empire-info-text-4.2.15/0040775000000000000000000000000010055156406013505 5ustar rootrootempire-info-text-4.2.15/Attack0100664000000000000000000004420410055155504014636 0ustar rootroot Concept : How to take a sector or ship from the enemy NAME Attack - Details for attack, assault, paradrop, board and lboard Level: Expert This info page describes 5 different commands: "attack", "assault", "paradrop", "board" and "lboard". These are the four commands that you use to take something (either a ship, land unit or a sector) from the enemy by force. Note that much of the board information relates to the lboard information, just apply it to a land unit instead of a ship. A combat has 15 steps: (1) Ask the aggressor for the target sector/ship. (2) Ask the aggressor further details about the offensive force. (3) Estimate the odds and possibly ask the aggressor for confirmation. (4) Move reacting defensive units to the target sector. (5) Calculate defensive support. (6) Fight. (7) Spread the plague. (8) Take mobility and supply from land units. (9) Send reacting units home. (10) If successful, the aggressor takes the target sector/ship. (11) Remove mobility and efficiency from the target sector/ship. (12) Remove mobility from the aggressor's sectors/ship. (13) Possibly ask the aggressor for mil and units to move into the target. (14) Possibly interdict the aggressor's mil and units as they move. (15) Charge the aggressor BTU's. (1) Ask the aggressor for the target sector/ship. Sea, sanctuary, and wasteland are illegal targets. You may not assault a mountain. You may not paradrop into a mountain, capital, city, or fortress. You may only board a ship from the sector the ship is in, you may not board a ship which is faster than your ship, and you may not board a submarine at sea. You may only board a land unit from the sector the land unit is in. The "assault" command is the only command which will let you attack your own sector (you can use this to get mil & assault units on shore). You should not "attack" unowned land (see info explore). If the SLOW_WAR option is enabled, you will not be able to attack a sector owned by a country you are not AT_WAR with, unless you are the old owner of the sector. If the SNEAK_ATTACK option is also enabled, you can attack ONE sector owned by a country you are not AT_WAR with, paying $5K for the privilege. Once the sneak attack is done, you will automatically declare war against the enemy, and go through the normal SLOW_WAR sequence before you can attack again (see info relations). (2) Ask the aggressor further details about the offensive force. When you board, you are asked for a ship or sector to board from. If you are attacking or assaulting, then you have the option to specify whether you want your forts/ships/plane/units to support your attack. If no support is speci- fied, then it is assumed that you want support from all sources. If you are not paradropping, then you will be asked for mil and units you would like to attack with. You must always leave at least 1 mil in the sector or ship you are attacking from, so you may never attack with all of your mil out of a sector or ship. The following limitations apply to the aggressor's mil: Attack: You are limited by the mobility of the attacking sector according to the mob-cost to move the mil into the target sector. Assault: If the target sector contains mil, then you may only attack with 1/10th of your mil on board, unless your ship has "semi-land" capability in which case it is 1/4th, -or- if your ship has "land" capability in which case there is no limitation. Board: When boarding from a sector, the sector must have mob. When boarding from either a ship or a sector, the number of mil you may board with is limited to the maximum number of mil that the target ship can hold. Note that you can board land units from a sector only. The following restrictions apply to the aggressor's land units: A land unit must have mobility and be in supply (see info supply) in order to be able to enter the combat. Land units with "security", "supply" or "flak" capability may not attack. Also, you may not attack with artillery units (i.e. if frg > 0). Only land units with "assault" capability may assault or board. Attack: The land unit must have at least as much mobility that it would cost for it to march into the sector. Board: You may only board with as many land units as the target ship can hold. You cannot board a land unit with other land units. When asked whether you'd like to include a certain land unit in the combat, you will be given a prompt ending in [ynYNq?]. At this prompt, you can type: y - yes this unit n - no this unit Y - yes all units in this army N - no all units in this army q - quit attack ? - print this help message (3) Estimate the odds and possibly ask the aggressor for confirmation. The offense strength of your land units is mil * off where "mil" is the number of mil in the unit, and "off" is the offense multiplier of the unit (see show land stats), with the following exceptions: Assault: If the unit doesn't have "marine" capability, then its offense strength is cut in half. Board: If the unit doesn't have "marine" capability, then its offense strength is equal to half of the number of mil in the unit. The total offense strength is the number of mil plus the offense strength of all offensive units. This number is then multiplied by the offense value of the sector the mil and units are attacking from (see show sector stats). Ships have an offense value of 1. The defense strength of a land unit is the total number of mil in the unit times its defense multiplier (see show land stats). The only exception to this is non-marine land units on ships which have a strength equal to the total number of mil in them. The defense strength of units out of supply is cut in half. The defense strength of fortified units is multiplied by (127 + fortification) / 127. The total defense strength is the number of mil plus the defense strength of all defensive units. This number is then multiplied by the defense value of the sector the mil and units are in (see show sector stats). Ships have a defense value of 1 + def/100 (see show ship stats). You can use the "strength" command to see the defense strength of your sectors. Now, When your scouts estimate the defense strength, they only count land units and mil that they see. If your scouts didn't notice the efficiency of the defending units, then they assume that they are at 100% efficiency. Your scouts also assume that none of the enemy units are fortified. Once your scouts have come up with an "estimated defense strength", then that number is compared with your offense strength. The output so far might look like this: [##:##] Command : attack -14,2 -14,2 is a 100% 5 harbor with approximately 0 military. Number of mil from headquarters at -15,3 (max 108) : 10 cavalry #7 has a base attack value of 44 attack with cavalry #7 in -15,3 (~ 100%) [ynYNq?] y cavalry #24 has a base attack value of 44 Initial attack strength: 108 Scouts report defending unit: inf1 infantry 1 #22 (efficiency 71, tech 169) Scouts report defending unit: inf2 infantry 2 #41 (efficiency 94, tech 169) Scouts report defending unit: inf2 infantry 2 #42 (efficiency 94, tech 173) Scouts report defending unit: inf2 infantry 2 #43 (efficiency 65, tech 139) Estimated defense strength: 1118 Estimated odds: 8% Note that your estimated odds are calculated before any enemy units have reacted, and before support multipliers are calculated, so they will not be particularly accurate. (4) Move reacting defensive units to the target sector. If the target is not a mountain, then defensive units in nearby sectors may react. Defensive units will keep reacting until the defense strength is 1.2 times the offense strength. The following restrictions apply to reacting land units: - The efficiency of the unit must be higher than it's retreat percentage. - The unit must be in supply. - The unit must have enough mobility to get to the target. - The unit must be in range. If the unit is in a 60% efficient headquarters, then 1 is added to its reac- tion radius. If it is on "reserve" mission, then 2 is added to the radius. Note that you can limit the reaction radius of your land units using the "lrange" command. (5) Calculate support. For attack and assault, both offensive and defensive support is calculated. For paradrop, only defensive support is calculated, and for board and lboard there is no support (however, defending ships within range will fire on the boarding ship or sector before the fight if boarding a ship). The aggressor's support is calculated based on what the aggressor asked for. Defensive support is only called in to the extent that it would be useful. If the aggressor outnumbers the defender 10-to-1, then the defender will not have any support. Otherwise, the defender will keep calling in support until its strength is at least 1.2 times the offense strength. Fort, ship, and unit support is simply those forts, ships, and units in range that can fire (see info fire). Note that ships and units on missions will not fire support. Plane support comes from those planes on "support" mission. The support multiplier is 1.0 + fortdamage/100 + shipdamage/100 + planedamage/100 + unitdamage/100. Ships/forts/units belonging to allies of the combatants will support, if they are at war with the other combatant. (For example, if A is allied with B, and at war with C, and A attacks C, things belonging to B will support the attack if able. The same is true for defense. If C attacks A, the B stuff will help defend A) After these four supports are calculated, then land mine support is added to the defense support. Defending land mines add (number of mines) * 0.02 to a maximum of 0.40. If there are attacking engineers present, this number is cut in half. (6) Fight. Total offense and defense strength are multiplied by their support multipliers to obtain the final combat strengths. From this, odds are calculated. Then in each "round", a chance according to the combat odds determines whether an aggressor or defender troop is lost. Troops killed in combat are first taken from the mil (from the sector containing the most mil), and then from the units (from the unit containing the most mil). Combat odds are recalculated and the process continues until there is a victor. Each time there is a casu- alty, a character is printed: ! means a defending soldier bit it @ means one of your soldiers went doan If the effiency of a land unit is less than its retreat percentage when it gets hit, then it will need to make a morale check. The chance of failing a morale check is (retreat percentage - efficiency). If the unit has nowhere to retreat to, then it takes "extra losses" which amounts to an extra 10% docked from its efficiency. Otherwise, the land unit retreats to the adjacent sector containing the maximum number of civs. Units will never retreat into moun- tains. Also note that once all of the military on a land unit are killed, the land unit stops defending. What this means is that a land unit can become "trapped" in an sector if an enemy takes it over after killing all the mili- tary on a land unit while the land unit may not be destroyed. When planning an attack remember that overwhelming forces greatly increases your odds; i.e., attacking 10 men with 40 will result in your losing fewer troops than if you had attacked with 20. (7) Spread the plague. If any combatant in a battle is infected with the plague, all potential comn- batants in the battle are infected as well (if they do not already have some level of plague already.) (8) Take mobility and supply from land units. The "aggresor loss factor" is equal to the number of aggressor casualties divided by the total number of aggressor troops that went into the conflict. Similarly, the "defender loss factor" is calculated. Then each land unit loses mobility equal to 10 * (loss factor). Defensive land units on reserve mission only lose half of that. Also there is a chance equal to the loss fac- tor that the land unit will use up some of its supply (see info supply). (9) Send reacting units home. If the defending land unit did not retreat, then send it back to where it came from at no mobility charge. (10) If successful, the aggressor takes the target sector/ship. Either 1 aggressor mil (first choice) or one land unit (second choice) is automatically moved into the conquered ship or sector to occupy it. Since this mil or unit is effectively "chasing out" the remnants of the defending forces, the defender will not interdict it (because he won't want to damage his forces with "friendly fire"). This is what happens to the sector when you take it: - All delivery and distribution information is wiped. - The production in the sector is stopped (see info stop). - Planes in the sector owned by the player you just took the sector from lose 30 plus random(100) efficiency and go to 0 mob. If the new efficiency is less than 10%, the plane is blown up. - Units in the sector owned by the player you just took the sector from lose 30 plus random(100) efficiency and go to 0 mob. If the new efficiency is less than 10%, the unit is blown up. - The avail is set to 0. - New che are created (see info Guerrilla). - Set the loyalty of the sector to 50 (see info Loyalty). - Reduce the mobility to 0. - The civs in the sector become "conquered populace" (see info Occupation). When you take a ship: - Mission, retreat info and fleet info is wiped. - Planes and land units on the ship are reduced to 10%. When you take a land unit: - Mission, retreat info and army info is wiped. - Planes and land units on the unit are reduced to 10%. When you take someone's capital, the defender loses half of their money or $3000 whichever is greater. If the defender wasn't broke to begin with, then the aggressor gets half of their money times (1/5 + 4/5 * efficiency of the sector). (11) Remove mobility and efficiency from the target sector/ship. The efficiency of the target sector or ship is damaged by a percentage equal to the total number of casualties divided by ten. If the target is a sector, then it will lose a percentage of the mobility equal to the number of defender mil casualties divided by the total number of mil that were originally in that sector, up to a maximum of 20 mobility. So if for example, your casualty fraction was 70/100, and your sector started with 50 mobility, then you would lose min(20, 50*70/100) = min(20, 35) = 20 mobility. (12) Remove mobility from the aggressor's sectors and ships. The pre-combat mobility costs are: Attack: Remove mobility equal to the mob cost to move the mil into the target sector. Board: If boarding from a ship, the cost is the half of the speed of the defending ship times the efficiency of the defending ship. If boarding from a sector, the cost is the number of boarding mil divided by 5. This applies for boarding of ships and land units. Only sectors are charged an additional post-combat mobility cost. In this case, the amount of mobility the sector loses is calculated using the same formula as is used for the defending sector's mobility cost. (13) Possibly ask the aggressor for mil and units to move into the target. If the combat was an assault, paradrop, board or lboard, then all victorious mil and units are automatically moved into the target. The mil are moved in with no mobility charge. If the combat is assault, then the mil will take an amount of food with them proportional to the number of people leaving the ship. The mobility cost to land units is as follows: Assault: If the land units are attacking from a ship with "land" capability, then land units are charged (update mob) mobility, except for "marine" units which are only charged half of that. For all other kinds of ships, land units go to -(update mob), except for "marine" units which go to zero. Here, (update mob) refers to the amount of mobility that units gain at the update. Board: Marine units are charged 10 mobility and other land units are charged 40. In the case of attack, the aggressor is asked what they'd like to move in as follows: First, the aggressor is asked how many mil they would like to move in from each attacking sector. This number is limited by the amount of mobil- ity left in the attacking sector. Then the aggressor is asked which land units they'd like to move into the sector with the same [ynYNq?] prompt as above, the only difference being that 'q' now means "don't move anything in". The mobility costs here are the same as for "move" and "march". (14) Possibly interdict the aggressor's mil and units as they move. Post-attack interdiction only occurrs in the "attack" command (and not in "assault", "paradrop", "board" or "lboard"). When you move your mil into the target sector after an attack, you will risk the same chances of interdiction (number of mil / 200) and stepping on land mines (see "info lmine") as if you were moving them using the "move" command. Similarly, once you have specified which land units you'd like to move into the conquered sector, then all of your units will move in at once, and they will be interdicted in the same way as though they were being moved using the "march" command, including the danger of stepping on land mines. Note that there is no post-attack interdiction and no danger of stepping on land mines if the INTERDICT_ATT option is disabled (see version). (15) Charge the aggressor BTU's. The BTU cost is equal to 0.5 + (the total number of casualties) * 0.015. SEE ALSO attack, assault, paradrop, board, lboard, Combat empire-info-text-4.2.15/Autofeed0100664000000000000000000000532610055155504015165 0ustar rootroot Concept : Autofeed NAME Autofeed - How to use fishing boats to automatically feed your civs Level: Expert For years now people have been setting up large groups of fishing boats to feed their island. These groups get very large and are difficult to keep track of. This is an example of how to set up a fleet of fishing boats so they will take their food produced each update and drop it off at the harbor of your choice. See 'info order' for a complete description and example of syntax for the 'order' command. map #1 00000000001111111 01234567890123456 -4. . . . . . . . . -3 ? ? . . . . . . -2? . . . . . . ) . -1 ? . . . . . f . . 0. . . . . g m . . 1 . . . . f * w h . 2. . . . . c + + . You have ships 0,12,88 in the harbor 15,1 Sector 16,0 has a very good fert of 93 so you want to use that as your fishing grounds. 1) move your ships to sector 16,0 "nav 0/12/88 16,0" 2a) set up autonav using the 'order' command. "order 0 des 15,1 16,0" This will establish a circular trade route. 2b) set up food levels for the ship "order 0 level 1 start food 30" "order 0 level 1 end food 30" You can also use a global '*' or a fleet letter here. "order * level 1 start food 30" "order * level 1 end food 30" "order F level 1 start food 30" "order F level 1 end food 30" NOTE: You should set BOTH start and end fields to insure autofeed will work correctly and set them at the same levels! NOTE: if you are using autonav with normal cargo ships. Fishing boats are a special case to the autonav code. This setup will only work correctly with fishing boats. If you want to use autonav with cargo ships please use the examples found in the 'order' command. repeat 2a,2b for other ships in the area. During the update your fishing boats will now move to the harbor at 15,1 unload food until it reaches 30, then move back to 15,1 and STOP. If you're using fishing boats that require fuel, i.e. fb2 when the ship enters the harbor, and the fuel level is at 0, the autonav code will automaticly refuel the ship for you. So unless the ship gets sunk, or something happens to it, like the civs starve on board if you don't leave enough food on it, the ships will continue to feed your country and you won't even need to think about them. The Max limit that autonav will stockpile is 99999 units. So if your sector get overcrowded the ship will sit in the harbor until it can unload all of its food. SEE ALSO Autonav, order, navigate, Ships, Populace, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/Autonav0100664000000000000000000000547710055155504015055 0ustar rootroot Concept : Autonavigation NAME Autonav - Giving ships automatic sailing orders Level: Expert In a very short while after acquiring ships the effort of moving ships after every update gets very boring. And the more ships you have, the more work it is. Hence the concept of autonavigation. Like any self-respecting dictator, you don't personally drive your ships around (except when you want to), instead you command you ship captains to take their vessels to a specified destination. This is done via the "order" command. Each ship can be ordered to proceed to a destination. During each update, the ship will try and use ALL the mobility it has and use the shortest possible path. It will also avoid any known mines (sectors marked with an 'X' or 'x' on your bmap). Note that this movement is all done before mobility is accumu- lated, so that after the update is complete the ship will have a full updates worth of mobility in case you need to move it by hand. Should a ship be fired upon by forts or strike a mine they will stop moving! This will prevent your ship from foolishly getting sunk in enemy waters. The "order" command covers many special cases. The autonavigation capability is dependent upon the per country map database accessed via the "bmap" command. If you order a vessel to a destination that causes it to cross a previously unexplored area, the ship will attempt to cross that area as if it were water. One of the features of the bmap func- tionality is that when a ship is navigated, it automatically uses its radar to see the local sectors (much like real life). This sector information is added to the per country map database. Thus upon running into a previously unknown obstruction, that information is added to the map database and on the next update, a new path to the destination will be calculated which avoids the obstruction. This process applied iteratively means that a ships will eventu- ally find its way around any obstruction, provided that a path exists. In reality, this is a limit to this process. In order to limit the processing that is done to find a path to the destination, the internal path string is limited to 28 characters. The other capability of the autonav function is autotrading. By specifying two destinations and two commodities, the ship will move back and forth between the two destination loading and unloading the appropriate commodities. Specific examples can be found in the "order" info file. The same rules for navigating, loading, and unloading apply for Autonavigation as they do when you do these things by hand, namely that you may only use har- bours owned by nations which consider you to be a friendly trading partner (see info relations). SEE ALSO navigate, order, Ships, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/BTU0100664000000000000000000000632610055155505014065 0ustar rootroot Concept : Buerocratic Time Units NAME BTU - How BTUs are generated Level: Expert It takes time for decisions to be made by top level officials, and it takes time for their orders to reach those who execute them. The potential of your government to process new information is measured in Bureaucratic Time Units (BTU). BTUs are generated in real-time based on the number of civilians that are in your capital. Every time you log out and in again, the server calculates how long you've been away, and based on that time awards you a certain number of BTUs. Here is the procedure for determining how many BTUs you get: If the game is a blitz, then as soon as your BTUs go below zero, then they are automatically set back to 512. (1) Count the number of civs generating BTUs. civs = maximum(999, number of civs in your capital sector) Note that if you don't have a capital, then you will get _no_ BTUs. (2) Find out how many civs are required to make one BTU in one time unit. The "version" command will tell you how many civilians are required to produce one BTU in one time unit. (3) Calculate how many BTUs your cap produces in one time unit. Divide the number of civs generating BTUs (step 1) by the number of civs required to produce one BTU in one time unit (step 2). If your capital is in a mountain or has zero efficiency, then multiply by 1/200. Otherwise, multiply by (sector efficiency) / 100. Note that 0% capitals and mountains generate BTUs as if they were 0.5% capitals. (4) Calculate how many time units have passed. The number of "Time units" (TU) since your last login is: TU = (number of seconds since last login) / (number of seconds per ETU). The "version" command will tell you how many seconds are in an "Empire time unit" (ETU). If more than 336 time units have passed since your last login, then set TU = 336. (5) Calculate how many BTUs you get. Multiply the number of BTUs your cap produces in one TU (step 3) by the number of TUs which have passed (step 4). This is how many BTUs you get. Note that there is a limit to how many BTUs you can have at any given time. This number is usually 512 but can be changed by the deity. EXAMPLE: say you had a 100% capital containing 500 civs. Suppose that version said: It takes 25.00 civilians to produce a BTU in one time unit Then first you would divide 500 by 25 to get 20. Now since your cap is 100% efficient, you would multiply 20 by (100/100) and so the civs in your cap would produce 20 BTUs per time unit. Now suppose that version said: An Empire time unit is 1440 seconds long. and suppose that 1 day had passed since the last time you logged on. Then that means that the number of time units which have passed is: TU = (number of second in a day) / (number of seconds per etu) = (24 * 60 * 60) / (1440) = (1440 * 60) / (1440) = 60 (Note that another way to find out how many time units there are between updates is to find out how many ETU's there are per update.) Lastly, we multiply 20 by 60 to get 1200 BTUs. But since the maximum is 512, we would have 512 BTUs. Note that if your capital had been in a mountain sector, then you would have only gotten 6 BTUs in 24 hours. SEE ALSO Innards, version, Time, Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/Basics0100664000000000000000000000261010055155514014627 0ustar rootroot Introduction : Basics NAME Basics - The basic rules for playing Empire Level: Basic First, there are no real rules to playing empire. What you do is what you do. There are some general guidelines here, and some deities may be more forgiving than others. One player, one country. You man NEVER use any country other than your own. It is ok for two people to play one country but it is NEVER ok for one person to play two countries. If you are caught doing this, your countries will be removed from the game. In addition, your registrations for future games may be declined. DON'T DO IT. Ok, but what do I do when I'm away? 1) you may turn over your country to someone who has never played anyone else's country in that game. You MUST tell the deity if you do this as he/she/it will be watching who is playing what. 2) you may turn your country over to the deity. Bugs: if you find a bug, you are REQUIRED to report it to the deity. I will not let other people know about the bug and in most cases, you may exploit it until it is fixed. Punishment for use without telling: at least $50,000 or getting your country removed from the game. Denial-of-service attacks are forbidden. Any form of attack that prevents a player from connecting to the server is against the rules. This includes let- ter bombing. SEE ALSO Introduction empire-info-text-4.2.15/Bridges0100664000000000000000000000263010055155505015004 0ustar rootroot Concept : Bridges NAME Bridges - Building and destroying bridges Level: Expert BRIDGES Normally bridges can only be built from bridge-heads. (See info "Sector- types"). If the EASY_BRIDGES option is in use, bridges can be built from any sector that has enough hcm (heavy construction materials) and workforce (see "info show" and the "show" command), providing you have enough money, and your technology level is high enough. Bridges can only be built over water sectors. If the EASY_BRIDGES option is in use, you do not need to use bridgehead sec- tors (although the sector you build from must still be at least 60% effi- cient), and the sector the bridge span is to be built in must be adjacent to at least 1 non-sea, non-bridge span sector. Note that you do not have to OWN the sector is will be adjacent to, it just has to exist. This means that you can build, for example, a 2 sector bridge out to an unowned island. To find out the required amounts of materials, workforce, and money use the show command. Bridge spans cannot be re-designated. A bridge span will collapse when it is below 20% in efficiency, so shelling will destroy one, as will nuclear weapons and bombing. If the EASY_BRIDGES option is NOT in use, a bridge will also collapse if its bridge-head sector goes below 20% or is re-designated. SEE ALSO build, Technology, show, Sectors empire-info-text-4.2.15/Bugs0100664000000000000000000001423410055155517014333 0ustar rootroot Server : Bugs NAME Bugs - Known bugs in the Empire Server Level: Expert NOTE: This file is dramatically out of date. The classification scheme used by report is dumb. You can make a sector temporarily useless by filling up all its fields with delivery and distribution information. This is useful when an enemy is trying to capture the sector (his mil don't have room to move in :-) You have to halt some of the deliveries or distributions to make room for the military to move in. (Mostly fixed by changing the number of available fields) Warehouses can't distribute all commodities simultaneously, due to limited fields for this information. This becomes a problem if you have a countrywide network of warehouses distributing to each other. (Mostly fixed by changing the number of available fields) You can sometimes build planes in non-airport sectors, deliberately or acci- dentally. FIXED You can sometimes move small quantities of certain items from warehouses at no mobility cost, even into mountains (this is my favorite bug, I'd hate to see it fixed :-) Guerrillas don't seem to carry the plague. You can get information about enemy sectors by attacking with 0 military. This costs 0 BTU's currently (this is another of my favorite bugs :-) This is a good way to flood the enemy mailbox with junk mail at no cost in BTU's. FIXED You can sometimes trick someone into paying a huge price for commodities by changing the price suddenly. Therefore one should always check prices when buying commodities. When two countries are attacking each other simultaneously, you can sometimes move into a sector he is in the process of attacking. If you get the timing right, he will take the sector but you will get it back, along with all his military. If a plane is out to trade, and gets shot down, it can still be bought until the next update. If another country builds a new plane that gets the number of the plane that was shot down, the new plane will go on the trading market automatically. Then if that plane is bought, the money goes to the country whose plane was shot down, not the country that built the plane. I stole numerous planes (including nuclear missiles :-) this way (by deliberately putting low numbered planes up for trade, then having them shot down). If a plane has negative mobility, then gets traded, mobility goes to 0. Firing on sectors with land-locked sunken ships does strange things. If two countries are cooperating, its possible to raid an enemy airport and steal the planes by putting them out to trade. You can also strip enemy sectors of commodities using "sell", if you have mil- itary control temporarily. One can raid an enemy harbor and use up all the raw materials by building use- less ships. FIXED One can make work go back to 100 everywhere in a country by moving all civil- ians in low-work sectors onto a bridge, then collapsing the bridge. Work then goes to 100 at the next update, if you leave some mil in the vacated sectors. Or you can move mil out too, letting the sector ownership change to the Deity, then move back in from a 100% working sector, and work goes immediately to 100. Two cooperative countries can move commodities around at no mobility cost using the market. You can depopulate an enemy sector in a raid by converting all civs to uws and selling them. This can make it hard for the victim to get back in the game even with a rapid & successful counterattack. FIXED, convert takes mob now. Sometimes sector ownership doesn't change when the last civ starves, so you may get census information about sectors with 0 civs. Later this same sector may get its ownership switched to the Deity without your doing anything. FIXED You can only have so much of a commodity in a sector. If you went over 32,000 and something, units of food, for example, bizarre things might happen. I think that has been fixed. FIXED Treaty had bugs (for example, firing on any ships was considered a treaty vio- lation, not just the ships of the country you had a treaty with). I think Jeff might have fixed this. FIXED Also air attacks were not considered treaty violations. This may have been fixed. FIXED You can collapse enemy bridges by making a lightning raid on his bridgeheads and redesignating them, even if you only hold the bridgehead for a short time. (In this games, bridges work differently, see info build, info bridges") You can map out enemy territory by raiding his radar stations. Condition checking is very treacherous. Global commands with conditions are unreliable. I never figured out exactly what was wrong, although I think your method of putting conditions towards the front of the line helped sometimes. You can have more than 26 ships in a fleet, but only the first 26 will move when you navigate the fleet (I think 26 is the right number, but I'm not cer- tain. It might be 32). "Look" only spots subs (from destroyers) at a certain distance. If you are too close you won't see them (unless you are in the same sector). You can only fly as many planes on a mission as you can fit on the command line (so low numbered planes have an advantage this way). USE WINGS I never managed to load more than 1 warhead on a missile, but I didn't have time to investigate this thoroughly. FIXED Wilderness sectors that you own don't appear as "?" on enemy maps, so you can sometimes hide information by leaving sectors as wilderness. FIXED When a sector has a visible ship, radar doesn't show whether the sector is land or sea, just the ship. This has interesting possibilities for exploita- tion (like land-locking a battleship in your capital in order to deceive the enemy :-) I don't think you can land planes on a land-locked aircraft carrier anymore. Its common to mistakenly set the price of a plane or ship incorrectly so one should check trade after using set. Torpedo isn't random, but always works within range (another of my favorite bugs :-) FIXED Transporting nukes costs 0 mobility. FIXED The "must be accepted by" date on offered loans is bogus. "Turn off" doesn't stop updates. SEE ALSO list, Innards, Server empire-info-text-4.2.15/CHANGES.CHAINSAW0100664000000000000000000006412410055155517015702 0ustar rootroot Server : Chainsaw Changes NAME CHANGES.CHAINSAW - Changes from KSU Empire to Chainsaw code Level: Expert CHANGES.CHAINSAW.1.0 Changes to the Chainsaw code in version 1.0 This file enumerates some of the more important changes between BBN Empire 1.0 & BSD Empire 1.1.5, KSU, & MERC empire. BBN Empire 1.0 is a superset of the other versions, including all MERC code, which includes all KSU code, which include the BSD 1.1.5 code. Bug-fixes & Changes Scrap and scuttle will now ask for confirmation before scrapping or scuttling wing or fleets. The will also ask before scrapping or scuttling ALL planes or ships (when a '*' is given as an argument) Bomb has been changed to allow planes with the P_T (tactical bomber) flag to bomb, even if they are also cargo planes. This fixes the problem with Zep- pelins not being allowed to bomb. Power has been modified to not report on all deity countries (as opposed to just ignoring country 0) The plane functions have been extensively modified to calculate and enforce the ship plane-capacity limits. In previous versions, this was enforced only in the load command, and incorrectly maintained. (In some situations, the # could go negative, and wrap around to 255, causing much disbelief) The telegram command was changed so that bulletins from a deity include the name of the deity country that sent them. (Useful for multiple deity games) The nation files are re-read for the report and country commands. Before, the program would use the in-memory nation stuff, which meant that it was out of date if it changed (i.e. people logging in/out after you would not be shown as logged in in the country output, report would be out of date, esp in blitzes, etc) With this option, the nation file is closed and re-opened, which updates the in-memory stuff to be current. This is still not perfect, as when people exit incorrectly, they are still shown as logged on, until they telnet and kill the process, or the transaction manager is restarted. Also, the init_nats function was changed. Previously, if a country did not receive a BTU delta when logging in, its last login time was not set. OPTIONS Many new options have been defined for BBN 1.0. CHOPPER-STEALTH Choppers have a chance of evading interception. It isn't as good as stealth, which is why it's listed as half-stealth. I'm not telling the exact numbers... figure them out for yourself. BABY_NUKES Credit for this idea goes to Tom Tedrick. Damage/effects are the same, but blast effects are confined to the target hex. This also automatically turns of MISSING MISSILES. Note that launch will still ask about air/ground burst. SUPER_BARS Gold bars cannot be pin bombed, and are not hurt by firing. There are still ways to kill them, but not by shelling or bombing. EASY_BRIDGES A bridge can be built in any sector adjacent to one of yours, providing that the target sector is adjacent to a non-sea, non-bridge sector. Since bridge- heads are not required, you can't collapse bridges by killing the head. (You can still kill them by taking the bridge below 20%) This also fixes a problem with planes on bridges not dying when the bridge dies. (This was partly fixed before, but the fix didn't work all the time) Note that the sector building the bridge may be a bridge, providing the sector that the bridge is being built in is adjacent to a non-sea, non-bridge sector. For example, this is legal: . . . . . . . => . . . . . . . . . . . . . . => . . . . . . . . - = . - . . => . - = = - . . . . . . . . . => . . . . . . . . . . . . . . => . . . . . . . This is not legal: . . . . . . . => . . . . . . . . . . . . . . => . . . . . . . . - = . . - . => . - = = . - . . . . . . . . => . . . . . . . . . . . . . . => . . . . . . . Also, the sector building the bridge must be at least 60% efficient. BETTERARMOR Ship's armor factors now more greatly affect both shelling and bombing. BB's are much harder to kill. Smaller ships are more fragile. ALL_BLEED When this option is enabled, countries receive tech leakage from ALL tech pro- ducers, not merely allies. Tech leakage is 33% by default. The leak is calcu- lated as 33% of the average tech made by all those making tech. For example, if there are 10 players, making 3, 4, 0, 0, 3, 0, 2, 0, 2, 1 tech, the total tech made is 15 by 6 countries, for an average of 2.5 tech. All 10 countries would get .833 tech leak (33% of 2.5), for total tech production of: 3.833, 4.833, 0.833, 0.833, 3.833, 0.833, 2.833, 0.833, 2.833, 1.833 DRNUKE You need research to build nukes. (1/4 the tech value, so a tech 300 nuke needs 100 research) SLOW_WAR You cannot attack someone's land unless you are at war with them. (You can still blow up their ships with fire, board, torp, etc) When you declare war on someone, your relation goes to Mobilizing. You still can't attack them. After the next update, your relation goes to Sitzkrieg, and you still can't attack them. After the NEXT update, you're at war with them, and anything goes. If someone is Mobilizing or in Sitzkrieg, or At War with you, and you declare war against them, your relation is set to be the same as theirs, so there is no way to gain any advantage through this stuff. It just means that you can't sneak-attack people. The restrictions do not apply if you are the old_owner of the sector. If you are the old_owner, you may bomb/shell/attack at will. Note that while ships are freely attackable, regardless of war status, even if they are in a harbor of a nation you are not at war with. The first person who declares war pays $1000. Return declarations are free. NOMOBCOST Ships do not use mobility when firing. Torpedo mobility cost is reduced to be equal to 1/2 the mobility the firing ship would use to move a sector. NEWSUBS This option encompasses several small changes in sub-warfare. A new flag, sub- t, is added. Only ships with the sub-t flag are allowed to torpedo subs. Also, ships with depth-charge capability can now use them to their full gun range. Depth charges are more affected by sub armor value. Torpedo damage is increased. OTHER-CHANGES Most of the ships have had their firing ranges bumped up significantly. Thomas Ruschak, The_Scum CHANGES.CHAINSAW.2.0 Changes to the Chainsaw code in version 2.0 This file enumerates some of the more important changes between the code used for BBNII (Chainsaw Empire 1.0) & Chainsaw 2.0. Bug-fixes You can no longer map by attempting to land planes on unknown sectors. The replies have been standardized to give no information. The radar command is fixed to eliminate 'ghost' images at high tech. Planes can now land on carriers that happen to be in bridge sectors. You can no longer find out if any enemy subs are under your bridges by trying to load things on them. You can no longer load things onto non-allied ships, even if they are in a harbor you own. 'break' now breaks ALL sanctuaries you own, even if some are not adjacent to 0,0. When specifying a flight path, the terminating 'h' is no longer counted as a sector for purposes of range. Qorder is now documented, and works as described in the document. CHANGES When scrapping or scuttling groups of ships/planes or wings of ships/planes, you will be asked to confirm that you want to do it. (Also when doing scrap * or scuttle *) Ships that assault will always retain 1 food. You may now specify a "number to build" parameter for build. The deity can now make declaration on another country's behalf. Minesweepers now take less damage from mines (1/2 the normal amount). A plane unloaded in an ally's harbor now becomes his plane. A plane loaded onto an ally's ship also becomes his plane. Your planes may now land on an ally's sectors or ships. Once there, they become his planes. Ships will fire back in defense of sectors being attacked, assaulted, or shelled. Your ships/sects will no longer shoot themselves in defense. You can cheer- fully blast your own ships/sects without fear of retaliation from your own forces. You can also torp your own ships, and they will resignedly watch as the torps slam into them. Gun ranges are no longer truncated. Instead, there is a % chance equal to the decimal portion of the range of gaining a hex. For example, with a range of 2.50, there is a 50% chance of being able to fire at range 3. With a range of 6.33, there is a 33% chance of being able to fire at range 7. The power report has been changed to be more realistic. The relative worth of most commodities has been changed, and a country's total is multiplied by a tech factor to arrive at a final value. There is no longer a minimum maintenance cost of $1/ETU for planes and ships. The new minimum is $1. The torpedo command is changed. Surface ships may now have the torpedo abil- ity, as well as subs. When surface ships torpedo, they are fired at by defend- ing ships BEFORE they fire their torpedos. An "escort" flag was added for planes. Planes with the escort flag may escort missions. (Formerly, only planes with the intercept flag could escort) Fighter aircraft being used as tactical bombers are now at a greater penalty in air-to-air combat. Ships with no mobility may now be nav'd. This allows fishing boats and oil derricks to check resource values without having mob. (Of course, you can't move with no mob, and an attempt to do so kicks you out) The load command will now allow you to load wings/groups of planes. You may now give things to allied ships using the tend command. (You may not take things from allied ships, only give) (If ALLYHARBOR is used) You may now upgrade allied ships. (If ALLYHARBOR is used) Your civs will work on allied ships in your harbors. (If ALLYHARBOR is used) You may assault your own sectors. Mil assaulting are simply added to the num- ber in the sector. You may now land planes on a carrier in an allied harbor. (If ALLYHARBOR is used) Conventional non-tactical missiles will now be intercepted by ABM's. Options Trade-Ships Trade ships simulate internal or external trade. In the real world, you make goods someplace where they're cheap, ship them somewhere they're expensive, and sell them, making a profit. For empire purposes, you make a trade ship, which uses many cm's, and costs $2500. You then sail it somewhere and scuttle it. You get money back, more than you put into building the ship. The return rate depends on several fac- tors. The primary factor is distance. The distance is calculated as straight-line distance from the sector the ship is scuttled in to the sector in which it was built. You have to sail it at least 8 sectors to get any profit at all. If you sail it more than eight, the profit rises steadily. dist < 14: +3.5% * dist dist < 25: +5.5% * dist otherwise: +7.5% * dist Another factor is the sector in which you scuttle it. If you scuttle it in a harbor you own, you get normal cash. If you scuttle it in the harbor of an ally, you get a 20% bonus, AND your ally gets 10% of the cash you make as a bonus (you still get the full amount) For example, using the numbers from above, if you sailed 15 sectors, and scut- tled in an allied harbor, you'd get $4562 * 1.2 = $5.5K, and your ally would get $4562/10 = $456. The last factor is the efficiency of the trade ship. The cash return is multi- plied by the efficiency of the ship when it is scuttled. Note that captured trade ships can be scuttled by pirates, who receive cash as if it was their own. FUEL Each ship has a fuel capacity, and a fuel usage rate. During an update, ships use fuel at a rate of 10 mob for every units of fuel. Ships with a fuel usage of 1 get 10 mob for every 1 fuel, ships with 2 fuel usage get 10 mob for 2 fuel, etc. Ships with no fuel do not get mobility. Ships with a fuel usage of 0 do not need fuel. (Sailing ships & nuc ships/subs) A new command, "fuel" is added. It allows fueling from a harbor sector, or a ship or ships with the "oiler" flag. When fueling, petrol and/or oil in the harbor or on the oiler is exchanged for fuel points, which are loaded on the ship. Petrol is used first, if available, at a rate of 1 pet = 10 fuel. If there is not enough petrol, oil is used, at a rate of 1 oil = 50 fuel. Ships of allies can be fueled, if the ALLYHARBOR option is in use, either at a harbor, or with an oiler. SEMILAND This option adds a flag, "semi-lander", which allows the ship to use 25% of its mil in an assault. SHIPCHOPPERS XLIGHT These two flags are similar. They establish new plane flags, "helo" (ship helicopter), and "x-light" (extra light). Each ship is then rated on it's ability to carry those types, independently of it's ability to carry normal planes. This allows deities to let non-carriers carry sams, for example, or to let ships carry anti-sub helicopters or transport helos. ASW_PLANES A new plane flag is added "asw". This allows planes with the flag to spot subs on recon missions. (Detection chance is (100-accuracy)-(4-sub visibility)*10) Planes with this flag may be informed (depending on detection ability) when pin-bombing a sea-sector of the presence of subs. They then have the option of bombing the subs. Each plane on such a mission rolls separately to find the subs, and can only bomb the ones it can find. PARAFLAG A "para" flag is added for planes. Only planes with the para flag can be used to paratroop. STEALTHV This option adds a new statistic for planes, stealth percentage. Use of this option effectively disables stealth planes and the CHOPPER_STEALTH option, as the stealth and half-stealth flags are ignored. With this option, each plane is rated as to its percentage chance to evade ground-fire and interception. The stealth rating of a group of planes is equal to the rating of the plane in the group with the lowest stealth rating. MULTIFIRE When this option is used, both fire and torpedo accept multiple ships/sectors. Each firing ship/sector may be used against a separate target, or all may fire together. Return fire is distributed evenly over the firing ships/sectors, with each defending ship/sector firing once. The spreading of damage also applies to subs being depth-charged after torping, and for torpedo boats being fired at prior to torping. RETREATS Each ship/fleet may be given a retreat path, and retreat conditions. Condi- tions are: retreat when damaged at all, retreat when torped, retreat when sonared, retreat when fired upon from beyond max range, retreat if bombed, retreat if depth-charged. Retreat conditions are assigned to ships, and may be assigned to entire fleets at once. When a ship's retreat condition is satisfied, things happen. If the ship's fleet has a retreat path, all ships in the fleet that are in the affected sector attempt to retreat 2 sectors along the path, using mobility as if they were navigating. If the ship's fleet does not have a retreat path, then the ship checks to see if it has it's own retreat path. If so, it retreats 2 sectors along it, as above. Note that retreating ships can hit mines, and could be blocked by new bridges, or by an ally changing to non-allied status (which would make them unable to retreat into a harbor) Retreat paths are wiped from a ship when the ship moves. Retreat paths are wiped from fleets only at the player's request. HARBOR_POLICE With this option, the board command is extended to allow boarding of enemy ships in your harbors. The harbor sector must have mobility, but the command does not use any mobility. MINE_PLANES With this option, planes with the "mine" ability are allowed to use the drop command to drop shells as mines in sea sectors. (see info drop) SWEEP_PLANES With this option, planes with the "sweep" ability will automatically attempt to sweep mines while on recon missions. See info recon for more details. BUDGET This option changes the update ordering a bit, and allows you to set priorities for production, for those situations where money is tight. A new command, "budget", is added, that shows financial information, and allows set- ting of priorities. DAVYJONES When this option is used, nukes striking wasteland or sanctuary sectors do not detonate. Nukes striking water sectors affect only their impact sector. Thanks go to all the people who've helped me with ideas and playtesting: Jorge Diaz (Ansalon), Tom Tedrick (Afrika Korps), Keith Graham (DreamLands), Dave Nye (Evil_Empire), Sasha Mikheev (Dolgopa), Baldric, Elsinore, Brett Reid (Resvon), Kazzadur \ystein Tvedten (Flipper's evil twin), Tharkadia, Yikes, and many more I'm forgetting. The good things are mostly ideas contributed by these people. The bugs, I'm afraid, are my own. Thomas Ruschak (The_Scum) CHANGES.CHAINSAW.2.1 Changes to the Chainsaw code in version 2.1 Chainsaw 2.1 has some minor differences from Chainsaw 2.0. Now, when navigating, sonar or radar commands will default to the current ship, or the first (lowest numbered) ship in a group. You may override this by specifying the desired ship on the command line. (I.e. "r 12" or "radar 212", etc) The chance of a plane aborting is changed to (100-eff)%. This means that if a 100% plane takes a hit for 30% damage, it has a 30% chance to abort. If it then takes another hit for 20% more, a total of 50% damage, it has a 50% chance to abort. Also, when bombing ships, rolls are not made for aborting until after all ships have fired, rather than rolling every time the plane takes a flak hit from a ship. A new command has been added, the 'payoff' command. It shows the value of trade ships if scuttled at the current sect (check info payoff). Constants have been added to control ship & plane efficiency growth rate. It is now possible to allow 2xETUS growth in efficiency, 3x, etc. Subs may no longer shell.. they may only torpedo. A WIRE option has been added that activates the 'wire' command. The wire com- mand reads only announcements. The normal read command then reads only tele- grams & bulletins. When assaulting, troops will always leave at least 1 food on the ship. You may now build multiples of an item by adding a build count at the end of your build command. (see info build) You may now give comments in the hours file. Comment lines start with a '#' character. (Players do not need to care about this.. it's for deities) The report command has been changed to not include countries that are not active. (i.e. visitor or in sanctuary) The version command now show the ship/sector/plane mobility max/gain, as well as the ship/plane growth constants. CHANGES.CHAINSAW.2.2 Changes to the Chainsaw code in version 2.2 Chainsaw 2.2 has some minor differences from Chainsaw 2.1. A new option, SNEAK_ATTACK is included. It can only be used in conjunction with SLOW_WAR. It allows you to attack a sector of someone you're not at war with. Once attacked, the attacker automatically declares war against the defender, and pays $5K. At that point, the attacker has to go through the normal SLOW_WAR procedure before attacking again. See info attack, info assault. SNEAK_ATTACKs may not be done by parachute. The 'list of commands' command now puts a 'c' in front of commands that require you to have a capital to use, and a '$' in front of commands that require you to be non-broke for use. CHANGES.CHAINSAW.3.0 Changes to the Chainsaw code in version 3.0 Chainsaw 3.0 has some major differences from Chainsaw 2.2. Ships that don't carry enough crew lose effic when at sea. See info build (the ship building section) The BUDGET option has been removed. Budget is now standard. The NEWSUBS option has been removed. NEWSUBS is now standard. The MULTIFIRE option has been removed. MULTIFIRE is now standard. I took out the 'too much traffic for workers' thing, because it was dumb. Ships of tech 310 or better can detect mines with sonar. Conventional missiles launched from subs are anonymous. The victim is not notified of the launching country's identity, and the news knows naught. In order to export something from a sector, you must have military control of the sector. In order to import something from a distribution sector, you must have military control of the distribution sector. The chances to hit a mine are changed. See info mine and info lmine. Two new deity commands have been added, 'disable' and 'enable', which disable and enable updates. The 'update' command will mention it if updates are dis- abled. When you capture a sector, all distribution info is wiped (distribution sec- tor, thresholds). Sectors just taken over are stopped (see start and stop). The criteria for sector ownership have been changed slightly. See info sector- ownership for information. Countries still in sanctuary can now get telegrams and announcements. Fishing boats and oil derricks only work in open ocean sectors. Civs & mil may be distributed. No sector will export its last civ. A new command, bdesignate, has been added. It allows you to manually modify your bmap. When navigating a ship or marching a unit, you get a map of the sectors around your ship or unit, without using BTU's. When using map or bmap, giving the number of a ship you own instead of an area will give you a map centered around that ship. For example, [##:##] Command : map 1 will give you a map centered on ship 1. Lmap works similarly, except you can get a map around a land unit, and pmap gives a map around a plane. When loading/unloading, you can give a desired level as a negative number instead of an amount to load/unload. For example: [##:##] Command : load 4 -10 food will attempt to load or unload food as necessary to get ship 4 to 10 food. (Similar to the syntax for enlist) See info load for details. Land units have been added. There are many new commands for dealing with them. Look at info Land-units for a general overview. Sectors that don't have enough food at the update will now attempt to draw food from supply sources. (see info supply for details on supply sources. Conquered sectors will not draw food) Other sectors/ships/units will now draw supplies (mostly shells) when they need them. You can now give destination sectors instead of paths for all movement com- mands. For example, [##:##] Command : move c 0,0 10 5,-1 will move 10 civs from 0,0 to 5,-1 via the most efficient path, the one that uses the least mobility. Ships/planes/units now use lcms/hcms as they gain efficiency, rather than using them all at once. See info build for more details. Distribution has been changed. Each sector now has a distribution sector rather than a distribution path (during the update, the least-cost path is found and used) Also, importing & exporting via distribute now happen in sepa- rate phases, rather than being mingled. See info distribute and info update- sequence for a full description. Read info distribute, or don't cry. There is a document that details the update sequence. (info update-sequence) Civs/mil/uw's are much harder to kill (how much harder is deity-settable) with shelling or bombing or nuking. Air to air combat is changed. Check info interception for an explanation of the interception process and a description of air combat. Fully efficient roads now have a small mob cost to move through. Fort gun range is now (7*tech factor). Damage from fort shelling now depends on the number of guns firing. Forts get a +1 range bonus if at least 60% effi- cient. Sectors can cost money to designate, and may cost extra to build. They may also take lcms or hcms to build. Show sector build will show this. A new command, cede, allows you to give a sector or ship to a neighbor. See info cede for more details. There are several new information commands, such as neweff and starvation. See the info pages for details. Sectors are damaged by combat occurring in them. See info attack for details. Missions may be given to ships/planes/units, allowing them to interdict enemy movement, support friendly attacks & defense, and other things. See info mis- sion for details. Forts automatically fire at enemy ships coming within range. Mountains can be used (poorly) as capitals. See info capital. New options: RES_POP: when RES_POP is enabled, the maximum number of civilians, mil, or uw's that can be in a sector is determined by research. See info research for exact details. NEW_STARVE: when NEW_STARVE is enabled, the starvation ordering is changed. Instead of losing equal numbers of each type of population (uws, civs, mil), you first lose uw's, then civs, then mil. As before, no more than 1/2 the total population of a sector can starve in one update. Example: if you have 200 uw's, 100 mil, and 500 civilians, and no food, normally you'd have 100 uw's, 50 mil, and 250 civs after the update. With NEW_STARVE in effect, you'd have 0 uw's, 300 civilians, and 100 mil. NEW_WORK: When moving civs to or from a sector with low work, the new loyalty and work percentage of the destination sector is computed proportionally. For example, of you move 100 people from a 0% work sector to a 100% work destina- tion sector with 100 people in it, the destination sector will have 200 50% work people in it. If you then moved in 100 people with a 100% work percent- age, the sector would have 300 67% work people in it. CARRIER_WORK: carriers will now work on damaged planes on board. It's not much, but it's something. STOP: there are now 2 new commands, stop & start. If you stop a sector, it will not gain efficiency or produce for 1 update. Start counteracts stop. Census is also changed to report the production status of a sector. CHANGES.CHAINSAW.3.3 Changes to the Chainsaw code in version 3.3 Sectors taken over have the their production stopped. This should prevent the "redesignate a dozen tech centers" update attack. If STOP is not defined, the new sector designation is set to be the same as the current sector designa- tion. The 'file' utility now creates an all-sea world instead of not creating a world. SEE ALSO Server empire-info-text-4.2.15/Citizens0100664000000000000000000000444710055155505015225 0ustar rootroot Concept : Populace NAME Citizens - Work, starvation, and general management of your citizens Level: Basic Taxation of the civilian populace is one of the main providers of income to an Empire nation (gold bars in banks, trade ships, and taxes from uws being the only other sources of income in the game). Also, only friendly civilians can be enlisted into the army, navy and air force. The loyalty of a given sector, also known as the willingness of the civilian population to work, is initially 100% -- that is, all of the people are work- ing. In the event that the sector is captured, starves, or falls victim to revolutionary subversion, the work of the sector will decrease. This will be shown by the work % decreasing. If people starve in a sector, the amount of work they do drops to 0 (because they are too weak to work). If a sector is a conquered sector, a star "*" will be shown in the appropriate column on the census report. Friendly sectors allow enlistment of military, as well as the ability to move the civilians freely about. Occupied civilians will not move, and friendly civilians cannot enter these sectors. In addi- tion, occupied civilians will not serve in the armed forces. If the thought of not being able to move conquered populace bothers you, then you have the option of converting these conquered people into uncompensated workers, involving the expenditure of BTU's and money (for the paperwork). If all the conquered people in one sector are converted to uw's, then the sector is then marked as yours. If the people in a sector are unhappy (due to starvation, subversion, or lack of happiness) they can go on strike and cease working. You can get them back to work by heavy-handed military control (placing one military for each 20 striking civilians). Finally, your populace requires happiness to keep their enthusiasm for work going. As technology and education increase, your work force expects to share in the increased levels by getting more consumer items (VCR's, BMW's, etc) represented by happy strollers. If you don't have at least one happiness point per two units of education, and a point for each forty units of tech, your people will not be happy. SEE ALSO attack, Happiness, Populace, Occupation empire-info-text-4.2.15/Clients0100664000000000000000000000477710055155514015044 0ustar rootroot Introduction : Empire4 Compatible Clients NAME Clients - Clients which communicate well with the Empire4 Server Level: Basic What follows is a list of clients which support the new Empire4 protocol. All of these clients may be found on the Wolfpack Empire Archives located at: http://www.wolfpackempire.com or ftp://ftp.wolfpackempire.com/pub/empire/ empclient-2.8 and later - full support If you are using one of these clients, then you should type "toggle inform" once you have broken sanctuary. These clients are fully asynchronous, which means that they are able to respond immediately when an unexpected message arrives from the server. So, for example, if someone sends you a "flash" message, then the message will be printed on your screen immediately. Similarly, with "inform" toggled on, you will be informed the moment a telegram arrives. Note, the server remembers your toggle flags when you log out, so you do not have to type "toggle inform" again the next time you connect. Most other clients should work fine with the Empire4 server, however they may get confused if a flash message comes in. Users of other clients should keep the "inform" flag toggled off, and ask a friend to send them a "flash" message to see how the client handles it (note, you must declare friendly relations towards them in order to receive the flash message). If the flash message confuses your client, then I recommend you type "toggle flash" to turn flash mode off. In addition, there are a list of commands which have been added to the server to help the development of clients. They are: dump - Dump sector information ldump - Dump land unit information sdump - Dump ship information pdump - Dump plane information ndump - Dump nuclear stockpile information lost - Report lost items See the various info pages on these for complete documentation on how they work and how you can use them to help improve your clients. In addition, there is a "timestamp" field on each object (sectors, ships, land units, planes, nuclear stockpiles, lost items) that you can use to compare against to keep data between clients and the database in sync with each other. These timestamps are kept in systems seconds, so they should be accurate down to 1 second. Every time an object is changed, it's timestamp is updated. SEE ALSO toggle, dump, ldump, sdump, pdump, ndump, lost, Empire4, Communication, Introduction empire-info-text-4.2.15/Combat0100664000000000000000000000171310055155522014632 0ustar rootroot Subject : COMBAT assault * Attack coastal sector from ship attack * Sector vs. sector combat board * Board enemy ship fire * Fire artillery from sector/ship/unit on sector/ship lboard * Board enemy land unit paradrop Attack a sector from the air pboard * Board enemy plane spy * Snoop on adjacent enemy sectors strength Report defensive strengths of sectors torpedo * Slip a torpedo to some poor sucker (from a sub or ship) Attack Details for attack, assault, paradrop, board and lboard Damage How much damage stuff does Fallout The long lasting effects of nuclear war Flak * How flak works Hitchance The chance of a projectile hitting its target For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Commodities0100664000000000000000000000126010055155523015677 0ustar rootroot Subject : COMMODITIES census * Report contents of sectors commodity * Report commodities in sectors drop Use planes to drop commodities in your own sectors grind Grind bars back into dust improve * Improve the infrastructure of a sector move * Transport ore, civilians, guns, etc sinfrastructure * Report infrastructure of sectors test Check the effect of a proposed move For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Communication0100664000000000000000000000244210055155523016233 0ustar rootroot Subject : COMMUNICATION Clients * Clients which communicate well with the Empire4 Server accept Find out who's accepting what communications from whom announce * Send an announcement to all players country Find out information about deity countries echo Echo a string back to the client flash Send a message directly to a friend's terminal headlines Summarize the weeks events (part of "news") motd Print the message of the day newspaper * The yellow press players List players currently connected to the game power * Display arbitrarily measured strengths of all countries pray * Interacting with the Deity read * Read your telegrams reject Stop/start listening to other countries sharebmap Share parts of your bmap with another country telegram * Send "diplomatic" communique to another country toggle Toggle client flags wall Send a message directly to all allies terminals wire * Read announcements For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Damage0100664000000000000000000000712010055155505014602 0ustar rootroot Concept : Damage NAME Damage - How much damage stuff does Level: Expert It is possible to be damaged by shells, bombs, land mines, sea mines, and nuclear blasts. This info page shows you how much damage each of these things does. In the following formulas, random(x) means a random number from 1 to x. Once the damage has been calculated, then it is applied. Damage applies to different kinds of things in different ways (see below). 1. Calculating the damage Shelling You can be shelled by a fort, artillery unit, ship, depth-charge, or torpedo: fort damage = guns * eff * (random(30) + 20) / 7 unit damage = guns * eff * (5 + random(6)) ship damage = guns * eff * (10 + random(6)) depth damage = 2 * eff * (10 + random(6)) torp damage = 40 + random(40) + random(40) Note that for forts, a maximum of 7 guns may be fired. Bombs A plane drops a number of bombs equal to the "load" the plane can carry. Each bomb does the following damage: blam: 1 + random(6) Blam: 5 + random(6) BLAM: 8 + random(6) When pinbombing a ship, plane, or land unit, damage is doubled. Whether you get a blam, Blam, or a BLAM depends on the accuracy of the plane and the difficulty of the target (see info bomb). Land mines Land mines damage commodities by random(20) and land units by 10 + random(10). If the land unit is an engineer, then the damags is cut in half. Sea mines Sea mines damage ships 22 + random(20). If the ship can sweep, then the damage is cut in half. Nuclear Detonation Damage from nuclear detonation uses the following formula. From "show nuke stats", you see that each nuke has a certain blast radius and %damage. If you are groundbursting, then multiply the radius by 2/3. If you are airbursting, then multiply the radius by 3/2. Now based on the distance from gound zero, the nuke does the following amount of damage: Groundburst: dam / (dist + 1) Airburst: 0.75 * dam - 20 * dist For the small, medium, and large nukes currently in the game (damage 80, 90, 101 and radius 1, 2, 3) the following damage is obtained: Groundburst Airburst 0 1 0 1 2 3 small 80 60 40 med 90 45 68 48 28 large / 50 76 56 36 16 2. Applying the damage Once you know how much damage the bombs or whatever have done, then you apply the damage to what was hit. In the calculations below, %damage will never be larger than 100%. If it is, then we just say that the %damage was 100%. Once we have the %damage, then we apply it as follows: new efficiency = (old efficiency) * (1 - %damage / 100) For example a 50% ship hit for 10% damage would go down to 45%. The following formulas show you how to get %damage from damage. Note that these formulas are used in all cases _except_ nuclear damage. In the case of nuclear damage, %damage is always equal to damage (except for planes hardened in silos which subtract their "hardened" value directly from the damage). Ship %damage = damage / (1 + def / 100) Land unit %damage = damage * (vul / 100) * (127 / fortification + 127) Plane %damage = damage Sector sectdamage = damage / ((sectdef - 2) * eff + 2) %damage = (100 * sectdamage / (sectdamage + 100)) commodities take %damage (bars take no damage and people take 0.4 * %damage) land units take 0.3 * %damage planes take no damage Commodity %damage = (100 * damage / (damage + 50)) bars take no damage civs, mil, and uws take 0.4 * %damage SEE ALSO fire, launch, torpedo, lmine, bomb, Hitchance, Attack, Combat empire-info-text-4.2.15/Deity0100664000000000000000000000200110055155523014473 0ustar rootroot Subject : DEITY add Add/Remove a country in the game disable Disable Updates edit Change stats of country, ship, land unit, or plane enable Enable updates force Force an update give Give(take) Commodities hidden Display some deity-only statistics for sectors mobupdate turn on/off mobility updating newcap Place a pair of sanctuaries offset Temporarily change coordinate system players List players currently connected to the game setresource Change resources of a sector setsector Change stats of a sector shutdown Shut down the server swapsector Swap two sectors turn Allow/disallow logins. Change login message. God Tips on being God For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Detection0100664000000000000000000000132610055155523015344 0ustar rootroot Subject : DETECTION coastwatch * Check from sectors for nearby ships llookout * Check from units for other units, planes and/or sector types lradar Use a radar unit's radar radar * Perform radar scan from ship or sector recon Use planes to take a look around satellite Download data from a reconnaissance satellite skywatch Check from sectors for nearby satellites sonar * Use sonar to look for ships spy * Snoop on adjacent enemy sectors For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Diplomacy0100664000000000000000000000144510055155523015351 0ustar rootroot Subject : DIPLOMACY accept Find out who's accepting what communications from whom declare * Formally declare alliance, friendly, neutrality, hostile or war power * Display arbitrarily measured strengths of all countries reject Stop/start listening to other countries relations * Shows diplomatic relations between countries report * List all countries and their status telegram * Send "diplomatic" communique to another country treaty Listing of all current and pending treaties Fallout The long lasting effects of nuclear war For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Distribution0100664000000000000000000000121210055155523016077 0ustar rootroot Subject : DISTRIBUTION cutoff List delivery thresholds deliver Establish delivery routes for shells, ore, etc distribute * Establish distribution destination sector level * List distribution thresholds path Show the distribution path of a sector route Display delivery routes threshold * Set commodity distribution thresholds wipe Remove all distribution thresholds For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Education0100664000000000000000000000564210055155506015347 0ustar rootroot Concept : Education NAME Education - How Education is calculated at the update Level: Expert Education is important for both technology and research production. Your country will not be able to produce technology or research unless your civil- ians have an education of at least 5. (See "info Products" for more details). The "nation" command will display, among other things, your current education level. This is how your new education level is determined every update: (1) Graduates are produced in schools See "info " or the "production" command to find out how many Graduates you are going to produce. Your update telegram will tell you the class of graduates produced in your various schools in a line like this: a class of graduates (135.00) produced in 3,1 (2) Calculate your education production efficiency The higher your population, the lower your education p.e., as it takes more graduates to maintain the same overall level of education. Note that with low population you education p.e. can be greater than 1. The version output will contain a line like this: Education p.e. requires 1 class of graduates per 10000 civ. Your education p.e. is now calculated as follows: education p.e. = "civ. per graduate" / "total pre-update civilian population" number of graduates produced = class of graduates * education p.e For example, lets say you have a pre-update civilian population of 40,000 and have produced a class of 260 graduates. Your education p.e. would be 10000 / 40000 = .25 and your number of graduates would be 260 * .25 = 65 (3) Calculate edu delta from the number of graduates "edu log base" is always 4.0 and "easy edu" is always 5.0. To find out what your edu delta for the update will be, subtract "easy edu" from the number of graduates you are producing and call this number "over easy". Now divide "over easy" by the log of ("over easy" + "edu log base") base "edu log base", and then add "easy edu" back. Simple eh? ;-) OK, here's an example: Say you are producing 65 graduates. Then your "over easy" would be 65 - 5.0 = 60. Now the log of (60 + 4.0) base 4.0 is 3 (since 4 to the power 3 is 64), so our edu delta will be 60/3 + 5 = 25. (4) Calculate your new education as a weighted average The version output will contain a line like this: Education is averaged over 192 time units And the number of etus per update is printed in the version output as: An update consists of 60 empire time units. Your new education is now calculated as follows: "new edu" = ("old edu" * "average etus" + "edu delta" * "etus per update") / ("average etus" + "etus per update") So if, for example, your old education level was 40 and your "edu delta" was 25, then your new edu would be: "new edu" = (40 * 192 + 25 * 60) / (192 + 60) = 36.43 SEE ALSO Happiness, Innards, nation, Products, Research, Technology, Nation, Produc- tion, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/Empire20100664000000000000000000006515110055155520014734 0ustar rootroot Server : Empire2 Changes NAME Empire2 - Changes from the Chainsaw server to the Empire2 Server Level: Expert There have been several changes/fixes made to the Chainsaw code in the new Empire2 Server. This outlines the various changes and how they will affect you, the player. Most of these changes were coded by Ken Stevens and any bug-reports in the new server should be directed to him. Ships - Ships now have three letter abbreviations. - "load" syntax has been changed to make it the same as the "move" syntax. - The following changes were made to the sonar command: - will only work from ships at sea - will only detect ships at sea - will now detect the shoreline - will only detect things if there is a straight line of water between the detector and the detected - now displays a map and changes your bmap - for ships with tech > 310, shows mines on the map with an X and puts the X on your bmap - All ships (including subs) in harbors are now visible via the "lookout" command by all ships (including subs) in adjacent sectors - If a NEUTRAL (or worse) ship sails within your coastwatch range, then you will receive a telegram like this: TheBorg lc2 light cruiser 2 (#666) sighted at -9,-1 This telegram is sent before any interdiction is done. If you want to turn this feature off, then type "toggle coastwatch off". Note that you can also now turn off those nuisance sonar ping detection telegrams by typing "toggle sonar off". - You may now tend land units which have "assault" capability (see info tend). - "build" syntax has been simplified. You no longer need to specify tech level to build at (the default is your current tech level). Also, the arg now comes before the arg: [##:##] Command : build s 4,0 fb1 builds a fishing boat at current tech level. [##:##] Command : build s 4,0 fb1 5 builds 5 fishing boats at current tech level. [##:##] Command : build s 4,0 fb1 2 99 builds 2 fishing boats at tech level 99. - "show" output now shows you the total amount of avail used to build something. - The Autonav code has been completely rewritten and is dramatically improved. Thanks Chad! - You now get a telegram if someone loads something onto your ship or if someone unloads into your harbour. - Load/Unload now tell you exactly how much stuff got loaded/unloaded from each ship. - You can now only unload into a sector if you are friendly towards them. - The "coastwatch" command now shows ship names! (Empire invents the telescope!) - The "payoff" command now shows the distance your ship has trav- eled--handy for making sure you pass those critical distances. - The tech level required to build aegis cruisers has been increased from 150 to 260. - The following ships: "mc missile cruiser", "aac aa cruiser", "agc aegis cruiser", and "ncr nuc cruiser" have been given a new ship capability called "anti-missile" This means that they will use their anti-missile systems to attempt to intercept enemy missiles aimed at any ship within a 1 sector radius. Note that just like abm & a-sat missile intercep- tion, only missiles belonging to countries you are "Hostile" or "At War" with will be intercepted. Thanks Chad! - Ship damage now always factors the armor value of the ship, no matter where the damage comes from. Also, whenever a ship is hit, the player is told exactly how hard that particular ship was hit. - The "scuttle", "scrap", "mission", and "fuel" commands will now accept "l" for the unit type. (You are no longer required to type "la".) - Now when you load land units onto a ship, the code will automatically try to supply them, and if they are out of supply, you will get a warn- ing. Subs - ASW planes will now fly out to track any non-FRIENDLY (including NEU- TRAL) sub movement. - However there is a chance that the plane won't even leave the ground and notice any sub movement at all. The chance of detection is identchance = (1 - (1 - hitchance)^2). - ASW planes will no longer detect subs they fly over while flying an interdiction mission. - Once the planes have arrived at the sector where the sub movement was detected, then identchance is checked again. If success, then the plane is able to identify the owner of the sub. If the owner is neutral, then the player gets the message: np1 naval plane 1 #2 tracks TheBorg subs at 2,-6 If the plane is unable to identify the owner of the sub, then the player gets the message: np1 naval plane 1 #2 detects sub movement in -3,-3 If the ship was identified as HOSTILE or AT_WAR, then the plane will drop depth charges. - If depth-charges miss, then the ship owner will get the message: RUMBLE... your sub in 24,0 hears a depth-charge explode nearby - torp and fire will now only tell the victim that a "sub" torped them, or that return fire damaged a "sub" (rather than giving out detailed infor- mation about the sub number, type, and owner...) - max sonar range has been reduced to 7 and sonar output no longer prints blank lines. - sonar has been changed in the following way: detection = (source "spy" value) + (target "vis" value) If the detection value is less than 8, then sonar will just print Sonar detects sub #12 If the detection value is above 7, then sonar will report the type of sub. Only if the detection value is above 9 will the owner of the sub be revealed. - For ASW planes flying "sonar" or "recon" missions, a similar change has been made. The plane needs to pass one identchance check to see the type of sub, and needs to pass two identchance checks to see the owner of the sub. - Note in both of the above cases, owner and type of FRIENDLY and ALLIED subs will always be revealed. Navigation - When you "nav" or "order" your ships, they will automatically avoid "x" and "X" sectors on your bmap. - now when you navi (or march), any new sector designations automatically appear on your nav map and get added to your bmap (you no longer need to do a "look" to find out their designation. Note that subs will only see sea, harbors, and bridges and will have to look" (and risk detection) to see anything else. - If you hit the wrong character, navi will now display all possible navi commands. - You can now draw a 'M' map or a 'B' bmap while navigating. - You can list the ship you are navigating using 'i' and you can change your flagship using 'f'. - Navigating using "nav", "order" or "sail" now calls exactly the same code and will thus result in exactly the same risks (mines & interdic- tion). - Now you can type commands like this: [##:##] Command : nav 72 jlsruMluBursh That is, you can mix directions with other navigation commands. - Interdiction of navigating ships now works as follows: 1. Forts interdict. 2. If there are any ships left, ships, land, planes interdict. 3. If there are any ships left, marine missiles on interdiction fire one at a time until there are no ships left. - There is now a new kind of diplomatic relation that you can have with a country: "Friendly" which falls between "Neutral" and "Allied". This basically splits "Allied" into two steps: anything to do with ships is available to "Friendly" nations (nav, load, unload, tend, upgrade, order, sail, follow), whereas anything to do with planes or military support is reserved for Allies. This allows you to establish trading relationships without the necessity of a military relationship. See info relation for full details. - If the BIG_CITY option is enabled, then small ships may navigate, load, and unload in 2% cities. Planes - Planes which are less than 40% efficient can not fly. - If you're tech is higher than 290, then you may not build planes with tech lower than 150. - Planes will only abort if they have been damaged below 80% (it used to be that they could abort at anything below 100%). - The range of marine missiles and SAM's has been reduced. - Air combat reports are now succinct tables with headers. Much easier to read. Thanks Waffen! - New command "skywatch" scans your skies overhead for satellites. Works very much like "coastwatch". - You can now filter your satellite output to list, for example, only banks owned by country #7 which are over 60% efficient. The selectors available are exactly the same as those used by the "census", "ship", and "land" commands. See "info satellite" for more details. - A 75% satellite now only sees 75% of sectors (the rest are blank). It's always the same 25% that are blank. - All missiles are now VTOL. In particular, this means that missiles on missions will now fire from anywhere (including on subs). - Surface missiles can now be put on interdiction mission. To distinguish surface missiles from anti-ship missiles, the latter have been given a new capability called "marine". Surface missiles on interdiction will keep firing on the enemy until at least 100 damage has been done. - Interdicting marine missiles will also fire on ships when they "fire". - Missiles and planes flying interdiction missions will now detonate any nuclear warheads that they are carrying. - When you "arm" a missile or plane, you will be asked whether you would like to program the warhead to airburst or groundburst. - Missiles and planes are now limited to a maximum of one warhead apiece. - A-sats will now automatically attempt to intercept any satellites launched by a country you're "Hostile" or "At War" with. This works exactly the same way as ABM defense. Also, if you launch a satellite over a sector which is owned by a non-ally then they will get a message telling them that you have positioned a satellite over their sector. In the age of advanced telecommunication such things don't go unnoticed. - There is now only one formula for determining whether a plane/missile hits its target and how much damage it does (including abm's and a- sat's). See "info bomb" for the formula. In particular, planes/mis- siles flying missions will now have exactly the same hitchance as those flown by hand. Land Units - Land units now have three letter abbreviations. - Artillery must be at least 20% efficient before it can fire. - The "lmine" command now allows you to lay as many land mines as you want. If the unit can't carry as many mines as you asked it to lay, then it will just keep resupplying itself until it finishes the job. Also, it now costs engineers 1 point of mobility per mine laid. - If land units are accompanied by engineers, then their chance of hitting a land mine is reduced by a factor of 3. E.g. if there are 25 mines in the sector, then a land unit has a 33% chance of hitting a land mine. If it is accompanied by an engineer, then that chance drops to 11%. - If an engineer sweeps a land mine that it cannot carry, it drops it as a shell into the sector. - Engineers now sweep a number of times equal to 2 times the number of shells they can carry. - The chance of an engineer finding a land mine in a sector is now 50% time the "att" value of the unit: # of sweeps chance of finding a mine old system 5 66% eng1 130 6 60% eng2 165 8 75% meng 260 8 90% - You can now draw a 'M' map or a 'B' bmap while marching. Also, if you hit the wrong character, navi will now display all possible march com- mands. - Fortifying a land unit no longer clears the unit's mission. - You can list the units you are marching using 'i' and you can change your leader using 'f'. - Now you can type commands like this: [##:##] Command : mar 72 jlruMluBurh That is, you can mix directions with other march commands. Forts - Forts now get their range bonus for return fire if they're > 60%. - Forts now do not cost anything to designate. - You may not fire a fort which is less than 5% efficient. - Forts will now only automatically interdict ships that the country would be able to see using the "coastwatch" command. Ships out of visual range will not be interdicted by forts. Note that ship/ship, unit/ship, plane/ship interdiction was not changed, and also the "fire" command was not changed. _only_ fort/ship interdiction was changed. Sectors - Bank interest is now scaled by efficiency rather than simply turning off below 60%. - Shoot syntax has changed from "shoot 2,0 c 400" to "shoot c 2,0 400". - Harbors now have the same packing bonus as a warehouse. - You can now build bridges all on one line as in: [##:##] Command : build b 2,2 j - You are now only allowed to cede to nations which are Friendly towards you. - The new Empire command "strength" will show you the defense strength of all your sectors (including number of land mines and reacting units from nearby sectors). - The "test" command no longer requires there to be the commodity in the sector (useful if you want to use that sector as a temporary stopover and you don't want the stuff to get stranded there). - Shelling now factors in the efficiency of the sector into its defensive bonus, so now a 0% bank defends the same as a 0% fort which defends the same as a 0% road. The formula for calculating the new defense value of a sector is: ((defense - 2)*eff/100) + 2 - The "neweff" command now checks to see if a sector has been stopped. - xdist and ydist are now in player coordinates. - Any interdiction of things being moved will also damage the sector being moved into. Note: this will slow down bridge attacks! - Deliver now gets the same 4x bonus that distribute gets. - The "spy" command now gives you much more useful information: SPY report Wed Jul 26 21:10:13 1995 sect type own oldown eff civ mil shl gun pet food bars units planes 29,5 c+ 4 4 90 980 0 940 10 0 0 0 2 0 - A new option has been added to the server called BIG_CITY. When the BIG_CITY option is turned on, it takes lcm's, hcm's, and money to create a city ('c' sector), but they can hold ten times as many civs, and get a 10x packing bonus for moving civs. - It used to be that a gold mine could not hold more than 999 dust. Now all sectors are allowed to hold 9999 of anything, but it is now only _production_ which is limited to 999 per update. - Now the "starvation" command will let you check for starvation on land units or ships. Info - The info pages are now organized into subjects. Type "info" for a list. - The budget command has been changed so that now you may choose not to pay maintenance costs. Also, "mil" on ships/planes/units has been moved from the maintenance costs for those items to the "Military" section of the budget. Commands - Broke countries are now allowed to use all commands except for the fol- lowing: arm assault attack board bomb build convert disarm drop enlist explore fire fly grind harden launch lmine mine paradrop recon satellite scrap shoot sweep torpedo treaty upgrade work - Broke countries used to be prevented from using the following commands, but will now be allowed to use them: demobilize lload llookout load lookout lradar lrange lretreat ltend lun- load march mission morale mquota navigate order qorder radar range retreat sail sonar sorder spy supply tend transport unload unsail Update - If you can not afford to maintain your ships/planes/units or you choose not to maintain them using the "budget" command, then they will lose ETU/5 % efficiency at the update. Also, if you are broke at the point of the update when it comes time to build something, then that thing will not be built. In short, the only way you can go broke now is by having lots of mil to pay. Communication - The new commands "flash" and "wall" permit instant communication between friends and allies respectively. Type "info flash" and "info wall" for more details. - The new command "toggle" can be used to instantly inform you when you receive a new telegram. You can also use "toggle" to temporarily block flash messages. To find out which clients support this, type "info Clients". - The server will now correctly report how many telegrams you have wait- ing. - The new command "pray" lets you send a telegram to the Deity. Also a telegram from the deity is no longer called a BULLETIN, it is now called a TELEGRAM. - The new command "motd" lets you see the "message of the day" (login mes- sage) again. - The buggy commands "mail" and "wmail" have been removed from the server. If you want to use them, you'll have to use pei. - You can now specify which countries you'd like to see in your "power" report. - New "report" command lists number ranges rather than "advanced", "supe- rior", etc... Combat - Defense against attack, assault, and paradrop is now exactly the same. - If attack odds are > 90%, then defensive support is no longer called. This will put a stop to most shell-draining techniques. - You can now specify how many troops you want to board with. Also, the code now always forces you to leave at least 1 mil on your ship when boarding. You can also board from any sector type and with land units having "assault" capability. You may not board with more mil or units than the boarded ship can hold. - You may not attack with supply, security, artillery, or anti-aircraft (flak capability) land units. - Attacking land units & mil used to be taken out of the sectors/ship they were attacking/assaulting/boarding from. This caused endless problems (including stranded units). In the new code, mil and units stay where they were until they have finished attacking. The battle is assumed to take place along the "border" between the two sectors. Thus, the attacking mil & land units will be vulnerable to shelling and attacking while you are answering the attack prompts. - If, while you are answering the attack prompts, anything happens to either the sector you are attacking, or the mil & units you are attack- ing with, then you will be notified ("land unit #3 damaged from 80% to 50%", "Your mil in 3,1 damaged from 180 to 12", "defending mil has been increased from 10 to 250"). You will also be notified in this way if a bridge collapses, one of your attacking sectors was taken, you were shelled, your enemy abandoned the sector you were attacking, your land units reacted to fight another battle, ...) You will be notified if any of these things change before the battle and given a chance to abort your attack. If for some reason it is no longer possible to attack (e.g. you now own the sector, or a bridge collapses) then the attack will be automatically aborted. - The sub-prompt for both the "attack with" and the "move in" questions has changed to [ynYNq?]. The meanings of these 6 answers are: y - yes this unit n - no this unit Y - yes all units in this army N - no all units in this army q - quit attack ? - print this help message - The server will now add up the mil you saw and the enemy land units your scouts saw, and based on this info, it will estimate a defense strength of the enemy. If your scouts didn't see the efficiency of the enemy units, then it will assume that they were at 100%. Based on this esti- mated defense strength, the server will calculate an estimate of your success odds for you and if these estimated odds are less than 50%, then the server will ask you if you're sure you want to continue with the attack. These estimates are made before support is calculated, and before the enemy reacting units have reacted, so it will not be particu- larly accurate. However, if by the time you've finished answering all the attack prompts something has happened which has made your odds much worse than you expected (e.g. your cavalry got shelled or your enemy beefed up his mil), then this will give you a chance to abort the attack. - Immediately after a battle is won (i.e. before any move-in sub-prompts are asked), 1 mil (first choice) or 1 land unit (second choice) is auto- matically moved into the taken sector. Not only does this put a defini- tive stop to shell-draining tricks, but it also resolves what was a big problem in the old code of the taken sector being owned but not occup- pied for a period. This problem resulted in, among other things, stranded land units. It is impossible to strand a land unit in the new code. - I have added a new option to the server called INTERDICT_ATT, which, when enabled, calls the usual interdiction routines against mil & land units moving into the victim sector after an attack. The same chances of interdiction apply as in "move" and "march". The mil get interdicted sector by sector, and the land units all at once. - In the new attack code, it is much harder for a unit to fail a morale check. The new chance (recalculated after each hit) is (retreat% - unit efficiency). Thus, a land unit which has a retreat percentage of 60% and is now 50% efficient, will have a 10% chance of retreating with each hit. Important bugfixes - Missiles on subs will now fly missions against enemy planes (in chain- saw, the missiles simply vanish). - Subs now only interdict subs if they have sub-torp ability (in chainsaw, sb1's will interdict sb1's). - Missiles will no longer hit subs. - Your airport now needs to be at least 60% eff in order to fly bombing runs from it (in chainsaw you can bomb from 40% airports, but only fly and recon to 60% airports). - You can't sweep, hit, or lay sea mines in a harbour. You can't sweep, hit, or lay land mines on a bridge. (In chainsaw, your ally can hit your land mines in your harbour.) - It is no longer possible to accidently go broke through any of the fol- lowing commands: build, convert, demob, des, harden, upgrade. (In chainsaw it's easy to accidentally go broke through one of these com- mands.) - Much of the "attack" function was rewritten to check for "special cases" which can result in lost military and units. Thanks Chad! - The range of missiles on interdiction mission was half of what it should be. this is now fixed. - If you typed "realm #2 0:10,0:10", it would change realm #0. This is now fixed - If you downgraded your relations from Allied to Neutral, then the other country would downgrade their relations towards you to Hostile. This is now fixed. - You used to have to log out and back in again to stop being broke. Now your status will be updated as soon as you get the money (well, one com- mand after to be exact). Options The following options have been made standard: DROPANY: you can drop things on sectors belonging to allies REJECTS: you can reject announcements and teles from annoying countries BMAP: map info gained is saved in a big world map (bmap command) AUTONAV: ships can move automatically SCUTTLE: you can sink your own ships automatically CONVASAT: anti-satellite missiles don't need nuclear warheads ABM: anti-missile missiles exist GRIND: you can grind gold bars back into dust NONUKESUB: nukes don't affect submarines RANGEDIT: you can modify the range of your planes MISSDEF: ships with tactical missiles will fire them in defense SHIPSAM: ships can carry and use SAMSs BIND: network stuff, no interest to players (NITP) MERC: a collection of bug fixes TACARGO: planes that are cargo AND tactical can bomb (zeppelins) NOGODS: deity countries don't show up on power reports BETTERARMOR: armor has more of an effect on ship damage GODNAMES: bulletins are identified by which deity sent the MULTIFIRE: multiple ships/sects can fire at once SHIPTORP: ships can have torp ability SWEEP_PLANES: some planes can sweep mines MINE_PLANES: some planes can lay mines ASW_PLANES: some planes can detect/kill subs HARBOR_POLICE: you can board ships in your harbor using mil from the harbor WING_LOAD: you can load groups of planes on ships with 1 command ALLYUPGRADE: allies can upgrade your ships in their harbors ALLYHARB(etc): allies will increase your ships' efficiency in their harbors RETREAT: ships can automatically retreat, under conditions you set STEALTHV: stealth is a % chance to evade, all planes are rated 0-100% SEMILAND: some ships can land 20% of mil instead of 10% or 100% WIRE: announcements are seperated from teles/bulletins STOP: Sectors taken over must be started. Start and stop are enabled The following options have been permanently turned off REALM_IN_NAT: realms are displayed by the nation command DAVYJONES: nukes hitting sea affect 1 sect, hitting waste/sanct don't det BABY_NUKES: Nukes affect only 1 sector SEE ALSO strength, tend, toggle, flash, relations, arm, starvation, Damage, report, power, Clients, Attack, Server empire-info-text-4.2.15/Empire30100664000000000000000000001630310055155520014730 0ustar rootroot Server : Empire3 Changes NAME Empire3 - Changes from the Empire2 server to the Empire3 Server Level: Expert There have been several changes/fixes made to the Empire2 code in the new Empire3 Server. This outlines the various changes and how they will affect you, the player. Most of these changes were coded by Ken Stevens and any bug-reports in the new server should be directed to him. Sectors - The delivery and distribution stuff was removed from the output of "com- modity" and each column was widened to 5 characters (to accomodate the new system where sectors are now allowed to hold up to 9999 of stuff) - Mountains will now mine gold at 3/4 the rate that gold mines do (thar's gold 'n them thar hills!) - Mountains can now only hold 1/10th the population of normal sectors. - The mobility cost to move into a sector has been changed from: cost = (mcost - eff) / 5 to: if (mcost < 25) cost = (2 + (3 - mcost) * eff) / 5 else cost = (mcost - 20 * eff) / 5 OLD SYSTEM: eff 0% 100% NEW SYSTEM: eff 0% 100% + 0.2 0.0 + 0.4 0.0 m 0.4 0.2 m 0.4 0.2 ^ 5.0 4.8 ^ 5.0 1.0 Note that this means land units can attack 100% mountains now, so there will be a tradeoff for the defender--either they can have a low effi- ciency mountain that costs more mobility to attack but gets a lower defense bonus, or they can have a high efficiency mountain that costs less mobility to attack but gets a higher defense bonus. - New conditional query "coastal" which gets set when you take a "census" of the sector. Type "cens * ?coast=1" to get a list of all of your sec- tors which are adjacent to water (and thus vulnerable to assault). Ships - - The size of "ts1 trade ship 1" was reduced to 100 lcm, 50 hcm, $1500 (from 200 lcm, 100 hcm, $2500). Most players were waiting for ts2 so this is a nice way to deal with that. Planes - In the old system, planes would be charged either 10 mobility (intercep- tors), 12 mobility (escorts) or 20 mobility (the rest) per flight. This cost was then multiplied by (100 / eff) with the restriction that plane mobility could not go below -32. Planes flying missions were charged only 1/4 of this. In the new system, planes are charged a base rate of 5 mobility to prepare for takeoff. On top of this, they are charged a flight cost which is either 10 (interceptors and escorts) or 20 (the rest), however this flight cost is scaled down according to the length of the flight--it is multiplied by (flight length) / (max plane range). The flight cost is then scaled by (100/eff) with the restriction that a plane can't go below -32 mobility. Planes flying missions are charged 1/2 of this. - The mobility of a plane will now go down by one point for every two points of damage it took from air-to-air combat, to a limit of -32 mob. This is to simulate the high mobility cost of air-to-air combat, and the fact that air-to-air combat is more effort for low tech planes. - SAM interception is now separate from plane interception; for each attacking plane, if it cost at least $1000 to build, then one SAM will be launched at it. After SAMs have been fired, fighter planes will intercept what's left over. - The restriction that high tech nations can not build low tech planes has been removed (the above changes address the f1 SAM-soaking problem). - Marine missiles on interdiction now fire at a single ship rather than the whole fleet. They pick the ship which is the most valuable accord- ing to (cost to build) * efficiency. Furthermore, marine missiles will only launch at a ship if the ship cost >= $1000 to build or if it can carry land units or planes. - Sectors which your planes fly over when they fly missions will now be added to your bmap. Land Units - There are three new land units: 'cavalry 2', 'light infantry', and 'aau1'. Here's the basic scheme. The old cavalry are an average between the somewhat weaker cav1 and somewhat stronger cav2. light infantry are half the size of and slightly fastar than inf1's. 'aau1' come at the same tech as Zepplins and let low tech countries try to throw rocks at low tech planes... Maps - You now have 50 realms. - Each country now has two bmaps, their 'working' bmap and their 'true' bmap. The true bmap contains only information put there by the server. The working bmap also contains information put there by the bdes and sharebmap commands. The 'bmap' command usually displays the working bmap unless the player specifies 'bmap true'. If the players working bmap becomes corrupted somehow, then they can type 'bmap revert' to revert their working bmap back to their true bmap. This change was necessary to prevent abuse of the new 'sharebmap' command (which compares the players true bmaps when determining whether they overlap). - There is a new command "sharebmap ". If is friendly towards you and your 'true' bmaps already share enough informa- tion in common, then your bmap will be added to their bmap. For more details see 'info sharebmap'. Information - The new info page "info Mobility" gives the formulas for all mobility costs in the game. Communication - If someone else was the last person to use your country, then when you login you will get a message like: Last connection from: Mon Nov 13 04:48:04 1995 to: Mon Nov 13 05:13:12 1995 by: children@RedDragon.Empire.Net - If the game is a blitz, then the 'players' command will list other coun- tries which are logged on. This will cut down on the 'is anybody else logged on?' announcements. Note that for players, 'last command' and 'user@hostname' are not printed (only deities get to see this stuff). - You can now read old announcements which you've already thrown away by typing: SYNTAX [##:##] Command : wire This works much in the same way as news. The server automatically deletes all announcements older than 7 days. - New server commands 'toggle sync', 'toggle async', and 'sync' permit client-server database synchronization. - Before you type a telegram, you will now see: Enter telegram for Fodderland undo last line with ~u, print with ~p, abort with ~q, end with ^D or . 1024 left: The new tilde escapes work very nicely. Options The following options have been made standard: NEWPAF: Plane combat is in nice easy-to-read columns SEE ALSO toggle, sharebmap, Clients, Server empire-info-text-4.2.15/Empire40100664000000000000000000025337610055155521014747 0ustar rootroot Server : Empire4 Changes NAME Empire4 - Changes from the Empire3 server to the Empire4 Server Level: Expert There have been several changes/fixes made to the Empire3 code in the new Empire4 Server. This outlines the various changes and how they will affect you, the player. These were coded as the Wolfpack project, and bug-reports should be sent to . Changes to Empire 4.2.15 - Wed May 26 17:55:58 UTC 2004 * test command no longer asks whether to abandon the sector. * explore command could generate a bogus `lost' record when it regains an abandoned start sector. * edit command now properly updates stats when editing tech level of ships, planes or land units. A few of these stats can be edited separately, which doesn't make much sense, and is now deprecated. * edit command no longer accepts efficiency values that would destroy the edited unit. Deities can still delete a units by setting the owner to zero. * upgrade command used to charge an amount of avail that didn't match info upgrade. Neither the implemented nor the documented amount made much sense. Change it to 15% of the full build cost. Rewrite info upgrade. * Commands upgrade and build could be off by one when reporting required avail. * upgrade command reported rounded cost but charged unrounded cost. Round cost of upgrade down to match behavior of build. * Upgrading planes now preserves range when it is less than the maximum range. It used to set it to the new maximum range. * show bridge and show tower no longer claim bridge building requires `workers' (whatever that is), since it doesn't. * Replace option ROLLOVER_AVAIL by econfig parameter rollover_avail_max, which is the maximum amount of avail that rolls over. Previously, avail was limited after rollover, and even when ROLLOVER_AVAIL was off. Fix that. * Ships weren't always charged mobility for firing with option NOMOBCOST off. * Fix shell use of return torpedoes. * designate no longer complains twice about deity only designations. * Ensure designate zaps efficiency only when sector type really changes. * Fix strength to always report mines to deities. * Remove option SHIP_DECAY. * Fix bug in sonar that could crash or yield unpredictable results near the true origin. * Fix buffer overflow in flash and wall. * Fix wall not to strip out first word of message. * Change market and order to use item types instead of mnemo characters. * Market now reports sales with full item names instead of single letter codes. * buy now requires first argument to be an item name, as documented. * production command handled production backlog incorrectly, failed to limit production for production efficiency greater than one, e.g. agribusiness, and incorrectly limited raw material consumption. Also fix a rounding error. * Sector work was accidentally truncated to even. * Fix coordinate parsing for large numbers when WORLD_X or WORLD_Y don't divide SHRT_MAX+1. * Properly diagnose over-long unit lists. * Rewrite selector code. Old code let players smash the stack by supplying too many conditions. New code properly rejects ambiguous abbreviations and prefers exact matches. Selectors with names that collide with types, like land units' rad and spy, now work. Selectors with non-integral values, like land units' att, now work. * survey used to display hundreds for everything but variables. Now it displays hundreds only for values that can be large. * Rewrite info survey. Document ability to survey properties other than items and resources. * Rewrite info build, since it was inaccurate and poorly structured. * Fix info fire on required military. * New fairland argument -R to set the PRNG seed. Print the seed. This allows you to recreate the same world again. * New facilities to deal with internal errors. These crash when the server is started with -d, which is appropriate for debugging, and potentially disastrous for running a real game. * Automated nightly builds. * Code cleanups. Changes to Empire 4.2.14 - Mon Mar 22 09:04:12 UTC 2004 * Options NEWPOWER, NEW_STARVE and NEW_WORK are no longer optional. * Gripe about unknown options in econfig. * Remove option GRAB_THINGS. * Utility program files takes new option -f. * Remove utility programs land, ore and perfect, which don't compile since 4.2.0 (Oct '98). * fairland no longer warns when it added resources, but when it didn't. * Fallout code could claim destruction of more items than actually existed. * Fix recursive resupply (resupply from supply land unit triggering a resupply of the land unit) when just testing for how much can be resupplied. The bug could have led to insufficient resupply. * Fix recursive resupply not to consume all fuel in supply units. No supply units consuming fuel exist in the stock game. * Limit delivery and distribution thresholds to ITEM_MAX (9999). Distribution threshold were previously limited to 10000, and delivery thresholds to 65528. * Limit items in sectors to ITEM_MAX (9999). Commands give and buy used to limit to 9990. Market transactions and commands explore, move, drop and fly to 32767. Limiting in autonav code (order command) didn't work. Item delivery used to stop at 9990, distribution at 9999. Food growing and sector production used to stop at 9999. Grind, assault lunchboxes, demobilization, mine sweeping and che liberating uw could theoretically attempt to increase items beyond 65535, which would have been ignored (destroying the increase). * Properly saturate fallout at FALLOUT_MAX (9999). Previously, fallout increases behaved inconsistently. Increases beyond 65535 could get ignored, or fallout could saturate at 9999, or it could overflow at 65536 (that would take quite some nuking, though). * Properly saturate mines at MINES_MAX (65535). Previously, a mining operation that would have gone beyond 65535 was ignored. * Fix `are we loading or unloading' tests for load, unload, lload and lunload. * Fix editing of land unit attack and defense values. Implement editing of ship defense values. Contributed by Ron Koenderink. * edit now edits che number and target separately. * Fix edit to properly extend unit files. Contributed by Ron Koenderink. * Major internal reorganisation: Sectors need space for items, deliveries and distribution thresholds. To save space, the ancients invented `variables': a collection of key-value pairs, missing means zero value, space for `enough' keys. This complicates the code, as assigning to a `variable' can fail for lack of space. Over time, `enough' increased, and for quite some time now `variables' have been *wasting* space. Replace them, except in unit characteristics, where they are read-only, and will be replaced later. This also removes misfeatures like plague outbreaks silently deleting deliveries. * Remove disabled commands dissolve and mult. Remove configuration parameters minmult and maxmult. * trade command indexed an array out of bounds when attempting to display the plague as commodity. Fix. * New make goal interix. Contributed by Ron Koenderink. * The type selector now prefers an exact match to a partial match. ?type=sb now selects sb, not sbc, even when sbc happens to be found first. * Value of selector sell was always zero, remove it. * Clean up selector code. * satellite now displays all sectors owned by other players, and none else. It used to display all but sea, mountains, sanctuaries, wasteland and wilderness. * map commands now display wilderness and plains owned by other players as '?'