                             K240 FULL MANUAL
                            ==================
                                            TYPED BY SHARD - N&B
Part 1

CONTENTS
--------

Playing the Game
Finding Your Way Around This Manual
Zone 001 - Tutorial
Zone 002 - Colony Management
Zone 003 - Spacecraft Construction
Zone 004 - Spying
Zone 005 - Fleets
Zone 006 - Button Selection Panels
Zone 007 - Terracorp and Sci-Tek
Zone 008 - Hints
Zone 009 - Background
Zone 010 - Building Reference Section
Zone 011 - Sci-Tek
Zone 012 - Spacecraft
Zone 013 - Hardpoint Weapons
Zone 014 - Missile Warfare
Zone 015 - The Enemy


EPILEPSY WARNING
----------------

Please  read  before using this video game or allowing your children to use
it.

Some  people are susceptible to epileptic seizures or loss of consciousness
when exposed to certain flashing lights or light patterns in everyday life.
Such  people may have a seizure while watching certain television images or
playing  certain  video  games.   This may happen even if the person has no
medical history of epilepsy or has never had any epileptic seizures.

If  you  or anyone in your family has ever had symptoms related to epilepsy
(seizures  or  loss  of  consciousness)  when  exposed  to flashing lights,
consult your doctor prior to playing.

We  advise  that  parents  should  monitor  the use of video games by their
children.   If  you or your child experience any of the following symptoms:
dizziness,  blurred  vision, eye or muscle twitches, loss of consciousness,
disorientation,  any  involuntary  movement  or convulsion, while playing a
video game, IMMEDIATELY discontinue use and consult your doctor.

PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE DURING USE
------------------------------

Do  not  Stand  too close to the screen.  Sit a good distance away from the
television screen, as far away as the length of the cable allows.

Preferably play the game on a small television screen.

Avoid playing if you are tired or have not had much sleep.

Make sure that the room in which you are playing is well lit.

Rest for at least 10 to 15 minutes per hour while playing a video game.

CREDITS
-------

Programming:           Graeme Ing
Graphics:              Pete Daniels
Game Design:           Graeme Ing and Pete Daniels
Music:                 Patrick Phelan
SFX:                   Patrick Phelan and Neil Biggin
Intro Programming:     Michael Hart
Intro graphics:        Paul Green and Syd Franklin
Produced by:           Mark Glossop
Manual Copy:           Kai MacMahon and Graeme Ing
Manual Design:         Kai MacMahon,
Edited by:             Steve Mckevitt
Manual Artwork:        Dave Lewis and Alan Batson
Voice of the Computer: Tracey Park
Additional Help:       Graham Stone, Kevin Dudley and Damian Hibbard
Quality assurance:     Simon Short, Robert Millington, Tony Howe

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

From Floppy disk:

1) Turn on your Amiga,
2) Insert disk 1 in your internal disk drive, (DF0:)
3) The game will automatically boot and run

From Hard Disk:

1) Turn on your Amiga,
2) Wait for the Amiga to boot into Workbench
3) Locate the directory you have previously installed K240 into, (see 
"Installing onto Hard Disk" below) and double click on the K240 game icon,
4) The game will run.

It  is  recommended that you install K240 onto a hard disk if you have one.
The  game  will  be  easier to play due to do data and screens being loaded
almost instantaneously.

On  Machines with more than half a Meg of chip ram K240 uses sampled speech
to  announce important events.  This can cause excessive disk swopping on a
single  drive  system.   If  you do not have a second drive, we suggest you
disable  the  speech  option from the Tetracorp screen.  On the Floppy disk
version,  all saved games are made to the internal disk drive (DF0:), IT IS
IMPORTANT  THAT YOU HAVE A PRE-FORMATTED DISK FOR USE AS A SAVE-DISK BEFORE
YOU  BEGIN  TO  PLAY THE GAME!  The save disk must be formatted in standard
Amiga  format.   If  you  are  unsure  how  to  format  a  disk, follow the
instructions  given  in  the  manuals that came with the Amiga.  Each saved
game requires approximately 180K of space.

Apart  from the save-disk, which will always be in DF0, K240 will recognise
any of the game disks in any Floppy disk drive, internal or external.

On the Hard Disk version, all saved games are made to the Hard Disk, in the
same directory as the game has been installed.

Installing Onto Hard Disk

1) Turn on your Amiga.
2) Wait for the Amiga to boot into Workbench.
3) Insert K240 disk 3 into any Floppy disk drive. Wait for the disk icon 
   to appear on the screen.
4) Double click on the K240 disk icon.
5) Double click on the "Install K240" disk icon.
6) Follow on screen directions.

FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND THE MANUALS
-----------------------------------

This manual comes in three distinct sections.

a) Tutorial: 
K240  is  a  complicated game.  Once you are familiar with the basics it is
actually  quite  straightforward  to  play.   The tutorial forms a painless
introduction to the basic elements of the game, and gives you an idea where
to start.  We strongly advise that you follow it.

b) Main Reference section: 
This  explains  in  detail all of the game.  It is divided into sections so
that  you  can  easily  find out about any subject.  It is not necessary to
read this part of the manual before you commence play; you can refer to the
sections  when  you  need them; but it is worthwhile skimming through it so
that you are familiar with what you can do in the game.

A  hints  section  is  included  to assist you if you are unsure of how you
should go about developing your mining colony.

c) Technical section: 
This  contains  technical details on the various weapons, spacecraft, alien
races  etc,  as  well  as some notes on Imperial history.  The bulk of this
material is for background only, and is not necessary to play the game, but
an  understanding of these technical details may help you to develop better
strategies.


ZONE 001 : TUTORIAL
-------------------

This  section  of  the  manual  is  designed  as a full tutorial.  Over the
following pages you will be taken step by step through the initial parts of
the  game.   The  more  complex  aspects  of  the  game  will  be easier to
understand when you have this basic knowledge.

For  a  painless introduction to the game, we strongly advise you to follow
this tutorial.

Because  you will be playing a proper game during the tutorial (Alien level
1  in  fact)  events are bound to happen that are not documented here.  The
most  noticeable  of  these  will  be windows that pop up to report certain
events.  For now if any message window appears that is not explained by the
tutorial, simply ignore it and click with the left mouse button on the Exit
button  that  will  appear  in a little box beside the message window.  The
message will go away and you can continue with the tutorial.

THE MAIN ASTEROID VIEW SCREEN
-----------------------------

When  you  start  the  game select your language by picking the appropriate
flag.   When  you  reach the Tetracorp screen click on "END" to begin Alien
Level one.  You will now find yourself looking at your initial asteroid, on
the  Asteroid  View  Screen.   Before  we  go any further let`s take a look
around this screen.

In  the  centre  is  a  3-D  representation  of your asteroid showing rocky
terrain and the sole building in your colony (A Colony Preservation Unit in
green.)

In  space above the asteroid is the transporter ship that you used to reach
Sector K240.

At  bottom  right  is  a  building  icon.  This indicates which of the many
buildings  is  currently active for construction.  You`ll see how it`s used
when we look at Colony Construction in a moment.

Below  it is a blue button.  This is explained in the section of the manual
about "Time Saving Techniques".

Below that is the status line.  Messages will appear here from time to time
but usually it flashes between two important pieces or information:

a) your money in Imperial Credits
b) The date in the format: E2.yyy.dd

Where  E2  marks  the 2nd Millennium AD, yyy the year and dd the day.  Each
year  has  100 standard Imperial days.  The game begins in E2.380.01, which
is the year 2380 AD.

USING THE MOUSE
---------------

Before we go any further, lets look at the 3 different mouse modes as it is
important that you are in the correct mode for an operation.

a) Hand:
This is the default mode used for most operations.  Whilst in this mode you
can  click on the asteroid to construct buildings and click on buildings to
obtain information.

b) Arrow:
This is the Ship Selection mode.  In this mode you can ONLY click on any of
your  spacecraft  (or  Orbital Space dock) to obtain information about them
and control them.  You can perform no other function.

You  enter  this  mode  by clicking on the Ship Mode button (see later), or
pressing the "S" key.  Do so again to return to the normal "hand" mode.

c) Bomb:
This  is  the  demolish  Mode.   In  this  mode  you can ONLY demolish your
buildings  should  you  desire  to do so.  Simply click with the left mouse
button over any building to destroy it.

You  enter this mode by clicking on the demolish Mode button (see later) or
pressing the "D" key.  Do so again to return to the normal hand mode.

You  carry  out  most operations by clicking with the Left mouse button, eg
selecting ships, selecting buildings, clicking on the asteroid, clicking on
buttons, etc.

Clicking the right mouse button anywhere on the screen brings up one of the
several Button Panels.  A different button Panel appears for each different
screen.  Some buttons also lead to other Button Panels.

Most  buttons  are  explained  in the appropriate section in the manual but
there  is  a  separate  card provided which identifies the purpose of every
button.

Try it now:  Click with the right mouse button.  The Asteroid Screen Button
Panel appears with 3 rows of three buttons.

Notice  the  button  in  the  bottom  right.   This  is the Exit button and
clicking  on  it  takes  you  back  to  the  game.   Every  button Panel or
information window has an Exit button and in each instance it will resemble
the return key on your computer.

Note also, that whilst any information window or button Panel is visible on
the screen, the game is paused so take as long as you like.

THE ASTEROID FIELD SCREEN
-------------------------

Let`s  have  a  quick  look  at this before we continue.  This and the Main
Asteroid View Screen will be the screens you will use most.

From  the  Asteroid  View  Screen  bring up the button Panel as shown above
(Click the right mouse button.)

The  centre button will take you to the Asteroid Field Screen.  Click on it
now.

Your  starting  asteroid is the one rotating with a little green dot an it.
The  green  dot  indicates that the asteroid is owned by you.  Those with a
red  dot  belong  to the enemy, and those without a dot are uninhabited and
free for the taking.

Around  your  asteroid  is a small black circle.  The rest of the screen is
grey.   Grey  indicates  uncharted space, and you only know about ships and
asteroids  within  the black circle which marks the extent of your sensors.
At the start of the game it is likely that the only asteroid you know about
is your own, though there are one or two others visible.

There are two ways you can discover more asteroids:

a) Sensor Range:
If  any  asteroids move into your sensor range (the black circle) then they
will  become visible.  You can extend the range of your sensors by building
a Sensor Array and by colonising other asteroids.

b) Scout Ships:
You  can  instruct  Scouts  to  head  into uncharted space and Discover new
asteroids outside your sensor range.

Other  information  will  be laid over this screen at various points in the
game but these will be explained later.

Below  your asteroid is the acronym PAFW.  This is a status summary of your
asteroid and will appear below all asteroids owned by you.  It is used as a
quick means of seeing which of your colonies needs attention.

P   Power supplies
A   Air supplies
F   Food supplies
W   Water supplies

A green letter indicates that all is well.

An  orange  letter indicates that you are using more than you are producing
on that asteroid and will be using up your surplus.

A  red letter indicates that you are producing none at all and are existing
(or maybe not!) off surpluses alone.  Time to do something!.

These  factors are explained more fully a little later in the tutorial.  In
the section about the Colony Summary Window.

Finally, at the bottom right is the date/money indicator.

Notice that the mouse pointer is now an orange cross hair.

Let`s return to your asteroid now and look at building it up a bit.

Click with the right button to bring up the Button Panel.  Notice that this
is  a  different  button Panel to that on the Asteroid View Screen since it
has  functions  applicable  to  this  screen.  Notice again that the bottom
right button is the Exit button.

The  bottom  left  button  will  take you back to the Asteroid View Screen.
Click on it now.

CONSTRUCTING A COLONY
---------------------

We`re  now  going  to  construct a small colony an our starting asteroid to
give you a feel for colony construction.

As already mentioned, you begin with a single CPU.

There  are a range of buildings available to you and more are available for
purchase  from  the  Sci-Tek Corporation.  You select the building you want
from the Engineering Window.

As  we showed you earlier click the right mouse button to bring up the main
Button  Panel.  You access the Engineering Window by clicking on the button
at bottom left.  Click there now.

The Engineering Window
----------------------

You  can browse through the buildings available by clicking on the Left and
Right  arrow  buttons.   Have  a  look  now at whats available.  The later
section on buildings gives more detailed information about each building.

Since  we are operating a Mining Colony let`s get things started.  Cycle to
the "Mine" building.  Click on the Exit button to select this building.  As
you  return to the main Asteroid View Screen, notice that the Mine building
graphic appears at bottom right reminding you of your selection.  Until you
select another building every time you click on the asteroid you will build
a Mine.

Find  a  piece  of  flat land on the asteroid and click there with the left
mouse button, to build.

Notice  the  error  message?  Good.  We have not yet allocated any funds to
the  Engineering  Section.  To do this, bring up the Button Panel and click
on  the  Information  button  (middle top).  This in turn brings up another
Button Panel.  Click on the Financial Funds button top-right)

You are now in the Financial Funds Window.  Before we proceed we`ll explain
how this works.

Financial Funds Window
----------------------

You have 5 different budgets to manage:

Money          -  spare cash not assigned to any budget
Construction   -  used for constructing buildings
Vehicles       -  used for constructing spacecraft
Intelligence   -  used tor financing spying
Missiles       -  used for constructing missiles

The  number  at  the  far  right gives the amount allocated to each budget.
There are also 3 bar charts for each budget.

Green          -  Each block = 5,000 credits     (heading is "5k")
Orange         -  Each block = 100,000 credits   (heading is "100k")
Red            -  Each block = 1,000,000 credits (heading is "1M")

To  add  some  money  to a budget simply click somewhere on the appropriate
line, under any of the three columns.  So if you click on the VEHICLES line
between  the  5K and 100K headings you will add one or more blocks of 5,000
credits.   Clicking  between  100K  and  1M  will add one or more blocks of
100,000  credits.   The  further to the right you click the more blocks you
will add.  To fine tune the amount, click and hold down the left button and
drag it either left or right - this will add or remove a block.

Go ahead and experiment, its easier to use than to describe!

To  remove  some  money  from a budget click and drag left to remove one or
more blocks.

Notice that all money is given to or taken from the Spare Cash line (called
MONEY)  at  the  top,  so you cannot directly move money from one budget to
another,  you  have to delete it from one budget (making it spare cash) and
then  add it to another budget.  If you are trying to add money to a budget
and  nothing  is happening, its probably because you have no spare cash and
you`ll have to reduce another budget first.

Continuing our tutorial return all your money to the Spare Cash line at the
top.   We  need  to  put  some  money  into  CONSTRUCTION so add some in by
clicking  on the CONSTRUCTION line.  Anything over 100,000 Cr should do for
now.  Add the lot if you like.  If during the rest of the tutorial you find
that  one of your budgets has run out, simply return to the Financial Funds
Window and allocate some more money.

Now exit from this window (using the "exit" button) and return to the game.

Construction
------------

You  can  now  build  some Mines by clicking on the asteroid.  Build 2 or 3
Mines.  Notice that scaffolding appears as your men begin work.

If  you  click  on  the scaffolding with the left mouse button and hold the
button  down  you  will be told what is being built and how many days until
completion.

Go  back  to  the  Engineering Window and move on a few buildings until you
come  to  a  Storage  Facility.   Exit  the store and build a Store on your
asteroid.

You  may want to build a couple of Solar Generators too, to ensure you have
enough power.

Interrogating Buildings
-----------------------

If  you click on an existing building with the left mouse button it will be
identified.  Certain buildings also pop up information or control windows.

As an example click on one of your finished Mines.  There is no information
window for a mine just it`s name at the bottom of the screen.

Click  on  the  Store  and  you are presented with a listing of all the ore
being  held in your Stores at this time.  For further details see the entry
on Stores in the buildings section.

We suggest that you now construct a few more buildings on your asteroid and
when  they are built, click on them to see what information you can obtain.
For  now  simply  exit  any  information windows and refer to the Buildings
section  for  more  details.   Build  what  you  like  but  we  suggest the
following:

                       4 or 5 Solar Generators
                       Command Centre
                       Weapons Factory
                       Decontamination Filter
                       Medical centre
                       2 or 3 Mines
                       2 or 3 Deep Bore Mines
                       Storage Facility
                       Sensor array

Tactical Mode
-------------

If  you  were  having  difficulty locating a flat piece of land to build on
there are two ways around this:

The  first  is to rotate the asteroid around so you can see behind existing
buildings.  To do this bring up the main Button Panel.  Click on the middle
left  button  which  will  take  you  to the Asteroid Control Button Panel.
There  are  two  yellow  arrow  buttons.   Clicking on them will rotate the
entire asteroid left or right by 90 degrees.

A  quicker way of doing this is to use the left and right arrow keys on the
keyboard.

Notice  how  the Transporter in orbit rotates as well since you are viewing
the entire asteroid from another viewpoint.

The  other  method  to  assist you is the Tactical Mode.  Bring up the main
Button  Panel  and  then the Asteroid Control Button Panel just like above.
The bottom left button (a blue cube) toggles the tactical mode on and off.

Solid  box  with  "N"  indicates normal mode 
Outline box with "T" indicates tactical mode.

The  button  will  not  take effect until you exit out of the button panels
(Later we`ll show you a quicker way to access buttons!)

Notice  that  when you exit the button panels all the buildings and terrain
have  disappeared  to be replaced by colour coded squares.  You can now see
every part of the asteroid and selecting a site to build upon is easy.

You  can  also  click on buildings to obtain information just as you can in
normal mode.

The various colours represent the following features:

Light Grey     -   Flat land
Dark Grey      -   Terrain unsuitable for building
Light Blue     -   Buildings
Red            -   Landing Pads
White          -   Buildings protected by a Screen Generator
Green          -   Asteroid Virus deposits
Dark Blue      -   Anti Virus deposits

We`ll explain some of these later.

A  quicker way of changing between normal and tactical mode is to press the
SPACE key on the keyboard.

Tutorial Conclusion
-------------------

You  should  now  have  an understanding of the basics of the game:  How to
access button Panels, view your asteroid, access the asteroid Field Screen,
select and build a building, manage your budgets, and so on.

The  rest  of  the  manual  is  a  reference  section  and will explain the
important  features of the game in depth.  We would recommend that you read
the  reference  sections.   In  the  order  they  appear, as they have been
structured in such a way as to be chronologically correct ie they appear in
the order that you are going to need them in.


ZONE 002 : COLONY MANAGEMENT
----------------------------

Your  prime directive is to extract and sell as much ore as you can but the
most  successful  and productive mining colonies all rely upon a strong and
stable  colony  infrastructure.   It  is  vital  to  regularly  monitor the
colonies on all your asteroids and to keep them running smoothly.

There are four main aspects to successful colony management:

a) Population
b) Security
c) Life Support
d) Power

a) Population
Though  many  parts of your mining equipment are robotic,the robots usually
only  undertake  the  tasks  that  are most dangerous to human life.  Human
employees are required for many important duties and to oversee and control
the  robots.   To  support  the mining and technician employees there is an
entire  Service Industry offering training, relaxation and participation in
other  leisure  activities.   Shifts  are  long  and  hard  and as a result
Tetracorp encourage their employees to play hard too.

