=====================================================
What's Stars! all about?
-----------------------------------------------------
Stars! is the only full-blown interstellar strategy game for Microsoft
Windows that's fast-paced and simple to play while allowing you to carry out
complex and clever strategies. You'll build starships, discover and colonize
new planets, research new technologies, manage the essential elements of
world economies, defend your empire and (no guarantees here) destroy all
your enemies. One or more people can play, on a single machine, across a
network, over modems, email or computer bulletin boards.  Complex computer
players are available for both single and multi player games.

A tutorial and an extensive help file will get you up to speed in no time.
To begin the tutorial, start Stars!, press the New Game button and select
Begin Tutorial.

=====================================================
Stars! Highlights
-----------------------------------------------------
   - 6 Different interlocking research categories with about 16 Tech
     Levels each!
   - Up to 16 players!
   - 27 fully configurable unique ship hulls to build custom ships!
   - Extended orders for ship movement allowing automation of menial
     tasks!
   - 4 Different levels of Computer players!
   - 22 different race advantages/disadvantages to tune a race!
   - Customizable races!
   - Configurable battle plans!

=====================================================
How do I setup Stars!?
-----------------------------------------------------
Place STARS!.EXE and STARS!.HLP in the same directory.  Run STARS!.EXE
for both single and multi-player games.  Create a Program Manage icon
for STARS!.EXE and you're ready to go.

The file COMMDLG.DLL has been provided in case you do not already have
one installed in your \windows\system directory.  If you do not have
COMMDLG.DLL installed, you may experience problems trying to open and
save Stars! games.  Copy this file to your \windows\system directory
to rectify these problems.

=====================================================
What are the system requirements for running Stars!?
-----------------------------------------------------
Operating Systems Supported:
   Microsoft Windows 3.1, 3.11, and 3.11 WFW
   Microsoft Windows NT
   Microsoft Windows 95

Memory requirements:
   4MB RAM
   8MB is preferred

Disk space requirement:
   4MB for program and help files

Video display:
   Color displays only
   800x600x256 or better is strongly recommended
   640 by 480 is playable but cramped
   16 color mode decreases bitmap clarity

=====================================================
How do I order the full version of Stars?
-----------------------------------------------------
Read ORDER.TXT for ordering information, or check out the Help menu
inside of Stars!

=====================================================
What is shareware software all about?
-----------------------------------------------------
This version of Stars! is Shareware.  You can evaluate this product for up
to 30 days without obligation; however, if you plan to continue using it
after 30 days, you must register.

Millions of computer users have found shareware to be the safest and most
risk-free way to buy software.  Independent shareware authors, like
Ultimate Software, allow computer users to try out a program before buying
it.  Computer users can obtain a shareware copy of Stars! (or other
shareware programs) for no-charge from a BBS or a friend, or for a small
charge from a shareware disk vendor, retail store or flea market.  If you
find a shareware program to be useful and plan to continue using it after an
evaluation period, then you are required to register it with the program's
author.  This will entitle you to receive the latest full-featured version
of Stars!

=====================================================
What's new for Version 1.10?
-----------------------------------------------------
So what's this upgrade all about?
---------------------------------
After Stars! initial release we've been flooded with feedback from users 
telling us what they liked about Stars! and what they didn't.  Many of 
the requests were for things we've already planned to do in future 
versions, but a small core of requests came up repeatedly and we felt 
that we needed to address them before the next major release.

Does that mean you've found a bunch of bugs?
--------------------------------------------
Suprisingly, no.  This update does fix a few minor bugs, but that isn't 
the main purpose of the update.

So why are you releasing this upgrade?
--------------------------------------
It turns out that we had a few more things to learn about how BBS/PBM 
games are conducted.  People told us that the games of this genre 
typically generate only 1 turn per day, or 3 turns per week.  Further, 
many bulletin boards don't run under Windows, so additional support was 
needed to automate turn generation during scheduled maintenance 
downtime.  We also received numerous requests that the Shareware version 
be allowed to generate turns for registered players without crippling 
their technology.  This would allow BBS operators to operate full BBS 
games without having to make an investment in a registered version.  
This release was designed to meet these needs.

What are the new BBS features?
------------------------------
* The advanced game wizard now has an "Accelerated BBS Play" checkbox.  
Selecting this option will significantly speed game play and give people 
more things to do from the start.
* New command line flags were added to allow Stars! to generate turns 
for multiple games as part of a DOS batch file that starts Windows up, 
does the processing, then terminates Windows.
* Both the shareware and registered EXE may be used to host games 
regardless of whether individual players are registered or not.  
Advanced game setup options and custom race creation must still be done 
by players with registered copies.
* The shareware version defaults to Moderate for the starting distance 
between players.

Is there anything else in this upgrade?
---------------------------------------
Stars! is a work in progress.  We are always making changes.  With 1.1, 
you get the features we’d already coded and tested after releasing 1.0, 
along with the new features we implemented based on your requests.  
We’re including these in this release because, well, there’s no reason 
not to.  

