Playing Starship

Overview

Your mission as a starship commander is one of acquisition. You are hired by
your civilization's government to establish a foothold on planets that were
unclaimed after the war.  These planets are infested by hostile beings who
have no allegiance to any civilization, whatsoever.  In order to prepare
these planets for future colonization by your government (and to earn cash
for purchasing a more powerful arsenal) you must rid each planet of these
hostile beings, and build an isolation grid to seal off the planet.


Your starting position is located in a sector of the galaxy that is in total
chaos, filled with many competing factions.  There are hundreds of worlds in
this sector, but only fifty of those planets have been identified as suitable
for future colonization.  Getting to these worlds will not be easy.  Your only
defense is your personal arsenal and access to starbases.  The starbases were
built by an alliance of twelve civilizations in order to provide a place for
trade and cultural exchanges.  Unfortunately, these bases have now degenerated
into little more than a forum for weapons and construction trade, with the
possibility of advances through cultural exchange almost nonexistent.

Gameplay
There are two major components of gameplay: Space Combat and Ground Combat.

Space Combat.  The space combat section is used for both navigation and combat.
The navigation component is used to locate starbases and planets, and to direct
ships within docking/landing range.  When navigating around the galaxy there is
a high probability of encountering hostile alien starships bent on your
destruction.  In the combat component, the player may access his ship's
weapons systems for the purpose of defending his ship and for attacking enemy
ships.  While in combat mode, the player may obtain additional credits for
disabling, boarding and defeating enemy ships.

Ground Combat.  The primary objective of ground combat is to secure all 50
planets for your civilization.  To do so, the player must send an Away Team to
each planet to destroy all alien beings in the area and build an isolation grid
to fully secure the planet.  While combat is occurring on the planet, the
player should also obtain weapons, ammunition, and medical kits.  (Weapons and
ammunition may be added to the player's inventory, however, only weapons
may be resold at the local starbase.  Medical kits are used during ground
combat to bring a crew member's health back to excellent condition.)

Systems Operations - Main Menu.
A cinematic introduction will begin after Starship is loaded.  If you wish to
skip subsequent introductions, press any key on the keyboard.  Following the
introduction, the main menu will appear.  At the main menu you have the option
to simply begin a New game, Resume an old game, or Exit Starship.

Commander Registration.  At this screen you will select a commander from one of
twelve worlds.  Keep in mind that each commander has specific characteristics
which affect game play.  Your ship's operation and abilities also depend on the
commander you have selected.

Note:  Each commander has a basic ship, space and ground weaponry, and crew
already provided.  However, if you wish to change this default configuration,
you may do so at the Starbase Menu.

Click on the scroll arrows to scroll through the profiles of the commanders
that are available.  Click on ACCEPT to register the commander you have chosen.

Starbase Menu

After selecting your commander you will be taken to the Starbase menu.  The
Starbase is your lifeline.  This is where ships, weaponry and crew may be
bought and sold.  Simply click on any of the objects on the menu to access a
particular function.

Notes:  If you are starting a new game, you may proceed directly to the
elevator doors in order to board your starship and leave the starbase.  (When
you choose a commander, you are equipped with a basic ship, weaponry and crew.)
Take care when selecting the sun (exit) on the Starbase menu, as this will end
the current game in progress.

Copy Protection.  After you have ventured into space, conquered your first
planet, and returned to the starbase, you will be asked a specific question
regarding one of the weapon systems listed in the appendices in this User's
Guide.  When prompted to do so, locate the page number, line number, and word
from the appendices in order to determine the proper copy protections access
code.  If you enter the correct response, you may gain access to the starbase
in order to equip or repair your starship.

Note: If you enter an incorrect access code, your command privileges will be
revoked, and your ship will be confiscated.

Ship Editor and Damage Control.  Select this option when you wish to purchase,
sell or repair your starship and weapons.

The Ship Editor and Damage Control screen consists of four quadrants.

Initially, the two quadrants on the right-hand side of the screen will be of
interest to you because all ships and related hardware are purchased there.
The top right quadrant shows pictures of the starships that are available for
purchase.  Use the scroll arrows located below the picture box to scroll
through the available ships.  To the left of the picture box are the stats for
any ship in the picture box, including the name, cost, and damage of the ship.
If you have sufficient funds to buy an available ship, you can click on the BUY
button located on the lower left-hand side of the quadrant.

The lower right quadrant shows pictures of any available options.  Along the
left side of the picture are stats on the option's name, cost, power level, and
ammo.  You may flip through your current inventory using the scroll arrows
above the picture.

You may purchase options by clicking on the BUY button.

