MBMGEHLP.MSG: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:06, 7 March 2024

Galactic Empire Help Message Database

Version 3.2c

HELP

Help is available on the following commands and topics:

Commands: abandon abort admin attack buy cloak cls decoy destruct flux freq help impulse jammer jettison maintenance mine missile new orbit phaser planet price rename report roster rotate scan sell send set shield spy team torpedo transfer warp zipper

Topics: battle class communicate cybertron galaxy moving planets scoring sector starting strategy wormholes

Issue the help command as follows;

help [<topic>]

topic = one of the command or topic words above.

HELP STARTING

Topic: Start playing Galactic Empire

When you begin playing Galactic Empire you are first given an Interceptor class ship. The Interceptor is ideal to begin your quest into the Galaxy. You can seek out an ideal planet to colonize, claim it, and transport down a basic compliment of colonists and supplies.

After starting your colony give it some time to grow. Your planet will soon be large enough to generate taxes and cash in your pocket. With this cash you can purchase larger and larger ship and expand your empire.

Beware the Cybertrons, they are bent on destroying all human life in the Galaxy and are tough (but not impossible) to beat. Cybertrons may be vicious, but they do have a code; they will not attack an Interceptor or Freighter unless provoked.

Good Luck and enjoy the game.

Further hints are available under other help topics.

HELP GALAXY

Topic: Galaxy

The game takes place in a universe with millions of sectors and thousands of known planets. Each sector is 10000 by 10000 parsecs square. The entire navigable galaxy is 6000 by 6000 sectors numbered from the center of the galaxy to the edges. Sectors are mapped on a two coordinate system giving a galactic map that looks something like this;

+--------------------------------------+

|-3000,-3000 +3000,-3000|

| |

| 0,0 |

| |

|-3000,+3000 +3000,+3000|

+--------------------------------------+

Each sector is measured 10000 by 10000 parsecs square measured from the top left to bottom right as follows;

+--------------------------------------+

|0,0 0,9999|

| |

| 5000,5000 |

| |

|9999,0 9999,9999|

+--------------------------------------+

HELP SECTOR

Topic: Sector

In each sector there may be between 0 and 9 planetary bodies. Each planet has various environmental and resource qualities. The best planet has very good resources and a very good environment.

Sector 0 0 is governed by the Galactic Command and is a declared neutral zone. This policy is maintained by the Enforcer Planet. A single hostile action by any player in this sector will be met with a swift and preemptive strike from the Galactic Commands top secret weapons base on The Enforcer Planet.

Sector 0 0 also has the first planet Zygor, the leaders in state-of-the-art weapons and ship hardware. Zygor manufactures the various ships and the weapons they carry. It is also home of the Galactic Monetary Reserve Fund, the only duly authorized financial institution in the Galaxy.

Planet number two in Sector 0 0 is Tahanian Station, a embarking station for colonists and mercenary soldiers. This is also where you can purchase food supplies.

Once out of Sector 0 0 it is a free for all, and you have to decide how to best defend yourself and your planets.

HELP COMMUNICATE

Topic: Communications

Each ship has a communications console with three separate transmission channels. You can set each to a specific channel or to the HAIL setting which permits you to receive all general hailing messages. If you create alliances you can set one radio to an agreed upon channel and have a private and secure communications path between members of your alliance.

Use the FREQ command to change the communications frequency.

Note that if the frequency is set above 32000 then it is determined to be a Hyperspace communications Packet Code and transmissions will be sent via Hyperspace to anyone with the same packet code anywhere in the Galaxy.

HELP MOVING

Topic: Moving (Navigating)

All directional information in Galactic Empire functions on a 360 degree compass and is strictly two dimensional. The major bearings are illustrated as follow;

315 0 45

\ | /

\|/

270----*----90

/|\

/ | \

225 180 135

BEARING - Bearing is always used to indicate where a particular ship or planet is in relation to you. It is relative to the direction you are facing and expressed in a number from -180 to +180. If a object is bearing -90, it is to the left of you, if +90 it is to the right of you, if 0 it is directly in front of you, and if - or + 180 it is directly behind you.

HEADING - Heading is the relative direction of the other ship. It is used to indicate when a ship is facing toward or away from you. A heading of 0 means the ship is facing toward you, while a heading of 180 is away from you.

GALACTIC HEADING - This is the absolute heading in the galaxy. A galactic heading of 0 means you (or the other ship) is facing north up.

