#### ##### #### ##### # # # # # # # # # # # # # ### ### # ##### # # # # # # #### ##### #### # Galactic Empire Control Panel V1.03 Copyright (c) 1992-1993 by Dave Walton All Rights Reserved ----===[ * ]===---- Programming by Dave Walton (Dread) Documentation by Steven Wells (Speed/Steven) Beta testing by The Scarlet Brotherhood Steven Wells (Speed/Steven) Keith Johnson (Shadow) David Wells (Spaceace) Larry Barnett (Bilbo) Development team may be contacted at: 靈컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � The Recommended Information Service (707) 448-2225 � 픔컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴쩡컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴쩡컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � Sysop: Jay C. Parangalan � 300/1200/2400 N-8-1 � 12 lines, MNP5 � 聃컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴좔컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴좔컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� What is GECP and who needs it? In short, it is a front-end for Galactic Empire that aids the avid player with navigation and combat. It simply is a must for anyone that takes Galactic Empire seriously. "Picture this. I'm cruising around warp 6 towards my unsuspecting target. As I approach, I drop to impulse and the shields automatically raise. My scanners update constantly to show my target's course. Seconds later, I scan as my ship automatically sends a volley of missiles, re-shields and re-cloaks all in one fluid motion. Next!" -- Commander Shadow Please bear in mind though that the many features of GECP are there to enhance a player's existing skills. They are not intended to replace the human player with a robot. Do not overly rely on GECP; it is only as good as the player using it. GALACTIC EMPIRE VERSIONS SUPPORTED: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This version of GECP was written for and tested extensively in Galactic Empire version 2.2f for the IBM PC. It will probably work with other 2.x versions of Galactic Empire, both earlier and later; however, no guarantees are implied or stated. Since any Sysop who is running Galactic Empire also has the source code and can make any modifications he or she desires, GECP may have problems with a particular installation of the game, including version 2.2f. DISCLAIMER: ~~~~~~~~~~~ The author assumes no liability for damages resulting from the use or misuse of this software, even if the damage results from defects in this software, and makes no representations concerning the merchantability of this software or its suitability for any specific purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty of any kind. TABLE OF CONTENTS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GALACTIC EMPIRE VERSIONS SUPPORTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 DISCLAIMER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 INSTALLATION AND USE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 CONTROL PANEL LAYOUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 QUICK COMMAND REFERENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 NAVIGATION AND MOVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 COMBAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 CREATING MACROS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 MESSAGES AND ENCRYPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 ADDITIONAL FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 HINTS FOR SUCCESSFULLY USING GECP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 INSTALLATION AND USE: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GECP may be run either from the DOS prompt or as an external protocol with most telecommunications packages. Since this version will NOT work with Galactic Empire V3.x, its various files have been renamed from "GECP" to "GE2CP". The files for the new Galactic Empire will be named "GE3CP". To run from the command line, simply shell out of your terminal program and execute with the command: GE2CP Where is the number of the serial port your modem is on. For example, to run GECP on a computer using serial port 1, simply enter the following: GE2CP 1 To run GECP from within a terminal program as an external protocol, create a batch file with the appropriate command line switch as above, then follow the terminal program's instructions for installation of external protocols. Galactic Empire has a number of variables that may be changed from game to game to keep it challenging. In order to account for this, GECP has a number of settings that may need to be changed from their defaults so that it will function properly. These settings must be altered while GECP is running and may be accessed by pressing CTRL-2. For more information and possible settings, please refer to the QUICK COMMAND REFERENCE