. Radar commands now display all wilderness and plains as '?'. * Fix power timestamp for Windows. Contributed by Ron Koenderink. * Make client abort the current command on ^C under Windows, as everywhere else. Contributed by Ron Koenderink. * Command line parser interpreted trailing whitespace as an another (empty) argument. Ignore it instead. * Properly declare stuff in headers, include proper system headers. Remove all nested external declarations. Source code is now fully prototyped. Enable appropriate gcc warnings. * Fix several type errors. Some may have been show-stoppers on big endian machines where sizeof(long) != sizeof(int). * Remove pre-ISO C compatibility cruft (hey, it's been only fifteen years). * Various portability fixes. Some bugs may have been show-stoppers when sizeof(long) != sizeof(int). With help from Marc Olzheim and Ron Koenderink. * Move some code to more logical places. Remove some unused code, some of which was hard to port. * The files program could print error messages to a log file in some circumstances. Make it print to stderr. * deliver can now change direction without changing the threshold. * deliver now provides appropriate context when prompting for thresholds. * Login command play no longer ignores up to two arguments if there isn't a third one. * Fix payoff (was broken in 4.2.13). * Capability fish didn't work together with capability oil. * Fix and clarify plague outbreak chance in info Plague. * Fix RES_POP maximum population in info Research. * Fix info telegram and info announce on ~ escapes. * Update info Selector to match code. * Document all undocumented unit capabilities and stats. * Document submarines' ability to carry landspies. * Fix info shoot on security units. * Various small info file fixes. * Many fixes in the troff macro package for info files. * Many fixes for translating info files to HTML. * Many info file markup fixes. Changes to Empire 4.2.13 - Fri Feb 13 22:12:36 UTC 2004 * Source code reindented and cleaned up somewhat. * Various small info file fixes. * Fixed change requiring 254 BTUs even when not charging any (BLITZ). * Fixed tactical non-marine missile crash. * Fixed spy unit detection chance for eff<100. * Fixed output of sorder. * `edit' can now work non-interactively. Contributed by Ron Koenderink. * Fixed and extended edit for sectors. * Fixed use of errno. * Minor security fix: doconfig now writes example auth entry as comment. * Fixed reading of country name and password in client for Windows. * Replace use of some obsolete non-portable library functions by portable equivalents. * designate now warns about redesignated capital only when it succeeds in redesignating the capital. * attack could be off by one when reporting required unit mobility. * Fixed command matching. Unique prefixes were not always recognized, and junk suffixes were ignored. * Removed bestdistpath. bestpath yields the same results. * Renamed lstats to lstat for consistency and to match info page. * Fixed non-portable fd_set * arguments of select(). * New `map' flag `h' to highlight own sectors. Contributed by Marc Olzheim. * Fixed `sabo' reporting damage to player in deity coordinates. * New option ROLLOVER_AVAIL. Contributed by Drake Diedrich. * Fix Windows server shutdown on reading "quit" from stdin. * Land units now fortify automatically at the update using excess mobility. With code from Marc Olzheim. * Wandering che are less predictable. * Land units no longer regenerate mobility faster while it is negative. * Fixed emp_client -k. * No longer allow pirates to ferret out where a ship was built. * Fixed map commands to reject bmap flags `t' and `r' instead of turning into bmap. * Fixed lmine shell resupply. * News no longer call all sub-launched missiles nuclear. * Incoming missiles are now reported with coordinates. * Removed some code that served no purpose except crashing on Windows. * Fixed Mac OSX and AIX build problems. * Don't resolve player IP addresses for now, because it can crash with certain versions of GNU libc. * Fixed recording of lost nukes. Changes to Empire 4.2.12 - Mon Aug 18 16:54:21 MDT 2003 * Corrected contact information for Wolfpack. * Sector isn't abandoned until move or explore is complete. * Fixed multiple cases where return value of getstarg() was used without being checked which crashed the server. * Used stdarg.h instead of varargs.h. * Call only_subs and save result before mission frees attacker list. Call with free list could cause server crash. * Fixed spy sat map for units on opposite side of world wrap. * Don't sleep in main thread when called from signal handler. * Fixed error checking in pthreads. * Properly detach pthreads. * Pass unlocked mutex to pthread_mutex_unlock. * Cope with interrupted sleep in pthread empth_sleep to prevent double update. * Added server configurable update window. * Initialized variables passed to setsockopt in accept.c. * Fixed bug where sharing bmap with uncontacted country crashes server. Changes to Empire 4.2.11 - Sun Sep 1 09:54:59 MDT 2002 * Added compile option for the Mac OSX architecture. * Fixed bug in cargo where unit array was indexed by shp_maxno instead of lnd_maxno. * Fixed bug in reject where aborting the command crashes the server. * Can't buy land units into enemy headquarters. * Added sabotage command and commando unit. * Spies moving by themselves will not trigger interdiction. * Fixed error in map distance calculation that caused errant interdiction. * Ships going under -127 mobility will be set to -127 mob and not roll over to positive mobility. * Corrected plane cost in info Maintenance. * Changed error message for loans rejected for being too big. * Land units will take casualty damage proportional to their ability to carry mil. * Fixed bug where "route i *" crashes server. * Cannot upgrade planes in orbit. * Fixed bug in declare with deity aborting command at last prompt crashes the server. * Coastwatch notify works with NO_FORT_FIRE option. * Thread that kills idle connection will charge player for minutes the player was logged on. * Removed separate sendeof at end of execute from emp_client that logged players off on certain platforms. * Updated player idle counter during read prompt so players wouldn't be kicked off during long flashes or writing telegrams. * LOSE_CONTACT will work as advertised. * Allied units marching through 0 mobility conquered sectors are charged at least LND_MINMOBCOST. Changes to Empire 4.2.10 - Mon Aug 13 14:34:39 MDT 2001 * Assault can reinforce own sector when SLOW_WAR is enabled. * emp_client no longer converts lines into tags but still verifies executes, pipes, and file redirect match players input. * Added pboard command to capture enemy planes in your territory. * Declaring war when at Sitzkrieg won't return relations to Mobilizing. * Declaring war won't charge money if you're already Mobilizing. * Added multiple territory fields. * "show nuke build" displays the proper avail. * retreating land units will only retreat to sectors owned by the player that owns the unit. * added hard cap of "250 + easy" to limit_level. * education p.e. calculation divides edu constant by etu per update. * Added patch for Linux for the PowerPC. Changes to Empire 4.2.9 - Sun Jan 7 15:49:13 PST 2001 * Fixed data corruption when bogus target gets fired upon. * Increased size of ancillary stacks to prevent stack overflow. * Changed all references to empire.cx. * Ships, planes, and land units lost to lack of maintenance will now be lost. * No longer allowed to sack deity's capital. * Accuracy calculation in land unit support was backwards. * Corrected formula for likelihood of plague in info Plague. * Fixed files to correctly size map and bmap files from econfig file. * No longer allowed to add country 0. It corrupts deity country. Changes to Empire 4.2.8 - Mon Oct 9 17:35:35 MDT 2000 * Fixed range in radar.t and Sector-types.t. Maximum range at infinite tech is 16. * Changed so that player can't drop civilians into occupied sectors. * Fixed bug that crashes update if etus/update is less than 8. * Fixed sometimes not reporting overflights * Fixing flak for units/ships to be in all sectors as they should be * Updated order of firing flak in Flak.t. * Fixed 80% efficient planes on ships must be maintained. * Fixed initial MOB_ACCESS check thread sleep time was set by an uninitialized variable. * Removed "TEMPORARILY DISABLED" message from mission command for escort missions. Escort missions have been re-enabled since 4.0.15. * Using sonar from the navigate command will print the sonar map. * Eliminated annoying error messages when using navigate with conditionals. * Fixed Technology.t to correctly add 1 before taking the logarithm. * Fixed bug that allowed players to steal opponents maps. * Put time limit for bidding on market and trade in econfig file. * Moved hours file information into econfig file. * Added comments on setting update policy in econfig file. * Added logging of cases where write extends data file by more than one id. * Option MARKET is turned off by default. Changes to Empire 4.2.7 - Fri Mar 10 18:41:04 PST 2000 * Added new NF_SACKED flag to indicate when a country has had it's capital sacked. This flag is only cleared when the country actively redesignates it's capital using the "capital" command, and changed capital.t to reflect this (no more re-sacking after an update if the country doesn't reset and repeating until they are out of cash.) * Added land unit to edit command for planes. * Added nuketype to edit command for planes. * Changed so that if the leader of a group of units is a train, the railways are used for bestpath instead of roadways. * Changed mission command to also print reaction radius of reserve missions when set for land units. * Changed Flak.t to reflect guns having to be loaded onto a land unit for flak to fire. * Changed so that visitor countries cannot change their name or password. * Changed so that you cannot upgrade deity planes, ships or units. * Changed so that you know where missions are flown from. * Changed so that the airport owner you fly a mission from is informed. * Changed so that preperations for takeoff are reported to the owner of the sector, ship or unit a plane is taking off from if it is not owned by the owner of the plane. * Changed so that when a sector reverts during a guerrilla revolt, the mobility is not reset. When MOB_ACCESS is not enabled, this used to mean you would always get at least an updates worth of mobility. With MOB_ACCESS, sectors that reverted during the update were useless, since you got no mobility for a long time. This fixes that problem, and makes che more useful as well. * Changed so that air defense missions don't always send up every plane in the area, but instead always send up at most two times the number of incoming planes (for each interdicting country.) This helps to stop 1 plane from stripping the mobility from 25 air defense planes all at once, but doesn't limit it to n+1 as there is for regular interception. * Clarified deity reversion of sectors in Sector-ownership.t * Clarified production efficiency and added pointer to "show sector cap" in Product.t * Clarified nuketype selector for planes in Selector.t * Clarified that fortifying units does not affect mission status in info pages for mission and fortify. * Clarified fuel syntax upon error in fuel command in empmod.c. * Cleaned up comments causing minor complaints in some builds. * Fixed bug in loans where you could collect on proposed loans. * Fixed production command to be more accurate (though it *still* has some rounding errors, it's better.) * Fixed potential memory leak in air defense missions. * Fixed bug where you couldn't pinbomb some commodities if other commodities didn't already exist in the sector. * Fixed bug where you couldn't build 0 crew planes without military in the sector. (This is different from needing at least 1 military to build all planes that need a crew which introduced another related bug earlier.) * Fixed bug where scrapping land unit 0 could cause erroneous transfer messages to be displayed for deity owned planes. * Fixed bug where land units on ships in a sector taken over were blown up or captured. * Fixed bug where planes on ships in a sector taken over were blown up or captured. * Fixed bug in sdump printing origx and origy in deity coordinates. * Fixed bug in satellites showing wrong sectors (sometimes) when using the optional arguments. * Fixed bug in launch showing wrong satellite target (showed asat instead of the target satellite.) * Fixed bug where you could gain information not normally available using the "fire" command to determine sector type information. * Fixed bug in market/trade creating extra money when loans are taken out. * Fixed problem with land units not being reported sunk after being sunk on a ship that was nuked or wastelanded in a sector. * Fixed problem with Spies.t using "llook" instead of "llookout". * Fixed problem in lwp/arch.c including jmp_buf.h instead of setjmp.h on some Linux boxes. * Fixed problem with plague infection being way too high in cities when the BIG_CITY option is enabled. * Fixed bug in edit command getting confused with arguments. * Fixed bug in ask_move_in_off asking you to move in a negative number of troops (hey, it could happen. :) ) * Fixed bug in add command not keeping flags or relations initially correct. * Fixed bug in torpedo command sometimes telling victim about torpedo sightings even when way out of range. * Fixed bug in spy command not reporting planes in adjacent sectors, as well as not formatting them properly when reporting them. * Fixed bug in satellite with noisy transmission causing a potential crash of the server with non-100% efficient satellites. * Fixed potential crashing of the server during satellite display when not calculating distances to ships and units correctly. * Fixed bug where planes in non-allied sectors, ships and units could be used on missions. * Fixed bug where planes on the trading block could be used on missions. * Fixed bug where planes and units that get traded don't have mobility set correctly when using MOB_ACCESS option. * Fixed bug which made security units virtually useless. * Fixed access times and mobility not being set right when building planes, ships, units, bridges and bridge towers when MOB_ACCESS is enabled. * Fixed minor formatting problem with launch of satellites. * Fixed minor formatting problem with planes with greater than 999 tech. * Fixed minor formatting problem with ships with greater than 999 tech. * Fixed problem with "llook" showing up in TOP info file. * Fixed problem with lwp Makefile choking on NT builds with clean target. * General cleanup of potentially ambiguous statements. Changes to Empire 4.2.6 - Fri Jun 4 05:55:20 PDT 1999 * Added "TECH_POP" as an option where technology costs more to make as your population grows past 50K civilians. It is disabled by default. * Changed "produce" command to accurately print what the true p.e. is. * Changed "update" command to display if mobility updating is enabled for MOB_ACCESS option. * Fixed bug where toggling off the coastwatch flag also turned off forts firing on hostile ships coming into range. * Fixed bug where assaulting your own land would violate any treaties you have where assaults are a violation. * Fixed bug where all planes (even those without need for a crew, such as missiles) needed at least 1 military to build. * Fixed bug where when a ship sinks during the update due to lack of maint, land units and planes on it were left stranded. * Fixed bug where when a land unit dies during the update due to lack of maint, land units and planes on it were left stranded on it. * Fixed bug where nukes could be lost due to MOB_ACCESS updating mobility while arming. * Fixed bug in "show sector capabilities" not showing products correctly. * Fixed bug in "show tower build" printing "bridges" instead of "bridge towers". * Fixed bug in sectors that don't revolt not showing up as lost items. * Fixed bug where maps with an X of exactly 200 is not drawing third line. * Fixed bug where MOB_ACCESS was not updating the mobility just before the update. * Fixed bug in the way treaties are examined and sometimes produce wrong results. * Fixed edit to allow creating negative mobility for sectors. * Fixed setsector to allow creating negative mobility for sectors. * Fixed bug where when writing out the value of a sector that had negative mobility and was damaged in combat, mobility was being set back to 0. * Fixed Taxes.t info page to reflect that captured civvies only pay 1/4 taxes. * Fixed Technology.t info page to reflect TECH_POP option. * Fixed navigate.t info page to reflect that only ships in the fleet in the same sector that are fired upon have damage divided up. * Made techlists toggle on by default (so things are shown in order of technological advances.) Changes to Empire 4.2.5 - Mon Mar 1 06:42:24 PST 1999 * Added optimization to increasing mobility to check if an object is already at max mob, just return since it can't be increased. * Added "-ltermcap" for client libs for hp build (it was already in hpux build.) * Added clearing of telegram flags after the update so that the next telegram is flagged as new and not part of the update. * Fixed Update-sequence.t to reflect MOB_ACCESS. * Fixed bug where fortification amount was not being limited to maximum mobility for land units (land_mob_max). * Fixed bug where land unit fortification strength was being calculated by using 127 instead of land_mob_max. * Fixed bug where scrapping land units was creating military. * Fixed description of sect_mob_neg_factor in econfig file. * Increased speed of PT boats. Changes to Empire 4.2.4 - Tue Feb 2 05:47:44 PST 1999 * Added check to make military values match up correctly for land units. * Fixed bug in doconfig not putting ipglob.c in the right place. * Fixed bug where attacking deity sectors will violate a treaty. * Fixed newspaper.t information file. * Fixed potential bug in fixing up timestamp information when restarting a game with MOB_ACCESS turned on. * Fixed bug in explore command not setting mobility to correct value when MOB_ACCESS was enabled. * Fixed bug in enlist setting mobility incorrectly sometimes. * Added doc/backup file for deities which recommends how backups and restores of the data directory should be done. Changes to Empire 4.2.3 - Wed Jan 13 06:02:35 PST 1999 * Added linux-pthreads target and build for using pthreads under Linux. * Added NO_FORT_FIRE option which disables the ability of forts to fire when enabled. * Added more error checking and recovery for corrupt data files. * Changed alphapos target to alpha-pthreads for better clarity. * Changed fairland to allow 0 sector distance to other islands and continents (James Risner) * Changed "frg" and "dam" land unit stats to "rng" and "fir" so they match the way ships are described (since this is how they really work.) * Changed Unit-types.t to now describe "rng" as firing range of a unit, and "fir" as the number of guns that a land unit fires. * Cleaned up misc. build warnings. * Changed artillery damage to be 5 + d6 per gun firing from just d6 per gun firing and updated Damage.t to reflect this change. * Changed artillery firing ranges to be like ships ranges - divided by two, and modified them to make more sense. * Changed artillery units to be "slightly" :) more powerful. * Changed "cavalry" unit to tech 30 and lowered mil content to 20. * Changed "artillery" unit to tech 35. * Changed so that guns are no longer required to build units, and that guns must be loaded onto artillery units for them to fire. Client developers note: the show command has not changed yet to remove the 'guns' column (since guns are no longer required) but will in a future revision (possibly 4.2.4) so "be prepared" for "show land build" to change. :) * Fixed landunitgun to handle all the damage calculations like it should. * Fixed bug sinking planes when the ship they are on sinks. * Fixed bug destroying planes when the land unit they are on is destroyed. * Fixed bug where land units could fire support without enough military. * Fixed bug in abandoning sectors by marching out a land unit where it would not let you sometimes (uninitialized variable problem.) * Fixed gets problem in files.c (James Risner) * Fixed bug in determinig operations range of a ship. * Fixed bug in building planes where you could manufacture military. * Fixed warnings in threading package(s). * Fixed fire.t to reflect new firing changes. * Fixed lstat.t to reflect new firing changes. * Fixed sstat.t to reflect the way things really work. * Fixed Ship-types.t to reflect the way things really work. * Fixed the way shutdowns work to hopefully better protect data files. * Fixed bug in attacking when sector mobility is less than 0 and it would prompt for attacking with a negative amount of military. * Fixed typo in fire.t stating wrong parameters for firing from a sector. * Fixed bug in client when it prompts for country name it was putting an extraneous end of line on the end that needed to be stripped off. * Fixed problems running on Linux running on an Alpha machine. Thanks to Rocky Mountain Internet and Jeremy A. Cunningham for giving us time on a machine to work out the bugs. (Note that the only build that works on Linux/Alpha is the linux-pthreads) Changes to Empire 4.2.2 - Sun Dec 27 12:46:34 PST 1998 * Added some code optimizations into the update code when building paths. * Added some new cacheing for building paths to help speed up updates. * Added so that you can use "name" and "password" with the change command as well as "country" and "representative". * Added flag to power command so that if you are a deity and enter a negative number of countries you want to see, you see the power chart for that many countries without power numbers on the next line. Only useful for deities that want to see the chart un-broken up by that line. * Added new functionality to fortify command. You can now use a negative fortification value to cause the unit to be fortified and leave at least that much mobility on the unit. I.E. "fort * -67" will fortify all units and make sure the mobility of each unit doesn't go below 67. If the mobility is already below that level (or equal) the unit is left unchanged. * Added that the realm command prints "Realm #n is x:x,y:y" after you set a new realm. * Added TREATIES option and enabled it by default. * Added "no depth-charging subs" and "no new land units" treaty clauses. * Added Trannie Carter's basic client fix to use fgets instead of gets. * Changed market and command to only print the lowest priced lot of each given commodity by default. If you specify "all" it shows all lots on the market, and if you specify a specific item, it shows all lots of that item type. * Changed start command to only write out sector if it changed. * Changed stop command to only write out sector if it changed. * Changed how plane names were changed on server startup if the PLANENAMES option was enabled. * Changed move command to use standard askyn function for abandoning sector prompt. * Changed plane overlight sightings to take stealth into account, and if the planes managed to evade all flak and interceptors, they are not marked as "spotted" over enemy sectors. * Changed all units with the supply flag to have their marching speeds based on efficiency since that is their purpose. What this means is that supply units and trains are more effective at 100% than at 10% (just as fighting units are more effective at 100% than at 10%, but their effectiveness is determined by how well they fight, not how well they "run away, run away!" :) ) * Changed so that flash toggle is on by default for POGO at setup time. * Changed so that when a sector is taken, all land units owned by the current owner are treated as planes are during takeovers (i.e. there is a pretty good chance they are blown up, and if not, they change owner to the attacker and are beat up pretty good.) * Fixed treaties to work again. * Fixed bug in taking over land units not using correct pointer (can cause a crash or data corruption.) * Fixed collect command to wipe deliver and distribution information correctly. * Fixed potential bug in bmap not working when destination bmap has blank spaces in it. * Fixed bug in shark command not getting right nation structure. * Fixed bug in server where empty commands (for example, all spaces or tabs) were being reported as bogus commands. They are now just ignored. * Fixed bug in scrap not dropping land units off of scrapped units carrying them. * Fixed bug in news where boarding of land units was reported backwards. * Fixed bug in calculating new people when growing them during an update. * Fixed missing -ltermcap in HP/UX build. * Fixed setsector to limit mobility to 127 not 255 (255 was being caught later and being reset to 0 anyway) * Fixed Sector-types.t to show a '' instead of a '/' for wasteland, since that is what it really is. * Fixed retreat.t documentation to reflect the "retreat upon failed boarding" flag. * Fixed bug where satellites were not orbiting the world during the update. * Fixed bug in torpedos being too smart. They knew how to jump over land! :) Now the "line_of_sight" routine is used to determine if a torpedo has a straight path to the destination. If it doesn't, the torpedo no longer jumps over land, but instead slams into it. This was an interesting bug because you could torp ships on the other side of a very skinny island as long as they were in range, even if there was no sea route possible. * Fixed bug when pinbombing and you run out of an object to pinbomb (land units for example) but you still have to pick something to bomb. For ships it worked ok (just aborted that it couldn't find any more ships) and this was fixed for land units and planes. * Fixed server crashing bug when flying a plane and not carrying any cargo. * Fixed bug in move losing commodities when it runs out of room in the destination sector. Goods are now attempted to be returned to the start sector, and apporpriate steps taken if the start sector is no longer available. * Fixed march to prompt you before you abandon a sector you own by marching out the last land unit. * Fixed check functions to only check the relevant portions of the structure and not the timestamp info that doesn't affect how the object functions. * Fixed bug in spy command that always told you if a spy unit was in a non-owned sector. * Fixed bug in displaying of land unit missions not showing correct land unit range. * Fixed bug in wire command where new announcements that you read at the last second don't get wiped out properly. * Fixed bug where announcement file could be corrupted by very long lines. * Fixed bug where bmap was not set when player was told what kind of sector they were attacking (this was an old abusable bug that was removed long ago to fix the abuse, and it's been fixed in a non-abusable way finally.) * Fixed bug where change command would warn you about monetary and BTU costs, but not prompt you to break out if you didn't want to really change your country name. * Fixed bug in sub-launched nukes that are intercepted being reported in the news incorrectly. * Fixed bug in load where you could abandon a sector and not know it by loading your last civilians or military onto a ship. * Fixed potential memory leak in autonav code. * Fixed potential bug where you could possibly determine if a sector is owned or not using one way plane missions. * Fixed Damage.t info page to properly show damages for planes and land unit shelling. * Fixed deliver.t to include syntax for command. * Fixed country.t to include syntax for command. * Fixed bug where ships on orders were not adding radar information to the bmap during an update. * Fixed bug where ships on sail were not adding radar information to the bmap during an update. * Fixed bestownedpath code to use the bmap properly. Note this is a very important bug fix. When navigating a ship, players are no longer given free information that they would not normally know. For example, if you try sailing your ship off into uncharted areas of your bmap, the bestpath code will only use as much information as you have on-hand (i.e. your bmap) to plan out your path for you. If you have no information on an area, it just keeps forging on, until bumping into something. Of course, after the initial exploration through an area, the bmap will be set and used for all future sailings through that area. Harbors and bridges are still checked for construction worthiness if you know where they are (i.e. they are on your bmap.) (Overall, what happened before was that the bestpath code would route your ship around islands that you didn't even know were there, and you could use various commands to see how that ship was going to sail during the update and thus you gained information that you wouldn't normally know.) * Merged bestpath and bestownedpath and wrote new wrappers, "BestShipPath" and "BestAirPath" to use it properly. It is also good to note that bestownedpath is used to determine paths for ships and for planes, and that best_path (which uses the A* algorithm) is used for all land based paths, and that the two are never interchanged. * Removed "jet recon" plane (it slipped in during the PLANENAMES conversion, and RECON was never used before.) * Removed extraneous "resnoise" and "resbenefit" functions and combined the two for setresource and setsector commands. Changes to Empire 4.2.1 - Tue Nov 3 12:56:20 PST 1998 * Fixed problem with global/plane.c not defining last structure element properly, and thus causing crashes when accessing certain plane routines. This happened during the move to make the PLANENAMES option run-time configurable. Changes to Empire 4.2.0 - Thu Oct 29 06:27:15 PST 1998 * Bumped rev to 4.2.0 since this is a major release (the server is now run-time configurable for just about everything and is released under the GNU GPL.) * Put in official licensing information. * Re-arranged and commented the econfig (Empire Configuration) file. The auto-generated "data/econfig" file is now pumped out chock full of comments (which may or may not be useful.) Since the server is pretty much fully run-time configurable (MAXNOC is not, but it gets a default of 99 anyway) deities will probably be spending more time in the config file. * Added server support for building under NT, including mods from Doug Hay and Steve McClure to get the server building and running under NT. (This was built using MSVC++ 5.0 on NT 4.0 and command line "nmake nt") * Added Doug Hay's ntthread.c implementation for NT threading. * Added max pop column to "show sector stats" output. * Added lboard command for boarding land units from sectors. Only raw mil can board land units, and only mil and land units aboard the unit being boarded fight back. * Added GODNEWS option. When enabled, the deity giving people stuff is shown in the news. * Added bridge tower sector ('@') * Added BRIDGETOWERS option. When enabled you can build bridge towers from a bridge span. You can then build bridge spans from the tower. If the tower is destroyed ( <20% eff) bridges connected fall unless supported on the other side. You can only build bridge towers in open water not adjacent to land and other towers. Expensive. * Added plains sector ('~') - Max pop is 1/40th regular sectors, and it is deity creatable only (can't redesignate unless you wasteland it with a nuke :) ) * Changed "info all" to no longer use printdir, instead it just uses the "all" info page which contains this information. * Changed so you can now load up to 2 spy units onto non-land unit carrying submarines if the LANDSPIES option is enabled. Useful for sneaking up to shore and spying on your neighbors. * Changed so spies unloaded from ships are not given as gifts, they are just unloaded quietly. * Changed build command to handle building towers ("build t") * Changed show command to show tower stats ("show t b") * Changed reject so you can now reject things from any country except deity countries (this now includes sanctuary countries and visitor countries you don't want to deal with) * Changed ndump to dump nuclear stockpile ID as well. * Changed flash so that if someone allied to you is either not logged on or not accepting flashes, you are notified. This is info you could gain otherwise since you can see other countries that are allied to you via players. * Fixed bug in news command when HIDDEN mods are enabled. * Fixed distribute command to only write out to the database if we actually changed the sector (i.e. if we really moved the dist center, we write. Otherwise, it makes no point.) * Fixed threshold command to only write out to the database if we actually changed the sector (i.e. if we really changed the threshold, we write. Otherwise, it makes no point.) * Fixed - population growth and truncation in "Update-sequence.t" info file is now clearer * Fixed the way fortify takes mobility away from a land unit if engineers are present. * Fixed bug in buying commodities at the last minute not resetting the time correctly in all situations. * Fixed bug in building nukes where it would always ask if you tried building more than one at a time. * Fixed bug where if you put (either by building or by transporting) more than 127 of one type of nuke in a sector, they all got lost. A negative wrapover sort of thing. * Fixed ndump to print # of stockpiles dumped. * Fixed ndump.t to reflect changes * Fixed bug in build command that didn't account for EOL characters. * Fixed bug where you could use planes to drop conquered populace * Fixed bug in distribute command in how it checked for current distribution sector. * Fixed pr_flash and pr_inform to no longer send messages if the player is still in the process of logging in (i.e. not in the PLAYING state) * Fixed report command output for deities. * Fixed bug in nuclear damage either taking out submarines when it shouldn't, or not taking them out when it should. * Fixed bug in loading units that are carrying units onto other units (note that it doesn't happen since only HEAVY units can carry other units and that check works, but that might change some day, and we don't want units carrying units to be carried by other units, etc. :) ) * Fixed info pages to reflect new sector types. * Fixed info pages to reflect new spy unit capabilities. * Fixed show commands to only show trade ships if the TRADESHIPS option is enabled. * Fixed build command to only allow building of trade ships if the TRADESHIPS options is enabled. * Fixed up some definitions located in many places used for checking sectors for navigation rights. * Fixed power.t to correctly describe NEW_POWER formula. * Made HIDDEN option run time configurable. * Made LOSE_CONTACT option run time configurable. * Made ORBIT option run time configurable. * Made SAIL option run time configurable. * Made MOB_ACCESS option run time configurable. * Made FALLOUT option run time configurable. * Made SLOW_WAR option run time configurable. * Made SNEAK_ATTACK option run time configurable. * Made WORLD_X and WORLD_Y run time configurable. * Made MARKET option run time configurable. * Made LOANS option run time configurable. * Made BIG_CITY option run time configurable. * Made TRADESHIPS option run time configurable. * Made SHIPNAMES option run time configurable. * Made DEMANDUPDATE option run time configurable. * Made UPDATESCHED option run time configurable. * Made LANDSPIES option run time configurable. * Made NONUKES option run time configurable. * Made PLANENAMES option run time configurable. * Removed SMALL_SERVER stuff (unused baggage) * Removed trading post sector ('v') Changes to Empire 4.0.18 - Thu Sep 24 06:54:27 PDT 1998 * Fixed bug in aircombat where planes in flight could intercept air defense planes and take no damage (i.e. they got to fight twice, once for free.) * Fixed bug in freeing memory after performing missions that could crash the server (it mainly happened after an interdiction mission using planes and escorts, where some escorts came from airports that didn't have bombers going up. Freeing the leftover escorts was crashing the server.) * Fixed bug where you could load non-existant units if you were allied with country #0. * Fixed bug where you could pin-bomb a plane with itself. * Fixed bug where satellites over a bridge may get killed if the bridge is sunk. * Fixed bug where land units on a ship in the same sector as a bridge that is splashed may get sunk. * Fixed bug where planes on a ship in the same sector as a bridge that is splashed may get sunk. * Fixed doconfig with correct empire site text. * Fixed major problem with abms not firing, and sometimes crashing server. * Fixed bug in land units counting up loaded units wrong. * Fixed doconfig makefile to have doconfig.c as a dependency. * Fixed bug in resetting commodities (the comm_uid was not being properly set.) * Fixed bug in repaying loans not working correctly (the l_uid was not being properly set.) * Fixed bug in buying items from the trading block not allowing you to due to a perceived change in item status. * Fixed bug in mfir.c where a bogus input to a target could crash the server. * Fixed bug that after you read telegrams new telegrams may not send an inform message (the old telegram flags were not cleared.) * Fixed bug where fort support distance calculations are calculated twice instead of just once. This bug caused a lower percentage of support fire than designed. * Fixed bomb.t to reflect land unit changes. * Put in some integrity checking for planes returing from bombing runs. * Added ability to edit land unit that a land unit is loaded on in edit command. * Consolidated bridgefall code into "knockdown" function (this code existed in at least 3 places, and was different in all of them.) * Subs returning fire are no longer reported in the news. * Visitor countries can now use the 'motd' command. * When trying to use a visitor country, if it is in use, you are not told by whom, just that it is in use. * Optimized (slightly) support fire from forts not getting supply and shells if not needed (out of range) * Updated Education.t * Modified (increased) chances of hitting mines slightly. * Removed unused variables from shp_check_mines. Changes to Empire 4.0.17 - Fri Jul 31 06:12:21 PDT 1998 * Added ability in edit to change coastal flag for sectors. * Added ability in edit to edit plague values for ships. * Added ability for "spy" to report all units/planes not owned by you that exist in the sector you are spying from. * Modified naval planes and anti-sub planes. * Changed so that missiles and bombs that miss their targets cause collateral damage in the target sector (they have to land somewhere!) * Changed llook so that non-spy units are required to have at least 1 military personnel on board to see anything. * Fixed "llookout.t" to reflect change for military requirement. * Updated Plague.t * Updated upgrade.t * Added "lmine" flag for deities to see what sectors have mines in them (works for sea and land mines, used "lmine" to distinguish it from "min" which determines mineral (iron) content of a sector.) * No longer able to pin bomb land units on a ship. * Land units are required to have at least one military loaded to perform a mission. * Firing land units are required to have at least on military loaded to be able to fire (or return fire.) * Spies are not always seen when being pinbombed. You have to look very carefully for them (as you usually would.) * Fixed typo in "Spies.t" * Added new info about spy ability to spy.t. * Updated tax information in Innards.t and Update-sequence.t * Fixed typo in fire.t information about units firing on ships. * Loading military onto land units now resets fortification. (You gotta re-fortify the new guys.) * Fixed bug where planes that were mine capable could not drop mines if they were not cargo capable. * Fixed bug in potentially crashing in update code for nations tech/research. * Fixed bug in execute putting you into execute mode incorrectly. * Fixed bug in board not allowing land units to board from 0 mobility sectors. * Fixed bug where interdicted land units that were missed displayed a "SPLASH! Bombs miss your ships" message. * Fixed bug in minesweeping sectors where, even with mobility or having the sweep ability, ships would get hit by mines for doing nothing. * Fixed bug in count_land_planes always writing out land units unnecessarily. * Fixed bug in count_planes always writing out ships unnecessarily. * Fixed bug in lnd_count_units always writing out land units unnecessarily. * Fixed bug in count_units always writing out ships unnecessarily. * Fixed bug in llook that reported units on ships. * Fixed bug in llook that reported satellites launched over the unit. * Fixed bug in llook that always reported spies (it should be a 10-100% chance) * Fixed bug in anti possibly not saving lost items correctly. * Fixed bug in planes getting extended range when on missions and the op center is not where the plane is located. * Fixed bug in land unit defensive strength not being based on the eff of the unit when calculating odds of a battle. * Fixed bug in board not reporting consistant information. * Fixed bug in the way land unit casualties were being taken. * Fixed bug where land units on ships could return fire. * Fixed bug where land units on other land units could return fire. * Fixed bug where land units on other land units could fire. * Fixed bug in attacks/assaults/boardings spreading plague incorrectly. * Fixed bug in updating plague for ships. * Fixed bug in updating plague for land units. * Fixed bug in updating plague for attacking/defending land units. * Fixed bug where you couldn't pin-bomb land units that were < 20% eff. * Fixed bug which revealed the owner of torping subs when on a mission. Changes to Empire 4.0.16 - Fri Jun 12 08:52:06 EDT 1998 * Added patches sent in by Steve McClure, Sverker Wiberg and Curtis Larsen. They are described with other changes below. * Fixed bugs in the following commands that allowed two cooperating countries to create infinite numbers of any commodity and/or cash at any time (race conditions in the server): build, board, deliver, designate, distribute, explore, fuel, improve, load, ltend, mobquota, move, name, order, reset, sail, sell, set, tend, territory, test, threshold, torpedo, transport, unload * Fixed bug in board command giving out too much information about a non-owned sector when it shouldn't be. * Fixed bug in board command when firing on a sector in defense before checking mobility. * Fixed bug in rangeedit allowing plane(s) to possibly be stored wrong. * Fixed bug in launch allowing plane to possibly be stored wrong after launch. * Fixed bug in lrangeedit allowing land unit(s) to possibly be stored wrong. * Fixed bug in morale allowing land unit(s) to possibly be stored wrong. * Fixed bug in arm/disarm allowing a plane to possibly be stored wrong. * Fixed bug in loan sometimes not writing database correctly. * Fixed bug in collect. * Fixed bug in dropping mines from land units. * Fixed crashing bug in sector_strength routine when oceans take collateral damage. * Fixed bug in transport possibly decrementing too much mobility when moving a nuke. * Fixed some little warning type messages building with gcc -Wall. * Fixed problem compiling lwp threads with glibc6 under Linux. * Changed flash so that players can always flash deities. * Changed players command to always show deities and visitor countries that are logged on, and only show allied countries for normal player countries. * Fixed bug in anti command not stopping sectors when they revolt. * Fixed bug in set_coastal function not counting bridge spans as water based sectors (after all, the land is still a coastal sector, even if next to a bridge span.) * "flash" and "players" is re-enabled for visitor accounts. * Fixed bug in bleeding of technology and research to other players. * Fixed bug in explore not spreading plague correctly. * Fixed bug in move not spreading plague correctly. * Fixed bug in deliver not spreading plague correctly. * Fixed bug in distribute not spreading plague. * Included "postresults" script in the scripts directory which can be used to auto-post daily power chart/announcements to rec.games.empire. * Updated Plague.t * Updated Innards.t * Removed OVCONFIG from build.conf, and patched doconfig to match. * doconfig is only run if needed * emp_client and emp_server are only linked if needed * Added list of disabled options to the version command. * Fixed bug in survey allowing you to see hidden variables. * Re-enabled escort missions due to above bug fix most likely the problem. * Changed one instance of "restrict" to "restricted" in bestpath.c. For some reason, this was causing a problem on one of the Linux builds (??). * Added "show sector capabilities" functionality (this didn't exist before.) * Fixed bug in neweff not reporting stopped sectors. It now (correctly) reports them as not changing eff. Changes to Empire 4.0.15 - Wed May 20 12:35:53 EDT 1998 * Fixed the spelling of Markus' name in CHANGES4.0 files. * Added Markus' patches/fixes. Some are detailed below. * Added 'mipsultrix.gxx' build target. * Fixed doconfig to write ipglob.c in the correct target area. * Fixed a bunch of type casting that needed to be done correctly. * Only print out last connect by for non-visitor accounts. * 'players' command is only useable by non-visitor accounts. * Fixed ask_off in attsub.c to not print out allied sector mil counts when attacking from neighboring sectors. * Fixed targetting of che when taking over sectors. * 'anti' command only fights che that are targetted at you. * Fixed update not updating timestamps of objects (ships, planes, land units, sectors.) * Fixed bug delivering conquered populace. * Fixed potential bug scuttling ship with land units on it. * Moved heavy bombers to tech 90. * Fixed bug in setsector telling the deity coordinates of sectors being granted/taken away. * Fixed bug in setting budget of enlistment sectors to 0. Changes to Empire 4.0.14 - Wed Apr 8 08:47:54 EDT 1998 * Fixed time_t problem in common/log.c * Fixed bug in headlines * Replaced vaxultrix build flags with proper vanilla ones. * Fixed bug in update/prepare.c (sometimes not getting charged for mil on units and ships) * Fixed bug in printing of "No ship(s)" twice in cargo command when no ships were selected. * Temporarily disabled escort missions until a fix is found. They are randomly crashing the server. * Fixed morale.t to reflect that retreat percentage is based off of morale_base and not 75. * Fixed bug in bridgefall where planes and units on ship in a sector that has a bridge collapse are being sunk. * Fixed bug in update/produce.c when a sector overflows it's capacity on production. * Fixed bug in produce command reporting incorrect costs (sometimes). * Land units on ships will now try to draw supply from the ship they are on. Changes to Empire 4.0.13 - Mon Mar 2 11:04:28 EST 1998 * Fixed bug in distribute when world sizes are other than 64x32 * Fixed bug in getcommand (not really a bug, just made it work like it used to so that the players command is useful for deities again) * Fixed building of POSIX threads on Alpha running Digital Unix. * Fixed line_of_sight prototype in sona.c * Fixed fairland not to conuse stupid C++ compilers. Changes to Empire 4.0.12 - Tue Feb 24 11:27:31 EST 1998 * Fixed client build on linux (whoops) Changes to Empire 4.0.11 - Tue Feb 10 10:53:10 EST 1998 * AIX build seems to only work with gcc right now (but at least that works) * Vax Ultrix (vaxultrix) build should work now (hopefully) out of the box. * Took out autosupply of airports when bombing or dropping shells. (This was the only commodity this was done for, and it was creating problems since supply is still somewhat broken somewhere) * Included Curtis Larsen's, Markus Armbruster's and Sverker Wiberg's submitted patches, which collectively included cleaning up most of the server prototypes and bogus declarations. Many thanks. * Increased incoming command buffer to 1024 from 512 bytes * Increased the # of parsed arguments from 64 to 100 * Fixed bug where spies were not dying when damaged. * Fixed bug in HIDDEN mods in declare command not printing country # of uncontacted country correctly (or at all as a matter of fact) Changes to Empire 4.0.10 - Mon Aug 18 12:34:58 EDT 1997 * Fixed bug where fleets were being interdicted but the damage was being spread to ships not in the same sectors. * Fixed but in market when buying goods without enough cash. * Planes in orbit over airports are no longer fixed up during updates. * Planes in orbit are no longer damaged when the sectors they are over are damaged. * Planes on ships are no longer damaged when the sectors they are in are damaged, unless the ship is damaged. * Fixed problem with no newline after partisan activity telegram in anti.c * Fixed problem in chan.c printing out change costs incorrectly. * Fixed problem in dispatch.c screwing things up on redirection. * financial should now handle 6 and 7 digit loans. * Planes on ships that are in sectors that revolt are no longer taken over. * Fixed bug in powe.c where the power report was mis-calculating the efficiency of planes. * Fixed doconfig.c to use STDC instead of multi-level #ifdefs. * Fixed bug in parse.c that was screwing up double quotes in conditional arguments. * Military in a sector now only produce up to maxpop, just like civvies and uw's. No more stuffing 6K mil into a mountain to max it out. You can still hold more mil there over the updates, but the extras just won't produce anymore. * Fixed bug in shark that allowed you to shark up loans even if you couldn't cover the debt. * Fixed bug in day of week calculation for server up time in common/keyword.c that is used for gamedays. * Documented what happens to standing military in collect.t when you collect a sector. * Documented mountains only holding and using 1/10th of the normal sector population in Sector-types.t. * Fixed documentation on ship's firing ranges in fire.t to be less ambiguous. * Updated nukes in nuke.t * Added apropos command (thanks to Mike Wise) * Added case-insensitivity to the info command (thanks to Mike Wise). If there are two files of the same name, and you don't get a complete match, then whichever file is found first in the directory is used. * Changed documentation in wantupd.h Changes to Empire 4.0.9 - Sat Apr 19 23:01:51 EDT 1997 * Fixed dump info pages that were getting formatted funny. * Fixed improve info page. * Fixed bug in allied planes/units not moving when the carriers move. * Fixed bug in satellite output for <100% satellites. * Fixed bug in load/unload not putting a newline after some unloadings in allied sectors. * Fixed bug in harden not printing correct values. * Fixed bug in creating/moving/etc. nuclear stockpiles. * Fixed bug where subs were trying to torp commodities moving on land when on interdiction. (This was funny ;-) ) * Fixed bug in "move" where you could keep a sector even after someone else took it from you. * Budget now correctly reports the # of units being built. * Mil on units & ships are now reported as normal military costs, not ship or unit maintainence costs in budget. * Fixed bug in update code where taxes could potentially be initialized incorrectly (affected budgets too.) * Fixed bug in nat.h header so that it uses SCT_MAXDEF instead of a fixed number (that was incorrect.) * Fixed bug with trains - they needed the xlight flag to carry planes. * Revamped and improved flak. * Added "Flak" info page. * Added "Fallout" info page. * Fixed repay/offer/consider to all need a capital to be used. * Fixed bug with air defense missions not running when not AT WAR. They now fly when HOSTILE. * plane/ship/unit short names are all now 4 characters, padded if needed. * pdump/sdump/ldump/ndump now just print the short name for the type. * sdump now has ship name at very end in quotes. These were done at the request of some client developers for ease of use. * Fixed extra space in the dump output. * Fixed fallout - not quite so nasty anymore. * Fixed fallout - things on ships/units are damaged now. * Fixed and balanced planes/ships/units/nukes in conjunction with each other. * Fixed bug in doconfig.c calculating wrong s_p_etu sometimes. * Fixed bug where harbors weren't being used to resupply. * Fixed bug where selling units loaded with planes and units wouldn't take the loaded planes or units - they are now dropped. * Fixed bug in arm/disarm where you could arm/disarm planes on the trading block. * Deities can now remove things from the trading block/market. * Fixed bug in "work" not charging engineers enough mob. * Fixed bug in "work" not adding teardown and buildup avail costs together. * Subs no longer need mobility to return fire when fired upon. * Fixed "reset". * Fixed bug in "trade" allowing 2 players to pay for the same item, but only the last player gets it. * Fixed bug where you couldn't launch missiles from allied ships or sectors. * Fixed bombing so that pin-bombing can cause collateral damage too. * Fixed sector damage to damage planes there too. * Fixed flag in lload so that it doesn't always print if not needed. * Fixed "sell.t" info page. * Fixed bug in "buy" where not entering the price correctly could cause a crash. * Fixed "sell" so that at least 1 mobility is required to sell goods. Keeps the midnight "raid and sell" abuse down. :) * Fixed "show plane cap" to move the last column over 1 more where it should be. * Fixed timestamps to be updated for units/planes on ships/units that move, since those units/planes move too. Changes to Empire 4.0.8 - Wed Feb 26 23:00:51 EST 1997 * Fixed bug in nstr_exec that was wiping out the previous conditional. This was major because it affected timestamp values which are more than 65535. * Fixed bug in sdump.c for typo in reporting the trade ships origin. Changes to Empire 4.0.7 - Mon Feb 24 22:48:54 EST 1997 * Fixed bug in aircombat.c when calculating the air combat odds. Negative numbers were screwing things up good... * Fort sector's coordinates are no longer printed when auto-firing at ships. * Subs can now surface and fire deck guns (again) They can also be hit by return fire when doing so. * Fixed bug in setting of plane attack and defensive values so that negative numbers don't keep going further negative. * Fixed incorrect military control calculation in the sell command. * Trading posts are no longer required to sell goods from. You can sell from harbors and warehouses now too. * Spy now prints out the owner of land units you see when spying. Before this was assumed to be sector owner, which is no longer true. * Loading land units now prints out what was loaded onto each unit, just as loading ships do. * Added fallout, coast, c_del, m_del, c_cut and m_cut to dump output. * Added "GO_RENEW" option. This option means that gold and oil resources are renewable. * Added "lost_items_timeout" config variable, and set the default to 48 hours. This determines how long lost items stay in the lost items database. * Fixed land unit names to be more consistent. * Fixed mission.t info page. * Fixed bug in that if mission_mob_cost was set to 0, even negative mob units should be able to be put on missions. * Removed restriction on things needing to be at least 60% to be put on a mission. Note that while you can put them on missions at < 60% now, when trying to do the mission, it still checks the eff. This is to help in automatic setup (build, put on mission, forget) instead of having to come back repeatedly. * Spies caught in Neutral or Friendly countries cause the Neutral or Friendly country to go Hostile towards the owner of the spy. * Tweaked ammunition numbers for artillery units. * No more automatic declarations of War should be made. You will go hostile, but since going to war doesn't increase your countries defenses, and is purely political, it is left to the player to go that final step. * Fixed bug in trade that wasn't incrementing the time if last second bidding. * Fixed bug in "lmine" that was crashing the server if the land unit was out of mobility. * Fixed buy so that if you specify a product, you can only bid on that type of product. * Added "lost.t" info page. * Added "lost items" database (EF_LOST) * Fixed bug where you could move in allied forces after an attack if they bordered the victim area. * Fixed nstr_comp to deal with values > 16 bits coming in from client for comparisons. * Changed last minute market/trade timers to increment 5 minutes. 2 minutes was too quick. * Fixed decode in lib/common/nstr_subs.c to deal with NSC_TIME better. * Commented out the logging of the market checking in server/marketup.c, lib/commands/buy.c and lib/commands/trad.c It was generating lots of pretty much useless data that made parsing the server.log file more more difficult than it needed to be. * Fixed crashing bug in ldump. * sdump, ldump, ndump, pdump and dump now print out the current timestamp on the "DUMP XXX" line. * Fixed denial of service bug in lib/player/accept.c in player_find_other function. * Fixed bug in shark reporting incorrect buyer of the loan. * Fixed bug in sdump.c (case 0 should have been case 10) * ldump and sdump now always print the fuel column if asked for, even if opt_FUEL is turned off. In the case that it is turned off, the fuel is listed as 0. * Added "timestamp" field, which is updated every time an item is changed. * Fixed up the Clients.t info page. * sdump now prints trade ship building origin. * sdump now always prints name even if SHIPNAMES isn't defined. If it is not defined, then the name is empty. * Added "timestamp" to info/Concepts/Selector.t * Added some more relevant info to info/Server/Empire4.t * Fixed Infrastructure.t info page to reflect the fact that infrastructure is no longer torn down when a sector is re-designated. * Fixed sell.t to more accurately reflect the time-delay market. * Fixed read.t and wire.t to reference accept and reject. * Fixed reject.t not referencing accept command. * Fixed collect.t to more accurately reflect what goes on when collecting sectors. * Fixed financial.t to reflect defaulted loans. * Fixed dump.t, sdump.t, ldump.t, ndump.t, pdump.t to reflect new timestamp info. * Fixed "census.t" (had incorrect reference to "info syntax" instead of "info Syntax". Changes to Empire 4.0.6 - Thu Jan 16 11:33 EST 1997 * Increased damage from depthcharges because on increased damage from torpedos. Sub frange decreased to be more balanced with destroyer frange. * Intelligence reports (spy) on units will now report the estimated number of mil on the unit. * Fixed equation for ship visibility so it will drop as tech increases. * Added new commands sdump, ldump, pdump, and ndump to dump data on ships, land units, planes, and nukes. * If fields are provided, dump will only supply those fields requested. * Decreased speed of subs. * When options NO_LCMS or NO_HCMS are set, those commodities are no longer required for infrastructure improvements. * Units that lose an assault or a boarding attempt from a ship will no longer swim back to the ship they came from. * Units that take extra casualties will no longer lose all their mil at once. * Infrastucture is retained when redesignating a sector. * Dieing spies will no longer crash the server. * Units, planes, and ships must have mobility to perform missions. * Units on ship being scrapped are transferred to harbor. * Food is no longer autoloaded onto units when they are built. * Fixed show plane stat to show correct range. * Infantries now take damage at same rate as casualties. * Fixed bug with hap_fact. Having more happiness now helps with fighting che. * Fixed anti to write back target country so che will continue to fight when they survive. * Fixed llookout to show correct estimate on number of mil on unit. * Added buildable architecture "hp". This type will build the server on a HP/UX machine using the standard compiler instead of gcc. Changes to Empire 4.0.5 - Thu Dec 12 10:28:48 EST 1996 * Fixed bug in update/distribute.c where pathcost was not being called with the MOB_ROAD argument (and thus distribution costs could be GREATLY affected.) - Thanks Ice! Changes to Empire 4.0.4 - Mon Dec 9 11:00:00 EST 1996 * Fixed Solaris port using gcc. * Fixed doconfig.c to create directories with right modes. * Fixed install macros in makefiles to move binaries to the right places. Changes to Empire 4.0.3 - Wed Dec 4 22:46:53 EST 1996 * Added HP/UX port. * Fixed doconfig.c (put exit(0) at the end of main.) * Fixed improve.c (moved the prompt[] string outside the fcn.) Changes to Empire 4.0.2 - Mon Oct 14 12:26:40 EDT 1996 * Put in LND_MINMOBCOST in land.h * Put in change in lnd_mobcost in lndsub.c * Put in new nuke costs in nuke.c * Put in fix so that total work can only be done by the max pop. No more extra civvies tossed in will do it anymore in human.c. * Put in fix for src/util/Makefile - beefed it up. * Put in fix to show where your ship is when it gets shelled in mfir.c. * Changed infrastructure of roads from .040 to .020 (122 instead of 150 in common/move.c) * Fixed Update-sequence.t. * Put in fix for mobcost bonus for 0% highways. * Fixed stop.t * Fixed commodity.t * Spruced up torpedo damage somewhat. :) :) * Fixed "assault bmap bug" in attsub.c * Fixed Produce.t (bars cost) * Changed mountains to get an automatic "2" for defensive bonus in attsub.c * Fixed consider.t * Fixed repay.t * Fixed offer.t * Fixed "offer" and "consider" not being legal commands in player/empmod.c * Fixed Damage.t * Fixed sstat.t * Fixed lstat.c, pstat.c and sstat.c * Fixed cutoff command in cuto.c * Fixed attack value in attack_val in lndsub.c * Fixed lload in commands/load.c * Fixed defense_val in lndsub.c - Made it a minimum of 1, so that units will always fight until dead or retreating. 0 makes them get stuck. * Fixed update/deliver.c - no delivery of non-oldowned civvies (or anything else for that matter.) * Fixed llook in commands/look.c * Fixed che bug in subs/nstr.c * Fixed bug in strv.c by overcompensating by 1 food per sector (minute amounts of people would starve.) * Fixed update/human.c - feed_people rounding problems (I hope.) * Fixed morale problem in update/land.c * Fixed count_bodies in attsub.c * Fixed lnd_mobcost. * Fixed subs/land,plane,ship.c to handle sunken units and planes correctly. * Fixed interest rate in commands/offe.c * Fixed bug in buy.c. * Put in DEFENSE_INFRA soption o you can turn on/off the use of the defensive infrastructure. When off, the defensive infrastructure is the same as the sector efficiency, and you can't improve it. This is OFF by default. * Fixed Empire4.t * Added Wolfpack.t * Land units are now built with a default reaction radius of 0. * Changed name of lt artilleries to "lat" from "lart" so you can now build "lar"s again. * Lowered the speed and firing range of pt boats. * Lowered the initial att strength of cavs from 1.5 to 1.3 (they were TOO powerful.) * Changed the max mob gain defaults of units/planes to 1.0 and ships to 1.5 (This is * ETU_RATE, so it is equal to ETU_RATE for units/planes and 1.5 * ETU_RATE for ships.) * Conquered civvies only pay 1/4 taxes. * Railways don't get torn down when you rebuild sectors anymore (but roads and defenses do (if enabled.) Changes to Empire 4.0.1 - Wed Aug 28 11:35:40 EDT 1996 * Added "extern double tradetax" to check_trade in trad.c * Improved description of data directory in build.conf * Fixed bug in attacking land units that retreat so they now get charged mobility for attacking. * Fixed dump to report road, rail and defense of a sector at the end. * Fixed doconfig bug in not checking the right directory to see if the "data" directory existed or not before trying to create it. * "change" now works for sanctuary countries. * Fixed the description of "sinfrastructure". * Added more info to "Infrastructure". * Units/planes are no longer reduced to 75% when bought from the trading block. * Supply units were slowed down to the speed of infantry units. * Trade-ship payoffs have been lowered to 2.5, 3.5 and 5.0 * Bars interest is up to $250 per 1K again. * Civ taxes were raised back up to a 10:1 mil/civ tax ratio (was 20:1) * Fixed various info pages. * Fixed bug in people not getting truncated when broke (this was thought to be fixed, but wasn't. Now it is, dammit!) * Fixed bug with units marching across oceans (scuba gear not included. ;-) ) * Market/trade taxes and trade ship payoff figures were added to version. * "cede" has been removed as a default command. * Makefile rule was fixed for depend build. * Fixed bug in mapdist not taking world edges into account nicely enough. * Added a "scuttle" order for autoscuttling trade ships. Makes using them easier. Cleaned up scuttle code while in there. * Fixed bug with scuttling a ship with units on it not scuttling the units too. Changes to Empire 4.0.0 - Initial release * Initial Wolfpack release - Long live the Wolfpack!!!! * Cleaned up the build environment. Now all that is needed is to edit the build.conf file, answer the questions there and type "make " to build for a specific architecture. Thus, no more reliance on gnumake or special shell scripts. * We are now shipping the pre-built info pages with the server for those who Don't want to build them. You can also still just type "make" and have the info pages build, but it doesn't completely work (i.e. rebuild new Subjects) if you don't have perl5 installed. * Put in the "help" command that does the same thing as "info". * Removed C_SYNC. This is done for 2 reasons. 1) None of us like it or wish to support it. 2) We envision a better scheme for doing similar things will come along. * Put in MOB_ACCESS - This allows real-time updating of mobility. * Put in MARKET - This is the time-based market (yes, still teleports, but it's not as bad as it was.) * Lots of the documenation has been updated, but there is more to do. * Added NO_LCMS, NO_HCMS and NO_OIL options. When any of these options are enabled, you don't need any of that type of material to build things. If NO_HCMS is enabled, you don't need HCMS to build bridges, you need lcms. If both NO_HCMS and NO_LCMS are enabled, then you don't need any materials to build a bridge. * There is no mobility cost for assigning missions. But, there is also no longer any benefit for being on a mission either. * Damage is the same for all commodities (people too.) This means you can deity shell/bomb sectors again. * Units are now dependant on tech. What this means is that their statistics now increase with tech. In addition, there is only 1 type of each basic unit now (i.e. just "cavalry" instead of "cavalry 1", "cavalry 2", etc.) This reflects the idea that as you learn more, you learn how to not only build better units, but you learn to build units better. :) This also opens the door for a "lupgrade" command along the same lines as the "upgrade" command for ships. * Units now have a minimum mob cost for attacking a sector. Marching mob costs have not changed. * Starting units have been removed. This means that at the beginning, people may live a little longer since their neighbor can't come visiting quite as quick. * Shells are no longer required to build units. * Mil are no longer required to build units. * Mil are no longer an intrinsic part of a unit. They are now a loadable commodity. The way a unit's defense/att bonuses work now are attack = (att * mil * eff) defense = (def * mil * eff) In addition, when a unit takes damage, both the eff and the mil go down. You can quickly toss in new hacks, but you need to wait to repair the unit at the update. Thus, you can now look at unit's efficiency as their training. * You need at least 1 mil on a unit to march it (spies are the exception.) * Units always react if in range and they have the mobility, no matter what their efficency. * Units may now march anywhere - in your own sectors, deity owned sectors or allied sectors, with 1 exception, spies. Also, your units can get trapped if your ally declares non-alliance with you while your units are still in his country.) * Units always march at their speed, efficiency doesn't matter. * LANDSPIES was added - This creates land unit based spies. Spies may march anywhere, with a chance of getting caught (except in allied territory.) See "info Spies" for more info on them. * Planes may now be based out of allied airports. Landing planes on ships/sectors you do not own no longer changes thier owner. You can only land on owned/allied sectors/ships, and you may only fly/bomb/para/recon/drop from owned/allied sectors. So, if a country you are allied with goes hostile at you, your planes are now stuck there. Note that if you are using an allied airport, their commodities get sucked up, not yours (obviously.) * Planes are now tech-based. Their statistics increase as their tech increases. Deleted extraneous planes. * There is a new toggle, "techlists", which allows you to see what you can build/stats/capabilities sorted by tech instead of groupings. * Ships are now tech-based. Their statistics increase as their tech increases. Deleted extraneous ships. * Che can now be lessened by making happiness. If you have more happiness than your conquered populace, they don't fight as hard or recruit as much. If you have less than them, they fight harder and recruit more. It's not much though - it ranges from 2.0 in your favor to only 0.8 against you (whereas it was always 1.0 before.) So, it definitely favors the attackers to make lots of happy now. * Bridgeheads can only be built on coasts. * Players command was fixed so you only see allies, and don't get approx #'s of players anymore. * POSIX threads support has been added. * The attack bmap bug has been fixed. * BTUs regenerate 3 times faster now. * GRAB_THINGS is off by default. * Big nuclear bombs are back, and FALLOUT has been fixed and enabled as a default (you couldn't make wasteland before with FALLOUT, now you can.) * You can now deliver military and civilians. * Added SHIP_DECAY option - off by default (turns off ships decaying out at sea if not enough mil.) * The reverting owner bug has been fixed in territory, thresh, dist and deliver. There are probably more, and when found, will be fixed. * The "sectors don't starve when stopped or broke" bug has been fixed. * The "people never get truncated" bug has been fixed. * Added infrastructure to sectors. What this means is that a sector can now have it's mobility improved by building both roads and railways. It also means that a sectors defense is now based on the defensive infrastructure you build into the sector (no more intrinsic better defenses based on the sector, you determine which sectors are defended heavily, and which aren't.) * The defensive value of a sector no longer relies on the efficiency of the sector. Instead, it relies on the defensive efficiency of the sector. Thus, the "production" and "defensive" aspects of sectors have been separated. * "show sect stats" now shows the maximum defensive value for sectors. * Changed sector structure to take floats for off/def values so we can use a base of 1 instead of 2. * Added "improve" and "sinfrastructure" to support the infrastructure concepts. * Added L_TRAIN units which can only travel along railways. Very fast on efficient railways, slow on non-efficient ones. * Added the ability for units to carry other units. * Fixed census (shortened up "fallout" and "coast" to "fall" and "coa".) * Forts only cost $500 to build and 100 hcms now (since they don't get any better defenses automagically.) * Modified "show sect build" to show the costs for building up the infrastructure of a sector. * Changed "spy" and the satellite recon stuff (which shows sector stuff for spyplanes too) to show the new infrastructure stuff, rounded of course. * Added Drake's info->html scripts, with some modifications, so you can now type "make html" and have your info pages built as html files too. This adds a new directory, "info.html", to the build tree. * Modified upgrade so that planes and land units may now be upgraded. * Added pstat command to list the statistics of your planes. * Added lstat command to list the statistics of your land units. * Added sstat command to list the statistics of your ships. * Added nmap command to show a map of your sectors after their new designations have taken place. SEE ALSO Clients, Server, Infrastructure, Sectors, LandUnits, Planes, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/Expert0100664000000000000000000002116610055155514014701 0ustar rootroot Introduction : Expert Advice NAME Expert - Advice to expert Empire players Level: Expert Defense Against Nuclear Attacks Through the Denial of Information by Tom Tedrick A very good defense against nukes is to make it as difficult as possible for other players to find out where your country is, and thus to make maps of it. Here are some simple steps that you can follow: 1) Shoot down all planes that fly over your airspace. It helps to have numerous airfields, say one airfield for every 25 sectors or so. Every airfield should be within interception distance of several other air- fields, so that it is more difficult for an enemy to destroy or capture it. If an airfield is detected and nuked, you still have backup airfields. Every important sector should be within interception distance of several airfields. 2) Seal off all entrances to your inland seas by building bridges and laying mines (so no enemy ships can penetrate the area for mapping purposes). 3) Sink all surface vessels and submarines near your coastline. Have large fleets of destroyers posted around exposed coastal areas covering all sea sectors where enemy subs might try to sneak in for mapping purposes. Usually two fleets of 30 destroyers each are enough. Navigate the whole fleet one sector, stop and look for subs, navigate one more sector, stop and look for subs, and so on, until the fleet has made a circle and is back in its starting position. Sink any subs you find, of course. There is a maximum number of around 30 ships that can be in a fleet if you want to maneuver the whole fleet by fleet name (see "info fleetadd"). 4) Establish alliances under the condition that secrecy is maintained with respect to map information. Thus other allied countries can serve as a buffer zone against enemy countries. Many players are willing to be good allies. 5) Destroy or capture nearby radar stations. 6) Destroy or capture enemy air bases within range of your country. Until enemy technology gets high enough to launch against any target world- wide, they will often try to get someone to let them have an airbase hid- den near your country and launch nuclear strikes from there. I've always been able to find these if I worked at it. 7) Use psychological warfare. Nukers get tired of nuking you if it seems to have no effect. For example, have numerous false capitals, so that when, after great efforts, they manage to find what they think is your capital, and nuke it, only to discover that it was a fake, they will get discour- aged. These fake capitals are also very useful as backups in case your real capital is discovered and destroyed. When an enemy gets close to doing real harm, a counterattack can often divert attention away from the current attack. Psychologically, attack- ers seem to underestimate the harm they are doing to you if you don't give out any information about how you are being affected, and they seem to overestimate the danger to themselves from your counterattack. Ship Networks and the Art of Transferring Supplies by Tom Tedrick Build large quantities of ships. When they're 100% efficient, load them with military and food (and civilians) if possible. Load guns and shells if you have them, but since they tend to be scarce, only a few ships will have them. Navigate them one by one as far as they will go. Leave only one ship in each sector (this makes it difficult for an enemy to sink very many of them, due to mobility restrictions and the problem of locating and identifying them one by one). On your maps, mark the ship number in the appropriate sector. Each sea sector thus has at most one ship number. Unless there is something in particular you want to do with a particular ship, leave it sitting in its sector indefinitely. As you build more and more ships, move them out one by one. If you leave ship X in a sector that already contains ship Y, ship Y should have full mobility by then. Navigate ship Y as far as it will go, then leave it sitting until a new ship comes along. Every ship in the network is now likely to be within range of some other ships in the network. If a ship requires any supplies, you can load them on a ship in a harbor, navigate it out, transfer the cargo via tend, navigate the tended ship, transfer its cargo, and so on, until you reach the any ship in the net- work. If you need military for assaulting or boarding, guns and shells for firing, torpedoing or laying mines, or if you simply want to move stuff into a distant harbor, you can do it using several tend and navigate operations. This has been particularly useful for sinking subs. I don't have enough guns and shells to keep all of my 100 or more destroyers fully armed, but when one of the unarmed destroyers spots a sub, I can arrange to transfer guns and shells to it from a loaded ship (or from a harbor). It's a very simple system from the player's standpoint, because all the player has to do is build the ship, navigate it, mark its number on the map, and for- get about it until a use for it arises. As more ships are built, the network automatically expands without requiring any planning. You don't have to keep anything in memory, except the ship number on your map. If any enemy surface ship gets trapped in the network, it's quite likely you can capture it, even if all you have is cargo ships (battleships, landing craft, and carriers could take some work though). If an enemy sub is spotted by your destroyers, you can almost always sink it. If a convenient target for an assault appears, you can get the necessary military there. Some Tricks to Use When Fighting by Various People (Mostly by Tom) The trick for boarding destroyers: you need a bunch of cargo ships, both to make several boarding attempts and to tend military. When you try to board a ship, both the attacker and defender lose the same amount of mobility. First you have to get the destroyer's mobility to be negative. Then you just keep trying to board it from one ship after another until you win. That's where my ship network method comes in handy. I usually have swarms of ships I can sur- round enemy ships with. If I have planes, my normal method is to take a sector I can see, put enough military to hold it, designate it "e" if it has lots of food, or maybe some- thing else if there is a reason. Then get information about the adjacent sec- tors and take the most promising one. Without planes it's more of a struggle. Anyway, I kind of zig-zag into the country taking the most interesting sec- tors, ignoring the others. This really seems to freak people out, when an enemy takes a path right through the heartland. I would use planes (so having numerous airports each with a fair supply of fighters, spread around your country, would be the best countermeasure), ships (having forts loaded with guns and shells covering all coastlines helps a lot; also having destroyers and subs spread around your coastal waters in order to spot and counterattack enemy ships, also have bombers to bomb enemy ships, and radar stations to spot them is useful). I would invade by land, firing from forts, (mainly you need to counterattack actively when the enemy takes any sectors in your area, also forts with guns and shells help a lot). I would capture islands and build bridges to get into your country (so watch all offshore islands with bridge span range). Have a lot of shells in warehouses ready to be moved to the front (you can move four for no mobility cost). Bombing enemy ships spotted by radar seems to work pretty well for the most part. If he has an aircraft carrier you can torpedo it. You never know exactly what may happen, sometimes you get lucky when you think it's hopeless. Even if a plan has only a small chance of working, sometimes it's worth a try, especially if the enemy has to actively do something to stop it. You should always have at least two capitals sectors, in case you lose one. Just a tip on empire tactics: mobility is the key to dealing with many empire problems. Its often the bottleneck which interferes with various things, and the decisive advantage that gives victory to the attacker. SEE ALSO Overview, Novice, Hints, Introduction empire-info-text-4.2.15/Fallout0100664000000000000000000000266710055155506015046 0ustar rootroot Concept : Fallout NAME Fallout - The long lasting effects of nuclear war Level: Expert This page describes fallout, and some of its effects. Fallout is the result of nuclear bombs going off. It is basically just radioactive particles that float around in the air. After nuclear blasts, these particles are thrust into the atmosphere, and take a long time to dissipate. In addition, these particles may spread from sector to sector. When a sector has fallout, during the update, things in that sector may die, melt, whatever from the radiation. The way it works is this: 1) All sectors that have fallout are checked, and things there are affected by the fallout. People die, commodities melt, etc. This includes anything on land units and on ships within that sector. 2) Next, fallout may spread from sector to sector, depending on the amount of fallout in the sector. Note that fallout will spread outward from ground zero, in all directions, at a maximum rate of 1 sector per update. 3) Lastly, fallout decays. Any fallout that is left decays. Decay usually happens in 1/2 life mode, which means 1/2 the given fallout in a sector (after spreading around) dies... Finally, if you are reading this info page, it probably means that you are trying to figure out what fallout is going to do to your country. Well, good luck, so are we. :) SEE ALSO launch, nuke, Diplomacy, Damage, Combat empire-info-text-4.2.15/Flak0100664000000000000000000001106410055155506014304 0ustar rootroot Concept : Flak NAME Flak - How flak works Level: Basic This page describes flak, and how it works. Flak is created from gunfire when enemy planes fly overhead. The way that flak works when planes fly over a sector is: * Sector flak is fired. Up to a maximum of 14 guns can fire before being scaled. * Land unit flak is then fired. Up to a maximum of 14 guns can fire before being scaled. Only 'flak' capable units will fire in this volley (see "info show"), and only the guns loaded onto a land unit are counted in the # of guns firing. * Ship flak is then fired. Up to a maximum of 14 guns can fire before being scaled. * Defensive planes then intercept. In all of the above flak rounds, once the maximum # of guns firing has been determined, the # of guns is then scaled by your country's tech factor, and then doubled. So, for example, if you had 14 guns firing, and have a tech factor of 35%, you would have a total of (14 * .35) * 2 = 10 (after rounding) guns firing. In addition, if you are pinbombing a land unit or a ship, when you make your bombing run, the specific unit/ship you are bombing gets to fire flak at you again. This number of guns firing flak in these cases is NOT scaled after the number of guns is determined. When a sector fires flak, the amount of shells required is the # of guns fired divided by 2. If not enough shells are available, either no flak is fired, or the flak is reduced to the number of shells available. Note that the shells are not consumed during flak fire, they just need to be available. When a ship fires flak, at least 1 shell must be available. If no shells are available, no flak is fired. Note that the shell is not consumed during flak fire, it just needs to be available. Land units use no shells when firing flak. Any land unit with an aaf rating of > 0 will fire flak when pin-bombed. The formulas for determining the # of guns fired in a general volley is: Sector: guns = (guns in sector); if (guns > 14) guns = 14; Ship: guns = 0; for (each ship in the sector) guns += min(guns, guns able to fire) * (techfact of ship) * 2; if (guns > 14) guns = 14; Land unit: guns = 0; for (each land unit in the sector) guns += (aaf rating) * (techfact of unit) * 3; if (guns > 14) guns = 14; Then, for each of the above general flak volleys, the # of guns is scaled like so: firing = guns * (techfact of nation) * 2; On specific bombing runs, the # of guns firing is determined by: Ship: guns = min(guns, guns able to fire) * (techfact of ship) * 2; Land unit: guns = (aaf rating) * (techfact of unit) * 3; The # of guns in these cases are NOT scaled. techfact is determined by: techfact = (50.0 + tech) / (200.0 + tech); Once the number of flak guns firing has been determined, the planes have to fly through it. The plane may have to fly through flak up to 4 times in each sector, depending on circumstances. They are: 1) Fly through general sector flak (if any) 1a) fight in a possible dog-fight 2) Fly through general ship flak (if any) 3) Fly through general unit flak (if any) 4) If pinbombing, fly through specific unit or ship flak (if any) To figure out the damages that a plane takes each time it flys through flak, the following formula's are used: flak = # of guns firing. flak = flak - (planes defense + 1); if (plane is stealthy) flak = flak - 2; if (plane is half stealthy) flak = flak - 1; if (flak > 8) mult = flaktable[15] * 1.33; else if (flak < -7) mult = flaktable[0] * 0.66; else { flak += 7; mult = flaktable[flak]; } mult *= flakscale; damage = ((random number from 1 to 8) + 2) * mult; if (damage > 100) damage = 100; plane's eff = (plane's eff) - dam; if (plane's eff < 10%) plane is shot down else if (chance((100 - (plane's eff)) / 100)) plane aborts mission otherwise the plane continues on it's mission For the above, use this table: flaktable[0] = 0.20 flaktable[1] = 0.20 flaktable[2] = 0.25 flaktable[3] = 0.30 flaktable[4] = 0.35 flaktable[5] = 0.40 flaktable[6] = 0.45 flaktable[7] = 0.50 flaktable[8] = 0.50 flaktable[9] = 0.55 flaktable[10] = 0.60 flaktable[11] = 0.65 flaktable[12] = 0.70 flaktable[13] = 0.75 flaktable[14] = 0.80 flaktable[15] = 0.85 and a flakscale of 1.75 SEE ALSO bomb, fly, recon, paradrop, nation, Planes, Interception, Combat empire-info-text-4.2.15/Food0100664000000000000000000001045710055155506014323 0ustar rootroot Concept : Food NAME Food - How much people eat at the update Level: Expert In Empire, as in the "real" world, everyone must eat to survive, (see SPECIAL NOTE below for the exception). All of these numbers below are subject to change. Execute the "version" command to get some of this information. Ask the deity for the rest. Each civilian or military eats 0.0005 units of food per time unit, (i.e. 0.024 units of food a "day" in non-Blitz Empire). The ability of a sector to grow food is indicated by its "fertility". Fertil- ity values range from 0 to 100. Food can be grown in any kind of sector although agribusinesses are able to grow more food with fewer workers. Every sector produces a base level of food according to the following: The amount of food that the sector can grow in one time unit is: fertility * 0.002 The amount of food that can be harvested in one time unit is: (civilians + military / 5) * 0.002 i.e. one civilian can harvest four times the amount that he/she eats while one military can harvest 4/5 of the amount that she/he eats. Note that this means that although a sector with a fertility of 40 can grow enough food to support 160 people at least 10 of them must be civilians. In fact, any combination of civilians and military that meets the following two criteria will be self-sufficient: civilians + military <= 4 * fertility (amount that grows) military <= 15 * civilians (amount that gets harvested) In an agribusiness an additional amount of food can be grown. That amount is calculated by the following: An efficiency factor (effact) takes into account the state of repair of the agribusiness itself (sector efficiency, effic) and the technology level of your farmers (the national technology level, tlev): effact = (effic * (tlev + 10)) / (100 * (tlev + 20)) The amount of additional food that the sector produces in one time unit is: (civilians + military / 5) * effact * fertility / 1000. Thus, a 100% agribusiness with a fertility of 50 and an educational level of 10 has an efficiency factor is 2/3; one civilian can harvest 0.033 units of food per time unit beyond the food normally produced in that sector. This extra amount is enough to support 33-three other people while one military can harvest 0.0066, enough to feed 13 other people. The amount of food cultivated by 10 civilians in 10 time units in a 100% agribusiness are: | EDUCATION LEVEL | | 0 | 10 | 100 | ------+-----+------+------+ F 10 | 0.5 | 0.67 | 0.92 | E ---+-----+------+------+ R 50 | 2.5 | 3.33 | 4.58 | T ---+-----+------+------+ . 100 | 5.0 | 6.67 | 9.17 | ------+-----+------+------+ SPECIAL NOTE: Residents of a sanctuary need no food to survive; thus no one ever starves in a sanctuary. On a ship the following applies: The amount of food that can be produced on a fishing boat in one time unit is: (civil * etus * fertil) / 10000; However, if the NEWFISH option is in use, the limit is: (civil * etus * fertil) / 1000; The amount of food that can be produced on any other ship in one time unit is: 0 Note that if a ship doesn't have enough food, it will try to draw it from sup- ply sources (see info supply). If it still hasn't enough food, it will attempt to grab unneeded food from any land units it is carrying. Land units eat food as well, an amount based on the total number of military in the unit (this is the efficiency times the number of mil needed to build the unit). If a land unit doesn't have enough food, it will try to draw it from supply sources (see info supply). If it still doesn't have enough, and it is on a ship, it will attempt to get food from the ship. The presence of food also affects the birthrate in Empire; if there is no food in a sector no babies will be born. A baby consumes 0.3 units of food in growing to adulthood. However, babies are only allowed to eat half the food in a sector. Thus if a sector could produce 25 new civilians but only has 2 spare units of food, (after the current population has eaten), only three babies will be born and one unit of food will be left. SEE ALSO Innards, Populace, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/God0100664000000000000000000000746010055155521014142 0ustar rootroot Server : How to be a good God NAME God - Tips on being God Level: Expert The following commands act differently or require different parameters when used as deity: wire, read, des, zdone, nav, march, transport, move, build, country. Comments from Dave Pare I've been deity of seven or eight games, and each time I learn something new about how far I should go, and how active a role I should take. There are several things a deity should take into account. 1) Bug policy. When a player says that a bug bit him, how do you handle it? Since I used to hack on the game at the same time players would play, I used to have a "nasty" bug policy. That is, if a bug bites a player, he loses. It is very difficult to verify if a player "really did lose those 1000 gold bars" from that bank because of a bug. Also, whenever a player had something bad happen to him, he'd yell "BUG". All too often, the player just did something stupid. If a player ever found a "good" bug (and reported it in a timely fash- ion), I'd give him some kind of reward. The reward was generally mate- rial enough to encourage them to report bugs, but not too much so the other players complained. If through use of this bug the player manufac- tured "too many" goodies for himself, I acted to redress the balance immediately. This whole case is only interesting when the Deity knows the Empire code, and can identify bugs as such. 2) Unskilled players. It's tough watching your friends lose in an Empire game. Helping "just a little" by giving information, or by giving a teensy bit of assistance is BAD. Empire is NOT a game of socialist care for the needy; it's more like survival of the fittest. Players should sink or swim on their own. If you help a novice, you're deliberately hurting his opponent. Some players will lose, and as Deity you'll have to stand by and watch this happen. 3) Answering random prayers. If you DO help someone, help them in rela- tively minor ways. Do things like fill in some ocean, etc. Don't give away commodities -- except perhaps food. Whatever you do, don't give tech, military hardware, civilians, military, or any information at all! The game is very stingy with information, and you should be too. 4) Security. Make SURE that nobody else has access to the data directories. There are always players who will do anything to win. If you help them control themselves by making the data completely unavailable -- watch those dump tapes too -- you'll be doing their moral fiber and everyone else a favor. Remember, as Deity your job is to make the game fair. Don't hose players (unless they cheat -- and you catch them!) and don't give out information. Information is very important in Empire, and as Deity you've got access to all of it. Be careful in what you say, and how you leave your terminal at night! Unless you've got nothing else to do, a Deity should keep player communica- tions to a minimum. Handling special player requests gets tedious after a while; make players pay for Deity assistance. One game I suggested that the only way players could get the Deity to fill in ocean sectors, zap plague, etc, was to offer a real-life sacrifice to the deity -- a few bottles of good beer, for example! I got perhaps a dozen bottles, and managed to greatly cur- tail player requests at the same time! In summary, an Empire game should be between players. Any time the Deity helps anyone, Deity intervention starts becoming a factor in the game. As a Deity, you absolutely can't go wrong if you do nothing at all except routine game maintenance. SEE ALSO Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/Guerrilla0100664000000000000000000000611010055155506015351 0ustar rootroot Concept : Guerrilla NAME Guerrilla - Guerrilla warfare Level: Expert Guerrillas are created in several ways; when a sector is captured by an enemy, or when civilians riot for one reason or another (starvation, no happiness, etc). Guerrillas have a generally detrimental effect on the well-being of your coun- try. Depending on the amount of military in the sector they "infest", they will either attack the military there (but only if they have a good chance of winning), blow up things (lowering sector efficiency), or, if they are too badly outnumbered, they will try and move to a different sector. If there are no military in the "infested" sector at the end of the update to break up guerrilla recruitment drives, your civilians' loyalty will suffer. If the sector is only occupied -- not completely owned by you, that is -- then it will revert back to the old owner, renouncing the conqueror and returning to their old allegiance. The guerrillas will then move on to "convert" more sectors. Particular guerrilla bands will fight to the death, or until you dissolve in disgust. Guerrillas will attempt to "recruit" new followers from semi-loyal sectors and from the uncompensated worker population. Loyal civilians will resist these recruiting drives, but uncompensated workers will always flock to the banner of the guerrilla warrior. The renowned guerrilla fighter Colonel (later Captain) Batguano gave a talk to the special forces, which was later made into an Armed Forces Technical Man- ual. In it he states, The first thing you learn is that the che are hardier than cockroaches, eat like birds, and are simply invulnerable to gunfire and napalm. They hide in the sewers. There are two ways to handle the guerrilla problem; one way requires high yield fusion weapons, and then they only die when everything else in the sector is destroyed. Unfortunately, collateral damage to civilian assets renders this strategy negatory ... [Col. Batguano then launches into a tirade against the "wimpy- assed liberals" which interfere with the proper guerrilla sup- pression techniques] ... Almost every fully-populated area we moved into had a few dozen of the little monsters, and troop levels of 50-100 per sector were found to adequately pacify the region. Of course, depopulating the area prior to takeover often had a salutary effect on the number of che we later found... You will be notified of the varying civil disturbances by "production" tele- grams showing a body count of guerrillas killed, a sector being subverted by revolutionary propaganda, or a sector lost to guerrilla activities! Land units present in a sector help to fight them, fighting without any multi- plier, either offensive or defensive and without any fortification bonus. Any units with the "security" ability will also kill some che before anything else is done (commando raids). SEE ALSO Populace, Occupation, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/Guide0100664000000000000000000052720610055155515014476 0ustar rootroot Introduction : User's Guide to Empire NAME Guide - User's Guide to Empire Level: Basic | | | *** *** | | *** *** * | | *** *** ****** ****** ** **** * ****** | | *** *** ** ** ** **** ** * ** | | *** *** ***** ******* ** ***** | | *** *** ** ** ** ** | | *** *** ****** ****** ** ****** | | *** *** | | ********* ++++ + + +++++ ++++ +++++ +++++ +++ | | + + + + + + + + + + | | + ++ + + + + + +++ + + + | | ************ + + + + + + + + + + + | | *********** +++ +++ +++++ ++++ +++++ + +++ | | *** | | *** *** **** **** ******** ********* ******** ******* | | ******* ***** **** *** *** ** ***** *** *** *** *** | | *** **** ** ** *** ** *** *** *** ******** | | *** *** ** ** *** ** *** ******** *** | | *********** *** ** ** ******** ***** *** *** *** *** | | ************ *** ** ** *** ********* *** *** ******* | | ** | | By Geoff Cashman | User's Guide to Empire 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ---------------------------------------------. . . . . . . . . .| | . . . . . . . . | This work copyright 1991, Geoff Cashman |. . . . . . . . . .| All rights reserved except you may copy | . . . . . . . . | this work using electronic methods. Non |. . . . . . . . . .| electronic copying, hard copies for the | . . . . . . . . | purpose of distribution and/or selling, |. . . . . . . . . .| is strictly prohibited without author's | . . . . . . . . | express written consent. No changes may |. . . . . . . . . .| be made to the content of this edition. | . . . . . . . . | |. . . . . . . . . .--------------------------------------------- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . User's Guide to Empire 2 Preface This guide's intended audience is the beginning player and those players who have played a game or three and would like to have some insight on some more subtle aspects of the game. Some experienced players may find some benefit from reading this guide as well. While you may feel you are an expert, it is always possible to learn. Nothing in this guide is intended to be difficult to understand, and every effort has been made to make this guide an easy learning tool. This publication is current to Berkeley version 1.1 patch level 5 User's Guide to Empire 3 Foreward It has been over a year now since I first sat down and thought in a serious way about writing this guide. It has been a long trip with many interesting turns and developments. When I first started, the version of Empire that this guide has ultimately been written for had not yet been released. Now, with this project nearing release I find that yet another new version of Empire is coming out. I look on in near despair as I realize that this guide may very well soon be outdated. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to release this information in what might be considered a final form. However, I hope that this is not the final form. With new versions of Empire coming out in the very near future I hope that some other potential author steps forward and takes up the banner of educating the new player. I caution you though that such a work as this takes quite an effort. To the reader and any critics or even cynics that might be reading, I say that I am not writer. I never was, and I never intend to be. There are certainly enough writers in the world to write almost everything the world could want to know about in print. I was never skilled in the art of proper style for any sort of writing. Please, be kind and keep this in mind. I wrote this guide because I felt there was a great need for something of this nature. I have watched so many players come to the network looking for information on Empire, such as the rules, or information on how to play. One can get information about the various commands available to oneself within the game, but to understand how to use those commands effectively and get skilled at running a country is a far greater task. Many new players have despaired after playing their first game for lack of the requisite knowledge to play effectively. Some come back fighting hard in the next game, but many just disappear never to be heard from again. This guide was written with the hope that if the new player is supplied with the basics, they can advance in skill more quickly than previously possible and not despair at their first defeat. I am hoping that within the near future two other companion guides to this one will be written and released to the net. These two guides will be intended to make the average player a better player or even expert, and to teach fledgling deities how to compile and establish a, solicit entries for , and effectively run, a game. Some people have commented to me that the time spent on these guides would be better spent if I were to spend time programming for Empire instead. It is my belief that in teaching players to be better players, and teaching deities how to be a deity should that guide be released, the potential pool for programmers of Empire will increase. I can not take credit for the idea of this guide. The need for such a guide I think was painfully obvious to a great many players. Some in fact did engage in projects to fill that need. Every such attempt has fallen short, in my humble opinion. Witness the large number of people User's Guide to Empire 4 who still ask the network, "How do I play?" and even more importantly the lack of sufficient answer to such people's questions. In my highest hopes, I dream that someday soon that answer will be "Get a copy of the User's Guide to Empire, which is available via FTP from xx.xx.xx". This work was made possible by the contributions of several Empire players. This work would not have been completed without the insights and assistance of many Empire players and deities. To the Empire community as a whole, I say thank you for your priceless contributions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- User's Guide to Empire 5 *** Contents *** Preface Foreward 1. What is Empire? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2. How to get into a game of Empire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3. The primitive basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 4. Geography in Empire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 5. The beginning phases of Empire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 6. Diplomacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 7. Setting up your defenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 8. Nuclear warfare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 9. Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 10. The economy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 11. War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 12. Other helpful or not so helpful hints. . . . . . . . . . . . 57 13. Some tricks and subtle tactics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 14. Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Appendices a) glossary b) known bugs c) ftp sites Figures: 1. Sample of how to FTP and compile a client program 2. Killing a process on a remote Empire host 3. Example of an Empire map 4. Realistic version of an Empire map 5. Table of sector types and designations 6. Unexplored island prior to breaking sanctuary 7. Island showing exploration using theory 1 8. Island showing exploration using theory 2 9 Island showing exploration using theory 3 10. Results from 'show planes capability' 11. Results from a 'nation' report 12. Map of region hit by nuclear weapon 13. Table of types of commodities in Empire 14. Sample output of 'prod' command 15. Results of a 'census' command of a library 16. Map of area requiring some distribution 17. Results of a distribution command 18. Map of an area requiring delivery path User's Guide to Empire 6 Chapter 1 :-: What is Empire? Empire is a game in which you are pitted against several other players in a country vs. country format. There are economies to run, armies to support, policies to generate, and allies and enemies to make. The game supports various features that make certain aspects of the game seem to parallel the "realistic" world. These include satellites, planes, banks, parks, etc. Empire, in the version herein described, is a very complex game. The closest game that most people will know that is analogous to it is the game known as Risk. However, Empire is more complex by a factor of at least one hundred. Nevertheless, as a result of the computer aiding you every step of the way, the game is not difficult to play, though it can be difficult to learn. If you read this guide thoroughly, and use it as a continuing resource, you can help make learning this game a lot easier. It should be noted that in learning to play this game, you may become frustrated or feel daunted by its complexity. Several players have noted that they almost gave up on Empire, until one day when everything seemed to start to make sense. I call it the "threshold level of understanding" after which learning the art of Empire becomes several grades easier, and players learn substantially faster. I urge you to stay with it until you get to that level. It may take some time, but it is well worth the effort. This guide is intended to get you to that threshold level of understanding. Games usually take two to three months depending on various factors that are changeable by the person who runs the game prior to its inception. Some games, known as blitz games, last a day or three and will wear out your finger tips from typing too much, will cause your family and loved ones to be tremendously upset with you for missing breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days straight, will cause your stomach to argue constantly with you about its right to food, and are a tremendous amount of fun. Blitz games are not for the light of heart nor are they meant for the beginner. For more information concerning the basic scope of Empire, refer to the game itself. Within the game, there are various help entries accessible through the command 'info'. This guide is intended to go well beyond the scope of help available from 'info'. Empire, the game, has evolved through many different forms over the last decade. There are still numerous versions for various computers around. The version herein discussed is BSD Empire, written for the most part by Dave Pare along with a lot of help from net people. As release time approaches I am aware that Mr. Pare is working on BSD Empire V2.0. This guide is only current to version V1.1.5 of BSD. I wish User's Guide to Empire 7 the future author of the guide to V2.0, whomever that might be, the best of luck and bequeath that person a family size bottle of aspirin for personal use. Summary: Empire is a very complex game that has a rather steep learning curve. Most of the complexity of the game can be handled by the commands available to you, the game server itself, or tools that you use to better your country. Tools are described later in this text. User's Guide to Empire 8 Chapter 2 :-: How to get into a game of Empire. The most common way of finding about about games that are about to happen is by monitoring the newsgroup rec.games.empire on your local news reading program. Other ways are via e-mail by getting to know several players with whom you correspond over the network. Some games are by invitation only but these are few and far between as usually a game is better with more people in it. If you do not know how to use your local news reading program, ask a local site consultant or find a brochure about the news programs available. One of the most common newsreaders can be reached by typing 'rn' from your unix prompt. If you have VMS for an operating system this may not be true. To go directly to the rec.games.empire newsgroup you could type in 'rn rec.games.empire'. Before entering a game of Empire, consider the amount of time that you have available to play the game. Two hours a day for a four update per day game is usually the norm. If you are inexperienced, and have not fought in wars before, that two hours will dramatically increase should war break out between you and another country. Note that it is easy to get addicted to the game. The player should be aware of this prior to playing. Play in moderation. This is obviously not meant to scare you off. It is merely a word of caution to some people. Remember to play in moderation. If you do decide to join in an upcoming game of Empire, then you will have the pleasure of playing one of the best games around. Empire has been described as being the most complicated game ever created. Despite the fact that the game was created for computers and has been in existence for several years, as yet no robot player has been developed nor is it anticipated. It is possible to build such a robot, but it would be a huge task. Do not be dismayed though. Most of the complexity of Empire is handled by the server and client. There is a fair amount of what is called "micro-managing" that may need to be done to be a highly successful nation. However, it is not a necessary thing to do. Furthermore, there are many tools (described later) that can handle the micromanaging aspects to a great degree. After you find out about a game, and decide that you do want to play in that upcoming game, you need to contact the "Deity". The "Deity" is the person who runs the game. You should mail him/her with information about yourself and your country. A customary basic form for registering your country to play might contain the following information: Country name: (any name you like, from Brianville to USofA) Rep: (this is your *password*) Net address: (the address at which you can be contacted over the net) Skill level: (1-10..10 being the best, 1 being beginner) It might be necessary depending on the Deity to include all addresses User's Guide to Empire 9 from which you might be playing. With the proliferation of suns as general user machines this is becoming more and more a chore, and few deities require it. It might suffice to say "mickey@*.buffalo.edu" which might cover all machines you play from if you played from SUNY-Buffalo. Mickey, of course, is just an arbitrary username chosen for this example. Empire players connect to games in progress through a program known as a "client". This program handles communication between your computer and the computer that the game is running on. There are several versions of clients available. Some are more "capable" than others in that they can make decisions easier for you or make the decisions themselves. They are intended to reduce the amount of work you have to do to maintain your country though in some cases they actually increase the amount of work you have to do. I have listed places from which you can get other types of clients from in the FTP listings in appendix C. Sources for basic client program is available by FTPing to ucbvax.berkeley.edu. For the user's benefit, I have included a copy of a session in which a user FTPs to ucbvax, retrieves the source, compiles the source and establishes the appropriate environment variables to connect to a game. Note that the following example will work ONLY on a unix, ultrix, or other flavor of unix operating system. This will not work for the VMS client. -------------------------------------------------------------- (PLEASE NOTE: Walk through comments in this sample will be enclosed in [** and **]. They are not part of what actually appeared on screen in collecting this sample. They are meant only as guides.) [** First, I create a directory to put the client in. I then cd into that directory and then proceed with the ftp to ucbvax. **] autarch{tmp}!