HELP PLANETS

Topic: Owning Planets

In order to build up wealth you must colonize planets and maintain them. Planets are claimed by simply going into orbit around one and using the ADMIN command. You should be choosy at first about which planets you put a population on, as surviving on a poor planet can be very difficult and require frequent supply runs.

Planets are rated on two factors, resources, and environment, with the following categories, POOR, MARGINAL, GOOD, and VERY GOOD. The resources factor rates the natural resources of the planet. A rating of good or very good will insure that your population has plenty of natural resources to use in the establishment of the colony, and the manufacture of goods. The environment factor rates the hospitality of the planet and how difficult it will be for a colony to survive. A rating of good, or very good, will insure that the majority of there efforts go toward producing goods and not simply surviving.

Once you have claimed a planet you need to establish a population on it. This is done with the TRANSFER command to shuttle items from your ship to the planet. Once a colony is established they become an somewhat independent society. Anything you transfer to the planet belongs to them, you cannot transfer it back. If you wish to retrieve items from a planet you must purchase them from the planet at the base price.

Type HELP PLANETS2 for more information on planets

HELP PLANETS2

Topic: Owning planets (Section 2)

It is a good idea to leave some additional items on a planet besides men. They are;

FOOD - If you fail to leave food on the planet you will find your men and troops all dead when you return next time. It is a good idea to leave a case for each 10 men & troops you have.

TROOPS - Troops are mercenaries who produce nothing but serve to defend your planet from outside attacks and prevent domestic revolts. They must be fed well, and will fight to the death when attacked.

FIGHTERS - Fighters will defend your planet from both ground troop invasions and fighter attacks. They provide a primary defense force for your planet. Your troops will not be called into action unless the fighters are all destroyed.

ION CANNON - This is a large defensive cannon which will attack any hostile ship that is in orbit around your planet. It will fire once every few seconds, and can destroy a ship in just a few blasts. An attacking ship won't stay long with an ion cannon firing upon them. You can have multiple ion cannons, but only one will be active at a time.

Type HELP PLANETS3 for more information on Planets

HELP PLANETS3

Topic: Owning planets (Section 3)

There are several other factors you may adjust when you establish a planet. When the planet is first established your colony is instructed to divide their efforts evenly between the manufacture of each of the commodities a planet can produce. You may wish to alter this to provide for faster population growth, and food production. Additionally, you can tax your planet at a specific rate. The harsher the tax the less the productivity. Tax is your principle source of income for purchasing supplies for your ship. This tax is kept in the planetary bank until you arrive to collect it. Your colony will produce all the supplies you need for your ship if managed properly. These goods are cheapest at your own planets as Zygor charges three times the base rate for goods. The cash you spend on supplies goes into the planetary bank and is used to purchase more raw materials when the Galactic Command supply ships come around.

You can decide to sell supplies to other players if you like, and even mark up the price to other players. If you wish to be selective in who can purchase from your planets you can establish a trade password for your planet and only those who know the password can buy from you. This is also useful in establishing an alliance with other players where you all would set your planets to the same password and agree on the price to charge each other. Non-members will be excluded from trading with your alliance.

Remember that the better your planet, the more attractive it is to marauders. Nothing can take the place of a well rounded defense system and frequent supply runs. Leaving a planet un-checked for more than a few days may spell disaster for your colony.

HELP STRATEGY

Topic: Game Strategy

Your ship is equipped with nothing when you first enter the game, you are not in any eminent danger as sector 0 0 is a neutral zone. You are provided with a light freighter and an amount of cash with which you must decide what you are going to do.

On Zygor you can purchase shield systems, phaser systems, missiles, torpedoes, fighters, decoys, and ion cannons. Note: some of these may not be available or useful on some ship classes (see HELP CLASS for more info).

On Tahanian Station you can purchase colonists (men), troops, and food. Your first goal should be to secure an income for yourself, and therefore provide a source for taxes you will need to expand your empire, and keep your ships fully stocked. To do this you should purchase men, troops, food, and some fighters. Locate as good a planet as you can find and colonize it. It is advisable that you steer clear of other ships unless you know they are friendly.

An alternative, albeit somewhat immoral, strategy is to purchase weapons and lie waiting for other ships to leave sector 0 0. When they do mount an attack and upon destroying their ship, gain what remains of the supplies on their ship. After several successful attacks you may have enough to colonize a planet or two.

