*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*) (*) (*) (*) UNIVERSE II DOCUMENTATION (*) (*) (*) (*) Brought to you by: (*) (*) (*) (*) Dr. Fix (*) (*) (*) *)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*) These docs are verbatim from the manual, except where noted. Eight asterisks denote chapter titles. A phrase/word that has an asterisk on either side or is in all caps in mid-sentence is eithr bold-faced or italicized in the documentation. All caps on a single line delineate a major subheading in a chapter. "<|" and "|>" brace comments from me. Enjoy. ********INTRODUCTION********* THE STORY SO FAR ... *History* During the latter part of the First Stellar Expansion, is became evident that the technology from planets in the Home Cluster could not support the ever expanding colonization effort. The hyperdrive had opened an era of fast, economical travel between the stars. Journeys that used to consume decades could be made in a matter of days. However, the hyperdrive was not without its problems. Its unrefueled maximum range was a major limitation. After 3 or 4 hyperjumps, the ship would be completely out of the inhabited regions, with nowhere to refuel. Its fuel capacity was also part of thge second hinderance: the so-called "Mass Limit." Stated simply, it sets a severe limit on the maximum size of a spacecraft that can enter hyperspace. Because of these problems, the experts were predicting an end to the rapid expansion that had previously characterized Earth's emergence as an insterstellar civilization. In 2105, a research ship traveling through the far reaches of the Tau Ceti starsystem discovered a huge alien artifact. Entie scientific communities came to study the artifact and, several years latr, the purpose of the great machine was discovered. It was a hyperspace boostr. It had the capability to "push" spacecraft not tens but thousands of light-years. Since the booster itself did not enter hyperspace, ships up to the mass limit could travel a thousand lightyears with minimal power. Years of research continued. Why had the aliens abandonned the booster? Where had they gone? The scientists were unable to say. The booster contained a mapping sustem depicting millions of stars, but very few of them had recieved any special mention. Finally, the control system was deciphered and test flights were made. They proved the machine to be fully functional and technician's knowledge of the control system, adequate enough to allow regular use. The Second Stellar Expansion started. You are in a cluster of stars known as the Local Group. It is impossible to communicate with Earth because travel using the booster is strictly one-way. Up until 40 years ago, small capsules containing the latest news and technical examples used to arrive every month from the Home Clustedr. Then one day they stopped. There was no indication that there was anything wrong in the Home Cluster. The ensuing panic and fear in the Local Group nearly destroyed civilization; as it is, the LG has been divided into two mutually hostile govenments, set on the brink of war. Fortunately, 20 years ago, a second hyperspace booster was discovered at the planet Diftalpa, right in the Local Group. The second booster is currently being towed to Cetus Amicus, where is will be studied in greater detail. It is hoped that in the near future thre wll be two-way communication between the Local Group and the Home Cluster ... if the Local Group doesn't destroy itself first. *Who You Are* The Local Group has been divided into two governments, the Federated Worlds (FW) and the United Democratic Planets (UDP). Although trade and travel continue between the two governments, the situation is deteriorating rapidly. Almost 8 years ago, you "retired" from the Federated Worlds Special Forces (FWSF), an organization whose function is to gather intelligence data and perform covert operations within the United Decmocratic Planets. Now you carry the personna of a free trader from Vrommus Prime. Your cover is quite airtight. Occasionally, the FWSF provides you with money and special equipment, but only to send you out on a mission. Not all of your crew is even aware that you are anything else but a trader. So during your travels and missions, you're ging to have to earn a living. -------------------------------- ******* GETTING STARTED ******** -------------------------------- <| I skipped the game warranty & repair section and the paragraphs dealing with how to set up Universe II on your Macintosh, Ibm or Zenith. D.F.|> HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL This manual is broken up into 8 major sections. They are: INTRODUCTION, GETTING STARTED, PLAYING UNIVERSE II, FILE CONTROL, FLIGHT, STARPORT, DRYDOCK, and APPENDIX. *Introduction* contains the background history on which the game is based. *Getting Started* explains the game warranty and repair policies,<|sorry to deprive you of that|> how to boot the program and get it running on your particular computer, how to operate the user interface (pull down menus, buttons, mouse, etc.), and playing tips to help you jump right into the game withut having to go through the whole manual. *Playing Universe II* is a guide to the way the systems on your ship work in concert. It details the functions of the various systems availible for your spacecraft, your crew and what to do with them, insterstellar commerce, the