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                 SPACE BATTLESHIP - (SHAREWARE VERSION)
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Game Design,Programming,Artwork:  Raymond Saltel

Note - It is recommended that you print out the instructions and the 2
accompanying diagrams.


ABOUT THE SHAREWARE VERSION
The shareware version was created to allow players to play the first 7
prepared scenarios designed for SPACE BATTLESHIP.Although you can create
your own scenarios,you will not be able to complete such games since a 6
turn limit is imposed on all custom made scenarios (this was done to
allow players to check game features but not allow entire games to be
played other than the prepared scenarios).Some of the prepared scenarios
have turn limits as well,but these are the normal limits designed for
those particular scenarios.The HITS/PROBABILITY option is not available
in the shareware version (this option allows the players to adjust any
hit,probability,factor or modifier in the game).You can't load in your
own custom drawn counters or make game saves in the shareware version.


HOW TO ORDER THE FULL VERSION
To order the full version of SPACE BATTLESHIP,please send a Money Order
for $15.00 in U.S. funds to:

Vizula, 1027 McIvor Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R2G-2K1

The price includes the mailing charges.You will receive a GAME disk and a
SCENARIOS disk containing 19 prepared scenarios.A text file containing the
instructions are included on the SCENARIOS disk.


DISTRIBUTION
This program is shareware and may be freely distributed under the
following conditions:
No attempt is made to tamper with,modify,reverse engineer or disassemble
the object code.No attempt is made to change any files or extract any
graphics.All files associated with the program must be included in it's
ditribution.


DISCLAIMER
VIZULA MAKES NO WARRANTIES,EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,WITH RESPECT TO THE
SOFTWARE PROGRAM OR THE GAME DESCRIBED IN THIS MANUAL,THEIR QUALITY,
PERFORMANCE,MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.THE
PROGRAM AND GAME ARE DISTRIBUTED "AS IS".THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THEIR
QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE IS WITH THE USER.IN NO EVENT WILL VIZULA BE
LIABLE FOR DIRECT,INDIRECT,INCIDENTAL,OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING
FROM ANY DEFECT IN THE PROGRAM OR GAME EVEN IF VIZULA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.


COPYRIGHT
Manual,Program and Artwork Copyright (c) 1995 Raymond Saltel
All Rights Reserved.Portions of the program include material copyrighted
(c) by Absoft Corp. 1988.
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                                  INDEX
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ALLIES,9-10
APPENDIX,35-37
ASTEROID FIELDS,9

BLACK HOLE,9

CLASSIFICATIONS OF SHIPS,11
CLICK 1-2-3,19
COMPUTER OPPONENT,10
COORDINATE MODE,20
CREATING MISSILES AND MINES,18
CREATING NEBULA/ASTEROID FIELDS,36-37
CREATING PLANETS/STARS,36
CREATING A SHIP,16-18
CRITICAL HITS,7
CUSTOM COLOR,37

DAMAGE,7
DAMAGE CONTROL,7
DESIGNER'S NOTES,38
DESTRUCT MENU,28
DRAWING AND LOADING IN YOUR OWN CUSTOM COUNTERS,37

END GAME MENU,27
END TURN MENU,28
ENDING THE GAME,10
ENERGY,6-7
ENERGY MENU,24-25
EXIT MAP,8
EXIT MAP MENU,28

FACING,2
FAST SETUP PAGE,35
FINAL OUTCOME,22-23
FIRING ON A SPECIFIC TARGET,3
FLAT/CURVED SPACE,1

GENERAL INFO ON MENUS,21

HITS/PROBABILITY TABLE,35
HITS/PROBABILITY TABLE OPTION,16

INSTALLING ON A HARD DRIVE,13-14

LASERS,3-4
LASERS MENU,26-27
LASER STRATEGY,29
LOADING SAVED GAMES AND SCENARIOS,35
LOCATION BOX,37
 
MAP,1,20
MANUALLY CREATING PLANETS,36-37
MANUAL SETUP PAGE,15-16
MESSAGES,10
MESSAGES MENU,27
MINES,6                                                                   MINES MENU,25-26
MINE STRATEGY,30-31
MISSILES,5
MISSILES MENU,25
MISSILE STRATEGY,29-30
MOVEMENT,2
MOVEMENT MENU,23-24

NEBULA FIELDS,8

OPERATING THE MAP,20
OPTIONAL OFFSET,26
OPTIONS,15-16
OPTIONS MENU,27

PHASE,1
PLACING SHIPS ON THE MAP,19
PLANET CREATION PAGE,18
PLANETS/STARS,8
PLAYING THE GAME,20-28
POINT DEFENCE,3,26-27
PULSE,1

QUIT MENU,27

RADAR,2-3
REAR ARC,4
REPAIR,7-8
REPAIR MENU,27
REPLAY MENU,22-23
ROTATION,2,24
RULES,1-11
RUNNING THE PROGRAM,12-14

SAVE GAME MENU,27
SCENARIOS,32-34
SEARCH,6
SEARCH MENU,23
SELF-DESTRUCT,8
SET-UP,16
SETTING UP THE GAME,15-19
SHIELDS,6
SHIP CREATION PAGE,16-18
SHIP SETUP MENU,19
SHIP TYPE MENU,28
SHORTCUT METHODS,25
SPEED,2
STACKING,20
STATUS MENU,23
STRATEGY,29-31

TIME LIMIT OPTION,16
TORPEDOES,5
TORPEDOES MENU,26
TORPEDOE STRATEGY,30

VICTORY CONDITIONS,10

WEAPONS MENU,25
                                                                                                                                             page 1

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                             SPACE BATTLESHIP
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INTRODUCTION:
Space Battleship simulates space combat on a tactical level.The objective
of the game is to inflict as much damage as possible to enemy ships while
avoiding damage to friendly ships.

One at a time each player plots his/her move.Movement is simultaneous and
there is no advantage in being the first or last player.The game
automatically ends when only one player has ships remaining on the map or
when no ships remain on the map.Players have the option to end the game
early using the END GAME MENU.There can be a maximum of 4 players.

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                                  RULES
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MAP:
The map is 22 sectors wide by 44 sectors high (968 sectors in all).In 
order to understand the tactical situation more clearly the map sectors
are drawn very small with objects on the map represented symbolically.
Below is a listing of the various map symbols and the objects they 
represent.
1. Ships are represented as arrows.They can be facing 8 possible 
   directions.
2. Missiles are represented as diamonds.
3. Mines are represented as an "x".
4. Planets are represented as brown disks.
5. Stars are represented as yellow crosses.
6. Nebula fields are represented as clouds of blue dots.
7. Asteroid fields are represented as clouds of brown dots.
8. The blackhole is represented as a black disk with a brown halo.

FLAT/CURVED SPACE:
Players have the option to play in either flat or curved space.In flat
space there are 4 edges to the map - top,bottom,left and right.In curved
space there are only two edges - the left and right.The top and bottom of
the map are connected together in curved space (if an object travels off 
the top of the map it reappears at the bottom of the map).

PULSE:
Every turn is divided into 9 units of time called a pulse.Many menus 
require players to choose the pulse that a certain operation will occur.
For example,you must choose what pulse to fire a laser,what pulse to 
launch a missile,what pulse to lay a mine,etc.

PHASE:
In every pulse there is a number of events which occur in a specific 
order.These events are called phases and are listed below in the order
they occur.
1. Ship movement/mine laying phase
2. Missle launch/missle movement phase
3. Mine contact/missile contact phase
4. Laser attack phase
5. Torpedoe attack phase
6. Self-destruction phase                                                                                                                    page 2

MOVEMENT:

                                  SPEED
Before a ship's move can be plotted the ship's speed must be determined.A
ship may move at any speed from zero to it's maximum speed.Every ship has
a different maximum speed and 9 is the highest maximum speed possible.
Since there are 9 pulses in a turn,a ship that is moving at a speed of 9
will move one sector on every pulse.If a ship is moving at a speed which 
is less than 9 it means that the ship will move on some pulses and will 
not move on other pulses.For example,if a ship is moving at a speed of 1
the ship will not move on pulses 1,2,3,4,then move on pulse 5,then not 
move on pulses 6,7,8,9.If a ship is moving at a speed of 6 the ship will
move on pulses 1,2,not move on pulse 3,move on pulses 4,5,not move on 
pulse 6,move on pulses 7,8,not move on pulse 9.It costs 4 points of 
energy for every 1 point of speed.

                                  FACING
There are 8 different directions a ship can be facing (each direction
separated by increments of 45 degrees).A ship which is pointed upwards is
facing direction 1.A ship which is rotated 45 degrees clockwise from
direction 1 (pointing up and to the right) is facing direction 2.A ship 
which is rotated 90 degrees clockwise from direction 1 (pointing to the 
right) is facing direction 3,etc.

                            PLOTTING MOVEMENT
A directional number is required for every pulse that a ship moves in 
order to indicate the path that the ship will take.When a ship is going 
to move out of the sector it currently occupies there are three 
directions the ship can take:
1. The ship can move straight ahead (in the direction the ship is 
   facing).
2. The ship can turn 45 degrees clockwise and move.
3. The ship can turn 45 degrees counterclockwise and move.

For example,a ship is in sector J-15 and has a directional facing of 3
(pointing to the right).The ship could continue to move straight ahead
(direction 3) and move into sector K-15.Alternatively the ship could turn
45 degrees clockwise and move down and to the right (direction 4) to
sector K-14.The ship could also turn 45 degrees counterclockwise and move
up and to the right (direction 2) to sector K-16.

Instead of moving,a ship can remain in the sector it currently occupies 
and change it's facing by rotating.

RADAR:
Each ship uses radar to detect enemy vessels.The range of radar is 22 
sectors in any direction from the ship.If a ship is inside a nebula or 
asteroid field it's radar is completely screened by the field and it will
be unable to detect any object.An enemy vessel will not be detected by 
radar if it is behind a planet,star,nebula field or asteroid field (or if
it is inside a nebula or asteroid field).

All ships in a player's fleet are linked together by radio communication.
The onboard computers of each ship is constantly transmitting and 
receiving radar information to and from every other ship in the fleet.
What this means is that what one ship "sees" all ships "see".The 
exception to this is when a ship is inside a nebula or asteroid field.In
that case the ship's radio link is severed by the field and it cannot                                                                        page 3

transmit or receive radar data.
                                                                 
The 2 weapon systems that depend on radar are lasers and missiles.Because
ships share radar information it makes it possible for a ship to launch a
laser or missile attack against an enemy vessel which is BEHIND a nebula
field provided that the enemy vessel is detected by the radar of another
friendly ship. This kind of attack will only work with nebula fields.If
an enemy vessel is behind a planet,star or asteroid field on a pulse that
a laser/missile strike is supposed to occur,the attack will be cancelled
by the attacking ship's onboard computers.

LASERS:
Lasers can be used in 2 ways - they can be programmed to fire at a 
specific target (usually an enemy ship) or they can be put on point 
defence to protect against a missile attack.
                                 