When you do colonize a planet you should redirect the majority of the effort to producing men, food, and troops, and gaining cash with which you can purchase larger and more powerful ships and expand your empire.

Remember, these are only a couple suggested strategies, and others are only limited by your imagination.

HELP BATTLE

Topic: Battle Strategy

The flexibility of Galactic Empire precludes an exhaustive discussion of all the strategies involved in user versus user battling. Some suggestions are simply put forth here to get you started.

When in a potential battle situation make sure your shields are up, and keep moving. The easiest target is a ship with shields down, sitting still.

If you have a cloaking system use it sparingly as it consumes incredible amounts of energy, it is most useful in covering a retreat.

If you have incoming torpedoes you can ditch them easily by making a jump to light speed provided you have warp drive.

This does not work for missiles though as they too can go hyperspace.

Launching decoys does not guarantee that the incoming missiles or torpedoes will be destroyed. Launching more decoys than incoming weapons increases the chance of destroying an incoming weapon.

When launching an attack try to get close to the target and use the faster torpedoes as they will have less time to react.

Type HELP BATTLE2 for more information on battling

HELP BATTLE2

Topic: Battle Strategy (Section 2)

If a target goes to light speed be prepared to make the jump with him and use Hyper-Phasers as soon as you pass warp 1.

If you get hit with a Hyper-Phaser immediately go into a series of 180 degree high speed turns as your opponent will have difficulty locating you. Go out of light speed in another sector and immediately cloak as a last ditch effort to loose your pursuers.

Form alliances to help protect each other from marauders. Remember two ships are twice as powerful as one.

When you are under attack you cannot EXIT the game to avoid your attackers. If you hang-up while you are under attack your ship will be destroyed. Remember "Death before Dishonor"!!

If you are damaged try to make it back to sector 0 0 or to one of your own planets where you can get your ship repaired with the MAINT command. Remember the cost for everything is much more expensive in Sector 0 0.

When you kill another ship you will get some of his goods on his ship. This can be very helpful when you are running low.

Type HELP BATTLE3 for more information on battling

HELP BATTLE3

Topic: Battle Strategy (section 3) Planetary Battles...

Planets can defend themselves with troops, fighters, and ion cannons.

If you have no troops or fighters then your planet can be easily overrun.

FIGHTERS are Nova Class Battle Fighters commanded by a fully automated tactical computer. They have inboard and outboard photon cannons capable of powerful and deadly offensive and defensive attacks. When pitted against troops the fighter is deadly, capable of taking out between 10 and 50 troops in a pass. When pitted against other fighters they are fairly evenly matched.

TROOPS are trained mercenaries, and serve no other function than the defense or attack on a planet. The consume food, maintain there skills, and mostly play cards. But when needed they will fight to the death.

ION CANNONS are the very powerful fixed focus, ion-plasma transmitters, capable of taking out a Star Class ship with only a few strikes. They are strictly defensive weapons controlled by a fully automated system. When the planet comes under attack they will automatically locate the attacker and commence firing upon the ship.

When attacking a planet you are always at a disadvantage, as the local troops and fighters are better supported and fresh. Knowing this you should always plan on commencing a battle with superior numbers.

Begin with a fighter attack. If they have no fighters you will overpower the troops rather quickly. If they have fighters you will be in a better position to do battle.

After each wave your fighters or troops will return to your ship. If you wish to send them back you can do so. Remember, you will not take a planet so long as 1 fighter or 1 squad of troops (5) exists on the planet.

HELP CYBERTRON

Topic: Cyborgs and Cybertrons

Cyborgs are a race of automatons which are bent on the destruction of all humans from the universe. They command a class of ship manufactured specifically for them, the Cybertron. Both pilot and ship function as a single fighting unit and they can be quite deadly.

The Cybertron is armed with phasers, and torpedoes, but has no missile capability. They can be deadly in hyperspace with hyper-phasers, but cannot recycle the phaser as fast as most other ships. Cybertrons are prone to battle failure, and they will malfunction occasionally. This is often noted by strange transmissions from their ship.

The top speed of a Cybertron is warp 8.0 so they can be out run with a faster ship. They will however continue seeking, and if you stay too long in a single spot, they will catch up. The larger the ship the more cybertrons that will be dispatched to intercept it. It is not advisable to get caught in a sector with a swarm of cybertrons surrounding you.

Finally, Cybertrons will not attack smaller ships unless first provoked, so don't mess with them unless you know what you are doing.