Note:  Ship shielding and engines are based on the ship purchased.  Therefore,
the larger the ship, the stronger the shield and engine.

The two left-hand quadrants show stats on currently owned ships and options.

The top left quadrant shows a top-down view of your current ship, its name, its
resale value, and its damage level, as well as a REPAIR/RELOAD button, which
repairs your ship and shields, and reloads weapons.  A button is also provided
to sell the currently owned ship.  When you click and hold the left mouse
button over the REPAIR/RELOAD button, damage is repaired and weapons are
reloaded a little at a time, enabling you to specify the amount of money spent
repairing and reloading the equipment.  Your available funds appear between the
top and lower left quadrants and increase or decrease as items are sold, 
purchased, repaired, or reloaded.

The lower left-hand quadrant of the Ship Editor screen shows pictures of any
add-on options that have been purchased.  Along the right side of the picture
are stats on the option's name, resale value, power level, and ammo.  You may
flip through your current inventory using the scroll arrows above the picture.
Options may be sold by clicking on the SELL button.

Click on the red "close" gadget located in the upper left-hand portion of the
screen to exit the Ship Editor screen.

Crew.  Select this option to hire and fire crew for your starship.

Click the scroll arrows in the AVAILABLE OFFICERS box to scroll through the
profiles of the various officers.  The cost of each crew member is displayed in
the lower right-hand portion of the screen.

Click the triple up arrows in the AVAILABLE OFFICERS box to purchase the crew
member whose profile is currently being displayed.  Your newly hired crew
member will appear in the CURRENT OFFICER box, and the amount of the purchase
will be deducted from your total amount of credits.

HINT:  Engineers are essential in building isolation barriers in Ground Combat.

Click the scroll arrows in the CURRENT OFFICERS box to scroll through the
officers that you have hired.

If you wish, you may assign chief officers to command a particular station,
such as Navigation or Science.  Click on one of the station names (NAVIGATION,
TACTICAL, etc.) located in the upper portion of the screen to place the officer
currently located in the CURRENT OFFICER box in the CHIEF OFFICERS box.

Note:  The chief crew which are placed in command for your ship, DO affect the
overall speed, repair, and operations of your starship.

To dismiss a member of your crew, click on the scroll arrows in the CURRENT
OFFICER box in order to locate the crew member you wish to dismiss.  Then click
on the triple right arrows which point to the box in the lower right-hand
corner of the screen.

Note:  When a crew member is dismissed, the money spent on the crew member is
not returned to you.

Click on the "close" gadget located in the upper left-hand portion of the
screen to exit the Crew screen.

Shop.  This option enables you to purchase ground assault weapons for your
crew.

Click on the scroll arrows in the SHOP CARGO box to scroll through the
available ground assault weapons.  Notice that the cost of each weapon is
displayed in the box next to the triple left arrows.  Click the triple left
arrows to purchase the currently displayed weapon.  The cost of the weapon is
deducted from your total credits, and the image is displayed in the YOUR CARGO
box.

Click on the scroll arrows in the YOUR CARGO box to scroll through the weapons
that you have purchased.

After you have purchased each weapon, the resale value of the weapon is
displayed in the box next to the triple right arrows.  Notice that the resale
value is less than the original cost of the weapon.  Click on the triple right
arrows to sell a purchased weapon back to the starbase shop.

Click on the "close" gadget located in the upper left-hand portion of the
screen to exit the Shop screen.

Bridge.  Select this option to proceed to the bridge of your starship.

Files.  Select this option to access the files menu.  To load a file, click on
the file you wish to load and select the LOAD button.


To save a game in progress, move the cursor to the next available line in the
list of filenames, click the left mouse button, enter the filename, and click
on the SAVE button.


Click on the "close" gadget located in the upper left-hand portion of the
screen to exit the Files screen.

Main Menu.  Select this option to return to the main menu.


The Space Combat System: Tactical View

Once your ship has left the starbase, you will access the Tactical View screen.

Tactical View may be used in two ways:

1)  To maneuver your starship to a planet or starbase
2)  To engage in combat with enemy ships

If you are starting your first mission, you will want to keep space combat to a
minimum, and use Tactical primarily for navigation purposes. Navigation may be
achieved by clicking on the NAVIGATION button in the upper right hand portion
of the Tactical View screen.

Tactical Interface. The Tactical View interface is composed of a play area,
damage status, radar screen, weapons stations, 3 active weapons, shield
direction strength, and ship speed.

Play Area.  This is where the action takes place.  All visual movements of both
your ship and the enemy's ship are displayed here.

Damage Status.  This bar indicates the level of damage inflicted upon your
ship.  As your ship is damaged, the indicator will change from green, to
yellow, to red.  Should your indicator reach maximum damage, your ship will be
destroyed.