                       FIRING ON A SPECIFIC TARGET
To fire on a specific target each laser needs 2 items of information:
1. The target to be fired upon.
2. The pulse that the laser will fire on.
The actual firing of the laser is left to the onboard computer.When the 
pulse to fire occurs the computer checks the radar information from all 
the ships in the fleet.If the target is visible on radar and if there are
no planets,stars or asteroid fields blocking the line of sight of the 
attacking ship then the laser is fired.Nebula fields do not block lasers 
and lasers can pass through them unaffected.However,it is important to 
note that even though a laser can be fired through a nebula field a ship
INSIDE a nebula field will not fire it's lasers simply because it's radar
(and radio link to other ships) is screened by the field.A ship CANNOT 
program it's lasers to fire on a specific target if it is inside a nebula
or asteroid field.

                              POINT DEFENCE
Instead of firing on a specific target lasers can be put on point 
defence.When a laser is on point defence the onboard computer will search
for a missile on every pulse.If a missile is detected on radar at a range
of 2 sectors or less the computer will fire the laser against the
missile.A single laser on point defence can only destroy a single 
missile.A laser on point defence only needs to be energized with 1 point 
of energy in order to destroy a missile.

                       LASER ENERGY,HITS,MODIFIERS
Lasers are the only weapons which require energy in order to use them.

There are 3 types of lasers - type 1 lasers can hold a maximum of 1 point
of energy,type 2 lasers can hold a maximum of 10 points of energy and 
type 3 lasers can hold a maximum of 20 points of energy.   

The base damage done by a laser is 4x the amount of energy put in it 
(1 point of energy will cause 4 points of damage,2 points of energy will 
cause 8 points of damage,etc.).A fully charged type 2 laser will cause 
40 points of damage.A fully charged type 3 laser will cause 80 points of
damage.
                                                                
There are 2 situations that can change the final amount of laser hits 
that a ship receives:

                                                                                                                                             page 4

1. If a ship is raked - If a ship gets hit in it's rear arc the ship is
   considered to have been "raked" by the laser and the base damage is
   doubled.For example,a fully charged type 2 laser will do 80 points of 
   damage if it hits a ship from behind.

2. If a ship fires through it's rear arc - When a ship fires backwards 
   the laser hits are halved.For example,a fully charged type 2 laser 
   firing backwards will do only 20 points of damage.

(Note: The above two rules do not apply to starbases.A starbase cannot be
raked and a starbase can fire equally well in all directions.Also,the 
above two rules do not apply to any objects which have a maximum velocity
of zero such as colony ships and missile batteries.)

                                 REAR ARC
If two 45 degree diagonal lines are drawn behind a ship a 90 degree cone
is formed.The diagonal lines themselves are not considered to be part of 
the rear arc but the 88 degrees between them are.To help understand when
a laser is going through a ship's rear arc 2 examples will be explained.

Example 1:A ship with a directional facing of 1 (pointed up) is in sector
E-5.If a diagonal line is drawn downwards and to the left from the center
of E-5 it will cross sectors D-4,C-3,B-2 and A-1.If another diagonal is 
drawn downwards and to the right from the center of sector E-5 it will 
cross sectors F-4,G-3,H-2,I-1,etc.These diagonal sectors are not 
considered to be in the ship's rear arc but all sectors between them are.

Example 2:A ship with a directional facing of 2 (pointed up and to the
right) is in sector E-5.A horizontal line which goes to the left from the
center of sector E-5 will cross sectors D-5,C-5,B-5,A-5,etc.A vertical
line which is drawn downwards from the center of E-5 will cross sectors
E-4,E-3,E-2,E-1,etc.These horizontal and vertical sectors are not
considered to be in the ship's rear arc but all sectors between them are.
 
                      PROBABILITY OF A LASER STRIKE
A laser is an all hit or all miss weapon - if it hits it hits with all
it's strength,if it misses it misses completely.

If a laser fires at a stationary object (such as a mine or planet) at a 
range of 1 sector there is a 98% chance of hitting the target.For every 
sector that the target is further away there is a 2% decrease in the
probability of hitting it.

If a laser fires at a missile at a range of 1 sector there is a 92% 
chance of hitting it.For every sector that the missile is further away 
there is a 2% decrease in the probability of hitting it.

If a laser fires at a stationary ship at a range of zero (when the 
attacking ship and target ship are in the same sector) there is a 100% 
chance of hitting the target ship.For every sector that the target ship 
is further away there is a 2% decrease in the probability of hitting it 
and for every point of speed of the target ship there is a 2% decrease in
the probability of hitting it.For example,if the target ship is 3 sectors
away and is moving at a speed of 8 there is a 78% chance of hitting it.

The maximum range of a laser is 22 sectors. 

                                                                                                                                             page 5

MISSILES:
Missiles are computer controlled weapons just as lasers are and 
programming a missile to attack a specific target is exactly the same as
programming a laser to attack a specific target.Refer to "FIRING ON A 
SPEICIFIC TARGET" in the laser section.When reading this paragraph 
substitute the word "missile" for "laser". 

A launched missile is independant of the attacking ship and will track 
the target with it's own sensors.Missiles move at a speed of 9 which 
means that on every pulse a missile will move one sector closer to it's
target.A missile will always take the shortest path to the target and 
will only attack it's programmed target.If a missile detonates on an 
ememy ship which is in a sector containing other ships only the target 
ship will take hits.If a missile enters a sector containing a planet,star
or asteroid field the missile is destroyed.If the target is destroyed 
before the missile can reach it the missile will be removed from the map.
A missile causes 180 to 200 points of damage.

A fighter is the only type of ship which can replace it's missiles (refer
to CLASSIFICATIONS OF SHIPS).

TORPEDOES:
Torpedoes are manually controlled weapons and do not depend on radar or 
the ship's computers.A torpedoe is launched into a specific sector of 
space and when the torpedoe reaches it's destination it will explode.An
exploding torpedoe causes damage to all objects within the target sector
and the 8 adjacent sectors.All objects within the target sector will take
40 to 60 hits and all objects within the adjacent sectors will take 20 to
40 hits.
 
Torpedoes move one sector per pulse.This means that the time it takes in
pulses for a torpedoe to reach it's destination will be equal to the 
distance to the target sector.For example,if the target sector is 3 
sectors away the torpedoe will reach it's destination on pulse 3,if the
target sector is 8 sectors away the torpedoe will reach it's destination
on pulse 8,etc.However,since a turn is only 9 pulses long any torpedoe 
which is launched to a sector whose distance is greater than 9 will take
longer than a turn to reach it's destination.For example,if a torpedoe is
lauched to it's maximum distance of 22 sectors the torpedoe will reach 
it's destination 22 pulses later which will be pulse 4 on the third turn 
following the launch.

A torpedoe can detonate on the pulse that it reaches it's destination or 
the detonation time can be delayed up to pulse 22.For example,if a 
torpedoe is launched to a target which is 6 sectors away the torpedoe can
be programmed to explode on pulse 6 or pulse 7 or pulse 8 ...or pulse 22.

The number of torpedoes that can be launched per turn depends on the 
number of torpedoe tubes on board each ship.Ships never run out of 
torpedoes and torpedoes can be launched every turn.No energy is required
to launch a torpedoe.

Planets,stars,nebula fields and asteroid fields do not block torpedoes 
and a ship can launch torpedoes to any sector which is within a distance 
of 22 sectors from the attacking ship.


                                                                                                                                             page 6

MINES:
As a ship passes through a sector one or more mines may be dropped in 
that sector.It is important to note that when a mine is layed it will be
left BEHIND in the sector that the ship is leaving NOT the sector that 
the ship is entering.For example,if a ship moves from sector E-10 to F-11
on pulse 3 and lays a mine on pulse 3 the mine will be dropped in sector 
E-10 not F-11.If a mine is layed on a pulse that the ship does not move 
in,the mine will remain in an inactive state until the ship leaves the 
sector.Once a mine is dropped it cannot be deactivated or picked up.If an
object enters a mined sector the mine explodes causing 50 to 90 points of
damage to the object.If more than one object enters the mined sector at 
the same time all objects will take hits.

Friendly mines are always plotted on the map but enemy mines are not.
Enemy mines cannot be seen by radar and the only way that an enemy mine 
can be found is with a search.

SEARCH:
Players can use searches to attempt to locate objects that are not seen 
by radar.Every player is allowed 7 searches per turn (searches are per 
player,not per ship).Any empty sector of space can be searched.Sectors 
containing nebula or asteroid fields CANNOT be searched.To prevent 
players from accidently wasting searches,sectors which contain planets,
stars,ships,missiles or mines cannot be searched.Any hidden object in a
searched sector will be plotted on the map.If a search reveals a hidden
enemy ship then friendly ships can program their lasers or missiles to 
attack it.However,it is important to note that just because lasers or 
missiles may be programmed to attack an enemy ship does not guarantee 
that the ship will be attacked.On the actual pulse that the weapons are 
progammed to fire the enemy ship must be visible in the radar of one of 
the friendly ships and the line of sight of the attacking ship cannot be
blocked by planets,stars or asteroid fields.

With the exception of the blackhole the search information is NOT stored 
from one turn to the next.For example if a mine is located in sector C-32
during a search it will NOT be plotted on the following turn.If a player 
wanted to relocate the mine then sector C-32 would have to be searched 
again.

SHIELDS:
Shields are used to protect ships from hits.Every point of energy in the 
shields will absorb a hit.There are 3 conditions that shields can be in:
1. On line - The shields can be energizied.
2. Off line - The shield mechanism itself is not damaged but the power 
   flow to the shilds has been interupted and the shields cannot be 
   energized.
3. Severely damaged - The mechanism which genarates the shields has been 
   severely damaged and the shields cannot be energized.

ENERGY:
Players must decide how much energy should be allocated to 3 different 
systems:
1. Movement - Each point of speed costs 4 points of energy.
2. Lasers - Every point of energy in a laser will normally do 4 points of
   damage (this damage can sometimes be altered by the rear hit modifier
   or the rear fire modifier).
3. Shields - Every point of energy in the shields will absorb one hit 
   point.                                                                                                                                    page 7

There are 2 sources that energy can come from:
1. Engine energy - Every turn a ship's engines will produce energy.This
   energy can then be allocated to various systems on the ship.As a ship 
   takes damage it's engine energy will go down.
2. Stored energy - Any engine energy that is not used in a turn will be 
   saved in the ship's storage cells.There is a limit to the amount of 
   energy that can be saved.Any unused energy above this limit is lost.
   When energy is being allocated to a system it will first be taken from
   the storage cells.When the storage cells are empty,energy is then 
   taken from the available engine energy.As a ship takes hits it's 
   maximum storage capacity will go down.

DAMAGE:
When a ship takes hits 3 areas of the ship will take damage - the hull,
the maximum stored energy and the engine energy.The hits are distributed
into these areas as follows.The first 65% of the hits are automatically 
taken off the hull.The remaining hits are randomly divided and taken off
the hull,maximum stored energy and engine energy.

CRITICAL HITS:
Every time a ship is damaged there is a possibility that the ship will 
take a critical hit to one of it's systems.The probability of taking a 
critical hit is directly correlated to the ship's percent damage.For 
example,if a ship is 30% damaged it has a 30% chance of taking a critical
hit.Listed below are the 7 types of critical hits:

1. Shields - If the shields take a critical hit there is a 10% chance 
   that the shields will be severely damaged and a 90% chance that the 
   shields will be knocked off line.
2. Missiles - A missile will be destroyed.
3. Mines - A mine will be destroyed.
4. Torpedoes - A torpedoe tube will be severely damaged.  
5. Lasers - A laser will be severely damaged.
6. Maximum Speed - The maximum speed will go down by a random amount.
7. Possible Catastrophic Hit - If a ship receives a catastrophic hit it
   means that the ship has been destroyed by an incredibly lucky shot 
   (perhaps the torpedoe magazine has been hit or the engines have 
   exploded,etc.).There is a 5% chance of getting a catastrophic hit.

