TREK USERS MANUAL Version 4.0 - June 1988 Description TREK is a space game for up to eight players. It requires a GIGI or VT100 terminal, preferably with the Advanced Video Option. It will also run on VT125s or VT241s set in VT125 mode. Cliff Zimmerman ML1-4/F16 Maynard, Mass (617)493-6294 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2.0 STARTUP SITUATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3.0 STARSHIP BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4.0 STARSHIP COMPONENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4.1 Warp Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4.2 Directional Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4.3 Targeting Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4.4 Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4.5 Library Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4.6 Target List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4.7 Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5.0 THE CONSOLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5.1 The Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5.2 The Message Area And Status Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5.3 The Command Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6.0 THE COMMANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6.1 Immediate Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6.2 Common Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 7.0 APPENDIX A - SHIP ORIENTATION DIAGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 8.0 APPENDIX B - DESCRIPTION OF OBJECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 9.0 APPENDIX C - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VERSIONS 2.0 AND 3.0 . . . . 12 TREK Version 4.0 Page 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION TREK is a space game for up to 8 players. It is designed for GIGI or VT100 terminals that have the Advanced Video Option. Each player plays at a separate terminal logged into a separate job. TREK will also run a VT241s set in VT125 mode. ReGIS graphics are used and full colors (using the RGB plane) are also used. The game represents a battle between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. The object is to drive the opposing side from the galaxy by capturing planets and destroying enemy bases and ships. The first player to run the game selects either a tournament game or a random game. In tournament games the locations of objects are the same from run to run. To select a tournament game, enter a number from 1 to 9. Enter any other character to select a random game. A list of ships in play is displayed, followed by a list of available ships. Select the ship you want to control by entering its initial. If you attempt to enter the game when another player is starting up, you may be asked to stand by until the other player is finished. 3.0 STARTUP SITUATION Each side begins with four starships and four starbases. The ships operate automatically until a player enters the game and takes control of one of them. The player retains control until he or she leaves the game or until the ship is destroyed. Ships operating automatically perform normal ship functions. They may attack enemy ships, capture planets, and come to the aid of other ships. They may also attack enemy bases when their side controls more than eight planets. The starbases serve as refueling points for the ships, as do captured planets. Bases and captured planets attack enemy ships and inform friendly ships when enemies are nearby. Captured planets look for opportunities to rebel. The fewer bases and planets you control, the more likely your planets are to rebel. 3.0 STARSHIP BASICS The ship you command is an object in three-dimensional space. You may rotate and move the ship anywhere in the galaxy. The galaxy has no external reference grid. The location of an object in space is always given relative to the ship you command. An object location is given as a bearing, an elevation, and a range. The bearing and elevation are simple spherical coordinates. Looking forward along the long axis of the ship, the bearing is the angle to the left or right (negative on the left, positive on the right) and the elevation is the angle up or down (negative is down, positive is TREK Version 4.0 Page 2 up). The range is the absolute distance from your ship to an object. See the diagram in Appendix A. Each ship begins with 3000 units of ship energy and 2000 units of shield energy, although the total may be somewhat less at the time control is taken. Ship energy is expended when the ship is moved, when weapons are fired, or when energy is transferred from ship to ship. Shield energy is expended when the shields absorb hits from enemy weapons. The shields require at least 100 units of energy or they collapse. When shields are down the effect of enemy weapons is doubled. Energy loss continues until ship energy goes negative and the ship explodes. Ships may be refueled at starbases or friendly planets. In emergencies energy may be transferred from ship to ship. 4.0 STARSHIP COMPONENTS 4.1 Warp Drive The warp engines move the ship forward or backward. The distance moved depends upon the warp factor. Initially, the distance is equal to 2 to the power of the warp factor. Warp 0 moves the ship 1 unit, warp 9 moves the ship 512 units. You can change the distances associated with the warp factors. The energy cost is computed in milliunits equal to the distance squared. 