>mkdir myclient autarch{tmp}!>cd myclient autarch{myclient}!>ftp ucbvax.berkeley.edu Connected to ucbvax.berkeley.edu. 220 ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU FTP server (Version 5.30 Tue Mar 28 18:11:37 PST 1989) ready. [** Type in anonymous for your name **] Name (ucbvax.berkeley.edu:mickey): anonymous [** Send your real identity for the password **] 331 Guest login ok, send ident as password. Password: 230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply. [** I am now logged in to ucbvax's public access FTP area. Now I cd into the "pub" directory, then the "games" directory, and then the "bsd-empire" directory where I know the Empire client source resides. **] User's Guide to Empire 10 ftp> cd pub 250 CWD command successful. ftp> cd games 250 CWD command successful. ftp> cd bsd-empire 250 CWD command successful. [** Now, I set my file transfer mode to "binary" and set hash on so that I can see transmit progress on screen (# = 1024 bytes.) **] ftp> bin 200 Type set to I. ftp> hash Hash mark printing on (1024 bytes/hash mark). [** Now, I view the directory listing to confirm the name of the client source. **] ftp> ls 200 PORT command successful. 150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for .. empire-1.1.tar.Z empire-1.1.patch.5 empire-1.1.patch.4 empire-1.1.patch.3 contrib.tar.Z client.tar.Z empclient-1.1.tar.Z [** ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ it's this one. **] README emptools.tar.Z # 226 Transfer complete. 143 bytes received in 0.03 seconds (4.7 Kbytes/s) [** Now, I "get" the file and the transmission to my directory begins. **] ftp> get empclient-1.1.tar.Z 200 PORT command successful. 150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for empclient-1.1.tar.Z (20859 bytes). ######################################### 226 Transfer complete. local: empclient-1.1.tar.Z remote: empclient-1.1.tar.Z 20859 bytes received in 1.8 seconds (11 Kbytes/s) [** The client source now resides in my directory, so I log out of Berkeley **] ftp> quit 221 Goodbye. [** I next confirm that the client is in my directory. **] autarch{myclient}!>ls empclient-1.1.tar.Z [** Next, I have to uncompress the file (the Z postfix means it is in compressed format). I again ls to confirm it's presence. **] autarch{myclient}!>uncompress empclient-1.1.tar.Z autarch{myclient}!>ls empclient-1.1.tar [** Next, I have to tar the file (tar postfix means it's in tar format). Again, I ls to confirm operation completed. **] autarch{myclient}!>tar -xf empclient-1.1.tar autarch{myclient}!>ls User's Guide to Empire 11 client/ empclient-1.1.tar [** Ah, ok. I tar'ed the file and it created a directory for itself. So, I cd into that directory and ls it. **] autarch{myclient}!>cd client autarch{client}!>ls Makefile empire.6 host.c main.c saveargv.c README expect.c hpux.c misc.h servercmd.c bit.c fnlist.h ioqueue.c proto.h serverio.c bit.h globals.c ioqueue.h queue.c termio.c dtable.c handle.c login.c queue.h termlib.c [** There's the README file up there. That will tell me what to do next. **] autarch{client}!>more README BSD Empire 1.1 This is the empire client for BSD Empire. To make the program, edit globals.c and change localhost to point at the machine where the game is running. Type "make". You can change hosts on-the-fly by using environment variables -- see the man page for details. [** Simple enough. I don't bother modifying globals.c since I can modify the environment variables using the unix command 'setenv'. So now, I just type 'make' and hope everything goes ok. NOTE: This was done on a sun4. Your results may vary slightly. **] autarch{client}!>make [** Now, it does the compilation automatically without me having to do it by hand, I just typed the make and it does it by itself. **] cc -g -sun4 -c bit.c cc -g -sun4 -c dtable.c cc -g -sun4 -c expect.c cc -g -sun4 -c globals.c cc -g -sun4 -c handle.c cc -g -sun4 -c host.c cc -g -sun4 -c hpux.c cc -g -sun4 -c ioqueue.c cc -g -sun4 -c login.c cc -g -sun4 -c main.c cc -g -sun4 -c queue.c cc -g -sun4 -c saveargv.c cc -g -sun4 -c servercmd.c cc -g -sun4 -c serverio.c cc -g -sun4 -c termio.c cc -g -sun4 -c termlib.c cc -g -o empire bit.o dtable.o expect.o globals.o handle.o host.o hpux.o ioqueue.o login.o main.o queue.o saveargv.o servercmd.o serverio.o termio.o termlib.o -ltermlib autarch{client}!>ls User's Guide to Empire 12 Makefile expect.c hpux.c misc.h serverio.c README expect.o hpux.o proto.h serverio.o bit.c fnlist.h ioqueue.c queue.c termio.c bit.h globals.c ioqueue.h queue.h termio.o bit.o globals.o ioqueue.o queue.o termlib.c dtable.c handle.c login.c saveargv.c termlib.o dtable.o handle.o login.o saveargv.o empire* host.c main.c servercmd.c empire.6 host.o main.o servercmd.o [** Walla, it compiled, and now there is a file in the directory called 'empire' with a * next to it (meaning it's an executable. Not all ls's will do this, see 'man ls' for further info on parameters for ls). That file is the client. I could delete all of the '.c', '.h', and '.o' files right now to clean things up, but I am anxious to get into the Empire game that is already in progress. So, I next setup my environment variables so my client knows which computer to call and which port to use on that computer. **] autarch{client}!>setenv EMPIREHOST oleander.cs.odu.edu autarch{client}!>setenv EMPIREPORT 1617 [** EMPIREHOST and EMPIREPORT variables will have been given to you by the deity running the game. With that done, I can now run my client and connect to the game. **] autarch{client}!>empire Country name? [** I type in my country name **] Your name? [** And my password, NOT my real name. **] -=0=- You have six new telegrams waiting... [0:255] Command: [** And you are now connected to the game and are ready to play dictator **] Figure 1 Sample of how to FTP and compile a client program ------------------------------------------------------------------ Since you are playing across a network of computers, it is possible that there will be problems along the way in connecting to the server from the computer you play on. What follows are some common connection errors. Problem 1: autarch{client}!>empire connect: Connection refused Problem This generally means that you have either set your environment variables wrong (see 'setenv' from earlier in this chapter), or the server at the host site is not currently running. Solution (1) Check your environment variables by issuing a 'setenv' command. User's Guide to Empire 13 (2) Wait for the server to come up. Problem 2: autarch{client}!>empire connect: Connection timed out Problem This generally means that there is a network outage somewhere along the network. Solution (1) You can monitor the network by using two unix commands located in /usr/etc on most unix systems. These are 'ping' and 'traceroute'. /usr/etc/ping 128.205.7.3 for instance will send a ping at the host with ip address 128.205.7.3. If that machine can be reached from your machine across the network it will return: 128.205.7.3 is alive traceroute 128.205.7.3 will request responses from each site along the way. This is useful for seeing which site along the way is causing the outage. (2) This solution is easier, but more frustrating. Wait. Problem 3: autarch{client}!>empire Country name? Your name? -=O=- 3 country in use by mickey@lictor.acsu.buffalo.edu (pid=5797) Problem This one is potentially nasty. It means that another process is logged into your country. This could be from multiple sources. 1: Your friend who is playing your country as well. 2: A process of yours that got accidentally hung. 3: The network hung your remote process even though your local process is now terminated. Solution (1) Go kick your friend in the head :-) (2) Kill your process 'nicely'. To find the process execute a 'ps -x' command and find the appropriate process number: autarch{client}ps -x PID TT STAT TIME COMMAND 3555 t1 S 0:00 -usr/new/csh (csh) 3575 t1 R 0:00 ps -x 3559 ? S 0:00 -usr/new/csh (csh) 3560 ? S 0:00 (empire) The offending process number in this list is 3560. To kill it, simply type the command 'kill 3560'. After that, all should be well. Try entering the game again. (3) If your process is hung on the server machine, you can do one of two things. First, you can mail the Deity with the "pid", or process identification number. This number is listed in the original error message and in our case is 5797. Secondly, you can log in to the remote site and kill the process yourself via the process illustrated below. Note that in the first line of the illustrated process that the name storm.tamu.edu is the host site for the particular game I am using for this example. User's Guide to Empire 14 Also, 1617 is the port on that machine that Empire is being run through. Commands that you should type in are indicated by a "<----" at the end of the line. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % telnet storm.tamu.edu 1617 <---- Trying 128.194.15.98 ... Connected to storm.tamu.edu. Escape character is '^]'. 2 Empire server ready <---- [** your country name in quotes **] coun "Terminus" 0 country name Terminus pass "busyemperor" <---- [** your password in quotes **] 0 password ok kill <---- [** this terminates the hung process **] 3 process 1056 (from mickey@autarch.acsu.buffalo.edu) terminated [** next type in 'ctrl-]' and then type 'close' **] ^] telnet> c Connection closed. % Figure 2 Killing a process on a remote Empire host ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your process is now unhung, and your country should be ready to play once again. Problem 4: autarch{myclient}empire Country name? Your name? Bad password Problem The server does not accept the password you typed as being correct. Solution Try typing it again. Try using capital letters at the beginning of the password as well, or the entire password in caps. If this does not work, mail the Deity and inform him or her of the problem and what the password should be. Problem 5: autarch{myclient}empire Alarm clock Problem Your connection to the server is not responding. Solution The delay time for waiting for a response that is built into the client is not exceedingly long. The theory behind this being that if it is taking you that long to get a response from the Empire server then it is not worth playing, since response times User's Guide to Empire 15 for information from the game are going to be pretty unbearable. Keep trying is probably the best solution. These are most of the problems that you will encounter in connecting to the game server. There are some more problems that you might encounter, but generally they are not common. If you can not reach your game server for more than a day, contact your deity and let him/her know that you can not connect. Summary: Getting into a game of Empire is not terribly difficult. Setting up a client program should be a fairly painless task. If it is not, do not be dismayed. Get help from a consultant or another player if you can. Some problems with the network may temporarily prevent you from playing. Be patient, the network is a horse that should be shot, but generally it comes around after a while. User's Guide to Empire 16 Chapter 3 :-: The primitive basics. There are a few basic commands and ideas that will help you get acquainted with Empire. These are here summarized. Concept: Sanctuary. All players begin a game of Empire in what is known as a sanctuary. While you are in a sanctuary state you can not be attacked, overrun, or otherwise hurt. However, while you are in sanctuary you can not do very many things. In order to really begin playing the game you need to do what is known as "break sanctuary". You can do this using the 'break' command. When you do this, your two sanctuary sectors (which everyone starts with) will become capital sectors. You are no longer protected from attacks from enemy countries. Concept: Movement in Empire. Paths of movement are indicated by several keys. Path indicators exist in a hex shape around the letter H on your keyboard. Thus, y means travel North-West, u for North-East, j for East, n for South-East, b for South-West, and g for West. Also, h means "stop" which terminates movement of whatever you are moving. There is one other key, v which "views" the sector you are currently moving through. Thus if I gave a movement path of gggvgh the game would move whatever I am moving three sectors West, view the sector at three sectors west of my starting point, then move one more sector west and then stop. Concept: Update Empire games have "turns" known as updates. When an update occurs, your country goes through economic growth or decline, interests are paid on gold bars, military costs are paid for, mobility increases in your sectors, etc. You can do a great many things between updates, an update merely does book keeping more or less, at a predetermined time. To find out when the next update is going to happen, you can type 'update' as a command. Command: map -10:10,-7:7 This command will give you a map of the area immediately surrounding your beginning two sectors. Specifically, it will give you a map from ten sectors West of your 0,0 to ten sectors East and from seven sectors North to seven sectors South of your 0,0. Command: explore civ 0,0 1 This command allows you to move one civilian from your 0,0 and "explore" into wilderness and mountain sectors. Command: info commands This command will list the various commands available in Empire. It is a very good idea to go through the information on each command by typing 'info '. This will help you get more acquainted with the game. Though this guide shows many commands and how to use them, it is no substitute for the game's help itself. User's Guide to Empire 17 Command: designate 1,1 + This command will enable you to designate a sector you own into whatever you desire. Usually, in the beginning of the game you will designate sectors that you will not be using actively for a while into highways. The above shown example of the command will designate your 1,1 sector into a highway. Command: telegram Countries in Empire communicate with each other via telegrams. These are private letters sent just like a telegram would be. They have a size limit, but there is usually more than enough room to say what you want to say. There is no limit to the number of telegrams you may send. Command: announce Countries broadcast to the world via the command 'announce'. These announcements are similar to telegrams except instead of one country reading the telegram the entire world can read it. Command: read This command allows you to read any incoming telegrams or announcements. Empire will notify you when you have new incoming traffic. Command: news {x number of days} This command will allow you to peruse the Empire newspaper. It does not make for great reading. However, it is useful for intelligence gathering. If you just enter 'news' as a command, it will print all the news since you last read the news. Entering 'news 3' will give you the news for the last three days. In big games, the news file gets quite large. Summary: These are the basic ideas and commands of Empire. Empire has a great many commands however, and the player should endeavor to learn them. Empire can be played with only a few commands but the additional commands are there for your best interests. If you do not understand a command shown here, simply type 'info ' while in the game itself. User's Guide to Empire 18 Chapter 4 :-: Geography in Empire. Maps in Empire are based on a simple hex design. For example: ---------------------------------- There are three basic sector types in Empire (note: "type" is different than / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ "designation". Designation refers to what / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ that sector has on it, a factory or school -4 | . | ^ | - | ^ | . | for example. Type refers to what it is \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / built on). There are: \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / seas : . -3 | - | - | . | . | mountains : ^ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ wilderness : - / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ When using the Empire map, you use an "X,Y" -2 | . | - | - | - | . | system. The X coordinate refers to how far \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / along the horizontal you are, the Y referring \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / to the vertical. Thus, there are seas on -1 | - | - | . | . | example map at 5,-1 7,-1 0,-2 8,-2 / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ 5,-3 7,-3 0,-4 and 8,-4. Negative X is / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ to the left (to the East) of 0,0 just as 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 in your high school math courses. However, negative Y is above (to the North of) 0,0. Figure 3 This is different from high school math. Example of an Empire map Why the maps have coordinates in this way is one of the great mysteries of Empire. ---------------------------------- Figure 4 below is a real map of Empire, in its real size and form. Figure 3 is "zoomed in". Note that the '?' marks on the right part of the map belong to a neighboring country. In this figure all wilderness type sectors have been designated into something other than a wilderness There are several mountains, and a lot of ocean visible as well. User's Guide to Empire 19 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [309:112] Command : map #1 33333322222222221111111111---------00000000001111111111222222 5432109876543210987654321098765432101234567890123456789012345 -3 + + + + + . . . . . . . . + . . . . . . . -3 -2 a ^ + m ^ + . . . . o . + . . . . . . . . -2 -1 + + + + + + + + . . . a o a . + + + . . . . -1 0 + + + + + + + g o o o + + + . + o c m . . . 0 1 + + ^ o + a j m g w g ^ ^ m + j j + . + . . . 1 2 + + a + + + + + + + + . b j + m + w + . . . . . . 2 3 + a . a a + b + m o j + t + + + + + + . + . + + + . . ? ? ? 3 4 . . . . . a g + ^ + m + + l ^ ^ ^ + o + + + + + + + + ? + ? 4 5 + . . + + + + + ^ + ^ m + j ^ ^ c + m + + + + + + + ^ + + + ^ 5 6 . . . + + ^ + + + + m + + o o + k + + + + + + ^ ^ + + + + 6 7 . + + + + + + + + o m + a o + e + + + ^ ^ a + + + + + ? 7 8 . + + + + a + ^ + g d m + w m + m + + + + + ^ + + + + ? 8 9 . + + + + + + + + + + + k + g t + + + + + + + + ? ? ? ? 9 10 . . + + + + ^ + ^ ^ g + + + p g + i g + + + + ? 10 11 . + + + + + ^ + + + ^ + + m + g o + g + + + + + ? ? ? ? 11 12 . + + + + + + + + + + + g g + + + + g + + + + + + + + ? 12 13 . + + + + + + + + + + + + + g + g m + w + + + + + + + + ? 13 14 . . . + + + + + + + + + + + g + + m + + + + + + + + + + 14 15 . + + + + + + a + + + + + + + + m + + + + + + + a + + + + 15 33333322222222221111111111---------00000000001111111111222222 5432109876543210987654321098765432101234567890123456789012345 Figure 4 Realistic version of an Empire map ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following listing is taken directly from the command 'info sector-types' in the game. There is a lengthy description of each sector type also in this command, but I have omitted it here for brevity. User's Guide to Empire 20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BASICS INDUSTRIES MILITARY / SCIENTIFIC . sea d defense plant t technical center ^ mountain i shell industry f fortress s sanctuary m mine r research lab / wasteland g gold mine n nuclear plant - wilderness h harbor l library/school c capital w warehouse e enlistment center p park u uranium mine COMMUNICATIONS * airfield FINANCIAL + highway a agribusiness b bank ) radar installation o oil field j light manufacturing # bridge head k heavy manufacturing = bridge span % refinery Figure 5 Table of sector types and designations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can see, there are a wide variety of sector types in Empire. However, until your country becomes populated the most useful sector is the highway ('+'), for it allows you to move things around easier, even if the highway has only begun being constructed (ie, 0% efficient). Summary: Empire maps are based on a simple hex design, with the movement keys based similarly around the letter h on standard keyboards. These movement keys are a basic tool in Empire and must be learned. User's Guide to Empire 21 Chapter 5 :-: The beginning phases of Empire. Typically a game starts with a `speed' phase. If it does not, then initial play can get boring quickly. A `speed' opening also demands more time for the period when the updates are frequent, but hopefully, that will be balanced by your efficient country and the less time spent running it when your classes/real life demand more time. There are several opening strategies for Empire players. I am going to go through a few of them here. If you feel you can make a better strategy feel free to do so. Basically, all strategies for the opening phases revolve around a few basic ideas. First, you want to secure as much land for yourself as possible. Secondly, if you share an island with some other person, you want to leave yourself in a strategically advantageous position against your opponent, optimally to surround him/her before s/he breaks sanctuary. These two ideas are the most important things to consider prior to the first update. There are other things to consider, which will be reviewed later. It is highly important for you, the player, to begin playing the game as soon as the game begins. If you do not, you risk being surrounded before the first update. Furthermore, not breaking sanctuary prior to the first update can cost you a great deal in terms of population growth and the establishment of your economy. Some players will use tools, which are reviewed in chapter 14, to break sanctuary and occupy land from the beginning. There are other means to aid your land occupation as well. If you have a programmable terminal, or terminal program, you can program a key to contain a particular command such as "explore civ 0,0 1 jjjujuuu". This could be a path along a line of land that you have already occupied, and wish to expand beyond. If you had to repeatedly type in that command and path you would take a much greater amount of time to occupy land. This can also be done through X windows, using the mouse and cut/paste capabilities. There are a few different theories on how to explore out from your sanctuaries to claim as much land as possible for yourself. In the following maps, the square island shown is entirely wilderness except for the two sanctuaries in the middle. It is important to note that prior to exploring the entire island, the only thing you would be able to see on your map would be this: User's Guide to Empire 22 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - s s - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - It is your job to explore the island, while occupying, or securing for yourself, as much land as possible. Note that for the sake of simplicity I have not placed another country on this example island. If a sector is a "+","c", or "s" it is an occupied (by you) sector. If it's a "-" it's a wilderness sector, and if you can move into it, it is unoccupied. This is an important piece of information. If you can note move into a wilderness sector it means that it is occupied by another country. Note that "." are seas, as indicated in chapter 5. The basic commands to complete this exploration are 'explore' and 'designate'. Learn about those commands either from chapter 4 or the game before attempting these theories. First, I show the entire island prior to your breaking sanctuary and exploring: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - s s - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 6 Unexplored island prior to breaking sanctuary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next, I show theory 1, occupying in a concentric circle. Note that once you have broken sanctuary (using the 'break' command) that your two sanctuary sectors immediately become capitals, with your real capital at 0,0. User's Guide to Empire 23 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - + + + + + c c + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 7 Island showing exploration using theory 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So far, 84 sectors have been occupied. Now I show theory 2, occupying in spokes with concentric hexes spaced every few sectors apart: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - + + - - - - - + + - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - + - + - - - - + - + - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - + - - + + + + + - - + - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - + - - + + - - + + - - + - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - + - - + - + + + - + - - + - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - + + + + + + c c + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - + - - + - + + + - + - - + - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - + - - + + - - + + - - + - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - + - - + + + + + - - + - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - + - + - - - - + - + - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - + + - - - - - + + - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 8 Island showing exploration using theory 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- User's Guide to Empire 24 Now, 84 sectors have once again been occupied. However, an additional 56 sectors are now within the borders of your country. Thus, securing a total of 140 sectors for yourself. The disadvantage? You have three lines of occupation ( the "+" sectors) between the center of your country and unsecured wilderness. In theory 1, the same number of sectors provides for 4 lines for most of the country. Another disadvantage is that it costs more mobility to use theory 2. The more lines of occupation you have between the central areas of your country and the unexplored wilderness or an enemy the easier it is to defend your country. A third theory is the idea of coastal occupation as a means of securing a large island. The idea being to secure the land immediately around you and then explore in one direction until you find seas, and then proceed to occupy the coast: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . + - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . + - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . + - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . + - - - - - - - - - - - + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . + - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . + - - - - - - - - - - + + c c + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - . . + - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + - - - - - + - - - - - - - - . . + - - - - - - - - - - - + + + + - - - - - - + - - - - - - - . . + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - - . . + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - . . + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - . . + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - . . + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 9 Island showing exploration using theory 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here, once again, 84 sectors have been occupied. In addition, 179 sectors of wilderness have been secured, ie cut off from another country. This brings a total of 263 sectors occupied or secured. This is obviously impressive. However, it has its drawbacks as well. If there was a country bordering this country, that country would need only to attack and occupy one of your sectors and then they could explore into all of the "secured" sectors. In addition, there are only 2-3 lines of occupied sectors between the borders and the center of the country. This also costs more in terms of mobility than either theory 1 or 2. The next section contains a strategy submitted by Scott Yelich. Scott adheres in this summary to theory 1 as his method of exploration: User's Guide to Empire 25 "Designate one of the two initial [sanctuary] capital sectors to an agricultural center. Then move a civ out from either sector to either 1,-1 or 1,1 and designate it a +. Then, I continue to move out one civilian at a time from both of my initial sectors. Only move the civ one spot into the wilderness and then I designate that sector as a highway (+). Then, do a map to see if there is anything especially interesting... such as, a mountain, more land or ANOTHER PLAYER. Of course, Only do that map at certain times... it's not necessary to do a map after EVERY explore since explore will show you a one sector radius! [Editor's note: exploring with one civilian across a wilderness sector takes .8 mobility. Across a highway, even a 0% highway, it will cost only .2 mobility. Thus, the reason for designating new land as soon as you occupy it. You will conserve mobility if you only explore into lands bordering your new highways.] "Here is where quick action comes into play. If you spot any controlled sectors (?) or a (-) that can't be entered (if you can note move into the sector it is occupied by someone else! hurry!), try to make a boarder as quick as possible by following the pattern above... move one civ, look, repeat. If you don't find any controlled sectors, simply [try] to AVOID MOUNTAINS at ALL costs... especially during the first couple of updates. Typically, from 30 to 70 sectors can be grabbed this way within the first minute or two. "To sum up, the strategy for this is: 1) You want to see who is out there, 2) You want to see what land is out there, 3) when you take more sectors during the initial updates, you will get more mobility each update (typically 8, 'version' will tell...). Anyway, the more sectors you grab with the first update, the more you can grab the second. It's like an exponential function." This next section is a strategy submitted by Geoff Cashman. Geoff adheres in this summary to theory 2 as his method for exploration: "The basic strategy of moving one sector into the wilderness and then designate them with a command such as this: designate #1 ?des=- + which will designate all sectors in realm #1 that are wilderness into highways, is a common one. Using it wisely is not always done. My personal method is to expand only in a few directions, ie 3-6 different directions from your 0,0 2,0 area. The idea here being to make "spokes" of exploration radiating out from your 0,0 and 2,0 area. Using this method, you can use less mobility and see more land though not actually own more land until after the first update. Another advantage is you might reach an opponent before s/he reaches you. A weakness is that an opponent can explore inbetween your spokes. If I feel this is possible inbetween two spokes then I connect the spokes via concentric (on 2,0 0,0 ) arc several sectors out from the 0,0. If you do not use this method, then you would use up all of your mobility to achieve the same number of sectors by the second update. User's Guide to Empire 26 "Why save mobility? Mobility in the 0,0 sector is especially critical. The reason is because the 0,0 starts out with 999 civs. If a sector has 999 or more civs it will not give birth to more civilians. Half of the battle in winning Empire is population explosion at the beginning of the game...ESPECIALLY if you get involved in a low tech war with a neighbor early on. More population means more resources mined, more supportable military, and more taxpayers. If you are going to be a tech producer then it may be desireable to limit population, but early on I do not recommend it. So, with 999 civs in your 0,0 sector you need to be able to move out many civs (depends on the number of ETUs per update (see the version command) as to how many you should move out, see number of births per 1,000 civs per etu in the version command). Thus, my strategy is slightly different. I concentrate on getting a 100% highway built at 1,-1 or 1,1. Why those sectors? because I can then use the mobility in 1,-1 or 1,1 to move civs or products into 2,0." The use of the third theory requires a player with some experience to deal with its shortcomings. For the beginner, I do not recommend it. The following was submitted by another player to point out their means of establishing their production and the beginning stages of their economy: "Setting up a distribution network, even with inefficient warehouses, is fairly critical early on. If you starve civilians in the beginning of the game, you will fall behind in production. It is not uncommon to lose contact with the game for a day or more due to net failures. Do not depend on your capability to connect to the game to feed your civilians. "Some people never leave their 0,0 or 2,0 designated as a capital during the beginning of the game. They check the resources in 0,0 and then determine if it's suitable for being a mine or a gold mine. If neither, then they designate 2,0 into a mine. If mine, then 2,0 becomes a gold mine. Using this method they can get maximum production from their civilians that are essentially trapped for the time being in their 0,0 and 2,0 sectors due to lack of mobility. Note that in doing this that you must conserve BTUs. Having a 0% efficient capital somewhere else will cause a lack of production of BTUs. You must be careful not to run out of BTUs completely, or it could cause you a great deal of grief. "NOTE: IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO LEAVE A CAPITAL ON THE COAST AFTER ANYONE PRODUCES A BOAT. Until that time, a capital on the coast is an advantage in some ways. It is easier to defend (less places that it can be attacked from). You MUST get some civilians into the capital at -2,0 (about 50) before the first update along with some food. In general, your capital will not produce BTUs for a while, but neither do you need them for a while. However, leave your 0,0 sector as your capital until JUST prior (like 2-4 minutes, make it 10 to be safe) to the update. Does this all sound complicated? Yep. But it works. User's Guide to Empire 27 "After the first or second update I will occupy the remaining wilderness that I can see, using the mobility from the sectors that I explored into in the previous update. I will then continue to move civs out of 0,0 and into 1,-1 or 1,1 (the highway that I am trying to make 100%) and move from there. If I am not going for tech production then I don't need the library or parks (you can still make education, it helps in some regards, but for the most part you don't need it if you are not going the way of tech. You can then pretty much do as you please and work towards the goals you think are reasonable for your country. " One matter that can not be overlooked by any player is the simple fact that people need food to survive. If a sector has less than 60 people in it total, including civs, soldiers, and uws, then it will not starve. But if after the update it has more than 60 total people will starve. Make sure to feed your people! Ultimately, you want to take over every sector on your island. If you have neighbors on your island, you will probably have to share. Just try to get a bigger portion of it than your neighbors do. Summary: There are several basic ideas expressed in this chapter: 1) Break sanctuary as soon as the game begins. 2) Secure as much land for yourself as possible. 3) Use your civilians efficiently. 4) Do not allow your 0,0 sector to have a lot of civs in it. 5) Get a distribution system set up early (explained later). User's Guide to Empire 28 Chapter 6 :-: Diplomacy. It's your own ruin or success. One of the best players of the game (who shall go un-named) has had severe problems due to lack of skill in diplomacy. Remember, there is another person on the other end of that telegram. They are human like you are, and like to be treated like it for the most part. There are jerks, and there are non-jerks. Determine for yourself and go along with what you think is best, but remember, it is ok to lose a few battles so long as you win the war. A diplomatic loss can be an overall victory. One of the most powerful weapons in the game is information. What types of information can you use to your benefit? Information on; the locality of other countries, the plans of opponents, the trading going on between certain countries, etc. There is also a very powerful tool right here in this document: how to play the game well. There was a classic case of a country (myself) who accidentally announced his attention to attack a bordering country. The bordering country happened to be on, an began an attack. The attack stalemated for the most part because of the obvious inexperience of the person running that country. I offered information to him on how to play the game better in exchange for his surrender and some other terms of agreement. I turned a horrendous diplomatic mistake into a diplomatic success within two hours. This is obviously the rare case (surprised me too), but is a good example of the power of information. Another aspect of diplomacy is style. You project a style in your telegrams and announcements whether it is intentional or not. If people like you they tend to side with you more than the next guy. Of course, if you are a jerk but a powerful one people tend to reluctantly side with you. Then again, they are more likely to backstab you. While I am on that subject: Backstabbing is a bad idea in general. It leads to distrust of many players with regards to yourself and tends to give yourself backstabbist's wrist if you do it too much. Even if you change your country name from game to game people tend to pick out who the major jerks are and their previous names or even net addresses. Trust is important. If you have allies you can trust implicitly you will sleep a lot better at night and also have people who you can trust to run your country for you while you are away for a few days pursuing real world goals. If you are going to backstab someone crush them while you can and make sure their allies can not get at you. Furthermore, make the world see that the person was a fool for trusting you in the first place (like, due to previous war or some such). Sometimes, that extra attack you get without interference from automatic defenses due to a declaration of alliance with your opponent can be critical. You can also map an opponent country if you are allied with them and they will never know it. Thus another good reason why you should be trustable and can trust other close allies. Having allies is important, especially in the current market games. User's Guide to Empire 29 A) What is diplomacy? The dictionary defines diplomacy as "1: The art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations. 2: Skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility." The second definition may not be entirely accurate in that in Empire, diplomacy can sometimes be used to cause battles, rather than avoid them, to gain a particular end. I will go into this later. B) What purpose, diplomacy? Since Empire is a multi-user game the diplomacy side of the game is one of the main factors inherent to its playing. Being able to interact with other players, make bargains, treaties, alliances, sales, war, etc. leads to an incredibly variety of possible scenarios among various countries. In asking, what purpose is there to diplomacy, it must first be realized that diplomacy in the game of Empire is virtually unavoidable. To what degree you involve yourself in diplomacy is the true measure. Diplomacy can be utterly disastrous for you. It can also be very beneficial. It can also be a mediocre tool that goes mostly unused. If you master the techniques of diplomacy you will find yourself with a very valuable and powerful tool. If you fail at grasping the basic concepts of diplomacy, then you may find yourself the quick victim of a diplomatic trick. C) General types of relations amongst nations in Empire 1) No contact. The two countries have never been in contact. 2) Allies. Several types: a) Old friends, or local site friends. b) People whom you trust more than other people in the game, but are not entirely comfortable with. Nevertheless, you ally with them for lack of allies. c) Enemy allies. People whom you ally with whom you intend to attack. d) Undeclared allies. You conduct a lot of business with the country, but you do not officially declare your alliance. 3) Hostile. Generally speaking, any country who is unfriendly towards you. May not necessarily be declared hostile. 4) At war. If you have not figured out what this means, stop reading, never play Empire, and go back to elementary school :-) 5) Neutral. The broadest category. You've dealt with this person but have not decided one way or another your relations. It might be a person from a previous game or a total unknown. d) Types of diplomacy 1) Active diplomacy You interact with the country on a very high level. Whatever their relations with you, a lot of correspondence is going on. This is probably the easiest form of diplomacy to invoke. 2) Passive diplomacy Low level contact only. In essence, you do not work with this country. Some goals served by this: Country in question User's Guide to Empire 30 learns little about you; Country in question may give you more info than you give him or her; etc.. 3) Indirect diplomacy Diplomacy through a middle country to another country. This is most often seen in situations where a known friend is an ally of a country you want to be allied with. You attempt to use your friend to convince the prospective ally to ally with you. 4) Median diplomacy Being the middle person in a triad or more of allies that may not be already allied. This can be a VERY dangerous position to be in. The other sides of the triad or more may have certain expectations of you, which go against what another country may want from you. This is essentially sitting on a fence. E) Some goals that can be achieved through diplomacy: 1) Getting another country to ally with you so that you can overfly his country at will without planes scrambling. 2) Getting two countries whom you dislike to go to war against each other. 3) Getting another country to perform an act that is beneficial to you or your allies. 4) Getting a reduction in price of certain commodities or articles from another country. 5) Gaining an ally. 6) Assisting in destroying an enemy. One of the most dangerous means by which diplomacy can be used was written about in the book "Red Storm Rising" by Tom Clancy. If you have not already read this book and you are an Empire buff, it is strongly recommended reading. This method is referred to as "The Maskirovka" or "Masquerade". It is often referred to as the "big lie" by the victims of this trick. Essentially it works as follows: a) You wish to attack another country, but would like to have things sightly different before the attack begins. o You may want that person to be your ally before the attack so you can overfly him/her without being shot down. o You might want to get him/her to give you a loan prior to your attack. o You might want them to move their fleet off in another direction or in closer to your forts. o You might want them to give you certain materials of war that you can use in your attack against them. All of these things and much more can be accomplished with the concept of maskirovka. Decide what you want to achieve. b) You set out to give the impression to the target country that you are in a particular state of matters. This can be accomplished in various ways depending on what you are trying to achieve. You can have another country attack you for instance to make it User's Guide to Empire 31 appear that you need military arms or supplies to hold them off. This is one small example of what can be done. Ensure that the image you are presenting can ultimately lead to getting what you want to achieve accomplished. c) You must be convincing in your impression. Use all means reasonable to ensure the target country is getting the right image. Using e-mail with collaborating countries to coordinate such matters is often best. d) As you begin feeling that you have achieved the correct image, begin asking the target country for whatever it is you are trying to achieve. Do not come right out and say it. That may cause the whole trick to collapse on you. Approach it sideways so to speak, and try to get the target country to offer whatever it is without you directly asking for it. e) If the country agrees to the transaction of events you are seeking, all is well and good. You have achieved your goal. Keep in mind that if you have played the maskirovka well, you have not yet committed yourself in any particular direction with any sense of strong commitment. At this point, you can always back down from your further goals for which the maskirovka was designed to help. The maskirovka at this point will have given you a more favorable situation without having committed yourself. It may also have enabled you to see more into the mind of your opponent, often a valuable commodity. f) If you have failed in your maskirovka, you may still have made some gains. You again might know more about your opponent than before. You might have reached some of your goals that the maskirovka set out to accomplish. Lastly, you have not committed yourself in any particular direction, yet you have tried to enhance your position. Not a bad proposition. There are many variations to maskirovkas. The guides listed above are very general at best, and are meant more to give you an idea of how to build a plan for maskirovka than anything else. Chess players who have ever played in matches or tournaments will probably feel right at home in scheming a maskirovka. You must try to get into the mind of your opponent, understand what s/he sees from his/her vantage point and get a feel for how you think s/he will respond. You must think as if you were your opponent. Understand their vantage point as best as you can. Do not think of what you would do in a given situation, think what they would do. Think consequences to every action you can take. This usage of diplomacy is "active diplomacy", sometimes mixed with "indirect diplomacy". Another oft seen ploy of sorts is one in which you befriend a dying rich country. They may be on there way out, and there may not be a whole hell of a lot you can do for them. However, befriending them towards the end may bring you gifts of money or lower market prices from them when they dissolve. Show sympathy for their situation. You can be sincere, or you may chose not to be. Sometimes a dying User's Guide to Empire 32 country has no friends to whom they will leave their money. If your the first to show sympathy, they may be willing to give you much in return. This is an active form of diplomacy, but is rarely seen except after a long period of passiveness relative to that country. Posturing. Probably the most common form of diplomacy. This basically means presenting an image to a possible attacker that you are more capable than you appear. In general, people tend to believe it. Consider the simple fact that generally speaking a good Empire player spends a lot of time working on his or her country. Then, let them believe through posturing that they are at a greater risk than they actually are. They may tend to get possessive about their country and not want to risk its destruction and the eventual loss of so many sleepless nights and hours building the country in the first place. Summary: Diplomacy is a powerful tool. Some players consider it the most powerful aspect of the game. In many ways that can be shown to be true. However, do not let other facets of your country decline and spend a huge amount of time building an excellent diplomatic situation. The success or failure of diplomacy depends a great deal on the other players perception of your words. If your diplomacy fails, you may find that you will be forced to back up what you say with military force. User's Guide to Empire 33 Chapter 7 :-: Setting up your defenses. There are various means of "automatic" defense that Empire employs against enemy invaders. These can be outlined in three major areas: 1: Home air defenses Empire has numerous planes and plane capabilities. The higher your tech level, the better the planes you can build. For automatic defenses you are concerned with planes that have the "intercept" capability listed next to them in the command, 'show planes c'. Generally speaking, as some games diverge from this list, the planes that have intercept capability are: a: Fighter 1 (also has VTOL capability) b: Fighter 2 c: Escort 2 (in SOME games) d: Jet fighter e: Jet fighter 2 (also has VTOL capability) These planes are based out of airbases (except for the VTOL planes which can scramble from airbases and non-airbase sectors) and will automatically intercept incoming enemy planes. notes: 1: Planes will only scramble if there is petrol in the sector they are scrambling from. 2: Airbases must be at 60% or better efficiency to scramble. This does not apply to other sectors from which VTOL planes are scrambling, nor does it apply to VTOL planes in airports. In this version of Empire it is VERY important to have a good home air defense network. Having a great many planes with intercept capability without proper planning is not a good defense. You must learn to use the planes wisely. Hints for good home air defense: 1: Have airports within intercept range of each other. A plane's intercept range is 1/2 of its range indicated in the command 'show planes c'. For example: User's Guide to Empire 34 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [513:36] Command : show planes c acc load att def ran fuel abilities Sopwith Camel, fight 30 1 3 2 6 1 tactical intercept VTOL light TBD-1 Devastator, lt 30 2 1 2 8 1 bomber tactical VTOL light C-56 Lodestar, trans 0 7 0 1 15 2 cargo B-26B Marauder, hvy 85 6 2 3 15 2 bomber Figure 10 Results from 'show planes capability' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this list of planes, only the Sopwith Camel plane is capable of interception. It has a range of 6, and thus it can intercept enemy planes up to 3 sectors away from the sector it is based in. Have your planes based in sectors that are three sectors away from each other. 2: Always have a substantial number of military in your airports. It is all too easy for an enemy to track down your airport and capture it, thus possibly destroying all your planes, and in the very least taking them from you. 3: Ensure that all sectors that you have planes based in have a sufficient amount of petrol for them. Note that in the above figure, the Sopwith Camel uses 1 fuel per mission. Thus, having 10 or more petrol per Sopwith would be sufficient. 4: Do not base your entire defense on non-VTOL capable interceptors. If you do, then your enemy can remove your air defenses just by taking out your airports. Sopwith Camels (Fighter 1s) and Jet Fighter 2s are the VTOL intercept capable planes. Sopwith Camels generally become useless for intercept duty as the game wears on. After all, a paper airplane can not put up with cannon fire from an F-15 for very long! 5: It is a good idea to have each sector in your country covered by at least two airbases (or non airbases from which your are basing VTOL planes). This makes it more difficult for your enemy to locate where your airbases are. 2: Forts and guns Forts will automatically fire on any enemy army units that attack land of the defending nation, assuming that the guns in the fort have the range to reach the aggressor. This also assumes that the fort has shells and military. Fort gun range is determined by multiplying the number of guns in the fort by the technology factor of the nation. This number can be found in the nation report [see command: nation]. User's Guide to Empire 35 Here's an example of calculating your gun range: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [77:144] Command : nation Terminus Nation Report Sun Oct 20 18:27:08 1991 Nation status is ACTIVE Bureaucratic Time Units: 144 100% eff capital at -3,5 has 999 civilians & 0 military # 0 -70:-40,-30:-16 # 1 -35:25,-3:15 # 2 -30:15,-4:7 # 3 -45:5,7:22 # 4 -45:5,7:17 # 5 -65:-20,-31:0 # 6 -65:-20,-12:0 # 7 -80:-30,-5:10 # 8 -8:10,-5:5 # 9 -32:32,11:22 #10 -50:18,-12:10 #11 -40:-10,-5:5 #12 -38:29,-3:23 #13 -65:30,-18:6 #14 -20:20,16:22 #15 -30:30,-3:23 #16 -40:20,7:25 #17 -80:30,-30:23 The treasury has $57485.00 Military reserves: 1676 Education.......... 17.78 Happiness....... 13.42 Technology......... 52.78 Research........ 1.44 Technology factor : 40.66% Plague factor : 1.51% Figure 11 Results from a 'nation' report -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To calculate the gun range, multiply the number of guns in the fort (up to a maximum of seven) by the number listed in "Technology factor" which is shown in this figure as 40.66. Then, divide the resulting number by one hundred and that is the number of sectors away the gun can fire at. In this case, if you have seven guns the resulting range is 2.85 sectors. Effectively, the fort can fire just short of three sectors away. There is an additional aspect of forts which make them useful as defensive sectors. Military forces inside of a fort have four times the defensive factor of military in most other sectors. Ie, 100 soldiers in a fort is equal to 400 regular troops if they are defending the fort. Also note that forts can not be taken by paratroops dropped from planes. They can only be taken via amphibious assault and overland attack. Forts are generally useful along your border sectors early in the game and later on in the game throughout your country. Ensure that they each have sufficient (seven or more) guns and shells each, when you are able to devote that many guns and shells to them. Forts are sometimes very critical when your country is being over run. User's Guide to Empire 36 3: Naval support Your navy will defend itself if it has the capability to do so. Ships do not automatically come with guns when they are built; they must be provided with guns and shells by loading them onto the respective ship. Most ships have the capability to fire guns. Should a ship of your nation be attacked, it will defend itself if it can. In addition, ships within range will also retaliate. Note that submarines will *not* fire no matter how often they are fired at. Ships will not defend your land sectors. If ships are attacked from the air, they will fire their anti-aircraft guns (which are the same as your regular guns, and again are not automatically installed upon their construction). Anti-aircraft guns on ships are pretty much worthless on defense. Additionally, if enemy planes fly over your ships but do not attack those ships, your ships will not fire on them. Thus having a line of ships as radar pickets will not work. In addition to these three major modes of automatic defense, there are a few more minor ones. Any gun in any sector of yours that is overflown by enemy planes will fire on those planes if it has shells, guns, and military available. Military in any sector of yours that is attacked will automatically fight back to the best of its ability. There is no such thing as retreat in automatic military fighting. In addition, there are three sectors which multiply the effectiveness of military within them. We have already mentioned forts in this capacity, in that they multiply the effectiveness of troops within them by four. Capitals and Banks multiply troops effectiveness by two, when on the defensive. Also note that Capitals and Forts, as previously mentioned, can not be taken by airborne paratroopers. Neither can mountains. Lastly, should sectors of yours be taken, the enemy will have to deal with your patriotic guerillas. Guerillas will attempt to retake sectors from the enemy every update until they are defeated (which takes some time). They are large in numbers, but have been known to reach strengths of a hundred or more soldiers, though this is rare. If they can not hope to retake the sector they may try to blow things up in the sector the enemy has conquered. This results in loss of efficiency to the sector as well as reduction in the work capability of the sector. You have *no* control over your guerillas whatsoever. They are completely automatic. Should guerillas win a sector back from your enemy then the surviving guerillas become members of your regular User's Guide to Empire 37 military, and you can use them as such. If your guerillas manage to take a sector back behind enemy lines it is possible for you to enlist reservists in that sector. In so doing, you may throw a major thorn into the side of your attacker. This is a major reason for maintaining a large amount of reserves. Summary: Automatic defenses in Empire are a critical part of every country. If your country can not defend itself then you can expect to be quickly over run. Use the automatic defenses described in this chapter, and you will become a more difficult opponent. Remember the three basic areas of automatic defense. In addition, keep in mind that your airforce is probably the most important component of your automatic defenses. User's Guide to Empire 38 Chapter 8 :-: Nuclear warfare. Nuclear war in Empire is not currently the dreaded end of the world doomsday machine it is in the real world. Nuclear weapons in the standard release of Empire have no fallout, no radiation, no dust clouds, etc. Nuclear weapons in Empire are essentially big conventional bombs. They are "clean" weapons in that the only difference between them and conventional bombs is that they are bigger and create nuclear wasteland. As such, a nuclear war is much more survivable. There are several things that you need in order to wage nuclear war against an enemy. First, you need the nuclear warheads themselves. You will also need a missile or plane of sufficient type and range to launch the warheads on. Lastly, you need to have target information, ie where to land the nuclear warhead to cause the damage you want it to cause. Next, you need to decide if it is worth the cost to wage a nuclear war. Should the enemy country know where you are, and have the means to retaliate in kind, s/he will most likely do so. This can cause grave damage to your own country, and eliminate any gains you may have achieved by beginning a nuclear war. There is also the large chance of great diplomatic cost. Most countries do not tend to favor countries that rely on nuclear weapons for victory, since it is the "easy" way out. However, the scenario that the beginner needs to be most concerned about is being the victim of a nuclear attack. Most beginners never come close to achieving enough strength to have an effective nuclear force. It may take several games before you become practiced enough to maintain an economy and military that is capable of having the resources, etc. necessary for such a force. Nuclear weapons can be bought from larger powers, however the beginner still rarely tends to have these. In the event that you are attacked with nuclear weapons you need to take immediate steps in order to ensure your survival. You must first decide if it is in fact worth it for you to continue. Most nuclear attacks are survivable. In many cases, you may be hit by only one warhead. Depending on the size of your country, a small number of warheads hitting you is survivable. This all assumes the warheads are of the 5mt variety. 5mt warheads create a wasteland that is 5 sectors long from left to right. 3mt warheads create wasteland that is 3 sectors from left to right. Diameter in both cases is the same north-south as east-west. These are the only nuclear weapons that can really create serious problems for you. Other nuclear weapons cause problems, but are essentially nuisances that can be easily overcome. The following is a map of your -20:0,-10:3 region. You have been User's Guide to Empire 39 hit with a 3mt nuclear warhead at your sector -12,-6. It wastelanded 7 of your sectors and damaged nearly the entire area. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21111111111---------- 098765432109876543210 10 . . . . . . . . . . . 10 9 . . ) . . h f . . . 9 8 . . a m g o + m . . . 8 7 . a + \ \ + * m . . 7 6 = # + \ \ \ w b ) . . 6 5 . . h \ \ + e f . . 5 4 . . f + + c f l . . . 4 3 . . k j + f m m . . 3 211111111119876543210 09876543210---------- Figure 12 Map of area hit by 3mt nuclear warhead -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is a basic outline of what you will need to do should you be hit with one or more 3mt or greater warheads: 1: Get food to the people in areas that need food. Especially areas that are partially or totally cut off from the rest of your country. ON THE MAP ABOVE: This would probably be necessary for all sectors east of -12 and/or north of -4. 2: Distribution routes *will* be cut off by a nuclear hit. Redo your distribution routes around the nuclear wasteland areas. Make sure that your new distribution center has enough food to feed the people you are trying to support with it. ON THE MAP ABOVE: This would probably be necessary for all sectors in the region. 3: Move people into the area affected by the blast. Get highways in the area back up to efficiency as soon as possible. This will allow for increased movement in the immediate area of the blast which could be critical to the survival of the people in that area as well as defense of the area. ON THE MAP ABOVE: You will probably need to restructure your highway system in the region. Move people in from the south-east (off the map). 4: Lastly, try to get production back online in the area. This is not as critical as the first three things. Those are the essentials for recovering from a nuclear blast. The User's Guide to Empire 40 first three items should be done as soon as possible top to bottom, ie number one is priority one. There are also defense considerations after you have been hit by a nuclear blast. Your air defenses in the area might be wiped out which would allow your opponent to take over your land in that area. There are also steps you can use to shore up your defenses in the area while you are getting the area back on its feet: 1: Enlist military in the region. Looking at the map in figure 12, You might do something like: [23:210] Command: enlist -20:0,-10:3 -25 That would enlist military in the region so that every sector had at least 25 military in it. Note that you can only enlist half of the population in a sector at one time, but you can enlist in the same sector over and over again. Doing this would hamper an enemy's progress should they attempt a paradrop assault in the region. 2: Move undamaged or nearly undamaged VTOL fighter planes from the south-east (off the map) into the area. Do not put them on the airbase. Provide them with petrol as well. This will shore up your air defenses which were damaged by the blast. It will also make it much more difficult for an enemy power to attack by air in the region. 3: Move guns and shells into the forts on the map if they are not already there. Make sure there is at least 7 guns and a lot of shells in each fort. Also make sure there are substantial military forces in each. This will help prevent extended military action on land by an enemy. 4: Move naval forces into the region if possible. This will help to prevent amphibious assaults. If you do all of these things, recovery from the blast will not take long at all. These things will minimize the effect of the blast and get the area back on its feet again. Do not be dismayed by loss of resources etc. You *can* recover. I have been a victim of nuclear war probably half a dozen times, and so far have found only one case in which I was crippled by the effects. My entire homeland (of ~100 sectors) was wastelanded except for less than 10 sectors. No, I could no longer hope to win the game, but I did hang on long enough to purchase a nuclear warhead and missile and attack the person who nuked me. Doing something like this will make the player who nuked you respect you more in future games, and consider the consequences before pushing that button. User's Guide to Empire 41 It has become fairly routine lately for games to end with a world wide nuke-off. Generally speaking, nations having nuclear weapons threaten the world with destruction if they are not acknowledged as victors. Other people protest of course, and nuclear war happens. A game that has taken eight weeks to evolve to that point can be destroyed in less than an hour in the hottest nuclear wars. This of course does not lead to any clear cut winner, and is rather pointless but people do it anyway. It is after all, a game, and people want to have fun. Nuclear war, to many people in Empire, is fun. Summary: Do not be demoralized by a nuclear attack. Powers using nuclear weapons expect their opponents to get demoralized. Recovery from a nuclear attack of larger degree is possible as well. It takes perseverance and sometimes hard work. Don't be dismayed by mass starvations. Populations can recover if you work at it. Your reputation may be greatly improved if you do recover from a nuclear blast. User's Guide to Empire 42 Chapter 9 :-: Technology. By most people's definitions technology or the means to purchase technological weapons from another country is one of the most critical elements in doing well in Empire. Having technology allows you to: 1. Have increased ranges on your land based radar. 2. Build higher capability planes. 3. Build more advanced types of planes. 4. Build higher capability ships (not as great an effect as in planes) 5. Build more advanced types of ships. 6. Build bridges. 7. Build nuclear weapons. 8. Have increased ranges on your guns in forts. Thus, having a high technology country is a very useful thing. However, attaining a high technology level is very difficult for the beginner. Running a country that has an economy balanced well enough to produce technology at a rate sufficient to stay in the technology race is a very difficult task, even for players who are more experienced and/or have a lot of allies supporting their economies as well. Producing tech is expensive. It costs a lot in terms of money and materials. Not only do you have to produce tech, but you have to educate your people to a high enough degree that tech production can be done efficiently. Doing this takes a great many light construction materials (lcms) for education, and a large amount of oil, gold dust and lcms for tech production. It is not uncommon for tech nations to be one of the smallest and poorest nations around. Most of their time and resources have to be devoted to tech production rather than ships for exploration and military to defend outlying colonies. Do not fantasize. If you are a beginner, forget about producing tech no matter how good you think you are. You will be wasting your resources in doing so and crippling your economy while other countries will run far far ahead of you in production. In general, until you have played a few games it is far better to purchase high technology items from other players. Diplomacy, discussed at length in chapter 7, is an effective tool for purchasing technologically superior items. Should you decide to run tech, there are several things you should know. If you are able to take these into account, and balance these factors against each other you may be able to produce tech at a sufficient rate to stay with the leaders. Education is important to produce tech. You have to have an education level of at least five before you can produce any. However, User's Guide to Empire 43 an education level of five will produce tech only in an inefficient manner. The higher your education level, the more efficiently tech will be produced. This means that a single tech center can produce more tech per update, and cost you less in raw materials, though it will cost the same per unit of tech produced. The savings in raw materials is critical. Some countries feel it is better to keep your population low when they are planning on having a high education level. The reasoning behind this is that it takes less effort to educate a small number of people and costs less money as well. There is a bad side to this plan though. With a small population it is hard to produce things in large quantities, and exploring into and occupying new lands is very difficult. Technology production demands a large amount of resources. Especially oil. However, the higher tech you are the more oil you are able to refine per amount of crude oil in the ground. Thus, it is better to only take out of the ground what oil you need to keep your country running, and leave the rest for later on when you have higher tech, and get more per barrel of crude. Thus, if you were to do the following: [23:512] Command: resource 4,0 You might see that your 4,0 sector has 100 units of oil in the ground. At tech 0 you'll be lucky if you get 500 barrels of oil out of that. However, at tech 100 you will probably get somewhere around 700-750. That's a big difference. So, only take approximately what oil you will need for each update out of the ground, and leave the rest for later. Tech production also requires gold dust. Gold dust mining is not affected by tech like oil wells are. Thus, mining the gold dust right away or saving it later has no impact on how much is produced per unit of gold dust in the ground. There are other considerations though. If you have a lot of gold dust sitting around in your warehouse or other storage place, other countries will see via the power report that you have a lot of dust. If they are low on dust they just might look at you as a possible target. So, if you are going to mine a lot of your dust right away you might want to consider putting a good portion of it into banks where the dust gets converted into bars, which will give you more money per update. This especially applies to the Kent State version of Empire, where you can grind up your gold bars into gold dust at a loss of 20% of the original amount of dust put into the bars. Uncompensated workers are also useful for tech production, as well as many other things. However, it has been noticed that a tech center with 999 uws will produce tech less efficiently than one with 500 uws. The loss in efficiency is greater than what is expected from the tech limitation function, which is a non-linear function designed to limit fast tech production. Most players do not feel that the loss in efficiency is worth it for the greater amount of tech User's Guide to Empire 44 production, especially in small countries where having two or even three tech centers is unrealistic due to the small amount of land available. As your technology increases, the possibility of there being an outbreak of plague in your country increases. This is not of great concern until such time as your plague factor (found by the command "nation") increases above a factor of 3.0 or more. Even if plague does break out in your country, if the plague factor is less than 3.0 or so, the plague will have minimal effect on your country. During your first outbreaks of plague, you will lose some civilians but the birth rate of the civilians will be greater than the death rate. Thus, increasing your research level (by opening and operating a research center, which requires the same materials as a tech center) prior to your plague factor reaching 3.0 is actually a waste of resources, time, money and effort. This fact has been lost on a great many people and it is not uncommon to find many players boasting of a high research level long before you would have a plague factor of 3.0 without any research production. While we have emphasised "3.0" as a point at which things start getting bad with plague, that is a vague figure. Things start getting bad before that point, and get worse afterwards. Its a matter of how much you want to put up with civilians dying off. There is a command called "report" which will list other countries, their status, and their levels of tech, research, and education relative to you. If your tech is significantly higher than say a country called 'Canada' then report will indicate that Canada's technological level is 'backward' relative to you. If Canada's technological level is significantly higher, than report will indicate 'advanced', meaning Canada is advanced relative to you. If its roughly the same, 'similar' will be shown. There are two other possibilities, 'primitive' and 'superior' which are used for extreme differences in levels. It should be noted that report is inaccurate at best, and only gives a very vague idea of levels. Summary: Technology is one of the basic aspects of having a country that lasts to the end of the game. Generally, the higher tech you are the greater chance of your survival. However, if you have a high technology friend, you chances of survival are still increased greatly. Empire is a classic case of cold war as far as technological development is concerned. As a beginner, you are probably better off not producing a great deal of tech until you become well versed in how to run a strong economy. User's Guide to Empire 45 Chapter 10 :-: The economy. There are several products produced in Empire economies. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group 1 Group 2 1. Gold dust 8. Light Construction Materials (LCM) (3) 2. Oil 9. Heavy Construction Materials (HCM) (3) 3. Iron 10. Gold bars (1) 4. Rads 11. Petrol (2) 5. Food 12. Soldiers (6) 6. Civilians 7. Uncompensated workers Group 3 Group 4 13. Education (8) 17. Ships (8,9) 14. Research (1,2,8,13) 18. Planes (8,9) 15. Technology (1,2,8,13) 19. Bridges (9) 16. Money (6 or 7 or 10) 20. Nuclear weapons (2,4,8,9) ???? Special items: Beaurocratic Time Units (BTUs), Available work (Avail) Figure 13 Table of types of commodities in Empire -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beaurocratic Time Units (BTUs) are used when executing a command, such as "build" for example. They are also used to shuffle paperwork around, say for soldiers killed in combat. Available Work (Avail) is used up by producing sectors and those sectors in which you build things (planes, for example). It is an indices of the amount of labor hours available for work. Running your economy efficiently as possible is one of the keys to being a good Empire player. Without a good economy it is impossible to wage a long lasting war, especially an offensive one. It is possible to last a long time defensively even with a weak economy but your chances are greatly increased if you have a strong economy. So, what defines an efficient and strong economy? An efficient economy is one in which the amount of a product being produced in a sector is nearly equal to the amount that the civilians can produce in one turn. For example, if a light construction materials (LCM) plant can produce two hundred LCMs an update, but is only producing one hundred, then fifty percent of the people in that plant are basically doing nothing. They could be used elsewhere on something that needs more civilians or you could put more iron into the LCM plant to allow the civilians to make more LCMs. User's Guide to Empire 46 A strong economy is an economy that produces a lot of materials, resources, etc relative to the size of the country. If your country has only say ten thousand civilians but is producing a large amount of materials per update then your country may in fact be a strong country. This is a very unlikely scenario, but it is a good example. A strong economy is usually the result of an efficient economy, though there are other factors, those mainly referring to population growth. To find out how much work your civilians are going to perform at an update you can issue the "prod" command to get a production simulation. Using this you can see if all the civilians in a given sector will be making something or if some will be sitting around and doing nothing. Here is a sample output from a prod command: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [138:250] Command: prod #1 Mon Sep 30 20:18:37 1991 PRODUCTION SIMULATION sect des eff wkfc will make- p.e. cost use1 use2 use3 max1 max2 max3 max -2,0 o 39% 422 39 oil 0.50 $0 39 2,0 m 100% 807 387 iron 1.00 $0 387 -10,2 b 100% 653 36 bars 1.00 $360 180d 310d 62 -8,2 j 100% 576 138 lcm 0.50 $0 276i 276i 138 -4,2 g 27% 615 79 dust 1.00 $0 79 -11,3 t 100% 620 0.00 tech 0.00 $0 0d 0o 0l 0d 0o 0l 0.00 -8,4 l 100% 499 40 edu 1.00 $360 40l 239l 239 7 sectors Figure 14 Sample output of the 'prod' command -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The important columns to note here are the "will" and "max" columns. If the number indicated in the "will" column is less than the "max" column by more than 1, then you have civilians who are sitting around doing nothing. The way you calculate the number of civilians you have sitting around is fairly simple. First, it is important to note that the number indicated in the "wkfc" column is the number of civilians and uncompensated workers (UWs) you will have in the sector *after* the next update. You need to reduce the number of civs and/or UWs in the sector to optimum *before* the next update. For this example, and for sake of ease, I am going to assume that there are no UWs or soldiers in this sector, which both produce work. We will assume that there are only civilians, and happy, content ones at that. Civilians that are starved, or recently starved do not work as hard. In the above shown production simulation there are two sectors which have civilians sitting around idle. These two sectors are the bank ('b') at -10,2, and the library ('l') at -8,4. We will use the library for our example. User's Guide to Empire 47 The library is going to produce 40 education, but it is capable of producing 239. It doesn't have enough lcms (the only material needed to produce education) to produce 239 education. Thus, only the civs necessary to produce 40 education are actually working. The remaining number of civilians, as a percentage, is calculated by this simple formula: ((# in max column) - (# in 'will' column)) / (# in max column) Thus, the percentage of civilians in the library not actually doing work is (239 - 40) / 239, or 83.26%. That's a large percentage! Now, to calculate how many civilians you can move out of the sector without reducing your production beneath 40 education in that sector, multiply .8326 * the number of civilians currently in that sector. So, you need to do a census command: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [162:166] Command : cen -8,4 Mon Sep 30 20:19:07 1991 CENSUS del dst sect eff mob uf uf * civ mil uw food work avail ter fallout -8,4 l 100% 127 .. .0 403 0 0 49 100% 54 0 0 Figure 15 Results of a 'census' command of a library -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are 403 civilians listed in the 'civ' column for the library at sector -8,4. Thus, you multiply 403 by .8326 and you find that you can safely remove 355 civilians from that sector and still be producing 40 education. That's 355 civilians that can be doing valuable work elsewhere instead of sitting around doing nothing! The other alternative to get the sector producing efficiently is to move lcms into the library up to the number that the library can possibly process with the current number of civilians. Once again, we refer to the production report and note the 'use1' and 'max1' columns. The library will use 40l (40 lcms) at the next update unless you put more lcms into the library. It can use up to 239 (239l in 'max1') lcms. Thus, it can process an additional 199 lcms. So, you find lcms somewhere else in your country and move the 199 lcms into the library. At the next update your library will produce 239 education. Once again, all of the civilians in the sector are now doing something. Of course, you can also use a combination of these two methods to achieve an equitable balance. There are other aspects to running an efficient economy as well. Ideally, you do not want to have an abundance of raw materials lying around especially in the early stages of the game. The best situation is to have your economy using the same amount of resources per update User's Guide to Empire 48 as it is making, thus having a zero delta situation with respect to all materials in your economy, you neither gain nor lose surplus of materials. Keep in mind however that it is important to create and maintain a surplus of materials from which to draw on in times of war, especially later on in the game. Without spare materials, you can not wage war very effectively. In doing this you are getting the best balance of production, and are producing finished items at a faster pace then if you spent more work producing raw materials. If you spent more work producing finished materials, you would run out of raw materials, and find that you have to move your civilians around to produce more raw materials or have them sitting idle doing nothing while your other civilians produce sufficient raw materials for them to do work. The benefits of a balanced economy are obvious. There are additional tasks that are somewhat rewarding in running an efficient economy, but they become increasingly technical in nature and their impact as a whole against your economy is significantly less. As you become more experienced you will no doubt discover these thing yourself, or hear about them in a game or on the network. These basic elements are more than enough for you to run smooth production if you adhere to them. There are still more elements of an economy which, while very useful, are not exactly related to the strength or efficiency with which your economy is running. Your country, should it live for some time and develop a well balanced economy, will produce a huge amount of materials. It is impossible for you to keep track of everything in each and every sector of your country. Of course, the Empire creators realized this and have developed some critical commands for reducing by a very large amount the quantity of time you need to spend adjusting your economy. These are the 'distribute' and 'deliver' commands. 'Distribute' and 'deliver' are commands in Empire which allow you to set up your economy to run automatically, with little intervention from yourself. Distribution is the most commonly used command in doing this. However, deliver has certain features which are useful as well. Distribute is based on the central warehouse scheme of production and consumption of materials. An iron mine produces iron, which it ships off to the central warehouse. A light construction materials plant needs iron to make lcms, and thus requests iron to be sent to it from the warehouse. The lcm factory produces lcms, and sends them off to the warehouse. A library plant needs lcms to produce education, and requests lcms from the warehouse to do so. The warehouse handles regional traffic for your economy. Some smaller countries only have one warehouse. Deliver is based on the local delivery truck idea. A nearby farm produces a certain amount of food per update, and sends it directly to the neighboring sector. You know that the neighboring sector can consume more food per update than that farm can produce (this is very User's Guide to Empire 49 rarely true, this is just an example). So, the farm sends all the food it produces to the neighboring sector. The neighboring sector notes how much food has been delivered from the farm, and then requests from the warehouse enough food to feed the rest of the civilians in the sector. In so doing things in this manner, you are possibly saving mobility by not having the food automatically move to the warehouse from the neighboring farm and then to the neighboring sector. The same result would be achieved however, though as stated at a possible greater loss of mobility. Nevertheless, most people prefer to depend entirely on 'distribute' to handle automatic distribution of materials around their country. To set up a distribution system, or network, you have to set a distribution 'path' *from* every sector *to* the warehouse. I emphasize the direction that the path is moving in because all distribution paths go *to* the warehouse, not from the warehouse to the sector, though materials can and will go from the warehouse to the sector along that same path. The idea here is say a farm outside of St. Louis about 50 miles produces 500 units of food, the farm needs to know the route by which it should send its trucks to get to a warehouse in St. Louis before it can send the food to that warehouse (this of course being a real life scenario). The best path to choose is across highways. A 100% highway requires no mobility to move anything in to it. Obviously you don't want to travel the 50 miles to St. Louis across dirt roads. You would prefer an interstate if you were a truck. In Empire, a 100% highway is essentially an interstate. Your goal is to have a distribution path from each sector to the warehouse travel the route over the least mobility cost path. The greater the percentage of that path that is 100% highways the better. It is important to note that distribution paths have a maximum length of 10 sectors. For example: User's Guide to Empire 50 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [529:32] Command : map -20:10,-3:6 21111111111---------00000000001 0987654321098765432101234567890 -3 . . . . . ) . . . . . . . -3 -2 . . . f . o . . . . . . . . -2 -1 . . . a k a . a a h . . . . -1 0 k l k a + + + . + + c m . . . 0 1 m w o ^ ^ m + j j + . + . . . 1 2 + + + + . b j + m + w + . . . . 2 3 m j j + t + + + + + + . ) . + 3 4 + ^ j m + + l ^ ^ ^ + * a a o m 4 5 ^ + ^ m + j ^ ^ c + m m + + + 5 6 + + + g m + + m b + k o + j w g 6 21111111111---------00000000001 0987654321098765432101234567890 [529:32] Command : Figure 16 Map of area requiring some distribution -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let's say that in the previous figure you wanted to set up a distribution path from the oil well at -15,1 (the 'o' sector left of the middle of the map) to the warehouse at 0,2 (the 'w' sector right of the middle of the map). The command to set up the distribution path from that oil well to the warehouse would be: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [529:32] Command : distribute -15,1 nnnjujjjuj oil field at -15,1 has no distribution path. <10: 0,2>h New path distributes to 0,2 [534:31] Command : Figure 17 Results of a distribution command -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now there is a path along highways from the oil well to the warehouse. If you do not understand the nnnjujjjuj command above, refer to chapter 3 and the section under "movement in Empire". Next, you need to set thresholds for the sector. This sector is an oil well, and it produces, you guessed it, oil. So, you want the oil that is produced to be shipped to the warehouse. You have to tell the User's Guide to Empire 51 people in the oil well that all oil over 1 unit is to be shipped. This is called a "threshold", a level at which any quantity of that unit over that amount if shipped to the warehouse. Note that the lowest threshold you can have and still have the item shipped is 1. If the threshold is 0, then it will not be shipped. The command to set the threshold in the sector -15,1 for oil is: [534:31] Command : threshold oil -15,1 1 Next, you want to make sure that food gets out to the oil well. The other aspect of thresholds is that if there is less than the threshold of a commodity, then the warehouse will send out enough of that commodity to equal the threshold, assuming it has such commodities in the warehouse. The command to set the threshold for for in the sector so that food will go to the sector from the warehouse could be this: [534:30] Command: threshold food -15,1 50 Which means at each update, the warehouse will attempt to ensure that there is 50 food in the oil well at -15,1 by sending enough food, if it can, to raise the stockpile of food in that sector to 50 units. Again, distribution paths must be set up for every sector that you intend on doing anything with. Essentially, as the game progresses, this means all of your sectors. You must also set appropriate thresholds as well. Some sectors need iron from the warehouse to produce, and thus a threshold will be required for iron. Some need more than one commodity, so thresholds must be set for each of those commodities. EVERY sector should have a threshold value set for food. You do not want to starve your civilians! To find out what commodities a sector needs to produce an item, use the 'production' command discussed earlier in this chapter. Some things to note about distribute: 1) No distribution path may be longer than 10 sectors. 2) A distribution path must go through sectors controlled by you. 3) Sometimes it may seem that the warehouse is not getting the commodities to the sectors requesting it. Empire updates sectors one at a time, and as such the warehouse may actually run out of a commodity, receive the request for that commodity, be unable to fill it and move on the the sectors it updates after that sector. Those sectors in turn may send commodities to the warehouse, thus giving it enough to fill the previous request. However, since it has already updated that sector, it will not fulfill the backlogged request. Empire updates the world left to right and top to bottom. Thus in a map of your country the most north-west sector gets updated first and the most south-east sector gets updated last. 4) The warehouse has to spend mobility to send commodities to the requesting sectors. Warehouses do this at a great reduction in the cost to the normal mobility. However, if the warehouse runs out of mobility it will NOT distribute any more commodities for that update. 5) Do NOT set thresholds for all commodities in a sector. Only set the User's Guide to Empire 52 thresholds for the commodities you KNOW that sector will need. Distribute will not distribute commodities to sectors with the thresholds set for every commodity. Deliver is much more basic. As a result however, it is much less powerful, though it is useful. Deliver works as explained earlier in that it does local deliveries of a specified commodity. Deliver is capable of delivering an item to only neighboring sectors. During the update, deliver is done before distribute. It is important to note that. Let's say that a farm has a lot of food to send to the warehouse. It may not have the mobility to send it all to the warehouse, and thus you get a large surplus left over in the farm. Eventually, the farm will not have room to store the surplus anymore. This is of course bad, since the farm will no longer produce very much food. It will produce only enough food to replace what was taken from the storage at the farm. The solution to this is to have the farm sends its surplus to a neighboring 100% efficient highway. This will cost the farm no mobility and will open up its storage areas for new production at the farm. The highway can then spend mobility sending the food to the warehouse. Once again, we use the map: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [529:32] Command : map -20:10,-3:6 21111111111---------00000000001 0987654321098765432101234567890 -3 . . . . . ) . . . . . . . -3 -2 . . . f . o . . . . . . . . -2 -1 . . . a k a . a a h . . . . -1 0 k l k a + + + . + + c m . . . 0 1 m w o ^ ^ m + j j + . + . . . 1 2 + + + + . b j + m + w + . . . . 2 3 m j j + t + + + + + + . ) . + 3 4 + ^ j m + + l ^ ^ ^ + * a a o m 4 5 ^ + ^ m + j ^ ^ c + m m + + + 5 6 + + + g m + + m b + k o + j w g 6 21111111111---------00000000001 0987654321098765432101234567890 Figure 18 Map of an area requiring delivery path ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let's say the farm at -5,-1 (just north of the middle) has a huge surplus of food. You can send that surplus to the highway at -4,0 by issuing this command: [566:115] Command : deliver food -5,-1 n (50) User's Guide to Empire 53 Which means, deliver all food in the sector at -5,-1 in excess of 50 units in the 'n' direction. Note the deliver threshold in parentheses must be in parentheses and that deliver thresholds are different than distribute thresholds. While I have described how to use the basics of deliver, I do not recommend it for the beginner. Using a distribution network is quite sufficient for the beginning player, and you will not notice any great difficulty in running your economy without using the deliver command. In fact, some of the best players in Empire do not use deliver at all. Summary: The things discussed in this chapter may seem time consuming, and may seem to require a lot of detail. However, these things are important to you as an Empire player to learn and understand. They become easy to use after only a short while. Having a strong economy is the basic element in having a strong country. If you have not understood this chapter, read it again. Better yet, read it while experimenting with a couple of your own sectors in a game. While understanding 'deliver' is not very important, understanding 'distribute' is. User's Guide to Empire 54 Chapter 11 :-: War The art of waging war is certainly beyond the scope of this guide. There are a great number of books written on the history of man's wish to destroy themselves. In this chapter, I only intend to give the player some rudimentary basics for waging Empire style wars. Even more pertinent in the case of the beginner, how to defend against or hopefully repulse an invader. Keep in mind that as a beginner, you stand a very good chance of losing your first war. Consider it a learning experience. The person who defeated you is better than you are in most circumstances, and just by their actions you can learn how best to wage an offensive or defensive war. There are several things that you can do to defend your country in the event of an attack. However, it is always best to be prepared for an attack before it happens. There are some basics already discussed in this guide on these preparations. Refer to chapter 8 for information on automatic defenses, and how they can help your country. I will review the essentials here. 1) Have a strong airforce with many fighter planes with the intercept capability. Make sure they are used as indicated in chapter 8. 2) Have forts with overlapping fields of fire. 3) Have a large number of reserves (typically 1/10 of your population). 4) Have at least two enlistment centers ready to produce more fresh recruits. Ie, at 100%. You can "shut off" enlistment centers, that is stop them from producing recruits, by leaving 1 civ in them or having a military population in the sector equal to one half of the civilian population. To turn them on, put in more civs or reduce the number of military. 5) Have a strong navy to guard your coast. 6) Mine your own coast. This prevents many amphibious assaults. It also helps to prevent people from mapping your coastline. 7) Have a good highway network. This allows you to move materials and armies around your country quickly and with ease. 8) Have more than one capital. If your real one is taken, you will need a back up immediately. 9) Have a lot of food in all of your sectors if possible. This allows sectors that are cut off from your warehouse to be self sufficient at least with respects to feeding the people with food for a few updates until you can open up a path to them. These are just *basic* hints. Some more hints are given later in this guide. These are meant to get you started. Of course, it is better to not be attacked at all. But, how do you avoid being attacked? This is not simple, but there are some things that you can do to make yourself less of a target. One, do NOT allow people to map your coast using their ships, especially patrol boats. Maps of your coastline are deadly. User's Guide to Empire 55 The opposing country knows where your country lies, and can furthermore send that information on to another player who might be interested in attacking you in exchange for some commodity or assistance. Maps are a critical piece of intelligence gathering. Some of the best players in the game sink ships on sight without warning. If you warn a ship off it might be able to use some of its mobility to make a final swing along your coast before going away, and seemingly out of your hair without having caused further trouble. Every piece of information about your coast is valuable military intelligence. Additionally, it is a good idea to try to map other people. Do not get upset when your ships get sunk. They will get sunk. Just consider them expendable commodities that are doing a temporary job with permanent results. Two, if you appear tough people generally will not attack you. Posturing can be an effective tool. Furthermore, if you have a large airforce and/or army, people tend to avoid you. It does not matter if your airforce only has wimpy planes in it, your opponent can only tell the quantity of planes that you have, not the quality. They might have a general idea of the quality of your airforce, but a large airforce is still an intimidating presence. Three, do not make yourself a target by having a lot of valuable commodities showing up on your power report. Having lots of money in a money poor game for example makes you a juicy target. The same holds true with gold dust or oil. You need not worry about iron and food, since those are renewable resources. Try to use gold dust and oil as you make it. Having some surplus around is fine, but the more you have sitting around the more of a target you become. If you are attacked, it is always best if you are logged on to the game so that you can actively defend your country rather than relying entirely on automatic defenses. However, as can obviously be seen, you probably will not know that your enemy is going to attack you. Neither will s/he broadcast that they are going to attack unless they are very foolish or extremely confident. In light of this, your opponent will try to attack you at a time when they know you are not logged on. Thus, a great many Empire wars begin in the wee hours of the morning, when most people are asleep. What can you do to overcome this shortcoming? Have allies for one. If one of your allies is going to be up most of the night you can have them telephone you if you are being attacked. Of course, this is for the more diehard types :-) There are many tactics that an enemy will use against you. Again, these tactics are beyond the scope of this guide, but there are some general tactics that you should be aware of. An opponent may try one or more (usually more) of the following tactics: 1) Remove your airforce as an effective retaliatory force. 2) Remove your airforce as an effective defensive force. 3) Take your capital (you lose half your money). User's Guide to Empire 56 4) Take your banks (you could lose all your gold bars, very valuable!). 5) Destroy your highway system. 6) Take your warehouses (lose your stored commodities. OUCH!). 7) Bomb your enlistment centers. 