Procreation  is  outlawed  on  mining  colonies for safety reasons but your
colonies  will  slowly  grow  in  population  as  your personnel department
entices  more  men and women out from the Home Worlds.  The more successful
and  smoother  running  your  colonies  the easier recruitment becomes.  In
general  your population will grow slowly to fill all avaiable living space
so  you  can  directly  control  your  population by building fewer or more
Living  Quarters.   The  Colony  Summary  Window  (see below) indicates the
number  of  surplus  employees you have.  These are employees available for
backup roles and to operate alternate shifts with technical employees.  For
stability  attempt  to  keep the surplus positive but not too high.  If the
surplus  is  negative  then your employees are stretched and may be working
double  shifts to complete necessary work morale will deteriorate.  If your
surplus  is  too  high,  boredom can effect those not currently working and
trouble can break out.

b) Security
Morale  can  fluctuate  quickly on a mining colony.  Spaces are cramped and
employees  work  and  play with the same faces day in and day out.  Tempers
can  flare,  fights  are  commonplace  and  employees are quick to anger at
management  failures.  There would be mutiny every day were it not for your
dedicated and highly paid security team.

Security  will keep your employees under control but only if their presence
is  large enough.  Each Security Centre can easily manage 150 employees and
often  many  more  but  don`t  stretch  your  security  too thin or you are
inviting big trouble.

You  will  be  issued  with reports when (if?) trouble breaks out but don`t
wait  for  these  reports monitor the Security status in the Colony Summary
Window (see below)

c) Life Support
Each  asteroid  colony must be self sufficient and that means producing its
own Air, Food and Water.  Each employee uses 1 unit of each every day so it
is  necessary  to  produce  at  least  as  many  units  per day as you have
employees but it is also wise to produce and store a surplus.

Initially  each  asteroid  colony  begins with a single Colony Preservation
Unit (CPU) which provides living space, power, air, food and water but only
for  a  limited  population  and  time.  (see description of the CPU in the
Buildings section) To back up the CPU you need other support buildings.

                 BUILDING                 PRODUCES

                 Life Support              AIR
                 Hydroponics               FOOD
                 Hydration Plant           WATER

In addition Environment Control continues where the CPU left off by storing
all three of the above in vast quantities.

The Colony Summary Window (see below) details how much of each resource you
are  producing,  using and storing, so monitor it often and keep production
ahead of population growth.

More  information is given for each of the above buildings in the Buildings
section.

Remember also that the PAFW display on the Asteroid Field Screen provides a
quick  summary  of the status of your asteroids.  PAFW was explained in the
tutorial pages.

d) Power
Clearly  nothing  can  operate without power.  The Buildings section of the
manual  details the power requirement of every building.  There are several
power  production  buildings  and  more  efficient  ones are available from
Sci-Tek.  Like Life Support it`s vital to use the Colony Summary Window and
PAFW  to  monitor  the  status  of power to each colony and keep production
ahead of usage.

Should  you  suffer power shortages some buildings will fail before others.
In  general the most vital buildings like Life Support and Hydroponics will
fail  last.   To  see which buildings have failed simply click on any power
generating building and those buildings without power will be listed.

RADIATION
---------

Each  asteroid has background radiation some higher than others.  Radiation
is expressed as a percentage.  0% means the radiation is immeasurable above
the  radiation given off from the local star.  Any value of 50% or lower is
acceptable  but higher radiation is harmful and will result in sickness and
even deaths amoungst your employees.  Use Radiation Filters to provide them
with  the  necessary  protection.   (see  the  description in the Buildings
section).

Factors  that  lead to high radiation values are the use of Nuclear missles
extensive  combat  and the presence of rare ores such as Traxium and Nexos.
When  mining  these ores you must be very careful to protect your employees
using Radiation Filters.

COLONY SUMMARY WINDOW
---------------------

You can access this by clicking on any of the colony support buildings such
as  Living  Quarters  Life Support, Hydroponics and CPU etc.  Remember that
you  must  be in Normal (hand) mode.  You can also access it via the button
in the Asteroid View Screen Button Panel.

This  information  gives  you  an important breakdown on the status of your
colony on that asteroid.

You  are  told  your current population, your maximum population, the total
space  in  all  your  Living Quarter) and Surplus Population.  As explained
above  in  Colony  management  try to keep the surplus a positive number to
allow  for  growth  but  if you overpopulate your asteroid you risk running
short of food, water and air.

Keep an eye on the Radiation reading (see Radiation above).

The  most  important  part of the Colony Summary Window is the breakdown of
Power,  Air,  Food and Water.  You are told how much you are producing, how
much is being used daily and how much is stored for later use.

The  colour  codes give you an instant indication of which of these factors
may need attention:

Green      -    No problems
Orange     -    The asteroid is using a commodity faster than it is being 
                produced. Your reserves are being used up.
Red        -    The asteroid is no longer producing a commodity and you are 
                running entirely from reserves (or maybe none at all!) you 
                must rectify the situation quickly!

The  Security  line  provides a summary of employee morale on the asteroid.
If  the  message suggests that the asteroid is not secure you would be wise
to construct another Security Centre.

The final line reminds you which fleets are present at this asteroid.

There are also some options available by using the supplied buttons:

            RENAME       INVENTORY      EXIT

Clicking  on RENAME allows you to rename the asteroid.  You can personalise
all  your asteroids and give them a name that reflects their function, like
MAIN MINE or ORE DEPOT or SPACE DOCK etc.

Simply  delete the existing name using the backspace key and enter your own
name up to 15 characters.

Clicking  on  INVENTORY will provide a detailed listing of how many of each
type  of building you have.  The listing is broken down into pages - simply
use the Arrow Buttons to cycle through the pages.

ASTEROID MINING
---------------

The purpose of your colony in sector K240 is to locate and extract ores for
sale  to  Tetracorp  and  the  Empire.   The more you sell, the larger your
profits  and  your fame in the mining fraternity.  This section details how
to mine ore, what to do with it, how to transport it and how to sell it.

DISCOVERING ORE
---------------

The  first  step  is  to  locate  asteroids  rich  in  ore  deposits.  This
Exploration  Phase  requires  the use of one or more Scout Ships.  To go in
search  of  new  asteroids  dispatch the Scout with orders to Explore.  For
details of how to do this see the section on Controlling Spacecraft and pay
particular attention to the subsection on Scouts.

Each  asteroid  has  different  amounts  of each type of ore.  To determine
which  asteroids are the most abundant in ore you must use a Scout with the
orders  to  Prospect  for  ore.   Again  see  the  section  on  Controlling
Spacecraft.

When  the  scout  has examined the asteroid it will return to its departure
asteroid and present you with an ore report.  You can obtain this report at
any  time  for any at the asteroids you have prospected, by clicking on the
Geology button.

The  Ore  Report simply details how much of each type of ore remains on the
asteroid  to be mined.  The most common are shown at the top and the rarest
at the bottom.

ORE EXTRACTION
--------------

To  extract  ore you must have one or more mines.  There are three types of
mine  each  mining  a  particular range of ores.  The table below indicates
which mines you require to mine particular ores by colour coding them:


Selenium       Red           Red requires a mine
Asteros        Red
Barium         Red
Crystalite     Red
Quazinc        Orange        Orange requires a deep bore mine
Bytanium       Orange
Korellium      Orange
Dragonium      Orange
Traxium        Green         Green requires a Seismic Penetrator
Nexos          Green         obtainable from Sci-Tek


As  well  as  providing  adequate power for the mines you must build one or
more  Stores  to  hold  the ore.  Clicking on a Store building provides you
with a listing of what ores you have in ALL the stores on that asteroid.

Each  mine  extracts one unit of ore about every 8 to 16 days.  You have no
control over which units are extracted.

The  main thing to remember about mining is to keep it running smoothly and
consistently.  Here are a few other points to bear in mind:

Make sure there is enough power for all mines.

Keep  a  constant  track  on  the  population  of your asteroid and try and
maintain a positive surplus.

Make sure you have enough storage space for the ore.

ORE USAGE
---------

What do you do with ore?

1) Use it for ship construction
2) Use it for missile construction
3) Sell it to the Empire (see later)

This is a summary of most of the cases in the game when you wil need ore:

 ORE            NEEDED FOR

Selenium        Explosive Missile, Scatter Missile, Assault Fighter,
                Combat Eagle, Scout Ship, Destructor, Terminator
                Transporter, Fleet Battleship

Asteros         Nuclear Missile, Powerplant

Barium          Area Explosive Missile, Anti Virus Missile, Spy Satellite

Crystalite      Vortex Missile, Assault Fighter, Combat Eagle
                Scout Ship, Destructor.
      
Quazinc         Napalm Missile, Hellfire Missile
  
Bytanium        Space Dock
 
Korellium       Stasis Missile

Dragonium       Space Dock, Terminator, Transporter, Fleet Battleship

Traxium         Virus Missile
  
Nexos           Mega missile  


SELLING ORE
-----------

It  is  necessary to retain some ore for your own use but the remainder can
be sold to Tetracorp and the Empire.  The Empire offers prices for ore that
vary  each Imperial year.  You may attempt to play the markets and wait for
a  high  price  before you sell ore but don`t speculate for too long or the
price may drop again.

To  obtain  the  Imperial  Ore Prices click on the Command Centre building.
These  are  the  prices  that  the  Empire  will  pay for each unit of ore.
Sometimes  the  Empire  will  guarantee  prices for a number of years for a
particular  ore type that it needs badly.  In this case the letter "H" will
appear  after  the ore price to indicate that the price has been held.  The
number  after  the "H" indicates the number of years that the price is held
for.

The  Prices  window  also  indicates  the  number  of  days before the next
Imperial Ore Carrier arrives at your colony.  This is important because you
can only sell ore when the Imperial Ore Carrier arrives.

The  Imperial Ore Carrier will always arrive at whichever of your asteroids
has  the  most ore in its Stores.  You can use this fact to ensure that you
transport  ore in from your other asteroids.  Tetracorp recommends that you
have  a  central  asteroid  that acts as a major storage depot and that all
other asteroids regularly ship their ore to this depot.

The  Imperial  Ore Carrier remains in orbit about your asteroid for a short
time before returning to the Imperial Home Worlds.  5 days before it leaves
the crew will radio down with the appropriate message.

Click  on  the Imperial Ore Carrier (whilst in Ship Selection Mode) and you
will  gain  access  to the Ore Transfer Window.  This lists all the ore you
have  in  the  asteroids  stores and the contents of the Ore Carriers cargo
bays.  The current Imperial Prices are listed for convenience.

To  transfer  ore to the Ore Carrier click over the name of the type of ore
with  the right mouse button.  A quantity of ore will be transferred.  This
quantity  depends upon which ore type you have selected.  Since you usually
have large numbees of the cheaper ores the transfer quantity is large.  For
rarer ores it is small.

Ores marked as red     50 units at a time.
Ores marked as orange   5 units at a time.
Ores marked as green    1 unit  at a time.

If  you  change your mind you can unload ore from the Ore Carrier into your
Asteroid  Stores by clicking with the left mouse button.  Note that you can
only Unload ore that you have previously loaded:  there is no way of buying
ore from the Empire.

You can access the Ore Transfer Window as many times as you like whilst the
Ore  Carrier  orbits  your asteroid.  You will be paid for the ore when the
Ore Carrier returns to the Imperial Home Worlds.

TRANSPORTING ORE
----------------

There are two methods of transporting ore between your asteroids:

a) Using a Transporter Ship
b) Using an Ore Teleporter Building

The  Ore  Teleporter  must  be  bought  from  Sci-Tek  but is a very useful
facility.   It  enables you to instantly teleport ore between any asteroids
that  have  an  Ore  Teleporter  installed.   This  facility is perfect for
transferring  ore  to  your  ore  depot  at  the  last  minute when using a
Transporter may take too long.

For  details about how to use the Ore Teleporter see the description of the
Ore Teleporter in the Buildings section.

TRANSPORTER SHIP
----------------

This  is  the main means of moving ore between your asteroids.  The general
procedure is:

a) Load ore onto Transporter from asteroid Stores
b) Move Transporter to another asteroid
c) Unload ore from Transporter into new asteroid Stores

Load Ore
--------

Click  on  the  Transporter  (whilst  in Ship Selection Mode) to access the
Spacecraft  Control Window.  (See appropriate section for details) Click on
the  LOAD/UNLOAD  ORE  order  button  and  you will access the Ore Transfer
Window.   This  lists  all the ore you have in the asteroids stores and the
contents of the Transporters cargo bays.

To  Load ore onto the Transporter simply use the same process as is used to
load ore onto the Imperial carrier.

Ores marked as red        50 units at a time
Ores marked as orange      5 units at a time.
Ores marked as green       1 unit  at a time.

Move Transporter
----------------

See  the  section  on Controlling Spacecraft for details of how to send the
Transporter to another asteroid

Unload Ore
----------

The  procedure  for Unloading ore is identical for that of Loading ore (see
above)  except that ore is transferred from the Transporter to the asteroid
Stores using the left mouse button.


ZONE 003 : SPACECRAFT CONSTRUCTION
----------------------------------

You  will  not get very far in the game without constructing a ship for one
reason or another.  This section describes how to do so.

There  are  8  types of ship and each has its uses as su˙˙arised here.  For
greater  details  about  each  ship, see the Spacecraft descriptions in the
technical supplement.

These ships can only be built using a Spacecraft Construction Yard:


NAME               USE                              HARDPOINTS

Assault Fighter    Combat                               1
 
Combat Eagle       Combat                               2

Scout Ship         Exploration/Prospecting/Spying       1


These ships can only be built using a Space Dock: (see Space Docks)

NAME               USE                              HARDPOINTS

Destructor         Combat                               3

Terminator         Combat                               4

Transporter        Colonisation/Ore Transporting        2

Fleet Battleship   Combat                               6

Space Dock         Constructing Larger Spacecraft       4


Spacecraft Construction Yard

Once  you have built one or more Construction Yards, you can begin building
the 3 smaller ship types.  Before you do so, you must have the following:

A Weapons Factory on the current asteroid

Money allocated into the Vehicles Fund (See Financial Funds)

Appropriate ore in Stores on the current asteroid.

Ship  construction will pause if all these things are not present.  You can
check  the  status of the Yard that is currently building ships by clicking
on  the  Yard.   Instead of the options to build ships, you will be given a
progress  report.   This  report will state if any of the above factors are
not catered for.

Each  Yard  can  only  construct one type of ship at a time (but up to 6 of
that type) but if you have another Yard then it can be building a different
type  of ship at the same time.  Each Yard can construct up to 3 ships at a
time or 6 if you have purchased the Construction Droids from Sci-Tek.

Spacecraft Construction Window

This  appears when you click on a vacant Spacecraft Construction Yard or on
the Space Dock.

Click  on  LEFT  or RIGHT or use the left and right arrows to cycle through
the ships available to you.

Most  of the ship details are repeated in the Spacecraft descriptions given
in the technical section but a few require explanation.

The  number  in  brackets  after  the ships name equals the number of ships
currently  selected  for  construction.   Click  on  BUILD to Increase this
number.

There  are  two Armour Figures.  The first is the basic armour of the ships
hull.   The  second figure (in brackets) is the total armour if any defence
hardpoints have been installed in the ship (see below).

The  Build  Times,  both  for  individual ships and for the whole group are
indicated here.

The Ore Needed is also displayed.

The Cost is the basic Hull cost + the total hardpoint cost (in brackets) to
give the total cost for each ship and for the whole production.

Hardpoints

Each  ship has a number of hardpoints into which you can install any of the
available  weapons/  defenses.   This flexible system allows you to produce
custom  ships  for  specific  purposes.   Hardpoint  weapons  fall  into  3
categories:

a) Weapon for use against an enemy asteroid
b) Weapon for use against an enemy ship
c) Defence.

Here are a few suggestions:

1) An Eagle with 2 attack weapons for use as an attack ship
2) An Eagle with 1 shield weapon and 1 attack weapon for defensive purposes
3) A Terminator with all hardpoints installed with anti asteroid weapons to 
   maximise an attack against an enemy asteroid
4) A Terminator with all hardpoints installed with anti ship weapons to use 
   as part of a fleet intercepting enemy fleets (see later)

Since  a  ship with all anti asteroid weapons could not defend itself if if
were  attacked  by enemy ships it may be wise to have a couple of each type
so the ship can attack an asteroid OR a ship.

You  must  decide  the  contents  of each hardpoint depending upon your own
strategies.

Details on each hardpoint weapon are given in the technical section.

Weapon Installation

To  Install a weapon into a hardpoint you must first select the weapon.  In
the  bottom  left  window  are  up  to  8 available weapon icons.  More are
available  by  clicking  on  the NEXT button.  There are two sets of 8, but
many are blank until they are purchased from Sci-Tek.

Click  on one of the weapon icons with the left mouse button and it will be
selected.  Its name and cost will be shown.  You can install this in one of
the  ship's  hardpoints  by clicking with the left mouse button over one of
the red boxes on the ship blueprint.  The weapon is now installed.

To  remove  the weapon simply click on it again.  To install another weapon
instead,  select  another  weapon  from the bottom icons and click over the
already  occupied  hardpoint.   The  old  weapon will disappear leaving the
hardpoint empty.  Click again to install the new weapon.

Do  this  for  every hardpoint on the ship, though you may leave hardpoints
blank if you are really short of money!

When  you  are  satisfied  with your ship remember to select the number you
want to build, using the BUILD button.  Then click on EXIT and construction
will  begin  provided  you  have  enough money and ore, and that you have a
Weapons Factory.

You may clear everything at any time by clicking on ABORT.

After Construction

As  each  ship is completed it will be stored.  Smaller ships are stored in
the  asteroid Hangers (see the section on Controlling Ships).  Larger ships
as constructed by the Space Dock remain in orbit awaiting your commands.

SPACE DOCKS
-----------

A  Space  Dock is necessary if you want to construct the larger spacecraft.
Since  the  Space  Dock has 4 hardpoints and a large amount of armour it is
also an effective defence against attack by enemy ships.

Constructing a Space Dock

Each  asteroid  can only support one Space Dock.  To construct one you must
have  a  Command  Centre  on the asteroid.  Click on the Command Centre and
then  on  the  Space  Dock Button that appears.  You are presented with the
Ship  Construction  screen  and  the details of the Space Dock.  Notice how
much ore and money is required!

Use  the  method described above to construct the Space Dock.  If you go to
the Asteroid Orbit Screen you will see scaffolding appear in space as it is
built.   Eventually this scaffolding will clear and your Space Dock will be
ready for use.  To obtain a status report click on the scaffolding.

Using a Space Dock
------------------

To construct one of the larger ships simply go to the Asteroid Orbit Screen
and  click on the Space Dock.  The Ship Construction Window will appear and
you can proceed as described above.

CONTROLLING SPACECRAFT
----------------------

Ships  can  be  controlled  individually  or  as  a group known as a fleet.
Controlling Fleets is dealt with later.

To  issue  orders to a ship you must click on the ship whilst in Spacecraft
Selection  Mode.  This is where the mouse pointer is a white arrow, NOT the
normal hand.  There are 2 ways to get into Spacecraft Selection Mode:
 
a) Click on the Ship button
b) Press the "S" key. 

Both toggle between Normal Hand Mode and Spacecraft Selection Mode.

When you click on a ship the Spacecraft Control Window appears:

The ship details remind you what the capabilities of this ship are, such as
the  contents of its hardpoints and remaining armour points.  It also tells
you  which fleet (1 to 8) this ship may belong to, or zero if it doesnt yet
belong to a fleet.

Orders are given by clicking on the buttons.  You can give each ship one or
two  orders  to carry out at a time.  Most ships revert to Patrol Mode when
they complete their orders, waiting for you to issue new ones.

Each  ship  has different orders available to it so we`ll examine each ship
individually.

Assault Fighter & Combat Eagle

These ships have the same orders.

 Land   Land Hanger  Patrol    Join Fleet   Go To Asteroid   Exit   Abort

LAND:
The  simplest order.  This simply causes the ship to locate a random vacant
square on the asteroid and land on it.