4.2 Directional Computer The directional computer controls the orientation of the ship. It is activated whenever the ship is rotated. Changing the orientation of the ship changes the relative location of every other object in space. 4.3 Targeting Computer The targeter controls, among other things, the direction of weapons fire and long range sensor scans. It is analogous to a gun turret that can be aimed in any direction relative to the ship. When the ship orientation changes the target orientation also changes, except when the target is locked on an object. On the GIGI, the target is displayed as two flashing red lines. On a VT241, the target is a blinking cursor as with VT100s. 4.4 Sensors The ship has short range sensors that scan in every direction and long range sensors that scan in the target direction. TREK Version 4.0 Page 3 4.5 Library Computer The library computer maintains a catalog of the last known positions of objects. The library represents a pool of information shared by all of the ships on a side. Initially the library contains the locations of your starbases and the ships on your side. Thereafter any object scanned by the sensors is automatically cataloged into the library. Stars and planetary interceptors are not cataloged. 4.6 Target List The target list connects the sensors and the library with the targeter and the directional computer. The target list contains up to four objects obtained from either the sensors or the library. Coordinates from the list can be fed directly into the target and directional computers by referencing the number that precedes the list entry. 4.7 Weapons The ship is equipped with phasers and photon torpedoes. Both weapons apply energy to a target that must be absorbed by the target's shields. Phaser energy may be anything from 1 to 1000 units (default is 200 units). Torpedo energy is fixed at 200 units per torpedo. Phasers have a maximum range of 1024 units. Torpedoes have a maximum range of 2048 units. Phasers have a firing cost computed in milliunits equal to the phaser energy squared. In addition, there is a time delay in milliseconds equal to a hundredth of the firing cost to allow the phasers to cool and recharge. Torpedoes have a fixed launch cost of 20 units. 5.0 THE CONSOLE 5.1 The Viewer The viewer at the top of the screen displays the forward view into space along the long axis of the ship. On the VT100 the cursor in the center of the viewer is the 0,0 point for bearing and elevation measurements. If the target is within the range of the viewer but not at the center it is displayed as a second cursor. On the GIGI, the cursor is not displayed, and the target area is bounded by two flashing red lines. The numbers along the top and bottom of the viewer frame are bearing angles. The numbers along the sides are elevation angles. See Appendix B for a description of objects as they appear in the viewer. TREK Version 4.0 Page 4 5.2 The Message Area And Status Line The message area at the lower left contains a status line and a blank area for messages. The target list is displayed here. The status line contains displays for ship energy, shield energy and status, and warp factor. The shaded field is the command echo area. 5.3 The Command Keypad The command keypad at the lower right corresponds to the VT100 numeric keypad. 6.0 THE COMMANDS There are immediate commands and common commands. Immediate commands are executed as soon as the command key is pressed. Common commands are executed when the EXE key is pressed. To repeat a command press the EXE key again. 6.1 Immediate Commands SHORT RANGE SENSOR SCAN (PF1-4) The four function keys at the top of the keypad activate the short range sensor. A short range scan scans space for any object of a given type within 1024 distance units of the ship, as follows: PF1 - Scan for Federation starships and bases PF2 - Scan for Klingon cruisers and bases PF3 - Scan for planets and interceptors PF4 - Scan for any of the above Note that stars are ignored by the short range sensors. LONG RANGE SENSOR SCAN (LR SCAN) The LR SCAN key activates the long range sensor. A long range scan scans at the target coordinates for the nearest object within 2048 distance units. 