HELP SCORING

Topic: Scoring

Scores are based upon the size of your empire and the number and class of kills you have accumulated is ship to ship combat. Each class of ship is worth a different number of points as detailed below;

Interceptor 10

Light Freighter 25

Heavy Freighter 75

Destroyer 150

Star Cruiser 200

Battle Cruiser 250

Frigate 300

Dreadnought 500

Cybertron 75

Cyberquad 200

Additionally you are awarded as a bonus, a small percentage of the killed players score on top of the ship points.

Finally, when you kill another player, his score goes also This means that you can actually knock him down on the top player list making it easier to overtake him (or pass him further).

HELP WORMHOLES

Wormholes are fairly rare galactic anomalies caused by a paired spatial singularity. The effect it to create a means of "leaping" across the galaxy to another sector. To navigate through a wormhole you must carefully approach it directly at about 1/4 impulse. You will be pulled into the wormhole and emerge at the terminal sector. If you approach too fast you will simply miss the event horizon. If you approach too slow you may oscillate between terminal sectors. Each time you pass through a wormhole some damage to systems may occur. Passing through a wormhole while severely damaged is not recommended. Wormholes are usually by-directional but an even rarer form of one way wormhole has been speculated to exist.

HELP ADMIN

The ADMIN command permits you to claim and administer a planet once in orbit. If you already own this planet then you can perform several planetary maintenance functions from the Planer Administration Menu.

Planet Administration Menu

-----------------------------------

1 - Get accounting report

2 - Collect taxes ($)

3 - Alter work assignments and

adjust trade policy/pricing

4 - Rename planet

5 - Adjust Tax Rate

6 - Set Trade Password

x - Exit to command mode

HELP ABANDON

The abandon command will release ownership of a planet previously claimed. You must be in orbit around the planet to be abandoned. Issue the abandon command as follows;

abandon

simple enough.

HELP ABORT

The Abort command will abort a self distract countdown and prevent the destruction of your ship.

HELP ATTACK

The Attack command permits you to start an attack on a planet with either troops or fighters. Issue the Attack command as follows;

attack [<number>] [tro/fig]

number = number of troops or fighters to attack with;

tro = send <number> troops to the surface.

fig = send <number> fighters to the surface.

examples:

attack 100 tro

attack 30 fighters

HELP BUY

The Buy command will permit you to purchase goods from one of your own planets or another players planet. Issue the Buy command as follows;

buy [<number>] [men/tro/mis/tor/ion/flu/foo/fig/dec/min/jam/zip/gol] [<password>]

number = the number you want to buy.

men = buy men

tro = buy troops

mis = buy missiles

tor = buy torpedoes

ion = buy ion cannons

flu = buy flux pods

foo = buy food

fig = buy fighters

dec = buy decoys

min = buy mines

jam = buy jammers

zip = buy zippers

gol = buy gold

password = optional trade password may be required by planet.

examples:

buy 1000 men

buy 3 ion

buy 500 foo drowssap

HELP CLOAK

The Cloak command will turn on or off the cloaking system, if your ship is equipped. The cloaking system consumes large amounts of power and you should be careful not to drain all your energy pool. The cloaking system takes a few seconds to charge once the command is issued.

Issue the Cloak command as follows;

cloak [ON/OFF]

Example: Cloak on

Cloak off

HELP CLS

The CLS function simply clears the screen using ANSI characters.

HELP DECOY

The Decoy command deploys a single decoy. Decoys proceed away from your ship and send a sensor signature that resembles your ship. If a torpedo or missile comes near the decoy the decoy will explode and destroy the inbound weapon. The decoy will self destruct after a period of time to prevent stray decoys floating around in your navigation path.

HELP DESTRUCT

The Destruct command will begin a self destruct countdown timer that when it reaches zero will destroy your ship. The countdown can be aborted with the ABORT command.

HELP FLUX

The Flux command will replace an exhausted Flux Pod from the energy pool with a new one. This command presumes that you want it changed now, and does not warn you if there is still a good percentage of power left in the old pod. The old pod is jettisoned. Your power is restored to full charge automatically.

HELP HELP

The Help command will display a vast amount of information on Galactic Empire. Type HELP for a list of subjects.

HELP HYPER

When in hyperspace the normal ships phasers are useless. The Hyper-Phaser however can be deadly. The Hyper-Phaser Beam is very narrow but very powerful and can destroy another ship with only a few well placed shots. Issue the Hyper-Phaser command as follows;

phaser [<direction>]

direction = the heading to fire the phasers at, usually the same as the bearing of another ship given in the "scan sh" command. With the Hyper-Phaser you must be pin-point accurate to score a hit.

examples: phaser 4 fire 4 degrees off starboard.

phaser 180 fire directly behind you.