LAND HANGER:
Similar  to  LAND except that the ship will locate one of your Landing Pads
and  land there.  Once on the Pad the elelator will automaticaily lower the
ship  into the underground hangers safly storing the ship.  See the section
Controlling  Hangered  Ships for how to gain access to the ship again.  The
main  advantage at hangering ships is to get them to safety during an enemy˙˙ttack Damaged ships are repaired whilst they are in the hangers.

PATROL:
The  ship  will  enter  the  standard  patrol mode.  It will repeatedly fly
between  the  Asteroid View Screen and the Orbit Screen ready for any enemy
attack.

JOIN FLEET:
This  order is used to assign the ship to one of the 8 fleets.  For details
see  the later section on Controlling Fleets.  When you click on the button
the  order "JOIN FLEET 1" appears in the order window To assign the ship to
another fleet simply click successively on the JOIN FLEET butto˙˙

The  ship  will  do one of 3 things depending upon its position relative to
the fleet:

a)  If  the  fleet  and ship are in orbit around the same asteroid the ship
will immediately join the fleet and go into Patrol Mode.

b)  If  the  flett is in orbit around the current asteroid and the ships in
the  underground  hanger  it will launch from the hangers via a Landing Pad
and then join the fleet.

c)  If  the  fleet is at a different asteroid to the ship, or travelling in
space  between asteroids the ship will automatically leave the asteroid and
travel to join the fleet wherever it is.

Note:   Once  a  ship is in a fleet it can only be controlled via the Fleet
Control  Window  (see  appropriate section).  To remove a ship from a fleet
either  use the LEAVE option from the Fleet Control Window or simply access
the   Spacecraft   Control   Window  and  give  it  new  orders.   It  will
automatically leave the fleet and carry out the new orders.

GO TO ASTEROID:
This  order  allows  you  to  send  on  individual ship to another asteroid
friendly  or  otherwise.   It  is often easier to send ships in Fleets (see
later) but there are times when you need or want to send a single ship.

When you click on the button you will be taken to the Asteroid Field Screen
with  all  the  known  asteroids  shown.   Simply click with the left mouse
button  on the destination asteroid.  Back at the Spacecraft Control Window
notice that your order has been entered into the orders window.

EXIT:
Use  this  to  exit  the  Control  Window  and initiate the orders you have
programmed if any.

ABORT:
Use  this to erase any current orders ready for you to enter new ones, (You
must  ABORT current orders first).  You can also use ABORT followed by EXIT
to cancel all orders and cause the ship to stop in space.

Scout Ship

This ship has all the orders available to the Assault Ship and Combat Eagle
and three new ones:

          PROSPECT         EXPLORE          SPY

The  primary  purpose of the Scout Ship is to explore space looking for new
asteroids  and then to prospect these asteroids to report what ore deposits
are there.

SPY:
Once  you  know the location of one or more enemy colonies, you can use the
Scout  to  gather  very basic information about them.  For full details see
the section on Spying.

EXPLORE:
Initially your knowledge of the asteroid field is very limited and you will
need  to send out one or more scouts to discover new asteroids to colonise.
Use this option.

When you click on the button vou will be taken to the Asteroid Field Screen
with  all  the  known  asteroids  shown.  Space is divided into 40 sectors.
Simply click with the left mouse button on the sector you wish to head for.
Back  at  the  Spacecraft  Control  Window, notice that your order has been
entered into the orders window.

The  scout  will  head  for the chosen sector looking for asteroids all the
while.   As  soon  as  it  discovers  one  it  will return to the departure
asteroid  to  report its findings.  The asteroid will become visible on the
Asteroid Field Screen and you will receive a bonus payment.

PROSPECT:
It  is  vital that you prospect new asteroids to discover what ore deposits
are available for mining.  Use this option frequently.

When you click on the button you will be taken to the Asteroid Field Screen
where  all  known  asteroids will be displayed.  Simply click with the left
mouse  button  on the destination asteroid.  Back at the Spacecraft Control
Window notice that your order has been entered into the orders window.

The  scout  will travel to the chosen asteroid land take mining samples and
then return.  Upon its return it will issue a report of the ore deposits it
has found.  You can then decide whether the asteroid is worth colonising or
not.

Destructor & Terminator

These  ships  have  the same orders as the Assault Fighter except that they
can neither LAND nor LAND HANGER.

Transporter

  COLONISE    LOAD ORE     GO TO AST    JOIN FLEET    ABORT    EXIT

The two new options available are COLONISE and LOAD/UNLOAD ORE

The Transporter is primarily used for two functions:

a) Starting a colony on a new asteroid
b) Transporting ore between colony asteroids

COLONISE:
When  you  have  located  an  asteroid  that  you wish to colonise you must
dispatch  a  Transporter  to begin the new colony.  Starting a colony costs
30000 Cr which must be available in the Free Money Grant.  (See the section
On  Financial  Funds).   Upon  arrival at the chosen asteroid the Transport
will  begin  construction  of  a  Colony  Preservation  Unit.  Once this is
complete  you  may begin to build up your colony to your requirements.  See
the section on Colonisation for further details.

To give the required orders to the transporter first click on GO TO AST and
select  an asteroid.  (See instructions above).  Then click on COLONISE and
EXIT.

If you want to start a colony on the asteroid the Transporter is already in
orbit around, simply click on COLONISE.

LOAD/UNLOAD ORE:
Clicking  on  this  button  brings  up  the  Ore Transportation Window, and
enables  you  to move ore between the cargo bays on the Transporter and the
Stores on the current asteroid

See  the  section  on  Ore Transportation in the Mining section for further
details.

Fleet Battleship

This  has  only  the  following  orders  available  to  it all of which are
detailed above:

    GO TO AST       JOIN FLEET       ABORT       EXIT

Space Dock

No  orders are available to the Space Dock.  Clicking upon it will initiate
the  Spacecraft  Construction  Window.   See the section on Space Docks for
further details.

CONTROLLING HANGERED SHIPS
--------------------------

When  ships  are in the underground hanger you obviously can`t control them
by clicking on the ship graphic.  Instead you must click on the Landing Pad
whilst in Normal Hand Mode.  This brings up the Ship Inventory Window.

This  details all the ships in orbit around the current asteroid and in the
underground hangers, but ONLY ships not currently members of another fleet.
All these ships are available for control.

To  select  one  or  more ships click the mouse button over the name of the
ship.   Click  right  to  select  one  ship  or  left to deselect one ship.
Selected  ships  are  shown  by green blocks, and non selected ships by red
blocks.  You can quickly select more than one of a ship by holding down the
mouse  button.   The  numbers at the right remind you of how many ships you
have selected.

The ABORT button will deselect all selected ships.

The Exit button will exit the window performing no action on the ships.

Clicking on the SHIP button enables to you to access the Spacecraft Control
Window  and issue orders to the ships as described earlier in this sectio˙˙
You  can now issue any order to the ships and they will automatically leave
the hangers via a Landing Pad before carrying out those orders.

A  distinct  advantage  of  using the Ship inventory Screen is that you can
issue  the  same orders to several ships at once.  You could select several
ships  and  tell them all to land in the hangers or go to an asteroid.  You
cannot  however  give  them  different  parameters to the order:  so if you
ordered  7  scouts  to explore, they would all head for the same sector you
couldn't direct them to different sectors.

Note  also  that  some  orders  are  unavailable to certain ships eg if you
selected  a  Scout  and a Transporter, you could order the Scout to explore
but  the  Transporter would simply ignore that order.  They`re Transporters
you see.  For transporting things.


ZONE 004 : SPYING
-----------------

Though  the  Empire  and  Tetracorp  have  extensive  databases  containing
information  about  the known alien races, much of this data is interpreted
and  assumed  from  long distance sensors and spy satellites.  We know very
little  about  the  physical  make up of alien colonies and even less about
their expansion and military tactics.

During  your  exploration  of  sector K240 you will need to supplement this
information  with  more  specific  details  discovered  by  your own spying
efforts.  Obtaining data about the aliens on a regular basis will allow you
to predict their moves and could well give you an edge over them in combat.

There  is  nothing  you  can learn until you discover at least one of their
asteroid  colonies (It will be marked on the Asteroid Field Screen by a red
dot).

There are two approaches to gathering information:

a) A Scout Spying Mission
b) A Spy Satellite

USING SCOUTS TO SPY
-------------------

This is the easiest approach to spying but the information gained is limited.

Once  you have an available Scout click on the SPY button in the Spacecraft
Control  Window.   You  will be taken to the Asteroid Field Screen with all
the known asteroids shown.  Click on the asteroid of interest with the left
mouse button.  Back at the Spacecraft Control Window notice that your order
has been entered into the orders window.

The  scout will head for the chosen asteroid.  Once there it will gather as
much  information  as  it  can  without  being  detected and return to your
asteroid to issue a report.

The  report  simply indicates the number of buildings on the enemy asteroid
(not what types), the number of ships observed in orbit around the asteroid
and in particular the number of Transporter ships and Battleships (or ships
of  a  similar size since exact ship details vary from alien to alien).  Be
aware that due to the brevity of the Scouts mission, this information is an
estimation only.

THE USE OF SPY SATELLITES
-------------------------

There  are  three  major reasons for using Spy Satellites rather than Scout
Ships for spying:

a) They offer more detailed information
b) They provide warnings of enemy fleet and missile movements
c) They allow you to examine the enemy asteroid

Once  you  have  a Spy Satellite orbiting an enemy asteroid, it continually
transmits  back  video information about the surface of the asteroid.  This
allows  you  to  use  the Asteroid View Screen and actually watch the enemy
colony  yourself,  to  see  what  buildings they have, how quickly they are
building,  what  ships  are  in  orbit  etc.   This information is free and
extremely useful.  If you click on an enemy building you can get an idea of
its function.

The  only other time you can watch an enemy asteroid from the Asteroid View
Screen  is  when you have ships or fleets currently attacking it.  Then you
can watch the battle take place!

CONSTRUCTING A SPY SATELLITE
----------------------------

You  may have as many satellites as you wish.  To construct one you need to
build a Satellite Silo on one or more of your asteroids.

When  you  click on the Satellite Silo with the left mouse button you enter
the  Satellite  Construction  Window.  You are told the number of satelites
currently in the asteroid hangers and the number under construction.

     BUILD     ABORT     LAUNCH     TARGET      EXIT

To  construct  a new satellite click on BUILD.  Each click will order a new
satellite  to be constructed.  You may cancel these requests for satellites
by clicking on ABORT.

At  the present time each satellite costs 10,000 Cr and requires 2 units of
Barium  Ore.   You  also  require a Weapons Factory on the same asteroid to
construct the complicated shielding equipment needed by the satellite.  The
money  is  taken  from  the Intelligence Grant so ensure you have allocated
sufficient  funds  to  that grant via the Financial Funds Window.  A status
line will inform you of any problems with construction.

Completed satellites are sent to the main asteroid hangers and are ready to
launch.  It is recommended that you construct several satellites before you
actually need them.

LAUNCHING A SPY SATELLITE
-------------------------

To launch a satellite click on the Satellite Silo and check that it reports
that you have a satellite available for launch.

First  you  must  select its destination.  Click on the TARGET button.  You
will  be  taken  to the Asteroid Field Screen where you can select an enemy
asteroid by clicking on it with the left mouse button.  This target will be
remembered  by  the  Satellite  Silo  until  either  you  change  it or the
destination  asteroid is destroyed.  Thus you can launch further satellites
to the same asteroid without having to select the target again.

To  launch the satellite simply click on the LAUNCH button you will observe
the  satellite  leave the silo and head for the enemy asteroid.  You cannot
launch  another  satellite  from  the  same silo for several days since the
launch mechanism must be reset.

SENSOR REPORTS FROM SPY SATELLITES
----------------------------------

Once  a  spy  satellite  arrives  at  its destination it shields itself and
immediately  begins  to monitor the asteroid.  On the Asteroid Field Screen
you  will  see  a  small  blue  animation  indicating that the satellite is
operating normally.

A  satellite  provides  you with warnings of an enemy attack.  Normallv you
are only aware of the presence of enemy missiles and fleets when they enter
the range of your sensors.  If the satellite detects missiles leaving silos
on  the  asteroid it will immediately issue a missile Launch Detection.  It
will do a similar thing the moment it detects a Fleet leaving orbit.

This warning takes two forms.  On the Asteroid View Screen you will see the
missile  or  fleet  warning icons appear in the bottom left corner but with
the addition of the word Launch.  You will receive this warning even if the
enemy  asteroid  is  not  inside  your sensor range.  In this case you will
receive a Launch warning and then a short while later you will also receive
the usual warning when the fleet or missiles enter your sensor range.  Thus
a  satellite  can  warn  you of approaching danger long before your sensors
detect the threat.

The other visual indication is on the Asteroid Field Screen.

Once  you recieve a Launch Detect Warning you may need to know which of the
enemy  asteroids  has  launched the attack.  A flashing launch indicator (a
red  box)  surrounds the asteroid from which the launch was detected.  This
warning will disappear after a short while

Warning:   The  spy satellite is not infallible.  On rare occasions it will
fail  to detect a missile launch or fleet departure.  Do not over rely upon
your spy satellites!

SPY REPORTS FROM SPY SATELLITES
-------------------------------

At  any  time  you  can  interrogate  any of your spy satellites and obtain
immediate information about the asteroid it is orbiting.  To do so click on
the  SPY  button  from  the  Asteroid  View  Screen.   You are taken to the
Asteroid  Field Screen and asked to select the asteroid that interests you.
You  must  select  an  asteroid which has an orbiting spy satellite.  After
selecting the asteroid you gain access to the main Spying Screen.

There  are 8 categories of information listed on the screen and the cost of
obtaining that information.  At the top of the screen is the money you have
available  (The  Intelligence  Fund).   Always  ensure  you  have allocated
sufficient  money  to  the  Intelligence  Fund  before  entering the Spying
Screen.

To   obtain   information,  simply  click  on  the  chosen  category.   The
appropriate  cost will be deducted and a report will be issued.  Whilst you
remain in the Spying Screen, you can call up these reports as many times as
you  like  at  no  furthur  cost.   The categories are described below, but
remember  that  the information is not always accurate, since the enemy are
careful  to  encode  their transmissions and conceal their true plans.  For
peace  of  mind  interrogate your spy satelites on a regular basis, perhaps
annually.

Population
----------

This estimates the population on the asteroid

Missile Inventory
-----------------

This  estimates  the number of warheads stacked in their underground silos.
Since  their  technology  differs from ours the exact types of warheads are
not  given.   There  are three categories estimating the yield (destructive
power)  of  the  warheads.   A  fourth  category  marked  "Other" indicates
warheads of whose purpose we have no idea at this stage.

Number of Enemy Asteroids
-------------------------

This  estimates  the  number  of  asteroids  occupied  by the enemy and may
indicate that they occupy asteroids that we have not yet discovered.

Our Asteroids Known to Enemy
----------------------------

This  gives  a  list  of our asteroids that are known to the enemy.  It can
give  a  valuable  insight  into  where  they  are likely to attack or what
asteroids we need not defend since the enemy are unaware of their presence.

Building Inventory
------------------

This  provides  an  indication of the buildings observable on the asteroid.
There  are  categories  for  general  buildings, defensive buildings (maybe
Shield  Generators  or  Anti  Missile  Pods)  offensive  buildings (Turrets
Missile Silos etc) and power generating buildings.

Make Up of Deployed Fleet
-------------------------

If  you  have  been warned that this asteroid has recently deployed a fleet
you  can obtain an estimation of its size.  The report indicates the number
of ships and number of Battleships in the fleet.

Destination of Deployed Fleet
-----------------------------

If  you  have  been warned that this asteroid has recently deployed a fleet
you  can  determine  where  that  fleet  is  headed.   Clearly this is very
valuable information allowing you to prepare a welcoming surprise!

Destination of Missile Strike
-----------------------------

If  you have been warned that this asteroid has recently launched a missile
strike you can determine where those missiles are headed.

Remember  that  spying information can occasionally be in error.  Tetracorp
accepts  no  responsibility for the loss and damage caused by an inaccurate
or incomplete spy report.

LOSING SPY SATELLITES
---------------------

It  is  inevitable  that  the  enemy will detect our satellites and destrov
them.   The  longer  a  satellite orbits an enemy asteroid the greater this
chance  is.   The  satellite  can  also  betray  its presence each time you
request  specific  information  from  the  Spy  Screen so don`t ask for spy
information  too  regularly.  Better still dispatch more than one satellite
to the same enemy asteroid to provide a backup.


ZONE 005 : FLEETS
-----------------

A  convenient  method  of  controlling  ships is to place them into fleets.
Once joined together as a fleet ships can be easily ordered to move between
asteroids.   There  are  advantages  and  disadvantages  to using fleets as
opposed to controlling each ship individually.

The advantages are that you can dispatch an entire battle fleet by clicking
on  just  a  couple  of buttons.  It is also easier to group ships by their
type  so  that  you  know  where ships are and what they are supposed to be
doing.   There  are also some functions such as intercepting an approaching
enemy fleet, that can only be done using fleets.

The  disadvantages  are  that  you have less control over individual ships.
There  are  only  4  orders  you can give a fleet though they are powerful.
However  you  can always remove a ship from a fleet at any time if you want
it  to  perform  more  specialised duties.  Certain orders can only be done
using   individual   ship   control  such  as  colonisation,  exploring  or
prospecting.

JOINING A FLEET
---------------

There are two ways to group ships into a fleet:

a)  Use  the JOIN FLEET option from the Spacecraft Control Window.  See the
    appropriate section

b) Use the JOIN SHIPS button from the Fleet Control Window described below

In  general  it you are making a fleet for the first time it is best to use
method  b).  If you later want to add one or two ships to an existing fleet
you will usually use method a).

FLEET CONTROL WINDOW
--------------------

You can obtain the Fleet Control Window by one of 2 means:

a) Clicking on the Fleet button

b) Clicking on one of your fleet markers on the Asteroid Field Screen

You  can  control up to 8 fleets.  To obtain the details about any fleet or
to  create  a  new one, select the fleet number 1-8 by clicking on the PREV
and NEXT buttons.  The fleet number in the top right will alter.

If  the  Fleet  Listing Window is empty then this fleet does not yet exist.
If  it  does exist, there will be a listing of all the ships in the current
fleet and their current armour points.

To  create  a  fleet  or add ships to an existing fleet click on JOIN.  The
display  will  switch  to  the Ship Inventory Window.  This details all the
ships  in  orbit  around  the current asteroid but ONLY ships not currently
members  of  another  fleet.   All these ships are available to be added to
this fleet.  You cannot use this method to add hangered ships to the fleet:
to  do  that  you must use the Spacecraft Control Window and the JOIN FLEET
button.

To  select  one  or  more ships click the mouse button over the name of the
ship.   Click  right  to  select  one  ship  or left to de-select one ship.
Selected  ships  are  shown  by  green  blobs and non-selected ships by red
blobs.   You can quickly select more than one of a ship by holding down the
mouse  button.   The  numbers at the right remind you of how many ships you
have selected.

The ABORT button will de-select all selected ships.

The EXIT button will return you to the Fleet Control Window remembering the
ships you have selected These will be added to the fleet and will appear in
the  Fleet Listing Window.  These ships will switch to Patrol Mode orbiting
the asteroid until you issue an order to the fleet.

If  the  Fleet Listing fills its window then you can use the PAGE button to
flick between the various pages of the listing.  The current and total page
numbers appear in the top right of the window.

You  can  obtain  more  detailed  information  on  any ship in the fleet by
clicking  on  the  ship  in  the  Fleet Listing Window with the right mouse
button.   This  is useful if you forget the hardpoint assignments of any of
the ships in the fleet.