6.2 Common Commands The common command format is a command abbreviation followed by one, two, or no modifiers. The modifiers may be one or two numbers or a combination of a direction and a number. TREK Version 4.0 Page 5 The command abbreviation is one or two letters. If the abbreviation contains two letters, both must be entered. A command can also be entered from the keypad by pressing the appropriate keypad key. Numbers, including the minus sign, can be entered from the keypad or from the main keyboard. Two numbers are separated by a period, a tab, or a space. If two numbers represent bearing and elevation, the bearing is the first number, the elevation the second number. Directions are entered using the arrow keys or the special function (PF) keys on the keypad. The PF keys are functionally identical to the arrow keys. You may enter direction and number or number and direction. The keypad ERA key erases a single field. The common commands are listed below: AL LIST ALL OBJECTS IN THE LIBRARY Moves objects from the library to the target list and displays them four at a time. If more than four objects are available, the keypad MOR key will flash. Press the MOR key to see the next group of four. AS REQUEST ASSISTANCE (SEE RA) BA LIST ALL BASES AND FRIENDLY PLANETS BN LIST THE NEAREST BASE AND THE NEAREST FRIENDLY PLANET CA CAPTURE A PLANET Planet must be within 512 units of the ship. The planet will defend itself by sending up interceptors. When the interceptors are destroyed, enter CA again to complete the capture. Sometimes, planets will have a large defense system and will send multiple waves of interceptors to protect against enemy capture. CA Capture a targeted planet CA nbr Capture a listed planet FB LIST ALL FEDERATION BASES IN THE LIBRARY FE LIST ALL FEDERATION OBJECTS IN THE LIBRARY FP LIST ALL FEDERATION PLANETS IN THE LIBRARY FS LIST ALL FEDERATION SHIPS IN THE LIBRARY HE DISPLAY HELP TEXTS DESCRIBING COMMANDS HE and H display a list of commands. For help on a specific command, enter the command and a question mark. TREK Version 4.0 Page 6 KB LIST ALL KLINGON BASES IN THE LIBRARY KL LIST ALL KLINGON OBJECTS IN THE LIBRARY KP LIST ALL KLINGON PLANETS IN THE LIBRARY KS LIST ALL KLINGON SHIPS IN THE LIBRARY LI SEARCH FOR A SPECIFIC OBJECT Searches the library for a planet or base having a specific number. If no number is given, redisplays the target list. LI nbr Search for a specific object LI Redisplay the target list LO LOCK ON AN OBJECT Object must be within 1024 units. The lock is broken when the object moves out of range or the target is repositioned. Target is reset to 0,0 when the lock is broken. LO Lock on a targeted object LO nbr Lock on a listed object MO MOVE THE SHIP (ROLL THE SHIP) Move the ship forward (up arrow) or backward (down arrow), or in the target direction, or toward a listed object, or toward a specific bearing and elevation. Movement is at the current warp factor. Warp factor may be overridden if moving forward or backward. Movement left or right is interpreted as a roll (rotation along the long axis) and must be followed by an angle. MO Move in the target direction MO up w Move forward (warp is optional) MO dn w Move backward (warp is optional) MO nbr Move toward a listed object MO b e Move toward the bearing and elevation given MO lf a Roll left MO ri a Roll right NP LIST ALL NEUTRAL PLANETS IN THE LIBRARY PH FIRE PHASERS AT TARGETED OBJECT You may specify phaser energy from 1 to 1000. Default is 200 units. PH Fire 200 unit phaser PH ene Fire phaser of given energy PL LIST ALL PLANETS IN THE LIBRARY TREK Version 4.0 Page 7 Q QUIT (EXIT FROM THE GAME) R CLEAR AND REDISPLAY THE SCREEN When positioned near a friendly base or planet, will also refuel some energy, depending upon baud rate. RA SOUND RED ALERT RA, YA, SA, and AS relay your ship status to other ships on your side. RA (red alert) and AS (request assistance) cause automatic ships to come to your aid. If an automatic ship finds you in a low energy state, it will transfer energy to you. YA (yellow alert) and SA (secure from alert) cancel RA and AS. RE REFUEL AND RELOAD Ship must be within 512 units of starbase or friendly planet. Refuel rate is 500 units at starbases, 250 units at planets. Reload rate is 5 torpedoes at starbases, 3 torpedoes at planets. RF RAPID-FIRE WEAPONS Turns the keypad phaser and torpedo keys into immediate commands. When in rapid fire mode, pressing the phaser key fires the phasers, pressing the torpedo key fires torpedos. Phaser energy up to 1000 and torpedo count up to 3 may be specified. Default is 200 unit phaser and 1 torpedo. Enter RF alone to return to normal mode. RF ph to Set rapid fire for given phasers and torpedos RF Return to normal mode. RO ROTATE THE SHIP Rotate the ship in a specific direction, or in the target direction, or toward a listed object, or toward a specific bearing and elevation. Rotation in a direction may be followed by an angle. If no angle is given, the targeter searches for an object in the given direction and the ship is rotated toward the nearest object found. RO Rotate in the target direction RO dir Find a target and rotate toward it RO dir a Rotate by an angle in a direction RO nbr Rotate toward a listed object RO b e Rotate toward a bearing and elevation RT REFRESH WITH VT100 SELF-TEST Invokes the VT100 self-test routine and then refreshes the display. If the terminal appears to be displaying the wrong characters, RT may correct the problem. TREK Version 4.0 Page 8 SA SECURE FROM ALERT (SEE RA) SE SEND A MESSAGE Send a message to one or more ships. Displays initial of your ship and a colon in the message area. Enter your message and type EXE to send. Keypad ERA key cancels the command. SE ALL Send to all ships SE F Send to all Federation ships SE K Send to all Klingon ships SE init Send to ship with init as its initial SH SET SHIELDS Raise or lower shields. Set shields to a specific energy (difference is taken from or released to ship energy). SH up Raise shields SH dn Lower