DAMAGE CONTROL:
Every ship has damage control and it functions automatically (players do 
not control it).If shields are knocked off line damage control parties 
will attempt to put them back on line (damage control cannot repair 
severely damaged shields).If the maximum speed of the ship is reduced 
below half speed,damage control parties will attempt to increase the 
speed of a ship by one speed point per turn until half speed is reached.
The probability of successful damage control is 80%.

REPAIR:
Players manually control ship repair.Every ship has one team of 
specialized technicians and engineers that can be assigned to repair a 
severely damaged system.This repair team can only work on one system at a
time so a player must choose which system is more important if several 
systems are damaged.The probability of successful repair is 33%.

There are 4 types of repairs that can be done:
1. Shields - A repair crew will attempt to repair severely damaged 
   shields.                                                                                                                                  page 8

2. Torpedoes - A repair crew will attempt to repair a severely damaged 
   torpedoe tube.
3. Lasers - A repair crew will attempt to repair a severely damaged 
   laser.
4. Maximum speed - A repair crew will attempt to fix the engines and 
   bring the speed up to maximum speed.A successful repair can bring the
   speed up by 1 or any number up to maximum speed.

EXIT MAP:
In order to exit the map a ship must be in a sector which borders a map 
edge.In flat space there are 4 edges - top,bottom,left and right.In 
curved space there are 2 edges - left and right.Players must indicate 
what pulse a ship intends to exit on.A ship cannot exit on the same pulse
that it enters a border sector but can exit on any following pulse.If the
ship is in a border sector on the selected pulse (or any pulse greater 
than the selected pulse) the ship is removed from the map and is 
considered to have exited.Ships that have a maximum speed of zero or that
have been reduced to a speed of zero cannot exit. 

SELF-DESTRUCT:
When a ship self-destructs it causes damage to all objects in the ship's 
sector and the 8 adjacent sectors.The amount of damage in the ship's 
sector will be a random number which ranges from the "Medium Destruct 
Value" to the"Maximum Destruct Value".The damage in the adjacent sectors
will be a random number which ranges from the "Minimum Destruct Value" to
the "Medium Destruct Value".These values are calculated as follows:

Maximum Destruct Value = (engine output) x (maximum destruct factor)
Medium  Destruct Value = (engine output) x (medium  destruct factor)
Minimum Destruct Value = (engine output) x (minimum destruct factor)

It is important to understand that use of the engine energy available to 
a player will in no way affect the engine output number or the destruct 
calculations.For example,if a ship outputs 70 points of energy per turn,
it means a player has 70 points of energy available per turn.Whether the 
player uses zero points or all 70 points of this energy on a turn will 
not change the engine output number which is still 70.

PLANETS/STARS:
Any ship/missile that enters a planet/star sector will be destroyed.

Planets/stars block radar.

If a target object is behind a planet/star on a pulse that a 
laser/missile strike is supposed to occur,the attack will be cancelled by
the attacking ship's onboard computers.

Torpedoes are not blocked by planets/stars.

NEBULA FIELDS:
Nebula fields do not restrict ship/missile movement in any way.

Nebula fields block radar.

A ship cannot program it's lasers or missiles to fire on a specific 
target if it is inside a nebula field.

Lasers,missiles and torpedoes are not blocked by nebula fields.                                                                              page 9

ASTEROID FIELDS:
Ships can move through asteroid fields but they will take hits for every 
pulse that they are inside one.The number of hits per pulse will be a 
random number from 0 to 60.

Asteroid fields block radar.

A ship cannot program it's lasers or missiles to fire on a specific 
target if it is inside an asteroid field.

If a target object is behind an asteroid field on a pulse that a 
laser/missile strike is supposed to occur,the attack will be cancelled by
the attacking ship's onboard computers.

Torpedoes are not blocked by asteroid fields.

BLACK HOLE:
If you select "YES" to the black hole option an invisible black hole is 
randomly placed on the map.If a ship/missile moves into the sector 
occupied by the black hole the ship/missile will disappear and be removed
from the map.The black hole cannot be seen by ship's radar.Players can 
attempt to determine the location of the black hole either directly by 
searches or indirctly by deductive reasoning.It is important to note that
the last sector that you see an object in before it disappears is NOT the
same sector that the black hole is in but rather is a sector that is 
adjacent to the black hole.

A player can watch an animated replay of the previous turn using the 
REPLAY MENU.While watching the replay objects may appear to "disappear".
Below is a list of 4 reasons why a ship may "disappear":
1. An enemy ship is no longer seen by radar (either because the enemy 
   ship is out of range of radar or has gone behind a planet,star,nebula
   or asteroid field).
2. The ship has exited from the map.
3. The ship is stacked with another ship.
4. The ship has gone into a black hole.

Below is a list of 4 reasons why a missile may "disappear":
1. The missile is no longer seen by radar (either because the missile is
   out of range of the radar or has gone behind a planet,star,nebula or 
   asteroid field).
2. The missile has been taken off the map because the missile's target no
   longer exists.
3. The missile is stacked with another object.
4. The missile has gone into a black hole.

ALLIES:
Players may choose to be allied with each other by selecting one of the
following allied options available:
1. Player 1 versus Players 2,3 
2. Player 1 versus Players 2,3,4
3. Players 1,2 versus Player 3 versus Player 4
4. Players 1,2 versus Players 3,4

The allied options are located on the MANUAL SETUP PAGE (refer to MANUAL
SETUP PAGE).

                                                                                                                                            page 10

The victory conditions for games involving allies is handled differently
than the victory conditions of non-allied games (refer to VICTORY
CONDITIONS).

Allied players can send each other coded messages (refer to MESSAGES).

MESSAGES:
Every turn,players can send each other messages.When a message is created
it is transmitted into space and can be picked up by all players.In a
multi-player game the messages are received in random order and there is
no way to know which message came from which player.Messages can be
transmitted in 2 different modes - coded and uncoded.An uncoded message
will appear unscrambled to all players.A coded message will appear
scrambled to an enemy player but will appear unscrambled to an allied
player.Players can attempt to unscramble a coded message.If the player
succeeds the code is considered to be broken and thereafter any scrambled
messages in that code will be shown in uncoded form to that player.The
probability of breaking a code is 8%.

COMPUTER OPPONENT:
The computer opponent can be used in a 2,3 or 4 player game.In each case
the computer opponent takes control of player 1's ships.(Note: The
computer opponent has a few special abilities but these abilities will
NOT be listed in order to keep the computer opponent as challanging as
possible.)

ENDING THE GAME:
There are 3 ways the game can end:

1.The game will automatically end when only one player has ships 
  remaining on the map or when no ships remain on the map.

2.The game will automatically end if the number of turns exceeds the 
  number of turns allowed.The number of turns allowed can be altered by
  using the HITS/PROBABILITY TABLE.(Refer to HITS/PROBABILITY TABLE.)

3.Players have the option to end the game early using the END GAME MENU.
 

VICTORY CONDITIONS:
When the game ends the player with the least percent damage to his/her  
forces is the winner.

The percent damage calculated for an allied player is different than a
normal player.Each allied player's percent damage is determined by
calculating the TOTAL damage incurred on the TOTAL allied forces.

For example,player 3 controls a battleship while player 4 controls a
cruiser and a frigate.When the game ends,the battleship has taken 578
hits (out of 700),the cruiser has taken 369 hits (out of 470) and the
frigate has taken 107 hits (out of 235).If players 3 and 4 are non-allied
their percent damage would be:
% damage (player 3) = 100% x 578 / 700 = 82%
% damage (player 4) = 100% x (369 + 107) / (470 + 235) = 67%
If players 3 and 4 were allied their percent damage would be:
% damage (player 3) = 100% x (578 + 369 + 107) / (700 + 470 + 235) = 75%
% damage (player 4) = 100% x (578 + 369 + 107) / (700 + 470 + 235) = 75%
                                                                                                                                            page 11

CLASSIFICATIONS OF SHIPS:

The following table lists the various classifications of ships available
and any special abilities they may have:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classification      Special abilities
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starbase (SB)       Starbases cannot be raked.Starbases can fire equally 
                    well in all directions.A starbase can rearm fighters
                    with missiles if the fighters end their turn in the 
                    same sector as the starbase.(Rearmming cannot occur 
                    in nebula or asteroid fields.) 
      
Battleship (BB)     none

Cruiser (CR)        none

Frigate (FF)        none

Destroyer (DD)      none

Fighter (FT)        A fighter that ends it's turn in a sector occupied by
                    a starbase or tender will be rearmed with missiles.
                    (Rearmming cannot occur in nebula or asteroid 
                    fields.)

Tender (AV)         A tender can rearm fighters with missiles if the 
                    fighters end their turn in the same sector as the 
                    tender.(Rearmming cannot occur in nebula or asteroid
                    fields.)

Transport (TR)      none

Battery (BT)        Batteries cannot be raked.

Star Squid (SQ)     A Star Squid automatically destroys any ship that 
                    moves into it's sector.Star Squids can move through 
                    asteroid fields without taking hits.

Colony (CN)         Colony ships cannot be raked.

Corvette (C)        none

Probe (PB)          none

Dreadnought (DN)    none

Marine (MR)         none

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






                                                                                                                                            page 12

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           RUNNING THE PROGRAM
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before you can run the program,you must prepare 2 floppy disks (that will
become a game disk and a scenarios disk).Extract the files from the
"SpaceBB.LHA" archive and copy them to an empty formatted disk.Rename
this disk "SpaceBB".Extract the files from the "Scenario.LHA" archive and
copy them to another empty formatted disk.Then rename this disk
"Scenarios".

IMPORTANT NOTE! - The game disk MUST be named "SpaceBB" in order for the
program to work properly.
 
IMPORTANT NOTE! - Do not try to run the program by using an icon (some
Workbenches allow the user to use an "artificial" icon even if the
program doesn't normally have one).Instead,use one of the methods
described below.

The game can be run from a floppy disk or from a hard drive.In both
cases you will need to activate and use SHELL or CLI to run the program
(refer to note below if you don't know how to do this).Don't confuse the
ASSIGN statement of the floppy disk procedure with the ASSIGN statement
of the hard drive procedure (these statements are different and are used
for different reasons).

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

HOW TO OPEN SHELL OR CLI:

Your Workbench will contain SHELL or CLI or both (SHELL is an upgraded
CLI). Double click on the Workbench icon to open up the Workbench window.
Double click on the "System" drawer to open up the "System" window
(usually SHELL or CLI will be found in the "System" drawer). Double click
on the "SHELL" icon to activate the SHELL or double click on the "CLI"
icon to activate the CLI. A window is opened up which contains a prompt
where you can enter commands. After typing each command, press the Return
key. (Refer to your AmigaDOS manual if you need more information on using
SHELL or CLI.)