Note: The Fire Control System automatically switches to Hyper-Phasers when in hyperspace.

HELP IMPULSE

The Impulse command directs your impulse (sub-light) engines and sets your course and speed. Issue the Impulse command as follows;

impulse [<speed>] [<heading>]

speed = the impulse speed between 0 and 99 (99 is .99 light speed)

heading = the heading from your current direction

examples: impulse 5 0 would alter the speed to impulse 5 and not change the heading.

impulse 10 5 would alter the speed to impulse 10 and turn the ship 5 degrees to the starboard (right).

impulse 10 355 would alter the speed to impulse 10 and turn the ship 5 degrees to the port (left).

HELP JAMMER

The jammer command will cause a jammer device to be launched. It disrupts all scanner systems on all ships within range of the device, yours included. It is useful for covering an escape or distracting an opponent. Issue the jammer command as follows;

jammer

Simple enough!

HELP LOCK

The Lock command permits you to lock your fire control systems onto a specific ship no matter what its letter designation changes to. As long as the ship is within scanner range the fire control systems will remain locked onto that specific ship. This is extremely useful when in heated battle and multiple ships are in the vicinity. Ship letter designated -A- may become -B- or -C- as other ships move closer to you. The Lock command permits you to stay locked on to the ship as distances and letter designates change.

Commands like MISSILE and TORPEDO can be then be used with the Lock option to fire on the ship you have locked onto. Issue the Lock command as follows;

lock [<ship letter designate>]

-or-

lock

examples: lock A would lock onto the closest ship.

lock B would lock onto the second closest ship.

lock would cause the lock to be released.

Note: Once a ship is killed the lock is released automatically.

HELP MAINT

The Maintenance command functions when you are in orbit at your own planet or Zygor. The maintenance crews will start repairing your ship and charge you a nominal fee of 200c's at your own planet and 2500c's at Zygor.

Leaving orbit early will cease all repairs on the ship.

HELP MINE

The MINE command causes a neutron mine to be deposited at your current location. You specify how long until detonation permitting you time to leave the spot for safety. Mines are useful when you are being tailed by another ship. Beware that they are very powerful and you can also be damaged by them if you don't get far enough away. Issue the MINE command as follows;

mine [<time>]

time = the time till detonation in centocks (approx 5 seconds). This can be set from 1 to 50.

Example: mine 10 will deposit a mine to detonate in 10 centocks

HELP MISSILE

The Missile command instructs your ship to fire a hyper-missile at a given ship with a given charge. This missile guidance system will attempt to lock on the ship prior to firing the missile. If a lock is made the missile is launched. Issue the Missile command as follows;

missile [<ship letter>/@] [<energy>]

ship letter = the ship you are firing upon

@ = to fire at the locked on ship

energy = the energy from your Neutron Flux Pile to charge into the missile.

examples:

missile A 100 would fire a missile at ship A which will only cause minor (if any) damage.

missile C 20000 would fire a missile at ship C which will cause major damage.

missile @ 10000 would fire on the ship that a previous Lock command has locked on to.

note: the energy imparted to the missile must come from your charged neutron flux pile and will drain the pile by that amount.

HELP NAVIGATE

Please issue the Navigate command as follows;

navigate [sector]

sector number = the sector number you wish to navigate to.

examples: navigate sector 0 0 give a bearing and distance to sector 0 0.

HELP NEW

The New command permits you to purchase from the ship yards at Zygor one of several types of shields, phaser systems, or even a new ship.

Issue the New command as follows;

New [shield/ship/phaser] [<type>]

type = the class type of the shield, phaser, or ship you wish to purchase.

---- Shields ----- ---- Phasers ---- ------ Ships ------

Mark-1 Shield = 1 Mark-1 Phaser = 1 Interceptor = 1

Mark-2 Shield = 2 Mark-2 Phaser = 2 Light Freighter = 2

... ... Heavy Freighter = 3

... ... Destroyer = 4

... ... Star Cruiser = 5

Mark-19 Shield = 19 Mark-19 Phaser = 19 Battle Cruiser = 6

Frigate = 7

Dreadnought = 8

Freight Barge = 9

examples: new ship 2 purchase a new Heavy Freighter

note: you must be orbiting around Zygor in Sector 0 0 to issue this command. A complete list of ship classes and prices can be obtained from the HELP CLASS command.

