet. This allows them 
to strafe an opponent as they go sailing past.

Androsynth Guardian  The Androsynth vessel is normally very 
slow, and its weapon fires auto-homing molecular acid bubbles. 
These tend to be most effec-tive when fired en masse to create a 
dense cloud of bubbles that can serve as a haven for the Androsynth 
ship, or to create a cloud of bubbles in the opponents path. The 
Guardian can transform itself into a blazingcomet-like ball of 
energy. When it does this it travels at high speed, until all of 
its energy is used up. When the Androsynth is in this comet-like 
Blazer form, it can ram an opponents ship and do a large amount
of damage. Another use of the Blazer form is for escape.

Ilwrath Avenger  The Ilwrath ships are only moderately powerful 
because they are not very fast, and their weapon is only effective 
at short range. In order to compensate for their weapons 
shortcomings, the Ilwrath ship has a special cloaking capability.

Learn where the Ilwrath Avenger is when it is invisible. Since 
the screen always centers on the midpoint between the two ships, 
the Ilwrath is always diagonally opposite its opponent. When 
your enemy gets near the center of the screen, you must be there 
too. So open fire, literally! Be aware that when you uncloak by 
firing your hellblast, your ship is automatically oriented to point 
at your opponents ship. If your enemy has maneuvered around behind 
you, you can turn around instantly by cloaking and immediately 
firing your hellblast.

Mycon Podship  This extremely slow ship can fire a strange 
homing weapon made of semi-sentient energy plasma that dissipates
after it is launched and does a huge amount of damage if it hits 
the opponent. The Mycon ship can also use its energy to regenerate 
crew that have been lost.

Against most ships, the Mycon Podship is a dead duck if it sits 
still. Once it gets moving, (a good Gravity Whip will do), its 
commander can fire a plasma torpedo now and then, and regenerate 
any damage that comes his/her way. However, to give yourself time 
to respond to an onrushing celestial body, avoid diagonal whip 
trajectories.

One of the most serious threats to the Mycon is its own weapon, 
the expanding plasma cloud. Fast ships, like the Arilou, Shofixti, 
or Slylandro, will try to direct the plasma weapon back upon the 
Mycon. If the Mycon is moving at or beyond its normal maximum 
velocity, it can overrun its own weapon immediately after launch, 
suffering grievous casualties. Solution: shoot backwards.

Spathi Eluder (previously known as the Discriminator)  The 
Spathi ship is very fast and maneuverable with a moderately ranged 
and relatively weak forward firing gun. This ship is most 
dangerous when running from the enemy and launching BUTT (Backward 
Utilized Tracking Torpedo) missiles directly into its pursuers 
path. The Spathi commanders main job is to entice his opponent 
into chasing him. Taunts and jeers work well. Another effective 
strategy for a Spathi commander is to circle his opponents ship, 
just out of range, bobbing in to launch BUTT missiles, and then 
out again.

The otherwise ineffectual forward guns can become quite deadly 
with practice. If you need to kill only a few more crew for a 
victory, as when fighting an undamaged Arilou, dont shoot your 
wad in a single facing. Instead, rotate as you fire to increase 
your chance of a lucky hit.

Umgah Drone  The Umgah Drone can defeat any other ship, given 
just a few seconds at close range. A favorite Umgah tactic is to 
zip backwards right up next to its enemy. If the anti-matter cone 
is up through the maneuver, there is a chance of it grazing the 
enemy as you zip past for a few bonus points of damage  
especially important against the Arilou. Another way to use the 
retro-movement is to thrust at the same time you zip backwards. 
This results in a jerky, half-speed maneuver which opponents 
often find difficult to deal with.

The Umgahs anti-matter cone also makes an effective shield 
against most incoming missiles. Notable exceptions are the 
Chenjesus whole pho-ton crystal and the Ur-Quans fusion 
blast, which pass through the conical field unharmed. The Umgah 
receives all its power in one big whack after a considerable 
delay. Each time the Umgah uses its anti-matter cone, this 
delay is reset to maximum. So if you keep the cone up, you 
will never regain fuel.

VUX Intruder  Rather than building a faster ship, the VUX 
have taken the approach of slowing the other ships down. 
They do this by means of homing limpets which cling to the 
hull of an enemy ship, making it less and less maneuverable. 
In addition to this, the VUX ship comes equipped with a very 
powerful medium-range laser, and a large store of energy to 
power it.