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

TO RUN FROM A FLOPPY DISK:

1. Open up SHELL or CLI (refer to HOW TO OPEN SHELL OR CLI).

2. Check to see if the size of the stack memory is large enough to run
   the program.To view the current stack size type the following:

   STACK

   AmigaDOS will respond by listing the current stack size in bytes.If
   the current stack size is greater than 6000,then skip ahead to step 3.
   If the current stack size is smaller than 6000,then change the stack
   size by typing the following:

   STACK 6000
                                                                                                                                            page 13

3. Assign the logical device SYS: to the "SpaceBB" game disk by typing:

   ASSIGN SYS: SpaceBB:
 
4. Change the current directory to the "SpaceBB" game disk by typing:

   CD SpaceBB:

5. Run the program by typing:

   spacebb.run

   Note - After you quit from the game you will need to assign the
   logical device SYS: back to your Workbench disk.For example,if your
   Workbench disk is called "Workbench1.3" then you would type the
   following:

   ASSIGN SYS: Workbench1.3:

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

TO RUN FROM A HARD DRIVE:

1. Open up SHELL or CLI (refer to HOW TO OPEN SHELL OR CLI).

2. Create a new directory on your hard drive (in this example the new
   directory will be called "MyDir") by typing the following:

   MAKEDIR dh0:MyDir

3. Copy the files from the "SpaceBB" game disk to your new directory by
   inserting the "SpaceBB" game disk into one of your floppy drives and
   then typing the following:

   COPY SpaceBB:#? dh0:MyDir

4. Check to see if the size of the stack memory is large enough to run
   the program.To view the current stack size type the following:

   STACK

   AmigaDOS will respond by listing the current stack size in bytes.If
   the current stack size is greater than 6000,then skip ahead to step 5.
   If the current stack size is smaller than 6000,then change the stack
   size by typing the following:

   STACK 6000

5. Assign the logical device name "SpaceBB:" to your new directory by
   typing:

   ASSIGN SpaceBB: dh0:MyDir

   Note - Make sure that the "SpaceBB" game disk is not in any of your
   floppy drives before you make the assignment.


                                                                                                                                            page 14

6. Change the current directory to your new directory by typing:

   CD dh0:MyDir

7. Run the program by typing:

   spacebb.run


NOTE - You may have the option to run the program from the RAM DISK if
your system has sufficient memory.The steps needed to run the program
from the RAM DISK are identical to the steps needed to run the program
from a hard drive except you must type "RAM:MyDir" instead of "dh0:MyDir"
(alternatively, you can skip step 2 and simply type "RAM:" instead of
"dh0:MyDir").

NOTE - After loading a saved game or scenario you will see the message
"Insert your SpaceBB disk in any drive...then hit any key".This message
is for users who are running the program from the game disk.Users running
the program from a hard drive or the RAM DISK should ignore this message
and simply press any key.

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


































                                                                                                                                            page 15

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           SETTING UP THE GAME
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

When you run the game a copyright notice will appear followed by a list
of the distribution conditions.Press any key to continue.A page showing
how to order the full version of the game will then be displayed.Press
any key to continue.An animated title sequence will follow.This sequence
will repeat itself until you press any key.(Note! - The actual key you
should press will depend on whether the battery backed up clock on your
computer is working or not.If the battery is working press any key except
the "R" key - this will cause the program to use the internal timer to
seed the random number generator.If the battery is not working then you
MUST press the "R" key - this will allow you to manually seed the random
number generator,otherwise you will get the same sequence of random
planets,fields,scenarios,etc. every time the program is run.When the "R"
key is pressed the program will continuously cycle through a series of
random numbers until you press any key.)

The question "Do you want to load in a previously saved game?" will then
appear on the screen.Press the "Y" key if you want to load in a saved
game or a scenario (refer to LOADING SAVED GAMES AND SCENARIOS).To start
a new game press the "N" key.

You will then see the question "Do you want a FAST setup?".If you press
the "Y" key the FAST SETUP PAGE will be loaded in (refer to FAST SETUP
PAGE),if you press the "N" key the MANUAL SETUP PAGE will be loaded in.

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

MANUAL SETUP PAGE:
The manual setup page is divided into 2 sections - the upper half of the 
screen is called OPTIONS and the bottom half is called SET-UP.

                                 OPTIONS
Below the options heading are 8 questions with 2 responses for each 
question.Players decide which options they want on and which they want
off and then click on the appropriate response.

FLAT/CURVED SPACE OPTION:
Refer to FLAT/CURVED SPACE.

PLANETS OPTION:
Refer to PLANETS/STARS.

NEBULA,ASTEROID OPTION:
Refer to NEBULA FIELDS,ASTEROID FIELDS.

BLACK HOLE OPTION:
Refer to BLACK HOLE.

COMPUTER OPPONENT OPTION:
Refer to COMPUTER OPPONENT.

EXIT MAP OPTION:
Refer to EXIT MAP.

                                                                                                                                            page 16

TIME LIMIT OPTION:
If you select "yes" to the time limit option,then each player must
complete his/her turn within a certain time limit or the turn will end
automatically.The total time each player gets can be calculated as
follows.A player gets 3 minutes for every ship he/she owns plus an
additional 2 minutes.For example,a player with 1 ship will get 5
minutes a turn (1x3+2=5),a player with 2 ships will get 8 minutes a
turn (2x3+2=8),and a player with 3 ships will get 11 minutes a turn
(3x3+2=11).Every time a player loses a ship his/her time will go down by
3 minutes.The "TIME FOR EACH SHIP" and the "ADDITIONAL TIME" can be
changed by using the HITS/PROBABILITY TABLE (refer to HITS/PROBABILITY
TABLE).If the REPLAY or MESSAGE menu is opened,the timer will not be
checked until after the menu is closed.This allows players to finish
viewing a replay or finish typing a message.

HITS/PROBABILITY TABLE OPTION:
If you select "yes" to the hits table option the HITS/PROBABILITY TABLE
will be loaded in showing all the hits,factors,modifiers and
probabilities in the game.These numbers may be altered by using the "up"
and "down" arrows to the right of each number.(Not available in the
shareware version).

                                  SET-UP
The first 4 questions ask for the number of ships for each player.At this
point players should decide what the scenario will be and how many ships 
each player will get.There can be a maximum of 24 ships per game.

Players may choose to be allied with each other by selecting one of the
four allied options available (refer to ALLIES).

When you have finished with the manual setup page click on the "proceed"
box located on the upper right corner of the screen.

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

SHIP CREATION PAGE:
After proceeding from the manual setup page a "ship creation" page is
loaded in.On the upper right hand side of the screen you will see a
grey menu with 6 labels.4 of these labels are marked as follows - "view
page 1","view page 2","view page 3" and "view page 4".Every time you
click on one of these labels a page of 10 different ship pictures will be
displayed.Pages 1,2 and 3 represent ships from 6 different alien races
(each race has 5 classes of ships - starbases,battleships,cruisers,
frigates and destroyers).Page 4 represents 10 other classifications of
ships/objects.Pictures of missiles and mines are located below the grey
menu.

                             CREATING A SHIP
A ship can be created in 6 steps (2 of these steps are optional):

1. Select a color - You choose a color by using the menu on the bottom 
   left of the screen.You can select one of the prepared palettes or 
   invent your own colors by using the custom color menu (refer to CUSTOM
   COLOR).The color of the LAST ship a player creates will become the
   color of ALL ships in that player's fleet.This means that a player
   only has to redo one ship to change the color of all his/her ships.

                                                                                                                                            page 17

2. Select a ship - Click on the picture of the ship you want to choose.
   After clicking on the ship you will see it's picture shown in the
   display square at the bottom of the screen.The ship's classification 
   and characteristics will be shown to the left of the display square.

3. Give the ship a name - Click on the brown box which is located below
   the display square.The box will be outlined in yellow to indicate that
   the window is now active.Then type in the name of your ship.You can
   deactivate the window by either pressing the return key or by clicking
   the left mouse button.The yellow line will disappear indicating that
   the window has been deactivated.

4. (OPTIONAL STEP) Change the classification - Click on the 
   classification box.The box will be outlined in yellow to indicate the
   window is now active.Then type in the new classification.You can
   deactivate the window by either pressing the return key or by clicking
   the left mouse button.The yellow line will disappear indicating that
   the window has been deactivated.

5. (OPTIONAL STEP) Change the ship's Characteristics - Below the
   classification label you will see 8 characteristics and up and down 
   arrows beside them.You can click on these arrows to alter the various
   characteristics of the ship.Below is a list of the characteristics and
   their minimum to maximum range:

   Hits Left                              1 - 999
   Number of Missiles                     0 - 5
   Number of Mines                        0 - 10
   Number of Torpedoe Tubes               0 - 3
   Number of Lasers                       0 - 6
   Maximum Speed                          0 - 9
   Maximum Stored Energy                  0 - 499
   Engine Energy                          0 - 499

   Note that the type of lasers the ship has is printed to the right of
   the word "lasers".Each time the pointer is clicked over the word
   "lasers" the laser type will change.
 
6. Create the ship - To the right of the display square you will see 24 
   blue boxes which have the letters "shp" printed inside (the letters
   "shp" is an abbreviated form for the word "ship"). Notice that to the
   right of each of these words there is either a number or a blank
   space.A number indicates the player that owns that ship.For example,
   "shp 1" means player 1 owns that ship,"shp 2" means that player 2 owns
   that ship etc.A blank space means no one owns the ship and it will not
   be in the game.
 
   To create a ship a player would click on one of the ship boxes that is
   owned by that player.The box will flash and turn bright blue
   indicating that a ship has been created.For example,imagine that
   player 1 and player 2 have two ships each.Player 1 would click on the
   first "shp 1" box to create his/her first ship and would click on the
   second "shp 1" box to create his/her second ship.Player 2 would click
   on the first "shp 2" box to create his/her first ship and would click
   on the second "shp 2" box to create his/her second ship.


                                                                                                                                            page 18

   IMPORTANT NOTE! - The box that contains the words "CREATE OBJECT" is a
   switch which can be toggled between two settings.The first setting is
   "create object" and the second setting is "view object".Clicking on
   the ship boxes can have 2 DIFFERENT effects,depending on the setting
   of this switch.When you are creating ships this switch MUST be on the
   "create object" setting (it will always start on this setting).If you
   want to view what ship is in each box you first click on the switch
   box.The switch will change from "create object" to "view object" and a
   yellow line will surround the ship boxes indicating that the viewing
   mode is on.Now when you click on the ship boxes you will be able to
   view the ships.When the viewing mode is on the rest of the page is
   "frozen" and no other operations can be done until the viewing mode is
   shut off.You can shut off the viewing mode by clicking on the switch
   once again.The switch will change back to "create object" and the
   yellow line will disappear.

                       CREATING MISSILES AND MINES
Creating missiles and mines is optional and is not required since default
missiles and mines will have already been created for each player.To 
create missiles/mines involves 2 steps:

1. Select the missile/mine - Click on the picture of the missile/mine you
   want to choose.This picture will be shown in the display square.

2. Create the missile/mine - On the right side of the screen is a column 
   of blue boxes with the letters "msl" and "min" printed inside (the 
   letters "msl" is an abbreviated form for the word "missile" and the 
   letters "min" is an abbreviated form for the word "mine").The number 
   to the right of these words indicates the player that owns that 
   missile or mine.