section of this document. If you register GECP, you can enter your registration code while the program is running. This is done by typing CTRL-2 and answering the appropriate prompt with your code. To exit GECP, simply type -X then Y. While the main text window of GECP is much narrower than your screen, it is important that you keep your screen width setting on the BBS at 80 columns. This is because the BBS has a word wrap feature that is based on your setting for screen width. If you change that setting, messages sent to you will be wrapped differently, causing GECP to have difficulty in properly interpreting the information. Needless to say, this could cost you your ship. CONTROL PANEL LAYOUT: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Following is an ASCII mock-up of a typical GECP screen. It is NOT identical to the real screen as it is slightly shrunk and does not show any data. It is merely provided to familiarize you with the names of the areas that will be referenced in this manual. +----------------------------------------+----- Current Scan -----+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Scan Window | | | | | Galactic Empire Window | | | | | | | | | | | | +------------------------+ | | | | | Status Window | | | | +------------- Current Ship -------------+------------------------+ |> Text Entry Window | +------------- Pilot's Name --------------------------------------+ QUICK COMMAND REFERENCE: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CTRL-2 Configuration and registration. Allows you to configure GECP to account for possible Galactic Empire configurations. Following is a list of the questions you are asked during configuration. The default answer will be either in square brackets or an upper case letter in parenthesis. Change galaxy? [Do you want to change the galaxy size, neutral zone, or wrap settings?] Resize galaxy by: [Choose one of the following two methods of defining the galaxy.] 1. Low/high sectors [Use this option if you know the first and last sector numbers in the galaxy.] Lowest Sector: [What is the lowest sector number?] Highest Sector: [What is the highest sector number?] 2. Two sectors/coords [GECP will calculate and report the low and high sector numbers.] Current Sector: [What sector are you currently in?] Adjacent Sector: [What sector is east or west of you?] X Coord of curr. sect: [Integer part of X coordinate from REP NAV information.] Y Coord of curr. sect: [Integer part of Y coordinate from REP NAV information.] Neutral Zone: [What sector is the Neutral Zone?] Does galaxy wrap? [Can you cross the galaxy border?] Last Ship: [What is the highest ship letter?] Sound: [Do you want sound?] Enter Reg. Codes? [Do you want to add/remove a code?] Change which one? [Which of the 3 codes?] New Registration Code: [Enter the registration code.] New User ID: [Enter the user ID.] ESC Multi-purpose abort. Clears text entry window, aborts multi- keystroke commands and aborts control panel setting changes. ALT-A Set autopilot. Requires second keystroke plus new setting. B - Set BearingLok angle. Will set ship's heading to put a scanned ship or planet at this relative bearing. H - Set desired heading. Maintains ship's course on this heading. S - Set destination sector. "Z" will set it to Neutral Zone. Flys ship to this sector and stops. W - Set desired speed. X - Turn off B, H, and S. ALT-B Repeat last command typed. If the command ends with "^M", it is sent immmediately as an instant macro. Otherwise, the command is placed in the text entry window. ALT-C Toggle cloaking, if available on your ship. ALT-D Launch decoys. Deploys three decoys. If your ship is cloaked, it will drop out of cloak, launch the decoys, then re-cloak. ALT-E Encrypt message. Used after ALT-Y. Requires destination ship letter or "*" to send message to all. Messages are scrambled on transmission and decoded by designated parties. ALT-F Load flux pod. ALT-G --- Reserved for future use --- ALT-H Arm hyper-phasers. Automatically scans selected target ship, fires, then disarms. Should no target be available when armed, hyper-phasers will continue to seek a lock whenever the user scans (using ALT-L). Typing ALT-H a second time disarms phasers without firing. ALT-I Toggle desired speed between impulse 0 and impulse 99. ALT-J --- Reserved for future use --- ALT-K Set status box. Requires second keystroke plus new setting. P - Set current planet for scanning or orbiting. (1, 2 or 3) S - Set phaser spread for ALT-P. (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) T - Set current target ship for scanning or attacking. To abort setting change, press ESC. ALT-L Scan current target ship. ALT-M Arm missiles. Automatically scans selected target ship and, if it locks, loads a fresh flux pod and fires three full-strength (50.000 charge) missiles