The VUX is one of the slowest and least maneuverable ships 
in the game. Helping to offset this, the Intruder has the 
advantage of always appearing near an enemy vessel when 
combat begins. The VUX commander must be ready to fire 
instantly, and make course adjustments to keep his laser 
on target. If the enemy escapes and possesses any long or 
intermediate range weapons, the VUX must immediately seek 
out a planet and engage in a Gravity Whip. If the enemy 
launches a seeking weapon, dont forget to shoot at it as 
it approaches. When the VUX nears its target, it should 
slow by rotating to face the enemy and thrusting. Never 
engage your enemy unless you have lots of fuel!

To make effective use of your limpets, deploy them in a 
curtain, then turn and thrust ahead of where your enemy 
must flee to avoid them. When the enemy is really gunked-up, 
and you are fully recharged, use your laser to blast the 
enemy ships hull. Remember, though the Yehats shield is 
proof against your laser, your limpets pass through its 
defenses unaffected.

Ur-Quan Dreadnought  Most experienced players would 
probably say that either the Ur-Quan Dreadnought or the 
Kohr-Ah Marauder is the most powerful ship in the game. 
The Ur-Quan has an immensely powerful medium-long range 
weapon that fires rapid fusion plas-ma blasts. It also has 
the capability of launching pairs of autonomous, laser-
equipped fighters. Remember that each fighter represents 
a depart-ing crew member. So if you are wounded to start 
out with, dont send off all but the last few of your crew 
and risk defeat through a single lucky enemy shot. Also, 
fighters expire if you dont let them return to your ship. 
Avoid high speed chases or your fighters will be left far 
behind. Use fight-ers at short range and in conjunction 
with your main weapon. For best results, chase an opponent 
in one direction while you head off in the opposite 
direction to meet him as he wraps around.

Kohr-Ah Marauder  The Kohr-Ah ship is one of the few ships 
that is a good match for an Ur-Quan Dreadnought. The two 
ships are comparable in speed, maneuverability, crew, and 
energy regeneration. However, instead of firing plasma 
blasts, the Kohr-Ah vessel fires missiles which continue 
to move away from the ship until the Fire Button is 
released. Once the Fire Button is released, these spinning, 
metal blade-disks remain where they are placed. When an 
enemy vessel draws near, it tracks on the vessel and closes 
with it. 

A Kohr-Ah commander will often first lay down a defensive 
wall of blades around his ship, then litter an opponents 
path with the spinning weapons. Only eight blades may be 
present on the screen at any given time. When a ninth is 
fired, the first one disappears.

The other capability of the Kohr-Ah ship is known by the 
other alien races as the Fiery Ring of Inevitable and 
Eternal Destruction or F.R.I.E.D. This is actually an 
expanding ring of super-heated gases that can be used both 
for defense and close range offense. When facing the 
Ur-Quan, the Kohr-Ah is better off staying farther away, 
and the Ur-Quan is better off closing.

Utwig Jugger  This slow, tubby craft is only a moderately 
powerful ship. However, it is particularly well suited to 
facing the Kohr-Ah and the Mycon. The Utwig, in addition 
to its forward facing, wide area guns, has the special 
capability of shielding itself. This shielding, however, 
uses up energy which cannot be regenerated, so the trick 
for Utwig commanders is to acquire more than they use. 
Against ships that fire rapidly and continually, the 
Utwig commander can find himself being tricked into 
shielding unnecessarily and wasting his energy. The best 
strategy for the Utwig is to close with the opponents 
ship using a Gravity Whip when necessary, and time the 
shielding to catch any incoming shots. DOGIs from the 
Chenjesu are an Utwig commanders greatest fear, as they 
quickly turn his ship into a sitting duck.

Thraddash Torch  The Torch is a difficult ship to master, 
but can be quite potent when it is flown well. The normal 
weapon of this ship is a simple long range weapon that does 
a small amount of damage. The special capability of this 
ship is to eject ultra high pressure bursts of plasma out 
the rear of the craft. These propel the ship forward at 
great speed and act as an effective turbo boost. Commanders 
must learn to use this as their primary means of propulsion 
rather than their engines, which actually slow the vessel 
down. By using the rear Torch, commanders can stay far 
away from shorter range ships, and hit enemies with its 
long range weapon. When these Torch bursts are laid down 
in a wall in the path of an oppo-nent that is moving a 
lot, they can be a powerful offense.

These bursts can also be used defensively to block 
incoming shots. This technique requires the Torch captain 
to keep the rear of the ship facing the opponent whenever 
it is not advantageous to be firing.