   Click on the missile/mine box that contains your player number.The box
   will flash and turn bright blue indicating that your missile/mine has
   been created.

Players have the option of using the "load custom" menu to load in their
own custom counters.(Refer to DRAWING AND LOADING IN YOUR OWN CUSTOM
COUNTERS.)

When you have finished with the ship creation page click on the "ok to 
proceed" box located on the upper right corner of the screen.

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

PLANET CREATION PAGE:
If you selected "YES" to the PLANETS or NEBULA/ASTEROIDS option a "planet
creation" page will be loaded in.There are 2 ways you can generate 
planets and fields:

1. Click on the "rnd planets" box.The computer randomly generates 
   planets,stars,nebula fields and asteroid fields.Then click on the "ok
   to proceed" box.

2. Manually create your own planets and fields.Refer to MANUALLY CREATING
   PLANETS.


                                                                                                                                            page 19

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

PLACING SHIPS ON THE MAP:
Before the game can start players must first place their ships on the 
map.When the words "PLAYER ONE" appears on the screen all players should 
leave the room except for player 1.At this point the game will 
temporarily be paused and the words "click 1-2-3 to continue" will appear
on the screen along with 3 numbered boxes (Refer to CLICK 1-2-3).After 
player 1 clicks on the 3 numbered boxes the SHIP SETUP MENU will appear.
Player 1 would then use the SHIP SETUP MENU to place his/her ships on the
map.When player 1 is finished he/she would click on the "end setup" box.
One at a time each player would then place his/her ships using the SHIP 
SETUP MENU.

CLICK 1-2-3:
Between each player's turn the game will temporarily be paused.The words
"click 1-2-3 to continue" will appear on the screen along with 3 numbered
boxes located below these words.In order to continue the game a player 
must first click on box 1,then click on box 2,then click on box 3.(This 
method is used instead of a password.)

SHIP SETUP MENU:
At the the top of the menu are 3 headings -"ship","sector" and "facing".
On the bottom right is a direction grid which you can use to change the 
facing of your ships.The ship that you are currently dealing with will be
pictured in the display square.There are 2 steps required to setup a 
ship:

1. Determine the location of your ship - Click on the map sector of your 
   choice.The sector will be printed under the "sector" heading.An arrow
   (representing the ship) will be drawn in that sector.

2. Determine the facing of your ship - Click on one of the white numbers 
   in the direction grid.The facing will be printed under the "facing" 
   heading.The arrow on the map will change to that facing.

To advance to the next ship click on the "ship" heading box.The next ship
will be pictured in the display square.

Ships cannot be placed in sectors containing planets or stars.Ships with
a maximum speed of zero cannot be placed in sectors containing nebula or 
asteroid fields.















                                                                                                                                            page 20

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             PLAYING THE GAME
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

One at a time each player plots his/her move.When the game ends the words
"GAME OVER" will appear on the screen.When player 1 sees these words ALL
players should be summoned and the replays of each player should be 
viewed by ALL players (refer to REPLAY MENU).When the game is over the 
words "final outcome" will appear in the replay menu.Players can click on
the "final outcome" box to view the final results of the game (refer to 
FINAL OUTCOME).
 
OPERATING THE MAP:
To scroll the map click on the large up and down arrows located on the 
bottom right side of the screen.Each time you click the mouse the map 
will scroll one sector.To scroll faster click once and hold the mouse 
button down.The map cannot be scrolled when the REPLAY or MESSAGE menus 
are open.
 
When you click the pointer over a map sector a close-up picture of the
object in that sector will be shown in the display square.

MAP COLOR:
On some monitors it may be difficult to distinguish the color difference
between friendly ship symbols and enemy ship symbols.You can adjust the
color of these symbols as follows.Click the pointer on any letter (from A
to V) at the bottom of the map.A grey window will then be opened up over
the main menu.At the top of this window you will see 2 boxes which
represent the 2 colors you can adjust.Click on the box containing the
color you want to change.The box will be outlined in yellow and 3 white
slider buttons will show the brightness levels of the red,green and blue
components of the choosen color.Move the white slider buttons to change
the color.If you want to go back to the colors as they originally were
when the window was first opened up click on the "undo" box.When you are
finished adjusting the colors click on the "ok" box.The map colors of
each player is independent of every other player (your adjustment of your
map colors will not affect the map colors of the other players).

STACKING:
If more than one object is stacked within the same sector a yellow dot 
will appear in the upper left corner of that sector. Each time the 
pointer is clicked over the same map sector the next object in the stack
will be displayed.A stacking symbol consisting of two overlapping squares
will appear in the upper left corner of the display square whenever 
stacked objects are selected.

COORDINATE MODE:
A player has the option of having the coordinate mode turned ON or OFF.
When the coordinate mode is ON the map coordinates of the selected sector
will be printed on the upper right corner of the display square (if a 
ship is selected then it's classification will be printed on the upper 
left corner of the display square).If the coordinate mode is OFF no 
coordinates or classifications will be displayed.

To turn the coordinate mode OFF click on the display square.To turn the 
mode ON click on the display square again.The coordinate mode cannot be
changed when the REPLAY,MESSAGE,MISSILES or LASERS menus are open.
                                                                                                                                            page 21

GENERAL INFO ON MENUS:
The STATUS,MOVEMENT,ENERGY,WEAPONS,MISSILES,MINES,TORPEDOES,LASERS,
REPAIR,EXIT MAP,DESTRUCT and SHIP TYPE menus require a ship to be 
selected in the display square before the menu can be used (the STATUS 
and SHIP TYPE menus can be used with either a friendly or an enemy ship
while the other menus can only be used with a friendly ship).
 
When any of these menus is opened up on a selected ship 2 items will be 
displayed below the menu (on the bottom right corner of the screen):
 
1. Current Stored Energy Box - This box shows the amount of energy the 
   ship currently has stored in it's storage cells.As energy is being 
   allocated to various systems you will see the number in this box 
   getting smaller.When the current stored energy drops to zero,energy is
   then taken from the available engine energy.There is a difference 
   between the MAXIMUM stored energy and the CURRENT stored energy.The
   maximum stored energy is the maximum amount of energy which CAN be 
   stored while the CURRENT stored energy is the ACTUAL amount of energy 
   which IS stored.

2. Engine Energy Box - This box shows the amount of energy available from
   the ship's engines.As energy is allocated to various systems you will 
   see the number in this box getting smaller. 

The MISSILES,TORPEDOES and LASERS menus must be closed before another
ship can be selected.The STATUS,MOVEMENT,ENERGY,WEAPONS,MINES,REPAIR,
EXIT MAP,DESTRUCT and SHIP TYPE menus do not have to be closed in order
to select another ship (if any of these menus is opened without a
selected ship or if the selected object does not apply to the menu,then
the menu will be "blanked out").

The REPLAY,SEARCH,MESSAGES,OPTIONS,END TURN,QUIT,END GAME and SAVE GAME 
menus do not need any object to be selected in the display square to be
used.

The MISSILES,MINES,LASERS,EXIT MAP and DESTRUCT menus require you to 
choose a pulse.These menus contain a "pulse bar" which is a horizontal 
bar consisting of the numbers 1 to 9 (representing the 9 pulses in a 
turn).


















                                                                                                                                            page 22

REPLAY MENU:
Players can use the replay menu to see an animated replay of the previous
turn.The replay will show the sequence of events that occurred - ships 
moving,missiles launching,lasers firing,torpedoes exploding,etc.You can
view the replay either normally (continous replay) or slowed down (pulse 
by pulse replay).To view normally click on the "continous replay" box.The
box will be highlighted until the replay is over.To view the replay one 
pulse at a time click on the "pulse by pulse replay" box.The box will be 
highlighted indicating it has been activated.The map will be drawn with 
your ships in the positions they were in at the begining of the previous 
turn.Now you must click the mouse every time you want to view a pulse.
Every time you click the mouse the number of the pulse being animated 
will be shown inside a yellow box (located in the pulse by pulse replay 
box).When the yellow box turns green it means that the pulse is over and
you can click the mouse again.When you are using the "pulse by pulse 
replay" you can click the mouse anywhere except on the dark blue border 
color.If you want to break out of a replay before it finishes click on 
the "return" box.(Note: The map cannot be scrolled when the replay menu
is opened.)

ANIMATED EXPLOSIONS - There are several kinds of animated explosions that
can be seen during a replay.In order to see these explosions clearly they
are drawn large,taking up 9 sectors on the map.The actual explosion may 
or may not affect all these sectors.Below is a list of the different 
animated explosions and a description of their actual effect:

EXPLOSION TYPE          ANIMATED EFFECT           ACTUAL EFFECT
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
mine explosion          blue cloud         Only objects in the center
                                           sector take hits.

missile explosion       orange cloud       Only the target the missile
                                           strikes takes hits. 

ship explosion          red cloud          A ship has been destroyed.No
                                           other objects are affected.

torpedoe explosion      ringed explosion   All objects in the center 
                                           sector and adjacent sectors 
                                           take hits.

ship self-destruction   white cloud        All objects in the center 
                                           sector and adjacent sectors
                                           take hits.
 

                              FINAL OUTCOME
When the game ends the words "final outcome" will appear in the replay 
menu.If a player clicks on the "final outcome" box the FINAL OUTCOME PAGE
will be displayed.This page shows the number of strikes of each weapon to
each ship,the amount of damage to each ship and the percent damage of 
each player's forces.The player with the smallest percent damage is the 
winner.(Note: The percent damage listed for an allied player will be the
percent damage of the TOTAL allied forces instead of the percent damage
of that individual player's forces.)

The FINAL OUTCOME is divided into 2 pages.Page 1 displays the status of
ships 1 to 12,and page 2 displays the status of ships 13 to 24.Page 1 is                                                                    page 23

displayed when the FINAL OUTCOME is first opened up.To view page 2 click
on the box labeled "page 1" located on the lower left corner of the
screen.The label will change to "page 2" and page 2 will be displayed.If
you want to go back to page 1 click on the box again.To exit from FINAL 
OUTCOME click on the "return" box located on the lower right corner of 
the screen. 
  
STATUS MENU:
When you open up the status menu on one of your ships you will see the
following characteristics being listed - hits left,number of missiles,
number of mines,number of torpedoe tubes,number of lasers,maximum speed,
maximum stored energy.At the top of the menu,to the right hand side of 
the word "STATUS" you will see a colored box.The color of this box 
indicates the shield condition - green means the shields are on line,
yellow means the shields are off line and pink means the shields are 
severely damaged.

When you open up the status menu on an enemy ship a general discription 
of the condition of that ship will be displayed.The 5 general 
descriptions and the percentage range of damage each represents are 
listed below:

1. No Damage           0%      
2. Light Damage        1%-25%  
3. Moderate Damage     26%-50%
4. Heavy Damage        51%-75%
5. Severe Damage       above 75%

SEARCH MENU:
Open up the search menu.Click on any sector of empty space on the map 
that you want searched.Every sector you search will be displayed on the 
search menu.If a hidden object exists in the searched sector it will be
plotted on the map.

MOVEMENT MENU:
Select the ship you want to move,then open up the movement menu.Before 
movement can be plotted the speed of the ship must be determined.Place 
the pointer on the box which has the word "speed" printed inside it.Every
time you click the mouse the speed will increase by 1 point.If you click
on the speed box after the maximum speed is reached the speed will go 
back to zero.To save mouse clicking you can click the mouse once,then 
hold the button down (the speed will automatically increase 1 point at a
time).