8) Take your radar stations. In addition, your opponent may try to destroy your distribution and/or delivery system (if you so opt to use deliver). After you take a sector back from your enemy check the thresholds and distribution path in the sector. Sometimes if you take a great deal of sectors back it is best to just use the 'wipe' command and start from scratch. Remember to check your delivery thresholds as well, by issuing a 'level' command. Your opponent will probably also redesignate the sector to something useless or even detrimental to you. It is important to be on around update times when you are at war, either defensively or offensively. Things can go very quickly right before and after an update. One of the best ways of being a good military tactician is to be imaginative. Think of ways to do things that might surprise your opponent. Think of ways to do things that will cost you less lives, or less resources than your original way. There is a saying that sometimes the best defense is a good offense. This can be very true in Empire. If you are attacked it might be a good idea to launch a counter attack against your opponent's homeland if you are able to. This will certainly surprise them, and may lead them to think you are stronger than you actually are. This can be a very powerful tool. If you want to win the war, be resilient and tenacious. Fight as hard as you can with every last soldier and resource. If you make your enemy pay a heavy price they may withdraw. Sometimes breaking an opponent's will to fight is the most important factor in winning a tactical or strategic situation. Even if they do not withdraw, or you do not win, you may at least be helping to defend the future of your allies. That in itself is an honorable achievement. There is also the point that if you are a tenacious fighter your opponent will respect you more in future games than if you just roll over and play dead while his/her armies pillage your country. Reputation does count for a lot in Empire. You may lose now, but your defiance in losing can help you a great deal in future games. Some countries simply will not attack another country because they know that country's reputation as a good player. Alternatively, some countries have a poor reputation and are attacked in every game they play in! Summary: The art of Empire war is one that is different from the real life world that we live in. However, many tactics from the real world can be applied to Empire. Remember to be imaginative, learn from your mistakes. Learn from your allies and your opponents. Fight as if it was a real world nation, and you are the leader. User's Guide to Empire 57 Chapter 12 :-: Other helpful or not so helpful hints: Here are some hints on how you might be better able to run your country. Note that a lot of these hints were garnered through many player years of play. You are free to disagree with them, and are certainly encouraged to come up with your own ideas. However, keep in mind these recommendations. - Build your military reserves to a reasonably high level (I try to aim for 5-10% of my total population). Reserves are not expensive to maintain, and it is a commodity that can not be destroyed by any military action. - As soon as someone starts building ships guard your coastal sectors with at least 1 military in each. This prevents an opponent from making landings in mass quantity on your homeland with measly cargo ships. If you have military in a coastal sector then opponent ships really need the "land" capability (see show ship capability command for further insight) in order to be truly effective. Guard harbors with more military, say 50 or so. Else an opponent can assault a harbor, move his or her invasion fleet in, unload the ships and walla several hundred foreign military are sitting in your former harbor. - As soon as planes start being built, try to get at least 10 military into every sector. This makes it more difficult for a country to wipe you out quickly. In this manner they usually need 2 or more transports to take a single sector. This makes it costly in air mobility for them and softens the blow of their attack. In addition reinforce capitals with a lot of military. Same with banks, airbases, and warehouses. - Do not base your entire air defenses on non-VTOL (vertical take off and landing) planes. Base your VTOL planes in non airport sectors. In doing this, you prevent your enemy from knocking out your airbases through any number of means and then flying at liberty over your country. There are two VTOL fighters. Fighter 1s, which are essentially biplanes with very brave souls in them and Jet Fighter 2s which are akin to the British Harrier jet. Fighter 1s are not necessarily a bad plane. Against low tech transports they do not fair too badly. There are two other means of air defense if your airbases are knocked out. Anti-aircraft guns exist in any sector that has guns and shells. They will fire if the sector in question is at war with the planes in question. They are mostly worthless. The other method is SAMs (surface to air missiles). These can be quite effective but are shoot once only weapons. - Forts are an integral part of any home auto-defense scheme. They will fire on any enemy aggressors that are within range whenever any sector of yours within range is attacked. - Naval units become essentially useless later on in the game except for some actions. Nevertheless, be careful to have naval units in appropriate places around your coast for coastal defense. Especially until you have planes that can pinpoint bomb well (jet lt bombers, jet f/bs, helicopters). - Always have several fake capitals in reserve. User's Guide to Empire 58 - If you are not using planes that are 100% and are not planes used in air defense, get them off your airports. Otherwise they become easy targets for air assault and bombs. - Bridge span sectors are effective means of food production and are especially useful in that role in countries with few sectors or countries with limited fertility. They are usually somewhat expensive to build, but pay for themselves quickly. - Keep in mind that allies are important. You might want to go it alone, but at some point along the way you will need an ally or three. Allies can do many things for you, not the least of which is call you over the phone when you are under attack at four in the morning. Its nice to know that even though your country is not being played, someone is watching it from a distance and seeing whether it gets attacked or not. You sleep easier :-) - If you are positive there is no one else on your island with you at the beginning of the game then demobilise your military and put them on reserve. This will save you a lot of money, and help in population growth. - Never put airports, banks, or capitals on your coast. They are easy targets for your enemies if you do. Sometimes it is necessary to place an airport on your coast to get that extra one sector of range for your planes in an attack. If you do that, don't leave your planes in that sector for very long. You might be surprised. Summary: Many of these ideas can only be gained through experience. Do not be come distraught for lack of knowledge. Experience is a wonderful teacher. These hints cover some of the major pitfalls of beginners, and that is all. There are far more things to be learned that can only be taught through experience. User's Guide to Empire 59 Chapter 13 :-: Some tricks and subtle tactics I have listed here some of the tricks used by the more advanced players in victimizing the beginning players. I divulge this hard won information because I feel it will make for a better Empire game for everyone. In reading these, I hope that you will be encouraged to develop tactics of your own. It is not hard to be imaginative. Note that not all tricks and subtle tactics will work as advertised. Some games have slightly different implementations that have a negative effect on these hints. - Sacking a warehouse. This is an old tactic that is useful only in those games that have a market. Essentially the trick is to take an opponent's warehouses or distribution points and sell off everything that is in the sector to the market. You don't need a buyer immediately, just sell everything off. If you want the items for yourself, sell them to the market at an exhorbinately high price and wait for a friend to buy them and sell them back. - Tracking an airbase. This is a less known trick. Non-VTOL planes intercept from airbases. They also intercept from airbases in a hex pattern. Ie, if the plane has a six sector intercept range it will intercept up to six sectors west, six sectors north-west, etc in all the six directions. If you can find two corners of that plane's interception hex you can triangulate to find the sector from which it is intercepting. This does work for VTOL planes as well, but isn't as useful since airbases usually have far more planes in them to be dealt with. Once you have tracked the originating sector of the intercepting planes, what you do to that sector is your option. Most often, a concerted effort will be made to crack the defensive fighter cover and blast the airbase. Sometimes countries will use their surface to surface missiles (which do not get intercepted) to take out the airbase. For non-VTOL planes taking out an airbase just means getting it below 60% efficiency. - Fort "walking". If you have a land border with a country, you can use your forts to demolish a bordering sector with that country. By demolishing it, your are completely destroying every living civilian and soldier in that sector. When that is accomplished you can explore into that sector as if it were wilderness. You can then designate that sector into a 0% fort, which it will become immediately, and then move guns and shells into that sector. Then, you can do the same thing to a sector bordering your new sector. In this manner you can slowly invade another country beyond a one sector advance in one update without the use of planes or ships. This costs A LOT of BTUs and shells, but in critical situations is very useful. - Fire base. This tactic has some relation to the tactic used in the Vietnam conflict by U.S. Forces. The idea is to take an enemy sector in an area that you want to wreak havoc on. Next, use your pinpoint bombing capable planes to bomb your own position's sector efficiency. You will have some collateral damage on your troops, but it is well worth it. When the efficiency drops below 5% you can then designate the sector into a 0% fort, place guns and shells User's Guide to Empire 60 in it using air transports, and then have a base from which to blast away at your enemy without the use of much airpower. It is possible to use the fort walking tactic from this position. - Messing up a country's distribution paths and or thresholds. This is most often an "annoyance" tactic. Most players know about it and check the distribution paths and thresholds of sectors they take back from an invading country. The idea is to set the thresholds so that a lot of commodities will be distributed to the sector from the warehouse of your opponent after your opponent takes the sector back. Then you can take the sector again and get the commodities if s/he has not noticed they are there. Even if s/he notices it is a pain getting the commodities back to the warehouse. Alternatively, you can screw up the distribution path to run through a mountain and then to his warehouse, and also set the thresholds of the commodities quite high. This will cause mobility in her/his warehouse to be used in great quantities to get the commodities to the recaptured sector. Either of these ideas can get particularly nasty. Say you conquer a sector, and set the thresholds on food to 9000 units. Your opponent takes back the sector, and neglects to reset the threshold. At the next update the warehouse moves 9000 food (or at least as much as it can) into the sector. This might leave your warehouse without food to deliver to the rest of the country. Food stocks begin to drop, with obvious repercussions. - Messing up a country's delivery routes and thresholds. Same as above except using deliver. Many countries do not use deliver at all, and as a result are susceptible to this tactic. You can cause mass starvation in a country that you attacked, but no longer control without the leader ever knowing how. - Destroyer trap. Move a submarine near a destroyer, say one sector away. Lay some mines from the submarine, and then send out an active sonar ping using the "sonar" command. Enemy destroyer rushes over to see what it is and KAWHOMP! hits a mine. You can leave a sector that has mines in it safely but can not necessarily enter safely. Every mine laid in a sector increases the chance of a ship hitting a mine while entering that sector by five percent. - Determining if someone is on. You can get an idea of when someone is usually logged on by doing something like this: [65:255] Command : news 10 | grep This will scan the news file from the server for the last ten days (or however many days up to ten are being preserved in the news). You can then get an idea of when your opponent is logged on. There are tools that can do this for you, but so far none has reached public distribution. - Attacking any sector with one soldier repeatedly. Within the code there is a small chance that against incredible odds a small collection of soldiers might win. Taken to the extreme, there is a chance for one soldier to win, even against 400 soldiers, or so says the game. Thus a player who wants a particular sector bad enough, may spend thirty minutes attacking a sector of yours over and over again with one military. They might win eventually, and if it is important enough then they have gained a major sector. User's Guide to Empire 61 - A player might offer to sell you a type of commodity in several batches. Or, you might just start buying batches of a commodity from any given commodity. If the player you are buying from is on, they might change the price on you between batches that you are purchasing. For example, DoDo starts buying food in batches of 9000 from WabbleHead at 10 cents per food. This costs DoDo $900 per batch of food. Suddenly between DoDo's 2nd and 3rd purchase of 9000 food, WabbleHead changes the price on the food from 10 cents to 10 dollars per unit. DoDo never realizes it and pays $90,000 for the 3rd batch of food. Moral: Don't purchase anything without checking the price first, and never buy in several batches at once. This applies to market and trade. - It is possible to move small quantities of a commodity across any sector in your country and not have it cost mobility. To do this, you have to have the commodity moving from a warehouse to whatever sector you want to move it to. The basic trick, is to move the commodity in batches of 5 or less. Note this does not work for bars, and some other commodities. It does work for food, shells, etc; items that do not take a great deal of mobility to move to begin with. This trick is very effective for getting supplies to a region cut off from your main area without highway access and possibly even a mountain range separating you from it. - Mine your coast. This prevents your opponents from effectively mapping your coast, and you can catch their ships in the act since a damaged ship moves a lot slower than a 100% ship. Some people might even scuttle the ship in question to avoid detection. - Be aware that submarines will try to map your coast. Use your submarines and destroyers to find them. Use minefields as a preventative measure. - Do not give out your net address to anyone except the Deity unless people offsite can not finger you, or you have an account on another machine, and can regularly play from it. People can finger you over the net to see if you are logged in or not. If you're not, it's a good time to attack probably. - Beware of people offering you loans. Make sure you know the terms of the loan. Someone might offer you a loan that looks nice, say for $30,000. But, the loan might expire in one day and have an interest rate of 127%. The lending country can collect sectors directly from you without your permission if you are in arrears on the loan. - Defend your radar stations. Always have at least 20 military in each of your radar stations, especially ones that are on the coast. Otherwise a passing ship might decide to capture it and take a snapshot of your country. - If a sub attacks one of your ships, it is possible to wander around the area with a ship that is not capable of sonar or depth charging, and still find that sub. How? Try boarding the sub by its hull number. If a sub attacks you, you will get a message saying that sub number so and so did such and such to your ship. Use a ship in the area to wander from sector to sector trying to board the sub. If you find it, you will get a message saying that you can not board a sub. Walla, you have found the sub without sonar, which other ships can hear anyways. This is a nice quiet form of anti- User's Guide to Empire 62 submarine warfare. - You can load a missile cruiser full of anti-shipping missiles, and then create a script file with firing commands for every ship in existence. Remove your own ships of course. Then execute the script, and the missile cruiser will fire at only those ships that are in range, regardless of whether the ships are in radar range of the cruiser or not. They need only be in range of the anti-shipping missiles. This is an effective, if blundering, way of removing approaching fleets before you see them on your radars. Note: anti-shipping missiles are not available in standard BSD code, but are available in some other versions, namely the Kent State code. Summary: Be sneaky. Be imaginative. Think of tricks you can pull on your opponent. Quite often, they will in fact work. Most players of this game are not Rommels, Pattons, or Montgomerys. Many can be duped by very simple tricks. User's Guide to Empire 63 Chapter 14 :-: Tools Tools are programs used by players on their local machines to assist them in developing their country, analyzing another country, conducting war on another country, etc. Tools are very powerful devices at times. As such, many players have tools that they consider to be military secrets and they do not release copies of them. As a result, many programs doing basically identical tasks have been written. I encourage those players that are reading this that have such secret tools to release them to an anonymous FTP site with a directory for Empire. Not only does this make the game better for the beginners, but it also helps to keep the experts on their toes, and give a challenge to those of us who have been playing for quite some time. Some players feel that playing with tools takes something away from the playing aspect of the game, and feel that in so doing they are not really playing the game anymore. This has lately turned into a religious war of sorts in the Empire community, with many people taking both sides of the coin. You do not need tools other than your client to play Empire. Empire is designed such that any player can play the game without hindrance without the use of a tool other than the basic client itself. What follows is a list of tools that are most commonly found among players of the game. Most of these are publically available at an FTP site listed in Appendix C. Tool Purpose autodist Automatically sets distribution paths for an entire country or realm within the country. autofeed automatically feeds the people in your country. pmvr,civmvr Automatically redistributes your population so that sectors will be able to have population growth rather than maxing out at the limit of 999 civilians. econ Provides an analysis of your country's economic progress at the next update. GEET Gnu-Emacs Empire Tool. An emacs interface for Empire that has a great many capabilities and functions. Provides for better automatic defenses as well. EIF A more advanced client than the basic client. Allows for aliasing commands, command editing, etc. XEMP Empire client for X windows. Provides many nice features including an on screen map constantly displayed. A very nice interface that unfortunately still has several bugs. These are just a few of the Empire tools out there. There are still many more programs not listed. Some cover news analyses, country analyses over several updates, etc. Most tools come with documentation on how to use them, and it is beyond the scope of this guide to illustrate how each one of them User's Guide to Empire 64 is used. There are other aids that are often called tools which are called scripts. Scripts can do a great many things for you. The most common of these applications are simply files containing a list of commands that you want to execute in Empire. For example, let's say that at each update you wanted to dump the current news into a file in your local directory, get a new power report and dump that into another file, and dump all current telegrams into yet another file. This would be three commands that you could consolidate into one command by doing this: Construct a file in your local directory that has the appropriate commands in it. In this case you could write a file with three lines: news >>news.file power new >>powerfile read >>old.tele You could call this file update.do While in Empire you could then request the Empire client to access that file and execute those commands by using the exec command followed by the file name. Thus: [102:253] Command: exec update.do Building such a simple script is useful for doing a set of commands over and over again without typing it in each and every time. Lastly, remember to exercise wisdom in the use of tools. It is possible that the execution of a simple tool can damage your country irrepairably. Use tools, especially those written by others, with caution. Try them out on small sections of your country first. Look at the source code prior to running it if you have access to the source code. It is theoretically possible for someone to write a tool that will scan the list of countries in a game, and if the author's country name is in that list, send valuable information about your country to him or her. Yes, it is true, some people have no morals believe it or not. Summary: Tools are very powerful items if used wisely. It is not necessary to have tools to play Empire effectively. Some experts of the game refuse to use tools of any type, and they remain among the best players. Tools are no replacement for skill. Be careful when using tools, they can ruin your country. User's Guide to Empire 65 ******************************* Appendices ************************************ Appendix A :-: Glossary of terms, names, and etc. Amphibious assault - Attacking a sector using ships, usually landing ships. Avail - A unit of measuring available labor hours in a sector. Backstab - To harm another country with whom you had prior treaties and or alliances that were in effect at the time of your harmful action. Usually a severe action. Blitz game - An implementation of an Empire game that is very fast paced. Usually these games last no more than two days. BSD - Berkeley Standard Distribution. A term borrowed from Unix. It indicates that the version is a release version from Berkeley, ie Dave Pare. BTU - Beaurocratic Time Unit. A unit of government activity. Used by various commands as cost for executing that command. Capital - The government center of a country. BTUs are produced by only one capital in a country, regardless of how many are designated. Only the actual capital of the country produces. Client - A program that allows you to connect to the Empire server. Commodity - Just as in the real world; any of a plethora of raw and refined materials that can be traded, stolen, etc. Dave Pare - Not the original author of Empire, but the person who has made it possible for it to be what it is. THE major author of Empire. Also known as Mr. Frog. Deity - Person (yes, a real life human) who runs/referees a game. Deliver - A means of managing economic resource allocation via orders from neighboring sectors. Designation - What the sector has been ordered to be, ie a highway for example. Distribution- A means of managing economic resource allocation via a central warehouse scheme. Often referred to as a "distribution network" Education - Activity on the part of a country to raise the overall intelligence level of a country, to promote research and technological development. Eif - "Empire Interface". A version of the client with certain enhancements. Empire host - The computer the server is running on. ETU - Empire Time Unit - A subdivision of an update. An update's value is measured in terms of ETUs. FTP - "File Transfer Program". This is a means of transferring files over the computer networks. Most computers are capable of using FTP. For more information you may refer to your host computer's help. For example, "man ftp" or "help ftp". GEET - Gnu-Emacs Empire Tool. An emacs based client, also known (to the chagrin of the author of GEET) as GEEK. Geurilla - A patriot behind enemy lines. They will attempt to do damage to the enemy's military or the sector the enemy is occupying. You can not control guerilla actions. HCM - Heavy construction material. A unit of material used in Empire economies for bridges, planes, etc. KSU, Kent State code - refers to the version of Empire based on the Berkeley User's Guide to Empire 66 release. There are several enhancements in this version, and many think it is better than the Berkeley release. LCM - Light construction material. A unit of material used in Empire economies for education, technology, research, planes, boats, etc. Megatons - A unit of measure of nuclear warhead yield. One megaton equals one million tons of TNT explosive power. Often represented as 'mt' as in '5mt'. Mobility - A number indices indicating the available amount of moving capability in a sector, for a plane, or for a ship. Plague - An all encompassing term representing disease in the Empire world. Can be kept in check by the country doing research. Representative,Rep - Your password for your country in the game. NOT your real name. Research - Activity on the part of a country that keeps plague in check. Reserves - Civilian soldier. A soldier not on active duty who is paid a small sum to retain training in case of times of need. Sanctuary - Your starting area in any game. Usually comprised of two sectors. Can not be attacked, or otherwise affected by any opponent. Script - A file containing several Empire commands that can be automatically run or run manually from the client. Sector - A unit of geography, comprising an area represented by a single character on maps. Server - The program (running usually at a remote site) that handles the functioning of the game. In essence, the game itself. Spy - A member of your military forces sent across neighboring country borders to gather information. Technology - The scientific development of a country. Relates most directly to a country's capability to create better weapons. Also known as 'tech'. Threshold - A break off point for the 'deliver' and 'distribute' commands that indicates a quantity beyond which every unit of a specific commodity is moved automatically at an update. Tool - A program used on a player's local machine to aid in there goals in Empire. Update - A 'turn' in Empire. Mobility is increased in sectors, civilians multiply and eat food, military is paid for, etc. UW - Uncompensated worker. A nicer name for slave. VTOL - Vertical Take Off and Landing capability for planes. Requires no runways or other developed airport like structures. Wasteland - A permanent sector designation caused by a nuclear blast of one megaton or larger. Can not be traveled across by land, but can be flown over. Warehouse - A central collection and distribution point for products of an economy. Wilderness - Undesignated areas other than mountains and ocean. Represented by a '-' character on maps. XEMP - An X windows based client. User's Guide to Empire 67 Appendix B :-: Known exploitable bugs As a result of Empire having several thousand lines of code, there are numerous bugs. Some are simply annoying, others you never notice. Some, like the following, are bugs that you can be used against you. a) "Intercept" bug - Non-VTOL planes can and will rise and intercept hostile planes from any sector as long as there is petrol in the sector, the plane has the intercept capability (see show plane c), it is at least 40% efficient, and it has mobility. b) "Escort" bug - Planes that are capable of escort duty can escort themselves on various missions, as long as they are capable of the mission in question (such as a bombing raid). Say for example that you want to fly a reconnaissance mission over enemy territory, but you know that enemy planes are going to intercept you. When the game asks you for the plane that will be doing the recon, you can give it plane 345 for example, which for the sake of this guide is a jet fighter. When it asks you for the planes that are going to escort it, you can say 345 again. The game will respond as if two planes are flying the mission when in fact only one is. Enemy planes will think there are two planes. Enemy planes will first do battle with the escort. Let's say they did 16% damage to the escort, and the escort did 14% damage to one of the enemy interceptors. Next, the enemy interceptor attacks the recon plane, which is the same plane, and inflicts 21% damage. The recon plane inflicts 13% damage on the interceptor, and the recon plane aborts the mission. It looks like you lost the dogfight. In actuality, you did not. The intercepting plane suffered a total of 27% damage. It looks like you suffered 37% damage. However, you actually only suffered the *last* damage inflicted, which was to the recon plane. Thus, you only suffered 21% damage and you won the dogfight. c) "Flying Bridge" bug - Say for example you have a 100% bridgehead sector with enough HCMs, workers, and avail to build a bridge. Normally, you would say "build bridge x,y" and then it would ask you for a direction to build the bridge. If after you built the bridge you were to redesignate the bridgehead, the bridge would collapse. However, if you redesignate the bridgehead sector before you build the bridge, the bridge will be built and will not collapse. At the next update, the bridgehead will become the sector you redesignated it to (say, a highway) and the bridge will still be there. Note: It is believed that most current games of Empire have a new patch that prevents this bug. d) "Resource sucker" bug - Let's say you have a sector with 23 gold content left, and it is a gold mine. Normally it might produce say, 111 gold dust at the next update. If you were to put 9000 civilians into that sector, it would produce over 900 dust at the next update. The sector's resource content of gold will go to 0, but instead of getting a roughly 115 dust from the sector with the remaining content, you have gotten over 900 dust. Civilians reproduce quickly enough that losing 8000 civs this way User's Guide to Empire 68 is really of no concern especially when you consider what you have gained. This bug works also for oil wells and uranium mines. I have listed the bugs here because it is important that players know about these bugs in case they are used against them. I do not condone the use of these bugs, nor do many players of the game. Many deities (the people who run the game) take action against players using these bugs, such as taking away your technology or your money. Do not use them. Simply be aware that others may use them and come up with ways to counter their use. If you are aware that another player is using one of these bugs, report it to the deity of the game. S/he might give you a reward of some sort. Also note that since these bugs have been published> here, it is likely that some programmer has written bug fixes for these. Most, and possible all of these bugs might not work in a game you are participating in. User's Guide to Empire 69 Appendix C :-: FTP sites and other sources for Empire related items Herein listed are the net address of computers that have files related to Empire in there anonymous FTP directories. An example of anonymous FTP is found in chapter 2 of this guide, and that method with appropriate substitutions for file names can be used to retrieve files off of these FTP sites. If you have trouble using anonymous FTP seek out your local site consultant for more information. Host Directory Files available ucbvax.berkeley.edu - pub/games/empire/bsd Empire client, server, various tools, this guide. empire.bbn.com - pub/Emp Various tools, VMS client, this guide. star.cs.vu.nl - xemp Xemp hylka.helsinki.fi - public/vax/games-etc/empireclient.dir VMS client uunet.uu.net - games Tools, server. alcazar.cd.chalmers.se - pub/emp Various tools, patches, eif eddie, this guide. User's Guide to Empire 70 Index Agriculture centers 25,49,51 Naval operations Announcements 17 Defensive 36,54,57 Avail 45 In mapping 55,61 Backstabbing 28 Anti-submarine 61 Banks 56 Amphibious 35,40,54,57 Bridges 42,45,58,67 Mining 54,60,61 BTUs 26,45 Nuclear weapons Capitals 16,26,36,54,55,57 Damage from 38 Clients 9 Ending games 41 Basic client 9 Getting 38,42 Compiling 9-12 Recovering from 39 Deliver 48,52-53,56,60 Defense of areas hit by 40 Designate 17,21,25 Oil 42,43,45,50,54,55,67 Diplomacy 28-32 Paratroops Distribution network 27,48-52,56,60 In nuclear war 40 Education 42-43,44,45,47,48 Against capitals 36 Empire Against forts 35,36 Addictive 8 Against defended sectors 57 Blitz games 6 Plague 44 Compared to Risk 6 Planes Description 6 In defense 33-34,54,57 Game length 6 In mapping 28 Time needed to play 6 VTOL 33,34,40 Enlistment 40,54 Out of airbases 33,34,59 ETU, Empire Time Units 26 In nuclear war 38,40 Exploring 16,21-25 Defending from 57 Food in sectors 27,54 In escort 67 Forts 30,34-35,40,54,57,59-60 Population 26,43 FTP 9,63 Posturing 32 Gold dust 26,42,43,45,54,55,67 Registering Guerillas 36-37 Hearing of games 8 Guns 34-35,36,40 Standard registration 8-9 HCMs 45,67 Rec.games.empire 8 Help 16,17 "Red Storm Rising" 30 Kent State Empire 43, 62 Research 44,45 LCMs 42,45,47,48 Reserves 37,54,57 Loans 30,61 Sanctuary 16,21,22,25,27 Mapping 28,54,55,61 Scripts 64 Maps 16,18-20 Sectors 20 Maskirovka 30-31 Server, connecting problems 12-15,26 Missiles Starvation 26,46,51,54 In nuclear war 38 Technology 26,27,33,34,42-44 Against planes 57 Telegrams 17 Against airbases 59 Thresholds 50-53,56,60 Against ships 62 Tools 7,8,21,63-64 Mobility 24,25,26,49,51,61 Uncompensated workers 43,46 Mountains 25,36 Updates 16,21,25,26,27,36,46,51,56 Movement 16,20 Warehouse 26,43,48,49-51,56,59,60,61 Wilderness 20,21,22,23,24,25 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= SEE ALSO Introduction empire-info-text-4.2.15/Happiness0100664000000000000000000000274010055155506015362 0ustar rootroot Concept : Happiness NAME Happiness - How happiness is calculated at the update Level: Expert Happiness is required for countries which have any sort of technology or edu- cation at all, with greater levels being required as the expectation (and tech/edu levels) of the populace increases. A country with an unhappy popula- tion can expect a decrease in the "work" of some sectors. Also, the morale of your land units is determined by the happiness of your people. The morale of a unit can be set by the player, but the minimum level allowable is determined by happiness: 75 - happiness Thus, a nation with a happiness of 20 would have a minimum allowable morale level of 55% The "nation" command will display, among other things, your current happiness level. The procedure determining happiness level is exactly the same for happiness as it is for education (see "info Education") except for the fact that "happiness log base" is always 6.0 and "easy happiness" is always 5.0. New happiness is averaged with old happiness in the same way that education is averaged except that happiness averaging has its own line in the "version" output: Happiness is averaged over 48 time units. It has also been rumored that increasing happiness will help to keep the rebels in check somewhat, but the exact results are sketchy at best. SEE ALSO Education, Innards, nation, Products, Research, Technology, attack, Nation, Production, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/Hidden0100664000000000000000000000305710055155521014622 0ustar rootroot Server : The HIDDEN Option NAME Hidden - The HIDDEN option Level: Expert The following commands are restricted when the HIDDEN option is in play: power: Will only display your country's power. Other nations never show up. report: Will only report on contacted countries, and no status (active/flux). relat: Will only display contacted countries. news: Will only show news about contacted countries (except for headlines). accep: Will only display contacted countries. tele: Only allowed with contacted and deity countries. A country is 'contacted' with a successful spy, look, coastwatch, or recon, when an attack is made, or when you are the victom of an attack or if you receive a telegram. It possible for contact to be one sided. If you contact someone, they must also contact you in order to obtain information from you. If you want someone to be able to contact you, you can send them a telegram. Tech and research bleed only comes from contacted countries, so it's in your best interest to explore as much as possible. Because of the difficulty of tracking past news, news cannot be used with an argument under this option. Once the news is read, it cannot be read again. This may change in the future. If the LOSE_CONTACT option is in play, contact is lost after three update of no contact. Contact can be maintained by the same methods described above. It's important to note, however, that contact is retained by RECEIVING a tele- gram, not sending one. SEE ALSO Options, Server empire-info-text-4.2.15/Hints0100664000000000000000000001470310055155516014520 0ustar rootroot Introduction : Hints NAME Hints - Hints to help you play Empire better Level: Expert Military and the Demobilization of Same It's generally a good idea to put demobilized military on active reserve. You should also consider whether you need an enlistment center to generate more military. You can't enlist more military than you have military reserves. The "nation" command will tell you how many military you have. Be careful, as many players have lost their countries through carelessness with their military at the start of the game. Actually, the enlist command cannot activate more military than you have on reserve. Even then they have to be in sectors with an efficiency of 60% or greater. Enlistment sectors can produce as many military as they are capa- ble of, but will never produce more than one-half of the civilian populace there. So you need to keep moving them out, or demobilizing them, etc. Also, the more military you have in an enlistment center, the more military get trained per update. Any civilian may be enlisted (no restriction on the efficiency of the sec- tor). No more may be enlisted than the number of reserves. Enlistment costs mobility whereas while demobilization costs cash. Military can only be demobilized in sectors with a 60% efficiency or greater. No more than one-half the number of civilians in a sector may be enlisted in one "enlist" command, but if it is issued many times, virtually all civilians in a sector may be enlisted. One thousand reserves is enough for now, although I figure I always put them on reserve when I demobilize, at least up to 10,000. So you don't need to push for more reserves now, but might as well put all demobilized military on reserve. You make back the cost of demobilizing military in just two or three days I think, so I generally demobilize the military I don't have any use for, and put them on reserve. Depends on how you want to use them, I guess. I figure with 200 jet trans- ports at 127 mobility, I can land 20,000 military in an enemy country in one night, so I'd say 20,000 is a safe upper limit for reserves. I've never needed more than that. Distribution Hints When distributing stuff to a warehouse, set the thresholds in the sector that is sending to or receiving from the warehouse to the amount that you want left in that sector. Don't set thresholds for the warehouse itself (unless its also distributing to another warehouse) The minimum threshold for distribution is one. A threshold of 0 means no distribution of that commodity will take place. Something to Remember about Technology An education level of five is required to build technology. After "easy tech", the tech you build is put through a logorithm with "tech log base" (see version). War Zones It makes it much easier if the player doesn't have to do anything to keep his country running, but can instead do the things that are of interest. There's also the problem of what to do in an invasion. I guess if invaded I just accept the damage, and don't try to fix it until the war ends. In a war zone I generally follow one of two basic plans. If I'm the invader, I either leave the sectors as they are and let the country being invaded fall apart, or if I can do something to make it worse for the enemy, I sometimes do that. I sometimes designate conquered sectors to agribusinesses if they need food, banks to reduce shelling damage, enlist- ment centers for military, forts for firing and attacking, harbors to get ships in, warehouses to collect, move, and distribute supplies, airbases for planes and bridge heads for easy movement. When being invaded, I also generally postpone any long term development and just concentrate on the basic sectors types for combat (a,b,c,e,f,h,w,#,*) I've found it's a mistake to worry about long term development in a war zone, until the battle is over. I will let a war zone be completely wrecked in order to achieve victory. So you need to keep your home area away from any war zones. So far the method of treating war zones and peaceful zones differently and keeping them separated has worked pretty well. The mistake I made in the past was to try to develop a war zone before the fight was over. Now I'm willing to completely wreck the area to win, and in fact you pretty much have to. The guerrillas take several days to get rid of even when the war is over. I mostly turn the sectors in the front lines into forts, enlistment cen- ters, banks, and bridgeheads. Then maybe some warehouses, airports, and harbors within range of the front lines. And maybe some radar stations. Work Percentages are Important! I've found it good policy to produce a large surplus of food and aim to have at least 100 food in each sector, when I have enough. Actually I now put 990 food in each sector, except for aggies (100) and warehouses (9990). Before moving civilians, check the work in the sector the civilians are in. If it's less than 100%, DON'T move any of them out. The reason: work in the destination sector will drop to the same level as the starting sector. It's a good idea to check after every update, to see if any sectors have work less than 100%. "cen #0 ?work<100" is what I use. If work is less than 100%, workers won't work at full efficiency, and if it gets very low, the civilians may revolt and you'll lose the sector. Build lots of happi- ness, and keep extra mil in sectors with work less than 100%. That seems to help. Definitions and a Good Thing to Remember "World tech" and "world research" refers to the technology and research made by other countries which will automatically leak to the less developed countries. If you let education get higher than happiness, then find work going to 0% in your sectors, don't say you weren't warned.... On Nuclear Devices Just a note on nukes: in this version, there is a nice balance between nukes and economics. A player can do a lot of damage with nukes, but it costs a LOT. So it's rare that a country is completely annihilated by a nuclear attack, as used to be the case in PSL Empire. SEE ALSO Overview, Introduction empire-info-text-4.2.15/History0100664000000000000000000002134710055155521015072 0ustar rootroot Server : A Brief History of the Different Versions of Empire NAME History - Empire Revision History Level: Expert 1985 PSL Empire, Peter Langston Naturally, the original creator (or at least the last surviving implementor) of Empire is Peter Langston. He distributed the game that we all wanted to hack on, but naturally enough he didn't give out the source! (he wasn't dumb...he probably knew what we'd do to his code) 1986 UCSD Empire 0.x, Dave Pare Made Empire multiplayer with fixed update times. Added hexmap, planes, nukes, satellites, ships, market, distribute, and updates. Jim Reuter (and his PDP/11 decompiler) provided Dave Pare with a large quantity of amazingly readable decompiled code. His contribution came at a time when Dave's interest in reverse-engineering was flagging, and it provided what was necessary to create the original UCSD Empire. David Muir Sharnoff was responsible for promoting the early development of Empire 0.X. Without David it is unlikely if Empire would have escaped UCSD! He took on the onerous task of managing the source, creating mailing lists, applying patches, and generally making the early versions of UCSD Empire releasable -- they sure weren't when they left Dave Pare's hands... The rest of the folks who contributed to the early versions did so with code and/or ideas. (If I've forgotten anyone, let me know!) They appear in chronological order. Keith Muller James Anderson Julian Onions Lewis Jansen Peter Vukovich Jeff Anton Jeff Wallace Gregory Paris Edward Rynes Sean Casey Phill Everson Kurt Pires Jeff Okamoto Nick Lai Steven Grady Jim Griffith Chris Metcalf Steven Grimm Mike St. Johns 1986 BSD Empire 1.1, Dave Pare The following people (listed in alphabetical order) have contributed to the development of BSD Empire 1.1. Without these people, BSD Empire would never have happened. Thanks also go to the XCF at the University of California, Berkeley, for providing the facilities on which we performed this herculean task. David Davis Steven Grady Jim Griffith Beorn Johnson Phil Lapsley Jonathan Lee Kurt Pires Jeff Wallace 198? UCB Empire 1.2, ?? Added announcements, food, removed weather, parks, petrol, edu, terrorists, shoot, many new ships. 198? BSD Empire -- KSU Distribution (1.04), Jeff Bailey One of the goals of the KSU team was to make the server as configureable as possible. As such, they added many OPTIONS, and global constants. Added abms, asats, bmap, autonav, scuttle, NUKEFAILDETONATE, MISSINGMISSILES, SHIPNAMES, NEUTRON, RANGEEDIT, MISSDEF, NOFOOD, UPDATESCHED, DEMANDUPDATE, ORBIT, FALLOUT, SAIL, ALLYHARBOR, and fixed many bugs. Other contributers were: Yaser Doleh Robert Forsman Doug Hay Alex Shatsky 198? Merc Empire ?.?, ?? Fixed many bugs and removed loans, added grind, starvation, and prod. 1992 Chainsaw Empire 1.0, Thomas Ruschak Added land units, SUPER_BARS, EASY_BRIDGES, SLOW_WAR. 1992 Chainsaw Empire 2.0, Thomas Ruschak Added trade ships, fuel, semiland ships, ASW planes, payoff, wire, SNEAK_ATTACK retreat paths, sweep planes, budget. Tom thanks the following people for helping him with ideas and playtesting: Jorge Diaz (Ansalon) Tom Tedrick (Afrika Korps) Keith Graham (DreamLands), Dave Nye (Evil_Empire) Sasha Mikheev (Dolgopa) Baldric Elsinore Brett Reid (Resvon) Sam Tetherow (Kazzad'ur) Tharkadia Yikes 1993 Chainsaw Empire 3.0, Thomas Ruschak Added land units, missions, bestpath, people take less damage from shelling, +1 range bonus for 60% forts, cede, neweff, starva, forts interdict ships, mountain caps, RES_POP, NEW_STARVE, NEW_WORK, uncrewed ship decay, anonymous sublaunched missiles, stop & start, bdes. 1995 Empire 2.0, Dave Pare emp_player, emp_tm, and emp_update, were consolidated into one program called emp_server. A threads package called "lwp threads" was used to manage the player threads. Many options were made standard. Kevin Klemmick added HIDDEN and NEWPAF options. Many options were made standard. These are the people who submitted patches for Empire 2.0: Chad Zabel (3 letter abbrev's, & autonav) Ken Huisman Scott Ferguson (linux port) Kevin Klemmick Doug Hay (threads debugging) Bill Canning (AIX port) Julian Onions 1995 Empire 2.1 beta, Ken Stevens Organized info pages, wrote a "configure" script, made minor improvements to many commands, rewrote missile, navigation, and march code. Consolidated launch/bomb and missile/plane interdiction so that hitchance and damage is the same whether it's a mission or done "by hand". Added collateral damage, interdiction nuke detonation, "friendly" trade relations, BIG_CITY, ATT_INTERDICT, Consolidated sail, navi, and order. Added toggle, flash, wall, shutdown, strength. Other contributers: Chad Zabel (ship anti-missile defense) Julian Onions (runtime configuration) Sasha Mikheev (linux port) 1995 Empire 2.2 beta, Ken Stevens Completely rewrote attack, assault, board, and paradrop. Added "players", "skywatch", "disarm", tend land units. Other contributers: Craig Leres Janjaap van Velthooven (IRIX port) Ken Huisman (RCS source managemant) 1995 Empire 2.3, Ken Stevens After running a series of playtest games, Ken fixed all known bugs in the server, organized and rewrote alot of documentation (including this info page) and released the Empire2 server out of beta. 1995 Empire 3.0, Ken Stevens Empire 3.0 implemented the C_SYNC RFC, a powerful platform independent client-server protocol for synchronizing the client database with the server database. The Empire 3.0 server was released with the Empire Toolkit written by Kevin Morgan, a portable C library which parses the C_SYNC messages from the server into a database for the client. Thus, clients can link with the Empire Toolkit and be confident that when the server gets upgraded, their client will still work. Note that the C_SYNC protocol is asynchronous so, in particular, players will be able to watch their neighbours sail ships past their coast etc... 1996 Empire 4.0, Wolfpack (http://www.wolfpackempire.com) A group of people got together to form a new server project. This project is a new project, and is a complete takeoff from the Empire 3.0 server project. There are many additions and some subtractions from the 3.0 code base. The Wolfpack is headed up by Steve McClure and consists of the following people: Mark Ballinger Geoff Cashman Bill Frolick William S. Kaster Pat Loney Steve McClure Richard Moss Walter Smith Sam Tetherow Yannick Trembley John Yockey 1998 Empire 4.2, Wolfpack (http://www.wolfpackempire.com) The above authors (Dave Pare, Jeff Bailey, Thomas Rushack, Ken Stevens and Steve McClure) agreed to re-release the source code under the GNU GPL. The source was already freely released to the public, but any copyright issues (such as gaining permission from Phil Lapsley for the A* code and removing any other copyrighted code which would violate the GPL) were cleared up, and the licensing information was put in place to keep the server source free forever. Yee-haw! In addition, the server was made run-time configurable (yes, including WORLD_X and WORLD_Y) so that you didn't have to re-build an entire server each time you changed an option (you just have to rebuild the world sometimes. ;-) ) The source is still managed by the Wolfpack team. SEE ALSO Server empire-info-text-4.2.15/Hitchance0100664000000000000000000001024510055155507015316 0ustar rootroot Concept : Hitchance NAME Hitchance - The chance of a projectile hitting its target Level: Expert This page describes the chance of a mine, torpedo, ship anti-missile defense, missile, or plane hitting its target. Sea Mine hitchance The chance of a ship hitting a mine at sea is (mines/(mines+20)). (For example, with 20 mines, the chance of hitting one is 20/40 = 50%) The damage is dependent upon the size of the ship and the spot that the mine hits. (see "info Damage"). Land Mine Hitchance The chance of a land unit hitting a land mine is mines/(mines+35). (For example, with 20 mines, the chance of hitting one is 20/55 = 36%). See "info Damage" to find out how much damage things take from land mines. Note that the chance of land units hitting land mines is divided by 3 if the land units are accompanied by engineers. When moving commodities (civs, mil, shells, etc) or transporting planes, the chance is also dependent upon the weight being moved. First the above chance is checked, and then a chance equal to (weight / 100) is checked. Torpedo hitchance The chance of a torpedo hitting its target is equal to: hitchance = 0.9/(range + 1) where "range" is the range to the target. If the visibility of the ship firing is less than 6, then (5 - visibility) * 0.03 is added to the hitchance. Thus, the base chance of a sub hitting its target (before visibility modification) is: Range Chance 0 90% 1 45% 2 30% 3 22.5% 4 18% 5 15% Ships anti-missile defense If a ship has "anti-missile" defense capabiilty, then it will intercept any marine missiles launched at ships within 1 sector of the ship. Only missiles belonging to a country you are "At War" with will be intercepted. Only ships which are at least 60% efficient will be able to use their anti-missile defenses. The chance of the ship hitting the incoming missile it equal to: hitchance = gun * eff * tfact * 4.5 - (missile "def" value) where gun = the number of guns the ship is allowed to carry eff = the efficiency of the shiip tfact = tech / (tech + 200) where tech is the tech level that the ship was built at Plane and missile hitchance If the plane or missile is carrying a nuclear warhead or the target is a sector, then the hitchance is 100%. Otherwise, the following procedure is used to calculate hitchance. The formula for a plane or missile hitting its target depends on the type of the target (ship, plane, land unit) and the "hardtarget" value of the target (which represents how hard that target is to hit). Ship: vis = the visibility of the ship (from 'show ship stats'). For a sub, we set vis = visibility * 4. If the ship is at sea, then: hardtarget = (eff of ship) * (20 + speed/2 - vis) otherwise: hardtarget = (eff of ship) * (20 - vis) The hardtarget of a fleet is the hardtarget if the "easiest" target in the fleet. Land unit: hardtarget = (efficiency) * (10 + (sector defense) * 2 + speed/2 - vis) The hardtarget of an army is the hardtarget of the "easiest" target in the army. Plane: If the plane is in the air (satellite, icbm), then hardtarget = the "def" value of the plane. otherwise if the plane is on the ground: hardtarget = 0 Once we have calculated the "hardtarget" value of the target, then the chance of a plane or missile hitting its target is equal to: hitchance = acc - hardtarget where acc = (efficiency) * (1 - 0.1 * tfact) * (1 - placc/100) where tfact = (pltech - mintech)/(pltech - mintech/2) where pltech = tech level of plane mintech = min tech level required to build plane and placc = plane accuracy and if the target is a ship and the plane is an ASW plane, then placc = placc - 20 and if the target is a ship and the plane does not have tactical capability placc = placc + 35 Lastly we smooth out the bottom end of the hitchance curve. If hitchance is less than 20, then it is "belled up" using the following curve: hitchance = 5 + 300 / (40 - hitchance). On the other hand, you can just find out the hitchance by pinbombing or launching a missile--the hitchance is always printed! :-) SEE ALSO fire, launch, bomb, torpedo, Attack, Damage, Interception, Combat empire-info-text-4.2.15/Infrastructure0100664000000000000000000000562310055155507016454 0ustar rootroot Concept : Infrastructure NAME Infrastructure - Making your sectors better Level: Basic INFRASTRUCTURE The infrastructure of your sectors determines how well your sectors defend, and how well you can move commodities and vehicles (land units) through your sectors. You can improve the "road", "rail" and "defense" efficiency of all of your sectors, given that you have the correct commodities, enough mobility and enough money. The "road" infrastructure determines how well (i.e. the mobility cost) com- modities and non-train vehicles travelling through your sector are able to move at both distribution time and while you are moving them by hand. The "rail" infrastructure determines how well (i.e. the mobility cost) trains are able to move through your sectors. The "defense" infrastructure determines how well (i.e. the defense factor) your sector defends itself. There is a maximum amount that the sector may obtain. Use the "show sect stats" to see what the maximum values are. So, what you can do, by using up some commodities, mobility and cash, is to create a pseudo-highway network through non-highway sectors. You can still create highway sectors for just the designation fee of the sector, but it costs you a whole sector to use it. This is a trade-off for both being able to use the sector and still move things through it at a reasonable cost. When you "improve" the infrastructure of your sectors, you are improving on the efficiency of part of that sector (either road, rail or defense.) By improving it, it's statistics get better. For roads and rails, that means that the mobility cost to move through goes down. For defense, that means that you are building up the "defenses" of the sector towards the maximum allowed (see "show sector stats" for the maximum values.) Since infrastructure is on an efficiency basis, it takes damage just like reg- ular efficiency. So, when a sector is shelled or bombed, the infrastructure there is damaged in an efficiency based manner. Infrastructure is also not affected by rebuilding the sector. So, once you build infrastructure, it stays in place until the sector is damaged in some way. Use the "sinfrastructure" command to see what the current infrastructure of your country looks like. Use the "improve" command to improve the infrastructure of your sectors. To find out the required amounts of materials, mobility, and money use the "show sect build" command. Also, defensive infrastructure is not always improvable. See the version info to see if the DEFENSE_INFRA option is enabled or not. If it is not enabled, the defense infrastructure of the sector is always the same as the efficiency of the sector. If it is enabled, you must improve your sectors defensive val- ues using the "improve" command. SEE ALSO improve, sinfrastructure, Mobility, Sectors empire-info-text-4.2.15/Innards0100664000000000000000000001776710055155507015046 0ustar rootroot Concept : Innards NAME Innards - Some details about the inner workings of the server Level: Expert Much of this file is now out-of-date. Correct information may be found in the files Update-sequence and build. This topic contains fairly nitty-gritty descriptions of some of the underlying mechanisms in the Empire system. It is not meant for the weak-of-heart or casual reader. (And it's usually out of date.) Sector Updates Several characteristics of the Empire game are dependent on sector updates -- mobility, efficiency, mining of ore, generation of production units, etc. An understanding of the calculations involved is often helpful in planning the timing of various actions and although it is unlikely that this description is strictly up to date, it should provide a feel for the overall philosophy. All commodities in a sector are kept as "short integers". The program cannot have "negative commodity values", so the theoretical capacity of a sector is 32767, while in practice it is actually 9999 (for formatting reasons). While it is possible to move more commodities than 9999 into sectors, production of commodities will not go above the level of 999. So, an update that produces 450 units of iron in a sector that already has 800 units can at most add 199 units. Here is an approximate description of the algorithm that is called whenever an update occurs: Variables used are: etus the # of Empire time units in this update civ civilians in the sector mil military in the sector uw uncompensated workers in the sector desig designation of the sector effic efficiency of the sector miner iron mineral content of the sector gold gold mineral content of the sector t_level technology level of the country r_level research level of the country p_stage plague stage in the sector p_time plague stage duration workforce an intermediate variable that represents work potential work the amount of work done in the sector Parameters used are (see the "version" command for actual values): s_p_etu seconds per Empire time unit fgrate the food growth rate fcrate the food cultivation rate eatrate how much food people eat obrate birth rate uwbrate uncompensated worker birth rate babyeat how much babies eat growing up bankint bank interest rate in $/bar workforce = (civ*100/sector work + uw + mil / 5.) / 100. If workforce = 0 go away and don't update anything /* increase sector efficiency */ If the weather is good enough for construction and we're not broke then effic becomes effic + work (if possible) and costs $1 for each percentage point gained. Otherwise charge the $1 for each percentage point that would have been gained, (pay for workers to play cards). /* grow some food */ Set dd = etu * sector_fertility * fgrate (this is the amount of food that can be grown in etu time units) Set dtemp = work * 100. * fcrate (this is the amount of food that the people there can harvest) If (dtemp < dd) (if there aren't enough people to harvest it all) set dd = dtemp Set foodtmp to the amount of food in the sector plus dd /* feed the masses */ If desig is sanctuary then set dd equal to 0. Else set dd equal to etu * (civ + mil) * eatrate (this is the amount of food the people need to eat) If (dd > foodtmp) then some people will starve figure out what percentage of the population can be fed, and kill the rest (up to a maximum of 1/2 the populace) set food = 0 Otherwise set food = foodtmp - dd (with a maximum of 999) /* population growth */ set q = etu * civ * obrate the number of births possible in other sectors If q is bigger than food / (2 * babyeat) set q to food / (2 * babyeat) food available to mature this many babies into civilians If q is bigger than 999 - civ set q to 999 - civ enough room for that many Set food = food - q * babyeat Set civ = civ + q /* mobility */ Add etu to mobil (to a max of 127) /* pay taxes */ Collect the taxes, pay the military civ_tax = (int) (.5 + (civs * eff * etu * civtaxrate / 100.)); if (conquered) civ_tax /= 4.; uw_tax = (int) (.5 + (uws * eff * etu * uwtaxrate / 100.)); mil_pay = (int) (mil * etu * milpayrate); nat_money -= mil_pay nat_money += civ_tax + uw_tax /* plague */ If p_stage = "third" kill off a bunch of people, alert the owner and the news and decrement p_time by dt. If p_time <= 0 set p_stage = zero (plague has burned itself out). If p_stage = "second" report to the owner and the news and decrement p_time by dt. If p_time <= 0 set p_stage = "third" and randomly reset p_time in the range of etu_per_update to (etu_per_update * 2). If p_stage = "first" decrement p_time by dt. If p_time <= 0 set p_stage = "second" and randomly reset p_time in the range of etu_per_update to (etu_per_update * 2). If p_stage = zero and a random number in the range 0-99 is less than the figure generated by the equation in "info plague" then set p_stage = "first" and set p_time to a random number in the range of etu_per_update to (etu_per_update * 2). /* delivery & distribution */ If anything is being delivered from this sector and there is more of it than the delivery threshold (always a multiple of 8) and the country is not broke deliver as much of the excess as mobility allows. If plague_stage is "second" (the infectious stage) set plague_stage and plague_time in the destination sector. If there is a "distribution threshold" for this sector, and if the sector isn't at this threshold, import or export as necessary from the distribution warehouse the number of commodities, mobility permitting. /* production */ If effic is less than 60 skip the rest. If desig is bank then accrue etu * bankint interest per gold bar If desig is capital pay etu * $1 for government salaries If desig is enlistment sector, then convert civilians to military newmil = (etu * (mil + 10) * 0.05); nat_money -= newmil * 3; If this sector produces something (mines, research labs, etc.) calculate how much can be produced (see "info Products") (Note that the amount that can be produced is limited by "work") produce it pay for it (money, iron, gold mineral, oil, etc.) Several points are noteworthy: +o The work done in a sector (ore dug up, efficiency growth, population growth, products generated, etc) is dependent on the product of time since last update and work force ("work" above) while the accumulation of mobility is indepen- dent of work force. +o If the population of a sector is very low it may never generate any work at all due to conversion to integer truncation. Ship Updates Ships are also updated only when accessed however the mechanism is simpler. The only characteristics that are changed by ship updates are the mobility, the efficiency, (if less than 100%). the food, (and therefore the crew if starvation occurs), the amount of oil, and plague status, (which can also change the size of the crew). The algorithm is essentially: add etu to mobility (with a maximum of 127) add etu to efficiency (with a maximum of 100) add etu * civil * sector_oil / 10000. to oil if ship type is oil derrick add etu * civil * sector_fertil / 10000. to food if ship type is fishing boat feed the crew and passengers starve a few if not enough food check for plague progress, (the same as in sectors except each stage lasts twice as long on a ship) Bureaucratic Time Units There is one further update that is not handled in the sector update routine; that is the update of bureaucracy time units (BTU's). These are the numbers printed in brackets before the command prompt. Most commands given use BTU's, some use 1, some use 2 and some use more, making BTU's a vital commodity. The generation of BTU's is dependent on the efficiency and the work force in the capital sector. (see info BTU). SEE ALSO Education, Happiness, Products, Research, Technology, Time, BTU, Obsolete empire-info-text-4.2.15/Interception0100664000000000000000000001167510055155507016103 0ustar rootroot Concept : Interception NAME Interception - How plane interdiction works Level: Expert Each time an enemy plane (i.e. a plane owned by a country that your are HOS- TILE to or worse) flies into over a sector you own, planes you have with the intercept ability will intercept them if: a) The incoming plane is not stealthy, or is detected. b) The sector is within 1/2 the interceptor's range (as modified by rangeedit) b) They have mobility c) Their efficiency is 40 or more d) They are at an appropriate place: 1) planes without VTOL ability must be at an airport that is at least 60% efficient. 2) planes on ships may only fly if the ship can operate that kind of aircraft. e) There is petrol there equal to 1/2 the plane's fuel rating. (rounded down) Before planes scramble to intercept incoming planes, any SAMs in range will be launched. One SAM is launched at each incoming plane that cost at least $1000 to build. See below for the damage that the SAM does to the plane it hits. Enemy planes will be intercepted by up to 1 more interceptor, i.e. 1 plane will be intercepted by 2 (if available), 2 by 3, 3 by 4, etc. The highest num- bered planes intercept first. Incoming missiles will only be intercepted by ABM's Once the roster of attackers & intercepters is determined, attackers and interceptors dogfight. First escorts & interceptors fight, then planes being escorted & surviving non-aborted interceptors. First, an attacker and a defender are chosen, then each plane on each list fights once. Combat values The attacker's combat value is calculated by adding up his planes attack value, and modifying it for efficiency, bomb-load, and stealth. The attack value of the plane is multiplied times the plane's efficiency, but cannot go below 1/2 of the plane-type's base value (as shown by show plane stats). (If the plane's attack value is 0, the defensive value is used instead, with a minimum of 1/2 the plane- type's defensive value) Two is subtracted if the attacking plane is carrying bombs. If the plane is stealthy, stealth%/25 is added. The defender's value is calculated in the same way, except that the defensive value is always used. Odds Next, an odds ratio is calculated: (att/(def+att))*100. Combat Intensity Then, a combat intensity is rolled: (d20+d20+d20+d20) Combat For each point of combat intensity (or until both planes are dead), a d100 is rolled. If the value is less than the odds, the defender takes a casu- alty, otherwise the attacker takes a casualty. Once all combat rolls have been made, the attacker and defender are checked for aborting. If a plane is damaged below 80%, then it will have a chance of aborting. The chance to abort is (100-plane eff). (Example: a plane at 70% has a 30% chance to abort. Missiles intercepting die after the combat is done. Example Suppose that a fighter 2 (30% efficient, tech 154, attack value 7) is conduct- ing a recon mission. As it enters an enemy controlled sector, a fighter 1 (100% efficient, tech 131, defense value 4) rises up to fight it. The attacker's combat value is calculated: 1) 7 * (30/100) = 2.1 = 2 2) 2 is less than 1/2 the base attack value of an f2 (6), so the value is changed to 3 3) The attacking plane is not stealthy. No modifier. 4) The attacking plane is not carrying bombs. No modifier. The defender's defense value, calculated similarly, is 4. The odds ratio is (3/(3+4)) = .429 = 43% The intensity is randomly determined to be 30. A d100 is rolled 30 times. Each time that is 43 or less, the defender takes a hit. Each time it is 44 or more, the attacker takes a hit. In our example, the attacker takes 17, the defender 13, leaving them at 13% and 87% efficiency, respectively. The attacker has an 87% chance to abort, and the defender a 13%. If neither aborts, the attacker flies on. If both abort, the mission is over. If only the defender aborts, the attacker will fly on to the next sector in his flight path (perhaps to have combat again) If only the attacker aborts, the defender flies home with the knowledge of a job well done. ABM's ABM's do not use the normal combat procedure. They simply have a % chance of destroying an incoming warhead equal to their defensive value. If you have land units in the enemy plane's target sector, your plane will intercept the enemy planes AGAIN. If you have non-sub ships in the enemy plane's target sector, your planes will intercept them yet again. If you own the target sector, and have ships & units there, your planes will therefore intercept them a total of three times in that sector. Note that a 'target sec- tor' is a sector that is the target of a bombing or para mission. Merely hav- ing ships in a sector will not cause interception of planes flying over. SEE ALSO Plane-types, plane, fly, recon, bomb, range, Planes, Missions empire-info-text-4.2.15/Introduction0100664000000000000000000000130610055155524016106 0ustar rootroot Subject : INTRODUCTION Basics * The basic rules for playing Empire Clients * Clients which communicate well with the Empire4 Server Expert Advice to expert Empire players Guide * User's Guide to Empire Hints Hints to help you play Empire better Kill * How to kill your process on the server Novice * Advice for Novices Overview * An Overview of the Game Suggestions Suggestions for enhancements to the game For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Kill0100664000000000000000000000214110055155516014317 0ustar rootroot Introduction : Kill NAME Kill - How to kill your process on the server Level: Basic At some point you may lose your connection to the game. When this happens its possible that the game will not log your country off and you will get a mes- sage saying that you are still playing the game. This can be easily fixed by the player if you type in the following. telnet your.local.empire.machine 6666 coun pass kill quit What happens is that you are connecting directly to the Empire Server. From there you enter your country name and password. You can then kill the job that's running and then quit so you can login again using the client. This little trick will work on just about any Empire game. Of course you need to telnet to that game and and enter the correct country and password. Its a good idea to write this down somewhere and DON'T LOSE it cause chances are that you will have to use it at sometime. Note that many clients offer a "kill" command which does this. SEE ALSO Introduction empire-info-text-4.2.15/Land-units0100664000000000000000000004074410055155507015455 0ustar rootroot Concept : Land Units NAME Land-units - How to use land units Level: Basic Land units are organized collections of mil (militia). They are considerably more effective and cost-efficient than militia, and have many extra abilities. With the addition of land units, mil are now more or less considered to be militia instead of military, and are less important. The way that military are incorporated into units are that the mil are load- able commodities of the unit. The offensive or defensive Commands for land units are generally similar to those of planes/ships, and will usually start with 'l'. Land unit characteristics Land units have some characteristics of both ships and planes, plus some unique ones. Like both ships & planes, they have efficiency & mobility. Like ships, they can carry cargo, may have/use fuel, and may be able to fire guns at distant targets. Like planes, they have attack and defense values, and may be able to act automatically to defend your country. Let's look at a typical land unit: [##:##] Command : land * # unit type x,y a eff mil fort mu fd tech retr rd xl ship 0 inf infantry 8,0 96% 100 0 93 24 0 42% 1 0 1 unit This land unit is an infantry unit, located at 8,0. In many games, you will start with 1-2 basic land units of this type. Some of the things about it are familiar. It is 96% efficient, has 93 mobility units, carries 1 food, no fuel, and is tech 0 and currently contains 100 mi. It carries 0 extra-light planes, and is not on a ship. The 'a' stands for army, and is just like fleets or wings, i.e. a way of grouping your units. (See info "army" for more informa- tion) Fort is the level of fortification of the land unit. The higher the fortification, the harder the unit is to hurt. The 'retr' stands for retreat percentage. This land unit must begin rolling morale checks in combat whenever its efficiency goes below 75%. This is user settable in a range determined by the happiness of the owning country. The happier your people are, the more determinedly they fight. If, on the other hand, you "want" the unit to retreat easily, you can set this to 100% or some other high number. (For information on setting this, see info morale. For information on morale checks, see info attack) The 'rd' field is referred to as the unit's 'reaction radius', and is the dis- tance to which the unit can react to defend your country. Basically, if an enemy attacks a sector close enough to the unit, it will go to the threatened sector and fight, like a plane intercepting. If it survives the attack without failing a morale check, it will return to the sector it started from, just like a plane would. (For more information on reacting and morale checks, see info attack) Just as you can use rangeedit to change the range of your planes and control how far away they'll intercept, so you can change the reaction radius with "lrangedit". Units with a base reaction radius of 0, or those whose radius you have set to 0, will not react. Cargo Each land unit can carry cargo. The cargo display for land units is very simi- lar to that of ships, and is gotten with the "lcargo" command. [##:##] Command : lcargo * lnd# unit type x,y a eff sh gun pet irn dst bar oil lcm hcm rad 0 infantry 8,0 96% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 unit The land unit is not carrying anything. Potentially, land units can carry any of the commodities listed above. Unlike ships, they cannot carry mil, civs, or uw's. Land units are loaded and unloaded using the lload command, which works pretty much like the load command for ships. (See info "lload") Units on ships can transfer supplies to/from the ships with the "ltend" command. HQ's & Building land units Like planes and ships, land units are built in special sectors. For land units, the sector is the headquarters sectors, designation !. Like other units, they may require hcms and lcms, and will generally require money. Some land units may require guns to build. All this info can be gotten with the "show" command. [##:##] Command : show land build lcm hcm guns avail tech $ inf infantry 10 5 0 40 0 $500 The infantry unit takes a total of 10 lcms, 5 hcms, and 0 guns to build. Like ships and planes, units are built at a lower percentage, and 'grow' up to 100%, and any unit with an efficiency of less than the build percentage is dead. For land units, this minimum efficiency is 10%. The build requirements for land units, like those listed above, are for a 100% unit. Thus, the infantr1 would require 1 lcm and .5 hcms (Fractional amounts are randomly rounded... i.e. .5 has a 50% chance of being 1 or 0. It'll all even out over time) When 'growing', land units require materials which must be present in the sec- tor. The amount of growth is calculated in the same fashion as planes/ships. Generally a land unit can grow by up to 2x the ETUs per update. (See the "ver- sion" command for exact maximums, as these are deity-settable) So, for exam- ple, in a 32 ETU game, a land unit could possibly grow by 64% per update. For the infantry unit shown above, this would require 6.4 lcms and 3.2 hcms. If any of these things aren't present in the sector, the unit won't gain effi- ciency. Repair of Land units Ships can repair themselves in any sector, and can use work from their crew, or from a harbor they are in. Planes can only be repaired in airports, and only use work from the airport. Land units can be repaired in HQ's, "or" in fortresses, and use the work of the HQ or fort. This means that front-line units in forts will repair themselves each update, assuming that the necessary materials and work are available. They can also gain efficiency in other sec- tor types, but at a much reduced efficiency (1/3rd normal gain) Land unit statistics Each land unit has certain vital statistics which show how it will operate. These are obtainable from the show command: [##:##] Command : show land statistics s v s r f a d a a x p i p a r c a m a f f p att def vul d s y d g c m m f c u l infantry 1.0 1.5 60 23 15 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 The infantry unit has an attack multiplier of 1.0, and defensive multiplier of 1.5. It has a vulnerability rating of 60, a speed of 23, a visibility of 15, spy value of 2, reaction radius maximum of 1, no firing range, no accuracy, no firing damage, uses no ammo, has no aa fire, doesn't carry of use fuel, and can't carry extra-light planes. When attacking, a unit's value is expressed in 'mil-equivalents', i.e. 1 mil- eq is as strong as 1 mil. To find a unit's attack value, find the number of mil currently in it, and multiply by the attack multiplier and efficiency. In the case of our infantry unit the unit has an attack value of 96 (100*1.0*.96), and a defense value of 144 (100*1.5.96). Some units, like tanks, will have high attack multipliers, and medium defense multipliers. Some, like most infantry, will be better at defending than attacking. Some, like artillery units, will be bad at both. As time goes on, and your tech increases, the stats of your land units will get better. This reflects the technological breakthroughs you have made in that you can now build better units of the same type. The vulnerability of a unit determines how easy it is to hurt the unit by shelling it, bombing it, or when it encounters land mines. The lower the vul- nerability, the better. Values range from 1-100. Spd is the relative speed of the land unit. Land units move by marching (see info "march"), and use mob depending on their speed and the terrain they are moving through. For more info and formulas, see info "march". Vis is the visibility of the unit. This is a measure of how easy it is to see/detect the unit. Lower is harder to see, and the numbers can range from 1-100 or so. When a land unit tries to use the "llookout" command to look for enemy land units/planes, its chances of success are affected by the target units' visibility (see info "llookout" for more details). Spy is the other side of the equation, i.e. how well can the unit find things? A unit with a low spy won't be very good at locating other units, and won't be able to report much when it encounters them in battle. A high-spy unit will be able to use the "llookout" command with more chance of success, and will be able to more accurately report information about the units it runs into in battle. (See info "attack" for information about intelligence reports) Units with radar capacity also use their spy value to determine how far they can see. Spy values range from 0-127, with low numbers being most common. Don't confuse this spy value with the "spy" capability of a unit. See "info Spies" for more information. Rad is the maximum reaction radius for the unit. When built, the unit will have this as its reaction radius. If you change the reaction radius by using the "lrangedit" command, you will be able to select any value that is between 0 and the maximum. Frg is the unit's firing range. The unit can fire as far as the frg, modified by the unit's tech. Accuracy is the unit's firing accuracy, and helps to determine how much damage it will do, along with the dam of the unit. When firing at sectors, damage is based solely on the damage. When firing in defense of a sector, or firing at ships, damage is based on both acc and dam. (See info "fire" for more information) Ammo is the number of shells a land unit uses every time it fires or partici- pates in combat. If the unit does not have enough shells when firing, damage will be reduced proportionately. If a unit does not have enough shells in com- bat, it will be out of supply, and have its combat strength cut in half. (See info "supply" and info "attack" for information on supply and how it affects combat. Aaf is the unit's anti-aircraft fire value. The higher the value, the more damage the unit will do to planes flying overhead. Fc/fu are the unit's fuel capacity and use. If the fc/fu are 0, the unit does not need fuel to gain mobility. If the fc/fu are non-zero, the unit will need fuel to gain mobility, and will use fu fuel whenever it fights. (See info "fuel" for information on fuel) Xpl is the number of extra-light planes the unit can carry. Planes can operate from a land unit in the same fashion as if it were a carrier. Normally, extra-light planes are SAMs, so units can carry SAMs for air-defense. This particular unit can't carry any. Land unit capabilities There are many different capabilities that land units may have. They may be seen with the show command: [##:##] Command : show land capability capabilities infantry 5f light assault The command shows the cargos the unit can carry (5 food in this case), and its abilities. See info "Unit-types" for a complete description of the various capabilities. Moving Land units move with the "march" command, which is pretty identical to the navigate command. Marching units can run into land-mines, be interdicted, etc. See info "march" for more info. See info "mission" for information on inter- diction. Units & ships Each type of ship is rated on the number of land units it can carry. Land units that are 'light' can be loaded onto ships using the normal "load" com- mand (see info load). Units that also have the 'assault' ability (see info "show" and info "Unit-types" for explanations of abilities) can be used in assaulting sectors. (See info "assault"). Supply Units need supplies in order to attack. Each update, and each time they attack, units will attempt to draw supplies. See info "supply". Really, I'm serious. If you don't read info supply, you'll die a horrible death. I'm not kidding. Fortification Land units are able to "fortify" themselves to better resist damage. Each point of mobility spent increases the fortification level by 1, up to a maxi- mum equal to the maximum mobility of a land unit. A fully fortified unit takes one half the normal amount of damage. Fortification is lost when the unit moves or retreats. (Note that a reacting defending unit "can" have a fortifi- cation value. This is an abstraction) Read info "fortify" for more details. Looking Land units can use "llookout" to look around. This command is analogous to the look command used by ships. When llooking, land units have a chance to spot other land units and also planes. Recon units tend to have better spy values, and so are better at this. (See info "show" and info "Unit-types" to find out more about recon units). Radar Some units can use the "lradar" command. This command works like the radar command. Radar range is determined by the unit's spy value. (See info "show" and info "Unit-types" to find out more about radar units). Engineers Some land units have the 'engineering' ability. These units can do several things. Engineers are the only units that can lay land-mines, and the only units that can sweep them when moving (like a minesweeper). Attacking engi- neers also halve the defender's mine bonus. Engineers can also use the "work" command, which allows them to raise sector efficiency. (See info "work") They also tend to be quite expensive. Attacking & defending Info "attack" has a complete treatment of this, but I will summarize here. When you decide to attack a sector, you can use mil and units from adjacent sectors. The attack value of your forces is the combined attack values of all attacking land units, plus the number of mil coming in from adjacent sectors. The defense value is equal to the mil in the defending sector, plus the defense values of any defending units in the sector, as well as any that react and move there. Friendly ships/forts/artillery units/planes can contribute "support". Support starts at 1.0. Each friendly ship/fort/artillery unit/ plane that can help adds its damage/100 to the support. For example, if you were attacking a sec- tor, and a friendly battleship was close enough to fire there, it could sup- port you. If it would normally do 23% damage when firing, it would add +.23 support, making your support number 1.23. The enemy also gets support from all his stuff. When all support is totaled, the attacker strength is multiplied by the attacker's support to get the total attacker strength. The defender's total strength is determined similarly. Both sides have their strength modified by the terrain. (show sector stats will show the defensive value of a sector) He can also get support by having mine-fields in the sector (see info "lmine" and info "attack" for more information). Planes support only if assigned to a sup- port mission. See info "mission" for information on support missions. Combat is done fairly normally, with a series of rolls for attacker/ defender casualties, until one side is dead or retreats. Land units take damage after all mil on their side are dead, and each 'hit' on a land unit does 1 mil dam- age. (Therefore, a unit that takes 100 mil to build would take 1% damage when it suffers a casualty. A unit that takes 50 mil would take 2%, etc) When a land unit's level of damage taken in a battle reaches it's 'retreat level', it must begin taking morale checks. When it fails one, it will retreat. Retreat- ing attacking units go back to the sector they came from. Defending units will attempt to retreat to an adjacent owned sector. If there are none, the unit will take extra damage and continue fighting. If the attacker wins, he captures the sector, and his mil/units will move into the sector if he ordered that. If the defender wins a combat, his units in the sector stay there. His reacting defending units that did not fail a morale check return to their starting point. Defending units who started in the sector stay in the sector. In both cases, retreated units end up in the sector they retreated to. Units and retreating Ships can use the "retreat" command to specify when and how they will run away from trouble. Land units use a similar command "lretreat" to do the same thing. See info "lretreat" for more details. SEE ALSO Unit-types, show, supply, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/LandUnits0100664000000000000000000000454310055155524015334 0ustar rootroot Subject : LANDUNITS army Designate members of an "army" assault * Attack coastal sector from ship attack * Sector vs. sector combat board * Board enemy ship build * Build ships, planes, land units, nuclear weapons or bridges fortify * Fortify a land unit fuel * Give fuel to a ship/unit land * Report status of unit, army or units in a given area lbmap Big map of all your worldly knowledge around a land unit lboard * Board enemy land unit lcargo * List the commodities on board your units ldump Dump raw land unit information lload * Load things onto land units llookout * Check from units for other units, planes and/or sector types lmap Map around a land unit lmine Mine a sector with an engineering unit lost * Report lost items lradar Use a radar unit's radar lrange Edit the reaction range of a unit lretreat Set retreat conditions/paths for units or armies lstat * Report statistics of unit, army or units in a given area ltend Transfer things between a unit and the ship carrying it lunload * Unload things from land units march * Move a land unit or units mission * Assign a mission to a ship/plane/unit morale Change the retreat percentage of a unit sabotage * Damage enemy territory with spy unit scrap * Scrap a ship, plane, or unit scuttle * Destroy a ship, plane, or unit show * Characteristics of bridges, ships, planes, land units or sec- tors supply * Cause a unit to draw supplies upgrade Update the tech of a ship/unit/plane to the current tech level work Use engineers to raise sector efficiency Land-units * How to use land units Maintenance The cost to maintain ships, planes, and land units. Mobility How much mobility stuff costs Spies How spies work Unit-types * Description of the different types of land units Empire4 Changes from the Empire3 server to the Empire4 Server For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Loans0100664000000000000000000000112510055155524014500 0ustar rootroot Subject : LOANS collect Foreclose an overdue loan consider Accept, decline or postpone consideration of a loan or treaty financial Show all the outstanding loans in the world ledger Report on outstanding loans offer Offer a loan or treaty to another country repay Repay a loan (all or part) shark Purchase defaulted loan For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Maintenance0100664000000000000000000000215010055155510015640 0ustar rootroot Concept : Maintenance NAME Maintenance - The cost to maintain ships, planes, and land units. Level: Expert During each update, nations must pay to maintain their units, ships and planes. The cost to maintain a ship, or land-unit is: .001 * cost of thing * ETUs/update The cost to maintain a plane is: .001 * cost of thing * ETUs/update + 5 * mil_cost * crew Note that this cost can be changed by the deity. Also note that if you have purchased high-tech items, and your tech is not at least 85% of the item's tech, you are charged double to maintain the item. Also note that engineering land units costs 3 times what normal units cost, after the tech is figured in. If you can not afford to pay maintenance costs or you choose not to pay them (see info budget) then your unit will lose ETU/5 points of efficiency. Thus, if you were playing in a 60 ETU game, and you did not pay your maintenance costs for a 50% frigate, then the frigate would drop to 38% efficiency. SEE ALSO Unit-types, Ship-types, Plane-types, Ships, LandUnits, Planes, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/Maps0100664000000000000000000000216010055155524014324 0ustar rootroot Subject : MAPS bdes Manually change your bmap bestpath Show the best path from one sector to another bmap * Big map of all your worldly knowledge lbmap Big map of all your worldly knowledge around a land unit lmap Map around a land unit map * Generate a map showing sector types, seas, etc nmap * Generate a map showing new sector types, seas, etc origin Change the origin of your country's coordinate system pbmap Big map of all your worldly knowledge around a plane pmap Get a map around a plane realm * Print out or modify one of your "realms" sbmap * Big map of all your worldly knowledge around a ship sect Show only sectors owned by you in map form sharebmap Share parts of your bmap with another country smap * Get a map around a ship survey Show distributions in map form For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Market0100664000000000000000000000107410055155524014652 0ustar rootroot Subject : MARKET buy Purchase commodities from the world market market Report current selling prices in the world market reset Reset the price of a product on the market sell Sell commodities on the world market set Establish price for a ship, plane or land unit trade Buy planes/ships/land units For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Merc0100664000000000000000000000534110055155521014313 0ustar rootroot Server : Merc Empire Changes NAME Merc - Changes from KSU code to Merc code Level: Expert There have been several changes/fixes made to the KSU code for the Merc V game. This will outline the various changes and how they will affect you. Bridges There was a bug which allowed planes that were on bridges that collapsed to remain in the sea sector and could be retrieved by either rebuilding the bridge or moving them onto a 100% highway. This has been fixed so that any planes upon a bridgespan which falls will be destroyed. Uncompensated Workers Uncompensated workers were not paying taxes, even though the version command provided a tax rate for them. They now pay the taxes that are shown. SYNTAX [##:##] Command : reject reject announcements * This command now works, so that you can reject announcements from everybody. This is not recommended though... Technology The tech formula has been fixed so that all increases in material result in an increase in the amount of tech produced. if(breakthroughs > 0.75) { above = breakthroughs - 0.75; tech = 0.75 + log2(1 + above); } else { tech = breakthroughs; } Grind The grind command now requires available work to grind up bars. It takes 5 avail to grind up a gold bar. Loans Loans have been removed from Merc V. This is an experiment to see how things go without loans being available. Country Names Certain commands only worked with country numbers, but they now work with country names as well. The primary command that this affects for Merc V is report. Production The production of dust/oil/rads is now limited to the resource content of the sector. It used to be possible to get more out of a sector., Starvation Sectors that have a very large number of civilians that starve will have at most 499 civilians after the update unless there was enough food to feed more than 499 civs. Attack The attack command now uses at least 1 mobility point per sector that partici- pates in any attack. Pinpoint Bombing Pinpoint bombing now lists all the commodities in a sector that can be bombed. Production Report The production report now contains a report of what will actually be produced by your sectors at the next update. Since some of the rounding done by the update code uses a random percentage chance, it is possible that you will get 1-2 units more of some of the items. The production report command is conser- vative, and assumes that all rounding will be down. Version The information in the version command was modified so that the information that was printed out would reflect the actual parameters of the game. SEE ALSO Server empire-info-text-4.2.15/Missions0100664000000000000000000000044010055155525015230 0ustar rootroot Subject : MISSIONS Interception How plane interdiction works For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Mobility0100664000000000000000000002103010055155510015204 0ustar rootroot Concept : Mobility NAME Mobility - How much mobility stuff costs Level: Expert Mobility represents the amount of time and energy it takes to do something. In "Real Life" a ground offensive takes hours. In Empire, it takes less than a second. Now the way Empire *could* work would be for you to give your troops "orders" and then wait a "realistic" amount of time for them to carry these orders out. But who wants to type "nav 15 yh" and then wait 30 minutes for the ship to get there? Certainly not you! That's why mobility was invented. Every update, all of your units and sectors get more mobility, and that means that enough time has passed for you to be able to do more stuff! In Empire, four things have mobility: sectors, ships, planes, and land units. You can see how much mobility each of these gets every update in the output of the "version" command: Sectors Ships Planes Units Maximum mobility 127 127 127 127 Max mob gain per update 60 120 90 90 If the mobility cost for something is a fraction, for example 2.4, then there will be a percentage chance that the actual cost is rounded up or down. In our example, there would be a 60% chance that 2.4 is rounded down to 2 and a 40% chance that it is rounded up to 3. -- Land Units -- Land units are charged mobility for the following actions: 1. Fighting See "info Attack" for the mobility cost to attack. 2. Fighting rebels For each 2 points of efficiency a land unit looses fighting rebels at the update, it looses one point of mobility. 3. Fortification Fortifying a land unit ("dig in") costs one point of mobility per point of fortification. An engineer cuts the mobility cost by one third. See "info fortify". 4. Converting civs Security units are charged 10 mobility every time civs are converted in a sector they are in. 5. Laying mines A land unit is charged one point of mobility for every land mine laid. 6. Work The increase in efficiency depends on mobility used. It costs a 100% efficient land unit 6 mobility to raise a sector 1% efficiency. Less efficient land units are charged proportionally higher amounts of mobility. For example, a 50% land unit would be charged 12 mobility to raise the efficiency of a sector by 1%. 7. Supply When supply is drawn from a supply unit, that unit pays the mobility cost to move the goods to the destination sector. That cost is the same as it would cost the sector to move the goods using the "move" command. 8. Marching, reacting or retreating The mobility cost for a land unit to march, react or retreat is: (path cost) * 5 * 480 / (unit speed) See "Path Cost" below for the path cost formula. Note that reactung land units only pay mobility to move "to" the attacked sector; they return to their start sector for free. Land units on "reserve" mission only pay half the mobility cost to react. Note that the efficiency of a land unit does not affect the mobility costs it pays to march, unless the unit is a supply unit. Then the mobility costs are proportional to the efficiency of the unit. 9. Shell damage When a land unit is shelled, its mobility goes down in exactly the same way that its efficiency goes down (see "info Damage"). -- Planes -- Plane mobility can never go below -32. Planes are charged mobility for the following: 1. Air combat For every two points of damage the plane takes from air combat, the plane looses one point of mobility. 2. Launching satellites A satellite is charged one point of mobility for each sector it passes over in its launch trajectory. 3. Flying The mobility cost for a plane to fly is: 5 + (flight cost) * (distance flown) / (max distance plane can fly) For excorts and interceptors, the flight cost is: 10 / (plane efficiency) For all other flights, the flight cost is: 20 / (plane effciiency) For planes flying on an air defense mission, this cost is cut in half. 4. Land mine, pinbombing, a-sat, and nuclear damage A land mine, pinpoint bomb, anti-sat missile or nuclear detonation will damage the mobility of the plane in exactly the same way that the efficiency of the plane is damaged (see "info Damage"). -- Ships -- Ships are charged mobility for the following: 1. Firing a shell The mobility cost to fire a shell is 15, unless the NOMOBCOST option is enabled in which case ships are charged nothing. 2. Firing a torpedo The cost for a ship to fire a torpedo is one half of the cost for it to move one sector. 3. Boarding a ship from a ship See "info Attack" for the mobility cost to board a ship from a ship. 4. Navigating and retreating The mobility cost for a ship to navigate or retreat is: (sectors travelled) * 480 / (ship speed) where ship speed = (base speed) * (1 + (tech factor)) base speed = max(0.01, efficiency * speed) tech factor = (50 + tech) / (200 + tech) 5. Shell damage When a ship is shelled, its mobility goes down in exactly the same way that its efficiency goes down (see "info Damage"). -- Sectors -- Sectors are charged mobility for the following actions: 1. Converting civs Each civ converted costs 0.2 mobility. 2. Shooting civs & uws The mobility cost to shoot civs or uws is (number shot + 4) / 5 3. Enlisting mil The mobility cost for enlisting mil depends on what fraction of the civs present you are enlisting: (new mobility) = (old mobility) * (1 - newmil / (starv civs)) 4. Fighting See "info Attack" for the mobility cost of attacking. 5. Moving commodities Sectors move commodities in the "move" and "explore" commands, when "supply" is drawn from them, and when they "deliver" and "distribute" at the update. Mobility is used from the source sector when moving. Mobility used is a factor of the commodity involved, the amount of the commodity, the types of the sector and dist sector, the efficiency of both, and the cost of the path to the destination sector. When the move is finished, move reports the total mobility used, and the amount of mobility left in the sector. The exact formula is: mob cost = (amount) * (weight) * (path cost) / (source packing bonus) If the movement happened at the update, then the cost is: delivery cost = (mob cost) / 4 distribute cost = (mob cost) / (10 * (destination packing bonus)) Weight Each commodity has a weight: bar 50 gun 10 rad 8 dust 5 uw 2 other 1 Packing Bonus Some sectors are better at moving certain commodities than others. This ability is known as their packing bonus. These sectors only get these bonuses for moving items "from" them--not for moving items "to" them. If the sector is less than 60% efficient, it doesn't get its packing bonus. Here are the packing bonuses: warehouse/harbor bank other mil 1 1 1 uw 2 1 1 civ 10 10 10 bar 5 4 1 other 10 1 1 Path Cost The path cost is the cumulative mobility cost of moving through each sector in the path. The cost to enter a sector is based on the sector's type and efficiency. All sectors cost 0.4 to move into when they have a 0% road factor, except for mountains which cost 5.0 at 0%. The mobility cost to move into a sector goes down linearly as the road efficiency increases. This represents the construction of roads. You can also build railways to make the moving of trains faster. When marching trains about, the rail factor is used. Otherwise, the road factor is used. See "info improve" for more information on improving the efficiency ratings of your sectors, and see "info sinfrastructure" for information on showing the infrastructure of your sectors. See "info Infrastructure" for more general information on Infrastructure. Update mobility bonus Commodities get moved at the update through delivery and distribution. All goods moved this way get their mob cost divided by 4 for deliver, and 10 for distribute. Furthermore, commodities distributed into a harbor or warehouse get the warehouse packing bonus (normally, packing bonuses only apply for the type of the source sector and not the type of the destination sector). These two bonuses represent the fact that moving goods through an established distribution network is more efficient. 6. Transporting planes or nukes The weight of a plane is lcm + 2*hcm. The weight of a nuke is the number of "lbs" it has (from "show nuke stats"). 7. Shell damage When a sector is shelled, its mobility goes down in exactly the same way that efficiency goes down (see "info Damage"). SEE ALSO Sectors, Ships, LandUnits, Planes, Moving empire-info-text-4.2.15/Move0100664000000000000000000000325510055155510014333 0ustar rootroot Concept : Moving Things About NAME Move - A quick reference for moving things around Level: Basic Most of Empire consists of you moving something from one place to another. The following table tells you which commands you use to move the kind of thing that you want to move. What From To Command ---------------------------------------------------- comm sector sector move comm/land/plane sector ship load comm/plane sector unit lload comm/land/plane ship sector unload comm/land ship ship tend comm ship unit ltend comm/plane unit sector lunload unit sector sector march ship sector sector navi plane sector sector trans nuke sector sector trans nuke sector plane arm nuke plane sector disarm Note that in the case of load, lload, unload, tend, and lunload, the way you specify whether you are moving a commodity, land unit or plane is by using the word "land" or "plane" instead of the commodity name in the field. If is "land" or "plane", then is the unit or plane id. So for exam- ple, to load ship #1 with land unit #2, you would type: [##:##] Command : load land 1 2 SEE ALSO Mobility, Moving empire-info-text-4.2.15/Moving0100664000000000000000000000113610055155525014666 0ustar rootroot Subject : MOVING fly * Fly planes from sector/ship to sector/ship and bomb or snoop march * Move a land unit or units move * Transport ore, civilians, guns, etc navigate * Move ship or fleet around transport * Move planes or nuclear devices around Mobility How much mobility stuff costs Move * A quick reference for moving things around For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Nation0100664000000000000000000000172110055155525014657 0ustar rootroot Subject : NATION break * Break sanctuary and begin to play budget * Look at a national balance sheet & set priorities capital * Change the location of your capital change Change country name or representative's name nation * The state of your nation players List players currently connected to the game power * Display arbitrarily measured strengths of all countries report * List all countries and their status Education How Education is calculated at the update Happiness How happiness is calculated at the update Research How Research level is calculated each update Taxes How taxes are calculated Technology How technology level is calculated each update For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Novice0100664000000000000000000005570110055155516014661 0ustar rootroot Introduction : Advice for Novices NAME Novice - Advice for Novices Level: Basic A Preface by Ken Stevens While most of this document applies to the game of Empire in its current form, it is important to keep in mind that the sections which follow this preface were written long before missions or land units were introduced into the game. The main impact that missions and land units have had on the game is that they greatly strengthened the defense. Here are "ten easy steps" for setting up a strong defense in the new server: (1) Build 100% forts and put 10 guns and at least 100 shells in them. (2) Put at least 5 mil in all of your coastal sectors. (3) Build infantry units, put them in the forts, "fortify" them, and put them on "reserve" mission (info mission). (4) Build battleships and artillery and put them on "interdiction" mission. Put the artillery in forts and fortify them. (5) Put infantry units in your banks and capitals, fortify them, and set their reaction radius to 0 (info lrange). ---later in the game--- (6) Put lots of land mines in your ground (info lmine). (7) Build fighter planes. (8) Always guard your ships with destroyers (or other kinds of ASW ships). (9) Build some ASW planes and put them on interdiction mission. (10) Build lots of sam's and abm's. A Treatise of Advice on War and Peace for Budding Empire Players by Dave Pare This article contains advice for beginning players. It deals mainly with staying alive and not economic development, because staying alive is tougher for beginners than is playing with the various Sector-types. The most important thing I can say is that beginners should remember that Empire is not realistic. There are dozens of "tricks" to learn; until you master them, you will lose because of small oversights Beware of patterning your Empire actions after real-world strategies; they may not work as expected. When you start, grab as much land as possible. Locate and identify other players, and get an idea of the size of your land mass. Send them all tele- grams. Everybody likes to get telegrams; the telegram facility gives you the chance to make friends, influence people, and have fun role-playing your coun- try. If you get to know somebody, you may not be attacked because you come across as a nice guy. Of course, if you sound like a bozo, you may get stepped on. Establish a definite border with your neighbors by inhabiting sectors with one civilian. This establishes your claim to the land behind these outposts, even though you don't actually occupy it yet. It also prevents your neighbor from discovering where YOUR capital is. In Empire, it's very important to protect the location of your capital; likewise, it's quite nice to know the location of the neighboring capitals "just in case"! If any of your neighbors attacks your outposts, that gives you a valuable clue to their intentions, while not costing you much in the way of resources. Also, an attack on a remote outpost may give you enough time to prepare your country for the possible invasion to follow. You may not want to claim too much land though, or the outposts will get overrun by people who are fed up with your obvious land-grabbing. Basically, try and be fair about land distribution, but make sure you get a good deal for yourself. Empire players go to war for many reasons. One is lack of resources; you have land, and they want it. Another is safety; your troops or ships are perceived as menacing, so they are destroyed by your adversary. Another is because the attacking player really enjoys attacking people! Still another is boredom and/or curiosity -- "Just how do nukes work anyway? Hey, I know, I'll try them out on Freedonia!" In Empire, wars are generally won by people who attack first. Because mobil- ity can be saved up your attacks can proceed while the hapless enemy is asleep. Many Empire attacks have happened over the weekend, or at 2:00 in the morning. It is quite difficult to defend your country when you're not logged in. The auto-defense features of the game are minimal at best. The whole philosophy of "First Strike" holds true from early land warfare, to naval warfare, to the philosophy of Mutual Assured Destruction. If you strike first and your attack is well-planned, any retributive strike of the enemy's will be ragged at best. If it's a land war, all of the fighting will be on the enemy's territory, not on yours. Your industries will be fine, and the battleground will be the enemy's. Having mentioned the advantages of pre-emptive strikes, I must caution against spur-of-the-moment attacks. I've noticed that many wars tend to occur because some country sinks your battleship; you get mad and decide to attack. I'm just as guilty of this as anyone. Spending a few days marshaling your forces can mean the difference between a long, drawn-out slugfest, and an overwhelm- ing 2:00 blitzkrieg that blows away half the enemy's army and navy within the first few hours. While it's nice to have instant gratification (seeing enemy troops die right after you read the telegram describing the destruction of your poor, defenseless battleship feels SO good), a hasty counterattack will alert your enemy who will mobilize forces and retaliate accordingly. Things will escalate, and you'll be in a full-scale shooting war before you can say "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution!" And you will have lost the advantage. Going first only counts if you have marshaled your forces. A scattered, ill- planned attack will net you nothing but a little instant gratification, at the cost of a long drawn-out war in which your neighbors who aren't fighting are the only winners. Once two countries are at war, it's much harder to win "overnight". Vietnam is a good example of what you shouldn't do. Gradual escalation just gives the enemy time to prepare. A sudden, overwhelming attack is far better and will achieve your goals much more cheaply. Knowing where the enemy is located is absolutely critical to the planning of a successful attack. War takes up a lot of resources; your personal time is the most precious resource of all. In a war, your time, energy, and creativity will be devoted towards destroying your adversary. This leaves little time for economic development. In war, the home front stagnates, or goes to seed. Only the bare necessities are produced for the civilians at home, technological innova- tion and new land development ceases, and your country will generally fall behind in the global race for technology. Therefore, if you decide to go to war, you'd better win quickly or else it will take a lot of time, and your country will go downhill fast. If you're just punishing someone for doing something "nasty", offer "nice" peace terms after you've meted out appropriate punishment. If you aren't attacking because you're bored, other players are likely to agree to peace because los- ing a war is unpleasant. I've turned enemies into allies often enough; they are happy to survive, and if your attack was relatively justified, they are happy to have you as a friend. You'll notice I didn't give any advice to responding to an attack. I think being attacked is generally a losing proposition because in Empire the attacker generally has the advantage unless fighting with greatly lower tech equipment. As soon as ships start appearing on the power chart, make sure each sector bordering water has at least five to ten military. When more ships come around, beef up the coastline defenses even more. Put tons of military in your capital. To summarize, if you go to war, strike the first blow -- preferably at 0200. Remember the cost in your own personal time investment. Once the ball starts rolling, you won't be able to call it all off and go for a vacation. Your enemy will want to kill you, so you'd better be prepared to spend plenty of time in solid play. Humble Additions to the Treatise of Advice by Tom Tedrick In addition, keep mobility in mind. In many of my low-tech wars, superior mobility was decisive. Combining these ideas gives you my basic opening strategy: take as many sec- tors as is possible, as quickly as possible (I will take 300 sectors the first day if I can), and designate them highways, leaving one civilian in each sec- tor. (You may need to leave one food in sectors with zero fertility.) When my country first reaches 100% efficiency, roughly two-thirds of my sec- tors will be 100% efficient highways. This allows me to shift my forces all the way from one border to another in a single move. I once had great fun smashing three countries that attacked me simultaneously from three sides by shifting all my forces from border to border to border, achieving local supe- riority in each case, and annihilating the enemy forces in turn at updates (this is related to the theory of the advantages of interior lines worked out by the Germans). If the enemy runs out of mobility you can sometimes catch the main invasion force helplessly immobilized on the front lines and annihilate it. Hints to the Wise by Shelley Louie Since this is an advice note, I'll refrain from being too specific about tac- tics. You'll just have to learn them yourself. Building the Perfect Beast: (Country Construction) The first thing you want is land. Lots of land. A whole hell of a lot of land. You should try to expand your country from the very beginning. From there, you'll meet your neighbors who are doubtlessly doing the same thing you're doing. Expanding wildly. Now comes the first of a series of deci- sions you have to make. Do you want to become a raging power-mad warmon- ger? If you do, be sure to have built your army beyond the basic 100 troops. The earlier in the game you find someone, the easier it is to crush them into oblivion. If you feel peaceful, see the diplomatic section of the text. Another difficult decision is designating your sectors. A good beginning mix is two mines per light construction and heavy construction factory, about 20% agribusinesses (later dropping to 10%, 5%, or even none at all!), and a few schools, research, parks, etc. to fill up some of the other space. The most important thing to have is a good transportation system in the form of your highways. Anywhere from 20-40% of your country should be highways. You'll find them infinitely useful in moving food to a starving sector, taking people to a new settlement, or transporting troops to a local revolution, highways are vital! Another important consideration is "do you want really want to win?" This implies the idea of competing in terms of building technology and research, and being able to get supplies to continue to produce both of these vital products plus happiness, a high (greater than 10) education, maintaining a military force, etc. Winning means succeeding on all fronts. I play to win, but find that I can't devote the time or effort to winning, so I usu- ally end up playing for the pure enjoyment of the game. Ask Tom [Tedrick] how many hours he puts into playing, and you can figure that is what you're going to have to do to win. A final warning, if you play seriously, your grades will drop. No if's, and's, or but's about this. You can't just throw three to five hours a day away and not have your schoolwork suffer. Happiness is a Warm Gun: (The Art of Diplomacy) No one trusts anybody in this game unless you know them personally outside of the limited scope of Empire. Of course, this limits you a lot, so you break the rules and make alliances with people who you have no relation to. And they in turn backstab you and devastate the country you so meticulously built for the last few weeks. Oh well, that's what you deserve... Just kidding. Most of the people you will play with are rather trustworthy souls. At least they are until it becomes burdensome to them. A good relationship (as all those sex manuals will tell you) is based on trust and respect for the other person. What does this mean to you? Build enough military to be a pain to invade. Military power insures respect. Trust is up to the two people involved. Night Moves: (The Art of Empire) Empire is a skill. Never forget that. You will learn as you play that you may have to stay up for that 3:00 AM update to completely surprise your unknowing victim or even just to maximize your country's potential. Also never forget that someone may be up at that time waiting to pounce all over you too. Pleasant dreams. Running on Empty: (Losing and still having fun) Okay, you've tried to keep up with Tom [Tedrick], Chris [Guthrie], and all those other experienced people, but it just isn't going to happen. You are not going to win the big win (i.e., become world dictator). What do you do? Give up and watch your country go to pot? Give all your stuff away to another country and resign? No! You can have fun even after you can't win. Make small wars with other small countries. Try to get a hold of nukes to devastate them. Form a cartel with other small nations and try to run over a big country. As in real life, the possibilities are endless! Look at the Middle East, they're having fun, right? This is just a game, and from this point on, you don't have to worry about watching over your nation too closely. Play for the enjoyment of playing. Which, of course, is the intention of Empire in the first place. On the Distribution of All Things by David Bleckmann The reader here is assumed to have read the information pages on distribute, threshold, and level. To use distribute, it is a good idea to have a warehouse. You don't have to, but this is how the command usually works. If for some odd reason you don't use a warehouse, you will have to use some other sector as your "destination sector", as mentioned in "info level". For novices, just build a warehouse. I will refer to warehouse instead of distribution sector for the rest of this text. You should place your warehouse in a spot that can be reached by all your sec- tors via a low mobility path. That is, for each sector you own, there should be a path along which you could move goods at very little mobility cost. Since 100% efficient highways don't cost any mobility to move across, roads that come close to each of your sectors and lead to your warehouse are a good idea. Now for each of your sectors you must set up a distribution path. Use the distribute command. This is a path from each of your sectors to your ware- house, along a low mobility path as described above. For example, if you have a nation that looks like this: j j m + c m + g * + h + w + k m + + g And you wanted to set up a path from your capital, you would give the command [##:##] Command : dist 0,0 bbg Note: the path can only be so long, and as your country gets larger you will need more than one warehouse. Once you have done this for all of your sectors, you are ready to start dis- tributing. Now you will probably want to have food on all your sectors, and if one sector has a lot of people on it, you may want to have a bit more on it. You will not want to have to monitor the food levels for all of your sectors. This is the process that is automated by distribute. Using food as an example, you can go through all of your sectors and issue a threshold command, such as: [##:##] Command : thresh f 0,0 40 This will set the threshold for food at your capital at 40. You can do this for all of your sectors using a command like [##:##] Command : thresh f # And give a threshold for each of your sectors as prompted. Now at each update, Empire will move food to and from your warehouse in an attempt to satisfy all your threshold requirements. If for example a certain sector has more than its allotted threshold of a certain product (e.g., an agribusiness producing food), food will be moved off it to the warehouse. If a sector has less than its threshold, and the warehouse has any of that com- modity, the product will be moved from the warehouse to the needy sector in an attempt to satisfy its threshold. If a certain sector has a threshold of 0 for a certain product, no distribution takes place. Therefore if you wished to move as much iron as possible from an iron mine every update, you would set its threshold for iron to one. If somewhere else you had a lcm factory that can use 45 iron a turn (found out through the prod command) you would set its threshold for iron to 45 (or greater) and its threshold for lcm's to one. Then, on each update, Empire would move all iron off your iron mine (except for one unit), try to put 45 iron on your lcm fac- tory and take all lcm's (except for one) off your lcm plant (possibly to be used somewhere else). Note: the order in which this happens is predictable, but not always desir- able. Thus, if you have no iron on your warehouse to start with and your lcm factory gets updated first, it won't get any iron even though there will be some in the warehouse in a few seconds. It is always a good idea to keep sur- plus goods in your warehouse. The end result is that you can set up your country to move your products around without you logging in. It also doesn't cost as many mobility points to move things as distribute, and it costs no BTU's! Some Further Clarifications on Distribution versus Delivery by David Muir Sharnoff Secondly, I am still a little confused about distribution and delivery. When I designate a distribution route, does that mean that things will be delivered from the point of distribution to the warehouse? Or do I also have add the delivery route on top of the distribution route in order to get things moving? And how do I get the visual route of the distribution route? I can get delivery routes by doing the route command. Thanks. The two methods of moving commodities (distribute/threshold/level and deliver/cutoff/route) are completely independent. Delivery is most useful for short, one-sector, movement of commodities. Dis- tribute can be used in conjunction with highways and distribution sectors to provide low-cost, long-range movement of commodities. There is no analog to the route command in the distribute paradigm. Here are some examples of commands: [##:##] Command : distribute -2,0 jjjh This command sets up a distribution path from the distribution sector in -2,0 to sector 4,0. [##:##] Command : thresh food 4,0 400 This command sets the threshold on sector 4,0. Sector -2,0 (the distribution sector for 4,0) will attempt to keep 400 units of food in 4,0 by importing or exporting as necessary. [##:##] Command : thresh oil 4,0 100 This command is the same as above, but will instead attempt to keep 100 units of oil. [##:##] Command : level -2,0 This command will report the distribution routes and thresholds for sector -2,0. [##:##] Command : deliver food -2,0 (384) y This command will deliver all food from -2,0 in excess of 384 units to -3,-1. [##:##] Command : deliver lcm -2,0 b This command will deliver all lcm's from -2,0 to -3,1. [##:##] Command : deliver lcm -2,0 +30 This command will deliver lcm's in excess of 24 (deliver uses multiples of eight). [##:##] Command : cutoff -2,0 This command will report what commodities are being delivered from -2,0 and what their cutoffs are. [##:##] Command : route food -20:20,-10:10 This command will graphically report the food delivery paths in the sectors from -20:20 to -10:10. Some More Hints for the Novice by Jeff Trim Tech levels are very important in this game. You cannot produce uranium, guns or shells until you achieve a tech level of 40. Choose your friends carefully. I was talking to Lewis from Cornell College and his comment was the best I'd heard in a while: "Never ally with someone that doesn't have a definite interest in seeing you survive." Don't be deceived by the treaty command; treaty violations will show up in the news, but that is not going to stop the aggressor from wiping you out, no matter how bad it looks in the news. Nuclear attacks can cause a lot of damage, but no one has ever been taken out of the game by a nuclear attack. The damage from a purely nuclear attack is recoverable. It takes conventional forces combined with nukes to really do damage. (Of course I won't fool you either; it doesn't hurt to have a few nukes either.) Beware of running low on BTU's. I will recount one story of a player on this site that was running low on BTU's. His enemies launched a nuclear attack and hit his capital! Unfortunately, he didn't have enough BTU's to redesignate a new capital. The moral of the story is that you should plan an alternate cap- ital at some point in the game. These are generally not needed at the begin- ning of the game, because you need to effectively deploy your sectors in the early going. But later, it wouldn't hurt to have one or more alternate capi- tals. Empire is a game of perception. If your adversaries think you're tough, they're probably going to pass you and head for easier prey. But the reverse is also true; if you look weak they might try a few tactics on you -- and depending upon your response, they'll either back down or fight it out. Bar- gain from a position of strength. You could be the weakest country on the planet but still look so tough that no one would bother you. It's all percep- tion. Weak countries have an added