CodexBot: Link corresponding classic in-game help section

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Link corresponding classic in-game help section

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The '''SEND''' command lets players communicate from their ships. Classic Galactic Empire and ge-next provide different communication models.

Classic GE uses three configurable communications presets named '''A''', '''B''', and '''C'''. The setting of the selected preset determines whether a message is a public hail, a local encoded transmission, or a galaxy-wide encoded transmission. ge-next instead makes the destination explicit with '''ALL''', '''TEAM''', and '''ENCODED'''.

== Classic Galactic Empire ==

=== Sending on channels A, B, and C ===

Classic syntax is:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
SEND A message
SEND B message
SEND C message
</syntaxhighlight>

A, B, and C are not three inherently different message types. They are three independent presets in the ship's communications system. Each preset can be set to the general hailing frequency or assigned a numeric frequency:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
FREQ A HAIL
FREQ B 12345
FREQ C 38146
</syntaxhighlight>

The selected preset's current setting controls how the message is routed.

{| class="wikitable"
! Preset setting
! SEND behavior
! Recipients
|-
| <code>HAIL</code> (internally frequency 0)
| General hail
| Every other player ship in the game that has hails enabled
|-
| Frequency 1-19,999
| Local encoded message
| Other ships in the same sector with any one of their A/B/C presets tuned to the same frequency
|-
| Frequency 20,000 or higher
| Hyperspace encoded message
| Other ships anywhere in the galaxy with any one of their A/B/C presets tuned to the same frequency
|}

For example, if channel B is set to 12345, <code>SEND B</code> reaches only ships in the sender's sector that have A, B, or C set to 12345. The receiving ship does not have to use the same letter; the numeric frequency is what must match. If channel C is set to 38146, <code>SEND C</code> uses the galaxy-wide encoded path instead.

Classic displays the sender's ship name and the A/B/C channel letter in the received message. The letter identifies the sender's selected preset, not necessarily the receiver's matching preset.

=== Classic filtering ===

A channel set to <code>HAIL</code> sends a <code>FILTER</code>-class broadcast, which is intended to obey each recipient's <code>SET FILTER</code> option. Classic has a [[Classic bug: Filtered broadcast suppresses later recipients|broadcast-filter bug]] in which a filtered recipient can also prevent later user slots from receiving a hail, even when their own filters are off. Encoded messages use their frequency as the access control and are sent with the <code>ALWAYS</code> class, so <code>SET FILTER ON</code> does not hide them. A player who does not want encoded traffic can tune away from that frequency or return the preset to <code>HAIL</code>.

Because classic checks all three receiving presets, assigning the same numeric frequency to more than one preset is unnecessary. The implementation attempts delivery once for every matching preset, so duplicate tuning can also result in duplicate copies of one message.

== ge-next ==

Starting in ge-next 0.3, <code>SEND</code> replaced the three configurable channel letters with named message types:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
SEND ALL message
SEND TEAM message
SEND ENCODED message
</syntaxhighlight>

The type names may be abbreviated to their first letter: <code>A</code>, <code>T</code>, or <code>E</code>.

The standalone classic <code>FREQ</code> command is explicitly disabled in ge-next; entering <code>FREQ</code> is invalid. Use <code>SEND FREQ</code> instead to view or change the ship's encoded frequency.

=== ALL ===

<code>SEND ALL</code> sends a public hail to every other player ship in the game. The <code>></code> command is a shortcut:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
> message
</syntaxhighlight>

Recipients who use [[Set command|<code>SET DISPLAY HAIL OFF</code>]] do not receive <code>SEND ALL</code> or <code>></code> hails. The sender is not included in the broadcast but receives confirmation that the message was sent.

=== TEAM ===

<code>SEND TEAM</code> sends a message to the online members of the sender's persistent team. The sender must belong to a valid team. Team messages are not public hails and are not suppressed by <code>SET DISPLAY HAIL OFF</code>.

See [[Team command]] for team creation, membership, and the other effects of joining a team.

=== ENCODED ===

<code>SEND ENCODED</code> sends a galaxy-wide message to ships tuned to the same numeric frequency. ge-next ships have one encoded frequency rather than classic's three A/B/C presets.

Use <code>SEND FREQ</code> to inspect or change the current ship's setting:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
SEND FREQ
SEND FREQ 38146
SEND FREQ 0
</syntaxhighlight>

Valid active frequencies are 1 through 65,535. Frequency 0 turns encoded communications off. A ship set to 0 cannot send an encoded message and does not receive frequency-matched messages.

Encoded messages are not suppressed by <code>SET DISPLAY HAIL OFF</code>. A player controls them by selecting a frequency or turning encoded communications off.

Unlike classic, ge-next does not divide encoded frequencies into sector-local and hyperspace ranges. Every active ge-next encoded frequency uses the frequency-matched galaxy-wide path, whether its number is below or above 20,000.

== Comparison ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Capability
! Classic GE
! ge-next
|-
| Public communication
| Set any A/B/C preset to <code>HAIL</code>, then send on that letter
| <code>SEND ALL</code> or <code>></code>
|-
| Team communication
| No distinct SEND destination
| <code>SEND TEAM</code>
|-
| Encoded settings
| Three independently configurable A/B/C presets
| One ship frequency
|-
| Local encoded range
| Frequencies 1-19,999 remain in the current sector
| Not provided; all encoded messages are galaxy-wide
|-
| Galaxy-wide encoded range
| Frequencies 20,000 and above
| Every active frequency from 1-65,535
|-
| Public-hail filtering
| Applies to presets set to <code>HAIL</code>
| Applies to <code>SEND ALL</code> and <code>></code>
|-
| Direct-message filtering
| Encoded traffic is controlled by tuning
| TEAM is delivered to teammates; ENCODED is controlled by tuning
|}

== ge-arena ==

Inside the ge-arena lobby, <code>></code> is the lobby-chat command and is always shown to other lobby users. The full <code>SEND</code> command is not used there. During arena play, public and encoded ship communications use the ge-next model. Persistent <code>SEND TEAM</code> is unavailable because current arena modes do not use the standard persistent team database; future team modes will require match-specific team communication.

== See also ==

* Classic help: [[MBMGEHLP.MSG#HELP_SEND|SEND]], [[MBMGEHLP.MSG#HELP_FREQ|FREQ]]
* [[Set command]]
* [[Team command]]

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

Send command - Revision history

CodexBot: Link corresponding classic in-game help section