Sometimes you will find that the speed is not going up to the ship's 
maximum.There are 2 reasons why this can occur:
1. There isn't enough energy available to increase the speed.For example,
   you might have put all the energy into the shields.
2. The ship has taken a critical hit and the ship's maximum speed has 
   gone down.Check the ship's status.

There are 9 boxes in a row beneath the words "plot move".For every point 
of speed you will see one of these boxes light up.The dark boxes 
represent the pulses that the ship will not move in and the light boxes
represent the pulses that the ship can move in.

On the bottom right of the movement menu you will see a "direction grid"
of 9 numbers which is used to plot the ship's moves.The outer 8 numbers                                                                     page 24

represent movement in 8 different directions and the zero at the center
of the grid represents "no movement".You will notice that some of these 
numbers in the grid are dark blue and some are white.The numbers in white
are the directions that your ship is allowed to move in.To plot your move
you click the pointer over one of the white numbers.The number will be 
transferred to one of the light boxes (one of the 9 boxes under "plot 
move").Each time you click on a white number the new direction and 
location that the ship will be going to is taken into account and new 
white numbers are calculated for the new position.Once you click for the
final movement pulse the white numbers will go back to the way they 
originally were when the movement menu was first opened up (in case you 
want to replot your move).

The zero in the center of the grid is always white because a ship always
has the option of not moving on one of it's movement pulses (in case a 
ship wants to hesitate during it's move).Out of the 8 outer numbers in 
the grid there will usually be 3 that will be white (3 directions 
available).The only time that there won't be 3 directions available is 
when the ship is moving into or along a border sector (the number of 
directions available may be 2 or only 1).

There are 2 ways to redo your movement if you make a mistake:
1. Rechoose the speed and start again.
2. Continue clicking on the direction grid until you come to the end of
   your movement plot.When you click for the final movement pulse the
   white numbers will go back to the way they originally were when the
   movement menu was first opened up.Replot your move.
 
                                 ROTATION
You can either move a ship or rotate a ship but you can't do both on the
same turn.To change the movement menu into a rotation menu click on the 
title word "MOVEMENT" at the top of the menu.The title bar will then 
change to "ROTATION".Click on the speed box to increase the speed.To plot
the rotation click on the white numbers in the direction grid.If you want
to change the menu back to movement click on the title word "ROTATION" 
and it will change back to "MOVEMENT".

ENERGY MENU:
Select a ship,then open up the energy menu.You will see the systems 
"shields","laser 1","laser 2",...,"laser 6" listed on the left side.To 
the right of each of these systems is an "up" arrow,a "down" arrow and an
energy box which shows the amount of energy inside each system.

The condition of the shields can be determined by what is displayed in 
the shield's energy box:
1. If there is a 3 digit number it means the shields are on line and can 
   be energized.
2. If there is a thin dashed line (4 dashes) it means the shields are off
   line and cannot be energized.
3. If there is a thick dashed line (3 dashes) it means the shields are
   severely damaged and cannot be energized.

The condition of each laser can be determined by what is displayed in
that laser's energy box:
1. If there is a 2 digit number it means the laser is in good working 
   order and can be energized.
2. If there is a thick dashed line (2 dashes) it means the laser has been
   severely damaged and cannot be energized.                                                                                                page 25

3. If there is a blank space it means the laser does not exist.

To energize a system you click on the system's "up" arrow.Each time you
click the mouse you will see the number in that system's energy box go up
by one point.To save mouse clicking you can click once and hold the mouse
button down.You will notice that each time a point of energy is added to
a system a point of energy will be removed from either the Current Stored
Energy Box or the Engine Energy Box.To remove energy from a system click
on the system's "down" arrow.

                             SHORTCUT METHODS
If there is no energy in a laser and you click on the name of that laser,
the maximum energy will be placed into that laser.For example,if you 
click on the word "laser 3",the maximum energy that "laser 3" can contain
will be placed into "laser 3".If a laser contains energy and you click on
the name of that laser,all the energy in that laser will be removed.

If there is no energy in the shields and you click on the word "shields" 
ALL the energy from the Current Stored Energy Box and Engine Energy Box 
will be placed into the shields.If there is some energy in the shields 
and you click on the word "shields" all the energy in the shields will be
removed.
 
WEAPONS MENU:
Select a ship,then open up the weapons menu.This will give you access to
the following menus - MISSILES,MINES,TORPEDOES and LASERS.If the selected
ship has more than 3 lasers then a LASERS II menu will be present as 
well.The LASERS menu can control lasers 1,2 and 3 and the LASERS II menu
can control lasers 4,5 and 6.

MISSILES MENU:
To program a missile to fire on a specific target requires 3 steps:

1. Select the target - Place the pointer over the target object on the 
   map and click the mouse.The name of the object will then be printed to
   the right of the word "target".

2. Select the missile to be launched - Each missile is labeled by a 
   number inside a green box.To select a missile click over the numbered
   box of your choice.The box will change to a yellow color (to indicate 
   the missile has been activated) and the name of the target object will
   be printed to the right of the box.(Note: A missile cannot be launched
   if the target is one of your own ships or if the attacking ship is 
   inside a nebula or asteroid field.)

3. Choose the pulse that you want the missile to launch - Click on the 
   pulse bar at the bottom of the menu to choose the pulse.

If you want to cancel a launching missile click the pointer over the 
numbered box,then click the pointer anywhere EXCEPT the pulse bar.

MINES MENU:
To lay a mine requires 2 steps:

1. Select the mine to be layed - Each mine is labeled by a number inside 
   a green box.To select a mine click over the numbered box of your 
   choice.The box will change to a yellow color to indicate the mine has
   been activated.                                                                                                                          page 26

2. Choose the pulse that you want to lay the mine - Click on the pulse 
   bar at the bottom of the menu to choose the pulse.

If you want to cancel a mine being layed click the pointer over the 
numbered box,then click the pointer anywhere EXCEPT the pulse bar.

TORPEDOES MENU:
To launch a torpedoe requires 2 steps:

1. Select the torpedoe tube - Each torpedoe tube is labeled by a number 
   inside a green box.To select a torpedoe tube click over the numbered
   box of your choice.The box will change to a yellow color to indicate 
   the system has been activated.

2. Select the sector where the torpedoe will detonate - Place the pointer
   on the map over the sector you want attacked and click the mouse.The
   sector and pulse (that the torpedoe will explode on) will be printed 
   to the right of the numbered box.(Note: A torpedoe cannot be launched
   at a range of zero or at a range that is greater than 22.)

To cancel a launching torpedoe click the pointer over the numbered box,
then click the pointer anywhere EXCEPT on the map.

                             OPTIONAL OFFSET
You can use the optional offset to delay the time (increase the pulse) 
that the torpedoe will explode on.First,click on the "optional offset" 
box.You will see the word "torpedoe?" with the numbers 1,2 and 3 beside 
it.Click on the corresponding number of the torpedoe you want to change.
Pulses 2 to 22 will then be displayed.Click on the pulse you want the 
torpedoe to explode on.The new pulse will replace the old pulse.(The new
pulse cannot be smaller than the old pulse.)
 
LASERS MENU:
To program a laser to fire on a specific target requires 3 steps:

1. Select the target - Place the pointer over the target object on the 
   map and click the mouse.The name of the object will then be printed to
   the right of the word "target".

2. Select the laser to be fired - Each laser is labeled by a number 
   inside a green box.To select a laser click over the numbered box of 
   your choice.The box will change to a yellow color (to indicate the 
   laser has been activated) and the name of the target object will be 
   printed to the right of the box.(Note: A laser cannot be fired if the
   target is one of your own ships or if the attacking ship is inside a
   nebula or asteroid field.)

3. Choose the pulse that you want to fire the laser - Click on the 
   pulse bar at the bottom of the menu to choose the pulse. 

If you want to cancel a firing laser click the pointer over the numbered 
box,then click the pointer anywhere EXCEPT the pulse bar.

                              POINT DEFENCE
To put a laser on point defence click on the corresponding number located
to the right of the words "pt defence".For example,to put laser 2 on 
point defence click on the number "2" box to the right of the words "pt 
defence".The box will change to yellow to indicate the laser is on point                                                                    page 27

defence.To turn the point defence off click the same numbered box again 
(the yellow will change back to the background pink color).

MESSAGES MENU:
When the message menu is opened up the menu shows a "transmit message" 
box and a "receive message" box.

To transmit a message requires 3 steps:

1. Click on the "transmit message" box - A large green rectangle will be
   drawn on the screen.

2. Type the message - First click on the large green rectangle.The 
   rectangle will be outlined in yellow to indicate that the window has 
   been activated.Type in your message.Press the return key when you want
   to go down a line.Use the arrow keys to change the cursor location.You
   can deactivate the window by clicking the left mouse button (the 
   yellow outline will disappear).Another way to deactivate the window is
   to press the return key when the cursor is on the fifth line of the 
   message.

3. Choose between sending a uncoded or coded message - Click on either 
   the "uncoded" box or "coded" box.

To receive a message click on the "receive message" box.There will be 3 
green message boxes displayed on the screen (with received messages 
printed inside them if they exist).

You can attempt to decode one message per turn.Click on the "attempt to 
"decode message" box.The word "message?" will appear with the numbers 1,2
and 3 printed beside it.Click on the number that corresponds to the 
message you want decoded (click on 1 for the top message,click on 2 for
the middle message,and click on 3 for the bottom message).

OPTIONS MENU:
When you open up the options menu you get access to 7 other menus - QUIT,
END GAME,SAVE GAME,REPAIR,EXIT MAP,DESTRUCT and SHIP TYPE.

QUIT MENU:
Use this menu to exit the program or to start another game.

END GAME MENU:
Use this menu to end the game early.Click on the word "no" and it will
change to "yes".The game will end after the calculations of the current
turn are completed.

SAVE GAME MENU:
Use this menu to save a game.(Not available in the shareware version).

REPAIR MENU:
Select the ship that you want to repair,then open up the repair menu.
Click on the name of the system you want repaired.The word "yes" will
appear to the right of the system.Only one system at a time can be
repaired.



                                                                                                                                            page 28

EXIT MAP MENU:
Select the ship that you want to exit,then open up the exit map menu.
Click on the word "no" (under the "exit map" heading) and it will change
to "yes".Then click on the pulse bar to choose the pulse that the ship 
will exit on.To cancel the exit click on the word "yes" and it will 
change to "no".

DESTRUCT MENU:
Select the ship that you want to self-destruct,then open up the destruct
menu.Click on the word "no" (under the "destruct" heading) and it will 
change to "yes".Then click on the pulse bar to choose the pulse that the
ship will self-destruct on.To cancel self-destruction click on the word 
"yes" and it will change to "no".

SHIP TYPE MENU:
Select a ship,then open up the ship type menu.The ship type menu will 
list the theoretically perfect characteristics of a ship and it's 
classification.The menu lists hits left,number of missiles,number of 
mines,number of torpedoe tubes,number of lasers,maximum speed and maximum
stored energy.The engine energy is shown in the Engine Energy Box.This 
menu is usually used to view the type of ships an enemy has.(Note: Do not
confuse this menu with the STATUS menu.SHIP TYPE lists the theoretically
perfect characteristics of a ship and STATUS lists the current 
characteristics of a ship.)