advantage: gun running! If a country is heading out with his fleet to attack another country and you happen to be along the way, you could cut a deal with him and you could make a deal and allow that country to attack a coastal sector and turn it into a harbor. You've now placed an obligation on that country, who will be very careful to keep you happy so you won't grant similar privileges to that country's enemy. Weak nations can be quite powerful if you handle the diplomacy right. The tough players like blowing away their tough adversaries and as long as you stand idly by and watch those two countries blow each other to little pieces, you'll be left intact and growing richer off their little war. SEE ALSO Overview, Hints, Expert, Introduction empire-info-text-4.2.15/Nuke-types0100664000000000000000000000461110055155510015466 0ustar rootroot Concept : Nuke Types NAME Nuke-types - Description of different kinds of nuclear weapons Level: Expert There are two different types of nuclear devices in Empire: fission bombs, fusion bombs. Both fission and fusion bombs perform similarly, with fusion bombs giving "more bang for the buck". In general, the only way to avoid damage by a nuclear detonation is to avoid the area prior to and during actual detonation. "Hardening" missiles (in silos) is the only exception, and even that cannot protect from a direct hit by the larger nuclear devices. The details of the nuclear devices present in Empire can be seen using the show command. The meaning of the fields are as follows: name The nukes name. lcm The amount of lcm needed to build the nuke hcm The amount of hcm needed to build the nuke oil The amount of crude oil required to build it. rad The number of radioactive products required to build it. tech The minimum tech level required to construct the nuke. $ The cost of the nuke to construct. The other fields given in the capabilities are as follows. blst The blast type of the nuke dam The damage rating of the nuke lbs the weight of the warhead, limiting missile and plane nuclear device carrying capacity. As a guide (these numbers are subject to change): [##:##] Command : show nuke build lcm hcm oil rad tech $ 10kt fission 50 50 25 50 200 $7500 50kt fission 60 60 30 75 225 $9000 100kt fission 75 75 40 100 250 $12000 250kt fusion 50 50 25 50 280 $7500 500kt fusion 60 60 30 75 295 $9000 1mt fusion 75 75 50 100 310 $12000 3mt fusion 100 100 75 127 325 $19000 [##:##] Command : show nuke capab blst dam lbs tech $ 10kt fission 3 80 4 200 $7500 50kt fission 3 100 6 225 $9000 100kt fission 4 120 8 250 $12000 250kt fusion 4 150 4 280 $7500 500kt fusion 5 170 6 295 $9000 1mt fusion 6 190 8 310 $12000 3mt fusion 7 210 10 325 $19000 The larger the megatonnage, the more damage done by the weapon. Effects (as in the real world) can only be determined by experimentation, although research suggests that radioactivity left behind by nuclear detonations may have lasting effects. SEE ALSO launch, fly, build, transport, show, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/Obsolete0100664000000000000000000000052610055155525015205 0ustar rootroot Subject : OBSOLETE wait Wait for a telegram Innards Some details about the inner workings of the server For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Occupation0100664000000000000000000000110210055155525015524 0ustar rootroot Subject : OCCUPATION convert * Change conquered civilians into uncompensated workers shoot * Dispose of enemy civilians or uncompensated workers Citizens * Work, starvation, and general management of your citi- zens Guerrilla Guerrilla warfare Sector-ownership * Sector ownership For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Old-empire0100664000000000000000000003056710055155522015433 0ustar rootroot Server : Differences from Old Empire NAME Old-empire - Differences from 1.2 to UCB Empire Level: Expert UCB Empire Version 0.9.24 - Update for Version 1.2 Players So you want to try the New Empire Huh? Okay, I have written this document with YOU in mind! Welcome to the Univer- sity of California at Berkeley's Empire! (From now on called UCB Empire). There are a whole bunch of changes in the game since we last played, so I need to bring you up to date. Our OLD EMPIRE game was Version 1.2 - written way back in the 70's by Peter Langston, when he was going to College like we are! But Empire has come along way since then - and what many have considered the REAL EMPIRE was released in 1985 - containing the final version of Peter Langston's Empire game. It still is considered the "Standard". But in 1986 the "computer brains" at Berkeley decided to play around with the Source Code and create their own "enhanced" version of the game. Hence "Berkeley Empire" was created.... Changes from Version 1.2 (Please keep in mind that these are only a FEW on the changes - you're going to have to read the Manual and use the INFO command to get a REAL good idea on what you should read up on - DON'T depend on this list to tell you everything you need to know) There is an "announce" command - this command sends a Telegram to EVERYONE in the game - and you can make an "announcement" to the World. In the OLD game - you simply dug up ORE and sent it to the Shell, Defense, etc. factory to have it processed into something else (make guns, shells, etc). But in the NEW game - sectors are a lot more complex. For one thing curtain sectors CAN'T even PRODUCE until your country has reached a given TECH level. These sectors are currently: Shell Factories (need at least 20 TECH) Gun Factories (need at least 20 TECH) Petroleum Plants [ for Airplane Fuel ] (need at least 20 TECH) Uranium Mines (need at least 40 TECH) Other sectors can produce normally, even though your TECH level is still 0. Keep in mind that you CAN DESIGNATE the ABOVE sectors - but they won't produce until you reach the desired TECH LEVEL. Also, it takes more "Materials" to make 1 Unit of a finished product. By this I mean that to make approximately "1 SHELL" at your shell factory, you'd have to have: 3 Dollars (in the treasury), 2 LCM, 1 HCM, and at least 20 TECH Level. LCM is Light Construction Materials, HCM is Heavy Construction Materials, and I discussed the TECH Level problem (above). To fully understand this concept - please see "info Products" and "info Sector-types". FORTS - have been improved. It used to be in OLD Empire that you had to use the DEFEND command to say which sectors you wanted to DEFEND with the guns from your fort. But in the NEW Empire - your forts will fire on ANY enemy attacker as long as the attacker is within the guns' range when the "attack" was made. Hence - no more DEFEND command. FOOD - In the OLD Empire you didn't have to worry about it - the people fed themselves. But in the NEW Empire - there is a new sector designation called "a" for agribusiness. These are farms that make food and you have to trans- port that food to other sectors that don't grow food or those sectors will starve. **NOTE** that in the "FERTILITY" rating in the "CENSUS" report - only those with HIGH Fertility ratings can successfully grow food. If the FERTIL- ITY rating is in the 10-30% - BE CAREFUL - they may not be able to grow enough food to sustain even themselves! Food is also a great Commodity to "SELL" (hint,hint!) WEATHER - There ISN'T ANY! (no more rainy days :-) Although judging from the way Berkeley has been improving the game - it won't be long till they do fix it. Can you imagine what weather will be like if they update it like the did the "planes"! Thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanos, etc. BUT FOR NOW - THERE IS NO WEATHER - Atmosphere is stuck at "0" - clear days! NEXT UPDATE (how will I know when it is supposed to Happen?) - EMPIRE will always tell you when the NEXT UPDATE is scheduled by using the VERSION com- mand. VERSION will also tell you how much food will grow per-update and also things like - how much food you people eat per update - etc. MAP CHANGES - in the OLD Empire you could move u)p, l)eft, r)ight, d)own, etc - but now you have to move in DIAGONALS - you'll get used to it - the world is set up like this so the game can handle more SECTORS per world. Basically means that the MAP display is more condensed - and you'll be able to see more sectors on a MAP display than ever before. A few new SECTOR-DESIGNATIONS have been added: BASICS INDUSTRIES MILITARY / SCIENTIFIC . sea d defense plant t technical center ^ mountain i shell industry f fortress s sanctuary m mine r research lab / wasteland g gold mine n nuclear plant - wilderness h harbor l library/school c capital w warehouse e enlistment center p park u uranium mine ! headquarters COMMUNICATIONS * airfield FINANCIAL + highway a agribusiness b bank ) radar installation o oil field j light manufacturing # bridge head k heavy manufacturing = bridge span % refinery PLEASE! Fully READ the "info Sector-types" I haven't got time to go through all of them - but I will point out a few of them that might be unfamiliar to you. PARKS - these are special because they convince your people that they should ENLIST and go out and fight for you! Lots of fun - gotta have one of these to keep the ENLISTMENT rate high. URANIUM MINE - I forgot to add this above with the other Commodities - with the Commodities "FERTILITY", "OIL", "GOLD", "MINE" - there is also "URANIUM". Uranium is the most UNCOMMON natural resource and hence those that have a deposit of it should be careful to guard it well. When URANIUM is dug up it becomes "radioactive Matter" - you then deliver the Radioactive Matter to the Nuclear Plant and have it converted into - you guessed it - NUKES! Be aware, however, that you must have a HIGH Tech level to make nukes - and it is going to take you a LONG TIME to get to this point. REFINERY SECTORS: These are where the OIL you make is turned into PETROL(-eum) for your various AIRPLANE needs. Planes run on PETROL and the refinery sec- tors make PETROL out of OIL. You then have to deliver the PETROL to your Air- ports for use... LIBRARY/SCHOOL: Obviously your people aren't very smart :-) As it is your going to need to educated them. Education will increase CROP yields and also help with TECHNOLOGY. see "info education". World Updates In the OLD EMPIRE - updates weren't handled in a FAIR way. If you created a 0% FORT before you logged out of Empire - it would REMAIN a 0% FORT until you logged back into Empire - and if your on a LONG weekend that could have meant that you would be WIPED OUT!!!! In the NEW EMPIRE - updates are handled by an independent program called the "Transaction Manager". This program runs independently of EMPIRE and runs at 4 hours intervals, updating the game constantly. That means that you enemies will be updated just as often as you ARE - and may make them think a little more carefully about attacking you. The CURRENT update times are: 2am, 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm (In the local time zone) NO OTHER UPDATES ARE POSSIBLE - except at these times. What is updated is all Mobility, Food Production, Shell & Factory Production, Ship Plane and Sector Efficiency, and EVERYTHING that "update" used to do. (hence there is NO Update Command). Everyone is updated at the SAME TIME! Other Things That Might be of Interest Terrorists! - (real trouble makers, but great for setting on your enemies - they blow up things and convert followers!) SHOOT - it is now possible to SHOOT your civilians (captured enemy ones) or your own :-) God knows why you would but... sometimes the conquered people are REAL radical and it DOES become necessary SELL - you can sell your goods on the OPEN Market - and set PRICE MULTIPLIERS so that your enemies HAVE to buy at a BIG mark up - but your friends can still buy your good cheap! Okay - you've been waiting for it - so here it is! The new line of Ships, Planes and Nukes for Empire: The Ships $$$ lcm hcm tec def spd vis spy rng fir 350 20 10 40 30 50 10 4 1 1 patrol boat 200 25 15 0 10 20 15 2 0 0 fishing boat 550 25 25 20 60 30 20 3 1 1 minesweep 1100 25 35 20 80 35 20 4 3 2 destroyer 2200 40 30 70 30 25 2 3 2 2 submarine 4000 40 40 50 40 25 60 3 0 0 tanker 3000 40 50 40 100 30 30 5 6 3 heavy cruiser 600 60 40 0 50 25 35 3 0 0 cargo ship 2000 50 50 120 20 10 80 4 0 0 oil derrick 4400 70 65 60 80 30 35 8 2 2 aircraft carrier 4000 55 65 50 127 30 35 6 8 4 battleship 1500 60 30 120 15 40 15 5 0 0 fishing trawler 4000 90 60 320 30 40 1 3 0 8 nuclear sub 1200 40 40 70 30 30 30 2 0 0 landing ship 2500 40 40 220 20 70 17 5 0 0 hydrofoil 6000 80 30 280 20 30 20 10 0 0 radar center food civ mil sh gun pln dst pet oil 30 0 10 10 2 0 0 0 0 patrol boat 100 30 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 fishing boat 25 0 25 60 2 0 0 0 0 minesweep 80 0 80 40 4 0 0 0 0 destroyer 25 0 25 25 4 0 0 0 0 submarine 200 30 5 0 0 0 0 990 990 tanker 100 0 120 60 6 0 0 0 0 heavy cruiser 900 50 50 300 50 0 900 0 0 cargo ship 300 80 80 0 0 0 0 0 200 oil derrick 180 0 350 350 4 8 0 500 0 aircraft carrier 300 0 200 100 8 0 0 0 0 battleship 120 25 5 0 0 0 100 25 0 fishing trawler 500 30 30 25 4 8 0 60 0 nuclear sub 300 0 400 0 0 0 0 0 0 landing ship 20 60 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 hydrofoil 60 0 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 radar center The column headings have the following meanings: $$$ money required to build it lcm light construction materials required to build it hcm heavy construction materials required to build it tec technology required to build it def defensive armament of the ship spd the distance/mu for moving (in relative units) vis how visible the ship is, (relative units) spy how far the ship can see, (i.e. how good the communication equipment is), again in relative units rng twice the distance the guns can fire, (assuming a high technology level) fir the number of guns the ship can fire at once food the amount of food the ship can carry civ the number of civilians the ship can carry mil the number of military the ship can carry sh the number of shells the ship can carry gun the number of guns the ship can carry pln the number of planes the ship can carry dst the amount of gold dust the ship can carry pet the amount of petrol the ship can carry oil the amount of oil the ship can carry aml the amount of lcms the ship can carry amh the amount of hcms the ship can carry Note that some ship differences are not listed in these tables. Only fishing boats and fishing trawlers accumulate food by fishing. Only oil derricks accumulate oil at sea. Only destroyers will drop depth charges, and only destroyers can see and fire at submarines. Only submarines can fire torpedos. Only destroyers and heavy cruisers can lay mines. Only minesweeps can reclaim mines from the sea. Only nuclear submarines can carry nuclear missiles. Only aircraft carriers can launch and retrieve air strikes. Only cargo ships can carry lcms (1400) and hcms (900). SEE ALSO coastwatch, fire, load, lookout, mine, navigate, tend, torpedo, fly, Server empire-info-text-4.2.15/Options0100664000000000000000000000615110055155522015061 0ustar rootroot Server : OPTIONS NAME Options - Server options Level: Expert The following options are from KSU code: SHOWPLANE: planes/units on ships/units up for trade are shown PINPOINT(etc): Missile exist which target ships instead of sectors SAIL: another way to automatically move ships (may also be buggy) NUKEFAIL(etc): nukes on missiles that explode in launching may detonate SHIPNAMES: ships may be named DEMANDUPDATE: updates may be allowed on player demand UPDATESCHED: updates can be controlled by the 'hours' file. NITP The following options were introduced in the Chainsaw server: EASY_BRIDGES: bridges can be built from any sector SUPER_BARS: gold bars aren't destroyed by shelling or bombing ALL_BLEED: you get tech bleed from all countries, not just allies DRNUKE: research is required to make nukes SLOW_WAR: War declaring takes time. No land attacks unless at war. SNEAK_ATTACK: If SLOW_WAR, allows you to pay money and sneak one attack. NOMOBCOST: ships pay 0 mob to fire. Subs pay 1/2 a sect's movement cost TRADESHIPS: you can build/nav/scuttle trade ships to make money FUEL: ships need fuel to gain mobility RES_POP: Research affects max sector population. NOFOOD No food is required. BLITZ: Turns NOFOOD option on and players get infinite BTU's. NONUKES: No nuclear weapons NO_PLAGUE: Plague is disabled. NEUTRON: Enables neutron bombs FALLOUT: Sectors are damaged by radiation for a few updates after blast The following options were introduced in the Empire2 Server: HIDDEN: Hides information about countries you haven't contacted LOSE_CONTACT: In HIDDEN, lose contact after a few updates ORBIT: Satellites can orbit the planet BIG_CITY: 'c' sectors cost $, lcm, hcm to build and hold 10x civs INTERDICT_ATT Interdict units & mil as they move in after an attack The following options were introduced in the Empire4 Server: ROLLOVER_AVAIL: Unused production avail is rolled over across updates. BRIDGETOWERS: You can build bridge towers, which allow you to build bridges from them. DEFENSE_INFRA: Use the new defensive infrastructure. Otherwise, use sector efficiency for defensive values. GODNEWS: The world is told via news when deities are giving or taking things from players. GO_RENEW: Gold and Oil are renewable resources. MOB_ACCESS: Allows real-time updating of mobility. MARKET: Time-delay market and trade. LOANS: Allows S&L type interaction between countries. LANDSPIES: Creates land unit style spies. PLANENAMES: Shows real names for planes. NO_FORT_FIRE: Forts cannot fire. NO_LCMS: The game doesn't need lcms to be played. NO_HCMS: The game doesn't need hcms to be played. NO_OIL: The game doesn't need oil to be played. TECH_POP: Technology costs more to make as your civilian population grows past 50,000 civilians. TREATIES: Sign treaties with your friends and enemies, and breaking of them is reported in the news. SEE ALSO Hidden, Server empire-info-text-4.2.15/Overview0100664000000000000000000002126710055155516015244 0ustar rootroot Introduction : An Overview of Empire NAME Overview - An Overview of the Game Level: Basic What is Empire? Empire is an military/economic simulation of make-believe countries in a make-believe world. The military part is emphasized. The economic part is still there, but as a prerequisite to a working military. What part do I play? Each player is the ruler of a country. As leader of your country, you give commands that affect your country (e.g., move people around, re-designate sectors, etc). You also handle all of your country's foreign policy. Empire lets you get reports on the status of your country (``info census'' and others), find out what's going on in other parts of the world (``info news''), and communicate with other countries (``info telegram''). Although no goal is explicitly stated, most players rapidly derive their own, ranging from the mundane desire to be the biggest, strongest country in the game, to the more refined goals of having the most efficient land use possible, or having the lowest ratio of military to civilians while still surviving. The World of Empire Empire is played on a hexagonal map partitioned into a rectangular grid of M x N sectors (where M and N are typically, but not necessarily, powers of two, usually 64, 128, or 256). The world is made up of approximately 50% sea, 45% habitable land and 5% uninhabitable mountains. Sectors can be assigned a specific sector type. These types range from banks to nuclear fuel processing plants. See ``info Sector-types'' for more detail. Your personal coordinate system is based on your capital, which is a type of sector. Your capital is generally marked by the coordinates 0, 0. The Empire Time Scale The Empire world both does and does not match the real-time world. To bet- ter explain this, let us examine the concept of an update. At regular intervals (usually once per day), the entire Empire world is updated. When the world updates, new population is added, ores are dug up and added to stockpiles, food and other commodities are distributed to sec- tors, the educational and technological levels are updated, and so on. It can be thought of as the minimum quantum for growth. On this time scale, an update could be considered to be approximately one generation. Thus the difference from the time scale of the real world. However, certain commands are issued in real-time, such as attacks. These commands have instantaneous effects on the state of your country. Dedi- cated (or merely experienced) Empire players will often log on to monitor their country. And most attackers will wait until the small hours of the morning to carry out their attacks, for obvious reasons. If you do not log in to Empire, any automatic policies you have set up will be carried out. However, Empire will not try to fix any mistakes you have made; unless you are very careful, it's probably not a good idea to rely on these automatics. Bureaucratic Time Units (BTU's) To prevent the more fanatical Empire players from staying logged on all the time, Empire places a limit on the amount of time you may be logged in per day. This limit is settable by the deity, usually 1000 minutes. If you run out of time, too bad! You can't log in again until the counter resets itself (usually at midnight). The other control on the number of commands that you may issue are called ``Bureaucratic Time Units'' or BTU's. A BTU is an arbitrary amount of bureaucratic bookkeeping that your government must spend to perform a cer- tain function. Most commands that are not merely informative cost BTU's. BTU's are generated by your country's capital. The more efficient your capital, the more BTU's that are generated. The number of BTU's also depend on the game's settings.. See the output of the 'version' command for an estimate of BTU generation speeds. However, you may have a maximum of 512 BTU's at any one time. And once your BTU's reach zero, you may not issue any commands that use BTU's. Three things to note about BTU's: 1) Since commands use up BTU's, this limits the number of commands that a player may issue over a particular time period. This has the effect of preventing the Empire fanatic from overruning other players with less free time to log on. 2) The build-up of BTU's is constant and does not depend on being logged in. This allows players to participate when it is convenient rather than at some fixed time (such as most board games, or the stock mar- ket). 3) The BTU concept helps compensate for the fact that, in concept, the governments of each country are always ``playing'' although the player representing that country may only log in periodically. How long will a game take? Probably from one to four months. You should expect to spend one to four hours a day playing. Also expect that if you do spend this amount of time playing, your grades or work will suffer. You just can't spend that much time playing and either study or be productive. What should I do now? When a new country enters the game, it starts out with an amount of money and two sectors. These sectors are sanctuaries and have an initial amount of people and commodities. Until you "break sanctuary", your country is effectively in stasis. Nothing will change until you actually log in and force a change (such as designating a capital to begin accumulating BTU's). The absolutely minimal set of information pages you should read are: break, map, ann, wire, tel, read, expl, move, res, cen, dist, thresh, lev, com, prod, budget, Sector-types. A Comment from Peter S. Langston (the author of the original Empire game) It should be remembered that Empire is merely an interesting pastime; in the vernacular, "it's just a game". There are many amusing stories of peo- ple that took the game too seriously; one tells of a corporate Vice Presi- dent who walked into the computer room and flipped the main circuit breaker in order to stop an attack on his country; another tells of the Harvard student that refused to go to bed until everyone logged out of Empire and of the other players who took turns staying up late.... While many players take Empire very seriously, an equal number of players use it as a safe environment in which they can act out their fantasies. On occasion the fantasies involved are remarkably aggressive or hostile. It has been my experience that the people with the most belligerent countries are often the people with the kindest hearts; anti-social game play doesn't necessarily reflect the "true" being underneath (or else I have some VERY weird friends). A Brief History The game "Empire" is the most recent in a series of territorial conquest, political/economic simulation games initially inspired by a board game of the same name played at Reed College (Portland, Oregon). Earlier versions were written at Reed by Peter Langston and at The Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington) by Chas Douglas, Peter Langston, Ben Norton, Mike Rainwater and others; of particular note are the games "Galaxy" (Langston) and "Civil" (Norton). The previous version was written in 1985 partly on the HRSTS Unix system at the Harvard Science Center, (Cambridge, Mass.), partly on the Unix system at Commercial Union Leasing Corporation, (New York, N. Y.) and partly on the Unix system at Davis Polk & Wardwell, (New York, N. Y.) by Peter Langston with invaluable goading from Joe Stetson, Robert Bradbury, Nat Howard, Brian Redman, Adam Buchsbaum, and a myriad of others. Since Langston never released source code for his version, Dave Pare and friends de-compiled it in that same year and have created this version which is very different. Since then many re-writes and fixes have been put in and none of the original code exists anymore. Many people have enhanced the code, most notably, Dave Pare added plane units in 1986, Jeff Bailey added many configurable options in the KSU distribution, Thomas Ruschak added land units and missions in 1992-1993 and released the "Chain- saw" server, and Ken Stevens rewrote much of the server code in 1995 and released the "Empire2" server, and Steve McClure and the Wolfpack made lots of other changes and released the "Empire4" server in August of 1996. SEE ALSO Novice, Expert, Introduction empire-info-text-4.2.15/Plague0100664000000000000000000001067010055155510014641 0ustar rootroot Concept : Plague NAME Plague - The Plague Level: Expert Plague is used in Empire to symbolize all forms of disease and is the only health hazard associated with the Empire game, (ignoring it's effects on the players). The characteristics of plague are, therefore, a compromise of dis- ease features (or "bugs"). Note that if the NO_PLAGUE option is in use, a kindly deity has wiped out the plague for you. If not, worry about it. All of the timelines below are based on a game with 32 ETU updates. The Empire Plague takes between 96 and 189 time units to run its course on land, (i.e., 2 to 4 days in any particular sector/ship/land unit if an Empire time unit is 1/2 and hour.) In so doing the plague goes through three stages: Stage I -- The gestation or incubation phase in which no symptoms appear. Sectors or ships that are in this stage of the plague are indistinguishable from healthy sectors or ships. This stage lasts 32 to 63 time units, (less than a day and a half). Stage II -- The infectious phase in which the symptoms first appear -- orange blotches on the face and hands, sometimes accompanied by grey stripes on the genitalia, itching of the liver and spleen, an uncontrollable fear of ripe tomatoes, etc. During this phase the plague is extremely communica- ble; for example, a simple delivery from an infectious sector will infect the destination sector. Stage III -- The terminal phase in which people die, often in the act of flee- ing from (real or imagined) tomatoes. The number of people that die is roughly inversely proportional to the research level of the country (plus 100). All three phases are of roughly equal average duration, (about 48 time periods or 1 day). Plague usually arises in countries with high technological development and comparatively little medical research. It arises specifically in sectors with high population density and low efficiency. Recently archaeologists have uncovered a treatise by a Dr. M. Welby entitled "Demographic considerations and the Empire Plague". In part it states: It appeared that our original hypothesis based on the high percentage of Lumbagan Legionnaires among the afflicted had led us down a blind alley and that if we were to solve this complex puzzle before the end of the series in the spring [possibly a reference to the series of tests leading to the mysterious "Neilson Rating"] we would have to turn to other disciplines for help. It was only by the merest lucky coinci- dence that as I drove home one evening ... [here Dr. Welby relates an amusing anecdote about a Brownie Scout and the director of a film entitled "Close Encounters of the Third Grade"] ... leading us to the following amazing formulation of the relationship between medical research, technology, pop- ulation, standard of living and the Empire Plague: Likelihood of plague outbreak (in percent) is civ + mil + uw t_level + (iron + oil + rad * 2) / 10 + 100 max (0, -------------- * ------------------------------------------- - 1) 999 r_level + effic + mobil + 100 Later formulations of this relationship show great similarity to his statement (see "info Innards"). Many researchers have commented on the surprising lack of correlation between food supply and plague outbreak. Fortunately, the plague is only infectious while the sector is actively bat- tling the plague (Stage II). The most effective method for curing plague has been to isolate the sector by stopping all distribution, deliveries, movement, etc. originating from the sector once an outbreak has been spotted. This includes loading and unloading of ships and land units (since they can, of course, carry plague), allowing explorations out of the sector, moving com- modities out of the sector, distribution or deliveries from the sector, etc. Basically, any people or commodities that originate from a sector actively battling plague will cause the destination sector (or ship or land unit) to become infected. Once an outbreak has been spotted, the plague takes on an infectious state at the next update. There is very little time to isolate the sector and limit deaths caused by plague. SEE ALSO Innards, Research, Sector-types, Technology, Populace, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/Plane-types0100664000000000000000000003174610055155511015635 0ustar rootroot Concept : Plane Types NAME Plane-types - Description of different kinds of planes Level: Basic The general plane types currently available in Empire are: fighter A general offense/defense plane. Historical examples include the FE.2B, the Sopwith Snipe & Camel, the Nieuport V-XVII, the Spad, and the Fokker planes. From WWII are the Me-109, the FW-190, the English Spitfire & Hurricane, the Japanese Zero, the American P-39, P-40, P-38, and the Soviet Yak series. Later planes include the Me-262, the Gloster Meteor, P-80, Mig-15. Korean War vintage planes are the F-87 Sabre, F-100 SuperSabre, and the Mig-17. Vietnam Era planes are the F-4 & Mig-21. Later, NATO & WP models include the F-16 & F-15 and the Mig-23, 25, and 29. The main points of similarity are: 1 or 2 high performance engines, a single pilot, and plenty of guns/missiles. Duties include patrol/interception, escort, and light bombing. escort These are planes optimized for escorting, with superior range, sometimes at the expense of fighting capacity. Examples are the Me-110 & the P-51. Note that this type is relatively rare, as long range heavy bombing was rare. naval fighter These planes all sacrifice range and/or fighting power in order to fit on a carrier and carry the gear necessary to operate from one. Examples are the series of Short biplanes built in Britain, the Sopwith Baby & Cuckoo, the Gloster Gladiator, the American Wildcat & Corsair, versions of the Japanese Zero, the F8 Corsair, the F-4, F-14, and F-18. Many of the planes were multi-role, due to the relatively small plane capacity of their carriers. They were almost always inferior in performance to land fighters. Many of them carry dual engines. light bomber These planes are tactical bombers, suited for strafing, combat support, etc. These range from the first trench bombers, such as the Junkers J-I and the Sopwith Snark & Dolphin, the Ju-87 Stuka, the American P-47, various ground-attack versions of the Yaks, the Japanese Val and Kate, the British Typhoon, and many others. Modern versions are the A-3 SkyWarrior, the A-4 Skyhawk, the A-6 Intruder, the Su-22 Frogfoot, the Su-27, and various British models. A modern and most effective example is the A-10 The common factors are maneuverability, the ability to take damage and still fly, and the ability to hit targets precisely. (Either through low-speed bombing, dive-bombing, or rocket or guided bombs/missiles) Their performance against fighters of any sort is poor, with few exceptions (notably the P-47, which was designed as a fighter, and used as a ground-attack plane due to its toughness) Many are naval, or have naval versions, since the requirements of a naval plane do not affect them as greatly as fighters. heavy bomber These planes are build for long range and great load-carrying ability, and the ability to defend themselves against fighters. (Although that never worked more than middling well) Examples are the Handley-Paige bombers of WWI (especially the O/400), the German Gothas and Giants, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator, the B-29 SuperFortress, the Avro Lancaster, the Short Sterling, and the Vickers Wellington, as well as the more modern B-36, B-47, B-50, B-52, B-1, and the Soviet Ant-4, Tu-20 Bear, Tu-2? Backfire, and others. The common factors are the extreme range, the ability to carry several tons of bombs, the wide range of defensive armament, and four engines. medium bombers These were basically an intermediate stage between the light & heavy bomber, and were used for both purposes. Examples are the He-111, the Do-17, the B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder, the A-20 Havoc, the Avro Manchester, Armstrong Whitworth Whitely, the Russian Il-4 & I-15, and the Japanese Betty & Sally. These planes were essentially compromises, and were phased out as time went on. They could not bomb as precisely as a light bomber, nor as heavily as a heavy bomber. transports Initially, these were basically similar to civilian airliners. They could carry supplies or troops. (In Norway, the Germans captured airports and flew in troops) Later, they were used for paratroop landings. Eventually paratrooping became too dangerous for these planes (with the introduction of SAMs) and they were replaced by helicopter assault, with the transports going back to carrying supplies and equipment. transport helicopters These were made to transport assault troops. They also carry supplies & wounded, but their main duty was to deliver troops with greater precision, rapidity, safety, and cohesion than was possible with paratrooping. (They were also to replace the landing craft, as the Marines looked at the odds of an invasion fleet standing up to nukes) attack helicopters These supplement the light bombers, and specialize in the very precise application of firepower, as well as evading interception, by use of terrain. recon planes & satellites These provide precise information about enemy troop dispositions and movements. The first recon planes had no protection. Then, it was attempted to make them un-interceptable. This was done by simply being faster than anything the enemy had, such as the stripped down British Hurricanes, US P-38's & P-51's, or German FW-190's or Blitz-Bombers. Later, emphasis shifter to also being able to fly higher, as with the U-2 & SR-71. These planes are largely superseded by satellites now (for good or ill). ssm's & icbm's The first ssm's were used as strategic harassing weapons, and were almost useless. (German V-1 & V-2) There were also combat rockets, such as the Russian Katayusha's and the German Nebelwerfers, but these were essentially similar to artillery. The first true SSM's were the Russian missiles in the 1950's, such as the Frog. They were intended to deliver nuclear or chemical warheads at medium ranges, and to be un-interceptable. Later missiles increase payload & range. However, since we've artificially restricted the blast effects of nuclear weapons, I am merging these in with tactical missiles. (no need for an icbm unless you've got big nukes) marine missiles These are modern smart-missiles. They are naval weapons, such as the Harpoon, Penguin, Exocet. They are accurate missiles which may be launched at ships. sam's The first sams were nuclear-tipped, and intended to break up large attacking bomber forces. Later, they were made smaller and more accurate, and were intended to hit single targets at any speed or altitude. abm's These are to shoot down missiles, and are mostly fantasy. asw planes These are either long-range bomber type aircraft, with some sort of equipment for locating & killing submarines, or also helicopters, able to fly from most naval vessels. These plane types differ in their fundamental capabilities; some can fly bomb- ing missions, other carry cargo, others exist to shoot down other planes. Missiles are special; they are planes which fly one-way missions and cannot be shot down by opposing planes. The technology level at which the plane was built is very important. The same model plane built at a higher tech level will outperform the planes built at a lower tech level. The particular planes available and their attributes are given by the show command. The fields given in the output are as follows. For building: lcm the amount of lcm to build the unit, hcm the amount of hcm to build the unit, crew the number of military this plane has as crew avail the amount of avail used to build this plane tech minimum tech level to build this unit, $ cost of the unit in dollars, For the stats report the fields are: acc bomb accuracy, low is best; a 0 accuracy implies no ability. load bomb load/cargo capacity. att air-to-air combat attack rating (reduced by low eff, can't go below 1/2 of base). def air-to-air combat defense rating (reduced by low eff, can't go below 1/2 of base). ran base range (in sectors). fuel amount of fuel used each trip. stealth the percentage chance this plane has of evading detection The abilities are given as a set of attributes for each plane. These include: tactical Pinpoint bombing ability. Can be put on interdiction and sup- port missions. Tactical missiles may be launched at sectors unless they have "marine" ability in which case they may only be fired at ships. bomber strategic bombing ability intercept Interception and escort ability. May be put on escort or air defense missions. cargo cargo-carrying ability VTOL vertical take-off ability -- no need to use airports missile missile -- one shot, can be launched (see info launch). "marine" missiles may only be fired at ships, "tactical" mis- siles which don't have "marine" capability may only be fired at sectors. light light, can land on carriers or be carried on a submarine spy spy ability, for recon missions (see info recon, info bomb, info satellite) image full imaging capability - satellites with this ability show much more (see info satellite) satellite a satellite - stays in orbit until shot down stealth a stealth plane - has a chance of not triggering intercepts SDI Intercepts tactical missiles. half-stealth a stealth plane - has a smaller chance of not triggering inter- cepts x-light xtra-light, can be carried and used on any ship or land unit with a non-zero xl capacity. (see info Ship-types) helo ship-helicopter, can be carried and used on any ship with a non- zero hl capacity. (see info Ship-types) ASW Has ASW (anti-submarine warfare) ability. May use sonar & bomb subs. para may be used to paratroop escort Escort ability only. May be put on escort missions. mine Can lay mines (see info mine). sweep Can sweep mines (see info sweep). marine Missiles with this ability may only be launched at ships. Each plane has a stealth rating. The stealth rating of a group of planes is that of the plane with the LOWEST rating. As an example of the output [##:##] Command : show plane build lcm hcm crew avail tech $ Zeppelin 6 2 3 6 70 $1000 f1 fighter 1 8 2 1 7 90 $400 lb1 lt bomber 1 10 3 1 9 100 $550 nf1 naval fighter 1 8 2 1 7 100 $500 hb1 hvy bomber 1 20 6 2 17 110 $1100 as1 anti-sub plane 1 10 3 2 9 110 $550 f2 fighter 2 9 3 1 8 150 $600 es escort 9 3 1 8 150 $700 [##:##] Command : show plane stats acc load att def ran fuel stlth Zeppelin 60 2 0 -3 15 2 0% f1 fighter 1 90 1 3 2 7 1 0% lb1 lt bomber 1 50 2 1 2 7 1 0% nf1 naval fighter 1 80 1 2 2 7 1 0% hb1 hvy bomber 1 90 5 1 3 15 2 0% as1 anti-sub plane 1 85 2 1 2 15 2 0% f2 fighter 2 60 1 6 4 9 1 0% es escort 60 1 4 5 15 2 0% [##:##] Command : show plane cap capabilities Zeppelin tactical cargo VTOL spy f1 fighter 1 tactical intercept VTOL lb1 lt bomber 1 bomber tactical VTOL nf1 naval fighter 1 tactical intercept light hb1 hvy bomber 1 bomber as1 anti-sub plane 1 tactical ASW f2 fighter 2 tactical intercept es escort tactical escort SEE ALSO fly, build, show, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/Planes0100664000000000000000000000452110055155526014653 0ustar rootroot Subject : PLANES arm Load nuclear weapons onto planes or missiles bomb * Dispose of inconvenient enemy assets with air power. build * Build ships, planes, land units, nuclear weapons or bridges disarm Remove a nuclear warhead from a plane or missile drop Use planes to drop commodities in your own sectors fly * Fly planes from sector/ship to sector/ship and bomb or snoop harden Place missiles into protective silos launch Launch missiles or satellites lost * Report lost items mission * Assign a mission to a ship/plane/unit ndump Dump raw nuke information nuke List all nuclear "devices" in a given area paradrop Attack a sector from the air pbmap Big map of all your worldly knowledge around a plane pboard * Board enemy plane pdump Dump raw plane information plane * Report status of plane, wing or planes in a give area pmap Get a map around a plane pstat * Report statistics of plane, wing or planes in a give area range Edit the range of a plane recon Use planes to take a look around satellite Download data from a reconnaissance satellite scrap * Scrap a ship, plane, or unit scuttle * Destroy a ship, plane, or unit show * Characteristics of bridges, ships, planes, land units or sectors sweep Use planes to remove mines from sea sectors transport * Move planes or nuclear devices around upgrade Update the tech of a ship/unit/plane to the current tech level wingadd Designate members of a "wing" Flak * How flak works Interception How plane interdiction works Maintenance The cost to maintain ships, planes, and land units. Mobility How much mobility stuff costs Nuke-types Description of different kinds of nuclear weapons Plane-types * Description of different kinds of planes Empire4 Changes from the Empire3 server to the Empire4 Server For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Playing0100664000000000000000000000174110055155526015035 0ustar rootroot Subject : PLAYING apropos * Searches info pages for information on a topic bye * Log out of Empire country Find out information about deity countries execute Execute a batch file help * Provide information on various topics info * Provide information on various topics list List commands which are currently legal players List players currently connected to the game pray * Interacting with the Deity quit * Log out of Empire version Display parameters of this world zdone Indicate willingness to have an update BTU How BTUs are generated Selector * Selectors you can use in Empire conditionals Syntax * The Empire command syntax Time Definitions of BTU and ETL For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Populace0100664000000000000000000000157610055155526015210 0ustar rootroot Subject : POPULACE anti * anti-terrorist actions census * Report contents of sectors convert * Change conquered civilians into uncompensated workers demobilize * Change military into civilians enlist * Turn civilians into military explore * Claim unowned land shoot * Dispose of enemy civilians or uncompensated workers starvation * Find out who's going to starve Autofeed How to use fishing boats to automatically feed your civs Citizens * Work, starvation, and general management of your citizens Food How much people eat at the update Guerrilla Guerrilla warfare Plague The Plague For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Production0100664000000000000000000000137010055155526015556 0ustar rootroot Subject : PRODUCTION production * Predicts production of sectors at the next update start * Turn sector production on stop Stop sector production Education How Education is calculated at the update Happiness How happiness is calculated at the update Products * Formulas for the production of commodities Quick-ref * A quick reference card for sector types and production Research How Research level is calculated each update Technology How technology level is calculated each update For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Products0100664000000000000000000001357310055155511015235 0ustar rootroot Concept : Products NAME Products - Formulas for the production of commodities Level: Basic Many Empire sector types exist specifically to turn "raw" materials into prod- ucts. Some of those products may, in turn, be considered raw materials for other industries which produce other products. This table gives the constituents and costs for each type of product. NOTE: All costs given in the table are for 100% production efficiency. Many processes depend on technology level or educational level of the country; a note like "p.e.=(tlev+10)/(tlev+20)" means that a country with a technology level of 0 has a production efficiency of 50% and will only produce one-half of the specified product amount for the given costs, whereas a country with a technology level of 100 will have a production efficiency of 92%. In addition, some sectors don't produce raw materials as well as others, and some produce much better than others. Use the "show sector capabilities" com- mand to see production efficiencies and other useful information on producing sectors. The rate at which constituents are turned into products is governed by the "work" accrued to a sector (see "info Innards") divided by the units of con- stituents per unit of product. E.g., it takes 3 units of "work" to produce 1 shell; 2 units to incorporate the light construction materials and 1 unit for the heavy. "Natural resources" such as fertility count as one unit of con- stituents; e.g., it takes 1 unit of work per unit of food produced. shells Shell production efficiency depends on technology level; p.e.=(tlev-20)/(tlev-10) Shells cost $3 each to manufacture. Each requires 2 units of light construction materials and 1 unit of heavy construction materials. You must have a minimum technology of 20 to produce shells. guns Gun production depends on technology level; p.e.=(tlev-20)/(tlev-10) Guns cost $30 each to manufacture. Each requires 5 units of light construction materials, 10 units of heavy construction materials, and 1 unit of oil. You must have a minimum technology of 20 to produce guns. iron Iron ore production depends on mineral content in mines. Extracting iron ore is free, and the mineral content of the sector is not depleted by mining iron. dust Gold dust production depends on gold mineral content in gold mines. Extracting gold dust is free, but the gold mineral content of the sector is depleted by mining gold dust. In addition, moun- tains may sometimes produce gold dust as well. The efficiency of mountains producing gold dust may not be as good as gold mines. Use the "show sector capabilities" command to see the production efficiency of sectors. bars Gold bars are produced in banks. Gold bar production depends on gold dust in gold mines. Gold bars cost $10 to produce and require 5 units of gold dust each. food Food production efficiency depends on technology level and the fertility of the sector; p.e.=(tlev+10)/(tlev+20). Growing food is free, and the fertility of the sector is not depleted by grow- ing food. oil Oil production efficiency depends on technology level and the oil content of the sector; p.e.=(tlev+10)/(tlev+20). Pumping oil is free, but the oil content of the sector is depleted by extracting and refining oil. petroleum Petroleum production depends on technology level; p.e.=(tlev-20)/(tlev-10). A unit of petroleum costs $1 to manu- facture. Every 10 units of petroleum require 1 unit of oil to produce. You must have a minimum technology of 20 to produce petroleum. lcm Light construction material production efficiency depends on tech- nology level; p.e.=(tlev+10)/(tlev+20). Producing lcms does not cost money, but requires 1 unit of iron ore. hcm Heavy construction material production efficiency depends on tech- nology level; p.e.=(tlev+10)/(tlev+20). Producing hcms does not cost money, but requires 2 unit of iron ore. rad Radioactive material production efficiency depends on technology level, which must be at least 40. p.e.=(tlev-40)/(tlev-30). Pro- ducing rads cost $2 per ton, and depletes the uranium content of the sector. education A unit of education (a "class of graduates"), costs $10 to produce and requires 1 unit of light construction materials (see "info Education"). happiness A unit of happiness ("happy strollers"), costs $10 to produce and requires 1 unit of light construction materials (see "info Happi- ness"). technology Technology production efficiency depends on education level; p.e.=(elev-5)/(elev+5). A unit of technology (a "technological breakthrough"), costs $5 times the number of ETUs per update to produce, and requires 10 units of light construction materials, 5 units of oil and 1 unit of gold dust. For more details about how technology level is calculated from technology units, see "info Technology". research Research production efficiency depends on education level; p.e.=(elev-5)/(elev+5). A unit of research (a "medical discov- ery"), costs $90 to produce and requires 10 units of light con- struction materials, 5 units of oil and 1 unit of gold dust (see "info Research"). SEE ALSO Production, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/Quick-ref0100664000000000000000000000440710055155511015254 0ustar rootroot Concept : Quick Reference Card NAME Quick-ref - A quick reference card for sector types and production Level: Basic Sector-types: BASICS INDUSTRIES MILITARY / SCIENTIFIC . sea d defense plant t technical center ^ mountain i shell industry f fortress s sanctuary m mine r research lab / wasteland g gold mine n nuclear plant - wilderness h harbor l library/school c capital/city w warehouse e enlistment center p park u uranium mine ! headquarters COMMUNICATIONS * airfield + highway a agribusiness FINANCIAL ) radar installation o oil field b bank j light manufacturing # bridge head k heavy manufacturing = bridge span % refinery (Petrol is per 10 units; others per unit) Products: Item $ Lcm Hcm Iron Dust Oil Rad Tech Production Eff. Shells: 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 20 (tlev-20)/(tech-10) Guns: 30 5 10 0 0 1 0 20 (tlev-20)/(tech-10) Iron: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dust: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bars: 10 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 Food: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (tlev+10)/(tlev+20) Oil: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (tlev+10)/(tlev+20) Petrol 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 20 (tlev-20)/(tech-10) Lcm: 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 (tlev+10)/(tlev+20) Hcm: 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 (tlev+10)/(tlev+20) Rad: 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 40 (tlev-40)/(tlev-30) Educate: 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Happy: 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tech: 5*ETUS 10 0 0 1 5 0 0 (edu-5)/(edu+5) Resrch: 90 10 0 0 1 5 0 0 (edu-5)/(edu+5) SEE ALSO Sectors, Production empire-info-text-4.2.15/Research0100664000000000000000000000271110055155511015156 0ustar rootroot Concept : Research NAME Research - How Research level is calculated each update Level: Expert If the RES_POP option is in use, the research level of a country determines the maximum number of civilians, mil, and uw's that can live in a sector. For ordinary sectors, the maximum is: min(999, 400 + 600 * ((research*4 + 50)/(research*3 + 200))) So, for example, at 0 research, after an update, the max you could have in a sector would be 550 civs, 550 uws, and 550 mil. Note that in the case of cap- tured sectors, the research level of the current owner governs, even if the old owner of the sector had a higher/lower research. If, after population growth, there are more civs than the limit, the excess are lost. Uw's & mil work the same way, each being individually limited. The research level also affects the likelihood of plague outbreaks. (Unless the NO_PLAGUE option is used, of course) The "nation" command will display, among other things, your current research level. The procedure determining how much your research level goes up every update is exactly the same for research as it is for technology (see "info Technology") except for the fact that "research log base" is always 2.00 and "easy research" is always 0.75. But besides this, research bleeds, decays, and leaks in exactly the same way as technology. SEE ALSO Innards, nation, Products, Technology, Nation, Production, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/Sector-ownership0100664000000000000000000000213410055155511016674 0ustar rootroot Concept : Sector ownership NAME Sector-ownership - Sector ownership Level: Basic In order to own a sector, you must have at least one of the following present in the sector: 1) mil 2) a land unit 3) non-captured civilians If at any time you do not have at least one of those 3 things in a sector, you will lose control of it. If you are not the old owner at the time you lose the sector, it will revert to the old owner. Otherwise it will revert to the deity, country #0, even if another country's land units are present in the sector. If there are no people at all in the sector, it will revert to the deity. Note that this means that if you attack a sector and do not move in, you will not gain possession of it. If there are civilians in the sector, the sector will revert back to the original owner. If there are no civilians in the sec- tor (and no mil or units, because you just killed them), the sector will revert back to the deity. Similarly, if you abandon a sector, it'll revert immediately. SEE ALSO attack, Sectors, Occupation empire-info-text-4.2.15/Sector-types0100664000000000000000000004523710055155511016035 0ustar rootroot Concept : Sector Types NAME Sector-types - Description of different sector types Level: Basic BASICS INDUSTRIES MILITARY / SCIENTIFIC . sea d defense plant t technical center ^ mountain i shell industry f fortress s sanctuary m mine r research lab \ wasteland g gold mine n nuclear plant - wilderness h harbor l library/school ~ plains w warehouse e enlistment center c capital/city u uranium mine ! headquarters p park * airfield COMMUNICATIONS a agribusiness FINANCIAL + highway o oil field b bank ) radar installation j light manufacturing # bridge head k heavy manufacturing = bridge span % refinery @ bridge tower BASICS SEA - Sea sectors form natural barriers that can only be crossed by ships, (made in harbors, below), or spanned by bridges, (also below). You can not designate anything else to be sea nor can sea be designated to be anything else. MOUNTAIN - Mountain sectors form another natural barrier that cannot be redes- ignated; however, they can be moved through (at great expense in terms of mobility units). In an emergency, they can be used as capital. See "info cap- ital" for more information. In addition, mountains can only hold a maximum of 1/10th the civilians and uncompensated workers that other sectors can normally have. And military, civilians and uncompensated workers that will actually produce anything there are also limited to 1/10th. SANCTUARY - Sanctuary sectors are created when a new nation is created. They are inviolate in that no one can fire at them or attack them. This protection ends when the new country first moves out of the sanctuary (called "breaking sanctuary"); the sector then becomes a capital. NOTE: in games with multiple sanctuaries per country ALL sanctuaries become capitals when any one does! WASTELAND - This is the result of the explosion of a nuclear device. Waste- lands are uninhabitable forever. WILDERNESS - Most of the world is wilderness at the beginning of the game. Wilderness has no particular attributes; you can move into it if unoccupied, thereby making it your territory, but will probably want to designate it as something else once you own it. PLAINS - Plains sectors form another natural barrier that cannot be redesig- nated. They can be occupied and moved through however. In addition, plains can only hold a maximum of 1/20th the civilians and uncompensated workers that other sectors can normally have. And military, civilians and uncompensated workers that will actually produce anything there are also limited to 1/20th. CAPITAL - Capitals are the source of bureaucracy time units (BTU's). They accrue in proportion to the efficiency of the capital and the number of civil- ians at work in it. (see info BTU). Most commands use up BTU's, (see "list of commands" for numbers of BTU's used per command). A nation may only have one active capital at a time (although many sectors may be designated as capi- tals). The capture of a capital will result in the loss of money from the victim nation (see info capital), Capitals are twice as efficient at defending against attack as other sectors (except fortresses). Use the capital command to make a capital the active one. In a pinch, mountains can be used as capi- tals. They generate very few BTU's, and represent being 'holed up in the moun- tains', perhaps like Pancho Villa. Note that if the BIG_CITY option is enabled, then 'c' sectors stand for 'cities' and can hold 10x as many civs. They also get a 10x packing bonus for moving civs, and require a certain num- ber of lcm's, hcm's, and $$ to build (see show sect build). PARK - Parks are provided solely for the convenience of the people. Parks require construction materials to provide maintenance services and add to a nation's "happiness" level. The conversion of "raw" materials takes place automatically at a rate dependent on the efficiency of the sector, the pres- ence of the required materials, and the number of workers in the sector. COMMUNICATIONS HIGHWAY - Whenever you move civilians, ore, gold, etc, mobility units ("mob" on the census) are consumed dependent on how far and how much you move. How- ever if the movement is through 100% efficient highway it costs much less to move. RADAR - Radar stations can scan the surrounding area (up to 16 units away for 100% efficiency) and generate a radar plot identifying sector types at dis- tances up to 1/3 their range and ships up to their full range. BRIDGE HEAD - Bridge heads are the land based ends of bridges. They, like harbors, turn construction materials into bridge spans; see "info build" for the details of this process. and are much like highways except for three things: (1) Bridge spans provide food through fishing, (the fertility can be thought of as fish-count). (This is deity-settable, however.. in many games, bridges do not provide food. Be sure to ask) (2) Bridge spans must maintain at least 20% efficiency or else they collapse. (3) If the only bridge head supporting a particular bridge span is redesig- nated as something else the bridge span will collapse. (If the EASY_BRIDGES option is in use, bridges do not need bridgeheads. Check "info build" for the details) BRIDGE TOWER - Bridge towers are like bridge heads you can build out in the ocean. You can only build bridge towers from a bridge span, and in open water (not adjacent to any land or other bridge towers.) From a bridge tower, you can build other bridge spans. The BRIDGETOWERS option must be enabled for you to be able to build bridge towers. Bridge towers must maintain at least 20% efficiency or else they collapse. Any bridges connected to the tower will collapse as well, unless held up by another adjacent structure (bridge head, bridge tower or land if EASY_BRIDGES is enabled.) FINANCIAL BANK - Banks are used for smelting and storing gold bars. They include a smelter to refine gold dust into gold bars. While the bars are stored in the bank the busy little bankers invest them and return a profit on their use. Banks are of the Fort Knox variety; they are more impervious to shelling than any other sector and militia in them fight twice as hard against attack as those in industries. Banks are also particularly adept at moving gold bars around; bars are moved and stored in groups of four thus fewer mobility units are required to move a gold bar from a bank than anywhere else. INDUSTRIES DEFENSE - In defense plants construction materials are turned into guns. The conversion of "raw" materials into guns takes place automatically at a rate dependent on the efficiency of the sector, the presence of the required mate- rials, the technology level of the country, and the number of workers in the sector. See "info Products" for information on the materials required to pro- duce guns. SHELL INDUSTRY - These sectors are similar to defense plant sectors except they turn construction materials into shells. The conversion of "raw" materi- als takes place automatically at a rate dependent on the efficiency of the sector, the presence of the required materials, the technology level of the country, and the number of workers in the sector. See "info Products" for information on the materials required. One shell is used each time you fire, (except for submarines which use three shells to make one torpedo). MINE - Mines produce iron ore by digging it out of the ground. The rate at which it is produced is dependent on three factors; the efficiency of the mine, the number of civilians working in the mine, and the mineral sample for the sector ("min" on the census report). Iron is a "renewable" resource; i.e. digging up iron does not deplete the mineral content of the sector. GOLD MINE - Gold mines are similar to ordinary mines, (above), except that they produce gold dust. The rate at which it is extracted is dependent on three factors; the efficiency of the sector, the size of the labor force in the sector, and the gold sample for the sector ("gmin" on the census report). The raw gold dust can be transported to any sector but if it is left in a bank sector it will be refined into bars automatically . Gold is a non-renewable resource; i.e. extracting the gold depletes the gold content of the sector. URANIUM MINE - Uranium mines are very similar to gold mines, (above), except that they produce radioactive materials. The rate at which it is extracted is dependent on three factors; the efficiency of the sector, the size of the labor force in the sector, and the uranium content of the sector ("uran" on the census report). Uranium is a non-renewable resource; i.e. extracting it depletes the content of the sector. HARBOR - Harbors combine shipyard facilities and docks. Construction materi- als are converted into ships and the ships can be loaded and unloaded in the harbor, (see "info load"). No ships are constructed until the "build" command is given, (see "info build"). WAREHOUSE - Warehouses are used to store shells, guns, iron, gold dust, food, oil, light construction materials, and heavy construction materials. Moving the above out of a warehouse only takes one tenth the mobility cost it nor- mally would. Note: warehouses are often used as distribution centers. AIRFIELD - Airplanes can only be built in airports and most can only take off and land at airports. (though some can take off and land in other sectors and some can take of and land on aircraft carriers see Ship-types for details) AGRIBUSINESS - These sectors are large farms and provide food. Agribusiness sectors produce as much as five times as much food as other sectors. The har- vesting takes place automatically at a rate dependent on the efficiency of the sector, the fertility of the sector ("fert" in the census), the technology level of the country, and the number of workers in the sector. See "info Products" for details. OIL - Oil fields produce oil by sucking it out of the ground. The extraction of oil takes place automatically at a rate dependent on the efficiency of the sector, the oil content of the sector ("oil" on the census report), the tech- nology level of the country, and the number of workers in the sector. Oil is a "non-renewable" resource; i.e. extracting oil depletes the oil content of the sector. REFINERY - Refineries produce petroleum by processing oil. This production takes place automatically at a rate dependent on the efficiency of the sector, the number of workers in the sector, and the technology level of the country. LIGHT - Light manufacturing plants produce light construction materials from iron. This production takes place automatically at a rate dependent on the efficiency of the sector, the iron in the sector, the technology level of the country, and the number of workers in the sector. HEAVY - Heavy manufacturing plants produce heavy construction materials from iron. This production takes place automatically at a rate dependent on the efficiency of the sector, the iron in the sector, the technology level of the country, and the number of workers in the sector. MILITARY / SCIENTIFIC FORTRESS - Fortress sectors have many special characteristics; you can fire guns from fortresses, whenever an attack is launched from a fort or on a fort the militia in the fort are stronger than military in any other type of sector by an amount proportional to the efficiency of the fort. (See information below in sector stats) Also, forts and commodities in forts are MUCH more resistant to damage than normal sectors. TECHNOLOGY - Technical centers are bastions of "pure" technology research, which is to say universities with massive defense department grants. They turn construction materials into technological advances thereby raising the technology level of the country (which affects gun ranges, pollution, etc.). The conversion of "raw" materials takes place automatically at a rate depen- dent on the efficiency of the sector, the presence of the required materials, the education level of the country, and the number of workers in the sector. RESEARCH - The research lab is a bastion of "pure" medical research, which is to say it is a large university with massive March-of-Dimes funding. The research lab turns construction materials into medical discoveries which raise the research level of the country and help retard the spread of disease, (usu- ally caused by the pollution from technical centers). The conversion of "raw" materials takes place automatically at a rate dependent on the efficiency of the sector, the presence of the required materials, the education level of the country, and the number of workers in the sector. NUCLEAR - The nuclear lab is a bastion of applied technology, which is to say it is an immense underground building filled with evil geniuses playing Adven- ture on huge computers. The nuclear lab turns construction materials into nuclear weapons. No devices are constructed until the "build" command is given, (see "info build"). LIBRARY/SCHOOL - The library/school sector is the foundation of a country's educational structure. They use up construction materials to produce units of education which raise the educational level of the country (which affects the efficiency of research and technology sectors). The conversion of "raw" mate- rials takes place automatically at a rate dependent on the efficiency of the sector, the presence of the required materials, and the number of workers in the sector. ENLISTMENT - The enlistment sector is the boot camp of Empire. It converts civilians into militia, once the efficiency level has been raised to 60%. Unlike the other production sectors, it uses only militia as a workforce, and converts civilians in the sector into military. HEADQUARTERS - This is where basic militia are converted into units. Head- quarters also give a bonus to reaction radius for units in them, allowing them to defend better. The "show" command can be used to show special things about sector types. For example: [##:##] Command : show sect build sector type cost to des cost for 1% eff lcms for 1% hcms for 1% f 500 5 0 1 Infrastructure building - adding 1 point of efficiency costs: type lcms hcms mobility $$$$ road network 1 1 1 1 rail network 2 2 1 3 defense factor 1 1 1 1 Cost to des is the cost to designate the sector type. This is charged when you give the designate command. Note that if the BIG_CITY option is enabled, then 'c' sectors also cost money, lcm's and hcm's to build, and they can hold 10x as many civs as other sectors. You can also build infrastructure into your sectors. That is how the mobilty, for both commodities and units, is determined. You can also raise the defen- sive value of your sectors to a maximum amount (which is shown in the "show sect stats" described below.) [##:##] Command : des 2,0 f That just cost you $500 Cost for 1% efficiency is the $$ cost per point of efficiency built. Lcms/Hcms for 1% are similar. [##:##] Command : show sect stats max max -- packing bonus -- sector type mcost off def mil uw civ bar other . sea 0 0.00 0.00 1 1 1 1 1 ^ mountain 25 1.00 4.00 1 1 1 1 1 s sanctuary 0 0.00 99.00 1 1 1 1 1 \ wasteland 0 0.00 99.00 1 1 1 1 1 - wilderness 2 1.00 2.00 1 1 1 1 1 c capital 2 1.00 2.00 1 1 1 1 1 u uranium mine 2 1.00 2.00 1 1 1 1 1 p park 2 1.00 1.50 1 1 1 1 1 d defense plant 2 1.00 1.50 1 1 1 1 1 This shows the relative cost to move through the sector types, and the offen- sive and defensive values of the sector types. For example, a capital with a 100% defensive efficiency is twice as good as a park (since the base value is 1.00.) All sectors start with a 0% defensive efficiency, thus they all start with a defense of 1.00. You can increase the defensive capability of any sec- tor up to the amount shown by the "max def" column. [##:##] Command : show sect capabilities --- level --- reso sector type product use1 use2 use3 level min lag eff% $$$ dep c ^ mountain dust 0 0 75 0 20 d u uranium mine rad tech 40 10 100 2 35 r p park happy 1 l 0 0 100 9 0 d defense plant guns 1 o 5 l 10 h tech 20 10 100 30 0 g i shell industry shells 2 l 1 h tech 20 10 100 3 0 s m mine iron 0 0 100 0 0 i g gold mine dust 0 0 100 0 20 d a agribusiness food tech -10 10 900 0 0 f o oil field oil tech -10 10 100 0 10 o j light manufacturing lcm 1 i tech -10 10 100 0 0 l k heavy manufacturing hcm 2 i tech -10 10 100 0 0 h t technical center tech 1 d 5 o 10 l edu 5 10 100 300 0 r research lab medical 1 d 5 o 10 l edu 5 10 100 90 0 l library/school edu 1 l 0 0 100 9 0 b bank bars 5 d 0 0 100 10 0 b % refinery petrol 1 o tech 20 10 1000 1 0 p This shows what the sector produces, raw materials required to make one prod- uct, tech and edu requirements, production efficiency multiplier, monetary cost and resource depletion. See info "Products" for details. SEE ALSO improve, designate, show, BTU, Sectors empire-info-text-4.2.15/Sectors0100664000000000000000000000302110055155526015045 0ustar rootroot Subject : SECTORS anti * anti-terrorist actions build * Build ships, planes, land units, nuclear weapons or bridges census * Report contents of sectors commodity * Report commodities in sectors designate * Specify sector utilization dump Dump raw sector information explore * Claim unowned land improve * Improve the infrastructure of a sector lost * Report lost items neweff Find out what the efficiency of a sector will be after the next update radar * Perform radar scan from ship or sector resource * Show the resources of sectors sinfrastructure * Report infrastructure of sectors spy * Snoop on adjacent enemy sectors territory Assign various sectors to a specific territory Empire4 Changes from the Empire3 server to the Empire4 Server Bridges Building and destroying bridges Infrastructure * Making your sectors better Mobility How much mobility stuff costs Quick-ref * A quick reference card for sector types and production Sector-ownership * Sector ownership Sector-types * Description of different sector types For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Selector0100664000000000000000000000720310055155512015204 0ustar rootroot Concept : Conditional Selectors NAME Selector - Selectors you can use in Empire conditionals Level: Basic This is a complete list of all selectors you can use in Empire conditionals. A selector is for example "mil" in the following command: [##:##] Command : cen * ?mil>10 Most selectors are self-explanitory, so definitions will only be given where necessary. Commodities: civil milit shell gun petrol iron dust gold dust bar bars of gold food oil lcm light construction materials hcm heavy construction materials uw uncompensated workers rad radioactive materials Sector: xloc yloc owner des designation/infrastructure effic mobil terr terr0 alias for terr terr1 terr2 terr3 timestamp fallout road rail dfense (this isn't defense or it will conflict with des) work coastal is a coastal sector newdes new designation min mineral resources (iron) gold gold resources fert food fertility ocontent oil content uran uranium resources oldown old owner off whether production is turned off xdist distribution centre ydist distribution centre avail available workforce Ship, plane, or land unit: xloc x location yloc y location owner type type of unit (e.g. cavalry or frigate) effic mobil timestamp tech tech level the unit was built at uid unit id number group fleet/wing/army opx mission operations sector opy mission operations sector mission 1 = interdict 2 = support 3 = reserve 4 = escort 5 = sub interdiction 6 = air defense 7 = defense support 8 = offense support Ship: fleet nplane number of planes the ship is carrying fuel nxlight number of xlight planes the ship is carrying nchoppers number of helicopters the ship is carrying autonav Plane: wing range ship ship the plane is on (-1 = no ship) att def harden nuketype Type of nuke on the plane (-1 = no ship, 0..n = index into nuke table) flags land land unit the plane is on (-1 = no land unit) Land Unit: att def army ship ship the land unit is on (-1 = no land unit) harden fortification retreat fuel land number of land units on the unit nxlight number of xlight planes on the unit vul spd vis spy rad frg acc dam ammo aaf fuelc fuelu maxlight Nuke: owner uid xloc yloc number types timestamp For distribution and delivery selectors, the first letter is the first letter of the name of the commodity. For example, civilian distribution threshold is 'c_dist'. Distribution: c_dist m_dist u_dist s_dist g_dist p_dist i_dist d_dist b_dist f_dist o_dist l_dist h_dist r_dist Delivery: c_del m_del u_del s_del g_del p_del i_del d_del b_del f_del o_del l_del h_del r_del Deity: pstage ptime che che_target mines Treaty: cna cnb status acond bcond exp Loan: loaner uid loanee status irate ldur amtpaid amtdue lastpay duedate News: actor action victim times number of times action happened time time Lost: owner uid type x y timestamp SEE ALSO Syntax, Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/Server0100664000000000000000000000154210055155526014677 0ustar rootroot Subject : SERVER Bugs Known bugs in the Empire Server CHANGES.CHAINSAW Changes from KSU Empire to Chainsaw code Empire2 Changes from the Chainsaw server to the Empire2 Server Empire3 Changes from the Empire2 server to the Empire3 Server Empire4 Changes from the Empire3 server to the Empire4 Server Hidden The HIDDEN option History Empire Revision History Merc Changes from KSU code to Merc code Old-empire Differences from 1.2 to UCB Empire Options Server options Wolfpack The Wolfpack project For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Ship-types0100664000000000000000000003353110055155512015474 0ustar rootroot Concept : Ship Types NAME Ship-types - Description of different types of ships. Level: Basic Some of the ships currently available in Empire are: torpedo-boat These ships have been misrepresented in Empire. They were designed to kill large ships by swarming them and launching torpedoes. In fact, they were projected to be so effective that the French 'Jeune Ecole' (Young School) of naval officers advocated abandoning battleships entirely, saying that they would be helpless in the face of the torpedo-boat. In reality, the torpedo boat was limited by it's short range, deficient sea-keeping ability, and the battleship's quick acquisition of numerous light quick-firing guns and machine guns. They were effective when used in large numbers, but tended to die a lot. destroyer These include three kinds of ships. First is the 1880-1910 destroyers, originally 'torpedo-boat destroyers', and meant to be cheap ships to screen the battleships. Second is the 1910-1950 version, meant to kill submarines with sonar and depth-charges. Lastly is the 1950-1965 destroyer, an all around ship, with ASW and ASuW (anti-surface armament). After that, they type mostly died out, as it had gotten too large. frigate Originally, these were ships of about 200-400t, with a crew of 200-500, armed with from 30-50 large cannon plus numerous small cannon. They were intended to scout for ships of the line, and protect/destroy commerce. After about 1860, the type died out entirely, and was replaced by light cruisers. In the 1960's, the type was resurrected for a new class of ASW (anti submarine warfare) ships of small-medium size. light cruiser The class came into existence in the 1860-1905 period to provide fast ships suitable for extended deployment in far-away places. They were intended to out-class local defense boats, and not much else. Much was sacrificed to give them long-term speed end endurance. They were not intended to have a role in a major battle. heavy cruiser This class has a dual role. It was intended to reinforce the light cruisers in the colonies, providing a heavier punch and more armor, and also to be scouting elements in major fleet battles. ship-of-the-line pre-dreadnought dreadnought battleship While the names change, the purpose remained the same: a ship that brings heavy guns close to the enemy and destroys him. It also was much used for off-shore bombardment, and for ships of the line, minor invasions. (A complement of 300-400 marines and 600 sailors allowed a ship of the line to land up to 750 fighting men at any desired point. Small squadrons of these ships could (and did) take over towns, attack fortresses by surprise, and generally make life miserable for the defense). The pre-dreadnought was a battleship with a limited number (usually 4) of heavy guns, numerous lighter guns ('secondary' and 'tertiary' armament), and heavy armor on vital portions of the ship. They were hard to kill, even for themselves, as they had only a few guns that could penetrate the armor of their peers. The dreadnought was introduced in an article in Jane's Fighting Ships by an Italian designer, who received permission to publish his design after the Italian government decided that it was too large and expensive for them. The design/concept was seized upon by First Sea Lord Jacky Fisher, who rushed completion of the first ship, the Dreadnought, through in only 1 year. (An amazing feat and a major record) The Dreadnought gave its name to the entire type of ship, having 8-12 large calibre guns, few secondary & tertiary weapons, and good armor. (As can be guessed, the threat posed by torpedo boats had diminished considerably, mostly with the quiet abandonment of the policy of close blockade, and the advent of the destroyer) The battleship of the 1918-1945 period was faster, and carried a new AA capacity, especially in the latter years of the period. After 1945, the class died out (except for 4 ships) For our purposes, a battleship 1 is a ship of the line, a battleship 2 is a pre-dreadnought, a battleship 3 is a dreadnought, and a battleship 4 is what was called a battleship or (sometimes) super-dreadnought. battlecruiser These special ships existed in the 1905-1920 period, prior to the widespread introduction of oil fuel. They had full battle- ship guns, and a large speed advantage over the battleships, but very little armor. They were initially the pet project of First Sea Lord Jacky Fisher, who intended them to both kill the heavy/armored cruisers of the time, and to scout for the battleships. With their heavy armament (and name), their function inevitably blurred, and they were used in combat against full-fledged battleships, where they died like flies. With this (and with the introduction of oil fuel, which made battleships their equal in speed), they were phased out. ASW cruiser These ships came into being in the 1965-present period in response to a need for a large ASW ship to carry ASW helicopters and command equipment. It typically carries full ASW armament, as well as a minor ASuW capability. missile boat missile frigate missile cruiser These ships range in size from 100t missile boats (the modern replacement for the torpedo-boat) to the 6000-8000t missile cruiser. They all are designed to bring missiles to bear on the enemy. (The first successful missile boats were Egyptian, and used against the Israelis in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war) The missile frigate and cruiser also serve as SAM ships. landing craft These ships are relatively unique, being used mainly in the 1942-1950 period. Before that, landings were carried out by frigates, ships-of-the-line, light & heavy cruisers, & pre-dreadnoughts, all of which could land a large number of men. With the introduction of the concept of beach-defense by the Germans, these ships were invented to get large numbers of men on the beaches quickly. After 1950, their functions were largely assumed by the helicopter. aircraft carrier light carrier escort carrier These ships are designed for various purposes. At first, carriers concentrated on scouting for the battleships. Later, it was proved that airplanes could sink battleships (Thanks to Billy Mitchell here), and the emphasis moved to all-around sea control. Still later, with the disappearance of the battleship, a large power-projection capacity was added. Light carriers were simply smaller versions of the large or 'fleet' carriers, and were used for the same duties. Escort carriers were usually hastily converted merchantmen, and carried small numbers of fighters and ASW planes. (Some merchantment, in fact, were equipped with 1 fighter and a temporary catapult. When threatened by enemy planes, the fighter took off. When it was done, it ditched, and the pilot was (theoretically) picked up by the merchant ship's convoy. This was used several times, and worked!) submarine The submarine was originally intended, in the 1900-1910 period, to fill the same role as the torpedo boat, using stealth to get to the battleships instead of speed. It was a strictly defensive weapon, without much speed or endurance. In the 1910-1925 period, the sub was much enlarged, and use in a combination anti-battleship (sank at least 20)/anti-commerce role. Endurance was much improved, and the sub could now operate a long distance from its home port. In the 1925-1945 period, the sub steadily grew large and more capable, gaining mostly in speed, sonar ability, and endurance. After 1945, nuclear power vastly increased the subs endurance, making it effectively infinite. Sonar was also vastly improved, and removed the reliance upon the periscope. The subs armament was also vastly improved with the addition of the SLM & SLBM. minesweeper Usually converted fishing vessels, small, and expendable. They found and destroyed mines with a variety of tricks, including cables & magnetism. oiler These ships represent the whole range of refueling ships. These units types differ in their fundamental capabilities; some can fire guns, some cannot; each has it's own specific abilities & roles. The capabil- ities of each ship are given by the show command. The headings are as fol- lows. For the building data: [##:##] Command : show ship build lcm The lcm required to build the ship. hcm The hcm required to build the ship. avail The avail (work) required to build the ship. tech The minimum technology required to build the ship. $ The cost of the ship. The headings for the stats listing are [##:##] Command : show ship stats def defensive armament of the ship spd the distance/mu for moving (in relative units) vis how visible the ship is, (relative units) spy how far the ship can see, (i.e. how good the communication equipment is), again in relative units rng twice the distance the guns can fire, The range formula is (rng/2) * ((tech + 50) / (tech + 200)) fir the number of guns the ship can fire at once lnd The number of land units the ship can carry. No ship can carry 'heavy' units. Only surface supply ships can carry units that are not 'light'. If option LANDSPIES is enabled, submarines that can't normally carry land units can carry up to two spies. pln The number of 'light' planes the ship can carry. hel The number of helicopters the ship can carry. (If the SHIPCHOPPER option is enabled) xpl The number of extra-light planes the ship can carry. (If the XLIGHT option is enabled) fuel c/u The ship's fuel capacity & usage. (see info fuel) (If the FUEL option is enabled) Each ship can carry a certain amount of products and has certain capabilities. These are listed under the cargoes & abilities section. The cargoes give the number of each product that can be carried. The abilities are as follows. [##:##] Command : show ship capabilities fish The vessel will accumulate food by fishing torp The vessel can fire torpedoes. dchrg The vessel can drop depth charges plane The vessel can carry planes with the light attribute set. miss The vessel can carry missiles. oil The vessel can drill for oil oiler The vessel can fuel other ships at sea sonar The vessel has sonar capabilities to detect submarines mine The vessel can lay mines sweep The vessel can sweep the sector for mines and recover them sub The vessel is a submarine spy The vessel can engage in spying activities land The vessel can be used as a landing craft. (see info assault) semi-land The vessel can be used as a semi-landing craft. (see info assault) sub-torp The vessel can torpedo submarines trade The vessel is a trade ship. (only if TRADESHIPS are enabled) supply The vessel can supply other units. Unless the vessel is a sub- marine, it can load non-light land units. anti-missile The vessel will intercept enemy marine missiles (see "info Hitchance"). Some examples of the output: [##:##] Command : show ship build lcm hcm avail tech $ fishing boat 1 25 15 12 0 $300 cargo ship 1 60 40 29 0 $500 ore ship 1 60 40 29 0 $500 slave ship 1 60 40 29 0 $500 passenger ship 1 60 40 29 0 $500 trade ship 1 200 100 81 0 $2500 frigate 30 30 19 0 $600 battleship 1 50 50 31 0 $800 [##:##] Command : show ship stats s v s r f h x p l fuel p i p n i e p l n c/u def d s y g r l l n d fishing boat 1 10 10 15 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 cargo ship 1 20 10 35 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0/0 ore ship 1 20 10 35 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0/0 slave ship 20 10 35 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0/0 trade ship 1 20 10 35 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0/0 frigate 50 25 25 3 1 1 0 1 0 2 0/0 [##:##] Command : show ship cap cargos & capabilities fishing boat 1 300c 10m 900f 15u fish cargo ship 1 600c 50m 300s 50g 900f 1400l 900h 250u supply ore ship 1 30c 5m 990i 990d 200f 45u 990r slave ship 20c 80m 200f 1200u trade ship 1 50c 50m 100f trade frigate 60m 10s 2g 60f semi-land battleship 1 120m 20s 4g 120f semi-land fishing boat 2 300c 10m 900f 15u fish SEE ALSO coastwatch, fire, load, lookout, mine, navigate, tend, torpedo, fly, show, Trade-ships, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/Ships0100664000000000000000000000547210055155527014526 0ustar rootroot Subject : SHIPS assault * Attack coastal sector from ship board * Board enemy ship build * Build ships, planes, land units, nuclear weapons or bridges cargo * List the commodities on board your ships coastwatch * Check from sectors for nearby ships fire * Fire artillery from sector/ship/unit on sector/ship fleetadd Designate members of a "fleet" follow Cause one ship to automatically follow another fuel * Give fuel to a ship/unit load * Load goods, people, etc onto a ship lookout * Check from ships for other ships and/or sector types lost * Report lost items ltend Transfer things between a unit and the ship carrying it mine * Drop sea mines from a ship mission * Assign a mission to a ship/plane/unit mquota Change the mobility quota of a ship with SAIL orders name Give a name to a ship navigate * Move ship or fleet around order Order a ship to auto-navigate payoff Find out the current payoff of a trade ship qorder Query the auto-navigation orders of a ship radar * Perform radar scan from ship or sector retreat Set retreat conditions/paths for ships or fleets sail Give sailing orders to a ship sbmap * Big map of all your worldly knowledge around a ship scrap * Scrap a ship, plane, or unit scuttle * Destroy a ship, plane, or unit sdump Dump raw ship information ship * Report status of ship, fleet or ships in a given area show * Characteristics of bridges, ships, planes, land units or sec- tors smap * Get a map around a ship sonar * Use sonar to look for ships sorder Show ship order statistical information sstat * Report statistics of ship, fleet or ships in a given area tend * Transfer commodities between ships torpedo * Slip a torpedo to some poor sucker (from a sub or ship) unload * Inverse of load (above) unsail Stop a ship from sailing upgrade Update the tech of a ship/unit/plane to the current tech level Empire4 Changes from the Empire3 server to the Empire4 Server Autofeed How to use fishing boats to automatically feed your civs Autonav Giving ships automatic sailing orders Maintenance The cost to maintain ships, planes, and land units. Mobility How much mobility stuff costs Ship-types * Description of different types of ships. Trade-ships * How to use trade ships For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Spies0100664000000000000000000000337210055155512014512 0ustar rootroot Concept : Spies NAME Spies - How spies work Level: Expert There is a land unit type "spy". These can be very valuable land units to have wandering around the planet... Spies are very special land units. They are able to march into any sector (owned or unowned) and look about. Of course, if you are marching in unallied territory, there is a chance you will get caught. If a spy is caught by a friendly or neutral country, the country will get a message that a spy was spotted in their country. If the spy is caught by a hostile or at war nation, the spy gets shot on the spot. The chance of get- ting caught while marching about is inverse to the efficiency of the spy. So, at 100%, a spy has a 10% chance of getting caught. at 10%, a spy has a 100% chance of getting caught. Thus, you want efficient spies. Spies are also very fragile. If they are caught in any kind of combat, shelling, bombing, etc. and take ANY damage at all, they die. Spies may also be snuck on shore via ships using the "assault" command. If you assault a sector using just spies, they have a 10% chance of making it on shore without being spotted (no matter what their efficiency). If spotted, the same rules apply for how a spy is dealt with. If you mix spies and mil, the spies must fight just like normal units. And, since any damage they take kills them, this is very risky usage of spies. You may locate spies using the "llookout" or the "spy" command. Use your imagination on how to eradicate errant spies. ;-) Submarines may carry up to two spy units. When unloaded from a ship, spies are not given over to the owner of the sector as other units are. SEE ALSO lboard, bomb, fire, spy, llookout, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/Suggestions0100664000000000000000000000312210055155517015737 0ustar rootroot Introduction : SUGGESTIONS NAME Suggestions - Suggestions for enhancements to the game Level: Expert Whenever I think about new things for empire, I evaluate them in this order: 1) Is it fun? This is subjective, of course. The real question should be "Will the majority of Empire players find this enjoyable?" 2) Is is complicated? What sorts of new commands are needed? How will the player use the new feature? Do new commands need to be added? How much will this change impact the user? 3) Is is code-able? How difficult is it to do? Does it involve minor changes, or a major re-write? Many ideas have merit, but are prohibitively difficult to implement. 4) Is it realistic? In general, realism is good, in that it makes the game more intuitive, and easier for new players to learn. 5) Is it play-balanced? It is important that the delicate balance between offense and defense not be tipped one way or the other. For example, a stacking limit for land units would tip the balance too far in favour of the defender. Or, allowing more than one ship to assault at a time would tip the balance in favour of the attacker. 6) Is it important? If the change involves adding detail to the game, is the detail important enough? Does the change go beyond the general level of Empire abstraction? For example, a change to allow you to name each of your mil would obviously be beyond Empire's general detail level. A command to name ships is stretching it. SEE ALSO Introduction empire-info-text-4.2.15/Syntax0100664000000000000000000001014410055155512014710 0ustar rootroot Concept : Command Syntax NAME Syntax - The Empire command syntax Level: Basic The Empire Shell (command interpreter) expects input in the form: [##:##] Command : VERB ARG1 ARG2 ... VERB is any one of the Empire commands on the "command list" (what you see when you type "list"-- e.g. "map", "move", "info", etc). The number of ARGs varies from command to command. In most cases the ARGs need not be supplied on the command line; any that are not supplied will be obtained by prompting. The exception to this rule are those ARGs that are enclosed in [square brackets] in the command list. The presence of these ARGs changes the way the command is carried out. Certain basic argument types recur often and are abbreviated in the following ways. ::= 'se', 'sh', 'l', or 'p' for sector, ship, land unit, or plane respectively. If "sector" is not a possibility, then 's' will likely suf- fice for "ship". ::= either a country number or a country name ::= any one, (or unambiguous abbreviation), of the list of commodities found in "info Selector": ::= loan number ::= sector coordinates in the form: x,y ::= sector(s) in the form: lox:hix,loy:hiy ?cond&cond&... "lox", "hix", "loy", "hiy" are coordinates bounding the rectangular area to be considered "cond" is a condition of the form: is either a , as above, a number in the range 0 to 65536, a sector designation, ("m" for mine, "c" for capital, etc), a type of unit ("frigate", "cavalry", etc), or a selector found in "info Selector". can be any one of: < less than = equal > greater than # not equal Thus "mob=100", "ore#0", "7=guns", "civ#mil", "des=b" are examples of legitimate conditions, (note lack of embedded spaces), and [##:##] Command : census -3:3,-3:3 ?des=+&gun=5&mil>civ will list all highways within 3 of your capital with exactly 5 guns and more military than civilians. Similarly, [##:##] Command : deliver f -9:9,-9:9 ?f_del=0 will allow you to set up food delivery in all the sectors that don't already have food delivery. Note that "hix", "hiy", and "?cond" are all optional. Also, the entire "lox:hix,loy:hiy" section may be replaced by either "#", "#0", "#1", "#2", or "#3", ... which refer to "realm"s which you can define. (See "info realm".) Note that "#" and "#0" are equivalent. Also "*" refers to all sectors, and "@x,y:dist" refers to all sectors within dist of x,y. ::= one ship number ::= fleet designation, which may be a list of ships separated by slashes (`/'), a fleet letter, the character tilde (`~') which means all ships not in a specific fleet, or a rectangular sector area. ::= either a single ship number or a fleet designation. Note that specifications may have an optional ?cond&cond... argu- ment like that used for arguments. For instance: [##:##] Command : ship ~ ?des=d&mil>5 will list all destroyers that have more than 5 military which are not cur- rently in any fleet. The output from commands may also be sent to a file or another process by uti- lizing these alternate syntaxes: [##:##] Command : VERB ARG1 ... > FILE which sends the output to the file "FILE". [##:##] Command : VERB ARG1 ... >> FILE which appends the output to the file "FILE". [##:##] Command : VERB ARG1 ... >! FILE which sends the output to the file "FILE", replacing the file it if it already exists. [##:##] Command : VERB ARG ... | PROGRAM [ARGS...] which send the output of the command to the program "PROGRAM" with optional arguments "ARGS". This is most useful when "PROGRAM" is some type of pager like more(1) or less(1). The Empire shell also recognizes a few control characters: _n_a_m_e _m_e_a_n_i_n_g interrupt Abort command and return to Empire command level quit Exit Empire EOT Exit Empire SEE ALSO realm, Move, Selector, Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/TOP0100664000000000000000000000137110055155527014074 0ustar rootroot Info : List of Subjects Empire info is available on the following subjects: Combat Loans Planes Commodities Maps Playing Communication Market Populace Deity Missions Production Detection Moving Sectors Diplomacy Nation Server Distribution Obsolete Ships Introduction Occupation Update LandUnits Type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. For a complete list of all info topics, type "info all". empire-info-text-4.2.15/Taxes0100664000000000000000000000314410055155512014510 0ustar rootroot Concept : Taxes NAME Taxes - How taxes are calculated Level: Expert Civilians exist in Empire to work and provide cash to the government. Simply by existing, they generate revenue to their host country in proportion to the efficiency of the sector in which they work. The military-industrial complex exists in order to siphon off hard-earned tax dollars. Military cost (in general) about ten times as much as a civilian pays in taxes. In addition, "final goods and services" cost money to produce. Ships, land units, planes, guns and shells are all examples of the costs inflicted upon a helpless government by the military-industrial complex. Also, "services" such as technology research, medical research, and even happiness (money and lcm's can buy happiness here...) cost something to create. Consumer items such as food, lcm, hcm, and all other "intermediate goods" (or raw materials) cost nothing other than the hard work of the oppressed citizenry. Note that it takes ten civilians to keep one soldier in the field. Note also that the only way to make money is either to be pacifistic and let your nation accumulate wealth by having a small standing army, or by selling products to other nations. Also, land units can multiply the strength of each mil, making them perhaps more economical, if you already have made the technological investment. Also note that captured civilians only pay 1/4 the normal taxes. They like to hide money until they are all finally agree to become naturalized citizens of their new government. SEE ALSO Update, Nation empire-info-text-4.2.15/Technology0100664000000000000000000001037210055155513015541 0ustar rootroot Concept : Technology NAME Technology - How technology level is calculated each update Level: Expert Your technology level affects the range that guns can fire, the range over which radar is effective, the range that planes can fly and the range that torpedoes can travel, among other things. The "nation" command will display your current technology level and technology factor. This is how your new technology level is determined every update: (1) Technological breakthroughs are produced in tech centres. See "info Products" or the "production" command to find out how many technological breakthroughs you are going to produce. Your update telegram will tell you the number of technological breakthroughs produced in your various tech centres in a line like this: technological breakthroughs (7.2) produced in 3,1 (2) Calculate tech delta from technological breakthroughs In the output of the "version" command, you will see a line like this: Tech Buildup is limited to logarithmic growth (base 2.00) after 3.00. In this example, the "tech log base" is 2.00 and the "easy tech" is 3.00. To find out what your tech delta for an update will be, subtract "easy tech" from the number of technological breakthroughs you are producing and then add 1, then take the logorithm with base "tech log base" and then add the "easy tech" back on. For example, say you had a number of tech centres producing a total of 18.0 tech units. Then to calculate your delta, first subtract "easy tech" from it and then add 1 to obtain 16.0, then take the log base 2.0 of that which is 4.0 (since 2 to the power 4 is equal to 16), and then add the "easy tech" back on to get a tech delta of 7.0. (3) Tech bleed If the ALL_BLEED option is enabled, then you will gain extra technology from all countries producing tech, and there will be a line in the "version" output like this: The technology/research boost you get from the world is 50.00%. If the ALL_BLEED option is turned off, then you will gain extra technology from the countries with whom you share a two-way alliance, and the line in the "version" output will look like this: The technology/research boost you get from your allies is 50.00%. In both cases, the amount of tech you get is 50% of the average amount of tech delta for all eligible "bleeders". Note that a fundamental difference between these two cases is that in the ALL_BLEED case, only countries which are producing tech are counted in the average, whereas in the case where ALL_BLEED is turned off, the amount of tech bleed is averaged among all of your allies whether they are producing tech or not. Your net tech delta will be printed in your update telegram as: 3.000 technology (2.0000 + 1.0000) where the 3.0000 is your net tech level gain, and that is broken down into how much you produced (2.0000) and how much you got from tech bleed (1.0000). (4) Tech decay After your net tech increase has been added to your country's technology level, then your technology level will decay. The amount of tech decay is printed in the version output as: Nation levels (tech etc.) decline 1% every 96 time units. The number of time units in an update is printed in the version output as: An update consists of 60 empire time units. Every update, your tech is reduced by decay = (tech level) * (decay rate) * (etu per update) / (decay etus). So if your tech level was 200.0, and the decay rate was as above, then you would lose: decay = 200 * 0.01 * 60 / 96 = 1.25 and so your tech would go down to 198.75 from decay. (5) Tech leak If your tech level is much lower than the tech level of the highest tech country in the world, then every update, there is a chance that one of their high tech secrets will get leaked into your country. Take the tech level of the highest tech country in the world and divide by 5. Call this the "minimum tech". If your tech level is lower than the "minimum tech", then every update, there is a 20% chance that your tech level will increase by one third of the difference between your tech level and the minimum tech. Note that if the TECH_POP option is enabled, technology costs proportionately more $$$ to make as your civilian population grows past 50,000 civilians. SEE ALSO Innards, nation, Research, Nation, Production, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/Time0100664000000000000000000000213510055155513014322 0ustar rootroot Concept : Time NAME Time - Definitions of BTU and ETL Level: Expert Because of the unique nature of Empire governments, (i.e. the decision makers spend most of their time on vacation. Hmmm, not so unique actually), and the fact that ideally the Empire "environment" will mirror the "real" world, vari- ous heuristics dealing with time have been implemented. The first is the Bureaucratic Time Unit (BTU) concept which keeps track of the potential for doing "work" possessed by your government. The second heuristic, (i.e. hack), is the Elapsed Time Limit (ETL) which lim- its the amount of time that players may be logged on each day. The ETL is not cumulative and is reset to some particular value, (often two hours, check the "version" command to be sure), every night at midnight. The ETL and BTU counts are displayed with each command prompt as follows: [##:##] Command : The first "##" is the Elapsed Time today, in minutes. This number starts at 0 every midnight. The second "##" is the number of BTU's remaining. SEE ALSO Innards, version, BTU, Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/Trade-ships0100664000000000000000000001025710055155513015613 0ustar rootroot Concept : Trade ships NAME Trade-ships - How to use trade ships Level: Basic Trade ships are special ships, with a different function than most Empire ships. They are in the game only if the TRADESHIPS option is enabled. Trade ships simulate internal or external trade. In the real world, countries make goods that they can make cheaply, ship them somewhere they're expensive, and sell them, making a profit. In the empire version, you make a trade ship, using lots of cm's, and costing $2500. You then sail it to a harbor somewhere and scuttle it. You then receive money, with a varying rate of return. The trade ship MUST be scuttled in a harbor that is at least 2% efficient to make money. (In other sectors, it sinks quietly, like most ships) You may scuttle it in either a harbor you own, or the harbor of an ally. Pirates who capture a trade ship may also gain money from it, just as if they were the lawful owner (although the news knows the difference) The return rate is based on the straight-line map distance from the harbor where the trade ship was built to the harbor where it is scuttled. You have to sail it at least 8 sectors to get any money at all. At less than 8 sectors, you get nothing, not even your $1750 back. Nothing, nada, zilch, zip, nothing. Once you make a trade-ship, you're pretty much committed to sailing it at least 8 sectors... Currently, the return rates are: Distance sailed Return rate 0-7 NO MONEY 8-13 2.5% * distance 14-24 3.5% * distance 25+ 5.0% * distance For example, if you sail the ship 10 sectors from the harbor where it was built and scuttle it in a harbor there, you would get 125% of the money you paid for it, or $2188. If you sailed it 15 sectors to a harbor and scuttled it, you would get 153%, or $2678. Use the "payoff" command to see how much the trade ship would pay were it scuttled in a harbour at its present location. If you scuttle a trade ship in the harbor you do not own, you get a 20% bonus (applied after the value is multiplied by the return rate above), AND the per- son owning the harbor gets 10% of the cash you make as a bonus (the amount before the +20% bonus is applied) You still get the full amount, but he makes money as well. (Peaceful trade enriches BOTH countries more than trading only internally). For the devious, no, being allied with yourself does not mean you get +20% when scuttling in your own harbors. For example, using the #'s from above, if you sailed 15 sectors, and scuttled in an allied harbor, you'd get $2188 * 1.2 = $2.6K, and your ally would get $2188/10 = $218. CASH GAINED IS ALSO MULTIPLIED BY THE EFFICIENCY OF THE TRADE SHIP. So, if you get shot down to 21%, don't expect to get the full amount... If you capture a trade ship, you are free to scuttle it in any harbor you can get it into, receiving full cash calculated normally. The cash return is multiplied by the efficiency of the ship, so less efficient ships produce less money. Captured trade ships may be scuttled as if they were yours (although you will get some bad publicity in the news) Payoff is still based on the distance from the harbor where the trade ship was built, not the sector in which it was cap- tured. You can also use the "order" command to set up automated trading routes with trade ships and have them navigate and automatically scuttle themselves when they reach their destination. See "info order" for more information on this, but basically you can do things like this: Step 1) Make a harbor Step 2) Get cms distributed/delivered to your harbor each update. Step 3) Find a destination harbor to sail to Step 4) build tradeships in the harbor each update Step 5) load civs and food on the trade ships each update. Step 6) order the trade ships to sail and autoscuttle in the dest harbor. You can then just repeat steps 4, 5, and 6 each update, and never worry about your trade ships again. Unless someone starts intercepting them, that is... SEE ALSO payoff, order, Ship-types, scuttle, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/Unit-types0100664000000000000000000002277510055155513015521 0ustar rootroot Concept : Unit Types NAME Unit-types - Description of the different types of land units Level: Basic Some of the units currently available in Empire are: infantry The Bloody Infantry. Lotsa guys on foot with guns. They're slow, and they carry their supplies in horse-drawn wagons, which slows them down even more. Slow. They're also not terribly good at scouting. They don't attack very well, with a multiplier ranging from 1 to 1.5 or so with better tech. However, they really shine on defense, with a multiplier from 1.5 to 3.0. If you want to hold a line... use infantry. They're fairly resistant to shelling and bombing, with the later types of infantry units being better. cavalry Empire starts just at the end of the age of cavalry. They're quick, and they scout pretty well. They're better at attacking than defending. They are pretty easy to kill with shelling or bombing. Still, if you want a low-tech unit to go somewhere quick, they're the guys. supply Supply units range from horse and wagon to truck units. Early supply units are slow, but the later supply unit types are motorized and are faster. Supply units carry a bunch of stuff, but try your best not to get them in combat, because they don't enjoy it, and they're REALLY bad at it. Supply units can give supplies to land units, as well as forts/ships/sectors. See info supply. lt armor Armor units may be light, medium, or heavy. Light armor units armor have much the same uses as cavalry, although they are a good hvy armor bit less fragile. Medium armor is medium-fast, good for general attacking, while heavy armor is slow, but good for assaults, any situation where you need to destroy a heavily-defended fixed point. All armor is better at attacking than defending. Higher tech types of armor units are better at defending, however. Armor gets much of its combat advantage from its mobility, being able to attack and move in, severing supply lines & blocking reaction & reinforcements. Armor is fairly resistant to shelling/bombing. artillery Artillery is a long range killer. You can use it to shell lt artillery sectors, but it can often be more effective when used as hvy artillery support for your attacks. Lt artillery has more mobility, mech artillery but less damage. Hvy artillery has less mobility, but more damage. Mechanized artillery gives you good damage and good mobility, but is very expensive. The better the accuracy of the artillery, the better it is at assisting your troops or shelling ships. The better the damage rating, the better the damage done. High-damage, low accuracy artillery is mostly good for shelling sectors, while high-accuracy artillery is good at supporting your troops, or shooting at ships. All artillery is bad at attacking, but can usually defend in a not-horrible fashion. Artillery units are, however, pretty vulnerable to shelling and bombing. (except for mech artillery) engineers Engineers are the most versatile unit. They can lay mines, mech engineers clear mines, defend well, attack well, work on sectors, etc. The drawbacks? Well, they're VERY expensive and not very big. Mech engineers have vehicles and are much faster and more resistant to damage. mech infantry These two types of infantry are faster. Mech infantry is motor infantry also more resistant to damage and even better on defense. marines These units are like improved infantry, but more expensive and harder to make. Their best use is for assaulting beaches, but they do make superior infantry if you have to use them that way. security These units are good at fighting guerrillas, but not for much else. They fight about as well as low-tech infantry, and their smallish size makes them not worth much. They do help you when shooting helpless civs (see info shoot), and fight guerrillas during the update. The security troops get a chance to 'raid' the guerrillas and kill some of them before the guerrillas fight. This will reduce your casualties from guerrilla war. radar units These units are high-tech. They give you the ability to map the enemy easily as you advance. Try not to get them into combat, as they're horrible at it, and they're very costly. They're generally motorized, so they're pretty fast, and they all get shelled/bombed hard. aa unit These units are good defensively, and fight planes well. They are a mechanized unit, and move & survive pretty well. Only units with the FLAK ability can fire AA. Use the "show" command to see units stats and capabilities. These units types differ in their fundamental capabilities; some can fire guns, some cannot; each has it's own specific abilities & roles. The capabil- ities of each unit are given by the show command. The headings are as fol- lows. For the building data: [##:##] Command : show land build lcm The lcm required to build the land unit. hcm The hcm required to build the land unit. guns The guns required to build the land unit. avail The avail (work) required to build the land unit. tech The minimum technology required to build the land unit. $ The cost of the land unit. The headings for the stats listing are [##:##] Command : show land stats att the attack multiplier of the land unit def the defensive multiplier of the land unit vul the vulnerability of the unit to bombing/shelling (1-100) spd the distance/mu for moving (in relative units) vis how visible the land unit is, (relative units) spy how far the land unit can see, (i.e. how good the reconnaissance equip- ment is), again in relative units rad the unit's reaction radius rng twice the distance the guns can fire, The range formula is (rng/2) * ((tech + 50) / (tech + 200)) acc the firing accuracy of the unit fir the number of guns that fire when the unit fires amm ammo: the number of shells the unit uses when fighting or firing aaf the aa fire rating of the unit fc/fu The land unit's fuel capacity & usage. (see info fuel) (If the FUEL option is enabled) xpl The number of extra-light planes the land unit can carry. (If the XLIGHT option is enabled) lnd The number of land units the unit can carry (no 'heavy' units) Each land unit can carry a certain amount of products and has certain capabil- ities. These are listed under the cargoes & abilities section. The cargoes give the number of each product that can be carried. The abilities are as follows. [##:##] Command : show land capabilities xlight the unit can carry xlight planes. (If the XLIGHT option is used) engineer the unit can lay/sweep mines, work on sectors/fortifications/etc. supply the unit can supply other units security the unit is good at fighting guerrillas and shooting helpless civil- ians light the unit can be carried on ships that don't have supply capability marine the unit is good at assaulting recon the unit is good at gathering intelligence. It will do better using llookout, and will report enemy units in battle better. radar the unit has radar capability assault the unit may be used in assaults flak the unit can fire 'general unit flak' (see "info Flak") spy the unit is a spy train the unit is a train heavy the unit cannot be carried on land units or ships, not even supply ships Some examples of the output: [##:##] Command : show land build lcm hcm mil guns shells avail tech $ War band 5 0 100 0 0 1 0 $500 Supply Wagon 5 5 50 0 0 2 0 $500 GPG Commandos 15 15 25 1 2 5 150 $800 artillery 1 40 60 70 20 40 17 100 $1000 Jump infantry 35 25 100 5 10 9 400 $3000 marines 1 20 10 100 2 4 5 200 $2000 [##:##] Command : show land stats s v s r f a d a a x p i p a r c a m a f f p att def vul d s y d g c m m f c u l War band 1.3 1.0 99 23 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Supply Wagon 0.1 0.2 100 15 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 GPG Commandos 1.0 1.0 70 30 1 2 1 0 0 0 5 1 10 1 0 artillery 1 0.0 0.5 50 15 6 1 0 6 40 4 5 15 0 0 0 Jump infantry 5.0 6.0 20 55 1 4 4 0 0 0 5 35 10 1 5 marines 1 1.0 2.0 70 23 3 3 2 0 0 0 5 5 0 0 2 [##:##] Command : show land cap capabilities War band 5f engineer light recon Supply Wagon 50s 5g 100f 200l 100h 100r 200d 10b 100i supply light GPG Commandos 5f security artillery 1 5f 10g 20s Jump infantry 5f 2g 10s xlight marines 1 5f 10s xlight light marine SEE ALSO land, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/Update0100664000000000000000000000260210055155527014652 0ustar rootroot Subject : UPDATE budget * Look at a national balance sheet & set priorities neweff Find out what the efficiency of a sector will be after the next update production * Predicts production of sectors at the next update start * Turn sector production on stop Stop sector production update * Find out when the next update will be Autofeed How to use fishing boats to automatically feed your civs Autonav Giving ships automatic sailing orders Education How Education is calculated at the update Food How much people eat at the update Guerrilla Guerrilla warfare Happiness How happiness is calculated at the update Maintenance The cost to maintain ships, planes, and land units. Plague The Plague Products * Formulas for the production of commodities Research How Research level is calculated each update Taxes How taxes are calculated Technology How technology level is calculated each update Update-sequence The order of events at the update For info on a particular subject, type "info " where is one of the subjects listed above. Subjects marked by * are the most important and should be read by new players. empire-info-text-4.2.15/Update-sequence0100664000000000000000000000651210055155513016457 0ustar rootroot Concept : Update-sequence NAME Update-sequence - The order of events at the update Level: Expert This document gives a rough order of events during the update. 