Supox Blade  The Supox Blade is another effective ship. In 
combat situ-ations, any ship that can get another ship to 
chase it is in an advanta-geous position. The Supox, with 
its ability to reverse direction, is well suited to this 
strategy. This is done by approaching a ship head-on. 

As soon as that ship is in range, the Supox reverses the 
direction of its thrust and flies backwards, shooting at 
the ship that is all of a sudden following it. To travel 
backwards, press the Thrust key and the Special key 
simultaneously. Another capability of the Supox ship 
is to move laterally. To perform this maneuver, press 
the Special key and a Turn key simultaneously. This should 
only be attempted by the most gifted of Supox commanders, as 
it more often than not results in victory for your very happy 
opponent.

Pkunk Fury  Though small and holding few crew, the deft Pkunk Fury 
sports miraculous features. The Furys main (and only) weapon is a 
rapid-fire, very short-range mini-gun that launches streams of dense, 
superheat-ed metals forward and to the sides. This unusual weapon 
configuration allows the Fury to engage in certain non-traditional 
combat moves, such as running broadside. The popular Death Blossom 
attack is performed by flying adjacent to an enemy ship, and then 
simultaneously rotating and firing to create a beautiful spiral of 
destructive force.

The vessels energy is generated directly from the Pkunk captains 
fierce mental emanations. By holding down the Special key, the player 
instructs the captain to radiate these psionic energies. Accompanying 
the regeneration are various insults and jibes spewed forth by the Pkunk 
captain toward his opponent.

When a Pkunk ship is destroyed in combat it will frequently reappear  
instantly, and with no visible signs of damage. The Pkunk claim that 
this resurrection is due to a trace of the blood of the gods, which 
flows through each Pkunk as the result of some divine indiscretion on 
their home world several thousand years ago. Other alien races believe 
that the res-urrected vessels are in fact a mere projection generated 
by Pkunk vessels which are cloaked with some kind of invisibility field. 
To date, no one has explained why a projections weapons are 
genuinely destructive.

Melnorme Trader  The primary weapon aboard the Melnorme (pro-nounced 
Mehl-nor-may) Trader is a long-range, variable power blaster, fired by 
holding down the Fire key and then releasing it. The Melnormes pro-
jectile becomes larger and more destructive while the Fire key is held. 
The weapon has 4 degrees of power, reflected in the color of the 
pulsating missile. A green weapon is weakest, next comes blue, purple, 
and finally red. Each color change represents a doubling in the 
strength of the weapon. The Melnorme ship will not regenerate energy 
while holding the weapon; however, at these times the weapon acts 
as a front shield for the ship.

The special power of the Melnorme Trader is a long-range confusion ray 
which scrambles the enemy vessel control systems, causing the enemy to 
tumble out of control. The effect lasts only a few seconds, so the 
Melnorme must follow-up the attack with a powerful blaster strike, or 
an additional whack with another confusion ray. Note that in order to 
penetrate an enemy ships hardened control system, the Melnorme 
confusion weapon drains almost half of its maximum supply of energy.

Chmmr Avatar  The Chmmr Avatar may be the most powerful ship in space 
with a laser so dangerous that when fired, it ionizes the solar wind.
The laser strikes an enemy vessels hull with twice the destructive 
force of the feared VUX laser. Orbiting around the Avatar are three 
ZapSats  sturdy satellites that automatically fire their own laser 
weapons at incoming ships and missiles.

The Chmmr Avatars special power is a tractor beam which generates a 
focused beam of artificial gravity, pulling in an enemy vessel like 
a fish on a line. The effect of the tractor depends on the size and 
speed of the opposing ship.

The biggest threat to the Avatar is the Kohr-Ah Marauders fiery gas 
ring which will instantly destroy any satellites it touches.

Orz Nemesis  This menacing manta craft was built for combat! Atop 
the swift Nemesis is a rotating howitzer, which can pump out shells 
at a high rate of fire over medium range. Unlike vessels whose weapons 
are fixed forward, the Nemesis captain can swivel his gun fore, aft, 
port, star-board, or anywhere in-between. To swivel the gun, the 
player must hold down the Special key and then press the Rotate keys.

This ships most exciting feature is its Space Marines! Encased in 
vacuum-fitted exo-skeletons, these relentless soldiers use their jet 
packs to chase down enemy ships, and then burn entry holes through 
their hulls. When launched (by pressing the Special key and the Fire 
key simultaneously), each departing Marine decreases the Nemesis 
crew by one. Once inside the enemy ship, the Space Marines employ 
basic search-and-destroy tactics, wreaking havoc on the soft 
targets within. When an enemy ship is destroyed, any Marines onboard 
will jet out of the exploding hulk, and return to the Nemesis for 
more fuel and ammunition. Opponents would be wise to remember that 
Space Marines receive special training in using the Leyland Whip 
maneuver, and are exceptionally adept using a planets gravity to 
speed them toward their target.