LEAVING A FLEET
---------------

There  are  two  ways  to force ships to leave a fleet, but remember that a
ship can only leave a fleet when the fleet is orbiting an asteroid not when
it is in space between asteroids.

a)  Simply issue new orders to the ship from the Spacecraft Control Window.
The ship will automatically leave the fleet to obey those orders.

b) Use the LEAVE button in the fleet Control Window:

First  you  must select which ship(s) you want to leave the fleet.  Do this
by  clicking  on those ships in the Fleet Listing Window.  Their names will
be  highlighted  in  a  different  colour  to show they have been selected.
Clicking  on  a highlighted ship will de-select it.  You can also de-select
all the highlighted ships by clicking on ABORT.

Then  click  on LEAVE and the highlighted ships will leave the fleet.  They
will  disappear  from  the Fleet Listing Window and enter Patrol Mode about
the current asteroid waiting for further orders.

FLEET TACTICS
-------------

There  are four orders or tactics that you can give a fleet.  These are the
large buttons on the fleet Control Screen

Move Fleet (Non-Hostile Move)

This is used to move an entire fleet to another asteroid.  You can only use
this  order  to  move a fleet to one of your asteroids or to an uninhabited
asteroid NOT an enemy asteroid.

Click  on  the MOVE FLEET tactic button.  You will be taken to the Asteroid
Field  Screen  where  you can select the destination asteroid with the left
mouse  button.  In the Fleet Control Window notice that the Destination has
been  entered  at  the  top of the window as well as a summary of the order
selected.

Click  on  Exit  and  the  fleet  will carry out the order.  The ships will
depart from the asteroid and then you can monitor the progress of the fleet
from  the  Asteroid  Field  Screen  where  the  fleet appears as a numbered
marker.

A  fleet using a non-hostile movement can move at a faster rate than one in
attack mode since it does not have to consider the possibility of an attack
whilst it is in transit.

Attack Asteroid (Hostile Move)

This  is  used to move an entire fleet to an enemy asteroid with the intent
of attacking it upon arrival.

Click  on  the  ATTACK  ASTEROID  tactic  button.  You will be taken to the
Asteroid  Field  Screen  where you can select the destination asteroid with
the  left  mouse  button  in  the  Fleet  Control  Window  notice  that the
Destination  has been entered at the top of the window as well as a summary
of the order selected.

Click  on  Exit  and  the  fleet  will carry out the order.  The ships will
depart from the asteroid and then you can monitor the progress of the fleet
from  the  Asteroid  Field  Screen  where  the  fleet appears as a numbered
marker.

A  fleet  using  hostile  movement  moves  slower than normal since it must
always be prepared for an enemy attack as it nears its destination.

When  the  fleet  arrives at the destination asteroid it will automatically
enter  an  attack  pattern.   Ships will either attack enemy ships or enemy
buildings  depending upon the hardpoint weapons at their disposal Since the
attack  Is automated you can dispatch several attack fleets and not have to
worry  about  them,  though  it  is  fun to watch your fleets devastate the
enemy.

Intercept Enemy Fleet

This  is used to send your fleet to attack an approaching enemy fleet.  The
purpose  of  this is to attempt to destroy or weaken the enemy fleet before
it can do damage to your asteroid.

Click  on  the  INTERCEPT  FLEET  tactic  button.  You will be taken to the
Asteroid  Field  Screen where you can select the destination fleet with the
left mouse button.  In the Fleet Control Window notice that the Destination
has been entered at the top of the window as well as a summary of the order
selected

Click  on  Exit  and  the  fleet  will carry out the order.  The ships will
depart from the asteroid and then you can monitor the progress of the fleet
from  the  Asteroid  Field  Screen  where  the  fleet appears as a numbered
marker.

Your  fleet  will  use hostile movement so it will move slower than normal.
When  your  fleet  arrives  at the enemy fleet it will engage it in combat.
The  two  fleets  will  automatically  fight  until one is destroyed or one
retreats.   On  the  Asteroid  Field  Screen you will see the fleet markers
(yours  and the enemies) flashing to indicate that they are in battle.  You
can  elect  to  watch the battle by clicking on the flashing fleet markers.
See the Space Combat Screen section for further details

Sentry Mode

This  is  used  to guard one of your asteroids.  Simply click on the SENTRY
MODE  button  and  then  EXIT.   Your  ships  will continue patrolling your
asteroid  as  if nothing has happened but they are in constant contact with
your  asterold  sensors.  As soon as an enemy fleet is detected heading for
the  current  asteroid  the fleet will enter Intercept Fleet Mode and go to
Intercept the enemy fleet (as above).  If it is successful in defeating the
enemy  it  will return to the asteroid and go back to Sentry Mode.  It will
continue  to  intercept  all approaching enemy fleets until you instruct it
otherwise or it is destroyed.

RETREAT THRESHOLDS
------------------

Each  fleet  has a retreat threshold which is normally 100%.  This reflects
the  amount  of  the original fleet which can be destroyed before the fleet
will abandon its attack and return to a friendly asteroid.

To  alter  the  retreat  threshold  simply click over the figure at the top
right of the Fleet Control Window.  Click the left mouse button to decrease
the figure by 10% or the right mouse button to increase it by 10%.

With  100%  the  fleet  will  never  retreat.   It  will  fight until it is
successful or all the ships in the fleet are destroyed.

With  0%,  the  fleet will retreat as soon as a single ship in the fleet is
destroyed.

SPACE COMBAT SCREEN
-------------------

When  two  fleets meet in space they will pause in their initial orders and
engage  in combat.  The battle will continue until either side is destroyed
or retreats.  The fleet icons on the Asteroid Field Screen will flash.  You
can watch the combat by clicking on the flashing icons.

On  the  Space  Combat  Screen  you  can view yours and the enemys fleet in
battle.   You  cannot examine your fleet listing but there are some buttons
available by clicking with the right mouse button anywhere on the screen.

           RETREAT       ASTEROID
           PAUSE         EXIT

RETREAT:  Enables you to force your fleet to retreat immediately

ASTEROID: Returns you to the Asteroid Field Screen

PAUSE:    Have we really got to explain this?

EXIT:     Returns you to the space battle


ZONE 006 : BUTTON SELECTION PANELS
----------------------------------

When the game is playing you can bring up a Button Panel by clicking on the
right  mouse  button.   A  Button Pane appropriate to the screen you are on
will appear.

Whilst  the Button Panel is in view the game is paused.  You can select any
of  the  buttons  by clicking on them using the left mouse button.  You can
only  select  buttons  from the Button Panel - any buttons elsewhere on the
screen are inactive until you exit the Button Panel.

This section summarises the major button panels.  Use it to locate a button
when  you  don`t  know  what  Button  Panel it is on.  Better still use the
Button Extraction technique explained later.

Asteroid View Screen Button Panel
---------------------------------

TETRACORP   INFO     MILITARY

ASTEROID    FIELD    DEMOLISH

BUILDING    PAUSE    EXIT

TETRACORP
Access the Tetracorp Control Screen providing options for changing scenario
loading and saving games etc

INFO
Takes you to the Information Button Panel (see below)

MILITARY
Takes you to the Military Button Panel (see below)

ASTEROID
Access the Asteroid Control Button Panel (see below)

FIELD
Access the Asteroid Field Screen

DEMOLISH 
Toggle Demolish Mode on or off

BUILDING
Access the Engineering Window that allows you to select a building

PAUSE
Pause  the  game.   To  unpause the game click either mouse button.  If you
leave  the  game  paused  for more than a couple of minutes then the screen
will dim to protect your monitor from bright colours.

EXIT
Exit the Button Panel

Information Button Panel
------------------------

SPYING       FUNDS

GEOLOGY      SCI-TEK

BLUEPRINTS   EXIT

SPYING
Access the Spying Control Window

FUNDS
Access the Financial Funds Window

GEOLOGY
Obtain an ore deposit report for the current asteroid

SCI-TEK
Access  the Communications Screen which allows you to purchase devices from
the Sci-Tek catalogue

BLUEPRINTS
Obtain a listing of all the blueprints you have bought from Sci-Tek

EXIT
Exit the Button Panel

Military Button Panel
---------------------

FLEET     SHIP

MISSILE   EXIT

FLEET
Access the Fleet Control Window

SHIP
Toggle between Normal (hand) and Ship Selection Mode white arrow)

MISSILE
Access the Missile Launch Window

EXIT
Exit the Button Panel

Asteroid Control Button Panel
-----------------------------

LEFT        RIGHT

ORBIT       FIELD

TACTICAL    EXIT

LEFT
Rotates asteroid left 90 degrees

RIGHT
Rotates asteroid right 90 degrees

ORBIT
Switch to the Orbit Screen

The  Orbit Screen represents an area of space above your asteroid.  Many of
the larger ships cannot approach the asteroid too closely so they remain in
orbit.   The  Space  Dock  is  always  on the Orbit Screen and never on the
Asteroid View Screen.

This  button  switches  to  the Orbit Screen so you can view and select any
ships that are there.  Clicking on this button again will return you to the
Asteroid View Screen.

FIELD
Access the Asteroid Field Screen

TACTICAL
Toggles between normal and tactical mode on the asteroid.  Tactical mode is
described in the Tutorial.

EXIT
Exit the Button Panel


Asteroid Field Button Panel
---------------------------

DISPLAY     QUICKVIEW     SUMMARY

MISSILE     PAUSE         FLEET

ASTEROID    ENGINES       EXIT

DISPLAY
Access  the Display Options Button Panel.  This enables you to select which
information you want to appear on the Asteroid Field Screen (see below)

QUICKVIEW
Enables  you  to  program and use the QuickView method at viewing asteroids
QuickView is described in the section about Time Saving Techniques.

SUMMARY
Access the Colony Summary Window.  This provides a summary on the important
elements  at the colony on the current Asteroid and is very useful when you
are  managing several asteroids simultaneously.  Using this option can save
you   accessing  the  Asteroid  View  Screen  to  look  at  how  a  colonys
progressing.  See the appropriate section.

MISSILE
Access the Missile Launch Window

PAUSE
Pause  the  game.   To  unpause the game click either mouse button.  If you
leave  the  game  paused  for more than a couple of minutes then the screen
will dim to protect your monitor from bright colours.

FLEET
Access the Fleet Control Window

ASTEROID
Access the Asteroid View Screen for the current asteroid.

ENGINES 
Enables control of the current asteroids Asteroid Engines. If it has any.

EXIT
Exit the Button Panel

Display Options Button Panel
----------------------------

PAFW    EXIT

PAFW
Toggles  the  PAFW display on and off on the Asteroid Field Screen.  If you
are  confident  of  your ability to manage your asteroids you can turn this
option off to avoid cluttering the Asteroid Field Screen

EXIT
Exit the Button Panel

Other  options  are  available.  In this Button Panel when you purchase the
Asteroid Tracker Device from Sci-Tek

BUTTON EXTRACTION
-----------------

Most  likely you are finding it annoying accessing nested Button Panels all
the  time.   You  can  avoid  this  by customising the Asteroid View Screen
making  available  all  the  buttons  you  commonly use.  Note you can only
customise  the Asteroid View Screen and Orbit Screen NOT the Asteroid Field
Screen or any other screens.

When  any  Button  Panel  is  active you can pull out or extract any button
(except  the  Exit  button).   Click  the left mouse button over the chosen
button  and  keep the button held down until the button appears in the main
screen at the right or bottom edge.  Notice that the button function is NOT
carried out.

There  is  space  for 6 buttons up the right side of the screen and 8 along
the bottom.  No button may be duplicated.

It is well worth the time to extract your often used buttons since they are
now available at any time without you having to remember which Button Panel
to access.

You  can delete an extracted button from the screen by clicking and holding
in the same way as you extracted the button.

Your customised screen will be remembered if you save the game.

TIME SAVlNG TECHNIQUES
----------------------

Once you are familiar with the game you may wish to use these techniques to
speed up play.

Keyboard Short-cuts
-------------------

D   -   Toggles Demolish Mode on and off

S   -   Toggles between Normal (hand) mode and Ship Selection (arrow) Mode

SPACE Toggles between normal and Tactical mode on the Asteroid View Screen

Left and Right Arrows - Rotate the asteroid left or right 90 degrees

QuickView
---------

If  you  are  managing  several  asteroids and maybe know about a couple of
enemy  asteroids as well it can be very time consuming if you are switching
between them frequently.

When  you  click  on  the  QuickView  button you are given a listing of the
definitions  of the 10 function keys F1 to F1O.  You can define an asteroid
to  any  of the function keys.  Then simply pressing that function key will
take  you  to  the  Asteroid  View Screen.  For that asteroid from whatever
screen you were previously on.

To  define  a function key click on the line in the listing from F1 to F10.
Then click on any asteroid with the left mouse button.  The function key is
now defined.  You can redefine it at any stage by the same method.

The listing is colour coded;

Green       - asteroid owned by you
Red         - asteroid owned by enemy
Orange      - uninhabited asteroid

With  several  function  keys defined you can browse through asteroids very
quickly.

Select Building
---------------

You  may  discover  that there is a subset of buildings that you are always
building  when  you  colonise a new asteroid, and that it takes a long time
choosing  them all from the Engineering Window.  You can program the keys 1
to  9  to specific buildings then to select one of those buildings you just
press 1-9 instead of accessing the Engineering Window.

In  the  Engineering Window you may have noticed numbers in brackets at the
top  left  of some buildings eg the Living Quarters.  These are the default
definitions of the keys 1-9.

To  program  any  building  to  a key 1-9 simply locate the building in the
Engineering  Window  and  press the key 1-9.  The number will appear at top
left  and  that  building is now programmed.  You can redefine a number key
1-9 by the same method.

It is well worth taking time to define the keys 1-9.  Your definitions will
be remembered if you save the game.

As  well  as selecting a programmed building using the kevs 1-9 you can use
the  Blue  Button  situated  under  the  building icon on the Asteroid View
Screen.   Each  click  on the Blue Button will select one of the programmed
buildings 1-9.

You  can  in  fact have a tenth programmed building because key 0 is alwavs
defined  as  the  last  building  selected  by  from the Engineering Window
itself,  it will of course change every time you select a new building from
the Engineering Window.


TERRAIN APPROVED 2450 THE FOLLOWING SECTION IS FOR EMPLOYEES OF SCI-TEK AND
                          TETRACORP ONLY.

ZONE 007 : TETRACORP AND SCI-TEK
--------------------------------

TETRACORP

This  screen  is  accessed  by clicking on the Tetracorp button in the main
Asteroid  View  Screen  Button Panel (The icon depicting a floppy disk) The
Tetracorp  screen  provides the facilities for loading and saving games and
selecting which scenario to play.

Along  the  bottom  of the screen is the command line.  To select an option
click on one of the commands:

LOAD GAME
---------

Clicking  on  LOAD allows you to load and continue a previously saved game.
If  the game is running off of floppy disk, the game is loaded from a saved
game  disk  inserted  into the internal drive (DF0:) If the game is running
from Hard Disk the game is loaded from the Hard Disk.

Follow the on screen prompts to Load a game.

SAVE GAME
---------

Clicking  on SAVE allows you to save a game to continue later.  If the game
is  running  off  of  floppy  disk,  you  can  only  save  your  game  to a
pre-formatted disk inserted into the internal drive (DF0:).  If the game is
running  from  Hard Disk the game is saved onto the Hard Disk.  In the same
directory as K240.

Follow the on-screen prompts to Save a game.

LOADING AN ALIEN
----------------

Clicking  on  ALIEN  will allow you to load and play any one of the 6 Alien
scenarios.   You  access  the  Tetracorp Alien Database which presents each
allen  along  with some information about them.  You can obtain more detail
about the Aliens by reading the section of the manual entitled "The Enemy"

Each Alien is given a difficulty rating and it is strongly recommended that
you play the scenarios in the order of Easy, Medium and Hard.

At  the  bottom  of  the Database screen is the command line.  To select an
option click on one of the commands:

NEXT
This accesses the next Alien in the database.

PLAY
This  enables you to commence play on this scenario.  Note that if you were
in  the middle of a game that game will be deleted and you cannot return to
that game unless you had saved it to disk.

END
Exits the Alien Database selecting no scenario.  You may return to the game
you were playing.

SOUND FX ON/OFF
This option simply turns on and off sound effect

SPEECH
This option simply turns sampled speech on and off

DOS
This option allows you to exit K240 altogether and return to the Workbench.
Any  game  you were playing will be lost unless you had previously saved it
to disk

END
This returns you to the game

SCI-TEK - THE TECHNOLOGY YOU PREFER

Sci-Tek  is available 24 hours a day for you to purchase blueprints.  Under
their   comprehensive  licensing  agreement  you  purchase  the  rights  to
manufacture  as  many devices as you like from each blueprint you buy.  You
must  however pay a royalty to Sci- Tek for every item you make but this is
included in the cost presented to you in the game.

You can access the Sci-Tek database from the Sci-Tek button.  In some cases
the   database  may  take  a  few  seconds  to  access  even  via  hi-speed
communication devices.

From  the database you can peruse Sci-Teks catalogue and opt to buy as many
blueprints  as  you  desire.  All purchased blueprints will be delivered to
you  on  the  next scheduled Imperial Ore Carrier and are NOT available for
construction until then.

On  the  database screen you are shown one device at a time.  At the bottom
of the screen is the command line:

          PREV        NEXT     PURCHASE     CLEAR      END

Use PREV and NEXT to cycle through the catalogue.  Click on PURCHASE to buy
the  displayed  blueprint,  or  CLEAR to change your mind.  Clicking on END
will break the communication link with Sci-Tek and order any blueprints you
have purchased.

Note:   The money available to you is the funds you have in the Basic Money
section  of  your  Financial  Funds (See appropriate secton) You cannot use
money  allocated to Construction, Vehicles, Intelligence or Missiles unless
you remove money from those funds prior to accessing Sci-Tek.


ZONE 008 : HINTS
----------------

GAMEPLAY TIPS

K240  is  an  open ended game - there is no one way to win.  These notes do
not  necessarily  represent  the  best  way to play K240 they only serve to
offer some assistance if you have no idea what you should be doing next.

When  you  begin  the  game  spend about 50% of your money building up your
first asteroid.  Build Mines, Stores, Power generation buildings, a Command
Centre,  Sensor  Array,  Ship Construction Yard, Landing Pad, buildings for
producing air, food and water and any other buildings that take your fancy.
Dont worry about military defences just yet.

Once your asteroid is a mass of scaffolding take the time to have a look at
the  Asteroid  Field Screen to see where you are and whether you know about
any other asteroids yet.

It  is  often  a  good  idea  to enter into communications with Sci-Tek and
purchase  one  or two cheap devices.  A Gravity Nullifier is well worth the
investment  at this stage (assuming of course one has not been supplied for
you  by  Tetracorp).   Once  you  begin  to discover asteroids you may find
several of them on a collision course with your main asteroid and it may be
too  late  then to purchase a Gravity Nullifier and wait for its arrival on
the Imperial Ore Carrier.

Your colony should now be producing ore nicely.  Your immediate concern now
is  to  expand onto other asteroids.  You need to build some Scout Ships so
get your Ship Construction Yard building a couple of Scouts.  They shouldnt
take long.

If  you  have  already  discovered  some  other  asteroids  you may wish to
dispatch  your new Scouts on a Prospecting mission to see how rich they are
in  ores.  If your sensors are looking bare send the Scouts out with orders
to Explore.

Once  you  have  discovered  a few other asteroids and obtained Ore Reports
about  them,  you  are  in  a position to decide which asteroid to colonise
first.   Pick  the  one with most ore deposits, particulary the rarer ores.
If  you have discovered any send your Transporter ship off to colonise that
asteroid.   When  the  new  colony  has  been established (the CPU has been
built) you are in the position to expand that colony too building Mines and
Stores etc.