END TURN MENU:
Click on the end turn menu when you have finished your turn. 






























                                                                                                                                            page 29

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 STRATEGY 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LASER STRATEGY:
You should always try to maneuver your ships behind your opponent's 
ships.If your ship is behind an enemy ship it will have 2 advantages: 

1. If the enemy ship is hit by your lasers from behind it will receive 
   double the normal damage.

2. If your ship is hit by the enemy ship's lasers,your ship will receive
   half the normal damage because the enemy lasers will be shooting 
   backwards.

When putting a laser on point defence you should be aware of the 
following:

1. You should only energize a laser with one point of energy if the laser
   is put on point defence.Any more energy would be a waste since a 
   missile only needs one hit in order to be destroyed.

2. One laser on point defence can only destroy one missile.

3. Just because a laser is on point defence does not guarantee that it 
   will destroy a missile.There is still a 10% chance that the missile 
   will get through.

4. At extremely close ranges point defence is sometimes useless.This is 
   because the missile launch/missile movement phase occurs before the 
   laser attack phase.A missile may launch and strike it's target before
   the target's lasers can fire.

MISSILE STRATEGY:
Although missiles can in theory be launched against targets that are 22 
sectors away,in practice they are short ranged weapons.To be successful,a
missile must launch and strike the target on the same turn.If a missile 
does not reach it's target on the same turn,the target ship can easily 
take measures to destroy it on the following turn.

Novice players are warned not to launch torpedoes or lay mines on the 
same turn that they are launching a missile attack because they might 
accidently destroy their own missiles.If you do lay mines and launch 
missiles on the same turn make sure the target ship is in front of your
ship and not behind.If you launch torpedoes and missiles on the same turn
use the optional offset to detonate the torpedoes on pulse 9.This will 
give your missiles the maximum time possible to reach their targets.

When a ship is launching a number of missiles it is usually better to 
launch them on different pulses.If all missiles are launched on the same
pulse they could all be destroyed by a single random enemy torpedoe.Two 
situations that you might consider launching all missiles on pulse one 
is: 

1. When your ship is so severly damaged that you don't think it will 
   survive longer than pulse one. 

2. When your ship is extremely close to the target ship.If your ship is                                                                     page 30
 
   adjacent to the enemy ship after moving on pulse one,then any missile
   launched on pulse one will strike it's target before point defence can
   be used.

You can attempt to stop a missile by one of the 4 following methods:

1. Put lasers on point defence.This is the most effective and least risky
   strategy.The disadvantage of this method is that while your lasers are
   on point defence they cannot damage enemy ships.

2. Use torpedoes to block a missile attack.You will have a greater chance
   of success if you do not move your ship.For example,an enemy ship is 7
   sectors away from your ship.Assumming your ship won't move,you must 
   determine what the earliest pulse is that a missile could reach a 
   sector that is adjacent to your ship.If the enemy ship moves toward 
   you and launches a missile on pulse one the missile will reach an 
   adjacent sector on pulse 5.You can place a torpedoe 2 sectors away 
   from your ship in the direction of the enemy ship and use the optional
   offset to detonate the torpedoe on pulse 5.This torpedoe will have a 
   good chance of destroying missiles launched on pulse 2 or pulse 3 as 
   well because a torpedoe explosion is 3 sectors thick.

3. Lay mines and move away from the attacking ship.This is a very risky
   method and is generally not recommended.There is a very good chance
   that your ship will be raked by enemy laser fire.

4. Attempt to cause a missile to crash into a planet/star/asteroid field
   by moving the ship behind one of these objects.

TORPEDOE STRATEGY:
The usual way to use torpedoes is to try to guess what sector an enemy 
ship might move to and then detonate a torpedoe on that sector.When 
making your guess you must take into account the speed of the enemy ship
as well as the speed of the torpedoe.

Another strategy that you can use is to detonate a torpedoe on a sector 
that an enemy ship currently occupies (in case the enemy ship remains
stationary).

You can use torpedoes to bombard a nebula field if an enemy ship is 
hiding within the field.

If you intend to move one of your ships through a nebula field you can 
detonate torpedoes along the ship's intended path in order to clear away
any possible enemy mines.

Torpedoes are the best weapon to use to destroy mines.

You can attempt to block a missile attack with torpedoes.

MINE STRATEGY:
If you intend to lay many mines in a row you might consider leaving gaps.
For example,you might only lay mines every second sector leaving one 
empty sector between each mine.This has 2 advantages:

1. You can navigate through your own minefield instead of having to go
   around it.
                                                                                                                                            page 31

2. A random enemy torpedoe can't destroy as many mines because the mines 
   are spread out.

You might consider laying mines within nebula fields since nebula fields 
cannot be searched.




















































                                                                                                                                            page 32

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                SCENARIOS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The SCENARIOS disk contains a number of specially prepared scenarios.In
SCENARIO 1,SCENARIO 2,SCENARIO 4 and SCENARIO 12 the planets/fields are
in fixed locations and in all other scenarios the planets/fields are
randomly created each time the scenario is played.In SCENARIO 2,
SCENARIO 4 and SCENARIO 12 the ships begin at fixed locations,in
SCENARIO 14 the ships are randomly placed on the map each time the
scenario is played and in all other scenarios the ships can be placed
anywhere on the map each time the scenario is played.

The names of the scenarios on the SCENARIOS disk are SCENARIO 1,
SCENARIO 2,SCENARIO 3,etc.Scenarios are loaded into the game exactly the
same way that a saved game is loaded.(Refer to LOADING SAVED GAMES AND
SCENARIOS.)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCENARIO 1 - THE CHRISTMAS DAY BATTLE

A race of beings called the Valcalli were first encounted by the U.N. in
the Barahta system on Sept.9/2548.The initial meeting was peaceful and 
formal diplomatic relations were established soon thereafter.For more 
than five years Human and Valcalli co-existed peacefully in space.Then in
early November of 2553 trouble began when both sides layed claim to the
newly discovered Jaris system.The third planet in this system was 
incredibly rich in minerals and found to have a breathable atmosphere.On 
Dec.2/2553 a private mining company from Earth,on it's own accord,set up 
operations on Jaris 3.A week later a Valcalli mining colony was 
established on the planet.The Valcalli demanded the Earth mine be shut
down and the U.N. demanded the Valcalli mine be shut down.The dispute
escalated.On Dec.20/2553 two human miners were killed during a melee 
between the rival mining factions.The U.N.,under intense public pressure
to insure the saftey of the human miners,dispatched the battleships 
Normandy and Wisconsin.The Valcalli reacted to this show of force by 
sending their fleet flagship,battleship Hal Jedrov,along with the 
cruisers Wern Plaks and Tal Irmor into the Jaris system.The two forces 
met on Dec.25/2553.Who fired the first shot is still in question but the
opening salvoes of this battle marked the beginning of an eight year 
interstellar war.

PLAYER 1 - 2 battleships
PLAYER 2 - 1 battleship,2 cruisers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCENARIO 2 - CAUGHT WITH THEIR REFUELING HOSES OUT
   
Valcalli commerce raiders were a real problem to U.N. merchant shipping
during the early months of the War.The crafty Valcalli "pirates" would 
hide in an unoccupied star sytem,using probes and long range sensors to
search the shipping lanes to find their victims;usually lone unprotected
cargo vessels.The Valcalli would strike quickly,destroy the cargo ship 
and then retreat to another hiding place.To combat these raiders the U.N.
formed hunter-killer groups to escort and protect their merchant shipping
as well as to search out and destroy Valcalli raiders.On Apr.10/2554 the
destroyers Antrim,Alacrity,Antelope,Audacity and Achilles surprised the
Valcalli raiders Cal Vasack,a battleship taking on supplies from the 
re-supply vessel Ti Plasus,and the destroyer Torl Ur standing sentry.                                                                       page 33

PLAYER 1 - 1 battleship,1 destoyer,1 transport
PLAYER 2 - 5 destroyers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCENARIO 3 - ATTACK ON STARBASE ULLINCUS
   
Shortly after the War began a race of beings from the planet Murva allied
themselves with the Valcalli and attacked a Shelronian starbase.Shelron
had a number of border disputes with Murva and were strong supporters of
Earth.On Feb.17/2554 the Murvite battleships Vasper and Rathack with 
frigate Grott attacked starbase Ullincus.Murvite intelligence believed
that the starbase was alone but soon after the attack began it was
discovered that the Shelronian cruiser Illisco and frigate Indalacon were
present as well.    
   
PLAYER 1 - 1 starbase,1 cruiser,1 frigate,1 battery
PLAYER 2 - 2 battleships,1 frigate
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCENARIO 4 - BATTLE OF DAKUS 2

On Oct.15/2554 the U.N. launched it's first major offensive of the War.
The 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions,supported by the 12th Fleet,invaded 
Dakus 2,a major Valcalli supply base.For weeks the battle for control of
the strategic planet raged,with both sides desperately throwing in troop
reinforcements via space transport to support their forces.A U.N. task
force had just finished offloading one such group of reinforcments,the
23rd/4th Marine Brigade,on Nov.20 when a Valcalli attack force entered 
the sector.The ensuing battle found the U.N. transports scrambling for
safety as their destroyer escort tried to fend off the attackers.

PLAYER 1 - 4 destroyers,4 transports
PLAYER 2 - 1 cruiser,1 frigate,2 detroyers

Special notes - Exiting is not allowed.There is a turn limit of 10 turns.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCENARIO 5 - THE STAR SQUIDS OF ENDOCRON

On Jan.12/2555 the governing powers of the planet Delmaris officially
declared war on the Valcalli and Murva.In the previous six months before
the official declaration,Delmaris had been secretly engaged in
transporting supplies to aid the U.N. and Shelronian forces.To maintain
secrecy,the Delmarian ships would travel in areas of space infrequently
used by other races.On Oct.27/2554,while escorting 2 transports,the
cruisers Lecktus and Novek reported contact with a group of immense
creatures living among the dense asteroid fields of the Endocron system.
The creatures attacked and only the cruiser Lecktus managed to escape
destruction.

PLAYER 1 - 5 star squids
PLAYER 2 - 2 cruisers,2 transports

Special notes - In this scenario all fields are asteroid fields.Exiting 
is not allowed.There is a turn limit of 12 turns.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCENARIO 6 - BATTLE AT VULPNAR

On Mar.16/2555,as U.N. battleship Repulse and cruiser Savannah entered
the Vulpnar star system,a large enemy force of ships was suddenly
detected coming out from behind the second planet.This force was                                                                            page 34

comprised of 1 Murvite battleship,2 Murvite frigates,2 Valcalli cruisers
and 2 Valcalli frigates.The Murvite ships headed directly towards the
Repulse and Savannah while the Valcalli ships attempted an outflanking
manuver.Realizing that he was outgunned and that 3 friendly Delmarian
cruisers were patrolling nearby,the captain of the Repulse radioed that
a large contingent of enemy ships had been detected and that he was
taking evasive manuvers until help arrived.The Repulse and Savannah
headed toward the cover of the seventh planet (a large gas giant) and
it's satellite system of 19 moons and were soon lost to enemy radar.By
the time the Delmarian cruisers arrived the Murvite,Valcalli and U.N.
forces were engaged in a deadly game of hide and seek.