So what are the other features we'll get with Version 1.10?
-----------------------------------------------------------
* VCR improvements.  We’ve added additional fleet information. Attacks 
now have some animation to help make attack sequences easier to 
understand.
* Scanner mode improvements.  You can turn modes like radar coverage, 
fleet view and planet names on and off independently of each other.  A 
new mode that displays planets based on population has been added.
* Cloaking has been reworked.  Cloaks may now be used to help cloak 
uncloaked ships in the same fleet.
* Various item costs and abilities have been tweaked to improve game 
play.  For example, the mineral costs of some of the lower tech beam 
weapons has decreased slightly.
* The host mode dialog now displays more information about player status 
for network games.

Did you fix any bugs in this release?
-------------------------------------
We fixed all 8 reproducable bugs that people have reported to us.  None 
of these were major, or caused a crash or data corruption.  There have 
been other bugs reported that appear to be problems with specific 
display drivers.  We appreciate any and all bug reports and investigate 
them all.

How do we send you bug reports, suggestions, and feedback?
----------------------------------------------------------
You can mail them to Star Crossed Software, or you can email them to 
Jeff_McBride@msn.com.  Remember that msn is a beta product and often 
there are delays and mail can be lost.  This was why we didn't initially 
publish an email address for comments.

What's the deal with your Web Site?
-----------------------------------
We're waiting on Ma Bell to install a 56k line.  They promise it will be 
in by June 12.  If you try http://www.webmap.com/stars! at 12:01 am on 
June 12 and it isn't there, try again in a few days.  We're working on 
it.  Really.

Are you going to put out the player’s guide in a printable form?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Yes.  It will be available on our web site and we'll distribute it at 
various FTP sites.

How do I patch my registered version?
-------------------------------------
Place the patch.exe and stars!11.upd in the same directory as your 
registered version 1.00 of Stars!.  Run patch.

If I upgrade, do all the other players in my game need to upgrade?
------------------------------------------------------------------
This version is backward compatible with Version 1.00.  However, Version 
1.00 will NOT read files created by Version 1.10.  Do NOT upgrade until 
AFTER the host of your game has generated a new turn with the new 
version.  If in doubt, back up your game files before upgrading.  If you 
open a 1.00 game and look around and save, and the host hasn't upgraded 
to 1.10, your history file will be ignored and you will lose all data 
about previously visited planets.

The previous description was confusing.  Can you restate that?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sure.  If you are playing a game against computer players, upgrade and 
things will just work.  If you are playing a multi-player game.  Wait 
for the host to tell you that they have generated the new turn with the 
new host.  Then upgrade.

Do I have to pay for this upgrade?
----------------------------------
This upgrade will be distributed free of charge across the net.  If you 
don't have access to the internet, Star Crossed Software will provide 
you a patch disk for $5, which includes shipping and handling if you are 
in the US.

Ok, how do these new features actually work?
--------------------------------------------
* Accelerated BBS Play. 
This appears in the New Game Setup. When you check this box, the 
following happens
1) Players start out with a population 4 times larger than normal.
2) All planets have 20% more minerals.
3) Planets with poor mineral densities are improved by a few percentage 
points.
4) The default starting distance between players is now "Moderate".

What this means is that you can build 5 to 10 ships your first turn if 
you choose, complete research up to 2 tech levels a year, and in general 
jump-start the game.  You don't need to worry about running out of 
colonists if you want to send out a bunch of colony ships at the 
beginning of the game.
In practice, games with this option have a lot more decisions to be made 
from turn 1 on.  The first 10 turns accomplish what usually takes about 
30 to 50 turns.  Games with this option usually have a winner emerging 
before turn 100.  The disadvantage to this option is that some of the 
subtlety of Stars! is lost.  You don't have to make as many of the early 
resource tradeoffs that have a large impact on your later strategy.  
Most BBS games will find that this disadvantage is outweighed by the 
faster pace.

* New Stars! command line flags
-x                 Exit Windows when Stars! exits.
-b games.txt       Generate turns for each game listed in games.txt

For example if your BBS is OS/2, NT or Windows-based you can launch 
Stars! with the -b <filename> parameter to batch generate turns for 
multiple games.  Stars! will automatically exit when the last turn has 
been generated.  The file listing the games should contain one game name 
per line including the full path like so:

c:\games\stars!\play\frenzy.hst
c:\games\stars!\play\game.hst
c:\user\john\stars!\killer.hst

You can name this batch list anything you want.
If you are running a DOS based BBS but have some version of Windows 
installed on the machine, you can launch Windows and Stars! from a 
nightly maintenance script like this:

win c:\games\stars!\stars!.exe -x -b c:\games\stars!\gamelist.txt

This will launch Windows and Stars!, generate a turn for each game 
listed in gamelist.txt, and exit Stars! and Windows.  If you have 
Windows for Workgroups installed you need to use the /n parameter for 
windows:

win /n c:\games\stars!\stars!.exe -x -b c:\games\stars!\gamelist.txt

This will prevent Windows for loading any of its network drivers and 
suppress its login prompt.
If you only need to generate a turn for a single game you can still use 
the -g gamename.hst parameter with or without -x.
The -x flag is for 16-bit Windows only. Behaviour of the -x flag on 
OS/2, Windows NT, or Windows 95 is undefined and probably not what you 
want.