There  is  usually  a phase where you run severely short of money so try to
spend  it  wisely.  Dont spread yourself across too many asteroids at once,
dont  invest  in unnecessary luxuries from Sci-Tek yet and ensure you build
the most important buildings first, whilst you have the money.  There is no
point  in  having  20  Mines  on  an  asteroid if they have no power or the
employees  are  dying from radiation because you can`t afford any Radiation
Filters.

Once you have sold several shipments of ore to the Imperial Ore Carrier the
situation  should  improve  It is now worth your while beginning to build a
small fleet and lay down a few defences on your asteroids preparing for the
time when you discover the enemy or they discover you.

Maintain a balance.  Keep all of your colonies growing slowly.  Keep mining
at  all  costs.   As  you  deplete an asteroids reserves colonise and begin
mining  a  new  asteroid.   Build a few ships and put them into a defensive
fleet.   Maybe  build a few missiles.  Purchase a few devices from Sci-Tek.
Everything in moderation.

When  you finally discover the enemy start spying at once to gather all the
information you can about him.  You may well need different tactics against
each Alien.


MILITARY STRATEGY
-----------------

Not  too  many clues here!  Until you discover the weaknesses and strengths
of  each  Alien,  maintain  a varied defence.  If it appears that the enemy
concentrate  on  missile strikes build plenty of Anti-Missile Pods.  If you
are  constantly  plagued  by  enemy attack fleets maintain a strong defence
fleet  which  can  intercept  the  enemy  fleet  as soon as it is detected.
Protect your colonies with gun turrets and Screen Generators.

Your attack tactics will also depend upon what you discover about the enemy
and how they react when they are attacked.  Sometimes it is better to build
large  and  strong  attack  fleets  and  back  them up with regular missile
strikes.   Other  times  regular  attacks  by  small skirmish fleets may be
enough to keep the enemy at bay whilst you plan something special for them!
Examine the enemy defences carefully before you attack.

Dont  leave it too long in the game before constructing a Space Dock.  This
will allow you to buy the blueprints for the Terminator and Battleship from
Sci-Tek and to add them to your fleet.

One  last  tip:   Watch  where the enemy attacks carefully.  It is possible
that  he  does  not know about all your asteroids and attacks the same ones
over  and over.  If you think this is the case use the undetected asteroids
for the bulk of your mining and ship production whilst they are safe.


INTERVAL:
---------

THERE WILL NOW BE A SHORT BREAK IN THE MANUAL.  THERE WILL BE SOMEONE ALONG
IN  A MINUTE TO SELL YOU ICE-CREAMS AND COFFEE.  PLEASE DO NOT OBSTRUCT THE
WAY TO THE TOILETS.  THANKS


ZONE 009 : BACKGROUND
---------------------

THE EMPIRE
----------

The  Terran Empire governs a vast area of space, a sphere approximately 300
light years in radius with Earth at its centre.  Over 1000 worlds have been
inhabited  and  are  home  to  countless  billions  of  humans  and a minor
population of alien races discovered during the great expansion in the 23rd
century.

The  Empire came into unofficial existence in the year 2215 when command of
the  homeworlds  (the  most  densely populated worlds nearest to Earth) was
seized  by  the  Commander  of  the Fleet Parillo, during the 5 year war at
Deneb  Markab.   Several  years  of  uncertainty  followed  but most worlds
quickly  offered  their  support  for  Parillo  when he began his Expansion
Policy; promising to push out in search of new worlds to ease overcrowding.
By  2250  he  had discovered and opened up many new worlds for colonisation
and  established  the Industrial Worlds so called because they concentrated
industry  away  from  population  areas  and maximised productivity.  These
advances led to Parillo being formally declared Emperor in the year 2253.

Upon  his  death  in  2274  title  of  Emperor  passed to his son Marcissus
Parillos policies were continued but his xenophobic nature led to many wars
with newly discovered alien races, many of them highly advanced and capable
of inflicting serious damage upon the Imperial Fleet.  The Decade of Terror
came  about  in 2294 when the Tharmaxlons declared war on the Empire.  In a
few  short years they opened a great gash in the side of the Empire nearest
their  homeworlds  in the Capella Sector.  In 2301 they penetrated right to
the  heart  of  the Empire and attacked and destroyed the Industrial Worlds
orbiting  Beta  Hydrae.  Marcissus was blamed for his refusal to enter into
peace  negotiations  with  the  aliens.   That  and  the hatred of even the
friendly  alien  minorities  in  the  Empire for his open racism led to his
being deposed as Emporer in 2303.

Lynn  Salaria,  Marcissus  daughter and greatest critic was crowned Empress
that  very  year.   Her first act was to push back the Tharmaxions with all
the  Imperial  might  and  then  negotiated  treaty  with  them  which  was
incidentally  very  preferential to the Terran Empire, Peace and prosperity
returned  and  she  is  Empress  to this day (the year 2380), though she is
expected to abdicate in favour of her eldest son at any moment.

SCI-TEK
-------

Under  the  prosperity  established  by  Parillo  and  later Marcissus many
companies  grew to immense size and profitability especialiy those directly
linked to the Expansion Policy.  One such company was Sci-Tek.

Sci-Tek  was  founded  in 2309 after decades of research into gravitational
theory.   It's  first products were the much acclaimed Asteroid Engines and
Gravity Nuilifier:  allowing complete control of an asteroid independent of
the   gravitational  influence  of  other  space  objects  Countless  other
corporations  bought  the  devices providing Sci-Tek with enough capital to
channel more money towards R&D.

Within  ten  years  it led the way in the design and manufacture of obscure
but useful devices and facilities.  However its legal departments proved as
cunning  and  resourceful as their technicians.  They devised an incredibly
complicated  licensing  agreement whereby its clients could buy the license
rights  to  the  design  blueprints  for  a  particular Sci-Tek product and
manufacture  it  themselves.   The results were phenomenal as were Sci-Teks
profits.   Other  corporations  preferred  to  use  their own manufacturing
facilities  and  this  allowed  Sci-Tek  to  phase out their own industrial
plants  and  concentrate  purely  on development.  They could put all their
resources  into developing a larger product line.  Surpisingly, no loophole
has  been found in Sci-Teks license agreement and as a result none of their
designs  have  been stolen.  In the few cases where a client has broken the
license  agreement the Imperial Administrator himself has stepped in favour
of Sci-Tek

TETRACORP
---------

Another,  larger,  Imperial  company  is  Tetracorp.   It  began  in  2221,
manufacturing  scout  ships  and  sensory equipment for the Imperial Fleet.
Its assets grew and it soon realised the potential of space exploration and
asteroid  mining.   It  began  developing new techniques for extracting and
transporting  rare  ores  mined  in  the  depths  of  space  which  were so
successful  that  by  the year 2280 it had grown to own and fill the entire
Industrial World of Barnard Five.

By  the  middle  of  the  24th century it had cornered the market in mining
franchises.   Having  manufactured  superior  mining  equipment and support
ships.  It offered packages to anyone with the ambition to take over one of
the  asteroid  fields  being  discovered  every year on the frontier of the
Empire  (known  as  the  Fragmented  Sectors).   It  would  provide all the
equipment  and support required to establish one or more mining colonies on
these  ore  rich  asteroids.   In  return  for a degree of control over the
colonies  and  full  rights  to purchase all ore mined at standard Imperial
prices.

THE FRAGMENTED SECTORS
----------------------

As  expansion  continued  in  search  of habitable worlds and resources the
exploration  fleets  began to discover an increasing amount of star systems
whose  planets had been torn apart to produce huge asteroid fields orbiting
the star.  The cause of this widespread destruction in so many star systems
is unknown but it proved incredible good fortune for Tetracorp.  The fields
of  asteroids  made  it far easier to extract the valuable ores and several
new  and  phenomenally  valuable  ores  were discovered such as Traxium and
Nexos.

K240
----

In  the  year  2380,  Sector  K240  was  made available for colonisation by
Tetracorp.   K240  is  one  of the Fragmented Sector and occupies a cube of
space  50  light  years  across.   As a Tetracorp franchise holder you have
claimed  a section of K240 and are ready to begin your mining operations in
the asteroid fields Good luck!

TERRAN  APPROVED:   2450  THE  FOLLOWING SECTION IS FOR THOSE WITH SECURITY
CLEARANCE BLUE AND ABOVE ONLY.


ZONE 010 : BUILDING REFERENCE SECTION
-------------------------------------

This section describes each building available and its features and purpose
in  the  game.   Some  are  unavailable at the start of the game but can be
purchased from Sci-Tek.  These are marked as (Blueprint).

Note:   This  data is accurate at the present time but is subject to change
without warning, as manufacturing techniques improve.

Anti-Missile Pod (blueprint)
----------------------------

Cost:   7000 Cr
Power:  3 MW/day
Time:   36 days

These  are  your  major  defence  against  incoming  enemy  missiles.  They
automatically  detect  enemy missiles and target them though their accuracy
is low.  To improve accuracy build several

Asteroid Engines (blueprint)
----------------------------

Cost:    45000 Cr
Power:   0-5 MW /day depending upon speed
Time:    64 days

This is a phenomenally advanced facility that provides the means to control
the gravitational field of the asteroid enabling it to change direction and
speed any time you want

When you click on the building a control window appears:

The  current  direction and speed of the asteroid is shown.  To alter speed
click  on  the  right  arrow  button  (increase)  or  the left arrow button
(decrease).   A  speed  of  zero  indicates  that  the asteroid will remain
stationary.

To  alter  the  direction  click  on  any  of the yellow dots in the circle
surrounding the asteroid.

If  the  Engines  run  out  of  power  the  speed will drop to zero and the
asteroid  will  no longer move.  Power is essential to maintain the gravity
field that moves the asteroid.

Colony Preservation Unit
------------------------

Cost:    30000 Cr to start a new colony
Power:   none
Time:    40 days

This  building  can  only  be  built  when  beginning  a  new  colony on an
uninhabited  asteroid.  (See the section on Colonising New Asteroids).  The
Transporter  ship  will  automatically construct one when it arrives at the
new asteroid provided enough funds are available.

The  purpose  of the CPU is to establish a minimum survival colony allowing
you  time  to  construct.  Further more specific buildings.  To this end it
provides:

          Living space for 100 employees
          8 MW/day of power
          300 units of air per day
          250 units of food per day
          250 units of water per day

In addition it has storage capacity for:

          1000 air units 
          1000 food units
          1000 water units 
          50MW of power.

The facilities at the CPU will degenerate over time since it is meant to be
phased  out  when you have your colony up and running.  Because of this all
production  of  air, water and food (NOT power) will decrease by 1 unit/day
until  they  reach  zero.  Thus the CPU cannot sustain a colony after about
250 days.

Command Centre
--------------

Cost:     8000 Cr
Power:    3 MW/day
Time:     32 days

This is a very important building and you are advised to have more than one
amongst  your  asteroids.   A  Command  Centre  can  control  any number of
colonies  therefore  its  exact location is unimportant.  It makes all your
asteroids run more smoothly and also offers specific functions when clicked
upon.  These are:

a)  A  window  appears listing the prices at which the Imperial Home Worlds
will  buy your mined ore.  Sometimes the Empire will guarantee prices for a
number of years for a paticular ore type that it needs badly.  In this case
the  letter  "H" will appear after the ore price to indicate that the price
has been held.  The number after the "H" indicates the number of years that
the  price  is  held  for.   This  window also indicates the number of days
before the next Imperial Ore Carrier arrives at your colony.

b) By clicking on the Space Dock button you have the option to construct an
orbiting  Space  Dock  around  the current asteroid.  See the section about
Space Docks.

c)  By clicking on the Ship Button you can obtain a list of the location of
all your Transporter ships whether they are around an asteroid or in space.
Use this to manage your transporters more effectively.

Note:   You  will  be  unable  to  command  any fleets without at least one
Command Centre.

Construction Yard
-----------------

Cost:   7500 Cr
Power:  2 MW/day
Time:   32 Days

This  large  building extends underground into huge caverns (accessible via
the  Landing  Pads).  you can construct the smaller spacecraft in the yard,
namely Assault Fighters, Combat Eagle, and Scout Ships.

When  ships  are  constructed they are left in the underground hangers.  To
issue orders to the hangered ships, click on the Landing Pads.

Clicking  on this building allows you to construct ships or obtain a status
report  of  ships  currently  under  construction.   Full  details  on ship
construction are given elsewhere.

Decontamination Filter
---------------------

Cost:   8000 Cr
Power:  3 MW/Day
Time:   36 Days

The  background  radiation  on  some  asteroids  is  high  causing employee
sickness  which  leads  to  loss  of  production.   The Company advises the
construction  of  one or more of these Filters which offer a screen against
the  heavier  radioactive  particles protecting the employees inside colony
buildings.

Deep Bore Mine
--------------

Cost:   5500 Cr
Power:  2 MW/Day
Time:   36 Days

This  is  a sophisticated mining drill for locating and extracting the more
valuable Ores.  It can extract:

    Quazinc
    Bytanium
    Korellium
    Dragonium

All mined ores are sent directly to Stores.

Environmental Control
---------------------

Cost:     3200 Cr
Power:    none
Time:     20 Days

This  facility  primarily  stores surplus environment commodities for later
use.   Each building can store up to 5000 air units, 600 food units and 600
water   units.   It  also  monitors  the  usage  and  production  of  these
environment commodities to provide an uninterrupted supply in every section
of your colony.

Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window.

Protected Environmental Control
-------------------------------

Cost:   8500 Cr
Power:  3 MW/Day
Time:   32 Days

This  is an extension to the normal building, with an integral Laser Turret
for  colony  defence.   Bearing  in  mind  the  importance of environmental
control, it would seem prudent to protect it.

Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window.

Gravity Nullifier (blueprint)
-----------------------------

Cost:   35000 Cr
Power:  4 MW/day if on
Time:   52 days

It  can  take  considerable time to monitor the movements of your asteroids
and  those  nearby  and  collisions  are  a constant danger.  The Nullifier
generates  a  gravitational field that stops all asteroids within a certain
range  from moving including the one the Nullifier is built on.  As long as
the  field  is active you don`t have to worry about collisions, however any
asteroid using Asteroid Engines will be unaffected by the field.  Note that
the  field  will  collapse  if  you  have  insufficient  power to drive the
Nullifier so regular checks on it`s operational status should be maintained

Clicking on the Nullifier gives the option of turning the field on or off.

Hydration Plant
---------------

Cost:    5000 Cr
Power:   1 MW/day
Time:    20 days

These buildings provide essential water for your employees.  Each hydration
plant  provides  water  for  up to 500 employees.  A very efficiet chemical
process is used to extract water and oxygen from ice crystrals trapped deep
within  the asteroid.  Surplus water will be stored in Environmental Stores
if you have any.

Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window

Hydroponics
-----------

Cost:     7000 Cr
Power:    2 MW/day
Time:     16 days

These  buildings  provide  essential  food  for  your  employees.  Each one
provides  food  for  up to 400 workers which is grown from a slurry tank of
algae  fed  with  concentrated nutrients.  It sounds inedible but the basic
slurry  can be moulded into any foodstuff (In tests it was found that 8 out
of  10 employees could not tell the difference and the drastic reduction in
cost  when compared to fresh food has made these units a Company Favourite)
Surplus food will be stored in Environmental Stores should you have any.

Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window.

Landing Pad
-----------

Cost:    300 Cr
Power:   none
Time:    16 days

These  are  the  access  points  for  ships  to  enter  and  leave the vast
underground  hangers.  It is advisable to leave unused ships in the hangers
as  this  keeps them safe from enemy attack and enables damaged ships to be
repaired.

Landing  Pads  cannot  be built too close to the edge of the asteroid where
the rock is at its thinnest.

Clicking  on  a  Landing  Pad displays a list of all ships currently in the
hangers  or  orbiting the current asteroid.  You may issue orders to one or
more  of  these  ships  from here.  For more information see the section on
Controlling Ships elsewhere in this manual.

Laser Turret
------------

Cost:    3400 Cr
Power:   2 MW/day
Time:    24 days

This low powered weapon offers defence against attack by enemy ship(s).  It
will automatically track and fire upon any enemy ship(s) around the current
asteroid assuming it has sufficient power.

Life Support
------------

Cost:    13000 Cr
Power:   2 MW/day
Time:    48 Days

This  building  provides  vital  air and atmospheric control throughout the
colony  buildings.   Each  life  support  module  can generate a breathable
environment  for  up  to  500  employees.  A revolutionary (and top secret)
chemical  process  is used to extract Hydrogen Oxygen and the various Noble
gasses trapped within the asteroid and render them breathable.  Surplus air
will be stored in the Environmental Stores if you have any.

Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window

Living Quarters
---------------

Cost:    1000 Cr
Power:   none
Time:    32 Days

The  basic  support  building  for  employees  in  the colony.  Much of the
building is underground and has adequate facilities for about 50.  They are
quick to construct but very susceptible to damage from attack.

Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window

Medical Centre
--------------

Cost:   5000 Cr
Power:  1 MW/Day
Time:   30 Days

This is a state of the art facility incorporating all the medical equipment
and  staff  you`d  expect  to  find  in  a major planetary Hospital.  It is
capable  of  supporting  a  colony  of  up  to 100 employees, handling both
routine  and  emergency  medical care.  It is unwise to have a large colony
without  at  least one Medical Centre.  Having one improves employee morale
and  health  and in addition lowers the number of fatalities through mining
accidents.   It  is  also invaluable in the rare cases when a virus spreads
rapidly through the close confinement of a mining colony and can also offer
treatment for low doses of radiation

Mine
----

Cost:   4000 Cr
Power:  1 MW/Day
Time:   32 Days

The  basic  mining  drill for extracting the commoner types of ore.  It can
extract:

      Selenium              Asteros

      Barium                Crystalite

All mined ores are sent  directly to Stores

Missile Silo
------------

Cost:   4300 Cr
Power:  none
Time:   32 Days

All  your missiles are constructed and launched from these silos.  For full
details  about  Missiles  see  the  appropriate  section  elsewhere in this
manual.

Each asteroid has underground caverns capable of storing 10 of each type of
missile,  a  total  of 110 missiles.  Obviously no matter how many missiles
you  have  in storage you cannot launch them without a silo.  The advantage
of multiple silos is that your launch rate is far greater.

Clicking  on  a  silo  brings  up the Missile Construction Window where you
select  which missiles to build.  Launching missiles is done by clicking on
the  Missile  Button (See the section on Missiles for details of both these
operations)

Ore Teleporter (blueprint)
--------------------------

Cost:   45000 Cr
Power:  1 MW/Day
Time:   48 Day

This  is  a  very  effective  and  swift means of transporting ores between
asteroids  you  must  have  an ore transporter on both of the asteroids you
want  to  move  ore  between.   For  best  results  install one on all your
asteroids.

To teleport some ore, click on the Ore Teleport on the asteroid you want to
move ore FROM.

A  window  appears  listing  all  the  ore  available in the Stores on this
asteroid both in bar chart form and numerical form

You  cannot  do  anything until you select the destination asteroid.  To do
so,  click on the asteroid button.  You will be taken to the Asteroid Field
screen  where you can move the cross hair over the destination asteroid and
click with the left mouse button you must of course select an asteroid that
is owned by you and that contains an Ore Teleporter.

After  selecting  the  destination you will be returned to the Ore teleport
window where you will now see the contents of the stores on the destination
asteroid (The second column of figures).

To teleport ore simply drag the bar charts either left or right (similar to
the  means  explained  earlier  in  the  manual) and Ore will be teleported
instantaneously between the asteroids.