For pricing on ships type HELP CLASS, for phasers and shields type HELP NEWPRICE

HELP NEWPRICE

(Note: this is coded into MBMGEHLP.MSG and does not update if you change the prices of phasers and shields in MBMGEMSG.MSG. If you wish to change the prices of phasers and shields, you should update both files to match so users will be able to see the correct prices.)

The prices for Phasers and Shields are as follows;

---- Shields ----- ---- Phasers ----

Mark-1...... 5k Mark-1...... 5k

Mark-2...... 10k Mark-2...... 10k

Mark-3...... 40k Mark-3...... 40k

Mark-4...... 100k Mark-4...... 100k

Mark-5...... 250k Mark-5...... 220k

Mark-6...... 500k Mark-6...... 400k

Mark-7...... 750k Mark-7...... 650k

Mark-8...... 1.1m Mark-8...... 900k

Mark-9...... 1.5m Mark-9...... 1.2m

Mark-10..... 2.5m Mark-10..... 2.0m

Mark-11..... 4.0m Mark-11..... 3.8m

Mark-12..... 6.0m Mark-12..... 5.0m

Mark-13..... 8.0m Mark-13..... 7.0m

Mark-14..... 10.0m Mark-14..... 9.0m

Mark-15..... 30.0m Mark-15..... 15.0m

Mark-16..... 50.0m Mark-16..... 30.0m

Mark-17..... 80.0m Mark-17..... 60.0m

Mark-18.....120.0m Mark-18.....100.0m

Mark-19.....250.0m Mark-19.....200.0m

HELP ORBIT

The Orbit command instructs your ship to enter into orbit around a given planet. Issue the Orbit command as follows;

orbit [<planet #>]

planet # = the planet you are wishing to orbit.

NOTE: YOU MUST BE 250 or closer to orbit a planet!

example: orbit 2

HELP PHASER

The Phaser command directs your ships phasers to fire in a given direction with a given beam spread. The more narrow the beam the stronger the hit, but the more difficult it is to get a hit. Issue the Phaser command as follows;

phaser [<direction>] [<spread>]

direction = the heading to fire the phasers at, usually the same as the bearing of another ship given in the "scan sh" command.

spread = the focus of the beam (0 to 5). 0 gives the most concentrated beam but is so narrow that you must be dead on to get a hit. 1 and 2 are good numbers to use if you know where a target is located. Use 5 if you know he is close but cloaked.

examples: phaser 4 1 fire 4 degrees off starboard, focus 1.

phaser 180 5 fire directly behind focus 5.

HELP PLANET

Produces a list of the planets registered to you. This list is only current as of 3AM each day. Any planets added to your empire today will not appear in the list until 3AM tomorrow.

HELP PRICE

The Price command permits you to get a price for a quantity of goods prior to actually purchasing them. Issue the Price command as follows;

price [<number>] [men/tro/mis/tor/ion/flu/foo/fig/dec/min/jam/zip/gol]

men = price men

tro = price troops

mis = price missiles

tor = price torpedoes

ion = price ion cannons

flu = price flux pods

foo = price food

fig = price fighters

dec = price decoys

min = price mines

jam = price jammers

zip = price zippers

gol = price gold

examples: price 1000 men

price 3 ion

price 500 foo

HELP RENAME

The Rename command will change the name assigned to your ship. Issue the Rename command as follows;

rename <new ship name>

HELP REPORT

The Report command gives you status information on navigation, ships systems, inventory, and accounting. Issue the Report command as follows;

report [nav/sys/inv/acc]

examples: report nav produces a navigational report

report sys produces a systems report

report inv produces an inventory report

report acc produces an accounting report

HELP ROSTER

The Roster command will display the Top Players Roster.

roster [all]

examples: roster display the top players

roster all display all players

HELP ROTATE

The Rotate command will cause to directional thrusters to rotate the ship a specified number of degrees. The ship must be stationary first. The ship will automatically turn in the direction which causes the shortest arc to arrive at the given heading. Issue the Rotate command as follows;

rotate [<heading>] or rotate [@<abosolute heading>]

heading = the heading from your current direction

absolute heading = the abosolute direction regardless of your current heading.

examples: rotate 5 would turn the ship 5 degrees to the starboard (right).

rotate -5 would turn the ship 5 degrees to the port (left).

rotate @5 would turn the ship to 5 degrees absolute.