at your hapless enemy, then disarms and raises shields. Should no target be available when armed, missiles will continue to seek a lock whenever the user scans (using ALT-L). Typing ALT-M a second time disarms missiles without firing if a target was not initially found. If cloak is currently activated and a lock occurs, the cloaking is lowered, missiles fired as above and shields and cloak restored. CAUTION: This command automatically uses 4 flux pods each time it scans a target. Make sure that your victim is within range! ALT-N --- Reserved for future use --- ALT-O Orbit selected planet and toggle auto-orbit upon entering gravity field. When Auto-orbit is on, the currently selected planet number is displayed in red. Otherwise, it is green. NOTE: Auto-orbit will ALWAYS attempt to engage when approaching the escape horizon. However, it may not engage in time to save you. DO NOT depend upon it if you value your ships. ALT-P Arm phasers. Automatically scans selected target ship, fires with selected phaser spread, then disarms. Should no target be available when armed, phasers will continue to seek a lock whenever the user scans (using ALT-L). Typing ALT-P a second time disarms phasers without firing. ALT-Q Scan selected planet. ALT-R Generate ship report. Requires second keystroke. A - Accounting report. N - Navigational report. S - Systems report. ALT-S Toggle shields. Shields are automatically raised when leaving warp space to guarantee fastest possible protection. ALT-T Fire torpedoes. Automatically fires three torpedoes at selected target ship, then raises shields. If cloaking was active, it lowers cloak, fires, then raises cloak and shields again. ALT-U Scan all ships. Starting with ship A, it scans all ships up to the current target ship's letter. ALT-V View help screen for GECP. Press any key to return to game. ALT-W Toggles desired speed between warp 1 and warp 0. ALT-X Exit GECP. Requests if you really wish to quit. Pressing "Y" exits, any other key returns to the game. ALT-Y Communications. Clears text window and asks which channel you wish to send a message on (A, B, or C). Simply begin typing message to send on default channel of A. ALT-Z --- Reserved for future use --- CTRL-S Xoff. Pauses scrolling. CTRL-Q Xon. Restores scrolling. ALT-1 Scan range 1. Restores previous scan if available and updates. ALT-2 Scan range 2. Restores previous scan if available and updates. ALT-3 Scan range 3. Restores previous scan if available and updates. ALT-4 Scan range 4. Restores previous scan if available and updates. ALT-5 Scan range 5. Restores previous scan if available and updates. ALT-6 Scan range 6. Restores previous scan if available and updates. ALT-7 Scan range 7. Restores previous scan if available and updates. ALT-8 Scan range 8. Restores previous scan if available and updates. ALT-9 Scan range 9. Restores previous scan if available and updates. ALT-0 Sector scan. Restores previous scan if available and updates. ALT-- Scan long. Restores previous scan if available and updates. ALT-= Scan hyperspace. Restores previous scan if available and updates. F1..F10 Macros as defined in lines 1-10 of GE2CP.KEY SHIFT-F1..SHIFT-F10 Macros as defined in lines 11-20 of GE2CP.KEY CTRL-F1..CTRLF10 Macros as defined in lines 21-30 of GE2CP.KEY ALT-F1..ALT-F10 Macros as defined in lines 31-40 of GE2CP.KEY CTRL-ENTER Carriage return. Adds a "^M" to contents of text entry window to automatically send a carriage return. Useful when combined with ALT-B to create instant macros. NAVIGATION AND MOVEMENT: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Acceleration and deceleration are made easier through the use of a throttle control. By pressing INSERT, your speed is increased. This function will allow you to accelerate from a standstill through impulse 99 (in increments of 11) and into warp (in increments of 1) simply through repeated key presses. In a similar fashion, deceleration is achieved by pressing DELETE. This will allow you to reduce your speed from warp (in increments of 1) into impulse (in increments of 11) down to a full stop. Turning may now be done using the keypad. Simply press the key according to the direction you wish to travel. Below is a chart to simplify this process. Note that with heading autopilot off, settings are increased or decreased from the current heading; whereas if heading autopilot is on, the autopilot is set to a new heading. With heading autopilot OFF With heading autopilot ON 0 0 -45 | +45 315 | 45 \ | / \ | / \ | / \ | / 7 8 9 7 8 9 -90 ----- 4 * 6 ----- +90 270 ----- 4 * 6 ----- 90 1 2 3 1 2 3 / | \ / | \ / | \ / | \ -135 | +135 225 | 135 +180 180 More precise turning may also be accomplished by simply pressing CTRL and the direction you wish to adjust. Below are charts to simplify this process. With heading