To  teleport  from  the  current  asteroid  to the destination drag the bar
charts to the right.

To  teleport  from  the  destination  to  the current asteroid drag the bar
charts to the left.

Plasma Turret (blueprint)
-------------------------

Cost:     5500 Cr
Power:    3 MW /day
Time:     30 days

This  weapon  offers greater fire power than the standard Laser Turret.  It
automatically  tracks  and  fires  upon  any enemy ships around the current
asteroid providing it has sufficient power.

Photon Turret (blueprint)
-------------------------

Cost:     7500 Cr
Power:    5 MW /day
Time:     52 days

This  weapon offers the greatest fire power of the three turret types.  The
Photon  Turrets  power and accurracy is beyond compare and is only rivalled
by  some  of the larger intergalactic warships.  Having sold this however a
warship  moves  pretty  damn fast whereas a turret is rooted to the spot as
you  would  expect.   It  too automatically tracks and fires upon any enemy
ships around the current asteroid providing it has sufficient power.

Powerplant (blueprint)
----------------------

Cost:    10000 Cr
Power:   variable
Time:    40 days

This  is  the major means of power generation upon your asteroids.  It is a
large  and  complicated  building to construct but it offers superior power
generation.   It  extracts  Asteros ore direct from the asteroid and uses a
fusion process to turn it into a daily output of 32 MW.  Ensure you have an
adequate supply of Asteros before construction since it uses 1 Asteros unit
every 4 days.

If there is an ample supply of Asteros it will generate 32 MW/day otherwise
it will use less ores to give a much reduced output of 8MW/day.

Clicking  on  this  building  brings  up  a list of all buildings currently
without power if any.

Power Store
-----------

Cost:    1500 Cr
Power:   none
Time:    32 days

Unused  surplus power is channelled into these for later use.  They offer a
good  backup in the rarer cases where you may temporarily lose some of your
power  generation  buildings, perhaps during an enemy attack.  They will at
least prevent you from being totally out of power for a short while.

Each one has a capacity of 200 MW of power.

Clicking  on  this  building  brings  up  a list of all buildings currently
without power if any.

Repair Facility (blueprint)
---------------------------

Cost:    20000 Cr
Power:   none
Time:    36 days

Colony  buildings get damaged in the harsh environment of the mining colony
especially  during enemy attacks, Normally there are insufficient resources
to  affect  repajrs.   This building controls a fleet of repair robots that
routinely move about the colony and undertake building repairs.

Resiblock
---------

Cost:   3000 Cr
Power:  2 MW/Day
Time:   48 Days

This  is  a  more  advanced  support building, offering more facilities for
employees  especially  in  the way of entertiainment and leisure.  It takes
longer  to  construct  than  the  basic  Living  quarters  but supports 150
employees and is more space efficient.

Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window

Protected Resiblock
-------------------

Cost:   8500 Cr
Power:  5 MW/Day
Time:   56 Days

The  standard resiblock is now protected by an integral Laser Turret giving
better  protection  from  enemy  attack  and subsequently safeguarding your
workforce.

Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window

Satellite Silo
--------------

Cost:   5000 Cr
Power:  none
Time:   24 Days

Gathering  intelligence about the enemy requires the frequent launch of spy
satellites.  Satellites are both constructed and launched from these silos.
For details see the section on spying.

Screen Generator (blueprint)
----------------------------

Cost:   20000 Cr
Power:  7 MW/Day if on
Time:   52 Days

Most  buildings  have very little defence against damage from enemy attacks
and  are  easily  damaged  or  destroyed.  A screen generator uses power to
erect  a  force  screen  over  one  or  more  buildings  to  offer  greater
protection.

To  identify  the  area of effect of a screen (an asteroid can have several
Screen  Generators)  select Tactical Mode on the main asteroid view screen.
All buildings shown with a white square are protected.

Security Centre
---------------

Cost:   4500 Cr
Power:  2 Mw/Day
Time:   24 Days

The  Company believes in high pay for hard work but sometimes the employees
forget  this  and  become  slack  or  troubled  by the long shifts and hard
dangerous work.  It is inevitable that there will be regular rebellions and
standoffs  between  the  management  and  the workers and this is where the
highly  trained  security  team  steps  in.   They  possess  the  power  to
discipline  employees  fine  them,  and  imprison  them if necessary.  More
importantly  they also have guns.  It is wise to have a Security Centre for
about every 50 employees to prevent criminal activities taking a foothold.

Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window

Seismic Penetrator (blueprint)
------------------------------

Cost:    26500 Cr
Power:   3 MW/Day
Time:    42 Days

This  is  the  very latest mining equipment recently introduced by Sci-Tek.
It  takes  more  asteroid  space  and  power than conventional Mines but is
capable of extracting very valuable ores.  It can extract:

                    Traxium and Nexos

All mined ores are sent directly to Stores.

Sensor Array
------------

Cost:    3500 Cr
Power:   2 MW/day
Time:    36 days

Without  a  sensor  array  an asteroid has a very small sensor range.  (The
small  black circle on the Asteroid Field screen).  The array improves this
range  (increases  the  circle)  and  gives  better  warning of enemy fleet
movements.

Whenever  enemy  missiles  or  an  enemy fleet enters sensor range you will
receive  an  on  screen  (and  audible) warning.  In the bottom left of the
screen  one  or more icons will flash.  A missile inside a circle indicates
the presence of missiles and a ship inside a circle indicates the detection
of  a fleet.  The Asteroid Field Screen will indicate their position as red
dots (for Missiles) or a red logo (for fleets).  For as long as these icons
flash you are in danger!

Solar Generator
---------------

Cost:     1500 Cr
Power:    gen. 4 MW/day
Time:     10 days

A  more effective means of harnessing solar power, this building can output
up to 4MW/Day.  It costs more but is more space efficient.

Clicking  on  this  building  brings  up  a list of all buildings currently
without power if any.

Solar Matrix (blueprint)
------------------------

Cost:    5000 Cr
Power:   gen 8 MW/day
Time:    32 days

This  is  an expensive building but maximises space on smaller asteroids by
containing  a  large tower of solar panels using a very small surface area.
The output is 8MW/day.

Clicking  on  this  building  brings  up  a list of all buildings currently
without power if any.

Protected Solar Matrix (blueprint)
----------------------------------

Cost:     7200 Cr
Power:    gen 8MW/day
Time:     48 days

This  improved  design  contains  an  Integral  Laser  Turret  for  defence
purposes.

Clicking  on  this  building  brings  up  a list of all buildings currently
without power, if any.

Solar Panel
-----------

Cost:     500 Cr
Power:    generates 2 MW/day
Time:     8 days

This is a very cheap and easily constructed array to harness power from the
sun.  It outputs a constant 2MW/day.

Clicking  on  this  building  brings  up  a list of all buildings currently
without power, if any.

Storage Facility
----------------

Cost:     1500 Cr
Power:    1  MW/day
Time:     20 days

This  building stockpiles all types of ore for later use.  It automatically
handles  ore arriving at the stores from the Mines via underground conveyor
belts  and feeds it to Construction yards or Missile Silos as needed.  This
small building can store a total of 300 ore units.

Clicking on this building lists the ore stored by category.

Storage Tower
-------------

Cost:   3000 cr
Power:  2 MW/day
Time:   40 days

This  is  a  more space efficient Store capable of holding 600 ore units of
any type.

Clicking on this building lists the ore stored by category. 

Protected Storage Tower
-----------------------

Cost:    7500 Cr
Power:   4 MW/Day
Time:    48 Days

This  is  an  improved  design  of  the Storage Tower with an inbuilt Laser
Turret  to  fend  off  unwelcome visitors.  It should be noted that all ore
storage devices will be prime targets for enemy attacks, as they are one of
the  prime  requisites  of  any  colony.   It  would therefore seem wise to
protect  them.   This is done by putting a huge fake plastic gun on the top
and  a  fairly  pathetic real lasser turret inside it.  This is in the vain
hope  that any attacking fleet will see the fake weapon and decide they are
outgunned.   The  reality of course is that they see the tiny laser that it
fires and think oh its another one of those realistic plastic guns I`m off.
Honest.  Don`t delay buy one today.

Clicking on this building lists the ore stored by category.

Weapons Factory
---------------

Cost:    4400 Cr
Power:   2 MW/Day
Time:    32 Days

This  enables  the  manufacture of weapons, missile warheads and spacecraft
engines.   One  of  these  buildings provides such facilities for an entire
asteroid.


ZONE 011 : SCI-TEK
------------------

Welcome to Sci-Tek!

As  you will be aware, at Sci-Tek we only deal in the galaxys most advanced
blueprints.   And  since  we  dont waste any of our precious time with mass
production  plants,  you,  the  customer, dont suffer in the long run.  The
more  time we get to spend on our development, the better your equipment in
the end.  Here at Sci-Tek we put YOU, the customer first and foremost.  And
remember, this sign is your assurance of quality

Sci-Tek

Brochure 2425

To  order  call  075846653687 and one of our androids will be happy to take
your order.

Quote this ref. (Grem.226) for an extra 10% off.


2nd Generation Mines
--------------------

Cost:  55000 Cr

This  is  a  computer  controlled  multi-headed  drill  assembly.   It will
automatically  be  added  to all your existing Mines and all Mines built in
the future.  It doubles the speed at which a Mine can extract ore.
 
2nd Generation Deep Bore Mines
------------------------------

Cost:   75000 Cr

This  is  a computer controlled multi-headed drill assembly for use on Deep
Bore Mines.  It will automatically be added to your existing shafts and all
those  built in the future.  It doubles the speed at which a Deep Bore Mine
can extract ore.

Anti-Missile Pod
----------------

Cost:   250000 Cr

This  is  a  powerful  addition  to  your asteroid defences.  The pods will
detect  and  track  any incoming enemy missiles and attempt to destroy them
harmlessly  in  flight.   The  pod  accuracy  is low but can be improved by
building several pods on each asteroid.

Anti-Virus Missile
------------------

Cost:   100000 Cr

This  warhead  is  the  only  known means of halting the effects of a Virus
missile launched against one of your asteroids, For further details see the
description of this warhead in the Missiles section.

Asteroid Engines
----------------

Cost:   190000 Cr

Engines  allow you full control over the direction and speed of an asteroid
enabling  you  to  steer  it  clear  of collisions or even just position it
exactly  where  you want it in space.  For full details see the description
in the Buildings section.

Asteroid Tracker
----------------

Cost:    40000 Cr

This  powerful  computer  works in conjunction with your sensors to analyse
the movement of all known asteroids.  It provides data on the direction and
speed of each asteroid, enabling you to anticipate collisions.

Once  you  have  the  blueprint  you  must  activate  the computer from the
Asteroid  Field  Screen  Bring up the button panel and click on the Display
Modes  button.   Two  new  buttons  have  now appeared in the Display Modes
button panel:

      PATHS          SPEEDS           PAFW           EXIT

The  PATHS button toggles on or off the display of asteroid paths.  Once on
the Asteroid Field Screen will display the path of an asteroid with a green
dotted  line.   It  will  always  show  the  path  of  the current asteroid
(providing it is actually moving) and will temporarily show the path of any
asteroid  you  move  the cross hair over.  You can therefore quickly get an
idea of the direction of all the asteroids.

The  SPEEDS  button toggles on or off the display of asteroid speeds.  Once
on,  the  Asteroid  Field Screen will display the speed of an asteroid as a
number  next  to it.  It will always show the speed of the current asteroid
and will temporarily show the speed of any asteroid you move the cross hair
over.   You can quickly get an idea of the speeds of all the asteroids.  If
the  speed  is  shown  in  red then that asteroid is caught in some kind of
gravity nullifying field and is not currently moving.  The number indicates
its speed should it escape the nullifying field.

Building Armour
---------------

Cost:    110000 Cr

You have purchased the rights to a strengthened construction material.  You
can  use this in all new buildings you construct making them more resilient
to enemy attacks.

Construction Droids
-------------------

Cost:   20000 Cr

Usually  your  Vehicle  Construction  Yards  only  have  the  resources  to
manufacture up to 3 craft at a time.  Once you have this blueprint all your
yards  and  all future yards will be modified to include a state of the art
robotic  assembly  line.   The sophistication of these droids allows you to
construct  up  to  6 craft at a time.  You can now build larger fleets with
less of your time spent supervising the Yards.

Deflector
--------

Cost:   115000 Cr

This is a hardpoint that can be added to newly constructed ships to improve
their  defence.   It consists of a generator that pulses energy through the
ships  hull  all  the  time  that it is in flight using power from the main
engines.   The  energised  hull is more resilient to attacks and can absorb
and  deflect most attacks.  The Deflector can be used with existing shields
and greatly improves the lifetime of a ship.

Fleet Battleship
----------------

Cost:   150000 Cr

One  of  the  most  powerful  ships  produced  in  the  Empire.  Using this
blueprint  you  can  construct  these battleships at any asteroid where you
have  a  Space  Dock.   For  further  details  see  the  description in the
Spacecraft section

Gravity Nullifier
-----------------

Cost:    70000 Cr

The  Nullifier  generates a powerful gravity field about the asteroid it is
built  upon.   This  prevents the asteroid and close neighbouring asteroids
from  moving.   This is particularly useful to avoid asteroid collisions or
simply  to  hold  several  of  your  asteroids  together for quick movement
between  them.   For  further  details see the description in the Buildings
section.

Hi-Energy Power Stores
----------------------

Cost:   15000 Cr

This specialised capacitance circuit is automatically installed in all your
existing  Power  Stores  and  any built from now on.  It simply doubles the
storage capacity of all Power Stores.

Improved Sensors
----------------

Cost:   34000 Cr

Sci-Tek have recognised the reliance most asteroid mining colonies put upon
their  Sensor  Arrays  Without  them  an  asteroid is very vulnerable to an
unexpected  collision  or  surprise enemy attack.  They have developed this
device  that  is installed in all your existing asteroids and also added to
the  CPU building so that all future colonies will have this device also it
renders  Sensor  Arrays  unnecessary  by hiding the sensors underground and
using new techniques to allow them to probe surrounding space

MEGA Missile
------------

Cost:   500000 Cr

Incredibly  expensive  but  then you are buying the most powerful weapon in
the  Empire  capable  of  destroying  an  entire asteroid upon impact.  For
further details see the summary of this warhead in the Missiles section.

Missile Bay Extension
---------------------

Cost:   30000 Cr

Conventional  missile  Silos can only store a maximum of 10 of each type of
warhead  on  an asteroid.  If they are to be loaded and launched as quickly
as  possible.   This  new  loading  rack  system  is  installed in all your
existing and future Missile Silos and allows them to store up to 20 of each
type of missile.  The rack system is compact but can arm any warhead on any
silo in a matter of seconds.

Missile Guidance System
-----------------------

Cost:   35000 Cr

This  device  uses  your  sensors  to  accurately  measure the distance and
relative  vectors  of  the  launching  and  target asteroids.  It uses this
information  to  provide  you  with an indication of the likelihood of each
missile hitting the target asteroid.  By using this device you can maximise
your  attacks  and  avoid  wasting  missiles  by firing them at targets too
distant.

See the Missile section for details about how to use the Guidance System.
 
Nuclear Missile
---------------

Cost:   300000 Cr

This  missile  inflicts  large amounts of damage upon the asteroid it hits.
For further details see the summary of this warhead in the Missiles section

Ore Teleporter
--------------
 
Cost:   150000 Cr

Transporting  ore  between  your asteroids via Transporter ships can take a
lot  of  time and effort You can avoid this by constructing Ore Teleporters
on  all  your  asteroids.   Any  type  of  ore  can  be  teleported between
Teleporters   instantaneously.    For  instructions  on  its  use  see  the
description of the Ore Teleporter in the Buildings section.

Photon Turret
-------------

Cost:  100000 Cr

The most powerful turret on the market today.  Very effective against enemy
ships attacking your asteroids.  For further details see the description in
the Buildings section.

Plasma Turret
-------------

Cost:   60000 Cr

A more powerful turret than the standard Laser Turret.  For further details
see the description in the Buildings section.

Power Amplifier
---------------

Cost:   100000 Cr

This optimises your solar panels allowing them to double their power output
to  your  colony.   The Amplifier is automatically added to all present and
future Solar Panels, Generators and Solar Matrices.

Powerplant
----------

Cost:   40000 Cr

The  Powerplant  is a very cost effective means of power generation using a
fusion  process to convert Asteros ore into power.  For further details see
the description in the Buildings section.

Repair Facility
---------------

Cost:  150000 Cr

This  building  supports  a  fleet  of repair droids that move through your
colony  buildings  and  carrying out repairs of battle damage.  For further
details see the description in the Buildings section

Screen Generator
----------------

Cost:  175000 Cr

The   Screen   Generator  produces  a  defence  screen  around  itself  and
neighbouring  buildings  absorbing  some  of the damage of an enemy attack.
For furthur details see the description in the Buildings section.
 
Seismic Genetrator
------------------

Cost:  120000 Cr

This  is  the  only  type  of  drilling  assembly capable of extracting the
incredibly  rare  (and  expensive) Traxium and Nexos ores from underground.
It is a large and very complicated building but vital if you have ambitions
of  becoming a major ore supplier.  For further details see the description
in the Buildings section.

Shield X40
----------

Cost:  30000 Cr

This is a Hardpoint that can be added to newly constructed ships to improve
their defence.  It simply adds an extra layer of armour to the ships hull.

Shield X50
----------

Cost:  40000 Cr

This  is  another  hardpoint that can be added to a newly constructed ship.
It  provides  a state of the art defence system almost guaranteed to render
the ship invulnerable (but not quite) And all for a mere 40000 Cr.

Solar Matrix
------------

Cost:  30000 Cr

This  is a more space and cost effective means of power generation than the
basic  Solar Panel For furthur details see the description in the Buildings
section.

Static Inducer
--------------

Cost:  80000 Cr

This  is  a  Hardpoint that can be added to newly constructed ships it uses
the  ships  main engines to concentrate and emit a powerful electromagnetic
pulse  that  temporarily  confuses  the  electronics  of  enemy ships.  The
blueprint also shows how our own ships are protected against the e m pulse.
During  the  pulse  all  enemy  ships  are unable to move or attack and are
completely vulnerable to our own attacks.

Stasis Missile
-------------

Cost:  250000 Cr

This  state  of  the  art  missile  encompasses  the target asteroid with a
temporary  field  that  stops  time, freezing the asteroid and all ships in
orbit  about  it for a period of time.  For further details see the summary
of this warhead in the Missiles section.

Terminator
----------

Cost:  90000 Cr

This  is  a powerful Cruiser warship with 4 hardpoints making it a superior
attack  ship  to  everything but the fleet battleship.  For further details
see the description of this ship in the Spacecraft section.

Turret Optimiser
----------------

Cost:  240000 Cr

This  devise  has  been  long awaited.  It modifies all existing and future
turrets  of  any  type giving them the power to double the damage that they
can  inflict in each shot.  Quite how the device works is a closely guarded
secret, however the most popular theory is that a huge capacitor is used to
charge the turret up when not in use and the surplus of power increases the
damage it is capable of inflicting.

Virus Missile
-------------

Cost:  350000 Cr

This warhead releases a volatile substance upon impact that causes the very
rock  of an asteroid to become unstable.  It is impossible for buildings to
stand  upon  this  new,  unstable  substance.  The virus will slowly spread
across  the  asteroid  destroying  everything in its path.  A very powerful
weapon  (hence  its price).  Upon its initial release the Virus missile was
declared  illegal  on  almost  200  separate worlds however modern thinking
suggests  it  is  a  more  humane  method of warfare:  Maximum results with
minimum  casualties.   Such  is  the turnaround in the concensus of opinion
that  Sci-Teks  PR  department  has won several awards for its work on this
particular project.  For further details see the summary of this warhead in
the Missiles section.