* Shareware version may host registered players
Version 1.00 allowed this as well, but would peg all player's tech 
levels to 10.  Version 1.10 will allow registered players to progress up 
to tech level 26.  Shareware players will still be limited to 10.

* VCR improvements
First, a note:  These improvements do not purport to turn the VCR into 
the best thing since sliced bread.  They are incremental improvements 
that you're getting because they were completed at the time we did the 
patch.  These improvements are only a small fraction of the changes 
we're planning for the next version.  That said, they significantly 
enhance players' understanding of battles.

Attacks are now animated.  Laser and torpedo fire are shown to give a 
better representation of who's attacking whom.
The status text to the right of the board now displays the tactic being 
employed by the active ship.  This helps you figure out what your 
opponent is trying to do.

Clicking on the VCR selects the ship in the square (right-clicking 
brings up a list).  A button has been added in the status area that pops 
up a picture of the hull of the selected ship.

The battle plan option "spread out" is a more aggressive at spreading 
your ship stacks out.

* Scanner mode improvements
A new scanner mode, Population Value, has been added.  This mode 
displays planets you own in green, planets owned by friends in yellow, 
and planets owned by neutrals and enemies in red.  The bigger the 
circle, the larger the population.

There are now 5 base scanner modes:
Normal View -- the standard view your planets and ships view
Planet Value -- planet size depends on habitability
Minerals at Planet -- pie charts of minerals at the planet
Population View -- planet size depends on population
No Player Information View -- hides all traces of planet ownership in 
the scanner

The above modes are exclusive w.r.t. each other.  The following 5 modes 
can be overlaid in any combination:  Add Waypoint, Radar, Fleet View, 
Ship Filter, Planet Names.

Ship Filter has been expanded to allow multiple ships to be displayed.

* Cloaking Changes
Cloaking can now be shared by an entire fleet.  The cloaking percentage 
of a fleet is now displayed in the Fleet Composition tile, except when 
in small screen mode.

Cloaking percentage is calculated as follows:
In order for matter to be cloaked, it requires a certain number of 
cloaking units per kT:
100 units/kT   50%    cloaked
300 units/kT   75%    cloaked
600 units/kT   87.5%  cloaked
1000 units/kT  93.75% cloaked

Cloaking can never exceed 95%
Between those reference points, cloaking percentage is linear.  40 units 
cloak at 20%, 180 units cloak at 60%, etc.

Ship Cloak units are the sum of all cloaking devices on the ship:
Transport Cloak (50%)     100 units/kT
Stealth Cloak (40%)        80 units/kT
Super-Stealth Cloak (65%) 220 units/kT
Ultra-Stealth Cloak (75%) 300 units/kT
Chameleon Scanner (20%)    40 units/kT

The total number of Cloaking units for a ship is obtained by multiplying 
the Cloak units by the weight of the ship without cargo.

To determine the percentage a fleet is cloaked, sum up the total number 
of cloaking units in the fleet and divide by the mass of the fleet, 
including fuel and cargo.

Example:  A small freighter with a Quick Jump 5 engine, Tritanium Armor, 
and a Transport Cloak weighs 90kT empty.  This freighter has 100 
units/kT * 90kT = 9000 units of cloaking. 

By itself, empty, the freighter is visible to enemy scanners at only 50% 
of their maximum range.

If you completely fill the freighter with fuel and cargo, the ship now 
weighs 360kT.  Its cloaking units/kT are 9000 / 360 = 25 units/kT.  The 
freighter is now only 12.5% cloaked.

Now assume that the empty freighter is placed in a fleet with an empty 
scout that has a Quick Jump 5 engine, Laser, and a Bat Scanner, which 
weighs 15kT when empty.  The entire fleet weighs 105kT, so traveling 
together, this fleet would be 9000 / 105 = 85.7 units/kT approximately 
43% cloaked.

* Part cost changes
You can view these in the tech browser.  We will also be publishing this 
data in table form in the printable documentation.  Nothing major, just 
changing production costs slightly to improve the game balance.

* Host dialog improvements
The host dialog now displays player's status as dead if they have been 
eliminated and no longer waits for a turn to be turned in from deceased 
players.
The dialog also shows the status of players who have saved turn changes, 
but not marked their log file as turned in.

Will these changes ever appear in the player's guide?
-----------------------------------------------------
Yes, we'll be updating the player's guide and making it available on our 
Web site.