Druuge Mauler  This ship is perfect for sharp-shooters since its 
only weapon is a high-velocity, very long-range cannon. When fired, 
the recoil of the massive discharge will send the Mauler sailing 
backwards. Should the heavy projectile strike its target, the enemy 
vessel gets a similar shove. The experienced Druuge commander can 
use this recoil effect as a super-thruster. The Druuge Mauler has 
pitifully slow energy regeneration and when unable to shoot the 
ship is a sitting duck. To compensate for this weakness, the Druuge 
has a matter-to-energy converter that transforms crew members into 
instant bursts of power. Each time the special power is activated, 
one crew will be tossed into the furnace.

Zoq-Fot-Pik Stinger  The Zoq-Fot-Pik Stinger is a flimsy ship whose 
main weapon is a spray of minute anti-matter particles which 
annihilate a tiny portion of the enemy ships hull, releasing 
colossal amounts of heat and light.

The Zoq-Fot-Piks special power is a point-blank range attack. 
Should the Stinger maneuver adjacent to an enemy vessel, it can 
quickly extend a rigid, alloy tube from the front of the ship, 
similar to an insects proboscis. If the tube strikes the enemy 
ships exterior, it bores a tiny hole through the hull metal and 
injects a high-pressure stream of hot plasma into the interior of 
the vessel.

Slylandro Probe  The Slylandro Probe tumbles through space 
devouring asteroids and zapping anything it can catch with massive 
electrical dis-charges. Like a shark, the Probe must continually 
move, constantly twisting its invisible magnetic scoops to 
scavenge interstellar hydrogen for its internal fusion generator. 
While the player cannot cause the Probe to stop, the rotational 
controls will cause a change in its trajectory, and the thrust 
control will make the Probe reverse direction instantly. Gravity 
has no effect on this vessel; however, impacting the planet will 
be severely damaging.

The Probes best combat strategy is to first energize its 
lightning batteries by moving close to an asteroid and use its 
special power to pulverize the rock and absorb it as energy. 
Then the Probe must move toward its opponent, dodging all 
incoming missiles. When it has gotten close enough for the 
screen to zoom it to the most magnified view, the Probe should 
unleash its auto-fire lightning until its batteries are 
exhausted, all the while maneuvering to stay behind its opponent.


APPENDIX VI : FLAGSHIP MODULES 
The Multi-Function Modules initially available at the Starbase 
are:

Planetary Lander 	Maximum: 10 
This Module is actually a separate vehicle which you can 
launch from your flagship and send down to a planet surface. 
Although a planet lander appears to have been built to carry a 
crew of 2 Precursors, 12 human crew members can fit inside. You 
may wish to carry more than one lander, since you may lose a 
lander due to hostile conditions on alien planet surfaces.

Thruster 		Maximum: 11 
Thrusters lock into place on your warp outrigger units, 
increasing your acceleration and maximum velocity and making 
travel through space less time-consuming. Fuel cost for 
HyperSpace travel remains constant, regard-less of how many 
thrusters you have on board your vessel.

Turning Jets 	Maximum: 8 
Turning Jets also fit in your outrigger units, but their 
function is to let your flag-ship turn more rapidly. Turning 
Jets are most important for rapid maneuvering in combat.

Crew Pod 		Maximum: 16 
These modules provide living quarters and life-support 
for up to 50 addi-tional crew members. When you purchase 
a Crew Pod, it will be empty. To fill it with new crew, 
visit the SHIPYARDS in the Earth Starbase.

Cargo Bay 		Maximum: 16 
Cargo Bays hold up to 500 units of minerals or other 
cargo each. To see how much available cargo space your 
flagship possesses, use the CARGO command in the 
MANIFEST command menu. To remove a Cargo Bay, it must 
first be emptied, typically by visiting the Starbase 
Commander.

Fuel Tank 		Maximum: 16 
Each Fuel Tank Module holds 50 units of fuel which is 
enough to take your flagship halfway across known 
space. Of course, if you are making a lot of planet 
landings, or are employing a powerful device, you 
may wish to increase your fuel capacity with more 
Tanks. Fuel Tanks are purchased empty, but can be 
filled from the Earth Starbase OUTFIT menu. You can-
not remove a fuel tank module unless it is empty.