Warp Generator
--------------

Cost:  75000 Cr

This  is a hardpoint that can be added to newly constructed ships.  It is a
limited defence device.  A capacitor is charged from the ships main engines
and  then  the charge is released as a powerful warp field phasing the ship
out  of  the  Spacial  Matrix  (tm).   In  its phased out state the ship is
impervious  to  all  damage  but  may still fire its own weapons.  When the
capacitor  has  discharged the ship phases back into normal space until the
capacators  charged  again  and  is  thus vulnerable to attack again.  This
pulsing warp field happens automatically.


ZONE 012 : SPACECRAFT
---------------------

Assault Fighter
---------------

Imperial Code:    15KC/TC/4158137
Internal Code:    KC651910067
Length:           13m
Beam:              8m
Speed:            15,700 km/h atmos.
Speed:            3 FN = 1000 LS/day
Mass:             40 tonnes
Hull:             20 armour
Build             20 days            From: Construction Yard
Hardpoints:       1
Ore:              2 Selenium, 2 Crystalite
Cost:             6000 Cr
Engine:           Kerell Thruster MKII, x2 KA344325G
Cargo:            10 tonnes
Boost:            +3000 LS/day
Crew:             3
Sensor:           Nembry Avionics NA6518PD
Life Support:     1 year
Computer:         Kerell TR37, 200 MIPS
Landing Gear:     triple
EW/ECM:           1 LD fwd & rear only
Comms:            Sensory Matrix transceiver 1 LY effective
Inert Damping:    none

In  use  since  its  initial  design in 2232.  A proven ship that is cheap,
quick  to  build  and  ideal in Combat situations.  Developed by the Kerell
Corporation,  based  on the Industrial World of Tau Ceti III.  Its designer
was L.G.R.  Riley, Engineer Grade VII at the Kerell Corp.  Incredible as it
may  sound, Ms Riley is the only female engineer to have ever held a senior
position  in  Kerell.   Ironically,  this ship is one of their best selling
ever, and has provided the funding for many of their more recent ventures.



Combat Eagle
------------

Imperial Code:    12TC/B5/8778103
Internal Code:    TC86608133X
Length:           10m
Beam:             9m
Speed:            15,700 km/h atmospheric
Speed:            3 FN = 1000 LS/day
Mass:             120 tonnes
Hull:             30 armour
Build:            30 days               From: Construction Yard
Hardpoints:       2
Ore:              4 Selenium, 4 Crystalite
Cost:             8000 Cr
Engine:           Fortuna Drive V3.4 (x2) MX3321H
Cargo:            32 tonnes
Boost:            + 2500 LS/day
Crew:             7
Sensor:           XLR array, XLR793 V1.31
Life Support:     1.5 years
Computer:         Kerell TX5, 560 MIPS
Landing Gear:     triple
EW/ECM:           2.5 LD, spherical
Comms:            Sensory Matrix transceiver 2.3 LY effective
Inertia Damping:  < 2 FN

Designed  by  Engineer  and  Pilot  R  F  Drake Stoker at the Morgan Design
Institute  on  Barnard  Five, under license to Tetracorp, in the year 2308.
It  has now become Tetracorps standard lowcost assault ship and widely used
throughout the Empire.  A general purpose Combat vessel.


Scout Ship
----------

Imperial Code:    12TC/B5/8751113
Internal Code:    TC-888132-712-F
Length:           12m
Beam:             6m
Speed:            10,200 km/h atmospheric
Speed:            2 FN = 740 LS/day
Mass:             34 tonnes
Hull:             5 armour
Build:            20 days              From: Construction Yard
Hardpoints:       1
Ore:              4 Selenium, 2 Crystalite
Cost:             3000 Cr
Engine:           Fortuna Impulse Dome, Mk3 RBW 690421-C
Cargo:            5 tonnes
Boost:            + 200 LS/Day
Crew:             3
Sensor:           XLR sub array core, XLR-64 V5.2
                  TN sampling units, code:TN 87991
Life Support:     4.5 years
Computer:         SG Imagine os 5.1 910 MIPS
Landing Gear:     Triple
EW/ECM:           1.2 LD, fwd only
Comms:            Sensory Matrix transceiver 12,8 LY
Inertia Damping:  none

Designed by Engineer R Marax at the Tetracorp Central Construction Yards on
Barnard  Five,  in  the  year 2345, This is the fourth issue of Tetracorprs
Popular  scout  ship.   Though the Imperial Navy uses the superior Class 7,
this vessel is widespread amongst Tetracorp's franchised mining operations.
Whilst  it  is  near  useless in combat situations, it carries superior XLR
sensor arrays tuned to the discovery of ore rich asteroids.


Destructor
----------

Imperial Code:    171GX/B7/3771826
Internal Code:    GX48911-8834
Length:           34m
Beam:             48m
Speed:            9,700 km/h atmospheric
Speed:            2 FN = 690 LS/day
Mass:             1033 tonnes
Hull:             40 armour
Build:            48 days             From: Orbital Space Dock
Hardpoints:       3
Ore:              8 Selenium, 6 Crystalite
Cost:             15000 Cr
Engine:           Gax V2 Hyper drive (7.1c) (x1)
                  Gax RN35 Thrusters (x2)
                  GRN35-7133
Cargo:            120 tonnes
Boost:            + 340 LS/day
Crew:             16
Sensor:           XLR array, XLR 793 V2.17
Life Support:     2.7 years
Computer:         Kerell NT-690, 1700 MIPS
Landing Gear:     none
EW/ECM:           5.6 LD, spherical
Comms:            Sensory Matrix transceiver 4.4 LY
Inertia Damping:  < 2 FN

Gax Industries are well known for their superior ship design, and this ship
is  no  exception.  It is widely used as a leading attack and support ship,
and  is  extremely  versatile,  being  capable of interstellar Jump travel,
interplanetary and atmospheric use.  Its designer was Y.  Inars, working at
the Gax R&D Facility on Brekon 7 , Initially designed in 2278, it was never
built,  instead  it  underwent a redesign and finally became operational in
2316.


Terminator
----------

Imperial Code:    112ST/613922
Internal Code:    ST-1D-7791337
Length:           52m
Beam:             32m
Speed:            2,100 km/h atmospheric
Speed:            1 FN = 430 LS/day
Mass:             7814 tonnes
Hull:             50 armour
Build:            80 days               From:Orbital Space Dock
Hardpoints:       4
Ore:              8 Selenium, 2 Dragonium
Cost:             34000 Cr
Engine:           Sci-Tek InterSpacial Drive
                  STC-87 revision 4.3 (x2)
                  Sci-Tek Thrusting Unit
                  STC-7133 revision 2 (x2)
Cargo:            470 tonnes
Boost:            + 60 LS/day
Crew:             38
Sensor:           STC-7Y, sweep pattern
Life Support:     4.5 years
Computer:         Sci-Tek Tek-16 2500 MIPS
Landing Gear:     none
EW/ECM:           9.8 LD, spherical 
Comms:            Sensory Matrix transceiver 16.4 LY effective
Inertia Damping:  full

One  of  Sci-Tek's most popular warships, it is used widely by the Imperial
Navy.   Originally  designed  and  built  in  2321,  this is the latest and
updated  version 5, newly built in 2371.  Its original designer is unknown,
but  version  5 is credited to I.  Atkin.  He (Atkin) is considered by many
to be one of the greatest naval architects the galaxy has ever seen.  It is
also  widely  believed  that he has the worst colour sense of anyone in the
known worlds, hence the Terminator's lurid (original?) colour schemes


Transporter
-----------

Imperial Code:    171GX/B7/3771663
Internal Code:    GX42880-7515
Length:           105 m
Beam:             74 m
Speed:            no atmospheric
Speed:            1 FN = 400 LS/day
Mass:             14320 tonnes
Hull:             40 armour
Build:            114 days              From:Orbital Space Dock
Hardpoints:       2
Ore:              6 Selenium, 1 Dragonium
Cost:             24000 Cr
Engine:           Gax V2 Hyper drive (7.1c) (x1)
                  Gax Drive DC-721603-K (x1)
Cargo:            48000 tonnes
Boost:            +10 LS/day
Crew:             8
Sensor:           XLR array, XLR-793 V2.17
Life Support:     8 years
Computer:         Kerell NT-690, 1700 MIPS
Landing Gear:     none
EW/ECM:           2.4 LD, spherical
Comms:            Sensory Matrix transceiver 14.2 LY effective
Inert Damping:    full

Another  ship designed by Y.  Inara on Brekon 7, Inara obviously had a poor
year when he designed the Gax Transporter as in many areas it is inadequate
and  in  others  it is woefully underspecced.  As an example it has far too
powerful  a  computer  which  is  prone  to system crashes when the Impulse
Drives are used to manoeuvre the Transporter into orbit.  Many clients have
asked  for  better armour and longer range communicators and as a result it
is  likely  that  Inara will update the ship for re-release in the next few
years.  The reason the Gax Transporter sells is its enormous cargo bays and
the ease of loading.  Despite it's slow speed, the XLR Sensor Array is more
than  adequate  for  the  ship  to  be used in an asteroid field.  Shame it
handles like a brick though.


Fleet Battleship
----------------

Imperial Code:    112ST/617600
Internal Code:    ST-1D-7785581
Length:           92m
Beam:             63m
Speed:            no atmospheric
Speed:            1 FN = 580 LS/day
Mass:             45910 tonnes
Hull:             70 armour
Build:            114 days             From:Orbital Space Dock
Hardpoints:       6
Ore:              8 Selenium, 6 Dragonium
Cost:             60000 Cr
Engine:           Sci-Tek InterSpacial Drive
                  STC-87 revision 4.3 (x2)
                  Sci-Tek Thrusting Unit
                  STC-135 revision 3.1 (x4)
Cargo:            1310 tonnes
Boost:            + 180 LS/day
Crew:             74
Sensor:           STC-7Y5, sweep pattern, globe
Life Support:     12 years
Computer:         Sci-Tek Tek-18 5000 MIPS
Landing Gear:     none
EW/ECM:           45.1 LD, spherical
Comms:            Sensory Matrix transceiver 38.6 LY effective
Inert Damping:    full

One  of  Sci-Tek's  most  modern  and powerful ships, it was designed by R.
Giggs  in  2364.  Despite its grand name, it is a mere fraction of the size
of  the  real  Imperial  Battleship, but is easily large enough to form the
centrepiece  of  any independent fleet.  Both Sci-Tek and Tetracorp use and
recommend  them  as  their  primary warship, and its 6 hardpoints make it a
very flexible vessel.


Orbital Space Dock
------------------

Imperial Code:    12TC/B5?8799145
Internal Code:    TC-734403-451T
Diameter:         215m
Speed:            1 FN = 50 LS/day
Mass:             145512 tonnes
Hull:             120 armour
Build:            86 days
Hardpoints:       4
Ore:              10 Bytanium, 20 Dragonium
Cost:             200000 Cr
Engine:           Fortuna Thrusting Arrays MX-67-14 (x8)
Cargo:            14400 tonnes
Boost:            + 5 LS/day
Crew:             230
Sensor:           XLR GlobCon MkIV XLR-GC-71334
Life Support:     indefinite
Computer:         Kerell NT-690, 1700 MIPS
Landing Gear:     none
EW/ECM:           1 LY, spherical
Comms:            Sensory Matrix transceiver, 70 LY effective
Inert Damping:    <1 FN

Designed  by  M.D.Glossop at the Morgan Design Institute on Barnard Five in
the year 2338.  Tetracorp intended the O.S.D.  to be used as a control post
in  the Frontier Sectors, keeping each mining colony in touch with the Home
Worlds  and  Tetracorp.   Glossop originally designed larger cargo bays but
altered them at the last moment into a ship construction facility.  This is
probably the sole factor that has made the O.S.D.  as successful as it is -
the ability to contruct large warships in the depth of space


ZONE 013 : HARDPOINT WEAPONS
----------------------------

This is a summary of the devices available for installation in a hardpoint.
Ones  marked  with  (blueprint)  are  only  available once the construction
rights have been purchased from Sci-Tek

Note:   Costs  given  are  correct  at  the present time but are subject to
change without warning

Ion Cannon
----------

Cost:   1000 Cr

This  is the basic (and very cheap) weapon for use against enemy asteroids.
It has a minimum impact area and does little damage

Disruptor
---------

Cost:   6000 Cr

This  weapon  is  another  Air-to-  Surface  weapon  for  use against enemy
asteroids.  It has a greater area of effect than the Ion Cannon but darmage
is still limited.

Napalm Orb
----------

Cost:  4000 Cr

This  fires a stream of high temperature plasma gas at an asteroid with its
own  Oxygen supply which will burst into flame upon impact.  Damage will be
inflicted  upon  any  buildings caught in the flame.  The area of effect is
very limited however.

Chaos Bomb
----------

Cost:   12000 Cr

This  is  an improved version of the Napalm Orb but with a much larger area
of  effect.   Like  the  Hellfire  Missile  the flames from this weapon can
easily  spread  to  neighbouring  buildings  and devastate huge areas of an
asteroid.  Very effective against densely populated asteroids.

Vortex Mine
-----------

Cost:  5000 Cr

An  electrical  vortex  is  released  upon the asteroid.  It will wander at
random  upon  the  surface  inflicting damage upon any building it touches.
The  longevity  of the vortex is indeterminate.  It can vanish at any time.
It  is  possible  for the vortex to split into two parts each continuing to
wreak havoc and each with the possibility of splitting again

Laser
-----

Cost:   1000 Cr

This  is the standard Ship to Ship weapon based on a focused beam of light.
It does very little damage.

Photon Cannon
-------------

Cost:   4500 Cr

A more effective ship to ship weapon.  The twin guns fire packets of energy
held together by a force field.

Plasma Cannon
-------------

Cost:  9000 Cr

The  most  powerful ship to ship weapon.  It fires a focused disruptor beam
housing  superheated  plasma gas and is capable of ripping through even the
most  powerful  armour.   Caution  should  be  exercised in the use of this
weapon,  and  the Company is not liable for any damage incurred to the user
should anything untoward happen.

Static Inducer (blueprint)
--------------------------

Cost:  4500 Cr

This  devise uses the ships main engines to concentrate and emit a powerful
electromagnetic  pulse  that  temporarilly  confuses  the electronics of an
enemy  ship.   During  the pulse the enemy ship is unable to move or attack
and completely vulnerable to our own attacks.

Warp Generator (blueprint)
--------------------------

Cost:  9000 Cr

This  is  a  limited defence device.  A capacitor is charged from the ships
main  engines  and  then  the  charge  is released as a powelful warp field
phasing  the  ship  out  of the Spacial Matrix (tm) In its phased state the
ship  is  impervious  to all damage but may still fire its own weapons When
the  capacitor  has discharged the ship phases back into normal space until
the  capacitor  is  charged  again  and is thus vulnerable to attack again.
This pulsing warp field happens automatically

Deflector (blueprint)
---------------------

Cost:  12000 Cr

This  devise  consists  of a generator that pulses energy through the ships
hull  all  the time that it is in flight using power from the main engines.
The  energised hull is more resilient to attacks and can absorb and deflect
most  attacks.  The Deflector can be used with existing shields and greatly
improves the lifetime of a ship

Shield X10
----------

Cost:  1500 Cr

This extends the armour of the ships hull to give better protection against
damage.   This  shield  adds 10 armour points and may be stacked with other
Shields or defences

Shield X20
----------

Cost:  3000 Cr

This extends the armour of the ships hull to give better protection against
damage.   This  shield  adds 20 armour points and may be stacked with other
shields or defences

Shield X30
----------

Cost:  5000 Cr

This extends the armour of the ships hull to give better protection against
damage.   This  shield  adds 30 armour points and may be stacked with other
shields or defences

Shield X40 (blueprint)
----------------------

Cost:  6500 Cr

This extends the armour of the ships hull to give better protection against
damage.   This  shield  adds 40 armour points and may be stacked with other
shields or defences

Shield X50 (blueprint)
----------------------

Cost:  8000 Cr

This extends the armour of the ships hull to give better protection against
damage.   This  shield  adds 50 armour points and may be stacked with other
shields or defences.


TERRAN  APPROVED:   2450  THE  FOLLOWING SECTION IS FOR THOSE WITH SECURITY
CLEARANCE ORANGE AND ABOVE ONLY


ZONE 014 : MISSILE WARFARE
--------------------------

Missiles  are  an  integral part of the military might of your colony.  You
should  rely  on  neither  ships  alone  nor  missiles  alone,  but  use  a
combination  of both of them.  The advantage of missiles is that they are a
long range weapon, allowing you to strike at the enemy deep in space.  This
is a disadvantage too since missiles cannot be used to combat enemy attacks
on your asteroids.

BUILDING MISSILES
-----------------

To  be  able to build and launch missiles you must have one or more Missile
Silos  on  an  asteroid Select these from the Bullding Selection Window and
construct  them on suitable asteroids preferably ones with a variety of ore
and  not  too distant from an enemy asteroid.  You need only one silo on an
asteroid  but  the  more  you  do  have  the  more  missiles you can launch
simultaneously for a quicker attack.

To  build  a  missile click on the Missile Silo building.  A window appears
detailing  each of the missiles available to you at this time.  See the end
of  this  section for a summary of each missile warhead type.  Some missile
types  are  only  available  once  you  have  purchased the blueprints from
Sci-Tek.  At the start of the game you have 6 types available but there are
11 in total

                      LEFT             RIGHT

                      BUILD            ABORT

                                       EXIT

Use  the  Left  and  Right Arrow buttons to cycle through the missile types
until you reach the one you wish to build.

Click  on  the Build Missile button to build a missile and click successive
times to build more than one.

Click  on  the  Abort  button  to abort the building of any of this type of
missile.  Other types will be unaffected.

Missiles  will  be  built  over a period of time.  Each type takes the same
amount  of  time to build but clearly the more you want to build the longer
it  will  take.  The cost of each missile will be deducted when the missile
is  finally  built  and  delivered automatically to the underground missile
hangers.   These  hangers can hold up to 10 of each type of warhead on each
asteroid.   NOTE:   Money  must be pre allocated to the Missile Fund in the
Financial Fund Window.  See the appropriate section for how to do this.

The  type  of  Ore  needed to build the missile is given in the information
window  but  you  will  be warned if there is insufficient ore to build any
particular missile.  The ore must be held in Stores on the current asteroid
so  you may need Mines to extract ore (See the section on Mining) Similarly
you will be warned if the current asteroid does not have a Weapons Factory.
Missiles cannot be built without one.

Even  if  you receive one of these warnings about insufficient ore, lack of
money  or  lack of Weapons Factory the Missile Silos will continually check
whether  they  can  build  another  missile.  So as soon as you rectify the
fault  (ie  mine  or  transport more ore allocate more money to the Missile
Fund   or   build   a  Weapons  Factory)  the  construction  will  continue
automatically.

LAUNCHING MISSILES
------------------

To  launch  a  missile  click  on the Launch Missile button either from the
Asteroid View Screen or the Asteroid Field Screen.

A  window  will  list  the  number  of each type of missile you have on the
current  asteroid.   Each blob on the barcharts represents one missile.  At
the bottom of the window the current target is listed, if you have selected
one,  and  the  expected  accuracy  of  any  missiles launched against this
target.   This  accuracy is unavailable unless you have purchased a Missile
Tracker  from Sci-Tek.  So until you buy a Missile Tracker you will have to
estimate your chances of success for a missile attack (see below)

               LAUNCH   TARGET    ABORT     EXIT

SETTING THE TARGET ASTEROID
---------------------------

Missiles  can  only  target  asteroids  not individual ships or fleets.  To
select a target from the Missile Control Window click on the Target button.
You  will  be  taken  to  the  Asteroid View screen (unless you are already
there) and shown all the asteroids known to you.