autopilot OFF With heading autopilot ON -1 +1 -1 +1 \ / \ / \ / \ / 7 * 9 7 * 9 -15 ----- 4 * 6 ----- +15 -15 ----- 4 * 6 ----- +15 1 * 3 1 * 3 / \ / \ / \ / \ -30 +30 -30 +30 Auto-pilot has a number of options which can be engaged. They may be used for long hauls in freighters or to head for a certain sector. Setting a bearing lock (using ALT-A then B) will maneuver your ship to constantly keep your scanned target (either a planet or ship) at a certain relative bearing. Setting a heading (using ALT-A then H) will cause your course to be locked at a certain heading. Setting a destination sector (using ALT-A then S) will put your ship in control of navigation. GECP will calculate the most direct route to your destination and will steer your ship to it. Once your ship has arrived, it will come to a halt and await further navigation orders. Entering "Z" for the sector will send your ship to whichever sector is the designated Neutral Zone. The autopilot takes into account whether or not the galaxy wraps around, as selected in config (CTRL-2), when calculating the shortest route. Setting a speed (using ALT-A then W) will cause your ship to alter its current speed to comply with your new orders. To clear your auto-pilot, simply press ALT-A then X. This clears all values for bearing lock, heading and sector destination. When you enter the gravity pull of a planet, GECP will attempt to auto-orbit that planet if the planet number is the same as the selected planet and auto-orbit is turned on. Auto-orbit is toggled with ALT-O, which also issues an orbit command. The selected planet number is displayed in red if auto-orbit is engaged, and green otherwise. To leave orbit, you must turn auto-orbit off to prevent an automatic re-orbit. If you enter the gravity pull of a planet other than the currently selected planet or approach the escape horizon of ANY planet, GECP will select that planet as the current planet, engage auto-orbit, and send an orbit command. However, because of potential command delays in Galactic Empire, this is extremely risky, especially in ships with limited maneuverability. DO NOT rely entirely upon it if you value your ships! Auto-orbit is automatically turned on as you leave warp space to provide the best chance for protection in the event you drop out of warp in close proximity to a planet. COMBAT: ~~~~~~~ The main reason most people use GECP is for its simplification of combat. Selectable targeting on the fly and automatic target lock capability aid the skilled Galactic Empire player and add a degree of precision and ability lacking in simple macros. In addition, its automatic defense activation is a boon in any fire-fight. To use torpedoes, simply set a target ship (using ALT-K then T) and then fire (using ALT-T). This will fire a volley of three torpedoes. You may fire off several volleys in quick succession by repeatedly hitting ALT-T. To use phasers, you must be stationary or flying under impulse power. Set a target ship (using ALT-K then T) and fire (using ALT-P). If your target ship is within scanner range, the phasers will lock on its bearing and fire. If the selected target ship is not within scanner range, the phasers will not fire but will remain armed. They will attempt to achieve a bearing lock each time you scan (using ALT-L) and fire at the next ship scanned. Pressing ALT-P a second time will disarm the phasers. To use hyper-phasers, you must be flying under warp power. Set a target ship (using ALT-K then T) and fire (using ALT-H). If your target ship is within scanner range, the hyper-phasers will automatically lock on its bearing and fire. If the ship is not within scanner range, the phasers will not fire but will remain armed. They will attempt to achieve a bearing lock each time you scan (using ALT-L) and fire at the next ship scanned. Pressing ALT-H a second time will disarm the hyper-phasers. Shields are engaged whenever your ship drops from warp to impulse. They are dectivated and re-engaged automatically when a firing action is taken to minimize the possibility of enemy fire sneaking through your defenses when in combat. To engage or disengage shields at any time, simply type ALT-S. Cloak is engaged by typing ALT-C. It is automatically deactivated and re-engaged when firing offensive weapons and decoys to provide the fullest coverage possible. Decoys may be released by pressing ALT-D. This will deploy three decoys. If cloak is active, it will drop cloak, fire decoys then re-cloak. All weapons systems are locked out while in the Neutral Zone to prevent any painful self-inflicted damages. Because of this, it is important to make sure that the Neutral Zone is set correctly in the configuration. An incorrect Neutral Zone setting will lock your weapons in the wrong sector, possibly in the middle of a battle. CREATING