on-board computer, astrogation, warfare, energyd and time, and your mission as a deep-cover agent for the Federated Worlds. *File Control* Explains how to create a new player file, check yuor disks for any errors, delete old player files, and save current player files. *Flight* describes the workings of each of the various sections involved in operating your spacecraft. *Drydock* describes all of the various services available at the orbital drydocks, including the Labor Mart, new parts, new supplies, and even purchasing a totally new spacecraft. *Starport* explains how to use the text parser, a user interface which allows you to: type in sentences to move about the starports, talk with other characters in the game, and find special clues to help you finish successfully. It also describes the Transaction Terminal, which enables you to buy and sell products, exchange ores for currency, accept and discharge passengers, and send your crew to a technical school to increase their grade. *Appendix* is a convenient collection of tables and data neede to play Universe II. It also includes a glossary, instructions on using the Universe electronic bulletin board, and an index. <| I cut the index because I didn't try to match the page numbers of the actual documentation, and I cut the bit about the Universe BBS because you use have to have an account based on your purchase of the game. |> We suggest that you read THE STORY SO FAR ... and PLAYING TIPS. Following that, you should read the entirre PLAYING UNIVERSE II chapter to understand the ideas behind each of the program sections. Then, you only need to read the sections in FLIGHT, DRYDOCK, and STARPORT as you need them. Enjoy! RUNNING UNIVERSE II ON YOUR COMPUTER APPLE II System Requirments Apple //e with a 128K 80 column board or Apple //c, 2 disk drives, optional Apple Mouse. *Starting Omnitrend's UNIVERSE II* Universe II is distributed on five disk sides labeled A,B,C,D, and E. To run Universe II, place disk A into drive 1 and turn on the computer. Disk A must not be write protected. The 128K 80 column board must be enabled so that the double hi-resolution graphics are active. See the 80 column text card manual for more information on enabling the double hi-resolution graphics. *Using the Menus With a Mouse* If you have a mouse connected to your computer, you can use it for selecting menu entries. To display a menu, point to its name on the white bar at the top of the screen and press the mouse button. Hold the button down and move the pointer to highlight the entry you wish to select. Once the pointer is positioned correctly, release the button. You may often see a window on the screen in which there will be one or two buttons. A button is a rectangle with a word in it such as "Continue". You may click that button by pointing to it with the mouse and pressing the button. *Using the Menus Without a Mouse* Too use the menus without a mouse, press the ESC (escape) key in the upper left corner of the keyboard. This will enable you to use the arrow keys to select the items in the menus. To move the pointer in a certain direction, just use the four arrow keys. When the item you want is highlighted, press the RETURN key. You may also use the key equivalents to select menu entries in the game. When you pull down a menu, you will see the apple character followed by a letter next to every menu entry. To select an entry, press either apple key (located on either side of the space bar) and the letter for that function. The apple key works in the same way that the shift key works, so you should press the apple key first and hold it down while you press th letter. It is not necessary to pull down a menu to use the key equivalents. You may often see a window on the screen in which there will be one or two buttons. A button is a rectangle with a word in it such as "Continue". To press a button with the keyboard, just press the key that corresponds to the first letter of the word in the button. For example if the work in the button is "Continue" the you may press the 'C' on te keyboard to press it. Note that buttons override menu entries, so if a menu function's key equivalent was "C" and the buttonn "Continue" were on the screen, pressng "C" would "click" the button instead of selecting the menu function. You may use either upper or lower case letters when using the keyboard. *Making Backups" We suggest that you make backups of disk sides B,C,D, and E. The disk with side A is copy protected, so you will neeed to... <| get a cracked copy. (I left out the mailing instructions, etc.) For those of you with Unidisks, you may want to consider buying this program... |> Omnitrend Software is offering a free game update for Unidisk 3.5 owners. When your original game disks have been received, we will mail you a 3.5" version of the game, which fits entirely on one disk. <| more mailing instructions that I left out... |> PLAYING TIPS These are a few playing tips to help you get started with Universe II. * Check the vidscomm frequently. * Many of your assignments and clues will come from listening to vidcomm messages. Don't forget that the government affiliation of the planet you are orbiting will determine which vidcomm messages you receive. * There is a drydock nearby. * When you are starting the game, take advantage of the drydock above Axia to obtain additional supplies and parts. * There is a starport