HELP SET

The SET command lets you set user configurable options.

set <option>/? [on/off]

options are;

scanhome - home the screen before displaying scan

scanfull - full screen scans

scannames - show user names in Range Scans (scanfull must be ON too)

filter - filters out 80% of the battle messages

examples:

set scanhome on

set scannames off

set ?

HELP SCAN

The Scan command permits you to direct the ships tactical scanners in a number of different ways. Issue the Scanner command as follows;

scan [se/sh/pl/ra/lo] [<ship letter>/<planet #>/<range>]

se = sector scan showing the ships and planets in this sector

sh = ship scan showing detail on ship <ship letter>

pl = planet scan showing detail on planet <planet #>

ra = close range scan for range <range> 1 to 9

lo = long range scan of neutron distortions

examples: scan se

scan sh a

scan pl 1

scan ra 9

scan lo

Note: See the SET command for additional configuration options for SCAN

HELP SELL

The Sell command will permit you to re-sell back to the Empire excess goods. The Empire will charge a small Tranfer Tax on each transaction.

Issue the Sell command as follows;

Sell [<number>] [men/tro/mis/tor/ion/flu/foo/fig/dec/min/jam/zip/gol]

number = the number you want to sell.

men = sell men

tro = sell troops

mis = sell missiles

tor = sell torpedoes

ion = sell ion cannons

flu = sell flux pods

foo = sell food

fig = sell fighters

dec = sell decoys

min = sell mines

jam = sell jammers

zip = sell zippers

gol = sell gold

examples: sell 1000 men

sell 3 ion

sell 500 foo

HELP SEND

The Send command is the only means of communication between ships and team members. Please issue the Send command as follows;

send [<channel>] [<message>]

channel = Your communications channel A, B, or C as set by the SET command.

message = Your message to be sent.

examples: send A Why you scum guzzler, I am gonna get you

send C This is a warning to all ships.... I am here!!!!

HELP FREQ

The Freq command permits you to specify the channels you want your ships communication system set to. Issue the Com channel set command as follows;

freq [<channel>] [hail/<freq>]

examples: freq A 12345

freq b hail

freq c 23221

Channel frequencies above 20000 are converted to hyperspace modulation packets and transmitted through hyperspace. Channel frequencies below 20000 are transmitted in the current star system only.

HELP SHIELD

The Shield command will raise or lower the ships shields. The shields will begin charging upon being raised for the first time. They are providing immediate yet limited protection until fully charged. When fully charged the shields come up immediately when issued. The shields do drain on the neutron flux pile, and will automatically come down when the energy drops to dangerously low levels.

NOTE: When firing a weapon with the shields up, the shields will be automatically lowered. They WILL NOT be automatically raised after the firing.

shield [up/down]

examples: shield up would raise the shields

shield down would lower the shields

HELP TORPEDO

The Torpedo command instructs your ship to fire a torpedo at a given ship. This fire control system will attempt to lock on the ship prior to firing the torpedo. If a lock is made the torpedo is launched. Issue the Torpedo command as follows;

torpedo [<ship letter>/@]

ship letter = the ship you are firing upon

@ = the locked on ship.

examples: torpedo A would fire a torpedo at ship A.

torpedo @ would fire at the ship you locked on with the LOCK cmd

The Transfer command permits you to transfer goods from your ship to a newly established planet, or from a planet to your ship. Issue the transfer command as follows;

HELP TRANSFER

transfer [up/down] [<number>] [men/tro/mis/tor/ion/flu/foo/fig/dec/min/jam]

men = transfer men

tro = transfer troops

mis = transfer missiles

tor = transfer torpedoes

ion = transfer ion cannons

flu = transfer flux pods

foo = transfer food

fig = transfer fighters

dec = transfer decoys

min = transfer mines

jam = transfer jammers

zip = transfer zippers

examples: transfer up 3 ion

transfer down 500 foo

HELP WARP

The Warp command starts the warp drives (provided your type of ship has them) and directs your course and speed. Issue the Warp command as follows;

warp [<speed>] [<heading>]

speed = the warp speed between 0 and 50

heading = the heading from your current direction

examples: warp 5 0 would alter the speed to warp 5 and not change the heading.

warp 10 5 would alter the speed to warp 10 and turn the ship 5 degrees to the starboard (right).

warp 10 355 would alter the speed to warp 10 and turn the ship 5 degrees to the port (left).