Note:  Depending upon the skill of the engineering officer you have chosen
as your chief officer, your starship will repair itself while in tactical mode.

Radar Screen.  This screen shows the objects in your current area.  The
appropriate dots indicate the following:

Brown: Planets, Starbase, ship hulls or space debris
Red: Enemy ships
Green: Navigation pointer

Weapons Stations.  Depending on the ship you have purchased, each ship has the
capacity to handle from 6 to 12 weapons stations.  Arming each station will produce
a different weapon, depending on the inventory and weapons purchased from the
starbase.

Shield Strength.  Shield strength is determined by the color and size of the
box surrounding the ship icon.  Green indicates maximum strength, yellow
indicates intermediate strength, and red indicates minimum strength.  Damage
causes the box around the ship icon to oscillate more rapidly.

Ship Speed.  By changing the level of the indicator, this causes the ship's
speed to increase or decrease.  To alter your ship speed, simply slide the
power level up or down.  Pressing keyboard keys 1 through 10 will also increase
or decrease ship speed.

Maneuvering.  Place the pointer anywhere on tactical screen and press the left
mouse button.  This will cause your starship to navigate towards the green
crosshairs located on the radar section of the display.  You may also hold down
the left mouse button to manually navigate your ship.

To view different areas of the tactical sector in which your ship is located,
position the cursor over the radar box, press the left mouse button, and drag
the box to the proper location.  To center your ship in the viewing area once
again, simply press the SPACEBAR.  You may also move the radar box by pressing
the following keys:

U  I  O
J  K  L
M  ,  .

Firing Ship Weapons.  To fire the selected weapon, simply place the cursor over
the target and press the right mouse button.  The selected weapon will fire in
that direction.

Note:  You must take into account the enemy ship's speed and direction during
combat.  Your accuracy also depends on the officer you have placed in charge of
tactical.

Using Tactical to Navigate to a Planet or Starbase.  Click on the NAVIGATION
button  in the upper right-hand corner of the Tactical View screen to chart
your course in your quest to conquer all 50 planets in the current sector of
the universe.  Initially, only a small portion of the Navigation map is
revealed to you, but as you continue to explore the universe, the areas you
have explored will appear on the map.

While exploring the universe, you will encounter several classifications of
planets, as well as a starbase indicator, to let you know what is in the
general vicinity.  To travel to a particular location, simply place the cursor
in the area where you wish to travel.  Your objective here is to locate as many
of the gold "unknown" planets as possible.

When you have selected your destination, click the ENGAGE button, and an
animation sequence will begin.  When the animation is complete, you will be
returned to the navigation screen once again.  At this point, you may choose
to journey to another destination or you may exit the Navigation screen by
clicking on the "close" gadget located in the upper left-hand corner of the
screen.  When you decide to exit the Navigation screen, you will return to the
Tactical View screen where you may manually maneuver your ship to the planet or
starbase you have chosen, or you may choose AUTOPILOT to automatically maneuver
your ship.

Note:  Your ship's efficiency and power level will determine the distance you
may travel in space.  In other words, the larger the ship you purchase, the
greater distance you will be able to travel.

After selecting a planet or starbase as your destination from the Navigation
screen, you must access the Tactical View screen to maneuver your ship to your
chosen destination.  In order to land on a planet or starbase, you must
maneuver your ship close to the starbase or planet until the LAND/DOCK button
in the upper portion of the screen is highlighted  Once this occurs, you should
slow your ship's speed and click on the LAND/DOCK button. 

Note:  If you encounter alien ships while maneuvering to a planet or starbase,
you will not be able to land until you destroy all of these ships.  If you
attempt to leave the Tactical screen, at this point, the following message is
displayed:
Sector not secure!

Land/Dock. Select this option to dock with a planet or starship (when in
range), and issue landing orders to your crew.  The following screen will then
enable you to select the crew you wish to take aboard the captured starship or
to the surface of a planet.

Click the scroll arrows in the lower portion of the AVAILABLE CREW box to
scroll through your available crew members.  Click the triple right arrows
above the pictured crew member to select him or her for your Away Team crew.
The selected crew member will appear in the lower portion of the AWAY TEAM box.

Click the scroll arrows in the upper portion of the AVAILABLE CREW box to
scroll through your current inventory of ground weapons.  Click the triple
right arrows below the pictured weapon to select that weapon for the crew
member that is currently pictured in the AWAY TEAM box.  The selected weapon
will appear in the lower portion of the AWAY TEAM box to the right of the
current Away Team crew member, indicating that the crew member is now armed
with this weapon.