A  circle  is  entered  on the current asteroid and this marks the range of
your  missiles.   The  circle  is  of  little use unless you have a Missile
Tracker.   In  which  case it will be accompanied by a percentage chance to
hit  figure.  If you don`t use a Missile Tracker you`ll have to experiment.
As  you  move the cross hair with the mouse the circle will grow and shrink
and  the  percentage chance to hit will alter.  The percentage chance is an
approximate  indication  of the chance of EACH of your missiles hitting but
remember  that  even if a missile reaches its target successfully the enemy
may have the means to shoot it down.

To  select a target asteroid move the cross hair over an asteroid and click
the  left  mouse  button.   You  will return to the Missile Control window.
That  target  is  now  set  and  will  remain so unless you alter it ot the
targetted asteroid is destroyed

SELECTING THE MISSILES TO FIRE
------------------------------

You  can  fire as many missiles at a time as you want but remember that the
missiles  will  take  longer  to launch if you only have one or two Missile
Silos.

To  select  missiles  move  the  mouse  pointer over the name of a missile.
Click  right to add one missile of that type to the launch bay.  Click left
to  remove  one missile from the launch bay.  Hold down the mouse button to
add/remove  several  missiles.   The  red blobs show available missiles and
green blobs show missiles selected for launch.

The  numbers  at  the right of the window echo this information showing how
many missiles you have selected of each type.

The abort button will clear all selected missiles of all types.

LAUNCHING THE MISSILES
----------------------

To actually launch the selected missiles click on the Launch button.

To quit without launching any missiles click on the Exit button.

You  can  watch  the progress of missiles in flight from the Asteroid Field
Screen.  Your missiles appear as yellow dots.

MISSILE WARHEAD DATA
--------------------

The  data  on  each missile type follows.  Missiles marked with (blueprint)
are only available from Sci-Tek.

Note:   This  data  is  accurate  at  this moment in time but is subject to
change by Sci-Tek and the other missile manufacturers without warning.

Explosive
---------

Cost:  1000 Cr
Ore:   1 Selenium

This  is  the basic (and very cheap) warhead.  It has a minimum impact area
on  the  target  and several such missiles may be required to destroy enemy
buildings.  For best results launch many at one time.

Area Explosive
--------------

Cost:  8000 Cr
Ore:   2 Barium

As  an  extension to the basic Explosive warhead, this warhead does similar
damage  but  over  a  wider  area.   For  best  results use against densely
populated asteroids.

Napalm
------

Cost:  6000 Cr
Ore:   1 Quazinc

This  warhead  has  a  core of plasma gas which is released at a phenomenal
temperature  upon  impact.   It  carries  its own Oxygen supply causing the
impacted buildings to erupt into flame.  This flame will burn for some time
inflicting further damage.  The area of effect is very limited however.

Hellfire
--------

Cost:  20000 Cr 
Ore:   3 Quazinc

The  chemical  substance  encased  in  this  warhead is a by product of the
development  of  the  Napalm  warheads.   Upon impact the core shatters and
spreads high temperature plasma gas over a wide area.  Any structure caught
in  this  blast  will  begin  to  burn ferociously and suffer damage over a
period  of  time.   The  hellfire substance has the capability to spread to
neighbouring  buildings  and it is possible for one missile to devastate an
entire  asteroid  if  the  hellfire  burns long enough.  Clearly it is most
eftective against densely populated asteroids.

Scatter
-------

Cost:  10000 Cr
Ore:   3 Selenium

This  is  a  larger  version  of  the  basic Explosive warhead.  In fact it
contains  25  such warheads.  It will explode just above the surface of the
asteroid  and  the multiple warheads will fall at random upon the asteroid.
The  damage  is  slight  but  the  random pattern is good at weakening many
buildings at once.

Vortex
------

Cost:   9000 Cr
Ore:    3 Crystalite

Upon  impact  an  electrical vertex is released upon the asteroid.  It will
wander  at  random  upon the surface inflicting damage upon any building it
touches.   The  longevity  of  the  vortex is indeterminate and Sci-Tek are
still  attempting to develop a Vortex MkII that has a guaranteed longevity.
It  is  possible  for the vortex to split into two parts each continuing to
wreak havoc, and each with the possibility of splitting again.

Nuclear(blueprint)
------------------

Cost:  50000 Cr
Ore:   5 Asteros

This is a multi-megaton warhead capable of inflicting enormous damage to an
asteroid  possibly destroyirng every building upon it.  Spacecraft in orbit
will  also  suffer  damage  from  the blast.  WARNING:  USE WITH CARE!  The
radiation   effects   from   a   nuclear  attack  can  render  an  asteroid
uninhabitable for many many years.

Virus (blueprint)
-----------------

Cost:  30000 Cr
Ore:   1 Traxium

This  is  a very powerful weapon which unfortunately reguires the very rare
Traxium  ore for its payload.  Upon impact it releases a volatile substance
which  begins at once to eat at the fabric of the asteroid itself.  It will
alter  the  molecular  consistency  of  the asteroid material, turning it a
different  colour  as  it  does  so.  No building can stand upon a weakened
section  of  asteroid,  but will simply collapse.  The mutated rock becomes
radioactive too.  Over time the virus will spread across the asteroid never
stopping  until it has affected the entire asteroid which is then incapable
of  supporting  any  colony at all.  A virus infected asteroid is living on
borrowed time!  There is one way to combat the virus an Anti-Virus missile.

Anti-Virus (blueprint)
----------------------

Cost:  10000 Cr
Ore:   4 Barium

The  only  known  means  to enadicate the effects of a Virus missile.  Upon
impact  it  disperses  a  bacterial  agent  over  the entire surface of the
asteroid.   Within  moments  this  will  seek  out  and  destroy  the virus
substance and halt its spread.  It will then begin to act upon the parts of
the  asteroid that have been altered by the virus.  It takes a long time to
act  but will eventually restore the asteroid to a more stable form capable
of  supporting buildings again.  The only known side effect is an increased
radiation.

Since you will only be firing this missile aganst one of your own asteroids
it  is  possible to target the same asteroid as the launching silo by using
the same technique explained above.

Mega (blueprint)
----------------

Cost:   65500 Cr
Ore:    1 Nexos

This  is  the  most  devastating weapon available!  It took Sci-Tek some 40
years  of  research  to  perfect  it.   Quite  simply it destroys an entire
asteroid  or  even  a small sized planet - nothing but rubble remains.  The
actual  process  is  extremely complicated, relying upon a gravity pulse to
rip  apart  the  target  asteroid  rather than simply using huge amounts of
explosives.

Stasis (blueprint)
------------------

Cost:  40000 Cr
Ore:   2 Korellium

This  is  the  latest  warhead  from  Sci-Tek utilising their research into
temporal  physics.   Upon  impact it will establish a temporal field around
the  asteroid  latching  it  to  the Spacial Matrix (TM) of the surrounding
space.   The  effect  is  to  freeze time itself or at least the local time
inside  the stasis field.  Nothing will happen on the affected asteroid and
no  spacecraft  or  missiles may arrive or leave.  The field will decay and
die over a period of time.


ZONE 015 : THE ENEMY
--------------------

KLL-KP-QUA

Home world: Tau Ceti III

Physical  Description:   At  first  glance  they  resemble a Terran Praying
Mantis,  standing  just  under  1m  tall.   Their  face  however bears more
resemblance  to  a bird than an insect.  They have two eyes, two ears and a
single  mouth  positioned  where  we  would expect a nose to be.  It is not
known whether they possess a sense of smell.  Atop their heads they wear an
ornate   headpiece,  whose  complexity  and  colours  denote  theie  social
standing.   At  all  times  they  dress  in  exquisite and colourful robes,
usually adorned with large ruffs and gemstones.

Habitat:  Their native habitat varies from hot and arid grassland to steamy
jungles.   They  can  adapt  to  other  habitats  except  they  have little
resistance to cold or ice.

Technology:   They have adapted to space very well, building well-insulated
structures  and large underground caverns, filled with native jungle fauna,
their spaceships are basic and their technology generally barely adequate.

Social  Structure:   They  exhibit  remarkable  similarities to Terran hive
insects.   Each  asteroid  possesses a single Queen, responsible for laying
and  hatching  all  eggs,  the  rest  of  the  population is split into two
distinct and genetically different groups.  One remains on the asteroid and
fulfils  a  support role building, maintenance, serving the Queen, etc, the
others  operate  the  spacecraft  and  are  never  allowed to return to the
asteroids.   They spend their entire life inside the spacecraft.  In normal
circumstances  a  Queen  is born every 2 to 3 Terran Years.  Once the Queen
reaches  maturity,  in a few short months, she commandeers a transport ship
and goes in search of her own asteroid.  It is not known whether their is a
hierarchy   amongst   the   Queens.    Each  asteroid  appears  to  operate
independently,  but  there  is  regular  communication  between  Queens  on
different asteroids.

Power  Generation:  The primary means of power generation is the burning of
their  own  corpses.   All  dead  are  carefully recovered and taken to the
burners.  Secondary power generation is by means of solar panels

Special  Weapons:  It is known that they possess a special type of warhead,
but its effects are unknown.

Military  Strategy:   Their  actions  appear  very predicable so expect few
surprises.


LAK`MAJ`TRAAL (ORE EATERS)

Home  world:   Their  exact  home  world  is  not  known.   We beleive they
originated  in  the  M53  galaxy  in Sagittarius, which they appear to have
explored extensively.

Physical  Description:   An adult male stands 1m high at the head and up to
12m  long.   They are very large wormlike creatures covered in hard scales.
Their  fangs  and horns have the strength to break up rocks.  Their diet is
one  of rock.  They regurgitate a special chemical that can break down even
the  hardest  ores,  which  they  then  eat  hungrily,  digesting them with
extraordinarily strong stomach acids.  Their heat signature in Infra Red is
enormous.   They  are  slow  moving which is why they rely on technology to
assist them.

Habitat:   They  seem  able to exist in any habitat but particularly in the
vacuum  of  space.   Examining the M53 galaxy, we have discovered that huge
areas  of  it  have  been destroyed.  planet literally eaten apart by great
migrations  of these creatures.  Their appetite is enormous - an adult male
will eat up to twelve times his own body weight in ores every day!

They are a real threat to the Empire

Technology:  Most of their structures are simple domes, protecting areas of
an  asteroid  from solar radiation and meteorite bombardment while they eat
into  the  heart  of the asteroid in search of food.  They possess powerful
spacecraft  which have carried them to our galaxy from M53.  We know little
of  their  technology since whenever they evacuate an asteroid they destroy
all remnants of their structures and devices.

Social  Structure:  We have been unable to determine their heirarchy, other
than  the  obvious  dominance  that the adult males have due to their size.
Procreation  is  via egg laying, but the population grows slowly due to the
longevity  of  each  male.   It appears that duties are simply performed by
whoever is in the right place at the right moment.  Their must be some form
of overall control, even if it is only the signal which makes them suddenly
board  the  transporters  and  head  for another asteroid which they do the
minute they have drained it of ore.

Power  Generation:  They use chemical reactions to break down useless rock,
harnessing the power created.

Special Weapons: No information

Military Strategy:  They are vicious when disturbed.  We have observed that
they  only  ever attack our mining colonies and never inhabited planets, as
if  they  identify  that  our mining colonies are robbing them of food.  Be
prepared for regular missile strikes.


AX-ZILANTH`S

Home  world:   Beta Hydrae IV, though they are extensive in the Capella and
Arcturus  Sectors,  where  we  have  fought  skirmishes  with  them on many
occasions.

Physical Description:  The bulk of their 2m tall bodies are a hard carapace
that  protects  their vital and sensory organs The lower part of their body
consists  of  six extremely sensitive and flexible tentacles which they use
both for movement (fast!) and manipulation of objects.  Their eyes see in a
greater  spectrum  than  our  own,  allowing them access to Ultraviolet and
Infrared light.

Habitat:   Varies from sparse desert and rocky badlands to temperate forest
and grassy plains.

Technology:   Their technology has developed upon similar lines to our own.
They  use smelting processes to produce steel and use silicon and germanium
components in their electronic circuits.  Their spacecraft are certainly on
a par with our own, if not superior and many possess cloaking devices.

Social  Structure:   They operate on a strict hierarchy as does our Empire.
Each  asteroid is divided into sections responsible for a particular aspect
such as engineering, food supply spacecraft manufacture, etc.  Each section
head  reports  to  an  asteroid council which determines overall policy for
that  asteroid.  The chair being of each council participates in a regional
council  that  comprises twenty or more asteroids and planets.  We conclude
that a representative of these regional councils sits upon a higher council
that governs their entire Empire.

Power  Generation:   Standard  techniques  of Fission and Fusion as well as
harnessing solar energy.

Special Weapons:  No information.  We suspect that they have

Military  Strategy:   Our skirmishes with them in other sectors have led us
to  determine that they are never first to initiate an attack.  They parade
a  threatening  arsenal  of  weapons and warships but always wait for us to
take  the  initiative  before  retailaiting.   Try  to  use  this  to  your
advantage.


TYLARAN EMPIRE

Home world: Deneb Mira III

Physical  Description:   They  resemble  hideous  lizards, standing over 3m
tall.  Though they have no balancing tail, the bulk of their body and their
strong legs enables them to walk easily as a biped.  Their clawed hands are
surprisingly  dextrous and capable of manipulating very fine objects.  They
possess  large mouths with fangs, identifying them as carnivores, and their
craniums support a brain larger than our own.

Habitat:   Their  homeworlds are ice worlds, far from their primary sun and
covered  with continual ice and blizzards.  They are at home in the cold of
space!   We  believe  that their hide contains special insulating layers to
protect them against temperatures up to -100 degrees below freezing.

Technology:   Their  technology  varies greatly.  On the one hand they have
only  recently developed spacecraft capable of crossing interstellar space,
(though we have monitored their home world for over a century and know that
their  weapons technology is spohisticated).  On the other hand we have yet
to understand other aspects of their technology, such as power generation.

Social  Structure:   They  seem  to  operate  on  the principle of Imperial
supremacy,  where  each  region of space has a sub Emperor who has complete
control over his region, but reports to the real Emperor on Deneb Mira III.
They  are  very social creatures and work well with each other.  Discipline
is strong and absolute and apparently welcomed.

Power  Generation:   We  can  only suspect that they harness power directly
from  the  Spacial  Matrix,  which  would  give  the  access to practically
unlimited  power.   We  have  detected  new  kinds  of  radiation  from the
buildings  that  we have called Flux Convertors and Power Collectors and we
suspect that these play an important part in the process.
 
Special  Weapons:   One of their structures emits a huge surge of energy at
regular  intervals.   This  could  well  be  a weapon proceed with caution.
Their asteroids also have a screen generator whose purpose is unclear.

Military Strategy: Unknown.


THE RIGELLIAN CONFEDERATION

Home world: Rigel system

Physical  Description:   We  were  very  surprised when we first identified
their  species  over  a century ago.  They corresponded almost exactly with
historical  depictions  of  vampires,  which makes it conceivable that they
visited  Earth in the long distant past to provide a source for the classic
legends.   They appear similar to a human but with bald domed heads, and of
course  those legendary fangs.  Their eyes glow an eerie red, which we know
to be the reflection of light off their retinas.  All their senses are well
developed.

Habitat: Unknown

Technology:   Their  technology is sophisticated, though not in the area of
power  generation.   Their devices appear to require vast amounts of power,
and  several of our scout ships have been mysteriously drained of all power
after  entering  Rigellian  Space.  They are also extremely advanced in the
areas of Warp technology.

Social  Structure:   From the few communications we have made with them, we
know  them  to  be  an extremely ancient race.  It is likely that they were
developing   technology   when  dinosaurs  walked  the  Earth.   They  name
themselves a Confederation, which suggests that they operate as a series of
individual  states  or  worlds  that  are  independently  governed but have
allegiance and common laws with each other under the authority of a federal
government.   They are highly developed socially, but steadfastly refuse to
open negotiations with us for the trade of materials or information.

Power  Generation:   Primitive  methods of burning fossil fuels.  They only
recently  aquired  the  secrets  of  atomic  power,  stolen from one of our
research vessels.

Special  Weapons:   They  have  the  abilility  to  drain  power  from  our
batteries.  Otherwise, we expect few surprises.

Military  Strategy:   We  would  best describe their strategies as muddled.
They  are  very trigger-happy with missiles.  We also know that their ships
carry advanced warp engines.


SWIXARANS

Home  world:   They  originate from the densely grouped star systems at the
heart  of  our galaxy.  We have detected their presence in over thirty star
systems.

Physical Description:  The Swixarans are one of those rare cases when plant
life  has  developed intelligence and the ability to develop technology.  A
typical  Swixaran  is between 1m and 4m high and composed of a mass of soft
and  pliable  shoots  and  creepers.   Constantly moving.  Their exact form
varies with their surroundings - if they enter corridors they flatten their
body  and use many of their creepers to probe the way ahead.  We are unsure
of  their sensory organs but it is likely they possess very sensitive touch
sensors  in their extremities and maybe motion detectors as well.  There is
a  small  part of their body which we suspect houses their vital organs and
brain, but it is always well protected by the creepers.

Habitat:   Unknown,  but  we  suspect  either  dense  jungle worlds or huge
forests.

Technology:  Almost incomparable to our own, since much of their technology
is  based  on biological proteins and DNA encoded, self replicating tissue.
They are very advanced in areas of shield generation and cloaking devices.

Social  Structure:  Difficult to determine.  We suspect that they possess a
group intelligence and there is evidence to support the theory that a great
deal  of  this  intelligence  is  located  in a particular location on each
asteroid.  Their aims seem only to be expansion and colonisation.

Power  Generation:   We do not understand their method of power generation.
It  is  certainly biologically based and undoubtedly bears more resemblance
to  blood  sugar  levels  in  their  organic  structures,  rather  than the
harnessing of nuclear power.

Special  Weapons:   Our  spies  report several closely guarded weapons, the
details of which are unavailable at this time.  Be prepared for anything!

Military  Strategy:   They  seem to react to our own strategies and attacks
rather  than  initiating  their  own  they  are  especially  susceptible to
fire-based  weaponry,  but  otherwise  their structures are well protected.
There  does  seem  to  be  a  pattern  to their attacks, but we have yet to
understand it.


ANY PROBLEMS ?

If  you  have prohlems loading K240, then return it to your retailer, or to
Gremlin  Graphics  at  the  address  on  the  packaging.   If  you have any
questions relating to the game, then Gremlin Graphics Helpline is available
between  the  hours of 09:30 and 17:30 U.K.  time Monday to Friday, on 0742
753423

COPYRIGHT

Copyright  1994  Gremlin  Graphics  Software Limited.  All Rights Reserved.
This  manual  and the information contained on the disks are copyrighted by
Gremlin  Graphics  Limited.   The  owner of this product is entitled to use
this  product  for  his  or her own personal use only.  No one may transfer
give or sell any part of the manual or the information on the disks without
the  prior  permission of Gremlin Graphics Software Limited.  Any person or
persons  reproducing any part of the program, in any media, for any reason,
shall  be  guilty  of copyright violation and subject to civil liability at
the discretion of the copyright holder.


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                  *      SHARD NUT & BOLT *
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                         sHARD pROdUCTiONS 1994
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