1) First, prepare all sectors in the world, row by row, going from top to bottom, left to right a) fallout is checked, if FALLOUT is defined b) guerrilla warfare is checked c) if the sector doesn't have the plague, see if it catches it otherwise plague the people d) if there are no civs or mil in the sector, it reverts to the deity e) taxes are collected from civs & uws. Mil are paid. f) if the sector is a bank it makes $$ proportional to its efficiency 2) Then, in order of country #, deal with each country: a) pay for military reserves. b) in order of set priorities, 1-39, 1 going first, then 2, etc. produce for owned sectors, maintain and build ships, planes and units; see below for details c) If ship maintenance is not yet done, do it now pay maintenance, produce, then feed and plague people on board d) If ship building is not yet done, do it now ships execute their orders right after building finally, if option SAIL is enabled, follow sail paths e) If plane maintenance is not yet done, do it now f) If plane building is not yet done, do it now g) If unit maintenance is not yet done, do it now pay maintenance, then feed and plague people on board h) If unit building is not yet done, do it now i) produce for all sectors that have not yet produced a) if the sector is a cap, it costs $$ equal to the # of etus: np->nat_money -= etus; b) people in non-sanctuary sectors eat 1) If not enough is available, the sector uses the supply routines to draw more. 2) If still not enough is available, the excess people will starve off. a) No more than 50% of the people in a sect can die; the uw's die first, then the civs, then the mil. c) if there was starvation, the work percentage is set to 0, otherwise the work rate rises by 8+(1-15), max of 100 d) population grows and is truncated e) sectors that are stopped are skipped (see info stop) f) first increase eff g) then make things 3) Then, do deliveries for all sectors in the world, row by row, going from top to bottom, left to right 4) Then, do exporting via distribution for all sectors in the world, row by row, going from top to bottom, left to right 5) Then, do importing via distribution for all sectors in the world, row by row, going from top to bottom, left to right 6) modify tech/res/hap/edu levels & do tech bleed 7) decrease levels due to passing of time 8) update war declarations (for slow war) 9) If MOB_ACCESS is not enabled, mobility is updated as follows: a) Add mobility to ships b) Add mobility to sectors c) Add mobility to planes d) Add mobility to land units SEE ALSO Innards, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/Wolfpack0100664000000000000000000000102310055155522015165 0ustar rootroot Server : Wolfpack Code NAME Wolfpack - The Wolfpack project Level: Expert There have been several changes/fixes made to the Empire3 code in the new Empire4 Server. This outlines the various changes and how they will affect you, the player. These were coded as the Wolfpack project, and bug-reports should be sent to . See the "info Options" "info Empire4" for more detailed information on the Wolfpack project. SEE ALSO Options, Empire4, Server empire-info-text-4.2.15/accept0100664000000000000000000000202710055155441014663 0ustar rootroot Command : ACCEPT NAME accept - Find out who's accepting what communications from whom Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : accept [country] The accept command allows you to find out the communications status of a coun- try. With no argument, accept prints your status. With an argument, it prints the acceptance status of the specified country. [##:##] Command : accept 7 Temekula Acceptance Status Report Sun Feb 21 20:53:51 1993 Acceptance status his theirs tel trty anno loan tel trty anno loan 1) Gobu YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES 2) Spectre YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES 3) Rohan YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES 4) Sioux YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES 5) Tom_Servo YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES 6) Horgoth YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES SEE ALSO telegram, announce, read, wire, reject, Diplomacy, Communication empire-info-text-4.2.15/add0100664000000000000000000000152610055155441014157 0ustar rootroot Command : ADD NAME add - Add/Remove a country in the game Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : add [##:##] Command : add 1 bunky mypass n i This adds a new player to the game. [##:##] Command : add 2 visitor visitor v i This adds a visitor country to the game. [##:##] Command : add 1 bunky mypass d w This removes bunky and all his sectors & units from the game. [##:##] Command : add 1 bunky mypass d c Just to make sure that bunky doesn't still have any stuff in the game. [##:##] Command : add 36 martian outerspace a i This will add a new country which will be able to send/receive telegrams but won't have any land. For example, you could give a newbie helper a country like this. SEE ALSO newcap, Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/all0100664000000000000000000000513510055155527014204 0ustar rootrootAttack Options commodity lstat satellite Autofeed Overview consider ltend sbmap Autonav Plague convert lunload scrap BTU Plane-types country map scuttle Basics Planes cutoff march sdump Bridges Playing declare market sect Bugs Populace deliver mine sell CHANGES.CHAINSAW Production demobilize mission set Citizens Products designate mobupdate setresource Clients Quick-ref disable morale setsector Combat Research disarm motd sharebmap Commodities Sector-ownership distribute move shark Communication Sector-types drop mquota ship Damage Sectors dump name shoot Deity Selector echo nation show Detection Server edit navigate shutdown Diplomacy Ship-types enable ndump sinfrastructure Distribution Ships enlist newcap skywatch Education Spies execute neweff smap Empire2 Suggestions explore newspaper sonar Empire3 Syntax financial nmap sorder Empire4 TOP fire nuke spy Expert Taxes flash offer sstat Fallout Technology fleetadd offset start Flak Time fly order starvation Food Trade-ships follow origin stop God Unit-types force paradrop strength Guerrilla Update fortify path supply Guide Update-sequence fuel payoff survey Happiness Wolfpack give pbmap swapsector Hidden accept grind pboard sweep Hints add harden pdump telegram History all headlines plane tend Hitchance announce help players territory Infrastructure anti hidden pmap test Innards apropos improve power threshold Interception arm info pray toggle Introduction army land production torpedo Kill assault launch pstat trade Land-units attack lbmap qorder transport LandUnits bdes lboard quit treaty Loans bestpath lcargo radar turn Maintenance bmap ldump range unload Maps board ledger read unsail Market bomb level realm update Merc break list recon upgrade Missions budget lload reject version Mobility build llookout relations wait Move buy lmap repay wall Moving bye lmine report wingadd Nation capital load reset wipe Novice cargo lookout resource wire Nuke-types census lost retreat work Obsolete change lradar route zdone Occupation coastwatch lrange sabotage Old-empire collect lretreat sail empire-info-text-4.2.15/announce0100664000000000000000000000222410055155441015231 0ustar rootroot Command : ANNOUNCE NAME announce - Send an announcement to all players Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : announce The announce command is a variant of the telegram command. It sends your mes- sage to _a_l_l of the players in the game. This convenient service may cost money to provide, depending on your deity. For example: [##:##] Command : announce Enter telegram for everybody undo last line with ~u, print with ~p, abort with ~q, end with ^D or . 1024 left: 1023 left: For Immediate Release 987 left: from 962 left: Groonland Embassy 928 left: 927 left: 926 left: HELP! Curmudgeon just TRASHED our capital! We had even proposed 860 left: a very fair treaty, but they did it anyway! People of the World, 794 left: UNITE! Overthrow the slave masters of Curmudgeon! 744 left: . JoeBlowLand is rejecting your announcements ZappaLand is rejecting your announcements Note that announcements can be rejected. See info reject for more information. SEE ALSO pray, wire, telegram, read, reject, Communication empire-info-text-4.2.15/anti0100664000000000000000000000265010055155441014361 0ustar rootroot Command : ANTI NAME anti - anti-terrorist actions Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : anti The anti-guerrilla command is used to remove che from any sector. The com- mand take the following form: [##:##] Command : anti Once issued, the strength of the che is compared to the number of mil in the sector. The maximum number of mil allowed to fight is equal to the mobility in the sector. Che receive a combat multiplier which may or may not make them tougher to kill. There are only three outcomes for this command. 1) The mil kill all the che. The sector is cleared (for now). 2) The che kill the mil. The sector then returns to the old owner with most or all of the che reverting to mil. The old owner is sent a telegram informing him of the event. 3) The battle is suspended when the mobility in the sector is used up. Each mil or che killed uses one mobility point. Units do not participate in the anti command. A sector can revert to the old owner while your units are stuck in it. Note that che are finicky. If you manage to lose a sector fighting them, they do unpredictable things. They may all come out of hiding to join the mili- tary. A few may stay in hiding while the majority come out to join the mili- tary. Who knows what else they may do. SEE ALSO census, Guerrilla, Sectors, Populace empire-info-text-4.2.15/apropos0100664000000000000000000000162710055155442015115 0ustar rootroot Command : APROPOS NAME apropos - Searches info pages for information on a topic Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : apropos [maxhits] The Empire info pages are organized by subject. It can sometimes be hard to find the exact page with the information in which you are interested. To get a list of subjects containing the word you are looking for, type: [##:##] Command : apropos without the < and > brackets. You can then type: [##:##] Command : apropos bridge to get a list of Empire commands and info topics which contain the word bridge, as well as the line that mentions it. Apropos is not case sensitive, thus the above example will find pages with Bridge or bridge (or even bRiDgE). By default, apropos exits when 100 hits are found. You can change this value with an optional second parameter. SEE ALSO info, Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/arm0100664000000000000000000000171610055155442014210 0ustar rootroot Command : ARM NAME arm - Load nuclear weapons onto planes or missiles Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : arm The "arm" command loads nuclear devices aboard delivery systems such as planes or missiles. No nuclear weapons can be delivered unless they are first loaded aboard deliv- ery vehicles. However, until they are residing in a plane or missile, they are considered invulnerable to attack (buried inside of mountains), and cannot be used by any potential conqueror (they don't know the fail-safe codes). You decide whether the warhead will air-burst or ground-burst at the time you arm it. If you'd like to change air-burst/ground-burst later on, just arm the plane/missile again (in this case, the second argument will be ignored). You can see whether a nuke will air- or ground-burst using the "plane" command. SEE ALSO disarm, plane, build, transport, launch, Damage, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/army0100664000000000000000000000277710055155442014411 0ustar rootroot Command : ARMY NAME army - Designate members of an "army" Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : army The army command is used to specify the army groupings of your units. [##:##] Command : army In the syntax is the alphabetic character to be used as the army desig- nation. This character can be chosen from the set of upper or lower case a-z and tilde (~). The pseudo-army specification tilde specifies all units not currently in any army. The specification of units, , can have one of several syntaxes: example meaning ------- ------- 23 unit 23 2/14/23 units 2, 14, and 23 c all units currently in army `c' ~ all units currently in the "null" army 2,3 all units in sector 2,3 -1:3,0:2 all units in the square area bounded by -1,0 & 3,2 All armies, (with the exception of the `~' army), are limited to some maximum size and you will be informed how many units can be added when this command is run. Having units organized into armies can be very helpful in loading, moving, etc., in that fewer commands are required to perform these commands on groups of units if they can be specified by army number. Note that you can remove units from a army by adding them to the `~' army. e.g. [##:##] Command : army ~ A This command would purge all units from army `A'. SEE ALSO load, lookout, navigate, radar, land, unload, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/assault0100664000000000000000000000705510055155443015110 0ustar rootroot Command : ASSAULT NAME assault - Attack coastal sector from ship Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : assault [ ] The assault command allows your marines to "hit the beaches". It is also the only way to get ashore other than by unloading at a harbor, thus it is the first step to gaining land on a new continent. Any ship with military can assault a sector containing 0 mil, however only a landing ship can assault a sector with military in it with its full complement of troops. The other ships will only be able to land a fraction of their troops in any given assault (usually 1/10th). This represents the use of the Admiral's gig, the Captain's barge, etc. Note that some ships will have the semi-lander flag, which allows them to land 25% of their troops. If you have land units with the 'assault' ability aboard the ship assaulting, you will be asked if you wish them to join in the assault as well. Assaulting land units go to negative mobility when assaulting. (by an amount equal to the mobility gain per update) Marine units go to 0 mobility instead. If assaulting from a ship with the landing ability, a normal unit pays only mob equal to 1 update's worth of mobility. A marine unit pays 1/2 that amount. (Example: in a game where land units gain 32 mobility per update, a non-marine unit would pay 32 mobility to assault from a landing ship. A marine unit would pay only 16 mobility) NOTE This mobility loss for units happens whether or not you own the sector being assaulted. If you wish to land troops without suffering this penalty, make/capture a harbor! If you have ship #28 bearing 10 military at 31,53 it can assault land at any of the adjacent sectors, (32,52; 33,53; 32,54; 30,54; 29,53; or 30,52). For example: [##:##] Command : assault 32,54 28 This command asks to assault sector 32,54 from ship #28. If you assault with 9 troops and assuming the sector has no military, and since there were 10 troops on the ship to begin with, 90% of the food will be taken along by the assaulting troops, (and each one that makes it will contribute his or her 10% to the conquered sector). A minimum of 1 food will be left on the ship. Land units will not take any food from the ship, and will only have the food they are carrying. You will be asked for any information which was not included on the command line, (sector to be assaulted, which ship is doing the assaulting, number of brave troops to disembark, land units to use). The offensive value of assaulting units is cut in half to represent the diffi- culty of getting to shore, except for "marine" units which assault at full strength. Units may not retreat from an assault, and will take extra casualties instead if they fail a morale check. Other than these factors, assault is the same as normal land combat, with forts/units/ships/planes firing on both sides to support, etc. Support argu- ments are also as in attacking. See info "Attack" for the exact procedure. The sector being assaulted will have exactly the same reaction to being conquered as if it were attacked by land. You may assault your own sectors. In this case, the assaulting mil are added to the mil in the sector, and assaulting land units simply come ashore. You may also use assault to sneak spies on land. To do this, you must assault with spies only, and they will try and sneak on land. See "info Spies" for more information. SEE ALSO Spies, Attack, LandUnits, Ships, Combat empire-info-text-4.2.15/attack0100664000000000000000000000052310055155443014674 0ustar rootroot Command : ATTACK NAME attack - Sector vs. sector combat Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : attack [ ] The attack command is used to attack a sector from neighboring sectors. For more details, see "info Attack". SEE ALSO Attack, Combat, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/bdes0100664000000000000000000000306410055155443014345 0ustar rootroot Command : BDES NAME bdes - Manually change your bmap Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bdes A bmap gives you a graphic representation of all or part of your country. Bdes allows you to change a sector of your bmap. Bmap differs from map in that it reflects everything you've learned about the world. If, for example, you navigate near a sector and find out that it is as sea, it will show up on your bmap as sea, even if it doesn't show up on your map. When you get new information, it will overwrite the designation you put in with bdes, UNLESS you put in an 'x' or an 'X'. These two characters, 'x' and 'X' are permanent, unless you manually change them with bdes. Once you change them back, the sector will be updated normally by nav, march, etc. (The nor- mal use for these is to record minefields, so that you can march adjacent to the minefield without eliminating the information) Unlike normal designation, with bdes, you may use any character. If you wish to use a space, surround it with double quotes: bdes # " " You can't bdesignate something to a ? Conditionals do not work with bdes (i.e. bdes # ?des=c C) unless you own the sector. Note that the bdes command only changes your 'working' bmap and not your 'true' bmap. If you make a mistake and bdes a bunch of sectors where you didn't want them to be, you can always start over by typing [##:##] Command : bmap revert which will revert your 'working' bmap back to your 'true' bmap. SEE ALSO bmap, sharebmap, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/bestpath0100664000000000000000000000116710055155443015244 0ustar rootroot Command : BESTPATH NAME bestpath - Show the best path from one sector to another Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bestpath The bestpath command shows you the best path from any sector to any sector. You must own both sectors. The path shown by bestpath is the cheapest owned existing path in terms of mobility. Note that if you give these commands areas, they will show you more paths. For example, [##:##] Command : bestpath #1 #2 will show the best paths from all sectors in realm 1 to all the sectors in realm 2. SEE ALSO distribute, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/bmap0100664000000000000000000000747310055155443014357 0ustar rootroot Command : BMAP NAME bmap - Big map of all your worldly knowledge Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bmap [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lbmap [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : pbmap [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sbmap [ | ] A bmap gives you a graphic representation of all or part of your country. Bmap differs from map in that it reflects everything you've learned about the world. If, for example, you navigate near a sector and find out that it is sea, it will show up on your bmap as sea, even if it doesn't show up on your map. Note that bmap shows the "LAST KNOWN INFORMATION" you have about a sector. It may change, and your bmap will not reflect it. For example, if you re-desig- nate a sector, it won't show up on your bmap as the new sector type until you do a map. Commands contributing to bmap include (but are not limited to): map, nav, fly, bomb, recon, para, drop, lookout, coastwatch, radar. (probably others) Note that any sector marked as 'X' on your bmap will automatically be avoided by ships when they are trying to calculate the best path between two points. Whenever you detect a sea mine in a sector, the server will automatically put an 'X' on your bmap. You can call up a local bmap while navigating or marching by typing 'B' at the prompt. Examples: [##:##] Command : bmap -9:18,-8:5 generates a 28 x 14 bmap based on data supplied by the sectors in the area specified. ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 -8 . . . - - -8 -7 . . . . - ^ -7 -6 . . . . - - - - -6 -5 . . - . a a - ^ ? ? - -5 -4 . . . . k o ! - ^ ? ? ? -4 -3 . - . a h j a ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ - -3 -2 . . - . a a a ^ a a - - - -2 -1 . . . a a a b + + ^ ^ - -1 0 . . . m c u a a - ^ - ^ 0 1 . - . a a . a a - - ^ 1 2 - ^ ^ a a a ^ a - - ^ 2 3 - - - - - - - . . - 3 4 ^ - - - - - ^ - - 4 5 - ^ - - ^ - - - 5 ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 [##:##] Command : bmap # >mapfil where your "realm" (or '#', see "info realm" or "info update") is -5:5,-6:6 will type out a 11 by 13 sector bmap and also put the bmap in the file called "mapfil". You can also give the number of a ship, and bmap will give you a small bmap centered on the location of that ship, provided you own it. If you use lmap, the number of a land unit will give you a map around that land unit. The pmap command does the same for planes. BMAP FLAGS If you specify an 's' flag, bmap will put your ships on the map. If you spec- ify an 'l' flag, bmap will put your land units on the map. If you specify an 'p' flag, bmap will put your planes on the map. A '*' will put all on the map, in this order: land units, ships, planes. To highlight sectors you own, specify the 'h' flag. You actually have two bmaps. One which is created by the server; this one is called your 'true' bmap. You can view your true bmap at any time using the SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bmap true command. However, usually when you view your bmap, you are looking at your 'working' bmap. The only difference between your working bmap and your true bmap is that your working bmap also contains designations put on there by you using the 'bdes' command, and by your friends using the "sharebmap" command. If somehow your bmap gets corrupted, you can revert your working bmap back to your true bmap using the command: SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bmap revert SEE ALSO bdes, map, navigate, fly, bomb, recon, paradrop, drop, lookout, coastwatch, radar, sharebmap, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/board0100664000000000000000000000404010055155444014513 0ustar rootroot Command : BOARD NAME board - Board enemy ship Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : board [] [ | ] The board command enables two ships' crews to engage in hand-to-hand combat. To board ship #16 from ship #93 you might type: [##:##] Command : board 16 The program will ask from which ship or sector you wish to board, (you may only board from one ship at a time), how many troops to board with, and which land units (having "assault" capability) to board with. In order to be able to board a ship from a ship, your ship must be as fast or faster than the defending ship. If you can't catch him, you can't board him! The attacking ship will use, based upon its speed, an amount of mobility to overtake and board the target ship. If the attacking ship has no mobility, it cannot catch anybody! Ships' speed depends upon the speed of the ship, the technology of the owner, and the current efficiency of the ship. A 50% dam- aged ship moves one-half the speed it does when undamaged. In order to board a ship from a sector, the ship must be in the sector, and either the sector must have mobility or it must contain some land units with the "assault" capability. Some things to note: The defense strength is multiplied by 1 + def/100 where def is the defense strength of the ship (see show ship stats). Other ships belonging to the victim will fire on you when you try to board, (if you're within range). Any land units in the combat will fight as if they were simply mil, i.e. they won't get any offensive of defensive multiplier, except for "marine" units which get their full bonus. Similarly, units on ships don't have to take morale checks, as they are fighting as mil. Mil on the victim ship will still die before units take casualties, however. Note that you can only board with as many mil and land units that the ship you are trying to board can hold. See info "Attack" for the exact procedure. SEE ALSO Attack, LandUnits, Ships, Combat empire-info-text-4.2.15/bomb0100664000000000000000000001300510055155444014344 0ustar rootroot Command : BOMB NAME bomb - Dispose of inconvenient enemy assets with air power. Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bomb mission-type route|desti- nation The "bomb" command is used to rain destruction upon helpless enemy ships, planes, and sectors. It represents a complete mission for one or more bombers and escorts taking off from one place and returning to base at the end of the mission. represents a list of planes which can carry bombs. Only planes which have a bomb bay, belong in a sector which is stocked with gas and shells, and have sufficient mobility will be successfully selected for the mission. represent a list of fighter planes which are capable of escorting the bombers all the way to the target. To be selected, escorts must have fuel and mobility. Mission-type must be one of "pinpoint" or "strategic". Each mission has dif- ferent objectives for the planes performing it. Pinpoint missions allow bombers to attack ships, sector efficiency, commodities in sectors, and planes on the ground in the target sector. Strategic missions damage all commodities in the entire target sector, while not damaging any ships or planes resident (similar to the ship and sector "fire" missions). If a plane is armed with a nuclear warhead, then it will drop the bomb rather than using conventional weapons. Nuclear devices damage everything in the sector; planes, ships, and commodities. Only missiles in hardened silos can avoid damage from a nuclear mission. represents an assembly point, where all of the planes in the mission meet before proceeding on to the target sector. The assembly point must be owned by you, and must not be more than four sectors away from any of the planes selected for the mission. Route is a normal empire path specification. You may also give a destination sector on the command line, or at any time while giving the route, and empire will use the best path from the current sector to the desired destination sec- tor. When getting a path interactively, empire will show you a small map (from your bmap) concerning the current area, to help you plot your course. Light bombers (with the tactical capability) are used primarily for pinpoint bombing. They perform as well as fighters do for strategic bombing. Heavy bombers (with the bomber capability), while they can perform pinpoint bombing, are notoriously inaccurate and in general miss what they are aiming at. They are used mainly for strategic bombing. During the course of a mission, your planes may fly over someone else's land. If you fly over land owned by another country, and this country is either hos- tile or in any war state (see info relation) with you, fighter planes from the enemy country will scramble and attempt to intercept your force. If the coun- try is simply neutral, he will be notified that his radar tracked your planes as they flew over his country. If the country is allied, then nothing will occur. If you manage to fight though the enemy fighters and arrive at the target sec- tor, your force must still contend with any flak guns which your enemy has stationed there. What's more, any enemy ship in the target sector will also shoot at each of your bombers before any attacks are performed. Any enemy land units with the 'flak' ability will also fire at all your planes at this time. A well-equipped fleet of battleships in a heavily-defended harbor can be very risky to attack, even though hitting ships in harbor is like shooting fish in a barrel. When bombing ships/planes/units, entering a '~' character will cause a partic- ular plane not to bomb. Other planes on the mission will still be asked for their targets. If your plane has anti-submarine (asw) capabilities, you will be told when you arrive in a sector whether it has submarines in it. If you then choose to pin- bomb ships, each plane in turn will attempt to find submarines (this ability varies with the plane's accuracy rating). Each plane can only bomb the subs it can find. (It is assumed that planes on anti-sub missions split up to cover the area) Planes have differing air-to-air combat abilities, differing ranges, and load- carrying capacities. Some airplanes don't need runways, but can operate out of any sector which has fuel in it. ASW capable planes may attempt to fly pin-bombing missions versus submarines. To do this, the plane gives a target sector, and flies there. If there are any subs in the sector, a message will be printed saying that. If the plane then attempts to bomb ships, it may get the chance to bomb subs in the sector. The chance to detect a sub is the same as the chance of hitting it. If the plane does not detect a particular sub, it may not bomb it on that mis- sion. On other missions, it could roll again. Trying to pinpoint bomb land units is similar to trying to bomb a sub. The chance to find the unit to bomb it is based on the unit's visibility & the type of the sector it is in. When you pin-bomb a land unit, it will fire flak at the plane bombing it, unless it is an 'flak' unit (in which case it fired earlier), or it has an AA fire rating of 0. In the case of pinpoint bombing, see "info Hitchance" for the formula deter- mining whether a plane hits its target. Note that a plane must be at least 40% efficient before it can leave the ground. SEE ALSO Plane-types, build, fly, paradrop, drop, recon, relations, Mobility, Dam- age, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/break0100664000000000000000000000100410055155444014505 0ustar rootroot Command : BREAK NAME break - Break sanctuary and begin to play Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : break In Empire your sectors are initially sanctuaries. While in sanctuary your people don't eat, work or reproduce. They also can't be attacked. Break removes the sanctuary protection from your country and forces your peo- ple to work for a living. You can't do any country development commands until you break out of sanctuary. SEE ALSO Sector-types, Nation empire-info-text-4.2.15/budget0100664000000000000000000001051510055155444014702 0ustar rootroot Command : BUDGET NAME budget - Look at a national balance sheet & set priorities Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : budget [ ] budget with no arguments produces: [##:##] Command : budget Sector Type Abbr Production Priority Cost park p 850 happy 7650 defense plant d 115 guns 3600 shell industry i 679 shells 2097 technical center t 66 tech 27000 research lab r 7 medical 900 library/school l 1616 edu 14544 refinery % 388 petrol 425 enlistment center e 930 mil 2790 Unit building L 6 units 358 Unit maintenance A 85 units 28992 Ship building S 2 ships 480 Ship maintenance M 25 ships 6327 Plane building P 9 planes 2508 Plane maintenance N 219 planes 8874 Sector building 2398 Military payroll 7648 mil, 338 res 38247 City maintenance 5 cities 300 Total expenses....................................................147490 Income from taxes 320709 civs, 100235 uws +92513 Income from bars 7986 bars +95832 Total income.....................................................+188345 Balance forward 41617 Estimated delta +40855 Estimated new treasury.............................................82472 Budget with an argument sets the priority of the given sector type (or L for unit building, or A for unit maintenance, or P for plane building, or S for ship building, or M for ship maintenance, or N for plane maintenance, or C to clear all) Priorities are a positive number, or 0, or ~. By default, budget lists only items which cost something. Non-producing items will be listed if they are given a priority. Update order: Please see info "Update-sequence" for more details on the order things happen in during the update.. Turning sectors off Sector designations (or ship or plane building) with a 0 priority will not produce, build efficiency, or gain avail. If a sector of a type with 0 priority has been re-designated, the sector will be torn down and rebuilt as usual (and may produce as well, depending on the amount of work available, as normal) If a sector of a type with a non-zero priority has been re-designated to a type with a 0 priority, the sector will be torn down to 0%, and the designa- tion changed, but no further work will be done. For other ways to control sector production, see the "start" and "stop" com- mands. Costs for each sector type include costs for building efficiency in sectors of that type. (This is true even if the sector will change to a different type as a result of that work. For example, costs for libraries will include all costs for work done in library sectors, even if one of the sectors is being turned into an agribusiness) Estimated Delta The estimated delta may not be correct, due to events during updates. (star- vation, plague, sector revolts, etc). Budget takes into account avail in headquarters, harbors and airports, and will only show you how much you'll pay for work that will actually get done in cases where your headquarters/airports/harbors will not have enough avail to work on all units/planes/ships. If a cost is in [brackets], then that means that you will not pay it because you will not have enough money. If a cost is in (parenthesises), then that means that you will not pay it because you have chosen not to pay that cost (i.e. you have set the priority of that item to 0). SEE ALSO show, Sector-types, Nation, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/build0100664000000000000000000001514110055155444014527 0ustar rootroot Command : BUILD NAME build - Build ships, planes, land units, nuclear weapons or bridges Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : build [ship|plane|land|nuke] TYPE [NUMBER] [TECH] [SURE?] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : build [bridge|tower] DIRECTION The build command lets you build ships, planes, land units and nukes in your harbors, airfields, headquarters and nuclear plants. It is also used to build bridges. To build stuff, you generally need available work, raw materials (e.g. light and heavy construction materials, oil, radioactive materials), cash, and tech- nology, depending on the thing being built. A sector's available work is work not used up by the update (building effi- ciency, working on things, etc). It is shown in the output of the "census" command in the 'avail' column. If you give multiple sectors, the build command applies to each of them. Except for bridges, you use the TYPE argument to order what to build. Choices depend on your tech level; check out the "show" command to find out more. You can order a number of things to be built by giving the optional NUMBER argu- ment. If you ask to build more than 20, the build command will ask for con- firmation. The optional argument SURE? lets you suppress that. Normally, build builds stuff at your current tech level. The optional argu- ment TECH lets you build at a lower tech level. HARBORS & BUILDING SHIPS Ships are built in harbor sectors. 20% of the materials listed by "show" must be available at the time of building. Ships first appear at 20% efficiency (less efficient ships sink instantly). Then, each update, the ship will grow in efficiency, and use up more of the required materials until it reaches 100%. For example: [##:##] Command : build s 6,2 frg 2 frg frigate (#13) built in sector 8,0 frg frigate (#14) built in sector 8,0 That just cost you $240.00 In addition to the avail in the harbor sector, ships are also worked on by their crews. Only military crew can work on a military ship (one that can fire guns). Civilian ships can employ both civilian and military crew. So, for maximum efficiency growth, put full crews on your newly built ships and leave them in harbor until they reach 100%. The work required to add a point of efficiency to a ship is (20 + (lcm_to_build + 2 * hcm_to_build))/100 Ships at sea have only their crews to make repairs. A small crew on a large ship may not be able to make any repairs at all. (Moral: keep your ships fully crewed in anticipation of future damage.) Repairs at sea do not use any lcms or hcms, but may not push the efficiency of a ship over 80%. AIRFIELD SECTORS & BUILDING PLANES Planes are built in airfields. 10% of the materials listed by "show" must be available at the time of building. Planes first appear at 10% efficiency. Then, each update, the plane will gain efficiency and use up more of the required materials until it reaches 100%. A plane is not capable of leaving the ground until it has reached 40% efficiency. Planes below 10% efficiency are destroyed. The work required to add a point of efficiency to a plane is (20 + (lcm_to_build + 2 * hcm_to_build))/100 Planes will also gain efficiency in non-airport sectors, but at only 1/3rd the normal rate. Planes on carriers will also gain efficiency. The amount of work available is based on the carrier's crew, and the rate is the same as a non-airport sector. Repairs at sea do not use any materials, but may not push the efficiency of a plane over 80%. HEADQUARTERS SECTORS & BUILDING LAND UNITS Land units are built in headquarters sectors. In order to build a land unit, you must have 10% of the items listed by "show" available at the time of building. The land unit will appear at 10% efficiency (a unit of less than 10% efficiency is dead). Then, each update, the unit will grow in efficiency, and use up more of the required goods until it reaches 100%. The work required to add a point of efficiency to a land unit is (20 + (lcm_to_build + 2 * hcm_to_build))/100 Land units can also gain efficiency in fortress sectors, but cannot be built there. Land units can gain efficiency in any other sector type (assuming the correct goods are available), but at 1/3rd the normal rate. NUCLEAR PLANT SECTORS & BUILDING NUKES Nuclear devices are built in nuclear plants. All of the materials listed by "show" must be available at the time of building. New nukes appear fully operational. Note: If the DRNUKE option is enabled, you will need a certain amount of research to make nukes. At the present time, it is 1/3 the amount of tech needed to make the nuke. See the "show" command, which lists this if applica- ble. BUILDING BRIDGES A bridge is built in a sea sector by an adjacent sector. If option EASY_BRIDGES is disabled, only bridge head sectors can build bridge spans. Otherwise, any (coastal) sector can build bridge spans, but the new bridge span must be adjacent to a land sector or a bridge tower. If option BRIDGETOWERS is enabled, bridge spans can build bridge towers. Bridge towers are possible only in open water, i.e. not adjacent to land. In any case, the building sector must be at least 60% efficient. To find out the required amounts of materials, avail, capital and technology, use commands "show bridge build" and "show tower build". If you type [##:##] Command : build b 1,3 and 1,3 has enough hcm (heavy construction materials), the workforce in the sector is large enough (as defined above), you have enough money, and your technology level is high enough, then the program will respond: Bridge head at 1,3 + k o a . . . build span in what direction? n If everything is correct, you get: Bridge span built over 2,4 Of course, you may also build bridges all in one line as in: [##:##] Command : build b 1,3 n A sector that has a bridge built in it is automatically cleared of mines at the time of building. Bridges are built at 20%. If the efficiency drops below 20% (due to bombing, shelling, etc.) the bridge falls. A bridge also falls if all its supporting sectors are reduced below 20%. A sector is a supporting sector if it is of a type that can build bridges. Bridge heads and bridge towers are. With option EASY_BRIDGES, all land sectors are as well. When a bridge falls, all mines in the sector are cleared. Ships can navigate under bridge spans that are at least 60% efficient. SEE ALSO Unit-types, Ship-types, Plane-types, Nuke-types, Bridges, show, upgrade, Maintenance, Ships, Planes, LandUnits, Sectors empire-info-text-4.2.15/buy0100664000000000000000000000275610055155445014240 0ustar rootroot Command : BUY NAME buy - Purchase commodities from the world market Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : buy The buy command allows nations to purchase commodities on the open market. Not all commodities can be traded -- notably civilians and military. It is based on a bidding system, and after the bidding time has passed, the transactions are executed, and the highest bidder gets the goods (maybe.) If there are no bidders once the time passes, the goods stay on the market and the first bidder will get them. Typical output looks like: [##:##] Command : buy food Empire Market Report Wed Mar 13 14:26:26 1996 lot high bid by time left owner item amount sector --- -------- -- --------- ----- ---- ------ ------ 0 $ 10.00 1 0.00 hrs ( 1) f 10 1 $ 1.00 1 0.00 hrs ( 1) f 10 Looks just like Christmas at K-mart, doesn't it! Which lot are you bidding on: 1 WARNING! This market issues credit. If you make more bids than your treasury can cover at the time of sale, you can potentially go into financial ruin, and see no gains. You have been warned. How much per unit: 2 destination sector : 3,1 Your bid is being considered. In addition, the "destination sector" must be a warehouse or harbor, and must be greater than 60% efficient to receive commodities. SEE ALSO reset, sell, market, Market empire-info-text-4.2.15/bye0100664000000000000000000000070610055155445014211 0ustar rootroot Command : BYE NAME bye - Log out of Empire Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bye The bye command is how you go "bye-bye" to log out of the game. This command costs zero BTUs. You can use it often. If, for some obscure reason, you would like to end an Empire session but pre- fer not to use the "bye" command you may achieve the same result by typing the EOT character, (control-D). SEE ALSO Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/capital0100664000000000000000000000316010055155445015044 0ustar rootroot Command : CAPITAL NAME capital - Change the location of your capital Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : capital This command changes the location of your nation's capital. The new sector must be of type "capital" or "mountain", and must be owned by you. Your capi- tal produces BTUs. See "info BTU" for the exact rate of BTU production. This command does not change your coordinate origin (where 0,0 is located), so if you prefer your coordinates centered on your nation's capital, you must use the origin command. For example: [##:##] Command : capit -10,-4 Your capital is now at -10,-4. [##:##] Command : orig -10,-4 Designation of new origin requires revision of sector numbers. Origin at -10,-4 (old system) is now at 0,0 (new system). If the unthinkable should come to pass, and an enemy captures your capital, bad things happen. Some happen once, immediately: 1) You will lose half your cash, or $3K, whichever is more. 2) Your enemy will gain half your cash times (1/5 + 4/5 * sector efficiency) Re-taking a previously taken capital has no further effect. Once a new capital has been declared with this command, you are again in peril of these two awful things. Some effects happen right away, and last until you use the "capital" command to create a new capital. The effects are: 3) You will not be able to use many commands (use the 'list of commands' command to see the pitiful few you may still use) 4) The rate at which you gain BTUs will dramatically decrease (see info BTU). SEE ALSO origin, designate, BTU, Nation empire-info-text-4.2.15/cargo0100664000000000000000000000415210055155445014524 0ustar rootroot Command : CARGO NAME cargo - List the commodities on board your ships Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : cargo [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lcargo [ | ] The cargo command lists the commodities on board your ships in readable for- mat. The lcargo command does the same for land units. The , , and arguments are provided in case you only wish to look at one ship/unit or one fleet/army or all ships/units within a given area. The report format contains the following fields: shp# the ship number, or lnd# the unit number, ship type the type of ship; "patrol boat", "submarine", etc, or unit type the type of unit; "war band", "engineer", etc, x,y the ship/unit's current location (relative to your capital), flt the fleet/army designation letter (set by "fleetadd/army" command), eff the ship/unit's efficiency, sh the number of shells on board, gun the number of guns on board pet the amount of petroleum on board irn the amount of iron on board dst the amount of gold dust on board bar the number of gold bars on board oil the amount of oil on board lcm the amount of light construction materials on board hcm the amount of heavy construction materials on board rad the amount of radioactive material on board For example: [##:##] Command : cargo K shp# ship type x,y flt eff sh gun pet irn dst bar oil lcm hcm rad 86 aircraft carrier -29,-51 K 100% 298 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 battleship -29,-51 K 100% 100 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 115 battleship -29,-51 K 100% 60 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 181 destroyer -27,-35 K 100% 40 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 182 destroyer -27,-35 K 100% 40 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 183 destroyer -27,-35 K 100% 40 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 ships SEE ALSO land, ship, build, march, navigate, load, lload, fleetadd, army, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/census0100664000000000000000000000563710055155445014742 0ustar rootroot Command : CENSUS NAME census - Report contents of sectors Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : census The census command displays specific information on some or all of the sectors you occupy. In the syntax of the census command is the area on which you wish information, (see "info Syntax"). A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : census 0:9,0:9 ?des=m which would list data for mines in an area to the south-east of the capital. A census lists each of your sectors in the specified area headed by: Tue Oct 10 22:24:49 1995 CENSUS del dst sect eff prd mob uf uf * civ mil uw food work avail ter coast These columns represent: sect the x and y coordinates of the sector eff the efficiency of the sector (affects all benefits of a designated sec- tor except mobility units) prd Will this sector be updated? If not, you will see an 'n'. This can be controlled with the "start" and "stop" commands. mob the number of mobility units, (see "move") uf Two delivery columns corresponding to: uncompensated workers and food. uf Two "distribute" columns corresponding to: uncompensated workers and food. * occupied enemy sector. civ the number of civilians mil the number of military troops uw the number of uncompensated workers food the amount of food work the percentage of civilians working in the sector (based on the local sector happiness). avail the quantity of workforce available for construction or maintenance of planes, ships, or nukes. ter This is a territory for the sector that you can specify using the "ter- ritory" command. coast Is this a coastal sector? Note that the "coastal flag" gets set for the sector only when you use the census command, so if you want to query your sectors depending on whether they're coastal, then you may need to do a census twice--the first time to set the coastal flags, and the second time to query them. For example: [##:##] Command : cens #0 Tue Jun 20 00:33:43 1989 CENSUS del dst sect eff prd mob uf uf * civ mil uw food work avail ter 2,-2 f 100% 8 .. .. 0 499 0 0 0% 64 -1,-1 f 100% 32 .. .. 629 0 0 970 43% 31 3 1,-1 n 100% n 31 .. 627 0 0 970 51% 30 3,-1 ) 100% 32 .. .. 0 0 0 0 0% 0 -2,0 h 100% 32 .. .. 629 0 0 970 100% 93 50 0,0 * 100% 114 .. .. 906 845 0 729 100% 173 50 2,0 c 100% 127 .. .. 154 100 124 71 100% 49 1,1 - 0% 32 .. .. 1 0 0 0 0% 0 8 sectors SEE ALSO improve, sinfrastructure, commodity, resource, level, territory, cutoff, map, start, stop, Sectors, Populace, Commodities empire-info-text-4.2.15/change0100664000000000000000000000162110055155445014654 0ustar rootroot Command : CHANGE NAME change - Change country name or representative's name Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : change [country | representative] Newname This simple command enables you to rename your country, or your representative name associated with your country. COUNTRY NAME [##:##] Command : change country Hodedo This will change the name of your country to "Hodedo". In order to change your name you must pay 10% of your cash on hand and 254 btus. These expenses reflect the trouble of changing all the national emblems, stationary, flags, etc. REPRESENTATIVE NAME [##:##] Command : change representative ho Your representative's name will now be "ho". Note that the new name you type WILL print out, (in case of a typing error). As a consequence you won't want to do this while your arch-enemy is watching. SEE ALSO nation, Nation empire-info-text-4.2.15/coastwatch0100664000000000000000000000176410055155445015577 0ustar rootroot Command : COASTWATCH NAME coastwatch - Check from sectors for nearby ships Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : coastwatch [] The coastwatch command allows coastal sectors to report sightings of ships. Visibility range is equal to four times the sector efficiency expressed as a decimal times the technology factor; e.g. a 100% efficient harbor with a 50% technology factor can see 2 sectors away. An exception is radar installa- tions, which have a maximum range equal to fourteen times the sector effi- ciency, (i.e. 3.5 times as far). A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : coast #3 ?type=) 3,-11 efficiency 100%, range 5.6 Pandora (#5) oil derrick #74 @3, -9 -1,4 efficiency 100%, range 5.6 -3,13 efficiency 100%, range 5.6 Galexis (#2) destroyer #35 @-3, 11 Note that subs will NOT show up on coastwatch, unless they are in a sector you own. SEE ALSO skywatch, lookout, Sector-types, radar, Ships, Detection empire-info-text-4.2.15/collect0100664000000000000000000000343010055155446015055 0ustar rootroot Command : COLLECT NAME collect - Foreclose an overdue loan Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : collect The collect command is the loan-shark's delight! Through the collect command overdue loans can be "cleared up". If you should find that you have a problem debtor who refuses to pay up on your kind loan you can always seize one or more of his/her sectors. Perhaps the mere threat of a collection on someone's capital may do the trick! To settle up accounts on overdue loan #9 you would type: [##:##] Command : collect 9 The program would then ask which sector you would like to claim as just and rightful compensation for the outstanding debt. What sector do you wish to confiscate? To which you reply with the coordinates of a sector owned by your debtor to which you are adjacent. Any adjacent sector includes any sector you have that borders the sector you wish to confiscate. The program then paws over the sector and assesses its value: That sector (and its contents) is valued at $2345.00 If the amount you are owed exceeds this amount the sector becomes yours! If the value of the sector is close enough to the amount you are owed the debt is considered to be repaid. Any che in the area are left alone. Thus, if the original owner takes the sector back over, the che would continue their battle against the original owner, not the new owner. In addition, ships, land units, planes and nuclear stockpiles are not col- lected. Those remain the property of the owner of the sector. Standing military in the sector are reduced to 1 and he becomes the latest and greatest addition to your standing army. Mobility of the collected sector remains unchanged. SEE ALSO consider, ledger, offer, shark, Loans empire-info-text-4.2.15/commodity0100664000000000000000000000642010055155446015436 0ustar rootroot Command : COMMODITY NAME commodity - Report commodities in sectors Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : commodity The commodity report provides information pertaining to the various commodi- ties in some or all of the sectors you occupy. In the syntax of the commodity command is the area on which you wish information, (see "info syntax"). A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : commodity -6:6,-3:3 which would list data for the area extending three sectors out from the capi- tal in each direction. The commodity report lists each of your sectors with the following heading: COMMODITIES deliver-- distribute sect sgpidbolhr sgpidbolhr sh gun pet iron dust bar oil lcm hcm rad These columns represent: sect the x and y coordinates of the sector sgpidbolhr Ten delivery columns corresponding to: shells, guns, petroleum (refined), iron, dust (gold), bars of gold, oil, light construc- tion materials, heavy construction materials, and radioactive materials. sgpidbolhr Ten distribute columns corresponding to: shells, guns, petroleum (refined), iron, dust (gold), bars of gold, oil, light construc- tion materials, heavy construction materials, and radioactive materials. sh the number of shells in storage gun the number of guns in storage pet the number of units of refined petroleum iron the number of units of iron ore dust the number of units of gold dust bar the number of gold bars oil the amount of crude oil lcm the number of units of light construction materials hcm the number of units of heavy construction materials rad the number of units of radioactive materials For example: [##:##] Command : commodity -3:3,-2:2 COMMODITIES deliver-- distribute sect sgpidbolhr sgpidbolhr sh gun pet iron dust bar oil lcm hcm rad 6,0 k .......... ...1....0. 0 0 0 100 0 0 0 0 1 0 -1,1 j .......... .......0.. 0 0 0 95 0 0 0 1 0 0 1,1 t .......... .......1.. 0 0 0 0 50 0 54 100 0 0 -3,3 g ....g..... .......... 0 0 0 0 43 0 0 0 0 0 -6,4 m ...j...... .......... 0 0 0 65 0 0 0 0 0 0 -4,4 m ...u...... ...0...... 0 0 0 144 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2,4 g .......... .......... 0 0 0 0 23 0 0 0 0 0 2,6 t .......... .......1.. 0 0 0 0 38 0 53 130 0 0 4,6 l .......... .......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 0 0 4,8 t .......... .......1.. 0 0 0 0 37 0 53 20 0 0 6,8 h .......... .......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 15 0 11 sectors. The direction of delivery is indicated by the same characters that are used in the "move", "navigate", and other commands to indicate direction. The pres- ence of a distribution threshold for a particular commodity is indicated by a digit in the appropriate column under "distribute", representing the hundreds digit of the threshold value. SEE ALSO census, Commodities, Sectors empire-info-text-4.2.15/consider0100664000000000000000000000267010055155446015243 0ustar rootroot Command : CONSIDER NAME consider - Accept, decline or postpone consideration of a loan or treaty Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : consider loan accept|decline|postpone SYNTAX [##:##] Command : consider treaty accept|decline|postpone This command allows you to consider accepting a loan or treaty offered by another country. The program will list the various terms of the loan or treaty under considera- tion and ask for your decision as to whether to accept the terms, decline them, or postpone making a decision. If you accept a loan, the money is immediately credited to your account and the time period of the loan starts. If at the time of your acceptance, the lender does not have sufficient funds the size of the loan will be diminished to fit the lender's cash on hand. If you accept a treaty, it goes into effect immediately but the time period of the treaty is calculated based on the offer date rather than the acceptance date. Loan offers are withdrawn if not accepted within a number of days equal to the proposed loan's duration. Treaty offers expire at the time the proposed treaty would expire. Warning: When the terms of a loan are printed out, take note of the due date; if you do not pay by the due date the interest will double and you will be subject to "collection", (see "info collect"). SEE ALSO collect, ledger, offer, treaty, Loans empire-info-text-4.2.15/convert0100664000000000000000000000331210055155446015107 0ustar rootroot Command : CONVERT NAME convert - Change conquered civilians into uncompensated workers Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : convert The convert command converts "enemy" (captured) populace into uncompensated workers. If the sector is not actually conquered, no civilians will be con- verted. If you convert all the civs in a sector, then the sector is no longer occupied (i.e. you become the "oldowner" of the sector). After the program has collected any necessary information it will list each sector where civilians are converted. Note: you must have enough military in the sectors to force the populace to become uncompensated workers -- about 10%. Land units count toward this at a value equal to the number of mil required to build them. Security units are even more efficient, counting for more than their base value, and increase the number converted. There must also be mobility in the sector to be converted (see "info Mobility" for the exact formula). [##:##] Command : conv -3:3,-1:2 10 Number to convert : 22 22 conquered populace converted in -1,-1 (30) 13 conquered populace converted in 1,-1 (13) 22 conquered populace converted in 3,-1 (30) 17 conquered populace converted in -2,0 (17) 22 conquered populace converted in 0,0 (36) 22 conquered populace converted in -1,1 (34) 22 conquered populace converted in 1,1 (34) 18 conquered populace converted in 0,2 (18) 22 conquered populace converted in 2,2 (45) Total new uw : 180 Note that there is a cost of 0.01 BTU's per civilian converted in addition to the registration fee of $1.5 per conversion. SEE ALSO Populace, Mobility, Occupation empire-info-text-4.2.15/country0100664000000000000000000000206510055155446015136 0ustar rootroot Command : COUNTRY NAME country - Find out information about deity countries Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : country The country command is temporarily out of order. Please use the 'players' command instead. The country command displays a list of the countries you specify, their numb, their last access time, their btu's, and their status. If you are "NOT" a deity, the country command will report on only deity coun- tries. (So that you can see if a deity is logged on) Deity countries get the full report. Note that "Now logged on" is often incorrect, and deities are recommended to use the new command "players" to list players currently logged on. [##:##] Command : country * Thu Jan 21 07:14:12 1993 # last access time status country name 0 Now logged on [512] DEITY The_Scum 1 Wed Jan 20 23:07 [512] Active Khazad'ur 2 Thu Jan 21 07:00 [511] Active Spectre SEE ALSO players, Communication, Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/cutoff0100664000000000000000000000632410055155447014724 0ustar rootroot Command : CUTOFF NAME cutoff - List delivery thresholds Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : cutoff The cutoff report provides information about the various delivery cutoff lev- els in some or all of the sectors that you occupy. In the syntax of the level command is the area on which you wish information, (see "info syntax"). A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : cutoff -6:6,-3:3 which would list data for the area extending three sectors out from the capi- tal in each direction. The cutoff report lists each of your sectors with the following heading: DELIVERY CUTOFF LEVELS sect ufsgpidbolhr uw food sh gun pet iron dust bar oil lcm hcm rad These columns represent: sect the x and y coordinates of the sector ufsgpidbolhr the twelve delivery direction columns correspond to the delivery direction for food, guns, petroleum (refined), iron ore, dust (gold), bars (dust), oil, lcm, and hcm. uw the delivery cutoff threshold for uncompensated workers in that sector food the delivery cutoff threshold for food in that sector gun the delivery cutoff threshold for guns in that sector sh the delivery cutoff threshold for shells in that sector pet the delivery cutoff threshold for petroleum in that sector iron the delivery cutoff threshold for iron ore in that sector dust the delivery cutoff threshold for gold dust in that sector bar the delivery cutoff threshold for gold bars in that sector oil the delivery cutoff threshold for oil in that sector lcm the delivery cutoff threshold for light construction materials in that sector hcm the delivery cutoff threshold for heavy construction materials in that sector rad the delivery cutoff threshold for radioactive materials in that sector For example: [##:##] Command : cutoff -3:3,-2:0 Wed Nov 12 00:15:51 1986 DELIVERY CUTOFF LEVELS sect ufsgpidbolhr uw food sh gun pet iron dust bar oil lcm hcm rad 0,0 c ............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -5,-3 a n........... 0 400 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -6,-2 k j........... 0 400 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -4,-2 + j........... 0 400 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2,-2 m ....n....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -5,-1 t ............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1,-1 w ....j....... 0 0 0 0 0 800 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,-1 m ....j...b... 0 0 0 0 0 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,-1 j .....j...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 104 0 0 0 0 0 5,-1 b ............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0,0 c y........... 0 200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,0 + g.......j... 0 200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 80 0 0 -5,1 l ........j... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 sectors SEE ALSO deliver, commodity, census, Distribution empire-info-text-4.2.15/declare0100664000000000000000000000453110055155447015033 0ustar rootroot Command : DECLARE NAME declare - Formally declare alliance, friendly, neutrality, hostile or war Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : declare The declare command allows you to officially declare your diplomatic relations with other countries. may be "alliance", "friendly", "neutrality", "hostile", or "war"; can be the name or number of a country you want to declare relations towards, or it can be * in which case you will declare towards all nations. For a complete list of the meanings of all the different types of relations, see "info relations". GOING TO WAR (Note: the following stuff is only in effect if the SLOW_WAR option is selected) With the SLOW_WAR option in use, you cannot attack the land of some- one you are not at war with. When you declare war on someone, your relation goes to "mobilizing". You still can't attack them. After the next update, your relation goes to "sitzkrieg", and you still can't attack them. After the NEXT update, you're at war with them, and anything goes. If someone is "mobilizing" or in "sitzkrieg", or at war with you, and you declare war against them, your relation is set to be the same as theirs, so there is no way to gain any advantage through this stuff. It just means that you can't sneak-attack people. The first person who declares war pays $1000. Return declarations are free. There is an exception to the SLOW_WAR restrictions. If you are listed as the old owner of a sector, you are still allowed to attack it. This is to prevent someone from declaring war with you, taking some sectors, then declaring neu- trality before you declare war. (Assuming you didn't notice their declaration of war) Also, if the SNEAK_ATTACK option is enabled, you make make one attack upon someone you're not at war with. You'll pay $5K for the privilege, however. Once the sneak attack is over (win or lose), war is automatically declare. (The normal $1K cost is waived in this case) The newspaper is very interested in declarations of war or alliance -- don't expect to keep such declarations secret. Deities can will be prompted for a third parameter, the country to make the declaration for. The default is to make it for the deity's country. SEE ALSO fly, nation, spy, relations, Diplomacy empire-info-text-4.2.15/deliver0100664000000000000000000000445210055155447015070 0ustar rootroot Command : DELIVER NAME deliver - Establish delivery routes for shells, ore, etc Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : deliver SYNTAX [##:##] Command : deliver + SYNTAX [##:##] Command : deliver SYNTAX [##:##] Command : deliver q An example of using deliver in addition to distribute is where you may have a mine which uses distribute to get its food from a warehouse, but uses deliver to export its iron to the adjacent hcm factory. Deliver may be used to extra-fine tune a distribution network. In fact, deliver can greatly improve the performance of a distribution network if used properly. If 'q' is specified rather than a threshold, then the delivery directions and thresholds will simply be listed. You can also use the "cutoff" command to list delivery thresholds. The number specifies how much of that commodity you would like to be kept in the sector. If you do not want to change the direction that a sector delivers to, then put a '+' before the number . Note that delivery thresholds are stored as multiples of 8. If you specify a threshold that is not a multiple of 8, it will be rounded down. The direction must be specified as one of the six direction characters, (usu- ally `y' `u' `j' `n' `b' or `g'), the "no-direction" character, (usually `h'). If no direction is specified, then the direction will not be changed for that sector. [##:##] Command : deli f 0,0 0 j Will deliver all food from 0,0 to 2,0. [##:##] Command : deli i * ?des=m +87 Will set iron delivery threshold to 80 in all mines. [##:##] Command : deli l * q Will list all lcm delivery specifications. (Sectors with no delivery thresh- old or direction will not be listed). The census and commodity reports will indicate deliveries by the same charac- ters used to specify them in this command. If, during an update, the destination sector is not owned by you, the message "delivery walkout between x,y & x,y" will be printed and nothing will be delivered. Delivery routes may also be mapped out with the "route" command. See "info Mobility" for an explanation of mobility costs. SEE ALSO cutoff, census, commodity, route, distribute, Distribution empire-info-text-4.2.15/demobilize0100664000000000000000000000370610055155447015562 0ustar rootroot Command : DEMOBILIZE NAME demobilize - Change military into civilians Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : demobilize The demob command returns soldiers from the military back to civilian life. In addition, you have the option of placing the returning GI's into the nation's active reserve. The active reserve provides a pool of available mil- itary for a small salary (usually the same amount generated by a civilian) and provides for quick mobilization of military during a threat to national secu- rity. If is a positive number, that many military will be demobilized in each sector, regardless of any military already there. If is a negative number, military beyond - will be demobi- lized in each sector. As a result of demobilization, and as a "thank you" for serving their country in its time of need, a "GI Bill" is given to each soldier to the tune of $5 each. Troops can only be demobilized in sectors which have greater than 60% effi- ciency, and only in "home sectors" (that is, not in occupied territory). When troops are successfully demobilized in a given sector, the number of new civilians is printed, and the number in parentheses shows the total number of military left in that sector. You have the option of placing civilians on active reserve. Civilians on active reserve can later be enlisted but you must pay them to stay on. Gener- ally civilian on active reserve costs one tenth of what a military costs. [##:##] Command : demob -2:0,0 1 New civilians on active reserve? (y/n) y 1 demobilized in -2,0 (19 mil left) 1 demobilized in 0,0 (9 mil left) Total new civilians : 2 Military reserve stands at 2 (up 2) [##:##] Command : demob -2:0,0 1 y 1 demobilized in -2,0 (18 mil left) 1 demobilized in 0,0 (8 mil left) Total new civilians : 2 Military reserve stands at 4 (up 2) SEE ALSO enlist, Populace empire-info-text-4.2.15/designate0100664000000000000000000000325710055155447015403 0ustar rootroot Command : DESIGNATE NAME designate - Specify sector utilization Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : designate In Empire all sectors have a "designation". The "designation" represents the principal industry or activity taking place in that area. When a sector is designated a harbor, for example, the civilians in the sector start building shipyards and docks, (with a little help from any military present). If the redesignated sector is already declared to be something else, and is efficient, then the workers will have to tear down the existing construction and then build the new sector. The workers dismantle existing sectors four times faster than they can build. As work progresses the efficiency will climb toward a maximum of 100%. If you don't specify the argument in the command line as in: [##:##] Command : designate 1:3,2:5 The program will ask for each sector specified what you want the new sector designation to be. However, if you wish to designate one or several sectors to be one particular thing and don't want to be asked on each one you can type something like: [##:##] Command : designate -6:6,-3:3 ?type=f + This will designate all fortresses that you own within three sectors of your capital to be highways. Note that you cannot re-designate bridge spans. Normally, each point of efficiency added costs you $1. Some sectors may cost more, and some may also require the expenditure of lcms and/or hcms from the sector. In addition, some sectors may cost money merely to designate. (see the "show" command and "info show" for details) SEE ALSO Sector-types, Sectors empire-info-text-4.2.15/disable0100664000000000000000000000044210055155447015034 0ustar rootroot Command : DISABLE NAME disable - Disable Updates Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : disable No updates will fire if you disable them. "UPDATES ARE DISABLED" will show up in the output of the "update" command. SEE ALSO update, enable, Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/disarm0100664000000000000000000000046710055155450014711 0ustar rootroot Command : DISARM NAME disarm - Remove a nuclear warhead from a plane or missile Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : disarm The "disarm" command removes nuclear warheads from delivery systems such as planes or missiles. SEE ALSO arm, transport, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/distribute0100664000000000000000000001012210055155450015575 0ustar rootroot Command : DISTRIBUTE NAME distribute - Establish distribution destination sector Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : distribute The distribute command is used to specify the way that goods will travel dur- ing an update. Each sector is allowed to have one and only one "distribution sector" (a warehouse or road, typically). Subsequent distribute commands will replace the existing distribution sector. For example, [##:##] Command : distribute 2,0 8,4 highway at 2,0 delivers to 8,4. Distribution sector? 7,-1 highway 2,0 new path distributes to 7,-1 (cost 0.200) Current best path is 'gguh' This command changed the distribution path for sector 2,0 from a warehouse at 8,4 to a warehouse at 7,-1. The cost is the mobility cost to move 1 normal- weight unit from the sector to the warehouse. DISTSECT is a normal empire sector specification. During the update, empire will determine the cheapest existing path to the distribution sector, and use that. (Note that the mobility cost for the path used during the update could be different than the cost reported to you when you use the distribute com- mand, if you have re-designated sectors, or sectors were captured, etc) Again, it will use the cheapest path available AT THE TIME OF THE UPDATE. You may also use '.' or 'h' to specify no distribution sector. [##:##] Command : dist 2,0 . Distribution to and from 2,0 halted. The command will warn you if there is no existing path completely owned by you, and also if the path does not end at a warehouse. It is not required that the distribution path end at a warehouse, but it is required that you own all the sectors that the goods will travel along. Distribution & the Update One of the last things that takes place during the update, after all growth, production, delivery, etc, distribution takes place. (The only thing that really happens after that is mobility increases) Each sector may have product thresholds and a distribution sector. A threshold is a target level for a par- ticular commodity, like food. So, if the food threshold for a sector is 100, it will try to maintain 100 food there. If it has more than 100 food, it will export it to its distribution point. If it has less than 100, it will try to import food from the distribution point to reach 100. During the distribution phase of the update, all sectors (going left to right, top to bottom) first export excess commodities, and then (again left to right, top to bottom) import needed commodities. In order to either send things to or get things from a distribution sector, you must own the distribution sector, and there must be a path of owned sec- tors to it. In order to export something from a sector, you must have military control of the sector. In order to import something from a distribution sec- tor, you must have military control of the distribution sector. (Military con- trol is defined as having mil in the sector equal to at least 1/10th the num- ber of unconverted civilians there. Units count as if they were straight mil, i.e. a 100% unit that contained 50 mil would count as 50 mil for the purposes of control) Mobility is used from the sector when sending "to" the distribution sector. When getting something "from" the distribution sector, mobility is paid by the distribution sector. See "info Mobility" for an explanation of mobility costs. Amount The amount is determined by the threshold, as explained above. Use the "threshold" command to specify what goods will flow to and from the warehouse. Finding sectors with not dist point set If you want to find sectors with no distribution point set, use the xdist and ydist selectors: [##:##] Command : level # ?xdist=xloc&ydist=yloc This finds all sectors that have themselves as a distribution point. Distributing civilians When distributing civilians, no distribution point will ship out its last civilian, regardless of thresholds set in sectors using it as a distribution point. SEE ALSO deliver, threshold, level, Distribution empire-info-text-4.2.15/drop0100664000000000000000000000361310055155450014372 0ustar rootroot Command : DROP NAME drop - Use planes to drop commodities in your own sectors Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : dropoff The "dropoff" command is used to resupply beleaguered friendly troops with food, shells, reinforcements, and other necessities of battle. represents a list of planes which are to travel to the target sector. Only planes which are provided with gas, and have sufficient mobility will be successfully selected for the mission. represent a list of fighter planes which are capable of escorting the transports all the way to the target. To be selected, escorts must have fuel and mobility. represents an assembly point, where all of the planes in the mission meet before proceeding on to the target sector. The assembly point must be owned by you, and must not be more than four sectors away from any of the planes selected for the mission. is the name of a commodity which is to be carried along on all of the planes which have a transport capacity. Route is a normal empire path specification. You may also give a destination sector on the command line, or at any time while giving the route, and empire will use the best path from the current sector to the desired destination sec- tor. When getting a path interactively, empire will show you the information you have (from your bmap) concerning the current area, to help you plot your course. Planes which arrive safely at the target sector will drop the goodies off to the waiting people below. Any plane with the "mine" ability can mine a sector by dropping shells in a sea sector. Note that a plane must be at least 40% efficient before it can leave the ground. SEE ALSO Plane-types, bomb, fly, paradrop, recon, Mobility, Planes, Commodities empire-info-text-4.2.15/dump0100664000000000000000000000461610055155450014377 0ustar rootroot Command : DUMP NAME dump - Dump raw sector information Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : dump [] The dump command displays all information on some or all of the sectors you occupy. dump is a combination of census, commodity, cutoff and level. Each sector's information is printed on one very long line. Fields are separated by a single space. If no fields are specified, all fields are printed. This command is designed to be used for input to an empire tool such as "ve". In the syntax of the dump command is the area on which you wish infor- mation, [] are the fields you wish to dump. If no fields are speci- fied, all fields are printed. (see "info Syntax"). A dump command lists all selected sectors headed by: Sun Feb 9 22:16:37 1997 DUMP SECTOR 855544597 The first line is the date. The second line is the "DUMP SECTOR " where the field is the current timestamp. The third line is the columns which are output. The following may be used as fields. They must be entered EXACTLY as shown here (no partial pattern matching is done.) des sdes eff mob * off min gold fert ocontent uran work avail terr civ mil uw food shell gun pet iron dust bar oil lcm hcm rad u_del f_del s_del g_del p_del i_del b_del o_del l_del h_del r_del u_cut f_cut s_cut g_cut p_cut i_cut d_cut b_cut o_cut l_cut h_cut r_cut dist_x dist_y c_dist m_dist u_dist f_dist s_dist g_dist p_dist i_dist d_dist b_dist o_dist l_dist h_dist r_dist road rail defense fallout coast c_del m_del c_cut m_cut terr1 terr2 terr3 A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : dump #5 which would list data for all sectors in realm #5. A dump lists each of your sectors in the specified area. The header line is a list of fields that correspond to the order that dump prints the sector info. SEE ALSO census, commodity, cutoff, level, Clients, Sectors empire-info-text-4.2.15/echo0100664000000000000000000000112610055155450014341 0ustar rootroot Command : ECHO NAME echo - Echo a string back to the client Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : echo [] The echo command echos its first argument. It is designed to help clients synchronize their commands with the server when operating asynchronously. Note that if there are any spaces in your string, then you will need to include the string in quotes. For example: [##:##] Command : echo SN#123456 SN#123456 [##:##] Command : echo hi mom hi [##:##] Command : echo "hi mom" hi mom SEE ALSO toggle, Communication empire-info-text-4.2.15/edit0100664000000000000000000000150110055155450014345 0ustar rootroot Command : EDIT NAME edit - Change stats of country, ship, land unit, or plane Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : edit [ ]... The "edit" command allows deities to edit properties of a country, sector (confusingly called here), land unit, ship, plane or nuke. If you don't specify any pair, "edit" enters interactive mode. Editable properties are shown together with their keys and values. Enter a key character and a value to change a property. Hit return to finish the com- mand. You can also specify one or more pairs as command arguments. In this case, "edit" just sets the properties, and does not enter interactive mode. SEE ALSO setsector, setresource, give, Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/enable0100664000000000000000000000036110055155451014652 0ustar rootroot Command : ENABLE NAME enable - Enable updates Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : enable If updates have been disabled, then this will enable them again. SEE ALSO update, enable, force, Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/enlist0100664000000000000000000000373510055155451014732 0ustar rootroot Command : ENLIST NAME enlist - Turn civilians into military Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : enlist The enlist command converts civilians into military in the sectors specified. Military "created" by the enlist command are actually reserves called up from your country's military reserve. If your country has no military reserves (created by "demobilize") then no civilians will be converted and no military will be generated. After the program has collected any necessary information, it will list each sector where civilians answer the call and the number who showed up followed by the total number of military resulting (in parentheses). If is a positive number that many draftees will be sought in each sector regardless of any military already in the sector. If is a negative number of the form -xxxxxx, then an enlistment quota is established and the draft board will attempt to enlist enough in each sector to bring the total number of military up to xxxxxx in each sector. Although the program tries to draft the specified number of civilians in each sector only one-half of the civilians in a sector can be called upon at any one time. Civilians in conquered sectors (the conquered populace) will not serve in your armed forces. [##:##] Command : enl -3:3,-1:2 10 Number to enlist (max 397) : 22 22 enlisted in -1,-1 (30) 13 enlisted in 1,-1 (13) 22 enlisted in 3,-1 (30) 17 enlisted in -2,0 (17) 22 enlisted in 0,0 (36) 22 enlisted in -1,1 (34) 22 enlisted in 1,1 (34) 18 enlisted in 0,2 (18) 22 enlisted in 2,2 (45) Total new enlistment : 180 Paperwork at recruiting stations ... 3.6 Note that there is a cost of 0.02 BTU's per draftee in addition to the basic cost of the command and enlistees use up some mobility in the enlistment pro- cess (see "info Mobility" for the exact formula). SEE ALSO demobilize, Mobility, Populace empire-info-text-4.2.15/execute0100664000000000000000000000045510055155451015072 0ustar rootroot Command : EXECUTE NAME execute - Execute a batch file Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : execute This command reads Empire commands from and executes them. Note: Not all clients support the execute protocol. SEE ALSO Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/explore0100664000000000000000000000563510055155451015113 0ustar rootroot Command : EXPLORE NAME explore - Claim unowned land Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : explore The explore command takes over part of the functionality of move. Explore is used to stake your claim to unowned sectors. Only civilians and military can be used to explore. can be any one of: c civilians m military If is not provided in the command line, the program will request the starting sector then display the resources of that sector and a map of the adjoining sectors. The prompt consists of the number of mobility units in that sector, its designation, and its coordinates in the form: <97.0: a -6,4> which indicates 97 mobility units in agribusiness sector -6,4. You may respond with any combination of: y for up-left u for up-right y u g for left \ / j for right g -- -- j b for down-left / \ n for down-right b n v for view m for map h for end of movement The "view" command shows the sector efficiency and some of the contents of the sector you are currently occupying. Since the can be specified in the command line, simple movements are often typed as a single line, such as: [##:##] Command : explore m 2,0 20 jjjh Or some movements may be done partly on the command line and partly interac- tively: [##:##] Command : explore c 2,0 1 gg - ^ min gold fert oil uran - - + 67 0 0 0 82 - ^ <125.4: - -4,0> v 0% wilderness with 0 civilians. - ^ min gold fert oil uran - - + 67 0 0 0 82 - ^ <125.4: - -4,0> h Sector -4,0 is now yours. You may also simply specify the destination sector on the command line. In this case, empire will set the path to be the cheapest path (in terms of mobility) from the current sector to the destination sector, if such a path exists. However, the best path cannot extend out of your owned sectors, so the best use for this feature is to use it to get to the edge of your owned terri- tory, and then explore manually from there. For example, [##:##] Command : explore 2,0 1 -2,0 ^ - min gold fert oil uran - + c 67 0 0 0 82 ^ - <126.2: - -2,0> g - ^ min gold fert oil uran - - + 67 0 0 0 82 - ^ <125.4: - -4,0> h Sector -4,0 is now yours. See 'info Mobility' for a description of how much mobility it costs to explore into sectors. Note that while exploring, you might hit mines. The more civs or mil you explore with, the greater the chance of setting off any mines in the sectors you move through. See info lmine for details. SEE ALSO move, test, navigate, transport, lmine, Populace, Sectors empire-info-text-4.2.15/financial0100664000000000000000000000204710055155451015353 0ustar rootroot Command : FINANCIAL NAME financial - Show all the outstanding loans in the world Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : financial The financial report shows all of the outstanding loans in the world, so that the loan sharks can better calculate the ability of a prospective client to pay. It does not show loan offers pending, however, just those loans which have been accepted. If a loan is past due (i.e. the loanee has defaulted on the loan) the "(in arreras)" is printed after the line of that loan. Loans in default may be "sharked" up and collected upon. [##:##] Command : financial -= Empire Financial Status Report =- Mon Oct 6 11:12:30 1986 Loan From To Rate Dur Paid Total 6 ( 2) Domino ( 3) Oz 0% 10 0 5000 8 ( 4) Zyf (14) Id 0% 30 0 2000 (in arreras) 11 ( 2) Hodedo ( 3) Oz 13% 15 18000 25000 SEE ALSO offer, ledger, shark, Loans empire-info-text-4.2.15/fire0100664000000000000000000001410610055155451014353 0ustar rootroot Command : FIRE NAME fire - Fire artillery from sector/ship/unit on sector/ship Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : fire [sect | ship | land] [ | | ] [ | ] When the multi-fire option is enabled, the syntax of the fire command changes. It is still used to shoot up land sectors or ships. However, you may now use multiple ships, units, sectors to fire from. Return fire is spread amongst all the firing things. If the SLOW_WAR option is in use, you cannot fire on the land of any nation you are not at war with. (see info relations) The general form for shooting at land from a sector is: [##:##] Command : fire sect Where is the victim sector, (the sector AT which you are shooting, not the sector FROM which you are shooting). ASECTS is a sector or sectors. The general form for shooting at land from ships is: [##:##] Command : fire ship The general form for shooting at land from units is: [##:##] Command : fire land The general form for firing at ships from land is: [##:##] Command : fire sect Again, is the victim ship number. The general form for firing at ships from ships is: [##:##] Command : fire ship The general form for firing at ships from units is: [##:##] Command : fire land If not specified on the command line the program will ask for the sector(s), land unit(s), or ship(s) FROM which you are firing, (, , or ). It will also prompt you for targets for each sector/unit/ship fir- ing, if you did not specify the target on the command line. The only sector that may fire is a fortress, which must be at least 5% effi- cient, have at least five military for a firing crew, at least one shell to fire, and a gun big enough to reach the victim location; range is equal to (7 * ((tech+50)/(tech+200)). If the fortress is at least 60% efficient, it gets a +1 range bonus. A fortress firing uses 1 shell. Note that forts cannot fire if the NO_FORT_FIRE option is enabled. See info "Options" for more info. Any military ship may fire as long as it has at least one crew (which must be military, not civilians), at least one gun, at least one shell (or shells within supply range), and has at least 60% efficiency. A ship's gun range is its firing range, as shown by the show command, divided by two, times ((tech+50)/(tech+200). A ship uses one shell per two guns firing. Any land unit may fire as long as it has at least one military, at least one shell (or shells within supply range), and has at least 40% efficiency. A land unit's gun range is its firing range, as shown by the show command, divided by two, times ((50+tech)/(200+tech)). A land unit uses the amount of ammo, as shown by the lstat command, each time it fires. A unit with less shells than its ammo requirement will do proportionately less damage. (See "show" for firing ranges) Forts, land units, and non-depth-charge-equipped ships cannot hit submarines on the high seas. The only way to fire on a submarine is to have a depth-charge-equipped ship drop a depth charge on it, costing two shells. (Note you can also hit subs using ASW planes or subs which have sub- torp capability.) The program then prints a satisfying "Kaboom!!!" and, assuming you were in range, inflicts damage. Ships lose mobility points equal to 1/2 the cost they would pay to move 1 sec- tor for each shot fired. (If the NOMOBCOST option is in use, ships pay no mobility for firing.) The damages inflicted vary with efficiency of the attacker, the size of the guns (battleship guns are four times as big as patrol boat guns), the number of guns fired (7 being the useful max for forts), and the armor of the victim. Land sectors take damage depending on their defensive strength. Use the com- mand 'show sector stats' to show defensive strengths. The higher the defen- sive strength, the less damage the sector will take. An illustrative example of shelling land: [##:##] Command : fir sect 36,18 34,18 Kaboom!!! 13% damage done to sector 34,18 Meanwhile, the owner of sector 34,18 might be logged on and would perhaps see the following: [15:98] Command: cen 34,18 Sat Jul 30 16:18:01 1984 CENSUS del cnt sect eff mob cmf cmf % * civ mil food min gmin fert oil 34,18 i 100% 127 ... ... 200 100 23 23 31 73 18 1 sector You have a telegram waiting ... [15:98] Command: read BULLETIN! dated Sat Jul 30 16:18:02 1984 Country #9 shelled 34,18 Shall I burn it? y [15:98] Command: cen 34,18 Sat Jul 30 16:18:26 1984 CENSUS del cnt sect eff mob cmf cmf % * civ mil food min gmin fert oil 34,18 i 87% 110 ... ... 175 83 20 23 31 73 18 1 sector Note that the shell did about 13% damage in the sector. The player could have typed: [##:##] Command : fir sect #0 ?des=f 34,18 In that case, ALL forts in realm 0 would have fired on sector 34,18. If the sector fired on is a fort with guns and shells it will fire back with approximately the same damages (assuming it has the range). Also, any friendly forts, units, or ships within range of the attacker will return fire, including those belonging to allies, if the allies are at war with the attacker as well. If a ship fired on has guns and shells it will fire back AND any other ships, units, or forts of the same nationality that are in range will also fire on you. All return fire is split evenly over all attacking sectors/units/ships, and is adjust by the ratio of defending things to attacking things. As a change from the original fire command, with multi-fire enabled, you will not return fire on yourself. IMPORTANT NOTE: Gun ranges, both on offense AND defense, are somewhat random. If you have a range of 4.16, you can always shoot to 4, and have a 16% chance of being able to fire at range 5... SEE ALSO attack, assault, torpedo, Technology, relations, Damage, Combat, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/flash0100664000000000000000000000247210055155452014527 0ustar rootroot Command : FLASH NAME flash - Send a message directly to a friend's terminal Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : flash [] The argument is either the number or name of the recipient nation. flash allows instant communication between friendly nations. flash has two different syntaxes. You can either send your friend a one line message as in: [##:##] Command : flash Foobots Hi there, I'm back from lunch Or you can send a multi-line message: [##:##] Command : flash Foobots > Hi there. > I ate Fodderland for lunch. > . Note that you can end a multi-line flash with either a '.' (period) on a line all by itself, or by hitting ^D on a line by itself. Note also that all mes- sages are truncated to 60 characters long! If you do not wish to receive any flash messages from your friends, then you can temporarily turn the feature off by typing "toggle flash". Note that if the person you are flashing is allied to you, you will be informed if they are not logged in or not accepting flashes when you attempt to flash them. This only works when *they* are allied with you, since you would normally see them logged in or not using "players" SEE ALSO toggle, wall, declare, players, telegram, Communication empire-info-text-4.2.15/fleetadd0100664000000000000000000000303310055155452015174 0ustar rootroot Command : FLEETADD NAME fleetadd - Designate members of a "fleet" Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : fleetadd The fleetadd command is used to specify the fleet groupings of your ships. [##:##] Command : fleetadd In the syntax is the alphabetic character to be used as the fleet des- ignation. This character can be chosen from the set of upper or lower case a- z and tilde (~). The pseudo-fleet specification tilde specifies all ships not currently in any fleet. The specification of ships, , can have one of several syntaxes: example meaning ------- ------- 23 ship 23 2/14/23 ships 2, 14, and 23 c all ships currently in fleet `c' ~ all ships currently in the "null" fleet 2,3 all ships in sector 2,3 -1:3,0:2 all ships in the square area bounded by -1,0 & 3,2 All fleets, (with the exception of the `~' fleet), are limited to some maximum size and you will be informed how many ships can be added when this command is run. Having ships organized into fleets can be very helpful in loading, moving, etc., in that fewer commands are required to perform these commands on groups of ships if they can be specified by fleet number. Note that you can remove ships from a fleet by adding them to the `~' fleet. e.g. [##:##] Command : fleetadd ~ A This command would purge all ships from fleet `A'. SEE ALSO load, lookout, navigate, radar, ship, unload, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/fly0100664000000000000000000000372610055155452014227 0ustar rootroot Command : FLY NAME fly - Fly planes from sector/ship to sector/ship and bomb or snoop Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : fly The "fly" command is used to move planes and commodities from the starting sector(s), and ending up in the target sector. represents a list of planes which are to travel to the target sector. Only planes which are provided with gas, and have sufficient mobility will be successfully selected for the mission. represent a list of fighter planes which are capable of escorting the transports all the way to the target. To be selected, escorts must have fuel and mobility. represents an assembly point, where all of the planes in the mission meet before proceeding on to the target sector. The assembly point must be owned by you, and must not be more than four sectors away from any of the planes selected for the mission. is the name of a commodity which is to be carried along on all of the planes which have a transport capacity. If nothing is specified, then nothing will be carried. Route is a normal empire path specification. You may also give a destination sector on the command line, or at any time while giving the route, and empire will use the best path from the current sector to the desired destination sec- tor. When getting a path interactively, empire will show you the information you have (from your bmap) concerning the current area, to help you plot your course. If the transports stray over enemy territory, then they will be intercepted and shot at just like any other mission. If the destination sector is not an airport, then all planes in the mission must have VTOL capability. Note that a plane must be at least 40% efficient before it can leave the ground. SEE ALSO Plane-types, bomb, paradrop, drop, recon, Mobility, Planes, Moving empire-info-text-4.2.15/follow0100664000000000000000000000176210055155452014735 0ustar rootroot Command : FOLLOW NAME follow - Cause one ship to automatically follow another Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : follow You use the "follow" command to get a ship to use the same sailing path as another ship. At each update, ships with a sailing path "autonavigate" along the path that was set for them, and ships that are set to follow that ship will also be navigated along the same path. Telegrams notify you of arrivals or problems encountered while attempting to follow the path. Radar operates continuously as the ship moves along the path, constantly adding sector information to the known world map. Ship movement is performed before mobility is increased. This insures that after the update, ships with a sailing path will still have some mobility so that you can always manually navigate to some extent. You may follow any ship which is owned by you or a friendly country. SEE ALSO sail, unsail, mquota, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/force0100664000000000000000000000034210055155452014522 0ustar rootroot Command : FORCE NAME force - Force an update Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : force Force an update in seconds. SEE ALSO enable, disable, shutdown, Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/fortify0100664000000000000000000000335510055155452015115 0ustar rootroot Command : FORTIFY NAME fortify - Fortify a land unit Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : fortify The "fortify" command is used to make units dig in and make themselves harder to damage. The maximum amount of fortification is the same as the maximum amount of mobility a unit can have. (The version command will print this info). Each point of mobility used increases the fortification value by one. If is a positive number, at most that much mobility will be used. If is a negative number, at least - will be left in each unit. A fully fortified unit is twice as hard to hurt as it normally would be, and is twice as strong on the defense. Units fortifying in a sector containing an engineering unit are better at it: they get 50% more fortification per mobility. If a unit moves or retreats, it loses all fortification value. A unit that reacts to defend a sector, on the other hand, does NOT lose its fortification unless it is forced to retreat. It receives the fortification bonus in combat, and is still fortified when it returns to its original sector after the bat- tle. Note that fortification will not help a unit fight Guerrillas in an occupied sector (see info Guerrilla). Also note that fortifying a unit does not affect it's mission status. Units with maximum mobility automatically use further mobility gains to for- tify. For example, when a unit with 120 of 127 mobility gains 60 mobility, its mobility increases to the maximum 127, and it uses 53 mobility to fortify. Units requiring fuel (if option FUEL is enabled), do not fortify automati- cally, as this would burn fuel. SEE ALSO bomb, Unit-types, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/fuel0100664000000000000000000000373710055155453014373 0ustar rootroot Command : FUEL NAME fuel - Give fuel to a ship/unit Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : fuel [] The fuel command carries out the fueling of ships and units. The ship(s) must be in a harbor and the harbor must be at least 2% efficient. Land units may be in any sector. Alternatively, you can fuel at sea using an oiler, which is any ship with the oiler ability. (Note: if you are in a harbor, you can't fuel from an oiler, you must use the harbor) Ships and units can be fueled by either petrol or oil, with petrol being used first. 1 unit of petrol = 5 fuel units. 1 unit of oil = 50 fuel units. Each ship or unit, in turn, will attempt to take on the specified amount of fuel. Petrol/oil will be used for each ship or unit, the amount being rounded up individually. For example, if you have a harbor with 50 fuel in it, and you tell a ship with a 50 fuel capacity to load 50 fuel, it'll use 1 oil. If you tell it to load *1* fuel 50 times, it'll use *50* oil, with the round-up mak- ing it use 1 oil each time. The solution, of course, is to not load fuel in tiny, wasteful amounts. Each update, ships and units use fuel to make mobility points. To produce 10 mobility points requires the number of units of fuel listed for the ship or unit in the capability list. (see info show) (This number is usually 1, but may be more). If the number is a 0, the unit does not use fuel. If the ship or unit has no fuel, it will attempt to get fuel using the supply procedure (see info supply). It will try to use first petrol, then oil, until it has enough fuel to get full mobility. If it can't get fuel by using the supply system, it won't get mobility. See "show" for a table of the maximum amounts of fuel that can be carried on each type of unit or ship. You can fuel friendly ships, but must fuel them one at a time, by number. SEE ALSO Ship-types, Unit-types, Ships, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/give0100664000000000000000000000031510055155453014357 0ustar rootroot Command : GIVE NAME give - Give(take) Commodities Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : give SEE ALSO setsector, setresource, edit, Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/grind0100664000000000000000000000071010055155453014527 0ustar rootroot Command : GRIND NAME grind - Grind bars back into dust Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : grind The "grind" command converts gold bars back into dust. This costs 1 BTU plus 5 "available work units" per bar and can be done in any sector which is at least 60% efficient. Due to inefficiencies in the conversion process, only 80% of the dust can be recovered. SEE ALSO Commodities empire-info-text-4.2.15/harden0100664000000000000000000000124610055155453014672 0ustar rootroot Command : HARDEN NAME harden - Place missiles into protective silos Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : harden The "harden" command is used to install missiles into protective silos which can prevent their destruction during a nuclear or non-nuclear attack. Each successive "harden" command will add to the current hardness level of the mis- sile in question. Each point of hardening uses one unit of heavy construction materials, and costs $5. Once a missile has been placed in a silo (hardened to a level greater than 0) it can no longer be moved. SEE ALSO launch, Nuke-types, Plane-types, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/headlines0100664000000000000000000000135610055155453015367 0ustar rootroot Command : HEADLINES NAME headlines - Summarize the weeks events (part of "news") Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : headlines [days] The headlines command lets you read just the important, subjective, summary part of the news without boring you with the confusing details. If you include a number in the command, it will print headlines based on the news from that many previous days. The headline "Relative Calm Prevails" appears whenever the reporters haven't been able to dig up any interesting tidbits to give the news analysts. The headlines are produced by the editorial staff of the Empire News who are solely responsible for their lack of content. SEE ALSO newspaper, Communication empire-info-text-4.2.15/help0100664000000000000000000000271110055155453014357 0ustar rootroot Command : HELP NAME help - Provide information on various topics Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : info [] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : help [] The Empire info pages are organized by subject. To get a list of subjects, type: [##:##] Command : info or [##:##] Command : help You can then type: [##:##] Command : info Subject to get a list of Empire commands and info topics which are related to the Sub- ject that you chose. Note that Subjects always start with a capital letter (this is to distinguish them from commands which are always lowercase). To get info on the syntax of an Empire command, type: [##:##] Command : info command where "command" is the command you're interested in. Note that info about Empire command syntax is always specified lower-case. To get info about some Empire topic, type: [##:##] Command : info Topic Where Topic is the name of some Empire topic that you're interested in. Every Empire command and topic belongs to at least one subject, and in some cases more than one. [##:##] Command : info all This will list all info pages. Warning: this list is long! As of this writing, some clients shanghai the help command to provide help on their own command line extensions, but fail to integrate server help. If the help command doesn't work for you, try the info command instead. SEE ALSO Bugs, Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/hidden0100664000000000000000000000030010055155454014653 0ustar rootroot Command : HIDDEN NAME hidden - Display some deity-only statistics for sectors Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : hidden SEE ALSO Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/improve0100664000000000000000000000147010055155454015112 0ustar rootroot Command : IMPROVE NAME improve - Improve the infrastructure of a sector Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : improve The improve command allows you to improve the efficiency of the infrastructure of your sectors. The infrastructure of your sectors affects how well they defend, and how easy it is for you to move various commodities/vehicles (land units) thorough them. To improve a sector, you need (most likely) lcms, hcms, mobility and money. See "info show" for the various costs. Whenever you tear down a sector, the infrastructure is left in tact. The only way that infrastructure goes down is when the sector takes damage. SEE ALSO sinfrastructure, census, commodity, resource, Sectors, Infrastructure, Mobility, Commodities empire-info-text-4.2.15/info0100664000000000000000000000271110055155454014363 0ustar rootroot Command : INFO NAME info - Provide information on various topics Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : info [] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : help [] The Empire info pages are organized by subject. To get a list of subjects, type: [##:##] Command : info or [##:##] Command : help You can then type: [##:##] Command : info Subject to get a list of Empire commands and info topics which are related to the Sub- ject that you chose. Note that Subjects always start with a capital letter (this is to distinguish them from commands which are always lowercase). To get info on the syntax of an Empire command, type: [##:##] Command : info command where "command" is the command you're interested in. Note that info about Empire command syntax is always specified lower-case. To get info about some Empire topic, type: [##:##] Command : info Topic Where Topic is the name of some Empire topic that you're interested in. Every Empire command and topic belongs to at least one subject, and in some cases more than one. [##:##] Command : info all This will list all info pages. Warning: this list is long! As of this writing, some clients shanghai the help command to provide help on their own command line extensions, but fail to integrate server help. If the help command doesn't work for you, try the info command instead. SEE ALSO Bugs, Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/land0100664000000000000000000000363610055155454014355 0ustar rootroot Command : LAND NAME land - Report status of unit, army or units in a given area Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : land [ | ] The unit report command is a census of your units and lists all the info available in readable format. The and arguments are provided in case you only wish to look at one unit or one army or all units within a given area. Land expects an argument. To see every unit you own, give it the argument '*', i.e. type "land *". The report format contains the following fields: # the unit number unit type the type of unit; "war band", "engineer", etc, x,y the unit's current location (relative to your capital), a the army designation letter (set by "army" command), eff the unit's efficiency, mil the number of mil currently in the land unit frt the unit's fortification level (0-127) mu the mobility of the unit fd the amount of food on board fuel the amount of fuel on board (if the FUEL option is enabled) tch the tech level of the unit retr the retreat percentage of the unit (see info attack) rd the unit's reaction radius (see info attack) xl the number of extra-light planes on board (if the XLIGHT option is enabled) ln the number of land units on board l/s the ship or land unit the unit is on, if any For example: [##:##] Command : land * # unit type x,y a eff mil frt mu fd fl tch retr rd xl ln l/s 0 cav cavalry 1,-1 100% 10 0 127 12 0 992 75% 3 0 0 1 cav cavalry 0,0 100% 0 0 127 12 0 968 75% 3 0 0 2 cav cavalry 0,0 100% 10 0 127 12 0 40 75% 3 0 0 3 units SEE ALSO lstat, upgrade, build, cargo, army, march, attack, assault, lload, llook- out, scrap, lmine, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/launch0100664000000000000000000001316610055155454014710 0ustar rootroot Command : LAUNCH NAME launch - Launch missiles or satellites Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : launch The launch command is used to launch missiles (or satellites) from sectors or submarines owned by you. There are 5 classes of missiles: 1. "marine" missiles may only be fired at ships. They may be given "interdiction" mission. When interdicting ships, "marine" missiles will keep launching until the entire enemy fleet is sunk. 2. "tactical" missiles (without "marine" capability) may only be fired against sectors. They may be given missions. If they fire on a mission, then only enough missiles will fire to cause 100 damage. 