nearby. * When you are starting the game, go down to the Axia starport and pick upsome products. Check the planet chart and the culture chart so you will know what products to buy and where to bring them. Hint: Zeath is a good place to bring products from Axia. * Be patient. * It takes some time to become familiar with Universe II. * Use the Save & Continue feature. * By frequently backing up your game, you can see whether a particular strategy works before committing yourself to it. * Check your ship's status frequently. * Go into C&S every so often and check your ship's damage levels, supplies and crew. Chances are someone will get a promotion. * Check if anyone is locked-on. * When you are orbiting a planet and ready to send shuttles or ore-processors down to the surface, you are rather vulnerable to enemy attacks. Make sure that no one is shooting at you before launching landers. * Talk to people. * It's a good idea to talk to everyone you meet in a starport. * Check in. * Check into the FWSF headquarters on Vromus Prime every so often. Admiral Bresheliah may have something important. * Plan ahead with crew, * You may find that it will save you money to purchase low grade crew early in the game, so that when you need high grades, you won't have to send anyone to expensive technical school. * Don't purchase too quickly. * When you are at a starport waiting to buy something, watch a single brand of product to get an idea of what a good price is. Many times, buying the first product you see won't yield much profit, expecially when you are paying premium price for it. * Check part requirments. * When purchasing a complicated system such as an ore processor, make sure that you have all of the accesories for using it (ex., pilots, marines, eneregy, resource scanner, programs, etc.) before leaving the drydock. This will eliminate many unnecessary trips. * What to do first. * When you begin the game your Agora class spacecraft is in the Hope starsystem, but not around any planet. Do a solar transfer to Axia, get into a low orbit, take the orbital shuttle down to the starport, get products and passengers for the planet Zeath, and then go there. From there, it's up to you! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>-- UNIVERSE II DOCS, part II --<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<-- By: Dr. Fix -->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ----------------------------- **** PLAYING UNIVERSE II **** ----------------------------- This section of the manual illustrates the functions of the various compnents (or *systems*) of a state-of-the-art spacecraft. There are seven different types of systems. They are: Drive, Energy, Command & Support (C&S), Scanning, Lander, Weapon, and Mining. Notice that each spacecraft design available to you has these seven sections in it. The capacity of each of the sections determines the spacecraft design's primary goal. For example, ore processors and the ramscoop may only be placed in the mining section. If a spacecraft has a large mining section, such as the sutter, then it is primarily suited for minng. SPACECRAFT SYSTEMS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All systems have several common characterisics. They are: *Damage Points (DP)* - This is a measure of the abount of damage that a part can take before it is destroyed. The higher the damage point level, the more likely the part will survive an attack. Damaged parts can be brought back to their original damage point level by an enginner or by the repair crew at a drydock. *Size* - The measurement of a part's bulk. The larger the part, the more room it will take to fit it in a section. *Visibility* - The measurement of how likely a part is to be his during an attack. This is based upon two factors: the part's size and the visibility modifier of the spacecraft section the part is inside. To calculate the part's visibilitym the appropriate section's visibility modifier is added to the part's size. For example, if you have a hyperdrive of size 5 in an Angora class spacecraft, its visibility wouold be 3, because the visibility modifier for the drive section is -2. This means that the drive section is concealed enough so that anything inside of it "appears" smaller to the outside than it really is and thus presents less of a target. The actual visibiliy of a part may never go below 1. *Sophistication* - This is the same as the sophistication of the drydock where the part was purchased. Only high-grade engineers and high sophistication drydocks can repair the most sophisticated parts. Typically, the sophistication parts are the best (and costliest). In addition, some systems have the following characteristics: *Partial operation* - Any system marked as such will operate at a fraction of its normal efficiency if damaged. The percentage of efficiency is calculated by dividing the current dp level of the part by its maximum dp level. For example, if a sub-light drive with 15 dp maximum and 500 gravities of acceleration is reduced to 11 dp, then its top acceleration is reduced to 367 gravities (11/15 =.734 and .734 * 500 =367). Note: partial operation will affect all of a part's functions adversely. *Constant drain* - If a system has the note "constant drain" in the Parts List, it will consume power even if it has been severely damaged, although it will stop draining if it is removed or destroyed.