When all of your selections have been made, click the LAUNCH button to initiate
a ship-based or ground-based combat assault.

Using Tactical to Engage in Space Combat.  You will obtain credits during space
combat by first destroying each alien vessel and then selecting the docking
option to dock with the ship.  After eliminating all alien crew members, a
message will appear informing you of the amount of credits which you have
earned.  When combat occurs on the alien spacecraft, you are able to obtain
weapons, ammunition, and medical kits.  (Weapons and ammunition may be added
to the player's inventory, however, only weapons may be resold at the local
starbase.  Medical kits are used to bring a crew member's health back to
excellent condition.)

Note: 
In order to dock or engage an enemy starship in on-board combat, you
MUST maneuver your ship alongside the enemy ship and maintain his EXACT speed.
At this point, the LAND/DOCK button will be highlighted. Click on the LAND/DOCK
button to select a landing party for on-board combat.

When you board an enemy ship, the combat interface is the same as that found in
Ground Combat, except that your engineers will not be required to build
isolation grids.  Please refer to the section entitled, The Ground Combat
System for more information.

If you are unsuccessful in commanding your ship in space combat and you are
destroyed, the following message will appear: 

Your Ship's a total Loss!  Command Privileges Revoked!
Report to Starbase for Retraining.

You will then be returned to the Starship Main Menu, where you will have the
option of starting a new game, resuming a previously saved game, or exiting
Starship.

The Ground Combat System

Upon landing on the planet surface, your Away Team has three areas of
responsibility:

To dispatch Engineers to each corner of the planet map to successfully activate
an isolation grid

To destroy all alien creatures who are defending the planet

To obtain weapons, ammunition and medical kits.


Ground Combat Interface.  The ground combat interface screen is composed of a
play area, crew member rank and action, crew member damage, ground radar, a
ground weapon inventory, active weapons, and crew member action buttons.

Play Area.  This is where the action takes place.  All visual movements of all
crew and enemies are displayed here.

Crew Member Rank and Action.  This indicates the status and action of the
current selected crew member.  The possible actions are, move, attack, defend,
pick up item, and drop item.


Note: All crew members other than engineers will be considered as security
personnel during ground combat.

Crew Member Damage.  This indicator shows the current damage of the crew member
selected.  Conditions are green for normal, yellow for injured, and red for
critical.

Ground Radar.  This screen shows the objects in your current area.  The
appropriate dots indicate the following:

Light Blue:  All outside ground Areas. - Arctic, Lunar, Volcanic, Martian,
             Desert, Tropical 

Red:  All enemies

Light Gray:  Base Tiles, enemy installations

White:  Your Crew

Weapons in Use.  Click on the appropriate green button to select an active
weapon.  Only one weapon may be active at any one time.

Maneuvering.  To select a crew member, click on the character with the left
mouse button.  Then select the action which you want the crew member to
perform.

Click ATTACK or Press A to Move to a location and then attack. (You can only
attack the enemy when he is near a crew member.)

Click MOVE or Press M to Move to a location then stop.

Click DEFEND or press D to Stay at location and defend.

Click PICK UP or press P to pick up an object.

Click DROP or press R to Drop the currently selected weapon.

Note: Use the SPACE BAR to quickly locate each crew member on a given ground
mission.

Firing Ground Weapons.  Crew members will automatically fire if not manually
controlled.  However, when the current crew member is selected, you will have
full control over firing speed and accuracy.  To fire your weapon manually,
select the character, place the cursor over the target, and then press the
right mouse button.

Note: When firing ground weapons, small puffs of smoke indicate a "miss;" large
red explosions indicate a "hit."

Building the Isolation Grid.  The primary objective of ground combat is to
secure each planet by erecting an isolation grid.  To do so, you must dispatch
your Engineers to the four corner sections on the planet map to begin
construction.  Completion of the isolation grid will proceed automatically,
provided that your Away Team is successful in their quest to destroy the enemy
on the planet.

Note: Success in building an isolation grid is dependent upon the health and
ability of your engineers.  If an engineer is hurt or is rated as "average," he
or she may not be able to build the isolation grid.

The Conclusion of a Successful Ground Campaign.  If you should successfully win
control of the planet, an animation showing the activation of the isolation
grid will occur.  A screen will then appear allowing you to name the planet as
well as the amount of credits which you have received as a result of victory.
After which, you will be returned to the bridge of your starship where you may
launch your next ground or space combat assault.

Termination of an Unsuccessful Ground Campaign.  If your crew is unable to
capture the planet, or unable to do so because of manpower or lack of weapons,
you may terminate the current ground campaign by clicking on the red "close"
button and selecting "yes" to verify this action.

