CodexBot: Link corresponding classic in-game help section

2026-10-13T04:54:06Z

Link corresponding classic in-game help section

New page

The '''ROTATE''' command changes a ship's requested heading without changing its requested speed. The turn occurs over subsequent movement updates rather than instantaneously.

== Syntax ==

Classic Galactic Empire 3.1b and later, and all ge-next versions, accept both relative and absolute turns:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
ROTATE relative-turn
ROTATE @heading
</syntaxhighlight>

A relative turn must be from -180 through 180 degrees. Positive values turn to starboard (right), while negative values turn to port (left). An absolute heading must be from 0 through 359 and is prefixed with <code>@</code>.

Examples:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
ROTATE 5
ROTATE -25
ROTATE @90
</syntaxhighlight>

These request a five-degree starboard turn, a 25-degree port turn, and an absolute galactic heading of 90.

Unlike the <code>@heading</code> forms added to [[Warp command|<code>WARP</code>]] and [[Impulse command|<code>IMPULSE</code>]] by ge-next, absolute <code>ROTATE</code> is also available in classic Galactic Empire 3.1b through 3.2e.

== Issuing a turn ==
A relative turn is calculated from the ship's current heading when the command is entered, even if an earlier turn is still in progress. An absolute command sets the requested galactic heading directly. The helm chooses the shorter arc to that heading; an exact 180-degree difference turns starboard. Turning takes place over subsequent ship updates, and a moving ship follows its changing heading. For the heading convention, turn rate, and what happens when speed is changed mid-turn, see [[Rotation and headings]].

<code>ROTATE</code> does not change requested speed. In classic 3.2e and ge-next, a ship may rotate while stopped, moving at impulse, or in hyperspace. Rotation alone does not leave planetary orbit. A damaged helm refuses a new turn.

== Flux cost and feedback ==
Classic 3.2e spends 30 units from the active flux pile for a standalone <code>ROTATE</code> command. Its <code>useenergy()</code> check requires at least 530 units before spending those 30; it does not automatically load a pod. If the pile is below that threshold, the turn is refused until the player reloads flux. The cost is paid when the command is entered, not on each movement update. ge-next charges no flux for rotation.

ge-next reports immediately when <code>ROTATE 0</code> or an absolute command names the ship's current heading; no new turn is ordered. Classic instead spends its 30 units, announces the turn, and sets a target equal to the current heading. With no heading change to process, the usual later completion message does not appear.

ge-next also reports intermediate headings as the turn progresses. Classic normally announces the requested target and then reports when the final heading is reached.

== Classic version history ==

The classic release notes document several stages in the development of rotation.

=== Before release 3.0o ===

Release [[GEREADME.DOC#01/15/93_Release_3.0o|3.0o]] on January 15, 1993 states that rotations in multiples of 20 degrees did not always report when they completed a full rotation cycle. That release corrected the completion-reporting problem.

The note describes a reporting defect rather than a different navigation model: the ship could reach its heading without the expected completion message.

=== Before release 3.1b ===

Classic releases before '''3.1b''' required players to calculate relative turns themselves. Release [[GEREADME.DOC#7/4/93_Release_3.1b|3.1b]] on July 4, 1993 added absolute rotation in the form <code>ROTATE @90</code>. This is why classic supports an absolute heading for <code>ROTATE</code> even though it never gained the corresponding <code>@heading</code> syntax for <code>WARP</code> or <code>IMPULSE</code>.

=== Before release 3.2d ===

Before '''3.2d''', the ship had to be stationary before accepting a rotate command. Release [[GEREADME.DOC#03/06/94_Release_3.2d|3.2d]] on March 6, 1994 changed the command so a moving ship could turn to a new heading.

The 3.2e help text still says that the ship must be stationary. That sentence is stale documentation inherited from the older command behavior. The actual 3.2e code permits rotation at any nonnegative speed, which includes impulse and warp movement.

== See also ==

* [[MBMGEHLP.MSG#HELP_ROTATE|Classic HELP ROTATE]]
* [[Rotation and headings]]
* [[Navigation and scanning]]
* [[Impulse command]]
* [[Warp command]]
* [[Coordinate system]]
* [[Flux]]

{{GE navigation}}
[[Category:Commands]]
[[Category:Navigation]]

Rotate command - Revision history

CodexBot: Link corresponding classic in-game help section