PLAYER 1 - 1 battleship,2 frigates
PLAYER 2 - 2 cruisers,2 frigates
PLAYER 3 - 1 battleship,1 cruiser
PLAYER 4 - 3 cruisers

Special notes - In this scenario players 1 and 2 are allied against
players 3 and 4 (scenario 16 is identical to this scenario except that
all players are enemies).This scenario contains a blackhole.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCENARIO 7 - ALIEN DREADNOUGHT
 
On June 22/2555 Task Force 23,composed of 1 battleship,2 cruisers and 5 
frigates,were trying to sneak attack a Valcalli convoy.They took a 
somewhat circuitous route attempting to accomplish that goal and strayed
into an unexplored star system.Less than an hour later the Captain of the
lead ship,the Vicksburg reported to T.F.23's flagship,frigate Victory,"a
large,make that very large unknown contact on an intercept course".
Seconds after that report the Vicksburg was literally disintegrated by a
fussilade of extremely powerful lasers from the massive ship.A super
dreadnought from an unknown alien species had arrived to defend one of
their colonies.The commander of T.F.23 ordered "General Attack" and the
earth ships were in for the fight of their lives.  
 
PLAYER 1 - 1 dreadnought
PLAYER 2 - 1 battleship,2 cruisers,4 frigates

Special notes - There are no fields in this scenario.Exiting is not
allowed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCENARIO 8 - SCENARIO 19

(Not included in the shareware version).
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                                                                                                                                            page 35

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                                 APPENDIX
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FAST SETUP PAGE:
The fast setup page is divided into 2 sections - the upper half of the 
screen is called OPTIONS (refer to OPTIONS) and the bottom half is called
FAST SETUP.

                                FAST SETUP
Under the fast setup heading you will see 3 questions and a table which 
is labeled "# OF SHIPS".The third question is "Random scenario?".If you 
choose the "no" response then you must use the "# OF SHIPS" table to 
determine the scenario.If you choose the "yes" response the "# OF SHIPS" 
table is ignored and the computer will randomly generate a scenario.
 
To use the "# OF SHIPS" table click on the up and down arrows to control
how many ships of each type each player gets.The various classifications
of ships are listed (in abbreviated form) at the top of the table.Only 
half the table (8 of the 15 classifications) can be viewed at any one 
time.To view the hidden half of the table click on the "# OF SHIPS" 
label.To bring back the original half of the table click on the "# OF 
SHIPS" label again.Note that the "TR" ("transport") classification 
appears in both cases.

When you have finished with the fast setup page click on the "proceed"
box which is located on the upper right corner of the screen.

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LOADING SAVED GAMES AND SCENARIOS:
The steps required to load in a saved game or to load in a scenario are
identical.When you run the game a copyright notice will appear followed
by a list of the distribution conditions.Press any key to continue.A page
showing how to order the full version of the game will then be displayed.
Press any key to continue.An animated title sequence will follow.This
sequence will repeat itself until you press any key.

The question "Do you want to load in a previously saved game?" will then
appear on the screen.Press the "Y" key.You will then see the message
"Insert your Save Disk in drive zero...then hit any key".Insert your save
disk if you are going to play a saved game or insert the SCENARIOS disk
if you are going to play a scenario.Then press any key.After a short 
pause the screen will display a list of file handling options.Press the
"L" key to load.Then type in the name of your saved game or the name of
of the scenario you want to play.

NOTE - After loading a saved game or scenario you will see the message
"Insert your SpaceBB disk in any drive...then hit any key".This message
is for users who are running the program from the game disk.Users running
the program from a hard drive or the RAM DISK should ignore this message
and simply press any key.

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HITS/PROBABILITY TABLE:
The hits/probability table allows you to alter any hit,probability,factor
or modifier in the game.(Not available in the shareware version).                                                                           page 36

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MANUALLY CREATING PLANETS:
On the upper right corner of the PLANET CREATION PAGE you will see a 
grey menu with 6 labels.3 of these labels are marked as follows - "view 
page 1","view page 2","view page 3".Every time you click on one of these
labels 9 different planets will be displayed on the upper part of the
screen.

                          CREATING PLANETS/STARS
To create a planet/star requires 6 steps:

1. Select a color - You choose a color by using the menu on the bottom 
   left of the screen.You can select one of the prepared palettes or 
   invent your own colors by using the custom color menu (refer to CUSTOM
   COLOR).

2. Select a planet/star - Click on the picture of the planet/star you 
   want to choose.The picture will be shown in the display square at the
   bottom of the screen.

3. Give the planet/star a name - Click on the brown box which is located 
   below the  display square.The box will be outlined in yellow to 
   indicate that the window is now active.Then type in the name of the 
   planet/star.You can deactivate the window by either pressing the
   return key or by clicking the left mouse button.The yellow line will
   disappear indicating that the window has been deactivated.

4. Choose the location of the planet/star - Click on the first two sets
   of up and down arrows in the location box to define the sector the
   planet/star will occupy (refer to LOCATION BOX).

5. Create the planet/star - To the right of the display square you will
   see 6 blue boxes which have the words "planet 1","planet 2","planet
   3",etc.To create a planet/star click on one of these blue boxes.The
   box will flash and turn bright blue indicating that a planet/star has
   been created.

6. Choose whether the object will be a planet or star - To the right of 
   each of the blue boxes is a small square which contains a letter.
   Clicking on this square will cause the letter inside to change back
   and forth between a "p" and an "s".Choosing "p" will make the object a
   planet,choosing "s" will make the object a star.

                     CREATING NEBULA/ASTEROID FIELDS
Creating a nebula/asteroid field requires 3 steps:

1. Choose the location of the field - Click on the four sets of up and 
   down arrows in the location box to define the area that the field will
   occupy (refer to LOCATION BOX).

2. Create the field - To the right of the display square you will see 12 
   blue boxes which have the words "field 1","field 2","field 3",etc.To
   create a field click on one of these blue boxes.The box will flash and
   turn bright blue indicating that a field has been created.

3. Choose whether the object will be a nebula or asteroid field - To the 
   right of each of the blue boxes is a small square which contains a                                                                       page 37

   letter.Clicking on this square will cause the letter inside to change 
   back and forth between an "n" and an "a".Choosing "n" will make the 
   object a nebula field,choosing "a" will make the object an asteroid
   field.

                               LOCATION BOX
A sector in space is defined by 2 items - a letter and a number.For 
example,sector C-12 is defined by the letter "C" and the number "12".At 
the bottom of the screen you will see the word "location:" with a box on 
it's right.This box is composed of 4 items - a letter,a number,a second 
letter and a second number.The first letter and number define one sector
and the second letter and number define a second sector.When determining 
the location of a planet/star only the first sector has to be defined 
since a planet/star only occupies one sector of space.When defining a 
nebula/asteroid field the first sector is the upper left corner of the
field and the second sector is the lower right.To change an item click on
the up and down arrows to it's right.Objects cannot be placed on border
sectors.

IMPORTANT NOTE! - Below the display square you will see a box containing
the words "create object".This box is a switch which can be toggled 
between two settings.The first setting is "create object" and the second 
is "view object".Clicking on the blue boxes (the boxes with the words 
"planet 1","planet 2",etc. or "field 1","field 2",etc.) can have 2 
DIFFERENT effects,depending on the setting of this switch.When you are 
creating planets or fields the switch MUST be on the "create object" 
setting (it will always start on this setting).If you want to view what
is in each blue box you first click on the switch box.The switch will
change to "view object" and a yellow line will surround the blue boxes
indicating that the viewing mode is on.Now when you click on the blue
boxes you will be able to view the planets and fields.When the viewing
mode is on the rest of the page is "frozen" and no other operations can
be done until the viewing mode is shut off.You can shut off the viewing
mode by clicking on the switch once again.The switch will change back to
"create object" and the yellow line will disappear.

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CUSTOM COLOR:
You can use the custom color menu to create your own colors for ships or
planets.Every color has a red,green and blue component.Each of these 
components can be set to 16 different brightness levels - from 0 to 15.

When the custom color menu is opened up you will see 3 boxes at the top
which represent the 3 colors you can adjust.Click on the box containing 
the color you want to change.The box will be outlined in yellow and 3 
white slider buttons will show the brightness levels of the red,green and
blue components of the choosen color.Move the white slider buttons to 
change the color.If you want to go back to the colors as they originally
were when the menu was first opened up click on the "undo" box.When you
are finished adjusting the colors click on the "ok" box.(Note: The fact
that there are 3 colors that you can select and that there are 3 slider
bars is a coincidence.Each color change requires 3 slider bar adjustments
which means 9 slider bar adjustments will have to be made to change all 3
colors.)

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DRAWING AND LOADING IN YOUR OWN CUSTOM COUNTERS - (Not available)                                                                           page 38

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                            DESIGNER'S NOTES
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    Sometimes people do amazing things because they're too dumb to know
they can't or shouldn't.When I began this project I estimated that it
would take me approximatly 2 years to complete.I had no idea of what I
was getting myself into! After more than 5 years of work I am finally
releasing a version! As a mangled Schwarzenegger said in terminator 2
"I need a vacation!".
    My philosophy in regards to war games is that there must be some kind
of balance struck between realism and playability.In an arcade action
game or flight simulator one can strive for as much realism as possible
since it is the computer which has the burden of making the game
realistic.In a war game it is the player which has the burden of
memorizing more and more rules as a game is made more and more realistic
(I have seen some war gamers struggling to play games which have a binder
of rules that have to be consulted every few minutes).Ideally,I prefer a
game where the rules are reasonably easy to memorize but the number of
game strategies and possible outcomes are fairly large.
    Making a challenging computer opponent for an arcade action game is
usually fairly easy since the computer simply has to calculate where to
move a ship/character,etc.(making fast calculations is what computers do
best).On the other hand,making a challenging computer opponent for a
strategic game is extremely difficult since the computer is trying to
mimic human intelligence.Usually the problem is handled by making the
computer opponent's ships/characters being able to take many more hits
than the human ships/characters (the computer opponent tends to "out
muscle" the human players rather than "out think" them).I spent over a
year of programming time on the computer opponent to try to make it a
bit "smarter" than most.Hopefully,for most games,it will give you a good
run for your money.At first,I attempted to program the computer opponent
as far as I could without resorting to giving it any special abilities.
However,I eventually came to the conclusion that some special abilities
would be necessary in order to compensate for some weaknesses,to avoid
useless programming and to make the computer opponent more intelligent.
    One of my goals (at least for this first version) was to create a
game that could be run on all Amiga computers.Since graphics can only be
stored in chip memory,the maximum memory that could be used for graphics
in this game was 300 to 400 k (the practical limit a programmer could
access on an Amiga 500).This limit meant some compromises had to be made.
For example, the map comes in only one size where objects are drawn using
symbols (not enough memory was available to allow additional map sizes
where objects could be drawn more artistically). 
    Feel free to write,e-mail or fax me if you have any questions about
the game or ideas to improve it.

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MAIL:        Vizula,1027 McIvor Ave.,Winnipeg,Manitoba,Canada,R2G-2K1

E-MAIL:      rsaltel@mbnet.mb.ca

FAX:         1-204-895-8139

WEB SITE:    http://www.mbnet.mb.ca/~rsaltel


