CodexBot: Link corresponding classic in-game help section

2026-10-13T04:54:04Z

Link corresponding classic in-game help section

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The '''WARP''' command sets a ship's requested warp speed and may also set a new course. The ship accelerates and turns over subsequent movement updates; the command does not move it instantly.

== Syntax ==

Classic Galactic Empire and ge-next both accept a relative turn:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
WARP speed [relative-turn]
</syntaxhighlight>

The relative turn must be from -180 through 180 degrees. Positive values turn to starboard (right), while negative values turn to port (left).

ge-next additionally accepts an absolute galactic heading:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
WARP speed @heading
</syntaxhighlight>

The <code>@heading</code> form is '''only available in ge-next'''. Classic Galactic Empire does not recognize <code>@</code> with the <code>WARP</code> or [[Impulse command|<code>IMPULSE</code>]] commands. In classic, use [[Rotate command|<code>ROTATE @heading</code>]], allow the ship to turn, and then issue <code>WARP</code> without a heading.

Examples:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
WARP 5
WARP 10 5
WARP 20 -10
WARP 8 @90
WARP 0
</syntaxhighlight>

These request warp 5 without a new turn, warp 10 with a five-degree starboard turn, warp 20 with a ten-degree port turn, warp 8 on absolute heading 90 in ge-next, and a complete stop.

The classic help file gives <code>355</code> as an example of a five-degree port turn. The actual classic validation accepts only -180 through 180, so the working form is <code>-5</code>.

== Requested speed and heading ==

The command stores a target speed and target heading. Acceleration and rotation then proceed independently toward those targets. A ship may therefore be turning while it accelerates, and its path curves until the requested heading is reached.

Acceleration is determined primarily by ship class. Deceleration occurs at twice the normal acceleration rate. An available acceleration booster upgrade is available in ge-next, doubling both acceleration and deceleration rates.

Omitting the heading behaves differently between versions:

* In classic, <code>WARP speed</code> acts as a relative turn of zero from the ship's current heading. This replaces the pending target heading and cancels a turn already in progress.
* In ge-next, omitting the heading preserves the existing target heading. A turn already in progress continues while the ship changes speed.

A damaged helm refuses the command because it cannot accept either the speed or heading order. ge-next's [[Stop command|<code>STOP</code>]] command can still initiate an emergency stop when the helm is damaged, but the ship will be unable to move again until the helm is repaired.

Classic rejects every <code>WARP</code> command from a class with no warp drive, including <code>WARP 0</code>. ge-next rejects nonzero warp requests from such a class but permits <code>WARP 0</code> as a stopping order.

Issuing a valid <code>WARP</code> command while orbiting a planet breaks orbit and cancels any planetary maintenance in progress.

== Entering and leaving hyperspace ==

Warp 1 is the threshold for hyperspace. The ship enters hyperspace when its actual speed accelerates across that threshold, not when the command is first entered. It returns to normal space when deceleration carries it below warp 1.

Hyperspace changes which combat systems are available. Torpedoes and ordinary phasers cannot be fired there, while compatible phaser systems operate as hyper-phasers. Shields and cloaking cannot operate in hyperspace. Missiles can continue pursuing a target across the transition. See [[Warp travel]] for the full movement and combat effects.

== Speed limits ==

Each ship class has a rated maximum warp. The ship's current safe maximum may be lower when its warp drive is damaged. A drive reduced to a maximum of zero cannot provide warp power, leaving only impulse propulsion until repaired.

The rated maximum is a safe cruising speed rather than an absolute command limit. With an undamaged drive, the game normally accepts requests up to the class maximum plus half of that maximum, using integer arithmetic. A class rated for warp 20 can therefore request as much as warp 30. Speeds above the safe maximum are overspeed operation and can damage the drive.

The classic help describes speed as being between 0 and 50, but the actual limit is determined by the ship's class and current warp-drive condition.

== Overspeed ==

The command can accept a speed above the drive's current safe maximum. This risks degrading or destroying the warp drive: classic GE uses random warnings and abrupt reductions, while ge-next accumulates damage gradually. Reducing speed stops further overspeed damage but does not repair damage already sustained. See [[Warp travel#Overspeed]] for the history, calculations, and differences between versions.

== Movement and energy ==

An accepted warp order changes the target speed; fuel is charged as the ship accelerates and moves, not merely when the command is typed. Classic GE and ge-next differ in ongoing warp cost and pod reloading. See [[Warp travel#Distance per movement update]] for travel rate and [[Warp travel#Flux consumption]] for energy costs and the result of running out.

== Warp-drive damage ==

Warp damage can reduce the current safe maximum below the ship class's normal rating. The command warns when a requested speed exceeds the damaged drive's safe rating. ge-next may permit a ship already moving above that new rating to request a controlled speed within the remaining attainable range, but it does not allow fresh acceleration beyond the class's absolute overspeed cap.

Maintenance repairs the warp drive and clears accumulated ge-next overspeed damage. Ordinary passive repair does not restore the reduced warp maximum or clear overspeed damage.

== Comparison ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Behavior
! Classic Galactic Empire
! ge-next
|-
| Relative turn with <code>WARP</code>
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| Absolute <code>@heading</code> with <code>WARP</code>
| No
| Yes
|-
| No heading supplied during an existing turn
| Cancels the pending turn
| Preserves the pending turn
|-
| <code>WARP 0</code> on a class without warp drive
| Rejected
| Accepted as a stopping order
|}

== See also ==

* [[MBMGEHLP.MSG#HELP_WARP|Classic HELP WARP]]
* [[Warp travel]]
* [[Impulse command]]
* [[Navigation and scanning]]
* [[Flux]]
* [[Maintenance command]]
* [[Classic bug: Damaged warp overrides requested speed]]
* [[Classic bug: Invalid WARP heading reports helm damage]]
* [[Classic bug: Galactic perimeter edge errors]]

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

Warp command - Revision history

CodexBot: Link corresponding classic in-game help section