HELP ZIPPER

The ZIP command launches a defensive (and sometimes offensive) weapon which interferes with the timing mechanism on mines. The effect is to trip all mines in the vicinity of the players ship into exploding immediately. This weapon can be used to "trip" an opponents mines after he has laid them but before he can distance himself from them, causing the mines to do damage to the opponents own ship. Issue the zipper command as follows;

zipper

Easy enough!

HELP CLASS

These are the classes of ships manufactured at Zygor. Each has its own features and capabilities. The chart below summarizes the differences.

S P T M D J Z M A C

h h o i e a i i t l

l s r s c m p n t o

## --Class Name--- d--r--p-l-y-r-r-e-k-k-Acc-Warp-Tons----Price--Scan--Pts

(The game's ships as defined in MBMGESHP.MSG are displayed here)

Shld - Maximum Shield type (0 = No shields available)

Phsr - Maximum Phaser type

Torp - 0 = Has no Torpedo System / 1 = Has Torpedo System

Misl - 0 = Has no Missile System / 1 = Has Missile System

Decy - 0 = Has no Decoy Launching system / 1 = Has Decoy Launcher

Jamr - 0 = Has no Jammer Launching system / 1 = Has Jammer Launcher

Zipr - 0 = Has no Zipper Launching system / 1 = Has Zipper Launcher

Mine - 0 = Has no Mine Launching system / 1 = Has Mine Launcher

Attk - Has Planetary Attack Capability

Clok - 0 = Has no Cloaking System / 1 = Has Cloaking System

Acc - Maximum Acceleration rate

Warp - 0 = Has no Warp Drive / >0 = Maximum Warp drive capable of

Tons - Maximum Tonnage ship can transport

Price- Price for a ship of this class

Scan - Maximum Scanner Range

Pts - Points for killing a ship in this class

*NOTE* For more details on a class of ship use the "HELP CLASS nn" command where nn is the class number from the table above.

HELP TEAM

The Team command allows you to perform a number of functions related to teams. It allows you to join a team, create a new team, leave a team, and get team scores. Additionally the team founder (or anyone with the founder password) can expell a team member, change the Team Password, or change the team name.

Teams are identified by a 5 digit team code created by the founder when they started the team. This code never changes even though the team name may be changed.

Team Founder commands are;

team start nnnnn ssssssssss pppppppppp <team name> starts a new team with code nnnnn, Founder Password ssssssssss, Member Password pppppppppp, and with the team name <team name>.

team kick ssssssssss <user name> permits a team member with the Founder Password to kick another team member off the team. Note: if you don't also change the password the kicked player can simply rejoin.

team newpass ssssssssss pppppppppp permits a team member with the Founder Passowrd to assign a new Member Password pppppppppp.

team newname ssssssssss <team name> permits a team member with the Founder Password to change the team name to <team name>

Team Member commands are;

team join nnnnn pppppppppp permits a player to join the team nnnnn provided they have the correct member password pppppppppp

team unjoin permits the player to leave the current team they are a member of.

team score displays a list of the current teams and their scores.

team members displays a list of the members of the players current team.

The SPY command will transport a spy (provided you have one on board) to the planet you are currently orbiting. If the Spy survives and is not caught you will from time to time get intellegence reports on the planet. You can defend from spy's by having your own spys on your planets. The more trained spy's you have the better your chances you will catch any foreign spy's who sneak onto your planet.

HELP JETTISON

The Jettison command permits you to dump goods from your ship. You can dump a specific number or ALL you have of a item type.

Issue the jettison command as follows;

jettison [ALL/<number>] [men/tro/mis/tor/ion/flu/foo/fig/dec/min/jam]

men = transfer men

tro = transfer troops

mis = transfer missiles

tor = transfer torpedoes

ion = transfer ion cannons

flu = transfer flux pods

foo = transfer food

fig = transfer fighters

dec = transfer decoys

min = transfer mines

jam = transfer jammers

zip = transfer zippers

examples: jettison ALL ion

jettison 500 foo

@@ Line 555: / Line 555: @@
 == HELP NEWPRICE ==
+(Note: this is coded into MBMGEHLP.MSG and does not update if you change the prices of phasers and shields in [[MBMGEMSG.MSG]]. If you wish to change the prices of phasers and shields, you should update both files to match so users will be able to see the correct prices.)
 The prices for Phasers and Shields are as follows;