Dynamo 		Maximum: 16 
Dynamos are finely engineered pieces of equipment
whose function is to supply raw energy to your 
weapons systems by augmenting your normal combat 
batteries. A classic mistake in ship configuration 
is to load down a vessel with multiple weapons, but 
not include an appropriate number of Dynamos. The 
result is a ship whose firing rate is atrocious.

Ion-Gun Racks 	Maximum: 3 each 
Ion-Gun Racks are poly-channel combat units which 
concentrate the raw energy of your ships batteries 
and Dynamos into a focused destructive projectile. 
Depending on the exact placement of an Ion-Gun Rack 
or other weapon module, the ship will fire in one or 
more directions simultaneously. The most weapons you 
can have on your ship is four. The module slots in 
which you can put a weapon are marked in blue.

WEAPON POSITION 			FIRING EFFECT 
First (right most) slot 	Fires Forward 
Second slot 			Fires a spread 
Third slot 				Fires to both sides 
Last (left most) slot 		Fires backwards

It is recommended that you balance the number of Ion-Gun Racks 
on your vessel with 1/3 to 1/2 as many Dynamo Modules to 
provide your ship with an adequate rate of fire in combat.

Other Modules Maximum: Unknown New types of Modules will 
become available at the Earth Starbase as the game progresses. 
The function and cost of such Modules will be explained as 
they are made available.

Game Credits
Programming 			Fred Ford 
Game Design and Fiction 	Paul Reiche III 
Additional Design 		Greg Johnson, Fred Ford, 
					Robert Leyland and Greg Hammond 
Art 					George Barr, Paul Reiche III, 
					Erol Otus, Kyle Balda, 
					Greg Johnson, and Armand Cabrera 
Sound Effects 			Paul Reiche III, Erol Otus, 
					Fred Ford 
Music 				Riku Nuottajarvi, Dan Nicholson, 
					Marc Brown, Aaron Grier, 
					Eric Berge, Kevin Palivec, Erol 
					Otus and Tommy Dunbar 
Producer 				Pam Levins 
Assistant Producer 		Robert Daly 
Testing 				Tomi Quintana and Joel Dinolt 
Manual 				Paula Polley, Paul Reiche III and 
					Dick Moran 
Manual Illustrations 		Jeff Rianda and George Barr 
Online Manual Adaptation 	W.D. Robinson & Alisa Schaefbauer
Manual Updates 			Harvey Bush, David Foster, Daniel 
					Grove, Josh Huynh, Ray Massa, 
					W.D. Robinson, Bobby Tait


90-DAY WARRANTY
Accolade warrants for a period of 90 days from the date of purchase 
by the orignal purchaser of the Software that the recording medium 
on which it is recorded will be free from defects in materials and 
workmanship. Defective media which has not been subjected to
misuse, excessive wear or damage due to carelessness 
may be returned during the 90 days period without charge.

After the 90-day period, defective media may be replaced in the 
United States for $10 (U.S. dollars; plus 7.75% sales tax if the 
purchaser resides in California). Make checks payable to Strategic 
Simulations, Inc. and return to Accolade, Inc. 5300 Stevens Creek
Blvd, Suite 500, San Jose, CA 94086.

LICENSE AGREEMENT
This computer software product (the Software) and user manual are 
provided to the Customer under license from Accolade, Inc. and are 
subject to the following terms and conditions, to which the Customer 
agrees by opening the package of the Software, or using the Software: 
Granting of this license does not transfer any right, title or 
interest in the Software, or user manual to the Customer except as 
expressly set forth in this License Agreement. The Software and user 
manual may not be duplicated or copied for any reason. The Customer 
may not transfer or resell the Software or user manual.

Star Control II is a trademark of Accolace, Inc. Portions (c)1992 
PaulReiche III & Fred Ford. Game (c)1992 by Accolade, Inc. All 
rights are reserved. Neither the Software nor the user manual may
be duplicated or copied for any reason. The customer may not 
transfer or resell the Software or user manual.

The remedies provided above are the Customer's sole and exclusive 
remedies. In no event shall Accolade, Inc. be liable for any direct, 
indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages with respect 
to the Software or the user manual. Except as provided above, 
Accolade, Inc. makes no warranties, either expressed or implied, 
with respect to the Software or user manual, and expressly disclaims 
all implied warranties, including, without limitation, the warranty 
of marchantability and of fitness for a particular purpose.

All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the properties 
of their respective owners.