3. "intercept" missiles can not be launched. They automatically intercept planes. You can increase their reaction radius by giving them an "air" defense mission. 4. "a-sat" missiles will automatically attempt to intercept AT_WAR satellites which are launched into orbit within range. 5. "abm" (anti-ballistic-missiles) will automatically attempt to intercept incoming "tactical" (non-"marine") missiles. As well, there are "satellites" which are like missiles in that they can be launched, but unlike missiles in that they don't get destroyed as soon as they are launched. In certain cases, a missile will require petrol or shells to be in the sector before it can be launched. See 'show plane stats' to find out how much fuel the missile requires. The 'load' value in 'show plane stats' specifies how many shells the missile requires. Note that if the missile is armed with a nucelar warhead, then it does not require any shells. Once a satellite has been launched, it can not be moved again. Note here that it is much safer to use 100% missiles than those which are less efficient, and missiles below 60% cannot be launched. The formula for the chance that a missile hits its target is in "info Hitchance". Of course, things don't always go as planned! Note that when you are first asked for the target sector you can chicken out by hitting ^C (or your favorite abort character). In the case of non-marine tactical missiles, if there are any HOSTILE abm's within range of the target sector, then two of them will fire in an attempt to intercept the incoming missile. Similarly, two AT_WAR a-sat's will attempt to intercept any satellites you attempt to launch within their range. Also, if the sector you are launching your satellite at is owned by a non-allied country, then they will get a tele- gram informing them of the positioning of the satellite. See below for details of a satellite's orbit path. When launching missiles, there is a % chance equal to (5 + 100 - efficiency) * (1 - techfactor) that the missile will blow up on the launching pad instead of launching. If that happens, then there is a further 33% chance that the war- head it is carrying (whether it be conventional or nuclear) will detonate. (Note that nuclear warheads will only detonate in this way if the option NUKE- FAILDETONATE is enabled). A nuclear warhead exploding on the launch pad will do the normal amount of damage, but a conventional missile will only do half damage to the sector or ship it is being launched from. Missiles launched from submarines are anonymous. The victim is not notified of the identity of the launching country. Missiles on interdiction mission have the same chance of hitting and do the same damage as if they were launched by hand. Also, any nuclear armed mis- siles will detonate if they launch on an interdiction mission. You specify whether the nuclear warhead will airburst or groundburst when you arm the mis- siles (see info arm). In order to better destroy missiles on the ground (or in their silos), the ground-burst technique is used. Ground-bursts are much less effective against large area targets, but do massive damage to the sector it impacts, possibly knocking out hardened missiles before they can be used against you. In the parlance of nuclear targeting doctrine, this is known as "counter-force" targeting. Air-bursts are used in order to kill large numbers of civilians, to knock out industry (by flattening the factories), to take out lightly armored military targets in a large area, and to generally wreak havoc. Nuclear strategists call this a "counter-value" technique. See Also "On Thermonuclear War" by Herman Kahn. If the ORBIT option is enabled, then when you launch a satellite, you will be asked "Geostationary orbit?". If you answer "y", then your satellite will stay where you launch it. If, however, you answer "n", then your satellite will orbit the planet. When a satellite is "orbiting", it moves along 5% of a geodesic path every update. The path the satellite follows looks like this: +----+ | / | |/ | | /| | / | | / | |/ | | /| | / | +----+ That is, start in the middle, move northeast until you hit the edge, then con- tinue from the west edge near the top and go northeast until you go off the top of the map, then continue at the bottom going northeast until you go off the eastern edge again, and continue from the western edge near the bottom until you get back to the centre. That is the path of satellites which are _not_ in geostationary orbit (geo-stationary means stay in the same spot over the planet). If a foreign satellite moves over your territory durring an update, then you will get a message like "Fodderland satellite spotted over 12,24" as a part of your update BULLETIN. SEE ALSO build, plane, satellite, Nuke-types, relations, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/lbmap0100664000000000000000000000763110055155454014531 0ustar rootroot Command : LBMAP NAME lbmap - Big map of all your worldly knowledge around a land unit Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bmap [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lbmap [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : pbmap [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sbmap [ | ] A bmap gives you a graphic representation of all or part of your country. Bmap differs from map in that it reflects everything you've learned about the world. If, for example, you navigate near a sector and find out that it is sea, it will show up on your bmap as sea, even if it doesn't show up on your map. Note that bmap shows the "LAST KNOWN INFORMATION" you have about a sector. It may change, and your bmap will not reflect it. For example, if you re-desig- nate a sector, it won't show up on your bmap as the new sector type until you do a map. Commands contributing to bmap include (but are not limited to): map, nav, fly, bomb, recon, para, drop, lookout, coastwatch, radar. (probably others) You can also get an lbmap by typing 'B' at the march prompt. Note that any sector marked as 'X' on your bmap will automatically be avoided by ships when they are trying to calculate the best path between two points. Whenever you detect a sea mine in a sector, the server will automatically put an 'X' on your bmap. You can call up a local bmap while navigating or marching by typing 'B' at the prompt. Examples: [##:##] Command : bmap -9:18,-8:5 generates a 28 x 14 bmap based on data supplied by the sectors in the area specified. ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 -8 . . . - - -8 -7 . . . . - ^ -7 -6 . . . . - - - - -6 -5 . . - . a a - ^ ? ? - -5 -4 . . . . k o ! - ^ ? ? ? -4 -3 . - . a h j a ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ - -3 -2 . . - . a a a ^ a a - - - -2 -1 . . . a a a b + + ^ ^ - -1 0 . . . m c u a a - ^ - ^ 0 1 . - . a a . a a - - ^ 1 2 - ^ ^ a a a ^ a - - ^ 2 3 - - - - - - - . . - 3 4 ^ - - - - - ^ - - 4 5 - ^ - - ^ - - - 5 ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 [##:##] Command : bmap # >mapfil where your "realm" (or '#', see "info realm" or "info update") is -5:5,-6:6 will type out a 11 by 13 sector bmap and also put the bmap in the file called "mapfil". You can also give the number of a ship, and bmap will give you a small bmap centered on the location of that ship, provided you own it. If you use lmap, the number of a land unit will give you a map around that land unit. The pmap command does the same for planes. BMAP FLAGS If you specify an 's' flag, bmap will put your ships on the map. If you spec- ify an 'l' flag, bmap will put your land units on the map. If you specify an 'p' flag, bmap will put your planes on the map. A '*' will put all on the map, in this order: land units, ships, planes. To highlight sectors you own, specify the 'h' flag. You actually have two bmaps. One which is created by the server; this one is called your 'true' bmap. You can view your true bmap at any time using the SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bmap true command. However, usually when you view your bmap, you are looking at your 'working' bmap. The only difference between your working bmap and your true bmap is that your working bmap also contains designations put on there by you using the 'bdes' command, and by your friends using the "sharebmap" command. If somehow your bmap gets corrupted, you can revert your working bmap back to your true bmap using the command: SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bmap revert SEE ALSO bdes, map, navigate, fly, bomb, recon, paradrop, drop, lookout, coastwatch, radar, sharebmap, LandUnits, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/lboard0100664000000000000000000000217210055155455014675 0ustar rootroot Command : LBOARD NAME lboard - Board enemy land unit Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lboard [] [] The lboard command enables the owner of a sector to engage in hand-to-hand combat with a land unit in that sector. To board unit #5 from sector 1,-1 you might type: [##:##] Command : lboard 5 The program will ask from which sector you wish to board and how many troops to board with. In order to board a land unit from a sector, the land unit must be in the sec- tor, and the sector must have mobility. Some things to note: Any land units in the combat will fight as if they were simply mil, i.e. they won't get any offensive of defensive multiplier, except for "marine" units which get their full bonus. Similarly, units on land units don't have to take morale checks, as they are fighting as mil. Mil on the victim unit will still die before units take casualties, however. Note that you can only board with as many mil that the unit you are trying to board can hold. See info "Attack" for the exact procedure. SEE ALSO Attack, LandUnits, Combat empire-info-text-4.2.15/lcargo0100664000000000000000000000416010055155455014700 0ustar rootroot Command : LCARGO NAME lcargo - List the commodities on board your units Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : cargo [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lcargo [ | ] The cargo command lists the commodities on board your ships in readable for- mat. The lcargo command does the same for land units. The , , and arguments are provided in case you only wish to look at one ship/unit or one fleet/army or all ships/units within a given area. The report format contains the following fields: shp# the ship number, or lnd# the unit number, ship type the type of ship; "patrol boat", "submarine", etc, or unit type the type of unit; "war band", "engineer", etc, x,y the ship/unit's current location (relative to your capital), flt the fleet/army designation letter (set by "fleetadd/army" command), eff the ship/unit's efficiency, sh the number of shells on board, gun the number of guns on board pet the amount of petroleum on board irn the amount of iron on board dst the amount of gold dust on board bar the number of gold bars on board oil the amount of oil on board lcm the amount of light construction materials on board hcm the amount of heavy construction materials on board rad the amount of radioactive material on board For example: [##:##] Command : cargo K shp# ship type x,y flt eff sh gun pet irn dst bar oil lcm hcm rad 86 aircraft carrier -29,-51 K 100% 298 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 battleship -29,-51 K 100% 100 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 115 battleship -29,-51 K 100% 60 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 181 destroyer -27,-35 K 100% 40 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 182 destroyer -27,-35 K 100% 40 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 183 destroyer -27,-35 K 100% 40 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 ships SEE ALSO land, ship, build, march, navigate, load, lload, fleetadd, army, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/ldump0100664000000000000000000000552510055155455014560 0ustar rootroot Command : LDUMP NAME ldump - Dump raw land unit information Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : ldump [] The ldump command displays all information on some or all of your land units. ldump is a combination of land, lcargo, and lstat. Each ship's information is printed on one very long line. Fields are separated by a single space. This command is designed to be used for input to an empire tool such as "ve". In the syntax of the ldump command are the land units on which you wish information, [] are the fields you wish to dump. If no fields are specified, all fields are printed. (see "info Syntax"). An ldump command lists all selected land units headed by: Sun Feb 9 22:16:37 1997 DUMP LAND UNITS 855544597 The first line is the date. The second line is the "DUMP LAND UNITS " where the field is the current timestamp. The third line is the columns which are output. These columns represent the following fields which are also the selection cri- teria for the command. The following may be used as fields. They must be entered EXACTLY as shown here (no partial pattern matching is done.) type type of land unit x x location y y location army army eff efficiency mil # of mil loaded fort fortification level mob mobility food # of food loaded fuel # of fuel loaded tech technology of unit retr retreat %age of unit react current reaction radius xl # of x-light planes loaded onto unit nland # of land units loaded onto unit land land unit # this unit is loaded on ship ship # this unit is loaded on shell # of shells loaded gun # of guns loaded petrol # of petrol loaded iron # of iron loaded dust # of dust loaded bar # of bars loaded oil # of oil loaded lcm # of lcms loaded hcm # of hcms loaded rad # of rads loaded att attack value of unit def defense value of unit vul vulnerability of unit spd speed of unit vis visibility of unit spy spy ability of unit radius maximum reaction radius frg firing range of unit acc accuracy of unit dam damage unit does when firing amm amount of ammo used when firing aaf anti-aircraft fire provided A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : ldump #5 which would list data for all land units in realm #5. A ldump lists each of your land units in the specified area. The header line is a list of fields that correspond to the order that ldump prints the land unit info. SEE ALSO land, lcargo, lstat, Clients, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/ledger0100664000000000000000000000150710055155455014675 0ustar rootroot Command : LEDGER NAME ledger - Report on outstanding loans Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : ledger The ledger command prints the information on all outstanding loans in which you are involved. The loan number, lender's name, loanee's name, principal, interest rate, expi- ration date, amount due, etc. will be printed for each loan. For example: [##:##] Command : ledger ... Groonland Ledger ... Loan #0 from Groonland to Dog Dish Amount paid to date $0 Amount due (if paid now) $5046 (if paid on due date) $5250 Due date is Thu Mar 19 16:44:35 1981 Loan #1 from Doctor Fate to Groonland (proposed) principal=$3000 interest rate=10% duration(days)=30 Loan must be accepted by Tue Feb 17 16:43:27 1981 SEE ALSO consider, financial, offer, Loans empire-info-text-4.2.15/level0100664000000000000000000000443710055155455014547 0ustar rootroot Command : LEVEL NAME level - List distribution thresholds Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : level The level report provides information about the various distribution thresh- olds in some or all of the sectors that you occupy. In the syntax of the level command is the area on which you wish information, (see "info syntax"). A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : level -6:6,-3:3 which would list data for the area extending three sectors out from the capi- tal in each direction. The level report lists each of your sectors with the following heading: DISTRIBUTION LEVELS sect dst civ mil uw food sh gun pet iron dust bar oil lcm hcm rad These columns represent: sect the x and y coordinates of the sector path------ the route that goods travel to and from the distribution sector dst the distribution destination for the sector civ the distribution threshold for civilians in that sector mil the distribution threshold for military in that sector uw the distribution threshold for uncompensated workers in that sec- tor food the distribution threshold for food in that sector gun the distribution threshold for guns in that sector sh the distribution threshold for shells in that sector pet the distribution threshold for petroleum in that sector iron the distribution threshold for iron ore in that sector dust the distribution threshold for gold dust in that sector bar the distribution threshold for gold bars in that sector oil the distribution threshold for oil in that sector lcm the distribution threshold for light construction materials in that sector hcm the distribution threshold for heavy construction materials in that sector rad the distribution threshold for radioactive materials in that sec- tor For example: [##:##] Command : level -2,2 Fri Oct 31 16:58:34 1986 DISTRIBUTION LEVELS sect dst civ mil uw food sh gun pet iron dust bar oil lcm hcm rad -2,-2 + -2,-2 0 0 201 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 sector SEE ALSO distribute, threshold, commodity, census, Distribution empire-info-text-4.2.15/list0100664000000000000000000000265510055155456014414 0ustar rootroot Command : LIST NAME list - List commands which are currently legal Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : list SYNTAX [##:##] Command : list of commands The list command gets you a list of currently legal commands with their asso- ciated BTU costs, (see "info time" for description of BTU's). This should not be confused with "info {commands}" which generates a brief summary of each command. [##:##] Command : list Current EMPIRE Command List ------- ------ ------- ---- Initial number is cost in BTU's. The next 2 character (if present) Next 2 chars (if present) are: $ - must be non-broke c -- must have capital Text enclosed in {braces} is comment rather than part of the command. Args in [brackets] are optional, but can only appear on the command line. Args in have the following meanings: :: a country number or name :: commodity such as `ore', `guns', etc :: loan number :: sector coordinates in the form: x,y :: sector(s) in the form: lox:hix,loy:hiy/d ?cond&cond&... :: one ship number :: fleet designation, or area 2 announce 2 arm 2 $c assault {from ship} 2 attack {from sect} etc. SEE ALSO Syntax, Time, Bugs, Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/lload0100664000000000000000000000363010055155456014526 0ustar rootroot Command : LLOAD NAME lload - Load things onto land units Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lload SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lload plane SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lload land The load command carries out the loading of units. Commodities (like guns, civs, food) can be loaded onto any unit capable of carrying them (to see what cargos a unit can carry, use the show command). Some land units can carry extra-light planes (typically these are SAM's) Some land units can carry other units SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lload In the first form, the amount argument specifies the amount of the given com- modity you wish to load on each unit specified. Amounts greater than that allowed will be truncated to the maximum possible. Amounts less than 0 indi- cate that you want to make the unit/army have that amount. If the unit/army has less than that amount, more will be loaded. If the unit/army has more than that amount, the commodity will be unloaded. For example, [##:##] Command : load food 3 -100 will cause unit 3 to load or unload food so that it has 100. If it had 120 food, 20 would be unloaded. If it had 50 food, 50 would be loaded. SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lload plane In the second form, where you say "plane" instead of say "civ" a plane/missile is loaded onto a unit. See the "show" command for a table of the maximum amounts of each items that can be carried on each unit type. Note that if either or does not start with a number (e.g. it is of the form "a" or "*" or "#1" and not of the form 123 or 12,14) then you will not be given any error messages. This is so that you can type something like "lload plane * *" without getting a hundred error messages. SEE ALSO lunload, Unit-types, Plane-types, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/llookout0100664000000000000000000000210010055155456015272 0ustar rootroot Command : LLOOKOUT NAME llookout - Check from units for other units, planes and/or sector types Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lookout The lookout command allows units to report sightings of other units, planes, and land sectors. Note that non-spy units require military on-board in order to be able to see anything. The various ranges over which lookout is effective break down into two groups: UNIT to UNIT This range is dependent on both the visibility of the unit being observed and the visual range of the observing unit. (see "info Unit-types") UNIT to PLANE Planes are treated as if they had a visibility of 10. For example: [##:##] Command : lookout 24 Groonland (#2) jf4 jet fighter 4 #3 @2,-2 Groonland (#2) airfield 100% efficient with approx 50 civ @ 2,-2 Groonland (#2) highway 20% efficient with approx 20 civ @ 3,-1 Groonland (#2) highway 0% efficient with approx 0 civ @ 0,-2 SEE ALSO lookout, coastwatch, Unit-types, Sector-types, radar, sonar, LandUnits, Detection empire-info-text-4.2.15/lmap0100664000000000000000000000470310055155456014366 0ustar rootroot Command : LMAP NAME lmap - Map around a land unit Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : map SYNTAX [##:##] Command : nmap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : smap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lmap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : pmap A map gives you a graphic representation of all or part of your country. Your own sectors as well as sea, mountains, wasteland and unowned wilderness and plains show up as a designation mnemonic (see "Sector-types"). Other sec- tors appear as question marks ("?"). You can also get an lmap by typing 'M' at the march prompt. Examples: [##:##] Command : map -9:18,-8:5 generates a 28 x 14 map based on data supplied by the sectors in the area specified. ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 -8 . . . - - -8 -7 . . . . - ^ -7 -6 . . . . - - - - -6 -5 . . - . a a - ^ ? ? - -5 -4 . . . . k o ! - ^ ? ? ? -4 -3 . - . a h j a ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ - -3 -2 . . - . a a a ^ a a - - - -2 -1 . . . a a a b + + ^ ^ - -1 0 . . . m c u a a - ^ - ^ 0 1 . - . a a . a a - - ^ 1 2 - ^ ^ a a a ^ a - - ^ 2 3 - - - - - - - . . - 3 4 ^ - - - - - ^ - - 4 5 - ^ - - ^ - - - 5 ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 [##:##] Command : map # >mapfil where your "realm" (or '#', see "info realm" or "info update") is -5:5,-6:6 will type out a 11 by 13 sector map and also put the map in the file called "mapfil". Also, if you give a ship # instead of coordinates or a realm, map will show you a small realm around the given ship (assuming you own it). If you use nmap, you can get a map that shows new sector designations instead of old sector designations of your own country. If you use lmap, you can get a map around a land unit, instead. Pmap does the same for a plane. Smap does the same for a ship. MAP FLAGS If you give an 's' flag, all your ships will be shown on the map. An 'l' flag does the same for land units, and a 'p' for planes. '*' shows all in this order: land units, ships, planes. To highlight sectors you own, specifiy the 'h' flag. SEE ALSO census, commodity, radar, realm, route, update, LandUnits, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/lmine0100664000000000000000000000446710055155456014550 0ustar rootroot Command : LMINE NAME lmine - Mine a sector with an engineering unit Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lmine This command causes a unit with the engineering ability to lay mines in a sec- tor. (see "info Unit-types"). If you ask to lay more mines than the unit is carrying, then it will attempt to keep resupplying itself until all of the mines have been laid. It costs 1 mobility point per mine laid, so an engineer with 20 mobility can lay a maximum of 20 mines. The 'strength' command will list how many mines you have put in each sector. See "info Hitchance" for the chance of something hitting a land mine. If a defender in land combat has land-mines in the sector, he receives a bonus to his defense. See info "attack" for more information. If the attacker has engineering units with him, the bonus is less. In the command syntax is the number of one of your units and is the number of mines you wish to lay. That number of shells, (assuming you've got them), will be dropped in the sector that unit occupies, magically becoming mines. You need not fear mines in sectors that you are the old owner of. This is nor- mally all your sectors. When you capture a mined sector, however, you will need to worry about those mines until you become the old owner of that sector. Once you are the old owner of a sector (i.e when you get the message "Sector x,y is now fully yours."), you have the mines located, and will no longer hit them. If you are in a captured sector, and the original owner attacks, you will not get the mine bonus (as he knows where all the mines are) Mines can only be removed safely by a unit with the engineering ability. (Other units can remove them by hitting them, but...) Engineering units mov- ing through a sector with unlocated mines will attempt to remove them. The number of times each engineer sweeps for mines is equal to 2 times the number of mines it can carry. The chance of the engineer finding a mine on each sweep is equal to 50% times its 'att' value (see show land stats). If an engineer sweeps more mines than it can carry, then it will drop the rest as shells into the sector. SEE ALSO march, strength, move, explore, transport, Hitchance, Damage, Attack, Lan- dUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/load0100664000000000000000000000652110055155457014355 0ustar rootroot Command : LOAD NAME load - Load goods, people, etc onto a ship Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : load SYNTAX [##:##] Command : load plane SYNTAX [##:##] Command : load land The load command carries out the loading of ships. Commodities (like guns, civs, food) can be loaded onto any ship. Missiles can be loaded onto nuke subs and planes can be loaded onto carriers. Land units may be loaded onto many ships. The ship(s) must be in a harbor and the harbor must be at least 2% efficient. SYNTAX [##:##] Command : load In the first form, the amount argument specifies the amount of the given com- modity you wish to load on each ship specified. Amounts greater than that allowed will be truncated to the maximum possible. Amounts less than 0 indi- cate that you want to make the ships have that amount. If the ships have less than that amount, more will be loaded. If the ships have more than that amount, the commodity will be unloaded. For example, [##:##] Command : load food 3 -100 will cause ship 3 to load or unload food so that it has 100. If it had 120 food, 20 would be unloaded. If it had 50 food, 50 would be loaded. SYNTAX [##:##] Command : load plane In the second form, where you say "plane" instead of say "civ" planes are loaded onto ships. Multiple planes may be given. Some may not be loaded, if there is not enough room. SYNTAX [##:##] Command : load land In the third form, where you say "land" instead of say "civ", a unit is loaded onto a ship. Multiple units may be given. Some may not be loaded, if there is not enough room. (Note that planes on land units on ships can't be used, and units on ships generally can't do much, like firing, marching, etc). When loading a land unit onto a ship, the unit will check to see that it is in sup- ply before stepping on deck. If it isn't, then it will try to resupply itself (see info supply) and if it is not able to do that, then you are issued a warning. Sailors don't like to go to sea without supplies. See "info Ship-types" for a table of the maximum amounts of each items that can be carried on each ship type. If you are loading things onto FRIENDLY ships, you need to type the numbers of the ships, fleets or realms will not work. I.e. if you do "load f s 999", it'll load 999 food onto all your ships in fleet s. If you do "load 1/2/3/4 999 f", it'll try to load food onto ships 1, 2, 3, and 4, regardless of whether they're yours or they belong to a friendly trading partner. If you load something onto a friendly nation's ship, it becomes his and he gets a telegram. If you load a unit, he gets any planes it may be carrying. If you unload a plane or unit in a friendly nation's harbor, it becomes his. If you unload a unit, he gets any planes it may be carrying. Note that if any of , or does not start with a number (e.g. it is of the form "s" or "*" or "#1" and not of the form 123 or 12,14) then you will not be given any error messages. This is so that you can type something like "load land * *" without getting a hundred error messages. SEE ALSO unload, navigate, Ship-types, Unit-types, Plane-types, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/lookout0100664000000000000000000000267210055155457015135 0ustar rootroot Command : LOOKOUT NAME lookout - Check from ships for other ships and/or sector types Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lookout The lookout command allows ships to report sightings of other ships and land sectors. The various ranges over which lookout is effective break down into two groups: SHIP to SHIP This range is dependent on both the visibility of the ship being observed and the visual range of the observing ship. (see "info Ship-types") Sub- marines at sea are a special case - they cannot be seen by simply looking out from a ship! In order to detect subs at sea, you need to use sonar. Submarines have a very limited range for what ships they can see using their periscope--they can usually only see ships in the same sector. However, all ships (including subs) which are docked in a harbour are visible to all ships (including subs) in adjacent sectors. (see also "info sonar") SHIP to SHIP This range is effectively 1.0. For example: [##:##] Command : lookout 24 Groonland (#1) patrol boat #10 @-13,7 Curmudgeon (#4) heavy cruiser #36 @-14,6 Groonland (#1) oil derrick #41 @-14,6 Groonland (#1) tender #53 @-14,6 Groonland (#1) mine 100% eff with approx. 300 civilians @-12,6 Groonland (#1) heavy manufacturing 23% eff with approx. 10 civilians @-11,7 SEE ALSO coastwatch, Ship-types, Sector-types, radar, sonar, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/lost0100664000000000000000000000414010055155457014412 0ustar rootroot Command : LOST NAME lost - Report lost items Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lost The lost command displays all lost items currently in the database for your country. All lost items are timestamped at the time they were lost. If you had a pre- viously lost item in the database, and then build a new item of the same type with the same id, or regain an item of the same type with the same id, it is removed from the database. This is done because the new item will now show up in the other dump commands, and is no longer lost. Lost items are kept in the database for 48 hours (default) but may be kept longer at the deity's discretion. Also, issuing the lost command does not remove items from the database. That is where the timestamp functionality becomes important. While the lost command does not take any arguments, it does take the standard syntax for selecting information. (see "info Selector"). A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : lost ?timestamp>854954677 which would list data for all lost items timestamped after 854954677. (Times- tamps are kept in system seconds.) A lost command lists all the lost items headed by: Sun Feb 9 22:16:37 1997 DUMP LOST ITEMS 855544597 type id x y timestamp The first line is the date. The second line is the "DUMP LOST ITEMS " where the field is the current timestamp. The third line is the columns which are output. These columns represent: type The type of lost item. They are as follows: 0 - Sector 1 - Ship 2 - Plane 3 - Land unit 4 - Nuclear stockpile id The # of the ship, plane, land unit or nuke. All of these items are identified by id. Sectors are identified by x and y. x The x coordinate of the lost item when it was lost. y The y coordinate of the lost item when it was lost. timestamp The timestamp of when the item was lost. SEE ALSO dump, ldump, sdump, ndump, pdump, Ships, Planes, LandUnits, Sectors, Clients empire-info-text-4.2.15/lradar0100664000000000000000000000150110055155457014674 0ustar rootroot Command : LRADAR NAME lradar - Use a radar unit's radar Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lradar [ | ] The radar command bears some resemblance to modern high-resolution radar. It has a circular range dependent upon its efficiency. An example of radar: [##:##] Command : lradar 5 radar truck #5 efficiency 100%, max range 6 . a a - ^ ? ? T k o ! - ^ ? ? a h j a ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ h . a w a ^ - ? a ? . . a m a b f a ^ ^ - . . m c * a a - ^ - ^ - . - . a + . 0 a - - ^ - . - ^ ^ a + ) ^ a - - ^ . - - a m + a f . . - ^ ^ a - a + a ^ - - - - ^ - - ^ - - - - - ^ - - - - - - - - - - - - - SEE ALSO census, map, nation, Ship-types, Technology, radar, LandUnits, Detection empire-info-text-4.2.15/lrange0100664000000000000000000000073110055155457014703 0ustar rootroot Command : LRANGE NAME lrange - Edit the reaction range of a unit Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lrange The "lrange" command is used to limit the maximum reaction radius of land units. This can be useful in restricting the area which a unit will attempt to defend. (see info attack for details of the reaction process) A unit with a radius of 0 will not react. SEE ALSO attack, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/lretreat0100664000000000000000000000645010055155457015261 0ustar rootroot Command : LRETREAT NAME lretreat - Set retreat conditions/paths for units or armies Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : retreat [ | ] [] [] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lretreat [ | ] [] [] The retreat command allows you to examine or modify the retreat paths and con- ditions of your ships or units. The following description is for ships. Land units are exactly the same, except of course that some of the retreat condi- tions (being sonared, depth charged, etc) don't apply. The and arguments are provided to specify which ships to view or give orders for. If a fleet designation is given when specifying orders, the orders apply to all ships within that fleet. Retreat expects an argument. To see every ship you own, give it the argument '*', or type "retreat *". The report format contains the following fields: shp# the ship number shiptype the type of ship; "patrol boat", "submarine", etc, x,y the ship's current location (relative to your capital), flt the fleet designation letter (set by "fleetadd" command), path the ship's current retreat path. as_flt? whether or not the ship's retreat path is a fleet retreat path flags what conditions the ship will retreat under For example: [##:##] Command : retreat * shp# ship type x,y fl path as flt? flags 0 battleship 4 2,0 jjuuj I 1 ship Overview A player may give retreat orders for a ship or a fleet. Retreat orders include a set of conditions that determine when the fleet/ship will retreat, and a path that the fleet/ship will follow. When a condition is met for a particular ship, the "as flt?" field is checked. If it is Yes, then every ship in that fleet with fleet retreat orders retreats along the specified path. If it is no, then the retreat orders apply to that ship only, and only that ship retreats. When a ship is added to a fleet, it is given the retreat orders of that fleet, if any exist. Retreat orders are wiped when a ship navigates. Retreat conditions at present include: Condition Meaning I Retreat when the ship is injured, i.e. whenever the ship is damaged by fire, bombs, or torping. T Retreat when a sub torpedos or tries to torpedo the ship. B Retreat when a plane bombs or tries to bomb the ship. S Retreat when the ship detects a sonar ping. D Retreat when the ship is depth-charged. H Retreat when helpless. A ship is helpless when it is fired upon, and no friendly ships/sectors (including the ship itself) are able to fire back at the aggressor. C Clear the flags For example, if the battleship above was fired at, it would attempt to retreat 2 sectors, jj, using the normal amount of mobility for moving 2 sectors. It would then look like: shp# ship type x,y fl path as flt? flags 0 battleship 4 2,0 uuj I 1 ship SEE ALSO ship, fleetadd, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/lstat0100664000000000000000000000441110055155457014561 0ustar rootroot Command : LSTAT NAME lstat - Report statistics of unit, army or units in a given area Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lstat [ | ] The lstat command is a report of the varying statistics of your units and lists the info in a readable format. Since your units' statistics vary by tech level, this is a very useful way to see what the attack, defense, etc. modifiers are on a per-unit basis. The and arguments are provided in case you only wish to look at one unit or one army or all units within a given area. Lstat expects an argument. To see every unit you own, give it the argument '*', i.e. type "lstat *". The report format contains the following fields: lnd# the unit number unit-type the type of unit x,y the unit's current location (relative to your origin), eff the unit's efficiency, tech the tech level of the unit att the attack multiplier of the unit def the defense multiplier of the unit vul the vulnerablilty of the unit (see "info Damage") spd the speed of the unit (see "info Mobility") vis the visibility of the unit spy the distance a unit can see rad the maximum reaction radius of the unit rng twice the distance the guns can fire, The range formula is (rng/2) * ((tech + 50) / (tech + 200)) acc the firing accuracy of the unit fir the number of guns that fire when the unit fires amm the amount of ammunition the unit uses per shot fired aaf the amount of anti-aircraft fire the unit produces For example: [##:##] Command : lstat * s v s r r a f a a p i p a n c i m a lnd# unit-type x,y eff tech att def vul d s y d g c r m f 0 cav cavalry 1,-1 100% 992 3.4 1.6 54 52 18 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 cav cavalry 0,0 100% 968 3.4 1.6 55 51 18 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 cav cavalry 0,0 100% 40 1.9 0.9 74 36 18 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 units SEE ALSO land, upgrade, build, cargo, army, march, attack, assault, lload, llookout, scrap, lmine, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/ltend0100664000000000000000000000061110055155460014530 0ustar rootroot Command : LTEND NAME ltend - Transfer things between a unit and the ship carrying it Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : ltend The ltend command allows transfer of commodities from a particular (supply) ship to a land unit it is carrying. SEE ALSO load, unload, lload, lunload, tend, Ships, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/lunload0100664000000000000000000000111710055155460015062 0ustar rootroot Command : LUNLOAD NAME lunload - Unload things from land units Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lunload SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lunload plane The lunload command is the opposite of lload and follows the exact same syntax ... so why look here for documentation? The only thing to know is that lunload won't unload more of a thing if the sector already has 999. For example, if a unit has 10 food, and the sector has 994, you can only unload 5 of the 10 food. SEE ALSO lload, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/map0100664000000000000000000000462010055155460014203 0ustar rootroot Command : MAP NAME map - Generate a map showing sector types, seas, etc Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : map SYNTAX [##:##] Command : nmap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : smap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lmap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : pmap A map gives you a graphic representation of all or part of your country. Your own sectors as well as sea, mountains, wasteland and unowned wilderness and plains show up as a designation mnemonic (see "Sector-types"). Other sec- tors appear as question marks ("?"). Examples: [##:##] Command : map -9:18,-8:5 generates a 28 x 14 map based on data supplied by the sectors in the area specified. ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 -8 . . . - - -8 -7 . . . . - ^ -7 -6 . . . . - - - - -6 -5 . . - . a a - ^ ? ? - -5 -4 . . . . k o ! - ^ ? ? ? -4 -3 . - . a h j a ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ - -3 -2 . . - . a a a ^ a a - - - -2 -1 . . . a a a b + + ^ ^ - -1 0 . . . m c u a a - ^ - ^ 0 1 . - . a a . a a - - ^ 1 2 - ^ ^ a a a ^ a - - ^ 2 3 - - - - - - - . . - 3 4 ^ - - - - - ^ - - 4 5 - ^ - - ^ - - - 5 ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 [##:##] Command : map # >mapfil where your "realm" (or '#', see "info realm" or "info update") is -5:5,-6:6 will type out a 11 by 13 sector map and also put the map in the file called "mapfil". Also, if you give a ship # instead of coordinates or a realm, map will show you a small realm around the given ship (assuming you own it). If you use nmap, you can get a map that shows new sector designations instead of old sector designations of your own country. If you use lmap, you can get a map around a land unit, instead. Pmap does the same for a plane. Smap does the same for a ship. MAP FLAGS If you give an 's' flag, all your ships will be shown on the map. An 'l' flag does the same for land units, and a 'p' for planes. '*' shows all in this order: land units, ships, planes. To highlight sectors you own, specifiy the 'h' flag. SEE ALSO census, commodity, radar, realm, route, update, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/march0100664000000000000000000000764710055155460014534 0ustar rootroot Command : MARCH NAME march - Move a land unit or units Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : march The march command is the "move" command applied to land units. You can con- trol one unit or an entire army with it. Land units may only move into sectors you own, sectors of countries you are allied with or deity-owned sectors with 1 exception. Spies. Spies may move anywhere, with a chance of getting caught. See "info Spies" for more informa- tion. If you are moving an army and the lead unit stops, the army stops; (the lowest numbered unit is always considered the lead unit). The program will prompt with the mobility of the lead unit, the minimum mobil- ity value for the army, and the current sector coordinates in the form: <57.0:23.5: -6,4> which means the lead unit has 57 mobility units, some other unit in the army has 23.5 mobility units and the lead unit is in sector -6,4. You may indicate the direction you would like the army to move by typing a string of letters consisting of any combination of the following: y for up-left u for up-right y u g for left \ / j for right g -- -- j b for down-left / \ n for down-right b n r for radar l for lookout m to sweep landmines h for end of movement The radar option will cause the lead unit to use it's radar, if any. You may also give a unit number or army or group of units on the same line: "r 12/13/14/73" The lookout option works in the same way as radar, i.e. it will cause the lead unit to do a lookout. Note: the lookout and radar commands use BTU's, just as if you'd typed them separately from the command line. You may also use the 'm' command to have engineers in the marching group search for mines in the current sector. Example: "m 12" Since the can be specified in the command line, simple unit movements are often typed as a single line, such as: [##:##] Command : march 19 jjjh Or some movements may be done partly on the command line and partly interac- tively: [##:##] Command : march 18 yy <112.7:112.7: -4, -2> l Your capital 100% efficient with 549 civ with 10 mil @ -5,-3 Your highway 100% efficient with 549 civ with 0 mil @ -4,-2 Your harbor 100% efficient with 549 civ with 109 mil @ -3,-1 <112.7:112.7: -4, -2> yh war band #18 stopped at -5,-3 You may also simply specify the destination sector on the command line. In this case, empire will set the path to be the cheapest path (in terms of mobility) that currently exists. The unit(s) will move to the destination sec- tor, and then ask for more input. For example, [##:##] Command : march 18 -6,-2 <104.2:104.2: -6,-2> h war band #18 stopped at -5,-3 Note that if you are marching multiple units, you may only specify a destina- tion sector on the command line if all the units start in the same sector. See "info Mobility" for the mobility cost to march land units. Moving a unit through a sector that has been mined introduces a chance of mines/(mines + 50) that you will be damaged. Units with engineering capabili- ties can remove up to five mines per pass through a sector (indicated by the message "Sweep..."). Such units also take 1/2 normal damage from mines. See info lmine for more details. Hostile land/sea/air units may fire at/bomb your units, if they're on inter- diction missions (see info mission). If your enemy has a stack of missiles on interdiction mission, then they will automatically fire one after another until 100 damage has been done. Missiles and pinbombers have a 100% chance of hitting their target (provided they make it through plane/missile defenses). Collateral damage will be done to the sector that the units were marching into. SEE ALSO Unit-types, lmine, LandUnits, Moving, Spies empire-info-text-4.2.15/market0100664000000000000000000000364710055155461014722 0ustar rootroot Command : MARKET NAME market - Report current selling prices in the world market Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : market The market report displays the lowest price commodity of each type currently on the market. If you specify "all" for the item, all commodities on the market are dis- played. If you specify a specific item, all lots of that item are displayed. [##:##] Command : market Empire Market Report Sun Dec 27 12:42:59 1998 lot high bid/unit by time left owner item amount sector --- ------------- -- --------- ----- ---- ------ ------ 1 $ 0.50 1 1.50 hrs ( 1) f 100 -1,1 3 $ 0.50 1 1.52 hrs ( 1) o 100 -1,1 Looks just like Christmas at K-mart, doesn't it! [##:##] Command : market oil Empire Market Report Sun Dec 27 12:43:08 1998 lot high bid/unit by time left owner item amount sector --- ------------- -- --------- ----- ---- ------ ------ 2 $ 1.00 1 1.52 hrs ( 1) o 100 -1,1 3 $ 0.50 1 1.52 hrs ( 1) o 100 -1,1 4 $ 0.50 1 1.52 hrs ( 1) o 100 -1,1 Looks just like Christmas at K-mart, doesn't it! [##:##] Command : market all Empire Market Report Sun Dec 27 12:43:09 1998 lot high bid/unit by time left owner item amount sector --- ------------- -- --------- ----- ---- ------ ------ 0 $ 1.00 1 1.50 hrs ( 1) f 100 -1,1 1 $ 0.50 1 1.50 hrs ( 1) f 100 -1,1 2 $ 1.00 1 1.52 hrs ( 1) o 100 -1,1 3 $ 0.50 1 1.52 hrs ( 1) o 100 -1,1 4 $ 0.50 1 1.52 hrs ( 1) o 100 -1,1 Looks just like Christmas at K-mart, doesn't it! SEE ALSO buy, sell, reset, Market empire-info-text-4.2.15/mine0100664000000000000000000000315310055155461014357 0ustar rootroot Command : MINE NAME mine - Drop sea mines from a ship Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : mine This command drops mines in the sea and is functional from ships with mine- laying capability (see "info Ship-types"). See "info Hitchance" for the chance of a ship hitting a mine. In the command syntax is the number of one of your ships and is the number of mines you wish to drop. That number of shells, (assuming you've got them), will be dropped in the sector that ship occupies, magically becoming mines as they hit the water. Mines can only be removed safely by a minesweeper. (Other ships can remove them by hitting them, but...) Planes with the 'sweep' ability can clear mines by flying recon missions through mined sectors, with each passage through the sector possibly removing some mines. Ships of tech 310 or higher can detect mines with their sonar. See "info sonar" for more information. Sea sectors under bridge spans can be mined. Your ships will automatically avoid these mines when passing through, (and your minesweepers will not not pick them up). Note that the sector is checked for possible mine hits only when a ship moves into it; thus, a ship may safely drop mines in a sector and then move out. On the other hand, the mines know no allegiance, so moving back into a mined sec- tor is foolish at best unless it is under a bridge span. Mines in the same sector as a bridge that collapses are cleared. You cannot drop sea mines into a harbor, only land mines. SEE ALSO navigate, Hitchance, Damage, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/mission0100664000000000000000000003604210055155461015113 0ustar rootroot Command : MISSION NAME mission - Assign a mission to a ship/plane/unit Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : mission [] [] The mission command is used to assign ships, planes, or land units to mis- sions. The available missions are: Here is a summary of which units can be put on which missions: Mission Op-sect Radius Ships Land-Units Planes interdiction no yes yes yes only "tactical" support no yes no no only "tactical" off support no yes no no only "tactical" def support no yes no no only "tactical" reserve yes no no yes no escort yes no no no only "intercept" or "escort" air defense no yes no no only "intercept" You may also use 'q' (query) to check on the mission of something, or 'c' (clear) to wipe the mission of a land unit/plane/ship. GENERAL CONCEPT Missions are things that your planes/land units/ships can do automatically, such as bombing/shelling. You assign a unit to a mission, and whenever the right conditions occur, the unit attempts to perform its mission. Note that missions don't allow a unit to do anything it normally could not do, they sim- ply allow them to do it in an automatic fashion. In some cases, units perform- ing missions might not be as 'smart' as they would be if you were operating them personally. That's the price you pay for having automatic defenses. IMPORTANT NOTES Missions can occur during updates. (Interdicting ships using "sail" or "order"). Artillery units less than 20% efficient will not fire. Planes flying missions will be intercepted normally. (i.e. if you fly over enemy territory, you'll get intercepted. Any mission except air missions may also be intercepted by planes on air defense missions) Planes of less than 40% efficiency will not fly missions. Planes assigned to missions are "NOT" eligible to intercept normally. For example, if a fighter is assigned to an escort or air-defense or interdiction or support mission, it will "NOT" rise to intercept an intruding enemy plane. (planes on air-defense missions will intercept planes flying in their op-area, in accordance with the air-defense mission, but will not intercept one outside their op-area, even if it is within their normal range. Be sure you understand this before using plane missions.) Nukes on missiles or planes flying missions DO detonate. "marine" missiles will keep launching to interdict ships until all of the valuable ships in the fleet are sunk. A "valuable" ship is one which cost at least $1000 to build or can carry land units or planes. For each new missile launched, the most valuable ship according to (cost to build) * efficiency is targeted. Non-marine missiles will keep firing on a sector until 100 damage is done. OPERATIONS SECTORS Some missions require the designation of an 'op sector', short for operations sector. This is the center of an area that the mission is focussed on. The op sector may be any sector that is within the unit's range. (Firing range, for ships & land units, flying range for planes, changeable with rangeedit). The unit will exert influence in a radius around the op sector. By default, the radius will be as large as possible, i.e. the biggest range so that the unit/ship/plane could legally act there.) For example, a ship with a range of 4 could designate any sector up to 4 away from it as it's op sector, and would affect anything within 4 of it's op-sector, provided it was also within 4 of the ship. If a smaller radius is desired, it may be specified on the command line. If it is not specified, it will not be prompted for. The area affected by a unit is known as that unit's op-area. If a '.' is given as the op-sector, the op sector will be the location of the unit. Additionally, if the unit's op-sector is the sector the unit is in, and the unit moves without losing its mission status, the operation sector will move with it. (Normally, of course, the only way for a unit on a mission to move is to be carried on a ship, so this mostly applies to planes on carriers) Thus, a tactical bomber on a ship could have an op-area centered on the carrier that moved with the carrier. Otherwise, if the unit moves without losing its mission status, the op sector will stay where it was designated. For example, suppose that land unit 4 is an artillery unit, range 5, located at 0,0. [##:##] Command : mission land 4 int . This would make the unit interdict anything passing within 5 sectors of its location. [##:##] Command : mission land 4 int 4,0 This would make the unit interdict anything passing within 5 sectors of 4,0, provided it was also within 5 sectors (the unit's range) of 0,0. [##:##] Command : mission land 4 int 4,0 2 This would make the unit interdict anything passing within 2 sectors of 4,0, provided it was also within 5 sectors (the unit's range) of 0,0. The op-sector/op-range concept allows you to restrict a unit's area of inter- est to a small, important area, or just let it shoot at anything within range. MOBILITY USE When a unit is given a mission, it costs no mobility. When a unit performs its mission, it uses the normal mobility costs that it would use to perform that mission if done by the player. A unit stays on its mission until you cancel it, OR the unit acts. Any type of action not a part of a mission is sufficient, so marching, navigating, trans- porting, flying, reconing, bombing, mining, paratrooping, being attacked, being paratrooped on, retreating, etc, will all cause a unit to lose its mis- sion status, but the unit could bomb/shell/etc AS PART OF A MISSION, and still retain its mission status. Also, land units with a reserve mission can react to a threatened sector and fight, and (assuming they win) return to their original sector without losing their reserve status. Note that fortifying a unit does not affect it's mission status. DEFENDERS The defender's planes will intercept planes flying missions. His ships/forts/units, however, will "NOT" fire at ships/forts/units firing on a mission. INTERDICTION MISSIONS (ships, planes, land units) When giving a unit a interdiction mission, you designate an op sector. From then on, whenever an enemy (defined as something belonging to a nation which you are at war with) moves in a sector in that unit's op-area, the unit will try to shell or bomb it (as appropriate). Almost any kind of movement, except for distribution movement during an update, and the tiny amounts moved by the supply routines is enough. For example, an enemy land unit marching up to the front would be shelled/bombed. An enemy moving commodities around would have the commodities automatically shelled/bombed. A ship navigating into a sea sector would be shelled or bombed, depending on it's type (obviously, only depth-charge or ASW capable units would affect a submarine, and a submarine would only affect things it could torpedo) In general, units can only affect things they could normally affect. For example, if the enemy was transporting a plane along a highway, and you had an artillery unit and a light bomber interdicting the highway sector, the land unit would fire and the bomber would fly there and bomb, and the total damage would be applied to the plane being transported. If it was still alive, it might be moved to another sector, there to be bombed/shelled again (assuming the new sector was also in both units' op- areas) If a different unit later moved in, it would be shelled/bombed. This happens as long as the interdicting units have mobility left. Damage done is divided amongst all units/ships/commodities moving. For exam- ple, if 6 ships were moving, and the interdiction mission did 18 pts of dam- age, each ship would take 3. Note that only ships with sonar and ASW planes can interdict subs. Also, the units may or may not detect the subs, so it's kind of random. The sub also has a chance of escaping the damage, depending on the visibility of the sub. Only planes with the 'tactical' ability can fly interdiction missions. Only planes with 'ASW' ability will fly vs. subs. Planes with 'ASW' ability will not fly interdiction vs. other types of ships/planes/units/commods. Subs have a chance of sneaking through ASW aircover unnoticed, and ASW planes will respond to any non-Friendly sub movement. Depending on the visibility of the sub, the ASW plane may or may not identify the type and/or owner of the sub. Interdiction has no effect on flying planes. Interdiction does not affect loading/unloading. It will also cause some damage to the sector that the com- modities were moving into. Note also that forts will fire at enemy ships coming within range. You don't have to set anything for this, it happens automatically. (Forts firing at enemy ships naving happens before ships/planes/units interdicting ships, so if the enemy is using an area a lot, a fort will hurt him without costing you mob from planes) SUPPORT MISSIONS (planes only) A support mission allows your planes to automatically bomb the enemy. Planes with offensive support missions will bomb enemy sectors that you attack. Planes with defensive support missions will bomb enemy troops attacking your sector, adding to your defensive strength. Planes with support orders will do both. When giving a plane a support mission, you designate an op sector. From then on, whenever a sector owned by the plane's owner (or by an ally of the plane- owner, if the ally is also at war with the attacker) in that plane's op-area is attacked, the plane will attempt to fly to that sector and give ground sup- port, if it has support or defensive support orders. If the plane's owner (or an ally of the plane's owner, if the ally is also at war with the country attacked) attacks a sector in that plane's op-area belonging to a country that the plane owner is at war with, the plane will also attempt to fly there and give offensive support if it has support or offensive support orders. (see info attack for more information on how support works in land combat) Only planes with the 'tactical' ability can fly support missions. ESCORT MISSIONS (planes only) When given an escort mission, an escort or intercept capable plane will attempt to escort any plane flying a support or interdict mission from the same airport. If even 1 plane flies a support or interdiction mission from an airport, all planes on escort duty at that airport will attempt to escort. Planes with escort duty will NOT attempt to escort planes taking off from other airports, so it pays to put your bombing planes and escorting planes together. Only planes with the 'escort' or 'intercept' abilities can fly escort mis- sions. AIR DEFENSE MISSIONS (planes only) When given an air defense mission, an intercept capable plane will attempt to intercept any enemy plane (defined as any plane belonging to a country you re at war with) flying into its opera- tions area, irregardless of whether the enemy planes are flying over owned sectors. For example, if a plane is given an air defense mission with an op area covering some owned sectors, some sea, some allied sectors, and some enemy sectors, it would try to intercept over any of them. When a plane enters a sector, any planes with air defense missions that are at war with the owner of the plane will fly there to fight it. The air defense planes encounter normal interception along the way (but do "NOT" trigger more air defense missions, but "MAY" be intercepted normally). Once the air defense planes get to the sector, they fight the plane. Then, if the owner of the sector is hostile to the plane, still more planes may intercept it. Example Groonland wants to run a recon flight over Bannannarama. Joeland has a jet fighter with an air defense mission and an op-area covering part of Ban- nannarama. The 'j' sector belongs to Joeland, and is the base for the fighter. The 'b' sectors belong to Bannannarama, which has 1 fighter in the center sec- tor. The 'g' sector belongs to Groonland. Assume that all countries are mutually at war. The Joeland fighter's op area is centered on the 'B', radius 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . j . . . . . b b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b B b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b b . . . . . . . . . . . . . g . . . . . . . The Groonland player enters a path of 'uujjjbgbggh'. The first sectors entered is sea, and is not in the Joeland aircraft's op-area, so nothing hap- pens. Next, the Groonland plane enters the sector adjacent to Bannannarama. This is within the Joeland aircraft's op-area, so it flies to intercept. It takes the shortest path there, and fights the Groonland plane. Let's say that both take 20 points of damage, and neither aborts. Next, the Groonland plane overflies a Bannannarama sector. The Joeland plane flies there, and is intercepted by the Bannannarama plane. Let's say that it comes through the fight without being aborted. It then fights the Groonland plane. After this combat, if the Groonland plane is not aborted, it may be intercepted again by the busy Bannannarama fighter, assuming that that plane is still efficient enough, has mob enough, etc. A good use of this mission is to provide a wider CAP around a carrier, so that enemy planes get intercepted several times on the way to the carrier, rather than just once, in the carrier's sector. Another use is to provide air-cover for an ally who has temporarily lost his planes. RESERVE MISSIONS (land units only) A land unit given reserve orders has an increased ability to react to enemy attacks. A reserve unit has its reaction radius increased by 2. (Note: this is cumulative with the +1 modifier for being at an efficient headquarters, so a reserve unit at an HQ would have a +3). In addition, a reserve unit pays 1/2 the normal cost for fighting a battle. (It still pays the normal cost for moving to the threatened sector) See info attack for more details on reaction. Note that units with a reserve mission retain this status, even though they move to the threatened sector and return. This is an exception to the normal rules on losing your mission status. If, however, the land unit is forced to retreat from the combat (see land combat for details), it WOULD lose its sta- tus. When a unit with a reserve mission is listed, the op sector is the sector the unit is in, and the radius is the units maximum reaction radius, including the bonus for the reserve mission and HQ (if applicable). Note that the unit's actual radius might be different if it was changed by lrangeedit. Note: information gained from planes flying missions is automatically added to your bmap. SEE ALSO Ship-types, Plane-types, Unit-types, attack, bomb, Ships, Planes, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/mobupdate0100664000000000000000000000111510055155461015403 0ustar rootroot Command : MOBUPDATE NAME mobupdate - turn on/off mobility updating Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : mobupdate The mobupdate command will disable mobility updating for 'X' minutes. Note that this only works if the MOB_ACCESS option has been enabled. Using this command with 0 minutes will turn mobility updating back on. Using this command with 'check' or a negative amount of minutes will tell you when the mobility updating will be turned back on if it is off, or that it is on if it is on. SEE ALSO update, Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/morale0100664000000000000000000000251710055155462014712 0ustar rootroot Command : MORALE NAME morale - Change the retreat percentage of a unit Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : morale The "morale" command is used to set the retreat percentage of land units. Normally, a land unit must start making morale checks during combat when its efficiency is less than or equal to its retreat percentage. (The chance of failing a morale check is: sqrt(100-effic)%/(men in unit). Example: a 25 man unit is at 75% efficiency. Its chance of failing is sqrt(100-75)%/25 = sqrt(25)%/25 = 20%) The morale command allows you to adjust this percentage within a range. If, for example, you wish only to trade space for time, you could set the retreat percentage to 100%, meaning that your units would retreat often, but would still slow the enemy down a bit. Or, you could set your retreat percentage to the minimum, and make the unit stick around and fight more, but at the cost of more casualties. The maximum allowed value is 100% (i.e. start making morale checks after any casualties). The minimum value is based on happiness: (morale_base) - happiness "morale_base" is a deity settable variable, which defaults to 42. When a unit is first built, its retreat percentage is set to "morale_base". SEE ALSO attack, assault, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/motd0100664000000000000000000000061110055155462014367 0ustar rootroot Command : MOTD NAME motd - Print the message of the day Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : motd This command will print out the login message (what gets printed to your screen when you login to the game). It is here so that you don't have to logout and in again if you want to read the login message again. SEE ALSO Communication empire-info-text-4.2.15/move0100664000000000000000000000764010055155462014403 0ustar rootroot Command : MOVE NAME move - Transport ore, civilians, guns, etc Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : move The move command is crucial to Empire; it carries out the movement of civil- ians, military, ore, guns, shells, food, planes, etc. on land. Note that you can only move into sectors that you own, so you cannot take sectors via move. To take sectors, use the "explore" command, which uses the same syntax as move. can be any one of: c civilians m military u uncompensated workers f food g guns s shells p petrol i iron ore d gold dust b bars of gold l light construction materials h heavy construction materials r radioactive materials If is not provided in the command line, the program will request the starting sector then display the number of mobility units in that sector, its designation, and its coordinates in the form: <97.0: a -6,4> which indicates 97 mobility units in agribusiness sector -6,4. You may respond with any combination of: y for up-left u for up-right y u g for left \ / j for right g -- -- j b for down-left / \ n for down-right b n v for view m for map h for end of movement The "view" command shows the sector efficiency and some of the contents of the sector you are currently occupying. Since the can be specified in the command line, simple movements are often typed as a single line, such as: [##:##] Command : move m 2,0 20 jjjh Or some movements may be done partly on the command line and partly interac- tively: [##:##] Command : move c 2,2 18 jj <32.3: g 6,2> v 10% gold mine with 3 civilians. <32.3: 6,2> h You may also simply specify the destination sector. In this case, empire will set the path to be the cheapest path (in terms of mobility) from the current sector to the destination sector, if such a path exists. For example, [##:##] Command : move c 2,2 18 6,2 Military control In order to move something (other than mil) out of a sector, you must have military control of the sector. Military control is defined as having mil in the sector equal to at least 1/10th the number of unconverted civilians there. Units count as if they were straight mil, i.e. a 100% unit that contained 50 mil would count as 50 mil for the purposes of control) Mobility See 'info Mobility' for a description of how much mobility it costs to move something. Mines Note that while moving, you might hit mines. The more stuff you're mov- ing, the greater the chance of setting off any mines in the sectors you move through. See info lmine for more details. Interdiction Any enemy units on interdiction mission may be triggered by the move (the more you move, the bigger the chance they interdict). The interdic- tion will damage the goods you are moving, and will also cause some damage to the sector you were moving into. Unhappy civilians Also, when moving unhappy civilians (work percentage less than 100%), unhappi- ness is contagious. The work percentage of the destination sector is computed by averaging the incoming civ's happiness with the happiness of the civs already there. For example, say you move 100 civs with work percentage of 0% into a sector with 100 fully happy civilians (100% work). The work would be: ((migrants * their work) + (people at dest * their work) / (total civs) ((100 * 0%) + (100 * 100%)) / (100+100) = 100/200 = 50% Plague If a sector is infected with the plague, then anything moved out of the sector will infect the sector that it moves into. Note that sectors moved through will not catch the plague. SEE ALSO navigate, transport, test, explore, Plague, Mobility, Commodities, Moving empire-info-text-4.2.15/mquota0100664000000000000000000000054210055155462014735 0ustar rootroot Command : MQUOTA NAME mquota - Change the mobility quota of a ship with SAIL orders Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : mquota You use the "mquota" command to limit the amount of mobility that a ship a sailing path will use during an update. SEE ALSO sail, unsail, follow, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/name0100664000000000000000000000042210055155462014344 0ustar rootroot Command : NAME NAME name - Give a name to a ship Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : name The "name" command allows individual ships to be give names. A name of "~" is used to remove the name. SEE ALSO Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/nation0100664000000000000000000000423510055155463014723 0ustar rootroot Command : NATION NAME nation - The state of your nation Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : nation The nation report command displays various data about your country. The data displayed by the nation command is formatted as a single page report and should be self explanatory. For example: [##:##] Command : nation MGM Nation Report Sat Nov 4 15:01:52 1986 Nation status is ACTIVE Bureaucratic Time Units: 250 Capital is 100% efficient and has 87 civilians and 80 military #0 -10:10,-5:5 #1 -10:0,-64:64 #2 -10:64,-64:64 #3 -10:64,-64:64 #4 -10:20,-10:10 #5 -10:10,-5:5 #6 -10:20,-25:25 #7 -10:30,-20:0 The treasury has $16800.00 Military reserves: 152 Education.......... 9.20 Happiness....... 2.01 Technology......... 16.81 Research........ 19.82 Technology factor : 30.81% Max population : 556 Plague factor : 1.05% Max safe population for civs/uws: 427/483 Happiness needed is 4.385283 If the RES_POP option is in use, there will be a line that tells you the maxi- mum number of civs you can have in a sector without losing them (999 without this option), and the maximum number of civs you can have in a sector without losing population growth. If the NO_PLAGUE option is not used, you'll also see a line that has the plague chance for your nation. The max safe population is the highest population in a sector that will NOT forfeit some population growth during an update. In the example above, if you have 427 civs in a sector, you are guaranteed not to have more than 556 after population growth. If you have more than 427, population growth would make you go over 556, and the excess babies would be eliminated when the population was reduced to 556. If you have at least the happiness mentioned in the last line, your sector's loyalty won't have a chance to go down. Otherwise, each update, the chance is the number above - your happiness / 5.0. For the country above, the chance would be (4.385283-2.01)/5.0 = .475 = 47% chance that any individual sector's loyalty would go down. SEE ALSO power, Nation empire-info-text-4.2.15/navigate0100664000000000000000000001016210055155463015225 0ustar rootroot Command : NAVIGATE NAME navigate - Move ship or fleet around Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : navigate The navigate command is the "move" command applied to the sea. You can con- trol one ship or an entire fleet with it. A ship must have at least one crew (which may be civilian or military, but not an uncompensated worker) to be navigated. When you navigate, you see the hex of sectors around the flagship. (The lowest numbered ship is always consid- ered the flagship). The program will prompt with the maximum and minimum mobility of the ships in the fleet, and the current sector of the flagship in the form: <57.0:23.5: -6,4> which means one ship has 57 mobility units, some other ship in the fleet has 23.5 mobility units and the flagship is in sector -6,4. You may indicate the direction you would like the fleet to move by typing a string of letters con- sisting of any combination of the following: y for up-left u for up-right y u g for left \ / j for right g -- -- j b for down-left / \ n for down-right b n Other commands you may type while navigating are: M for map B for bmap f to change flagship i to list ships you are navigating v to view oil content and fish r for radar l to look at land and nearby ships s for sonar m to sweep mines h for end of movement While navigating you may also use radar, sonar, or lookout. (by entering r, s, or l) By default it will radar, sonar, or lookout from the flagship. You may also give a ship number or fleet or group of ships on the same line: "r 12/13/14/73" You may also use minesweepers in the currently navigating group to sweep mines. This costs them the equivalent of 1 sector's mobility. For example: "m 12/13" Since the can be specified in the command line, simple ship movements are often typed as a single line, such as: [##:##] Command : nav 19 jjjh Or some movements may be done partly on the command line and partly interac- tively: [##:##] Command : nav 18 jj <112.7:112.7: -4, -2> v patrol boat #18 on open sea @ -3,-2 <112.7:112.7: -4, -2> gh patrol boat #18 stopped at -6,-2 You may also simply specify the destination sector on the command line. In this case, empire will set the path to be the cheapest path (in terms of length) that currently exists. The unit(s) will move to the destination sec- tor, and then ask for more input. For example, [##:##] Command : nav 18 -6,-2 <104.2:104.2: -6, -2> h patrol boat #18 stopped at -6,-2 Note that if you are naving multiple ships, you may only specify a destination sector on the command line if all the ships start in the same sector. The formula for the movement cost for 1 sector is: 480 / (( speed + speed * (50+tech)/(200+tech) ) * Efficiency/100) Moving a ship through a sector that has been mined introduces a chance of mines/(mines + 50) of hitting a mine. Minesweeps can remove up to five mines per pass through a sector (indicated by the message "Sweep..."). Minesweeps also take 1/2 normal damage from mines. Also, note that some things may affect you while you are moving. Forts belong- ing to hostile countries will fire at you when you come within range. Hostile land/sea/air units may fire at/bomb your ships, if they're on interdiction missions (see info mission). If your enemy has a stack of missiles on inter- diction mission, then they will automatically fire one after another until all of your ships are sunk. The chance of missiles and planes hitting your ships is determined by the "worst" ship in your fleet (see "bomb" for the chance of hitting). Any damage incurred by the fleet is divided evenly among all the ships in the fleet which are in the same sector. NOTE While navigating, you cannot enter a sector that belongs to another country unless they have FRIENDLY relations with you. This includes bridges, and har- bors. SEE ALSO mine, Ship-types, mission, order, sail, Ships, Moving empire-info-text-4.2.15/ndump0100664000000000000000000000247110055155463014556 0ustar rootroot Command : NDUMP NAME ndump - Dump raw nuke information Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : ndump The ndump command displays all information on some or all of the sectors you occupy. Each nuke's information is printed on one very long line. Fields are separated by a single space. This command is designed to be used for input to an empire tool such as "ve". In the syntax of the ndump command is the area on which you wish information, (see "info Syntax"). An ndump command lists all selected nuclear stockpiles headed by: Sun Feb 9 22:16:37 1997 DUMP NUKES 855544597 id x y num type The first line is the date. The second line is the "DUMP NUKES " where the field is the current timestamp. The third line is the columns which are output. id - The id of the stockpile the nuke is in. x and y - The x and y coordinates of the stockpile num - The number of this type of nuke type - This type of nuke (100kt, 5mt, etc.) A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : ndump #5 which would list data for all nukes in realm #5. A ndump lists each of your sectors in the specified area. The header line is a list of fields that correspond to the order that ndump prints the nuke info. SEE ALSO nuke, Clients, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/newcap0100664000000000000000000000041110055155463014700 0ustar rootroot Command : NEWCAP NAME newcap - Place a pair of sanctuaries Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : newcap [] If you don't specify , then the server will try to find one for you. SEE ALSO add, Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/neweff0100664000000000000000000000112510055155463014700 0ustar rootroot Command : NEWEFF NAME neweff - Find out what the efficiency of a sector will be after the next update Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : neweff Neweff predicts how efficient a sector or sectors will be after the next update. In the syntax of the neweff command is the area on which you wish information, (see "info syntax"). A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : neweff 2,0 EFFICIENCY SIMULATION sect des projected eff 2,0 + 18% 1 sector SEE ALSO Innards, Sectors, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/newspaper0100664000000000000000000000655710055155464015451 0ustar rootroot Command : NEWSPAPER NAME newspaper - The yellow press Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : newspaper The news command prints a copy of the local newspaper published by The Empire News. This "morning after" daily recounts financial exploits, the telegram traffic between countries, and political maneuvering in addition to the chronicling of such mundanities as shelling, attacking, and nuclear testing. It's great breakfast reading! Normally your edition of the news will only contain events that have occurred since you last read the news. You can specify what time period you'd like it to cover with the optional argument in the command line as in: [##:##] Command : news 2 Which will print the news for the last two days. You can select whose news to see with the ?actor or ?victim selectors, and what news to see with the ?action selector. Actions are: 1) Successful Sector attack 2) Unsuccessful attack 3) Spy shot 4) Telegram sent 5) Treaty signing 6) Loan made 7) Loan repaid 8) Goods sold 9) Airspace violated 10) Artillery fire on sectors 11) Artillery fire on ships 12) Attacking unowned land 13) Ship torpedoed 14) Gunners firing in self-defense 15) Breaking sanctuary 16) Planes bombing sectors 17) Planes bombing ships 18) Successful boarding actions 19) Unsuccessful boarding actions 20) AA fire 21) Collecting on loans 22) Considering treaty violation 23) Actual treaty violation 24) Country dissolving 25) Ships hitting mines 26) Alliance declaration 27) Neutrality declaration 28) War declarations 29) Alliance dissolving 30) War ending 31) Plague outbreaks 32) Plague deaths 33) Name changes 34) Starvation 35) Rioting (from dissolving) 36) Air to air combat 37) Nukes going off 38) Terrorists 39) Shooting civs & uw's 40) Satellite launches 41) ASAT attacks 42) Deity giving things 43) Deity aids country 44) Deity hurts country 45) Deity taking things 46) ABM interceptions 47) Missile firing on sectors 48) Missile firing on ships 49) Trade between countries 50) Pirates fence loot 51) Pirates keep loot 52) Ship torps ship 53) Sub bombed by ASW plane 54) Assault defeated 55) Unit bombed 56) Unit hits land mine 57) Fortress artillery supports attack 58) Land unit artillery supports attack 59) Naval artillery supports attack 60) Capital sacking 61) Upgrades relations to friendly 62) Downgrades relations to friendly 63) Upgrades relations to neutral 64) Downgrades relations to friendly 65) Upgrades relations to hostile 66) Downgrades relations to friendly 67) Missile hits sector 68) Missile hits ship 69) Settles on a new island 70) ABM interception 71) Missile hits units 72) Sub-launched missile hits units 73) Successful assault 74) Successful paradrop 75) Paradrop into unoccuppied land 76) Failed assault 77) Failed paradrop 78) Forced loan taken out (by the market) 79) Forced loan denied (by the market) 80) Failed boarding of a land unit 81) Successful boarding of a land unit SEE ALSO headlines, Communication empire-info-text-4.2.15/nmap0100664000000000000000000000462610055155464014373 0ustar rootroot Command : NMAP NAME nmap - Generate a map showing new sector types, seas, etc Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : map SYNTAX [##:##] Command : nmap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : smap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lmap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : pmap A map gives you a graphic representation of all or part of your country. Your own sectors as well as sea, mountains, wasteland and unowned wilderness and plains show up as a designation mnemonic (see "Sector-types"). Other sec- tors appear as question marks ("?"). Examples: [##:##] Command : map -9:18,-8:5 generates a 28 x 14 map based on data supplied by the sectors in the area specified. ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 -8 . . . - - -8 -7 . . . . - ^ -7 -6 . . . . - - - - -6 -5 . . - . a a - ^ ? ? - -5 -4 . . . . k o ! - ^ ? ? ? -4 -3 . - . a h j a ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ - -3 -2 . . - . a a a ^ a a - - - -2 -1 . . . a a a b + + ^ ^ - -1 0 . . . m c u a a - ^ - ^ 0 1 . - . a a . a a - - ^ 1 2 - ^ ^ a a a ^ a - - ^ 2 3 - - - - - - - . . - 3 4 ^ - - - - - ^ - - 4 5 - ^ - - ^ - - - 5 ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 [##:##] Command : map # >mapfil where your "realm" (or '#', see "info realm" or "info update") is -5:5,-6:6 will type out a 11 by 13 sector map and also put the map in the file called "mapfil". Also, if you give a ship # instead of coordinates or a realm, map will show you a small realm around the given ship (assuming you own it). If you use nmap, you can get a map that shows new sector designations instead of old sector designations of your own country. If you use lmap, you can get a map around a land unit, instead. Pmap does the same for a plane. Smap does the same for a ship. MAP FLAGS If you give an 's' flag, all your ships will be shown on the map. An 'l' flag does the same for land units, and a 'p' for planes. '*' shows all in this order: land units, ships, planes. To highlight sectors you own, specifiy the 'h' flag. SEE ALSO census, commodity, radar, realm, route, update, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/nuke0100664000000000000000000000171610055155464014377 0ustar rootroot Command : NUKE NAME nuke - List all nuclear "devices" in a given area Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : nuke For each sector in , this command prints the number of each type of nuclear device in that sector. If the sector is a nuclear plant whose effi- ciency is at least 60% (i.e. a sector where you can build nuclear warheads), then you will be given additional information about the sector relevant to the building of nukes. [##:##] Command : nuke #1 sect eff num nuke-type lcm hcm oil rad avail 21,-3 n 100% 2 5mt fusion 499 499 1498 783 549 21 100kt fission 1 250kt fusion 19,-3 + 100% 12 5mt fusion 3 50kt neutron Note that the sector information is printed only once, and all nukes in that sector are listed below it. SEE ALSO build, launch, transport, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/offer0100664000000000000000000000500310055155464014527 0ustar rootroot Command : OFFER NAME offer - Offer a loan or treaty to another country Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : offer loan SYNTAX [##:##] Command : offer treaty The offer command is used to offer either a loan or a treaty to another coun- try. In the case of a loan: is the number or name of the country to whom you are offering the loan, is the size of the loan. (NOTE: do not use a dollar sign), is the length of the loan in days, is the interest rate, (per ), on the loan. The program prompts with various questions concerning any terms of the loan not provided on the command line and sends a telegram to announcing the loan offer. If the other country accepts the loan, (using the "consider" command), the money will be transferred from your account and you will be notified that the loan duration has started. Note that the dependence of rate on the duration makes a 30 day loan at 10% a worse deal than a 60 day loan at 15%. In the case of a treaty: is the name or number of the country to whom you wish to offer the treaty. You will be asked to set both the conditions for yourself and for the other country. The conditions from which you may choose are: Condition Command(s) affected no attacks on land units lboard no attacks on ships board no sector attacks assault, attack, paradrop no shelling ships fire no depth-charging subs fire no shelling land fire no enlistments enlist no building build Note that the first six terms apply to interactions between the two par- ties to the treaty while the last two apply to ANY actions of the speci- fied type. Once you have offered the treaty, a telegram will be sent to the other country indicating the offer. If the other country accepts the treaty, (using the "consider" command), you will be notified that it has gone into effect. Once signed, the treaty is not binding! However, any violation of the treaty will be pointed out to the violator in time for him/her to recon- sider the action and will find its way into the news. SEE ALSO collect, consider, ledger, repay, treaty, Loans empire-info-text-4.2.15/offset0100664000000000000000000000033010055155464014712 0ustar rootroot Command : OFFSET NAME offset - Temporarily change coordinate system Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : offset This should affect your maps. SEE ALSO Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/order0100664000000000000000000001530210055155464014544 0ustar rootroot Command : ORDER NAME order - Order a ship to auto-navigate Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : order [c|r|s|d|l] You use the "order" command to give sailing orders to ships. At each update, ships sailing under orders "autonavigate" toward a specific destination sec- tor. Telegrams notify you of arrivals. ONLY merchant ship may be given orders, but in order to move during the update a ship must have at least one crew (which may be civilian or military, but not an uncompensated worker). Merchant ships are those that have 0 for their fir- ing range and gun limit values. Note that your ships sailing on orders will be interdicted just as if you were navigating them by hand. [##:##] Command : order c Clear Orders Use the clear option to wipe out any orders the ship currently has. This will remove all starting and ending points and clear all the cargo levels for the ship. [##:##] Command : order s Suspend Orders If you want to keep orders but don't want the ship to move during the update use the suspend option. A quick look at 'sorder' will display the eta time as suspended. As long as a ship is suspended it will be unable to move during the update. [##:##] Command : order r Resume Orders Resume will allow ships that have a suspended order to move again. [##:##] Command : order d [dest2|scuttle|-] Declare Orders To declare an order you have 3 options. 1) Order a ship to any sector on the map. When it arrives it will clear its orders. 2) Order a ship to any sector, load goods, move to a second sector and unload goods. Continue to loop between the 2 points. 3) Order a ship to any sector on the map. When it arrives, it will scuttle itself if it is in a harbor that is at least 2% efficient. This is useful for tradeships. Example: You have a cargo ship (#6) in your harbor at sector 6,0 You want to move good between that harbor and another harbor at sector 14,0. order 6 d 6,0 14,0 This reads: Cargo Ship #6, move to sector 6,0 load goods, sail to sector 14,0 unload cargo then load again and sail back to 6,0. Example: You have a tradeship (#666) at sea in sector -10,0 and you want to move it to a friendly harbor at 20,4. order 666 d 20,4 - The ship will now move to sector 20,4 with the most efficient path. Example: You have a tradeship (#666) at sea in sector -10,0 and you want to move it to a friendly harbor at 20,4, and then scuttle itself. order 666 d 20,4 scuttle The ship will now move to sector 20,4 with the most efficient path, and scuttle itself when done. Note that only trade ships can be given auto-scuttle orders, and won't scuttle themselves at sea. [##:##] Command : order l Set cargo Levels. Example: Cargo ship #109 is at your harbor in sector 10,0. You have agreed to trade 200 lcm and 100 hcm to your friend and he will give you 100 shells each update. His harbor is at -10,2. Using 'order declare' you set up your start point 10,0 and end point -10,2 order 109 l 1 start lcm 200 order 109 l 2 start hcm 100 order 109 l 1 end shell 100 When your finished the output would look like this. sorder 109 shp # type x,y start end len eta 109 cargo ship 2 10,0 10,0 -10,2 11 1 qorder 109 shp # type [Starting] (Ending) 109 cargo ship 2 [1-l:200 2-h:100 ] , (1-s:100 ) AutoNav Features. Whenever a ship is autoloading cargo, it will always wait until it loads to capacity. If a ship does not load fully it will not move!!! Remember 'ships need food!!' unless the NOFOOD option is enabled. Set one of your cargo holds to load food or your ship will starve at sea. When unloading cargo, the ship will unload all goods listed in the cargo holds ONLY! It will not unload any extra good manually placed on the ship. If you are dealing with civilians 1 will be left in either the sector or the harbor depending if your loading or unloading. In either case when you arrive at the other harbor all but 1 civ will be dumped into the harbor. Be careful if you set civilians as one of your cargo levels. If the FUEL option is enabled ships will try and fuel when they load cargo in the starting or ending point and they currently have a fuel level less then half of their max fuel level. Auto fueling is not foolproof. If you declare a long path and the ship does not pass through any harbors it might run out of fuel and mobility. Remember ships can only autofuel in harbors. You can set any commodity in the game to be loaded on the ship. However if you tell a ship to load a commodity it can not hold it will be ignored. Exam- ple: If you tell a battleship to load Lcm, and of course it does not have that capability, see 'show ship capability' that level will be ignored at the update. Planes and Units are not commodities so they can not be loaded this way. At update time, the most direct path from the ship to destination is calcu- lated. Each ship is then autonavigated along that path to the best of its mobility. The path is calculated from what the player knows of the world (what you can see using the "bmap" command). Open sea, bridges, harbors, and unexplored regions of the world are considered to be navigable. Your friend's harbors and bridges may be uses as long as the harbor >= 2% and the bridge >= 60%. Your ships will also try to avoid any mines you have declared on your bmap. 'x' or 'X' characters. Should your ship hit a mine the ship will stop moving and its orders suspended. You bmap will also be updated with a 'x' marking the sector for you. If a ship sails in range of enemy forts they will be fired upon. Setting your ship to autonavigate into an area with good fort cover could result in many ships getting sunk fast. However you could put an invasion fleet off some- one's coast in a hurry. If the ship has a 'sweep' flag ships will try and sweep any mines if any are present as they move. Radar operates continuously as the ship moves along the path, constantly adding sector information to the known world map. The autonav code will try and use as much mobility as possible and this is all done before mobility is gained from the update. After an update has completed your ship will have mobility so it can be moved by hand if needed. For information on setting up ships to feed your country see 'info autofeed' for details. SEE ALSO sorder, qorder, bmap, navigate, ship, Autofeed, Autonav, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/origin0100664000000000000000000000110210055155465014712 0ustar rootroot Command : ORIGIN NAME origin - Change the origin of your country's coordinate system Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : origin This command changes the origin of your coordinate system (where 0,0 is located.) This command does not change the location of your nation's capital, though its coordinates, like the coordinates of all other sectors, will be different after using the origin command. Your "realms" will be automatically recalculated to point to the same area on the map. SEE ALSO capital, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/paradrop0100664000000000000000000000413210055155465015241 0ustar rootroot Command : PARADROP NAME paradrop - Attack a sector from the air Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : paradrop route|destination The "paradrop" command is used to sneak troops behind enemy lines, or to drop in unawares on lightly-defended enemy islands or outposts. It represents a complete mission for one or more transports and escorts taking off from one place and returning to base at the end of the mission. represents a list of planes which can carry commodities. Only planes which have a transport capacity, belong in a sector which is stocked with gas and military, and have sufficient mobility will be successfully selected for the mission. Only planes with the para ability may be used for paratroop missions. represent a list of fighter planes which are capable of escorting the transports all the way to the target. To be selected, escorts must have fuel and mobility. represents an assembly point, where all of the planes in the mission meet before proceeding on to the target sector. The assembly point must be owned by you, and must not be more than four sectors away from any of the planes selected for the mission. Route is a normal empire path specification. You may also give a destination sector on the command line, or at any time while giving the route, and empire will use the best path from the current sector to the desired destination sec- tor. If the planes manage to fight through enemy air defenses and arrive on-target, each transport in the mission will be shot at by any guns present on the ground. Surviving transports will drop the paratroops they carry, which will attack any enemy military occupying the target sector. See info "Attack" for the exact procedure. The sector being air-assaulted will have exactly the same reaction to being conquered as if it were attacked by land. Note that a plane must be at least 40% efficient before it can leave the ground. SEE ALSO bomb, fly, drop, recon, Attack, Mobility, Combat, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/path0100664000000000000000000000242210055155465014365 0ustar rootroot Command : PATH NAME path - Show the distribution path of a sector Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : path The path command generates a map of the distribution path for a specific sec- tor. The argument is a single sector, as described in "info syntax". The distribution paths are indicated with "go-to"s exactly as for the "route" command: m/ up-right (u in level) m> right (j in level) m\ down-right (n in level) /m down-left (b in level) t> i/ . . 0 1 . a> l/ ^ a a . . 1 2 . a a a . a . 2 - - - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 where -2,0 distributes to 10,-4 along the path shown. SEE ALSO distribute, census, Syntax, route, map, Distribution empire-info-text-4.2.15/payoff0100664000000000000000000000235410055155465014721 0ustar rootroot Command : PAYOFF NAME payoff - Find out the current payoff of a trade ship Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : payoff [ | ] The payoff command gives a census of your trade ships, and lists the payoff they would give if scuttled at the current sector. Payoff can only be calcu- lated for trade ships you built yourself, not for ships you `acquired' from somebody else. The and arguments are provided in case you only wish to look at one ship or one fleet or all ships within a given area. Payoff expects an argument. To see every trade ship you own, give it the argument '*', or type "ship *". The report format contains the following fields: shp# the ship number shiptype the type of ship; "patrol boat", "submarine", etc, x,y the ship's current location (relative to your capital), $$ the money you would get if you scuttled this ship For example: [##:##] Command : payoff * shp# ship type orig x,y x,y dist $$ 5 ts2 trade ship 2 2,2 21,-13 17 $5050.00 1 ship Note that this command is only enabled if the TRADESHIPS option is in use. SEE ALSO Trade-ships, sonar, torpedo, upgrade, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/pbmap0100664000000000000000000000752410055155465014540 0ustar rootroot Command : PBMAP NAME pbmap - Big map of all your worldly knowledge around a plane Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bmap [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lbmap [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : pbmap [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sbmap [ | ] A bmap gives you a graphic representation of all or part of your country. Bmap differs from map in that it reflects everything you've learned about the world. If, for example, you navigate near a sector and find out that it is sea, it will show up on your bmap as sea, even if it doesn't show up on your map. Note that bmap shows the "LAST KNOWN INFORMATION" you have about a sector. It may change, and your bmap will not reflect it. For example, if you re-desig- nate a sector, it won't show up on your bmap as the new sector type until you do a map. Commands contributing to bmap include (but are not limited to): map, nav, fly, bomb, recon, para, drop, lookout, coastwatch, radar. (probably others) Note that any sector marked as 'X' on your bmap will automatically be avoided by ships when they are trying to calculate the best path between two points. Whenever you detect a sea mine in a sector, the server will automatically put an 'X' on your bmap. You can call up a local bmap while navigating or marching by typing 'B' at the prompt. Examples: [##:##] Command : bmap -9:18,-8:5 generates a 28 x 14 bmap based on data supplied by the sectors in the area specified. ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 -8 . . . - - -8 -7 . . . . - ^ -7 -6 . . . . - - - - -6 -5 . . - . a a - ^ ? ? - -5 -4 . . . . k o ! - ^ ? ? ? -4 -3 . - . a h j a ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ - -3 -2 . . - . a a a ^ a a - - - -2 -1 . . . a a a b + + ^ ^ - -1 0 . . . m c u a a - ^ - ^ 0 1 . - . a a . a a - - ^ 1 2 - ^ ^ a a a ^ a - - ^ 2 3 - - - - - - - . . - 3 4 ^ - - - - - ^ - - 4 5 - ^ - - ^ - - - 5 ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 [##:##] Command : bmap # >mapfil where your "realm" (or '#', see "info realm" or "info update") is -5:5,-6:6 will type out a 11 by 13 sector bmap and also put the bmap in the file called "mapfil". You can also give the number of a ship, and bmap will give you a small bmap centered on the location of that ship, provided you own it. If you use lmap, the number of a land unit will give you a map around that land unit. The pmap command does the same for planes. BMAP FLAGS If you specify an 's' flag, bmap will put your ships on the map. If you spec- ify an 'l' flag, bmap will put your land units on the map. If you specify an 'p' flag, bmap will put your planes on the map. A '*' will put all on the map, in this order: land units, ships, planes. To highlight sectors you own, specify the 'h' flag. You actually have two bmaps. One which is created by the server; this one is called your 'true' bmap. You can view your true bmap at any time using the SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bmap true command. However, usually when you view your bmap, you are looking at your 'working' bmap. The only difference between your working bmap and your true bmap is that your working bmap also contains designations put on there by you using the 'bdes' command, and by your friends using the "sharebmap" command. If somehow your bmap gets corrupted, you can revert your working bmap back to your true bmap using the command: SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bmap revert SEE ALSO bdes, map, navigate, fly, bomb, recon, paradrop, drop, lookout, coastwatch, radar, sharebmap, Planes, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/pboard0100664000000000000000000000130210055155466014675 0ustar rootroot Command : PBOARD NAME pboard - Board enemy plane Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : pboard [] The pboard command enables the owner of a sector to capture any planes another player has trapped in that sector. To board plane #6 you might type: [##:##] Command : pboard 6 In order to board a plane, the plane must be on the ground in a sector that you own. Some things to note: The crew of the plane will attempt to blow up or disable the plane to avoid capture. The boarding parties do not recognize relations. Thus "pboard *" will board all planes in your territory whether owned by allies or enemies. SEE ALSO Attack, Planes, Combat empire-info-text-4.2.15/pdump0100664000000000000000000000422210055155466014557 0ustar rootroot Command : PDUMP NAME pdump - Dump raw plane information Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : pdump [] The pdump command displays all information on some or all of your planes. pdump is a combination of plane and pstat. Each plane's information is printed on one very long line. Fields are separated by a single space. This command is designed to be used for input to an empire tool such as "ve". In the syntax of the pdump command are the planes on which you wish information, [] are the fields you wish to dump. If no fields are specified, all fields are printed. (see "info Syntax"). A pdump command lists all selected planes headed by: Sun Feb 9 22:16:37 1997 DUMP PLANES 855544597 The first line is the date. The second line is the "DUMP PLANES " where the field is the current timestamp. The third line is the columns which are output. These columns represent the following fields which are also the selection cri- teria for the command. The following may be used as fields. They must be entered EXACTLY as shown here (no partial pattern matching is done.) type type of plane x x location y y location wing wing eff efficiency mob mobility tech technology level att attack value def defense value acc accuracy react current reaction range range maximum range load load rating fuel amount of fuel used in one flight hard hardness ship ship number the plane is on land land unit number the plane is on laun launchable? orb orbiting synchronously? nuke nuke name (if armed) grd groundburst? (if armed) A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : pdump #5 which would list data for all planes in realm #5. A pdump lists each of your planes in the specified area. The header line is a list of fields that correspond to the order that pdump prints the plane info. SEE ALSO plane, pstat, Clients, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/plane0100664000000000000000000000345610055155466014541 0ustar rootroot Command : PLANE NAME plane - Report status of plane, wing or planes in a give area Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : plane [ | ] The plane report command is a census of your planes and lists all the informa- tion available in readable format. The and arguments are provided in case you only wish to look at one plane or all planes within a given area. Plane expects some argument. To see all planes, use the argument '*', or enter "plane *". [##:##] Command : plane * # type x,y w eff mu def tech ran hard s/l LSB nuke 0 f2 P-51 Mustang 1,-1 100% 90 5 110 11 0 1 f2 P-51 Mustang 1,-1 100% 90 5 110 11 0 3 lb TBD-1 Devastato 1,-1 100% 90 4 120 11 0 3 planes The report format contains the following fields: # the plane number type the type of plane; "fighter 1", "jet hvy bomber", etc, x,y the plane's current location (relative to your capital), w the "air wing" designation letter, eff the plane's efficiency, mu the number of mobility points the plane has, att the attack value of the plane (for air-to-air combat) tech the tech level at which it was created, range and the range (in sectors) it can fly on a given mission. s/l the ship or land unit the plane is on LSB For satellites, LS stands for "launched?" and "Geo-synchroneous orbit?". For planes or missiles armed with nukes, B will either have the value "A" for airburst, or "G" for groundburst (see info arm). nuke the type of nuke carried SEE ALSO pstat, upgrade, arm, bomb, build, drop, fly, launch, paradrop, recon, satellite, scrap, wingadd, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/players0100664000000000000000000000156610055155466015121 0ustar rootroot Command : PLAYERS NAME players - List players currently connected to the game Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : players [##:##] Command : players Fri Sep 29 17:27:42 1995 # time idle last command Khazad'ur 34 tetherow@nol.nol.org 0:38 32s cen 0,0 children 0 children@RedDragon.Empire.Net 0:16 7s play 2 players # the country number of the player. time the total number of hours:minutes the player has been connected today idle the number of seconds since the player has typed their last command last command the last command that the player typed If you are not a deity and the BLITZ option is off, then the "players" command will only list your allies (and omit userid@host.name). SEE ALSO country, Nation, Communication, Deity, Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/pmap0100664000000000000000000000460510055155466014374 0ustar rootroot Command : PMAP NAME pmap - Get a map around a plane Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : map SYNTAX [##:##] Command : nmap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : smap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lmap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : pmap A map gives you a graphic representation of all or part of your country. Your own sectors as well as sea, mountains, wasteland and unowned wilderness and plains show up as a designation mnemonic (see "Sector-types"). Other sec- tors appear as question marks ("?"). Examples: [##:##] Command : map -9:18,-8:5 generates a 28 x 14 map based on data supplied by the sectors in the area specified. ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 -8 . . . - - -8 -7 . . . . - ^ -7 -6 . . . . - - - - -6 -5 . . - . a a - ^ ? ? - -5 -4 . . . . k o ! - ^ ? ? ? -4 -3 . - . a h j a ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ - -3 -2 . . - . a a a ^ a a - - - -2 -1 . . . a a a b + + ^ ^ - -1 0 . . . m c u a a - ^ - ^ 0 1 . - . a a . a a - - ^ 1 2 - ^ ^ a a a ^ a - - ^ 2 3 - - - - - - - . . - 3 4 ^ - - - - - ^ - - 4 5 - ^ - - ^ - - - 5 ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 [##:##] Command : map # >mapfil where your "realm" (or '#', see "info realm" or "info update") is -5:5,-6:6 will type out a 11 by 13 sector map and also put the map in the file called "mapfil". Also, if you give a ship # instead of coordinates or a realm, map will show you a small realm around the given ship (assuming you own it). If you use nmap, you can get a map that shows new sector designations instead of old sector designations of your own country. If you use lmap, you can get a map around a land unit, instead. Pmap does the same for a plane. Smap does the same for a ship. MAP FLAGS If you give an 's' flag, all your ships will be shown on the map. An 'l' flag does the same for land units, and a 'p' for planes. '*' shows all in this order: land units, ships, planes. To highlight sectors you own, specifiy the 'h' flag. SEE ALSO census, commodity, radar, realm, route, update, Planes, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/power0100664000000000000000000000676510055155466014604 0ustar rootroot Command : POWER NAME power - Display arbitrarily measured strengths of all countries Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : power [num] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : power new [num] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : power country The power report provides one view of national strengths. It can be particu- larly helpful in planning defense strategies and treaty voting. If the optional "num" argument is given, only the top num entries in the power chart will be displayed. Note that for deities, if you give a negative num- ber, only the top num entries in the power chart will be displayed, and the power number rating will not be displayed. If the optional "new" argument is given, the program will take several minutes to gather information and generate a power report based on that up-to-date information. This costs several BTU's (typically 10). If the optional "new" argument is not given, the program will shown you the report generated the last time someone asked for new data. If the optional "country" argument is given, then the information is only given for those particular countries. Countries are separated by the "/" character as in: [##:##] Command : power c Fodder/19/Mirky Note that countries may be specified as either names or numbers. In the power report the countries are listed in order of decreasing "power factor", each being represented by a line in the following format: sects eff civ mil shell gun pet iron dust oil pln ship unit money Each column represents a different commodity or aspect for that country. The columns and values used in computing the "power factor" are: a # of sectors b average sector efficiency c # of civilians d # of military e # of shells f # of guns h tons of iron ore (not displayed) i tons of gold dust j # of gold bars k tons of food (not displayed) l tanks of oil g # of planes m # of ships mm tons of ships (not displayed) r # of land units n # of dollars oo units of light construction materials (not displayed) pp units of heavy construction materials (not displayed) qq megatons of nuclear weaponry (not displayed) bb gold bars The "power factor" is determined by the following equation: power factor = for each land unit calculate and add the following ((((land unit lcm cost / 10) * (land unit effic / 100)) + ((land unit hcm cost / 10) * (land unit effic / 100))) * 2) power factor += for each ship calculate and add the following: ((((ship lcm cost / 10) * (ship effic / 100)) + ((ship hcm cost / 10) * (ship effic / 100))) * 2) power factor += for each plane calculate and add the following: (20 * (plane effic / 100) * (nation tech level / 500)) power factor += ((nation money / 100) + (petrol / 500) + ((civilians + military) / 10) + (shells / 12.5) + (iron / 100) + (dust / 5) + (oil / 10) + bars + (guns / 2.5) + (lcms / 10) + (hcms / 5)) power factor += ((number of sectors * (average sector effic / 100)) * 10) power factor = ((power factor) * (nation tech level / 500)) power factor = ((power factor) * (research factor)) The research factor is either 1, if RES_POP is not being used, or 1+(max pop in a sector)/10000, if it is being used. SEE ALSO census, nation, Communication, Nation, Diplomacy empire-info-text-4.2.15/pray0100664000000000000000000000301310055155467014403 0ustar rootroot Command : PRAY NAME pray - Interacting with the Deity Level: Basic There is one country in the game that has no material possessions yet owns everything... That country is country #0 (often called "The Deity"). The power of this ethereal country is unbounded -- it can do anything from creat- ing a civilian (as was the case with the first civilian), to literally moving mountains. Despite this great power The Deity keeps his hands out of the game and country #0 only gets involved when there is a problem with the source code, or prohib- ited activity is suspected. The most common form of prayer is the telegram; if you should be in need of aid type: [##:##] Command : pray When the program requests your message for The Deity, state it simply: Enter telegram for your Gracious Deity; end with ^D <512> I can't do anything!!!! <488> HELP!! <481> . If this doesn't get helpful results then you should send a second prayer with more specific details. e.g. <512> Every time I type any command which requires a BTU <461> I get dumped out of the game. Can you help me? <413> . This last message is sure to move the compassionate Deity to provide help. In general, when you encounter problems, be as specific about them as possi- ble. Include a transcript of the output of the problem, if available. The more information you provide, the easier it is for the deity to give you a quick & fair fix for the problem. SEE ALSO telegram, Communication, Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/production0100664000000000000000000000766310055155467015635 0ustar rootroot Command : PRODUCTION NAME production - Predicts production of sectors at the next update Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : production Produce predicts how much is going to be produced at the next update. It also shows you how much could be produced if more materials were available in the sector. Note that due to random rounding factors in the update, prod is not totally accurate -- it may be off by a little bit. In the syntax of the produce command is the area on which you wish information, (see "info syntax"). Produce reports on any sector that would produce goods, sectors that don't produce anything or are less than 60% effi- cient are ignored. A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : produce 0:9,0:9 ?type=m which would list data for mines in an area to the south-east of the capital. The production report is headed by the lines: PRODUCTION SIMULATION sect des eff wkfc will make--- p.e. cost use1 use2 use3 max1 max2 max3 max These columns represent: sect the x and y coordinates of the sector des The sectors designation eff the efficiency of the sector in doing its task. Note that some sectors although working at 100% may show up less as the natural resources influence this figure. wkfc the number of active workers in the sector (in units of civil- ians). will make--- How much of what product will be made at the next update. p.e. Production efficiency - the efficiency with which the product is made (i.e. how much benefit education or technology gives). cost The cost of the product in dollars use[123] The three use fields show how much of what product are consumed in producing the given number of products produced. max[123] The three max fields show what would be used if it were avail- able in the sector (i.e. this is what the workforce is capable of using if it was available). max This field gives the maximum output for the workforce if all the raw materials were present. For example: [##:##] Command : prod #4 ?civ>100 prod # Wed Aug 17 08:28:21 1988 PRODUCTION SIMULATION sect des eff wkfc will make--- p.e. cost use1 use2 use3 max1 max2 max3 max 1,-3 m 56% 1003 22 iron 1.00 $0 22 5,-3 a 46% 1006 171 food 0.87 $0 171 9,-3 l 100% 1003 0 edu 1.00 $0 0l 40l 40 -14,-2 r 100% 999 0.00 medical 0.06 $0 0d 0o 0l 2d 10o 20l 0.12 -8,-2 j 100% 798 32 lcm 0.87 $0 32i 32i 32 -6,-2 o 1% 182 0 oil 0.87 $0 0 -4,-2 a 100% 1003 360 food 0.87 $0 360 0,-2 m 60% 1003 24 iron 1.00 $0 24 4,-2 m 54% 999 22 iron 1.00 $0 22 8,-2 % 100% 999 0 petrol 0.78 $0 0o 40o 400 -15,-1 l 100% 1003 26 edu 1.00 $234 26l 40l 40 -13,-1 o 28% 968 11 oil 0.87 $0 11 -3,-1 m 51% 1003 20 iron 1.00 $0 20 5,-1 k 100% 1998 40 hcm 0.87 $0 78i 78i 40 -28,0 a 53% 1003 19 food 0.87 $0 19 -16,0 m 62% 1003 25 iron 1.00 $0 25 -12,0 j 100% 999 40 lcm 0.87 $0 39i 39i 40 -6,0 m 50% 964 19 iron 1.00 $0 19 -4,0 m 59% 935 22 iron 1.00 $0 22 19 sectors SEE ALSO Products, Update, Production empire-info-text-4.2.15/pstat0100664000000000000000000000342010055155467014565 0ustar rootroot Command : PSTAT NAME pstat - Report statistics of plane, wing or planes in a give area Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : pstat [ | ] The pstat command is a report of the varying statistics of your planes and lists the info in a readable format. Since your planes' statistics vary by tech level, this is a very useful way to see what the attack, defense, etc. modifiers are on a per-plane basis. The and arguments are provided in case you only wish to look at one plane or all planes within a given area. pstat expects some argument. To see all planes, use the argument '*', or enter "pstat *". [##:##] Command : pstat * pln# plane-type x,y eff tech att def acc ran load fuel 0 f2 P-51 Mustang 1,-1 100% 110 5 5 72 11 1 1 1 f2 P-51 Mustang 1,-1 100% 110 5 5 72 11 1 1 3 lb TBD-1 Devastator 1,-1 100% 120 0 4 45 11 2 1 3 planes The report format contains the following fields: pln# the plane number type the type of plane; "fighter 1", "jet hvy bomber", etc, x,y the plane's current location (relative to your capital), eff the plane's efficiency, tech the tech level at which it was created, att the attack value of the plane (for air-to-air combat) def the defensive value of the plane (for air-to-air combat) acc the accuracy of the plane (for bombing) ran and the range (in sectors) it can fly on a given mission. load the carrying capacity of the plane fuel the amount of fuel the plane takes per flight SEE ALSO plane, upgrade, arm, bomb, build, drop, fly, launch, paradrop, recon, satellite, scrap, wingadd, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/qorder0100664000000000000000000000216510055155467014733 0ustar rootroot Command : QORDER NAME qorder - Query the auto-navigation orders of a ship Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : qorder "qorder" shows current commodity levels on a ship. Ships with no orders are not listed. The report indicates: shp# ship number ship type type of ship (cargo ship, destroyer, etc) Starting The first sector to move and cargo hold levels. Ending The destination sector to and cargo hold levels. shp# ship type [Starting] , (Ending) 6 cargo ship 1 [1-s:50 2-l:500] , ( 1-g:50 ) 54 cargo ship 1 [ ] , (1-h:1000) 1003 destroyer 2 [1-s:40] , ( ) This report reads. Cargo Ship #6 will sail to its starting sector, displayed in the sorder, and load cargo hold 1 with 50 shells and cargo hold 2 with 500 light construction materials. Then sail to the ending sector, again displayed in the sorder command, unload the cargo and load cargo hold 1 with 50 guns. SEE ALSO order, sorder, bmap, navigate, ship, Ships, Autonav, Autofeed empire-info-text-4.2.15/quit0100664000000000000000000000044010055155467014413 0ustar rootroot Command : QUIT NAME quit - Log out of Empire Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : quit You use the "quit" command to close your connection to the Empire Server. In some clients, pressing control-D will do the same thing. SEE ALSO Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/radar0100664000000000000000000000750710055155470014527 0ustar rootroot Command : RADAR NAME radar - Perform radar scan from ship or sector Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : radar [ | ] The radar command bears some resemblance to modern high-resolution radar. It has a circular range dependent upon its efficiency. To run land radar type: [##:##] Command : radar where must be the sector where the radar station resides, or an area that contains one or more radar stations. The program will respond with the station's efficiency and range and then dis- play the area. What is displayed is dependent upon the range. Sectors within 1/3 of the range as well as mountains, sea and wasteland are displayed with their sector designations. Other sectors are displayed as '?'. A 100% radar station in a country with infinite technology on a clear day has a range of 16. The range is linearly related to efficiency; thus a 50% radar station can see half as far as a 100% radar station. The range is related to technology level in the "usual" way, i.e., it varies linearly with "technology factor" as indicated in the nation report; see "info nation" and "info tech- nology" for details. Satellites will appear on the map as a '$'. WARNING! Land radar cannot spot submarines. An example of land radar: [##:##] Command : radar 5,1 5,1 efficiency 100%, max range 6 . a a - ^ ? ? T k o ! - ^ ? ? a h j a ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ h . a w a ^ - ? a ? . . a m a b f a ^ ^ - . . m c * a a - ^ - ^ - . - . a + . 0 a - - ^ - . - ^ ^ a + ) ^ a - - ^ . - - a m + a f . . - ^ ^ a - a + a ^ - - - - ^ - - ^ - - - - - ^ - - - - - - - - - - - - - To run unit radar type: [##:##] Command : lradar where is the number of a unit or an army designation. To run naval radar type: [##:##] Command : radar where is the number of a ship or a fleet designation. Sea radar is highly dependent upon what kind of ship you have and what kind the opponent has. (e.g., Battleships can see battleships far away but fishing boats must be close together to see each other). The maximum distance at which ship A can see ship B is dependent on two fac- tors: the "spying" ability of ship A, and the "visibility" of ship B. Battle- ships have sophisticated communications equipment which give them a maximum spying range of 6 while fishing boats, having little such equipment, have a maximum range of 2. This factor is shown in a table in "info Ship-types" under the heading "spy". On the other hand, the ships vary in size and conse- quently, vary in visibility. Battleships, oil derricks, and carriers are the easiest to see; next come cargo ships, heavy cruisers and tenders, and so on. See "info Ship-types" for a chart. Ship A will see ship B if the distance between them is less than: spy factor of ship A * visibility of ship B efficiency * ------------------------------------------- * technology factor 20 Note that, although subs can not be found via radar, destroyers automatically use sonar so they can see subs. Destroyer A will see submarine B if the dis- tance between them is less than: spy factor of ship A * visibility of ship B efficiency * ------------------------------------------- * technology factor 20 An example of ship radar: [##:##] Command : radar 50 patrol boat #50 at -1, -3 efficiency 100%, max range 4 . . . . . . . . . - - . . - . a a - . . . T k o ! - . - F a P j a ^ ^ . . - . a w a ^ . . . a m a b . . m c * a - . a + . SEE ALSO skywatch, coastwatch, census, map, nation, Ship-types, Technology, lradar, Detection, Ships, Sectors empire-info-text-4.2.15/range0100664000000000000000000000147510055155470014530 0ustar rootroot Command : RANGE NAME range - Edit the range of a plane Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : range The "range" command is used to limit the maximum range of individual planes. This can be useful in setting up high tech interceptors (planes, ABMs, SAMs, etc.) to cover only a small limited area. Note that missiles always fly at double range (since they don't need to fly back), so you should cut the desired range in half before using the range com- mand. For example, if plane 1 were a plane and you wanted to limit its reaction radius to 6, then you would type: [##:##] Command : range 1 6 and if plane 2 were a missile and you wanted to limit its reaction radius to 6, then you would type: [##:##] Command : range 2 3 SEE ALSO Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/read0100664000000000000000000000161010055155470014336 0ustar rootroot Command : READ NAME read - Read your telegrams Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : read The read command is used to read the telegrams sent you by other countries and by the game, (e.g. when you make a sale or are attacked). When telegrams arrive you are informed with: "You have a new telegram waiting ..." if there is just one new one, or "You have ten new telegrams waiting ..." if there are ten of them, or "You have several new telegrams waiting ..." if there are very many. After reading all your telegrams you may discard them by answering "yes" to the question posed. If you answer "no" the telegrams will remain pending but you will not be reminded of them. This command reads only telegrams & bulletins, use the 'wire' command to read announcements. SEE ALSO toggle, telegram, wire, flash, accept, reject, Communication empire-info-text-4.2.15/realm0100664000000000000000000000206410055155470014527 0ustar rootroot Command : REALM NAME realm - Print out or modify one of your "realms" Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : realm The realm command allows you to manipulate the contents of the "realm"s asso- ciated with your country which provide a convenient way to save coordinates that are frequently used (see "info syntax" for use of realm arguments). In the syntax of the realm command is the number of the realm to be set. The argument is optional; if included, the specified realm will be set to ; if omitted the coordinates of the specified realm will be printed. [##:##] Command : realm 1 Realm 1 is -3:3,3:3 [##:##] Command : realm 1 -3:2,4 [##:##] Command : realm 1 Realm 1 is now set to -3:2,4:4 If the argument is omitted, the coordinates of all realms will be printed. Also note that the argument may use the "#" form of realm specifica- tion. [##:##] Command : realm 0 #1 Now realm 0 is set to -3:2,4:4. SEE ALSO Syntax, nation, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/recon0100664000000000000000000000453210055155470014537 0ustar rootroot Command : RECON NAME recon - Use planes to take a look around Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : recon route|destination The "recon" command is used to gather intelligence about sectors that the spy mission overflies. The planes take off from their respective airports, assem- ble, and then fly the mission and land in the destination sector. represents a list of planes which are to be performing the intel- ligence gathering operation. Only planes which are provided with gas, and have sufficient mobility will be successfully selected for the mission. represent a list of fighter planes which are capable of escorting the transports all the way to the target. To be selected, escorts must have fuel and mobility. represents an assembly point, where all of the planes in the mission meet before proceeding on to the target sector. The assembly point must be owned by you, and must not be more than four sectors away from any of the planes selected for the mission. Route is a normal empire path specification. You may also give a destination sector on the command line, or at any time while giving the route, and empire will use the best path from the current sector to the desired destination sec- tor. When getting a path interactively, empire will show you the information you have (from your bmap) concerning the current area, to help plot your course. Information given by recon is not totally accurate. Recon missions can be intercepted just like any other mission. If the desti- nation sector is not an airport, then all planes in the mission must have V/STOL capability. Planes with the ASW ability will perform a sonar search on each sector as they fly through it. Each sub contact will be reported only once, giving the sec- tor and number of the sub, from the sector in which it is first detected (which may not be the sector the sub is in, as plane sonar has a range depen- dent on acc, and a chance of finding a sub of ((100-acc)-(4-sub visib)*10))+((100-effic)/5) percent. The sub being sonared may detect the sonar ping. Note that a plane must be at least 40% efficient before it can leave the ground. SEE ALSO Plane-types, bomb, fly, paradrop, drop, sweep, Mobility, Planes, Detection empire-info-text-4.2.15/reject0100664000000000000000000000144210055155470014702 0ustar rootroot Command : REJECT NAME reject - Stop/start listening to other countries Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : reject The reject command allows you to either accept or reject announcements, mail, treaties, or loans from a country. [##:##] Command : reject reject or accept? reject mail, treaties, loans, or announcements? anno nat(s)? 0 Rejecting annos from The_Scum [##:##] Command : reject reject or accept? accept mail, treaties, loans, or announcements? anno nat(s)? 0 Accepting annos from The_Scum The accept command can be used to see the communications status of a country. SEE ALSO telegram, announce, read, wire, reject, accept, Communication, Diplomacy empire-info-text-4.2.15/relations0100664000000000000000000001143510055155471015432 0ustar rootroot Command : RELATIONS NAME relations - Shows diplomatic relations between countries Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : relations The relations command displays your diplomatic status with other nations. If the optional argument is specified, the command displays that country's diplo- matic status with other nations. The data displayed by the nation command is formatted as a single page report. [##:##] Command : relations MGM Diplomatic Relations Report Sat Jun 17 23:24:46 1989 0) POGO Allied Allied 1) 1 Neutral Neutral 2) Groonland At War Hostile [##:##] Command : relations 2 Groonland Diplomatic Relations Report Sat Jun 17 23:24:46 1989 0) POGO Neutral Neutral 1) 1 Allied Neutral 3) MGM Hostile At War Relations are: "Allied", "Friendly", "Neutral", "Hostile", "Mobilizing", "Sitzkrieg", and "At War". Each has certain ramifications. Allied Your ally is someone you trust deeply, and are willing to make sacri- fices for. If you are allied with someone, then your forts, ships, planes, & artillery will support them in battle. Also, they can over-fly you, and you will not be told. (I.e. an ally can map you out easily). When you use the "wall" command, it sends a flash message to all of your allies (see info wall). Unless the ALL_BLEED option is in effect, you will benefit from tech produced by your allies, but not by others . Allied nations are assumed to have "friendly" trade relations. Friendly When you accept a country as a trustworthy trading partner, then you establish friendly relations towards them. This allows them to sail ships into your harbours, load and unload goods, fuel, and have their ships repaired there. You are allowed to "tend" and "follow" friendly ships. You are allowed to cede sectors to a friendly nation, and may send them "flash" mes- sages (see info flash). You will be warned, however, if they overfly your territory. And if they do it enough times, your diplomatic relations towards them will be automatically downgraded. You may "spy" on a friendly nation with no consequences. Neutral You start out neutral towards all countries. It simply means that you are ambivalent towards them. If they overfly your territory, you will be warned and your relations will automatically downgrade. Caught spies will be deported. Hostile If you are suspicious that a nation may be planning to attack you, but you are not committed to an all out war against them, then you should declare hostile relations towards them. This will ensure that your planes will intercept theirs if they try to over-fly you, and your forts will fire on their ships when they sail within range. Also, your a-sat's and abm's will attempt to intercept their satellites and missiles independent of the target sector they have launched them at, and your ships with anti-missile capability will attempt to intercept any incoming marine missiles within range. Caught spies will be shot. War If you are committed to expending major resources against a nation, then you should declare war on them. This will cause all of your ships, artillery, planes and missiles which have been put on a mission to react to enemy move- ment. The following paragraphs apply only if the SLOW_WAR option is used. Mobilizing If you are Mobilizing, it means that you have declared war, and are getting ready to attack. You cannot attack someone's land until you are actually "At War". At the next update, you will automatically move to "Sitzkrieg". Your interdiction of the enemy will be the same as if you were hostile towards them. Sitzkrieg Sitzkrieg is the same as "Mobilizing". You still are unable to attack their land. At the next update, you will automatically move to "At War". When you are At War with someone, you may attack them willy-nilly. Note that if the SNEAK_ATTACK option is enabled, you can make an attack on someone you're not at war with (not shelling or anything else, just an attack or assault). For this privilege, you are charged $5K. Once your attack is over, whether successful or not, you automatically declare war on them and must wait through the normal SLOW_WAR procedure to attack again. (In this case, the $1K fee for declaring war is waived) Also, there is an automatic progression. If someone you are allied with attacks you, you become hostile towards them. If someone you are neutral to over-flies or attacks you, you become hostile towards them. Neither of these progressions can lead to war, however, they both stop at hostility. SEE ALSO Diplomacy empire-info-text-4.2.15/repay0100664000000000000000000000160110055155471014544 0ustar rootroot Command : REPAY NAME repay - Repay a loan (all or part) Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : repay The repay command is used to repay loans from other countries. The argument is the number of the loan you are repaying and if not included on the command line it will be solicited by the program. You can repay all or part of the loan with this command; however beware of letting the loan become overdue -- the lender may decide to force collection (see "info collect"). When you repay on a loan a telegram is sent to the lender informing her/him of the amount repaid. [##:##] Command : repay 12 You presently owe $4515 payment : $2000 or, [##:##] Command : repay 12 You presently owe $4515 payment : $4515 Congratulations, you've paid off the loan! SEE ALSO collect, consider, ledger, offer, Loans empire-info-text-4.2.15/report0100664000000000000000000000473510055155471014752 0ustar rootroot Command : REPORT NAME report - List all countries and their status Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : report The report command displays a list of nations in . It shows their sta- tus (in-flux, visitor, active, etc), and their estimated tech, education, research and happiness levels. If is a country name or number, it will only display information on that country; if is * then information on all countries will be listed. An example of a report command for the country "Froom 93" would look something like this: [##:##] Command : report * Thu Sep 14 16:10:40 1995 # name tech research education happiness status 2 Artifax 0 - 147 79 - 99 0 - 23 0 - 9 In flux 3 Billy 0 - 137 79 - 99 0 - 23 0 - 9 In flux 4 CCCP 150 - 200 120 - 150 23 - 30 20 - 25 Active 8 Khazad'ur 86 - 108 120 - 150 23 - 30 12 - 17 Active 9 Lorphos 96 - 121 120 - 150 0 - 23 12 - 17 Active This is how the ranges are determined. (1) If your value of the statistic is 0, then n/a (not applicable) will be printed in that column. (2) If the value for both countries is > 100, then shift them down so the lowest one is at 100. (3) Each of the following tests is made in order. As soon as one of them is true, then that will be the range for that statistic: 2.0 * yours < theirs 1.5 * yours < theirs < 2.0 * yours 1.2 * yours < theirs < 1.5 * yours 1.1 * yours < theirs < 1.2 * yours yours / 1.1 < theirs < 1.1 * yours yours / 1.2 < theirs < yours / 1.1 yours / 1.5 < theirs < yours / 1.2 yours / 2.0 < theirs < yours / 1.5 theirs < yours / 2.0 (4) Once the range has been determined, it is shifted back up to where it should be. (5) There is a "minimum range" for the different characteristics: tech: 20 res: 10 edu: 5 hap: 5 If the distance between the high and low end of the range is smaller than the "minimum range", then the range is expanded (equally in both directions but never crossing zero) to be equal to the minimum range. However, it will never be expanded beyond twice your value of that statistic. SEE ALSO country, Diplomacy, Nation empire-info-text-4.2.15/reset0100664000000000000000000000076610055155471014561 0ustar rootroot Command : RESET NAME reset - Reset the price of a product on the market Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : reset The reset price command allows you to reset the prices of your commodities that are on the market. is the lot # shown by the 'market' command. is the new asking price. An asking price of 0 will take your goods off the market and return them to your harbor or warehouse. SEE ALSO buy, sell, Market empire-info-text-4.2.15/resource0100664000000000000000000000376110055155471015264 0ustar rootroot Command : RESOURCE NAME resource - Show the resources of sectors Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : resource The resource command displays specific information on some or all of the sec- tors you occupy. In the syntax of the resource command is the area on which you wish information, (see "info syntax"). A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : resource 0:9,0:9 ?des=m which would list data for mines in an area to the south-east of the capital. A resource report lists each of your sectors in the specified area headed by: RESOURCE sect eff min gold fert oil uran ter These columns represent: sect the x and y coordinates of the sector eff the efficiency of the sector (affects all benefits of a designated sec- tor except mobility units) min the percentage richness of non-gold minerals, (range is 0-100, not used up, i.e. a renewable resource) gold the amount of gold ore, (range is 0-100, in absolute tons, i.e. non- renewable) fert the fertility of the soil in relative terms, (range is 0-100, not used up, i.e. a renewable resource) oil the petroleum content of the soil in relative terms, (range is 0-100, in absolute tons, i.e. non-renewable) uran the uranium (radioactive materials) content in relative terms, (non- renewable) ter the territory number. For example: [##:##] Command : reso #0 Sat Sep 2 03:20:00 1989 RESOURCE sect eff min gold fert oil uran ter 3,-5 ^ 40% 38 0 64 0 44 5,-5 ) 100% 75 0 41 0 36 90 7,-5 t 100% 65 0 38 0 72 9,-5 h 100% 48 0 42 0 45 5 0,-4 j 100% 0 0 112 40 0 2,-4 j 100% 32 0 69 0 36 4,-4 l 100% 60 0 53 0 37 22 6,-4 + 100% 52 0 14 0 78 10,-4 ^ 20% 100 0 0 0 79 9 sectors SEE ALSO commodity, census, Products, Sectors empire-info-text-4.2.15/retreat0100664000000000000000000000655210055155471015104 0ustar rootroot Command : RETREAT NAME retreat - Set retreat conditions/paths for ships or fleets Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : retreat [ | ] [] [] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lretreat [ | ] [] [] The retreat command allows you to examine or modify the retreat paths and con- ditions of your ships or units. The following description is for ships. Land units are exactly the same, except of course that some of the retreat condi- tions (being sonared, depth charged, etc) don't apply. The and arguments are provided to specify which ships to view or give orders for. If a fleet designation is given when specifying orders, the orders apply to all ships within that fleet. Retreat expects an argument. To see every ship you own, give it the argument '*', or type "retreat *". The report format contains the following fields: shp# the ship number shiptype the type of ship; "patrol boat", "submarine", etc, x,y the ship's current location (relative to your capital), flt the fleet designation letter (set by "fleetadd" command), path the ship's current retreat path. as_flt? whether or not the ship's retreat path is a fleet retreat path flags what conditions the ship will retreat under For example: [##:##] Command : retreat * shp# ship type x,y fl path as flt? flags 0 battleship 4 2,0 jjuuj I 1 ship Overview A player may give retreat orders for a ship or a fleet. Retreat orders include a set of conditions that determine when the fleet/ship will retreat, and a path that the fleet/ship will follow. When a condition is met for a particular ship, the "as flt?" field is checked. If it is Yes, then every ship in that fleet with fleet retreat orders retreats along the specified path. If it is no, then the retreat orders apply to that ship only, and only that ship retreats. When a ship is added to a fleet, it is given the retreat orders of that fleet, if any exist. Retreat orders are wiped when a ship navigates. Retreat conditions at present include: Condition Meaning I Retreat when the ship is injured, i.e. whenever the ship is damaged by fire, bombs, or torping. T Retreat when a sub torpedos or tries to torpedo the ship. B Retreat when a plane bombs or tries to bomb the ship. S Retreat when the ship detects a sonar ping. D Retreat when the ship is depth-charged. H Retreat when helpless. A ship is helpless when it is fired upon, and no friendly ships/sectors (including the ship itself) are able to fire back at the aggressor. U Retreat upon a failed boarding attempt. C Clear the flags For example, if the battleship above was fired at, it would attempt to retreat 2 sectors, jj, using the normal amount of mobility for moving 2 sectors. It would then look like: shp# ship type x,y fl path as flt? flags 0 battleship 4 2,0 uuj I 1 ship SEE ALSO ship, fleetadd, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/route0100664000000000000000000000330010055155472014561 0ustar rootroot Command : ROUTE NAME route - Display delivery routes Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : route The route command generates a graphic display of the delivery arrangement for a specific deliverable item in a given sector area. The argument is as described in "info syntax". is one of the following: u uncompensated workers f food s shells g guns (not gold) p planes i iron ore d dust, (gold) b bars of gold o oil l light construction materials h heavy construction materials r radioactive materials The delivery routes are indicated with "go-to"s using the following codes, (assuming the sector in question is a mine): m/ up-right (u in census) m> right (j in census) m\ down-right (n in census) /m down-left (b in census) h> \j \a$ + -3 -2 \a$ \a$ $a\ /a$ /a$ -2 -1 /a$ $a\ /a$ b /+ + -1 0 m c u t \i 0 1 \a$ \l \a \a 1 2 a/ \a a/ $a$ 2 - - - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 SEE ALSO deliver, census, Syntax, Distribution empire-info-text-4.2.15/sabotage0100664000000000000000000000126010055155472015213 0ustar rootroot Command : SABOTAGE NAME sabotage - Damage enemy territory with spy unit Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sabotage The "sabotage" command is used to blow up commodities and cause havoc in the sector the spy is in. Spies don't check relations and can cause damage to enemies and allies. Sabotage can only be done by spy units. The spy must have a shell to make an attempt. Terrorizing your neighbors is dangerous work. Spies can be caught or die dur- ing a sabotage attempt. Sabotage can be more effective against enemy warehouses filled with explosive or flammable materials. SEE ALSO Spies, Unit-types, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/sail0100664000000000000000000000431110055155472014356 0ustar rootroot Command : SAIL NAME sail - Give sailing orders to a ship Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sail [|q[uery]|-] You use the "sail" command to give a sailing path to ships. At each update, ships with a sailing path "auto-navigate" along the path that was set for them. Telegrams notify you of arrivals or problems encountered while attempt- ing to follow the path. Radar operates continuously as the ship moves along the path, constantly adding sector information to the known world map. Ship movement is performed before mobility is increased. This insures that after the update, ships with a sailing path will still have some mobility so that you can always manually navigate to some extent. Note that ships sailing can encounter exactly the same interdiction as ships navigating. [##:##] Command : sail q "sail", with the "query" parameter, shows the current sailing path. The report indicates: shp# ship number ship type type of ship (cargo ship, destroyer, etc) x,y ship's current position mobil ship's current mobility mobquota mobility available per update to sail follows ship that is being followed path the current sailing path shp# ship type x,y mobil mobquota follows path 1 cargo ship -27,19 44 32 1 jjjuujj 12 cargo ship -27,19 40 32 1 34 fishing boat 15,32 58 32 3 ggbbgyyg 58 cargo ship 18,34 62 0 4 4 ship(s) [##:##] Command : sail - "sail", with the "-" parameter, causes the sailing path for the ships speci- fied to be removed. The PATH is a normal empire path specification. You may *not* give a destina- tion sector on the command line, or at any time while giving the route. Use the "order" command if you wish this functionality. When getting a path interactively, empire will show you the information you have (from your bmap) concerning the current area, to help you plot your course. SEE ALSO follow, unsail, mquota, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/satellite0100664000000000000000000000450010055155472015414 0ustar rootroot Command : SATELLITE NAME satellite - Download data from a reconnaissance satellite Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : satellite [ [?cond&cond&...]] The satellite command is how you get information from your satellites. A satellite must be in orbit (launched) before it will begin transmitting. The type of information you get from a satellite depends on what type of satellite it is. An ordinary satellite will return data that looks remarkably like "radar" out- put. If the satellite has "imaging" capabilities you will see the sector des- ignations. If not then you will see a '?' for inhabited sectors. A satellite with imaging capabilities will also show ships and land units. Spy satellites provide much more information. Their output is a table that looks remarkably like "spy" output followed by another table listing all the ships in the area with their owner, ship type, and efficiency. Spy satellites with "imaging" capabilities can also see subs! After launching, a satellite will take a while to come "on line". During this period, (shown by mobility being < 127), you cannot use the satellite. If a satellite has been damaged, then it will only transmit partial data. For example, a 75% satellite will only display three out of every four sectors. Note that it will always be the same 75% of sectors which are displayed (i.e. it is not random), so you will gain nothing by repeatedly downloading data from the satellite. You may also filter the information you receive from the satellite using con- ditionals. Here are some examples to show you how conditionals work. In all of the following examples, we will assume that we are using satellite #28. To list all airports: [##:##] Command : sat 28 se ?des=* To list all airports owned by country #7: [##:##] Command : sat 28 se ?des=*&own=7 To list all ships in 12,14: [##:##] Command : sat 28 sh ?xloc=12&yloc=14 To list all land units: [##:##] Command : sat 28 l To list all cavalry units: [##:##] Command : sat 28 l ?type=cavalry For a complete list of conditionals you can use, see info Syntax. Note that the large radar map is only drawn when the output is not filtered: [##:##] Command : sat 28 SEE ALSO launch, radar, spy, census, map, Syntax, Ship-types, Planes, Detection empire-info-text-4.2.15/sbmap0100664000000000000000000000762410055155472014542 0ustar rootroot Command : SBMAP NAME sbmap - Big map of all your worldly knowledge around a ship Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bmap [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lbmap [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : pbmap [ | ] SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sbmap [ | ] A bmap gives you a graphic representation of all or part of your country. Bmap differs from map in that it reflects everything you've learned about the world. If, for example, you navigate near a sector and find out that it is sea, it will show up on your bmap as sea, even if it doesn't show up on your map. Note that bmap shows the "LAST KNOWN INFORMATION" you have about a sector. It may change, and your bmap will not reflect it. For example, if you re-desig- nate a sector, it won't show up on your bmap as the new sector type until you do a map. Commands contributing to bmap include (but are not limited to): map, nav, fly, bomb, recon, para, drop, lookout, coastwatch, radar. (probably others) You can also get an sbmap by typing 'B' at the navigation prompt. Note that any sector marked as 'X' on your bmap will automatically be avoided by ships when they are trying to calculate the best path between two points. Whenever you detect a sea mine in a sector, the server will automatically put an 'X' on your bmap. You can call up a local bmap while navigating or marching by typing 'B' at the prompt. Examples: [##:##] Command : bmap -9:18,-8:5 generates a 28 x 14 bmap based on data supplied by the sectors in the area specified. ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 -8 . . . - - -8 -7 . . . . - ^ -7 -6 . . . . - - - - -6 -5 . . - . a a - ^ ? ? - -5 -4 . . . . k o ! - ^ ? ? ? -4 -3 . - . a h j a ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ - -3 -2 . . - . a a a ^ a a - - - -2 -1 . . . a a a b + + ^ ^ - -1 0 . . . m c u a a - ^ - ^ 0 1 . - . a a . a a - - ^ 1 2 - ^ ^ a a a ^ a - - ^ 2 3 - - - - - - - . . - 3 4 ^ - - - - - ^ - - 4 5 - ^ - - ^ - - - 5 ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 [##:##] Command : bmap # >mapfil where your "realm" (or '#', see "info realm" or "info update") is -5:5,-6:6 will type out a 11 by 13 sector bmap and also put the bmap in the file called "mapfil". You can also give the number of a ship, and bmap will give you a small bmap centered on the location of that ship, provided you own it. If you use lmap, the number of a land unit will give you a map around that land unit. The pmap command does the same for planes. BMAP FLAGS If you specify an 's' flag, bmap will put your ships on the map. If you spec- ify an 'l' flag, bmap will put your land units on the map. If you specify an 'p' flag, bmap will put your planes on the map. A '*' will put all on the map, in this order: land units, ships, planes. To highlight sectors you own, specify the 'h' flag. You actually have two bmaps. One which is created by the server; this one is called your 'true' bmap. You can view your true bmap at any time using the SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bmap true command. However, usually when you view your bmap, you are looking at your 'working' bmap. The only difference between your working bmap and your true bmap is that your working bmap also contains designations put on there by you using the 'bdes' command, and by your friends using the "sharebmap" command. If somehow your bmap gets corrupted, you can revert your working bmap back to your true bmap using the command: SYNTAX [##:##] Command : bmap revert SEE ALSO bdes, map, navigate, fly, bomb, recon, paradrop, drop, lookout, coastwatch, radar, sharebmap, Ships, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/scrap0100664000000000000000000000174610055155472014547 0ustar rootroot Command : SCRAP NAME scrap - Scrap a ship, plane, or unit Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : scrap This command allows you to scrap planes/units/ships when you no longer need them. Ships may only be scrapped friendly 60% harbours. Planes may only be scrapped in 60% airfields. Units may be scrapped in any sector. When scrapping a unit, plane or ship, you receive materials equal to 2/3 the amount used to build it. The materials are put in the sector where the scrap- ping occurs. When scrapping a unit, you also get the military that the unit represents as mil in the sector. (Example: a unit that takes 100 mil to build is at 50%, and is scrapped. 50 mil will be added to the sector) Units on ships cannot be scrapped. If you scrap a ship or unit that has planes on board, the planes will be transferred to the sector. SEE ALSO scuttle, build, ship, land, plane, Ships, Planes, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/scuttle0100664000000000000000000000133710055155473015117 0ustar rootroot Command : SCUTTLE NAME scuttle - Destroy a ship, plane, or unit Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : scuttle This command allows you to destroy planes/units/ships when you no longer need them. Planes, units, and ships may be scuttled in any sector. If you scuttle a ship or unit that has planes on board, the planes will either be transferred to land (if a unit, or if the ship is in a harbor), or will die (if the ship is elsewhere) Units on ships may not be scuttled. Scuttling trade-ships (if the TRADESHIPS option is enabled) has other effects. See info Trade-ships. SEE ALSO scrap, Trade-ships, build, ship, plane, land, Ships, Planes, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/sdump0100664000000000000000000000514310055155473014563 0ustar rootroot Command : SDUMP NAME sdump - Dump raw ship information Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sdump [] The sdump command displays all information on some or all of your ships. sdump is a combination of ship, cargo, and sstat. Each ship's information is printed on one very long line. Fields are separated by a single space. This command is designed to be used for input to an empire tool such as "ve". In the syntax of the sdump command are the ships on which you wish information, [] are the fields you wish to dump. If no fields are specified, all fields are printed. (see "info Syntax"). An sdump command lists all selected ships headed by: Sun Feb 9 22:16:37 1997 DUMP SHIPS 855544597 The first line is the date. The second line is the "DUMP SHIPS " where the field is the current timestamp. The third line is the columns which are output. These columns represent the following fields which are also the selection cri- teria for the command. The following may be used as fields. They must be entered EXACTLY as shown here (no partial pattern matching is done.) type type of ship x x location y y location flt fleet eff efficiency civ # of civilians on board mil # of mil on board uw # of uw on board food # of food on board pln # of planes on board he # of helicopters on board xl # of x-light planes on board land # of land units on board mob mobility fuel fuel on board tech technology of ship shell # of shells on board gun # of guns on board petrol # of petrol on board iron # of iron on board dust # of dust on board bar # of bars on board oil # of oil on board lcm # of lcms on board hcm # of hcms on board rad # or rads on board def defense of ship spd speed of ship vis visibility of ship rng firing range of ship fir max # of guns fired by each volley name ship name origx x origin where trade ship was built origy y origin where trade ship was built A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : sdump #5 which would list data for all ships in realm #5. A sdump lists each of your ships in the specified area. The header line is a list of fields that correspond to the order that sdump prints the ship info. SEE ALSO ship, cargo, sstat, Clients, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/sect0100664000000000000000000000253410055155473014372 0ustar rootroot Command : SECT NAME sect - Show only sectors owned by you in map form Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sect The sect report gives you a graphic representation of all or part of your country, similar to map. Only sectors owned by you show up, however. The rest of the world is simply blank. If your terminal is of the proper type, any sectors selected by the "?cond" operator will show up in reverse video. Examples: [##:##] Command : sect -9:18,-8:5 generates a 28 x 14 map based on data supplied by the sectors in the area specified. ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 -8 -8 -7 -7 -6 -6 -5 a a -5 -4 k o ! -4 -3 a h j a -3 -2 a a a a a -2 -1 a a a b + + -1 0 m c u a a 0 1 a a a a 1 2 a a a a 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 SEE ALSO census, commodity, radar, realm, route, update, map, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/sell0100664000000000000000000000300410055155473014364 0ustar rootroot Command : SELL NAME sell - Sell commodities on the world market Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sell The sell command allows nations to sell commodities on the open market. Not all commodities can be traded -- notably civilians and military. The is the type of commodity you are selling, represents the range of sectors which will be selling items. Only harbors and warehouses which are at least 60% efficient may sell goods. , if positive, reflects the amount of food to be taken from each sec- tor. If negative, the amount shows the "lower limit" of food required to be present in that sector and will only sell food in excess of that limit. is the base price of the commodity per unit to the world. In addition, the sector selling needs to have at least 1 mobility to sell goods. Typical output looks like: [7:640] Command : sell food 4,-2 10 5 Sold 10 food at 4,-2 (206 left) [7:639] Command : sell food 4,-2 -100 5 Sold 106 food at 4,-2 (100 left) Only harbors and warehouses may sell items. Also, note that due to the time delay market, you don't get any money until the goods are actually bidded upon and paid for once the bidding time is up. There is a certain overhead on selling items, based on the difficulty of mov- ing the items in question. This is based on the tax you pay which is set by the deity (see "info version"). SEE ALSO buy, reset, Market empire-info-text-4.2.15/set0100664000000000000000000000141110055155473014220 0ustar rootroot Command : SET NAME set - Establish price for a ship, plane or land unit Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : set The set price command allows you to set the prices on ships/units/planes for sale. is the type of unit you are putting on sale, either ship, plane, or land. is(are) the unit #(s), and is the cost per item. If you don't supply the price on the command line the program will ask the selling price. Negative prices can't be used (no more Crazy Eddie). You may withdraw an offer by setting the price to zero. Note that ships are not "delivered" to the purchaser, but planes and units are. SEE ALSO trade, Market empire-info-text-4.2.15/setresource0100664000000000000000000000034410055155474015775 0ustar rootroot Command : SETRESOURCE NAME setresource - Change resources of a sector Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : setresource SEE ALSO swapsector, give, setsector, Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/setsector0100664000000000000000000000043210055155474015443 0ustar rootroot Command : SETSECTOR NAME setsector - Change stats of a sector Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : setsector You can change anything that appears in dump or hidden (I think). SEE ALSO give, setresource, edit, Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/sharebmap0100664000000000000000000000355310055155474015401 0ustar rootroot Command : SHAREBMAP NAME sharebmap - Share parts of your bmap with another country Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sharebmap [] This command will share all of the information on your bmap with the country . In order for it to work, they must be friendly towards you and your bmaps must already overlap to some extent. Note that your 'working' bmaps are not compared for this, but rather your 'true' bmaps. In particular, you can not fool the game into thinking that your bmaps overlap through using the 'bdes' command. See the bottom of 'info bmap' for an explanation of the difference between your 'working' and your 'true' bmap. When sectors owned by you get transferred to your friend's bmap, they will be replaced with the first letter of your country name (capitalized), the only exception being harbors and bridges which will always be transmitted. Also, if you want to send them the location of owned sectors having a certain desig- nation you can specify that using the optional argument. For example if your country name was "TheScum" and you typed: [##:##] Command : sharebmap Fodderland #1 j then all of your bmap would be added to Fodderland's bmap, with sectors owned by you replaced with 'T', except for your '=', 'h', and 'j' sectors which would be sent as is. Note that the destination bmap will only be changed if in that location there was a '?', a '.', a ' ', or the first letter of your country name (capital- ized). Thus, the receiving country will not loose any information in this exchange. Note that the sharebmap command only changes your 'working' bmap and so you can delete sharebmap information from your bmap by typing: [##:##] Command : bmap revert See 'info bmap' for more details. SEE ALSO bdes, bmap, Communication, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/shark0100664000000000000000000000116610055155474014545 0ustar rootroot Command : SHARK NAME shark - Purchase defaulted loan Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : shark The shark command is used to buy out an overdue loan from another owner. The is the number of the loan you wish to buy. The loan must be in arrears. The holder of the note will recieve the value of the loan plus one periods worth of interest from your treasury. The player who owes the money on the loan will be notified of the switch. After the loan is transfered you may collect on it as normal. SEE ALSO offer, consider, collect, financial, Loans empire-info-text-4.2.15/ship0100664000000000000000000000353410055155474014401 0ustar rootroot Command : SHIP NAME ship - Report status of ship, fleet or ships in a given area Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : ship [ | ] The ship report command is a census of your ships and lists all the info available in readable format. The and arguments are provided in case you only wish to look at one ship or one fleet or all ships within a given area. Ship expects an argument. To see every ship you own, give it the argument '*', or type "ship *". The report format contains the following fields: shp# the ship number shiptype the type of ship; "patrol boat", "submarine", etc, x,y the ship's current location (relative to your capital), flt the fleet designation letter (set by "fleetadd" command), eff the ship's efficiency, civ the number of civilians on board mil mil is the number of military on board uw the number of uncompensated workers on board, fd the amount of food on board pn the number of planes on the ship he the number of helicopters on board (if the SHIPCHOPPERS option is enabled) xl the number of extra-light planes on board (if the XLIGHT option is enabled) ln the number of land units on board fuel the amount of fuel on board (if the FUEL option is enabled) mu the mobility of the ship tech the tech level of the ship For example: [##:##] Command : ship * shp# ship type x,y fl eff civ mil uw fd pn he xl ln mob fuel tech 0 dd destroyer 1,1 100% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 127 30 140 1 bb battleship 1,1 100% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 120 50 200 2 ships SEE ALSO sstat, build, cargo, fleetadd, navigate, load, lookout, scrap, sonar, tor- pedo, upgrade, land, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/shoot0100664000000000000000000000254310055155475014572 0ustar rootroot Command : SHOOT NAME shoot - Dispose of enemy civilians or uncompensated workers Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : shoot c SYNTAX [##:##] Command : shoot u The shoot command allows you to shoot recalcitrant civilans or uncompensated workers. In order to be able to keep the populace under control (i.e., not have them rebel), you must have one military for every ten civilians. Any land units in the sector count towards the mil necessary for control. Each civ or uw shot uses mobility (see "info Mobility" for the exact formula). Fractions are rounded randomly up or down, depending on size. For example, a 0.8 cost has an 80% chance of being 1, and a 20% chance of being 0. is a positive number that is the number of people shot per sector. After the program has collected any necessary information it will list each sector where your troops shoot down the poor helpless people along with the number of people murdered. If all the civilians in the sector are removed, and it was a conquered sector, it will become completely controlled by you, and you will be notified of this fact. Having security troops in the sector will make the firing squads use less mobility (they're enthusiastic). SEE ALSO convert, Mobility, Citizens, Populace, Occupation empire-info-text-4.2.15/show0100664000000000000000000000272510055155475014420 0ustar rootroot Command : SHOW NAME show - Characteristics of bridges, ships, planes, land units or sectors Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : show [b|s|c] [tech] The show command describes the characteristics of bridge spans, bridge towers, planes, ships, land units, nukes, and sectors for a given technology level. The format of each output is more fully described in separate info pages (Ship-types, Nuke-types, etc.). Except for bridge (bridge span) and tower (bridge tower), a further parameter is required to indicate whether you wish information about building (b), statistics (s) or capabilities (c) of the selected type. The tech parameter defaults to 1.25 times your current technology level. You can only get information on ships, planes, land units and nukes that you are `almost' capable of building (within 1.25 times of your current technology level). So, for example [##:##] Command : show nuke capabilities will give something like blst dam lbs tech $ 10kt fission 3 80 4 200 $7500 50kt fission 3 100 6 225 $9000 100kt fission 4 120 8 250 $12000 250kt fusion 4 150 4 280 $7500 500kt fusion 5 170 6 295 $9000 1mt fusion 6 190 8 310 $12000 3mt fusion 7 210 10 325 $19000 SEE ALSO Ship-types, Nuke-types, Plane-types, Unit-types, Sector-types, Ships, Planes, LandUnits, Products empire-info-text-4.2.15/shutdown0100664000000000000000000000157210055155475015312 0ustar rootroot Command : SHUTDOWN NAME shutdown - Shut down the server Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : shutdown [] Shutdown the server in minutes. If is 0 or not specified, then any previous shutdown request will be canceled. If the second argument is a "n" then updates will not be disabled (otherwise they will be). All players currently logged on will be sent flash messages when the shutdown is started, every hour the day of the shutdown, every 10 minutes the hour of the shutdown, and every minute for the last five minutes of the shutdown. When the shutdown actually happens, the server will abort player commands in the same way that the update does. The players connection is closed in the same way that idle connections are closed. SEE ALSO enable, disable, force, turn, Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/sinfrastructure0100664000000000000000000000420510055155475016676 0ustar rootroot Command : SINFRASTRUCTURE NAME sinfrastructure - Report infrastructure of sectors Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sinfrastructure The sinfrastructure command displays specific infrastructure information on some or all of the sectors you occupy. In the syntax of the census command is the area on which you wish information, (see "info syntax"). A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : sinfrastructure 0:9,0:9 ?des=m which would list data for mines in an area to the south-east of the capital. A sinfrastructure lists each of your sectors in the specified area headed by: Thu Aug 8 08:37:03 1996 road rail defense sect eff eff mcost eff mcost eff fact These columns represent: sect the x and y coordinates of the sector eff the efficiency of the sector (affects all benefits of a desig- nated sector except mobility and defense) road eff the road efficiency of the sector road mcost the mcost used to determine the mobility cost of moving things and marching non-train units through the sector rail eff the rail efficiency of the sector rail mcost the mcost used to determine the mobility cost of moving trains through the sector. If the rail eff is 0, trains cannot move through this sector. defense eff the defense efficiency of the sector. defense fact the defense factor of the sector. This is how well the sector defends. All sectors start at 1, and improve (see "improve") from there to the maximum shown in "show sect stats" For example: [##:##] Command : sinf #0 Thu Aug 8 08:37:03 1996 road rail defense sect eff eff mcost eff mcost eff fact 1,-1 f 0% 0% 0.400 0% 0.400 6% 1.18 0,0 c 100% 2% 0.192 28% 0.113 8% 1.08 2,0 m 100% 0% 0.200 0% 0.200 100% 2.00 3 sectors SEE ALSO improve, census, commodity, resource, Sectors, Infrastructure, Mobility, Commodities empire-info-text-4.2.15/skywatch0100664000000000000000000000127510055155475015274 0ustar rootroot Command : SKYWATCH NAME skywatch - Check from sectors for nearby satellites Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : skywatch [] The skywatch command allows sectors to report sightings of satellites. The visibility range is equal to four times the sector efficiency expressed as a decimal times the technology factor; e.g. a 100% efficient mine with a 50% technology factor can see 2 sectors away. An exception is radar installa- tions, which have a maximum range equal to fourteen times the sector effi- ciency, (i.e. 3.5 times as far). A typical usage might be: [##:##] Command : sky #3 ?type=) SEE ALSO coastwatch, radar, Detection empire-info-text-4.2.15/smap0100664000000000000000000000470110055155476014375 0ustar rootroot Command : SMAP NAME smap - Get a map around a ship Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : map SYNTAX [##:##] Command : nmap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : smap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : lmap SYNTAX [##:##] Command : pmap A map gives you a graphic representation of all or part of your country. Your own sectors as well as sea, mountains, wasteland and unowned wilderness and plains show up as a designation mnemonic (see "Sector-types"). Other sec- tors appear as question marks ("?"). You can also get this by typing 'M' at the navigation prompt. Examples: [##:##] Command : map -9:18,-8:5 generates a 28 x 14 map based on data supplied by the sectors in the area specified. ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 -8 . . . - - -8 -7 . . . . - ^ -7 -6 . . . . - - - - -6 -5 . . - . a a - ^ ? ? - -5 -4 . . . . k o ! - ^ ? ? ? -4 -3 . - . a h j a ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ - -3 -2 . . - . a a a ^ a a - - - -2 -1 . . . a a a b + + ^ ^ - -1 0 . . . m c u a a - ^ - ^ 0 1 . - . a a . a a - - ^ 1 2 - ^ ^ a a a ^ a - - ^ 2 3 - - - - - - - . . - 3 4 ^ - - - - - ^ - - 4 5 - ^ - - ^ - - - 5 ---------0000000000111111111 9876543210123456789012345678 [##:##] Command : map # >mapfil where your "realm" (or '#', see "info realm" or "info update") is -5:5,-6:6 will type out a 11 by 13 sector map and also put the map in the file called "mapfil". Also, if you give a ship # instead of coordinates or a realm, map will show you a small realm around the given ship (assuming you own it). If you use nmap, you can get a map that shows new sector designations instead of old sector designations of your own country. If you use lmap, you can get a map around a land unit, instead. Pmap does the same for a plane. Smap does the same for a ship. MAP FLAGS If you give an 's' flag, all your ships will be shown on the map. An 'l' flag does the same for land units, and a 'p' for planes. '*' shows all in this order: land units, ships, planes. To highlight sectors you own, specifiy the 'h' flag. SEE ALSO census, commodity, radar, realm, route, update, Ships, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/sonar0100664000000000000000000000735210055155476014564 0ustar rootroot Command : SONAR NAME sonar - Use sonar to look for ships Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sonar The sonar command allows ships to look for submarines and submarines to look for ships. If the argument is specified then the sonar map will not be drawn. This is useful if you just need to see the list of ships you can detect. Whether or not a map is printed, the sonar information will be added to your bmap. Only ships at sea may use sonar and sonar only detects ships which are at sea. Furthermore, there must be a straight line of water between the detector and the detected (sonar doesn't work around corners). In the current implementation, sonar works similar to lookout. The major dif- ference is that a submarines cannot use lookout to sight ships. Likewise, submarines cannot be sighted by ships via lookout. There are two aspects to sonar - passive and active sonar. ACTIVE SONAR This is the most visible form of sonar. It is simply a ship's ability to use sonar pings to detect other ships. The range of a ship's active sonar is identical to the range that it can sight ships via lookout. (see "info look- out") When you type "sonar 25", you are using active sonar. PASSIVE SONAR This is more subtle. Passive sonar is a ship's ability to hear sounds, mainly active sonar pings. When a ship pings you with active sonar, you can detect that ping. If a ship with sonar gets pinged, that country receives a telegram saying "Sonar ping from x,y detected by ship Z!" In its current implementation, passive sonar is the ability to detect a ping. When a ship emits a ping, that ping has to travel out to a target ship, reflect off of it, and then return to its source. So, in order to detect a ship X sectors away, a sonar ping must be able to travel 2X sectors - from the source to the target, and back to the source. So, if a ship can use active sonar to detect ships X sectors away, passive sonar can detect active sonars from 2X sectors away. So the range at which you can detect sonar pings is twice the range at which you can use sonar. The active and passive sonar modes means that you want to be careful when you use sonar, because you will tell others where you are long before you actually detect them. This also gives you some warning before you get your submarine attacked, as enemy ships have to use sonar to find you. The key to submarine warfare is "run silent", meaning use your sonar only when you have to. On the other hand, destroyers are designed to hunt subs. A destroyer guarding a player's coast should use sonar often, especially if it has other destroyers nearby to support him if he gets in trouble. For example: [##:##] Command : sonar 3 sb2 submarine 2 (#3) at 24,0 efficiency 76%, max range 2 Sonar detects TheBorg (#5) bb4 battleship 4 (#1) @ 23,-1 . . B ? . . 0 ? . . . . . . Sonar-capable ships of tech 310 or better can also detect mines with their sonar, although at only half their normal sonar range. Mines will show up on the sonar map as 'X' and this 'X' will be added to your bmap. In the case of using sonar to detect subs, detection = (sub visibility + ship spy value). If detection is less than 8, then the sonar will just print you something like: Sonar detects sub #12 If detection is above 7, then you will be told the ship type, and if it is above 9, you will also be told the owner of the sub. Note that type and owner will always be shown for Friendly subs. Planes with the ASW ability can use sonar while on recon missions. See info recon for more details. SEE ALSO coastwatch, Ship-types, Sector-types, radar, recon, Ships, Detection empire-info-text-4.2.15/sorder0100664000000000000000000000277110055155476014740 0ustar rootroot Command : SORDER NAME sorder - Show ship order statistical information Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sorder "sorder" shows some statistical information on ships that have been given orders. The report indicates: shp# ship number. ship type type of ship (cargo ship, destroyer, etc) x,y ships current position start The first destination for the ship. end The second destination for the ship. len The number of sector required to get from its current position to the start sector. eta The estimated number of updates required to reach the start sector. shp # ship type x,y start end len eta #6 cargo ship 1 6,0 2,0 20,0 2 1 #10 destroyer 1 -10,0 20,2 17 2 This report reads: Cargo ship #6 is currently at sector 6,0 and has orders to sail to sector 2,0. It will arrive and load any cargo set for that ship, see qorder, and then sail to sector 20,0. It currently needs to sail 2 sectors and will arrive in 1 update at sector 2,0. Destroyer 1 is at sector -10,0 and only has orders to sail to sector 20,2. It needs to move 17 sectors and will arrive at 20,2 in 2 updates. When it arrives order will be cleared since only one destination order was given to it. SEE ALSO order, qorder, bmap, navigate, ship, Ships, Autonav, Autofeed empire-info-text-4.2.15/spy0100664000000000000000000000467410055155476014261 0ustar rootroot Command : SPY NAME spy - Snoop on adjacent enemy sectors Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : spy The spy command allows reconnaissance operations to enforce an oral treaty or as preparation for an attack (or even for a prayer to the Deity). The spy report will reveal, (in round figures), the numbers of troops, civil- ians, guns, shells, iron, and planes and the sector designation and efficiency in neighboring sectors. The sectors denoted by are those from which you are spying, (see "info syntax" for format). Note: you can only spy from sectors that have military or land units in them. Note that the number of BTU's consumed is dependent upon the number of sectors into which you spy, e.g., a 5x8 area costs one full BTU. If you are spying on an unallied country your spy could be apprehended... his/her chances are dependent upon the number of patrolling military in the sector. However, having a recon unit in the sector the spy is coming from enhances your chances of succeeding even if the spy is caught. If the other country has declared itself at war with you the spy will be shot and the other country, (and the rest of the world, through the news), will be warned that you tried to spy on him... If the other country is neutral towards you the spy will be deported. [##:##] Command : spy 29,3 SPY report Thu Aug 8 10:48:18 1996 old sct rd rl def sect de own own eff eff eff eff civ mil shl gun pet food bars lnd pln 28,4 bf 2 2 100 90 0 50 100 30 90 100 0 40 0 0 0 29,5 e 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Neutral unit in 29,5: cavalry #6 (efficiency 98, tech 18) Neutral unit in 29,5: if1 infantry 1 #7 (efficiency 98, tech 15) Spies will also report all non-owned planes and land units that exist in the sector you are spying from, such as allied land units that have been marched there, allied planes that have been landed there, spy units that have marched there and non-allied units that have been trapped there. Note that spy units are not always seen. There is a 10-100% chance of a spy unit being seen by the spy command. See "info Spies" for more information. NOTE Spies reporting on the tech level of enemy units are pretty inaccurate. They can vary by +/- 20 tech or so... SEE ALSO census, read, declare, Sectors, Combat, Detection empire-info-text-4.2.15/sstat0100664000000000000000000000327610055155476014601 0ustar rootroot Command : SSTAT NAME sstat - Report statistics of ship, fleet or ships in a given area Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sstat [ | ] The sstat command is a report of the varying statistics of your ships and lists the info in a readable format. Since your ships' statistics vary by tech level, this is a very useful way to see what the attack, defense, etc. modifiers are on a per-ship basis. The and arguments are provided in case you only wish to look at one ship or one fleet or all ships within a given area. Sstat expects an argument. To see every ship you own, give it the argument '*', or type "sstat *". The report format contains the following fields: shp# the ship number ship-type the type of ship; "patrol boat", "submarine", etc, x,y the ship's current location (relative to your capital), eff the ship's efficiency, tech the tech level of the ship def the armor value of the ship (i.e. how strong is the hull) spd the speed of the ship vis the visibility of the ship (i.e. how easy is it to see) rng twice the distance the guns can fire, The range formula is (rng/2) * ((tech + 50) / (tech + 200)) fir the number of guns the ship can fire at once For example: [##:##] Command : ship * shp# ship-type x,y eff tech def spd vis rng fir 0 dd destroyer 1,1 100% 140 51 41 19 9 2 1 bb battleship 1,1 100% 200 129 35 34 17 7 2 ships SEE ALSO ship, build, cargo, fleetadd, navigate, load, lookout, scrap, sonar, tor- pedo, upgrade, land, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/start0100664000000000000000000000073010055155476014570 0ustar rootroot Command : START NAME start - Turn sector production on Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : start The start command orders a sector to start producing for an update. This counteracts the stop command. [##:##] Command : start 2,0 Wed Jan 20 21:37:22 1993 PRODUCTION STARTING sect eff 2,0 c 100% will be updated normally. 1 sector SEE ALSO stop, census, Production, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/starvation0100664000000000000000000000373510055155477015636 0ustar rootroot Command : STARVATION NAME starvation - Find out who's going to starve Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : starvation [|l |s ] The starvation command warns you of possible starvation in your sectors, land units, and ships. SYNTAX [##:##] Command : starv With no arguments, the starvation command will list all of your sectors, land units, and ships that will starve at the update. SYNTAX [##:##] Command : starv With this syntax, the starvation command displays all sectors in that currently do not have enough food. It does not take into account emergency food growing & supplying (see info supply) It also does not worry about feed- ing babies... it merely check for starvation. If you want population increase, you'll need to chuck in some extra food... For example: [##:##] Command : starv #0 Mon Aug 28 04:53:38 1995 Starvation sect eff 4,0 + 100% will starve 125 people. 15 more food needed 1 sector SYNTAX [##:##] Command : starv l With this syntax, the starvation command will list which of your units are currently not carrying enough food (see "info lload" and "info supply"). For example: [##:##] Command : starv l * Mon Aug 28 04:53:05 1995 Starvation lnd# unit type 6 cavalry will starve 9 mil. 1 more food needed 7 cavalry will starve 13 mil. 2 more food needed 2 units SYNTAX [##:##] Command : starv s With this syntax, the starvation command will list which of your ships are currently not carrying enough food to feed the people on them. For example: [##:##] Command : starv s * ?type=frigate Mon Aug 28 04:53:29 1995 Starvation shp# ship type 0 frigate will starve 10 people. 2 more food needed 1 ship To see how much food your people need to eat, check the output of the version command. SEE ALSO census, version, Populace empire-info-text-4.2.15/stop0100664000000000000000000000122210055155477014416 0ustar rootroot Command : STOP NAME stop - Stop sector production Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : stop The stop command orders a sector to stop producing for an update. After the update, the sector will return to normal. The sector will still distribute, etc, but will not gain in efficiency or pro- duce anything. Ships, planes, and units in the sector will not gain effi- ciency. [##:##] Command : stop 2,0 Wed Jan 20 21:35:34 1993 PRODUCTION STOPPAGE sect eff 2,0 c 100% will not produce or gain efficiency. 1 sector SEE ALSO start, census, Production, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/strength0100664000000000000000000000362710055155477015302 0ustar rootroot Command : STRENGTH NAME strength - Report defensive strengths of sectors Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : strength A strength lists each of your sectors in the specified area headed by: DEFENSE STRENGTH land sect sector reacting total sect eff mil units mines mult defense units defense These columns represent: sect the x and y coordinates of the sector eff the efficiency of the sector (affects all benefits of a desig- nated sector except mobility units) mil the number of military troops units the total defensive strength of units in the sector land mines the number of land mines in the sector. If you do not com- pletely own the sector, then a '?' will appear here. sect mult the defensive multiplier of the sector including the land mine bonus sector defense (mil + units) * mult reacting units the total strengths of all supplied mobile reacting units in range total defense (sector defense) + (reacting units) For example: [##:##] Command : str #1 Mon Oct 23 22:44:16 1995 DEFENSE STRENGTH land sect sector reacting total sect eff mil units mines mult defense units defense 5,-5 * 100% 95 1.00 95 48 143 4,-4 c 100% 4.00 0 192 192 6,-4 f 0% 78 48 2.00 252 252 -1,-3 c 100% 4.00 0 80 80 1,-3 c 100% 4.00 0 80 80 3,-3 c 100% 4.00 0 80 80 7,-3 ! 100% 53 90 2.80 148 134 282 7 sectors SEE ALSO attack, assault, Land-units, Combat empire-info-text-4.2.15/supply0100664000000000000000000000760010055155477014773 0ustar rootroot Command : SUPPLY NAME supply - Cause a unit to draw supplies Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : supply The supply command causes a unit to draw enough supplies from its supply sources to make sure that it has its basic load of supplies. Supply tells you which units have enough supplies. A basic load of supplies for a unit consists of: 1) enough food to eat for one update 2) enough shells to fire once A unit uses shells equal to its ammo stat to fire once. Use the "show" command to find out how much ammo the unit uses per shot. 3) petrol equal to its fuel use number, if the unit uses fuel (show land stats will show the fuel use number) If the unit has enough of all these things, it is said to be 'in supply'. A lack of any of these things is enough to make the unit 'out of supply'. When supplies are drawn & used A unit that fights may use a basic load of supplies to attack with. (depend- ing on the intensity of combat. The more intense the combat, the more chance the unit will use a basic load of supplies) During the update, each unit will attempt to draw food supplies just before starvation is calculated. When a unit needs to draw supplies, such as when you use the supply command, or the unit wishes to attack, or is attacked, etc, it must attempt to get them from supply sources. Other things may use the same routines, such as loyal sectors, which will draw food from supply sources when in danger of starva- tion, and ships/forts/sectors, which will draw shells when they need them to fire defensively or fire AA at planes. Supply Sources There are four sources of supply. In each case, the unit must be within supply range of the source. Supply range is: 10 * ((tech+50)/(tech+200) sectors. In addition there must be a valid supply path to the source. A supply path is a path of sectors owned by the owner of the unit that leads to the supply source. (Note that the path may be of any length.. only the supply source itself must be within supply range.. this is to make the coding simpler, and may change in the future) The best path (in terms of mobility use) will be used. In each case, mobility is used to move the supplies. The first source of supply checked is the sector the unit is in. This is for- aging, and uses some mobility from the unit itself. If the unit's needs can't be satisfied by foraging, it look for an owned ware- house or headquarters that is at least 60% efficient. Drawing from these sources uses mobility from the warehouse or headquarters. (A headquarters will NOT supply a unit if it has no distribution path) If still in need, the unit will look for an owned supply ship (one that has the supply ability) in an owned harbor. The harbor must be at least 2% effi- cient. This uses mobility from the harbor. If it still can't find enough supplies, the unit will look for an owned unit with the 'supply' ability. (see info show for information on how to find out about abilities of units) In this case, the supply unit uses its mobility to use the supplies. After it supplies the unit, the supply unit will then itself try to re-supply, so that it is possible to form a chain of supply units reaching back to a headquarters or supply ship. If after all this the unit can't get enough, it is out of supplies. Note that no supply source will give up enough food to make it starve. In addition, no supply source will go below 1 of any commodity. [##:##] Command : supply * War band #2 has supplies 4 units OTHER USES OF SUPPLY In general, when any land unit/ship/fort needs shells, it will attempt to draw them before use, if it does not already have them. Also, units/ships/sectors will use supply sources to get enough food during the update so that they do not starve. SEE ALSO lload, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/survey0100664000000000000000000000156710055155477015002 0ustar rootroot Command : SURVEY NAME survey - Show distributions in map form Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : survey The survey command shows the distribution of some sector selector value in map form. This is especially useful for commodities and resources. If can have large values, like commodity selectors, then survey shows hundreds, else tens of the value, as digits from 0 to 9. Sectors which have a value less or equal zero show up as blank. Sectors whose value exceeds 999 or 99 respectively show up as '$'. Surveyed sectors will be highlighted. If you supply conditions (see "info Syntax"), then sectors not matching the conditions will not be surveyed, but have their current designation displayed as in a map instead. Sectors not owned by you will show up as blanks. SEE ALSO sect, map, Maps empire-info-text-4.2.15/swapsector0100664000000000000000000000133510055155477015630 0ustar rootroot Command : SWAPSECTOR NAME swapsector - Swap two sectors Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : swapsector This command allows the deity to pick up two sectors and then put them back down in each-other's location. It is particularly handy for changing the shape of start islands when setting up a game. For example, a piece of an island may be cut off by a mountain, and so to fix it you could just swap the mountain over to some other part of the island. All aspects of the sector (e.g. resources, commodities) get transferred to the new location. The only change that is made is that dist paths are wiped. SEE ALSO give, setsector, setresource, Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/sweep0100664000000000000000000000474410055155477014570 0ustar rootroot Command : SWEEP NAME sweep - Use planes to remove mines from sea sectors Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : sweep route|destination The "sweep" command is identical to the recon command, except that if you use planes capable of minesweeping, they will sweep mines from sectors along their route. represents a list of planes which are to be performing the intelli- gence gathering operation. Only planes which are provided with gas, and have sufficient mobility will be successfully selected for the mission. represent a list of fighter planes which are capable of escorting the transports all the way to the target. To be selected, escorts must have fuel and mobility. represents an assembly point, where all of the planes in the mission meet before proceeding on to the target sector. The assembly point must be owned by you, and must not be more than four sectors away from any of the planes selected for the mission. Route is a normal empire path specification. You may also give a destination sector on the command line, or at any time while giving the route, and empire will use the best path from the current sector to the desired destination sec- tor. When getting a path interactively, empire will show you the information you have (from your bmap) concerning the current area, to help plot your course. Information given by sweep/recon is not totally accurate. Sweep/recon missions can be intercepted just like any other mission. If the destination sector is not an airport, then all planes in the mission must have V/STOL capability. Planes with the ASW ability will perform a sonar search on each sector as they fly through it. Each sub contact will be reported only once, giving the sec- tor and number of the sub, from the sector in which it is first detected (which may not be the sector the sub is in, as plane sonar has a range depen- dent on acc, and a chance of finding a sub of ((100-acc)-(4-sub visib)*10))+((100-effic)/5) percent. The sub being sonared may detect the sonar ping. Planes with the sweep ability will automatically attempt to sweep mines in sea or harbor sectors they overfly. Their chance of sweeping is (100-acc), and they can only sweep 1 mine per overflight of the sector. Note that a plane must be at least 40% efficient before it can leave the ground. SEE ALSO Plane-types, bomb, fly, paradrop, drop, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/telegram0100664000000000000000000000371710055155500015227 0ustar rootroot Command : TELEGRAM NAME telegram - Send "diplomatic" communique to another country Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : telegram [] [[]] The telegram command allows non-treaty communication to take place between representatives. Currently you are given only 1024 characters per telegram. The argument is either the number or name of the recipient nation. You may specify as many recipients on the command line as you wish. Telegrams sent to country #0 appear as prayers, (favors are best obtained in this manner.) While entering your telegram the system tells you how many characters you have left. You end the telegram by typing ^D on a line by itself, or by entering a line with a '.' on a line by itself. A line containing only '~q' will abort the telegram. For example: [##:##] Command : tel 7 8 Enter telegram for multiple recipients undo last line with ~u, print with ~p, abort with ~q, end with ^D or . 1024 left: 1023 left: B.F.D. Pouncetrifle 1003 left: Groonland Embassy 984 left: 983 left: Dear Ambassador Pouncetrifle, 953 left: 952 left: Just a little note to express the friendly wishes that all of us 887 left: in Curmudgeon feel toward you backward savages in Groonland. As 822 left: to the matter of the treaty you've proposed please remember that 757 left: if we wished we could TRASH your capital. 715 left: 714 left: As always I remain, 688 left: Your humble and obedient servant, etc, etc 638 left: E. D. Amen Dada 616 left: Under Asst. West Coast Promo. 580 left: the Sovereign State of Curmudgeon 540 left: . Note that others can reject your telegrams, using "reject". SEE ALSO flash, toggle, announce, read, reject, Communication, Diplomacy empire-info-text-4.2.15/tend0100664000000000000000000000264410055155500014357 0ustar rootroot Command : TEND NAME tend - Transfer commodities between ships Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : tend The tend command allows transfer of commodities from a particular (supply) ship to patrol boats, submarines, battleships, etc. while at sea. If you had cargo ship #16 which had food, and your fleet S needed food, you could resupply the entire fleet with 20 units of food by typing [##:##] Command : tend food 16 20 S Requirements are that the tending ship must be in the same sector as the tended ships, and it must be yours, or belong to a country that considers you a friendly trading partner. A positive indicates the amount the tender will give away, while a negative amount indicates the amount that the tender will try to extract from each ship. (However, you cannot take goods from a friendly ship by giving a negative amount) Only land units with the "assault" capability may be tended between ships. If you wanted to tend land unit #23 from ship #8 to ship #17, then you would type: [##:##] Command : tend land 8 23 17 Besides the "assault" capability restriction, tending land units has the same effect as though you were simply loading the unit onto a ship. In particular, you may tend land units to "friendly" ships in the same sector. SEE ALSO load, unload, lload, lunload, ltend, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/territory0100664000000000000000000000252010055155500015461 0ustar rootroot Command : TERRITORY NAME territory - Assign various sectors to a specific territory Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : territory [] In Empire, sectors may be given a territory id number. This number may be used in conditional statements as in: [##:##] Command : census # ?terr=27 The program will then give you a census report for all the sectors that have been assigned the territory number "27". In this sense it is essentially an extended "realm". However, you are not limited to rectangular regions and you have 99 values to choose from. There are four independent territory fields. If the optional field argument is empty, field 0 is used. [##:##] Command : territory #1 5 1 Would set terr1 field to 5 for all sectors in realm 1. [##:##] Command : sect * ?terr1=6&terr2=12 If terr1 was used to mark different islands and terr2=12 indicated productive sectors, this would highlight all the productive sectors on island number 6. Some possible uses include; all sectors distributing to a particular sector; all coastal sectors; all sectors that have armed missiles in them. And proba- bly thousands that I haven't thought of. ;-) To "unset" a territory, set its value to zero. Note: terr and terr0 are the same. SEE ALSO realm, distribute, Sectors empire-info-text-4.2.15/test0100664000000000000000000000161410055155500014400 0ustar rootroot Command : TEST NAME test - Check the effect of a proposed move Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : test The test command lets you check the effect of a proposed move. This can be helpful when you're not sure whether you have enough mobility to reach a cer- tain location or you wish to compare two possible routes for a move. The test command has exactly the same arguments as the move command and acts almost the same. There are two important differences: Nothing is actually moved and no mobility is used. The move is tested for irrespective of how much is actually in the sector. This is useful for testing a sector which will be used as a temporary stopover in a multi-step move to make sure the stuff won't get stranded there. SEE ALSO move, Commodities empire-info-text-4.2.15/threshold0100664000000000000000000000301110055155500015406 0ustar rootroot Command : THRESHOLD NAME threshold - Set commodity distribution thresholds Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : threshold The threshold command is used to specify the level of a given commodity which is to be maintained by the sector's distribution sector. These levels are maintained by either importing or exporting commodities. This importation and exportation is done automatically during an update. Both imports and exports from distribution sectors cost only one-half normal mobility. In the syntax, is the sector or sectors from which the deliveries are made, is one of the following: c civilians m military u uncompensated workers f food s shells g guns p planes i iron ore d gold dust b bars of gold o oil l light construction materials h heavy construction materials r radioactive materials and is a number specifying the level of commodity which is desired. The census and commodity reports will indicate distribution thresholds by the "hundreds digit" of the threshold level. In order to have a threshold take effect, it must be at least one. Sectors importing or exporting items can be seen by the "route" command (marked with a "$") or by the sect command. Also, note that no distribution center will ship out its last civilian. SEE ALSO distribute, census, commodity, route, level, Distribution empire-info-text-4.2.15/toggle0100664000000000000000000000402010055155500014674 0ustar rootroot Command : TOGGLE NAME toggle - Toggle client flags Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : toggle [inform|flash|beep|coastwatch|sonar|techlists] [on|off] You use the toggle command to set various user-interface flags for your coun- try. The server will remember which flags you have set between sessions. If you do not specify the second argument ("on" or "off"), then the server will just flip the switch from on to off or vice versa. [##:##] Command : toggle inform Will toggle the "inform" flag (default off) for your country. When inform is on, the server will inform you immediately whenever you receive a telegram. [##:##] Command : toggle flash Will toggle the "flash" flag (default on) for your country. When flash is on, you can receive instantaneous messages from your allies when they use the "flash" and "wall" commands. [##:##] Command : toggle beep Will toggle the "beep" flag (default on) for your country. When beep is on, your terminal will beep whenever there's a big explosion in the game (shells, bombs, torpedoes...). You might want to turn beep off if you don't want to disturb others. [##:##] Command : toggle coastwatch Will toggle the "coastwatch" flag (default on) for your country. When coast- watch is on, then you will receive telegrams informing you of any new ship sightings. Note that allied and friendly ships do not show up in these auto- matic sightings. [##:##] Command : toggle sonar Will toggle the "sonar" flag (default on) for your country. When sonar is on, then you will receive telegrams whenever any of your sonar-equipped ships detect a sonar ping. [##:##] Command : toggle techlists Will toggle the "techlists" flag (default off) for your country. When tech- lists is on, when you do a "show" command, the lists shows will be in order of tech instead of grouping order. [##:##] Command : toggle Will list all your flags and show whether they are on or off. SEE ALSO telegram, flash, wall, Communication empire-info-text-4.2.15/torpedo0100664000000000000000000000560610055155501015103 0ustar rootroot Command : TORPEDO NAME torpedo - Slip a torpedo to some poor sucker (from a sub or ship) Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : torpedo The torpedo command is used to shoot other naval vessels in a sneaky manner. The argument is the victim ship number and the argument is the number(s) of your submarine or other ship(s) with torpedo ability. The program will ask for these if not provided on the command line. If using the multi-fire option, the program will prompt for targets for EACH firing torpedo ship, if no target was given on the command line. Your must meet the following criteria: 1) It must have torpedo ability. (see info show) 2) It must have at least 1 gun (torpedo tube) 3) It must have at least 3 shells (3 shells = 1 torpedo) 4) It must be at least 60% efficient 5) It must have some mobility Meeting all these criteria, your torpedo will be launched toward the victim ship and a countdown of seconds until the expected detonation will commence. The range of a torpedo depends on the type of sub, and its tech level. Cur- rently the range formula looks like this: (frng) * (tech+50)/(tech+200) [Note: frng comes from show ship capability] If the target is out of range, you will be told so, (after your torp is in the water). See "info Hitchance" for the chance of a torpedo hitting its target. If the target ship is not in a direct line of sight but in range, the torpedo will slam into land and you will be notified. Note that the victim ship will still see the torpedo being launched and can return a depth charge attack (see below.) A hit will be reported to you as "BOOM!", See "info Damage" for the damage that a torpedo does. In order to simulate the "real-time" situation, your mobility will be decre- mented by mobility equal to 1/2 the cost the torpedo-ship would pay to move a sector for each torpedo fired; if it goes to zero (or beyond) you will be forced to stick around. If your torpedo scores a hit, your victim will be informed of the fact and will be told the number of the torpedo-ship, but not the country (so you can deny it). The victim's only automatic protection against sub attacks is that any ship of his/hers that is near you and has depth-charge ability and has shells will drop them on you as depth charges. Each depth charge does 10% to 40% damage to your sub, depending on the armor of the sub, and the range of the destroyer. The range a ship can depth charge at is the same as its gun range. Against surface ships launching torpedo attacks, the victim gets to fire all his ships & sectors within range at the attackers BEFORE the attackers get to fire. Damage done by all defending ships is divided evenly over all attacking ships. SEE ALSO attack, assault, fire, Combat, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/trade0100664000000000000000000000260610055155501014523 0ustar rootroot Command : TRADE NAME trade - Buy planes/ships/land units Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : trade The trade report lists all ships, planes and land units that are being sold and allows you to buy them. It is based on a bidding system, and after the bidding time has passed, the transactions are executed, and the highest bidder gets the goods (maybe.) If there are no bidders once the time passes, the goods stay on the market and the first bidder will get them. Your bid must be higher than the currently high bid. Typical output looks like: [##:##] Command : trade Empire Trade Report Wed Mar 13 14:42:45 1996 lot high bid by time left owner description --- -------- -- --------- ----- ------------------------- 0 $ 1000 2 0.06 hrs ( 2) tech 0 100% inf1 infantry 1 [f:21 ] #3 Which lot to buy: 0 Destination sector: 4,0 WARNING! This market issues credit. If you make more bids than your treasury can cover at the time of sale, you can potentially go into financial ruin, and see no gains. You have been warned. How much do you bid: 1100 Your bid on lot #0 is being considered. The cargo of ships and land units are listed in the square brackets, in this case, 4 guns and 40 shells. The nuclear armament of planes is listed in parentheses. SEE ALSO set, Market empire-info-text-4.2.15/transport0100664000000000000000000000265510055155501015464 0ustar rootroot Command : TRANSPORT NAME transport - Move planes or nuclear devices around Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : transport plane SYNTAX [##:##] Command : transport nuke The transport command is used to move planes and nuclear devices from one sec- tor to another, along the ground. is a normal empire path specification. You may also give a sector on the command line, or at any time while giving the route, and empire will use the cheapest path (in terms of mobility) from the current sec- tor to the destination sector. You would move 5 small nukes from 2,0 to 8,0 as follows: [##:##] Command : transport nuke 2,0 small 5 8,0 You could move all planes in wing d to -6,0 as follows: [##:##] Command : transport plane d -6,0 Note that while transporting, you may run into any landmines the enemy has left in your sectors. In that case, the planes being transported will take damage. See info "lmine" for details. Also, if your enemy has any units on interdiction mission, then the planes you're transporting may get hit by them. Nuclear warheads are transported in heavily armoured vehicles and are immune to land mines and interdiction. See info "Mobility" for the mobility cost to transport planes and nukes. SEE ALSO arm, move, navigate, nuke, Mobility, Planes, Moving empire-info-text-4.2.15/treaty0100664000000000000000000000213610055155501014732 0ustar rootroot Command : TREATY NAME treaty - Listing of all current and pending treaties Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : treaty The treaty command will report on all outstanding treaties and all pending treaties. The conditions and durations are displayed. A typical treaty report might be: *** Empire Treaty #7 *** (proposed) between Curmudgeon and Urp expires Mon May 4 00:42:04 1981 Curmudgeon terms Urp terms no attacks on ships no attacks on ships no shelling ships no sector attacks no sector attacks no shelling land no enlistments no new land units no new land units *** Empire Treaty #2 *** between Curmudgeon and East Eden expires Mon May 4 00:42:59 1981 Curmudgeon terms East Eden terms no attacks on ships no attacks on ships no shelling ships no shelling ships no sector attacks no sector attacks no shelling land no shelling land no new land units no new land units SEE ALSO consider, offer, Diplomacy empire-info-text-4.2.15/turn0100664000000000000000000000072710055155501014416 0ustar rootroot Command : TURN NAME turn - Allow/disallow logins. Change login message. Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : turn Use "turn on" or "turn off" to enable/disable logins. If you just want to change the login message, then use "turn mess". In all three cases, you will be put into the telegram prompter to enter a new motd (message of the day) which is printed when the player logs in. SEE ALSO Deity empire-info-text-4.2.15/unload0100664000000000000000000000133510055155501014704 0ustar rootroot Command : UNLOAD NAME unload - Inverse of load (above) Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : unload SYNTAX [##:##] Command : unload plane SYNTAX [##:##] Command : unload land The unload command is the opposite of load and follows the exact same syntax ... so why look here for documentation? The only thing to know is that unload won't unload more of a thing if the sec- tor already has 999. For example, if a ship has 10 food, and the harbor has 994, you can only unload 5 of the 10 food. Also, you must have Friendly relations with the owner of the harbour in order to unload into it. SEE ALSO load, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/unsail0100664000000000000000000000041010055155502014707 0ustar rootroot Command : UNSAIL NAME unsail - Stop a ship from sailing Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : unsail You use the "unsail" command to remove a sailing path from ships. SEE ALSO follow, sail, mquota, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/update0100664000000000000000000000044310055155502014704 0ustar rootroot Command : UPDATE NAME update - Find out when the next update will be Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : update The update command shows you when the next update will occur, and describes the current update policies. SEE ALSO zdone, Update empire-info-text-4.2.15/upgrade0100664000000000000000000000142510055155502015052 0ustar rootroot Command : UPGRADE NAME upgrade - Update the tech of a ship/unit/plane to the current tech level Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : upgrade The upgrade command allows a country to set the tech level of its ships/land units/planes to the country's current tech level. Each ship/land unit/plane to be upgraded must be at least 60% efficient and be in one of the country's harbors/headquarters/airports that is at least 60% efficient. Upgrading costs 15% of the full build cost in money and avail, and reduces the efficiency of the ship/land unit/plane by 35%. Repairing these 35% will then consume work and resources as usual. SEE ALSO build, ship, plane, land, Technology, LandUnits, Planes, Ships empire-info-text-4.2.15/version0100664000000000000000000000553210055155502015113 0ustar rootroot Command : VERSION NAME version - Display parameters of this world Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : version The version command prints out the current settings of parameters affecting the Empire game. Included are the creation date for this version, the size of the world, (X by Y), etc. For example: [##:##] Command : version Empire 4.0.0 (KSU distribution 1.04, Chainsaw version 4.00, Wolfpack version 1.00) The following parameters have been set for this game: World size is 64 by 32. There can be up to 52 countries. By default, countries use their own coordinate system. An Empire time unit is 10 seconds long. Use the 'update' command to find out the time of the next update. The current time is Thu Aug 1 23:23:47. An update consists of 60 empire time units. Each country is allowed to be logged in 1440 minutes a day. It takes 8.33 civilians to produce a BTU in one time unit. A non-aggi, 100 fertility sector can grow 0.12 food per etu. 1000 civilians will harvest 1.3 food per etu. 1000 civilians will give birth to 5.0 babies per etu. 1000 uncompensated workers will give birth to 2.5 babies. In one time unit, 1000 people eat 0.5 units of food. 1000 babies eat 6.0 units of food becoming adults. Banks pay $200.00 in interest per 1000 gold bars per etu. 1000 civilians generate $4.33, uncompensated workers $1.78 each time unit. 1000 active military cost $83.33, reserves cost $8.33. Happiness p.e. requires 1 happy stroller per 5000 civ. Education p.e. requires 1 class of graduates per 4000 civ. Happiness is averaged over 48 time units. Education is averaged over 192 time units. The technology/research boost you get from the world is 50.00%. Nation levels (tech etc.) decline 1% every 96 time units. Tech Buildup is limited to logarithmic growth (base 2.00) after 1.00. Sectors Ships Planes Units Maximum mobility 127 127 127 127 Max mob gain per update 60 120 90 90 Max eff gain per update -- 100 100 100 Ships on autonavigation may use 6 cargo holds per ship. Fire ranges are scaled by 1.00 Options enabled in this game: PLANENAMES, LANDSPIES, LOANS, MARKET, FUEL, TRADESHIPS, NEWPOWER, NOMOBCOST, SUPER_BARS, EASY_BRIDGES, ALL_BLEED, NO_PLAGUE, NEW_STARVE, NEW_WORK, SHOWPLANE, ORBIT, PINPOINTMISSILE, SAIL, NUKEFAILDETONATE, SHIPNAMES, UPDATESCHED, DEMANDUPDATE, INTERDICT_ATT The person to annoy if something goes wrong is: John Doe (johndoe@bar.edu). You can get your own copy of the source using: ftp://ftp.wolfpackempire.com/pub/empire/server/ or http://www.wolfpackempire.com/ SEE ALSO Innards, Basics, Playing empire-info-text-4.2.15/wait0100664000000000000000000000136610055155502014373 0ustar rootroot Command : WAIT NAME wait - Wait for a telegram Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : wait The wait command is used to wait until new telegrams are received. It's most common use is to wait for an attack, or a reply of some sort. [##:##] Command : wait You have a new telegram waiting ... [##:##] Command : When telegrams arrive you are informed with: "You have a new telegram waiting ..." if there is just one new one, or "You have ten new telegrams waiting ..." if there are ten of them, or "You have several new telegrams waiting ..." if there are very many. The wait command will eventually time out. WAIT COMMAND IS DISABLED IN THE NEW SERVER. SEE ALSO telegram, wire, Obsolete empire-info-text-4.2.15/wall0100664000000000000000000000164310055155502014364 0ustar rootroot Command : WALL NAME wall - Send a message directly to all allies terminals Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : wall [] The wall command allows instant communication between allied nations. It may be called in two different ways. You can either send your ally a one line message as in: [##:##] Command : wall Hi there, I'm back from lunch Or you can send a multi-line message: [##:##] Command : wall > Everyone ready? > OK, let's hit the beaches! > . Note that you can end a multi-line wall with either a '.' (period) on a line all by itself, or by hitting ^D on a line by itself. Note also that all mes- sages are truncated to 60 characters long! If you do not wish to receive any broadcast messages from your allies, then you can temporarily turn the feature off by typing "toggle flash". SEE ALSO flash, declare, telegram, Communication empire-info-text-4.2.15/wingadd0100664000000000000000000000277010055155502015044 0ustar rootroot Command : WINGADD NAME wingadd - Designate members of a "wing" Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : wingadd The wingadd command is used to specify the wing groupings of your planes. [##:##] Command : wingadd In the syntax is the alphabetic character to be used as the wing desig- nation. This character can be chosen from the set of upper or lower case a-z and tilde (~). The pseudo-wing specification tilde specifies all planes not currently in any wing. The specification of planes, , can have one of several syntaxes: example meaning ------- ------- 23 plane 23 2/14/23 planes 2, 14, and 23 c all planes currently in wing `c' ~ all planes currently in the "null" wing 2,3 all planes in sector 2,3 -1:3,0:2 all planes in the square area bounded by -1,0 & 3,2 All wings, (with the exception of the `~' wing), are limited to some maximum size and you will be informed how many planes can be added when this command is run. Having planes organized into wings can be very helpful in loading, moving, etc., in that fewer commands are required to perform these commands on groups of planes if they can be specified by wing number. Note that you can remove planes from a wing by adding them to the `~' wing. e.g. [##:##] Command : wingadd ~ A This command would purge all planes from wing `A'. SEE ALSO plane, fly, Planes empire-info-text-4.2.15/wipe0100664000000000000000000000332410055155503014370 0ustar rootroot Command : WIPE NAME wipe - Remove all distribution thresholds Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : wipe The wipe command removes all distribution thresholds from the specified sec- tors. Note that this will have drastic effects on sectors that rely on dis- tribution in any way, so use with caution. Also note that if you make a mis- take, it can cost lots of BTU's to reverse the effects of a wipe. [##:##] Command : level #5 Wed Aug 16 18:34:43 1995 DISTRIBUTION LEVELS sect dst civ mil uw food sh gun pet iron dust bar oil lcm hcm rad -5,5 k -1,5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 566 1 0 0 0 1 0 -3,5 f -1,5 0 0 0 0 100 10 0 0 0 0 0 100 250 0 -1,5 w -1,5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -6,6 ! -1,5 0 0 0 0 200 50 200 0 0 0 1 200 200 0 4 sectors [##:##] Command : wipe #5 distribution thresholds wiped from -5,5 distribution thresholds wiped from -3,5 distribution thresholds wiped from -1,5 distribution thresholds wiped from -6,6 [##:##] Command : level #5 Wed Aug 16 18:34:43 1995 DISTRIBUTION LEVELS sect dst civ mil uw food sh gun pet iron dust bar oil lcm hcm rad -5,5 k -1,5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -3,5 f -1,5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1,5 w -1,5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -6,6 ! -1,5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 sectors SEE ALSO distribute, census, commodity, level, threshold, Distribution empire-info-text-4.2.15/wire0100664000000000000000000000134610055155503014374 0ustar rootroot Command : WIRE NAME wire - Read announcements Level: Basic SYNTAX [##:##] Command : wire [yes|no|] The wire command is used to read the announcements sent you by other coun- tries. After reading all your announcements you may discard them by answering "yes" to the question posed. If you answer "no" the announcements will remain pending but you will not be reminded of them. You can read announcements that you have previously discarded by specifying the argument. For example: [##:##] Command : wire 3 would print the announcements from the last three days. In order to read telegrams, use the 'read' command. SEE ALSO telegram, read, accept, reject, Communication empire-info-text-4.2.15/work0100664000000000000000000000155610055155503014413 0ustar rootroot Command : WORK NAME work - Use engineers to raise sector efficiency Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : work This command causes a unit with the engineering ability to increase the effi- ciency of a sector. (see info show for information on finding out unit abili- ties) The increase in efficiency depends on mobility used. It costs a 100% efficient land unit 6 mobility to raise a sector 1% efficiency. Less efficient land units are charged proportionally higher amounts of mobility. For example, a 50% land unit would be charged 12 mobility to raise the efficiency of a sector by 1%. If the sector has been re-designated, the working unit will first tear down the old, then start working on the new effic, in the same way that sectors update normally. SEE ALSO show, Unit-types, LandUnits empire-info-text-4.2.15/zdone0100664000000000000000000000207110055155503014541 0ustar rootroot Command : ZDONE NAME zdone - Indicate willingness to have an update Level: Expert SYNTAX [##:##] Command : zdone [yes|no|check] The zdone command allows you to say when you are done and ready for an update. "yes" says that you are ready for an update. "no" clears any previous "yes" that you did. "check" checks to see what your zdone state is. The command will also show you how many countries want an update. There are 3 possible update policies which could be set in this game. The update policy is shown in the update command. Your zdone state is cleared when an update occurs. 1. No demand updates. If so, then this command is useless. 2. Updates occur upon demand, right after the last person sets zdone. The threshold at which a demand update occurs is configurable, and may be seen in the update command. 3. Demand updates occur at specific times. If enough countries have set zdone at one of those times, then an update will occur. The times may be seen in the update command. SEE ALSO update, Playing