shields SH ene Set shield energy ST DISPLAY ACTIVE STATUS Displays the number of ships, bases, and captured planets available to each side. TA SET THE TARGET Target on an object, or in a specific direction, or toward a bearing and elevation. TA followed by no modifiers causes the targeter to search the viewer for the object that is closest to the current target position. TA with a direction but no angle restricts the search to the given direction. If the current target position is not within range of the viewer, TA with no modifiers resets the target to 0,0. The target command without modifiers requires 5 units of energy. TA Search for a target TA dir Search for a target in a specific direction TA dir a Move the target by an angle in a direction TA nbr Set the target at a listed object TA b e Set the target at a bearing and elevation TO FIRE PHOTON TORPEDOES Fire from 1 to 3 torpedoes in the target direction. Default is 1 torpedo. TO Fire one torpedo TO nbr Fire a number of torpedoes TREK Version 4.0 Page 9 TR TRANSFER ENERGY TO ANOTHER SHIP Up to 1000 units of ship energy may be transferred. The transferring ship first targets on the receiving ship. Both ships must have their shields down. If the receiving ship has shields up, the shields will absorb the energy. TR ene Transfer energy US DISPLAY A LIST OF CURRENT PLAYERS WR SET WARP FACTOR Sets the warp factor. If a distance is given, the distance is assigned to the warp factor. WR with no modifiers displays current warp settings. WR w Set warp factor WR w dis Assign a distance to a warp factor WR Display current settings X EXIT FROM THE PROGRAM If you exit via the X or Q command, or if you control-C out, or if your ship is destroyed, you must wait 2 minutes before reentering the game. YA SOUND YELLOW ALERT (SEE RA) TREK Version 4.0 Page 10 7.0 APPENDIX A - SHIP ORIENTATION DIAGRAM +Z(up) P(object) . . . +X(forward) A . r . -Y(left) B . e b . O . . -X(reverse) . +Y(right) -Z(down) Draw lines connecting the dots next to the following points: +X and -X +Y and -Y +Z and -Z O and P O and A P and A A and B The ship faces forward along line X. In the viewer, the line Z is up and down, the line Y is left to right. The angles OBA, OAP, and PAB are right angles. The object P is in the upper left of the viewer. Its bearing angle is the angle between lines OA and OB. Its elevation is the angle between lines OP and OA. Its range is the distance from point O to point P. In this case P has a negative bearing (to the left of center) and a positive elevation (above center). TREK Version 4.0 Page 11 8.0 APPENDIX B - DESCRIPTION OF OBJECTS Objects are displayed in the viewer as follows: Federation starbase O=O=O ooo Klingon Starbase 8=8=8 === Federation Starship o-V-o -v- Klingon Star Cruiser o-0-o -o- Planet (@) o Interceptor IoI H Star * + The further away an object is, the smaller it becomes. All objects except stars eventually disappear. TREK Version 4.0 Page 12 9.0 APPENDIX C - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VERSIONS 2.0 AND 3.0 The main difference between verisons 2.0 and 3.0 is that one can now play on GIGI terminals, with added graphics in the viewer. Phasers, photon torpedoes and explosions are all graphic-produced. Objects in the viewer have various colors depending upon the type of object, and are more elaborate than the standard ASCII and graphic characters. This is also the case for VT125s and VT241s (in VT125 mode). However, due to the nature of VT241 colors, they are not as well done as the GIGI. Nonetheless, the game is still enjoyable on VT241s. Version 4.0 is the only version with VT241 support and VT125 support. Planets will now, on occasion, send up multiple waves of interceptors, trying to ward off attacking ships. This makes it more difficult to capture planets. The targeting computer has a new heat sensor, and has been programmed to detect when an object is a star, and ignore it. This heat sensor has a energy cost of 5 units when used. The heat sensor is shown on the GIGI terminal as two flashing red lines in the targeted area. If the terminal line has a lot of noise, asteroid debris will damage portions of the viewer. If at a friendly starbase or planet the refresh command (R) will not only clean the asteroid damage but will refuel and reload some energy, making it only a small penalty. When playing on a GIGI, the console is the color of the ship being commanded. Federation ships are green, and Klingon cruisers are light blue. On VT241s, the Federation consoles are blue and the Klingon consoles are a purple (magenta) color. Version 3.0 plays on both VT100s and GIGIs, and two players in the same game can be on differing types of terminals. The VT100 player obviously loses the splendid color graphics, but may have an advantage in quicker response due to less characters being sent to the terminal. Where feasable, commands on the GIGI which take graphics have a shorter cool down period, making up for the additional character transmission. Version 4.0 will play on VT241s and VT125s. Each player can play on a terminal of his choice. VT241s act much like the GIGIs in respect to the time delay compensation for phaser cool down because of the signficiant increase in character transmission.