MACROS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There is room for forty user-definable macros using your function keys. Simply use your favorite ASCII editor to change the contents of GE2CP.KEY, the file that contains the necessary information about macros. Place one macro on each line. Placing "^M" at any point in the macro will cause a carriage return to be inserted at that point when the macro is sent. To create macros that are sent without waiting for a carriage return, add a "^M" to the end. They will then be sent directly to your modem; otherwise, the text will be placed in the text entry box. If a macro contains "{*}" at any point, the next 94 characters will be encrypted when sent. Anything after the 94 encrypted characters will be truncated. (See ENCRYPTION for more info). Following is the format for GE2CP.KEY. NOTE: If you define non-contiguous macros, you MUST leave the appropriate lines blank. Maximum macro length is 127 characters. Lines 1-10 F1..F10 Lines 11-20 SHIFT-F1..SHIFT-F10 Lines 21-30 CTRL-F1..CTRL-F10 Lines 31-40 ALT-F1..ALT-F10 MESSAGES AND ENCRYPTION: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sending messages in Galactic Empire is somewhat cumbersome as you must type SEND and then specify the channel that you wish to send a message on. GECP simplifies this process somewhat and expands your communications options. To send a message, simply type ALT-Y and input the channel you wish to broadcast on, then enter your message as normal in the text window. The default setting is for channel A, so if you wish to send on A, simply start typing your message after typing ALT-Y. An additional feature of GECP is the ability to send encrypted messages over public channels. To send an encrypted message, simply insert a "{*}" anywhere in the message followed by a destination ship letter or an "*" to send to all ships. There must be NO spaces between these two! Once this preliminary set-up is done, just type your message as normal. For example, to send an encrypted message on channel B to ship A, type: b{*}a Let's take that VG/VG planet in sector 420! This would appear as a random string of ASCII characters to all others. To simplify sending encrypted messages, you may press ALT-E then select the destination ship letter or "*". The example above then changes to: ba Let's take that VG/VG planet in sector 420! Two limitations apply to encrypted messages. First, there is a maximum length of 94 characters for all encrypted messages -- all excess text will be truncated! Second, all standard characters appearing on your keyboard may be used EXCEPT the tilde which looks like "~". Messages that are encrypted will be shown in encrypted format and then decrypted to show the actual message. NOTE: GECP on the ship receiving the encrypted message MUST know what ship letter it is. If the recipient has not issued a REPORT command (ALT-R then A, N, or S) since entering their current ship, the message will NOT be decrypted for them. You may combine normal and encrypted text in the same message. However, the encrypted portion MUST follow the normal text. This will limit the maximum length of the encrypted message, however. ADDITIONAL FEATURES: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GECP will load flux whenever power is lost or approaches a critical level (5000 power units). To ensure a steady supply of power, you are advised to check your ship's status (using ALT-R then S) occasionally so that GECP may monitor your power levels more accurately. DO NOT rely upon it if you value your ships! If shields or cloak fail due to loss of power, GECP will load a new flux pod and re-raise the shields or cloak. Also, if you are unable to fire hyper-phasers due to low power levels, GECP will load a new flux pod to enable you to re-issue the fire command if you so desire. If the galaxy is set up to NOT wrap, hitting the barrier around the galaxy will cause damage to your ship and drop you in a random sector, possibly surrounded by enemies. GECP takes two steps to minimize the obvious dangers involved. First, when you enter a sector that is adjacent to the galaxy border the current sector will blink to warn you. Second, if you DO hit the barrier, GECP will automatically send REPORT NAV to determine your current location and SCAN LONG to give you a view of the ships around you. With these aids you will have a much better chance of surviving that unfortunate turn of events. HINTS FOR SUCCESSFULLY USING GECP: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Make good use of your scanners. Concentrate on sector, long and range 9. Use the scan all feature when several ships are nearby. It saves time -- and time is a valuable commodity in Galactic Empire. Check your systems and navigation periodically (using both ALT-R then S and ALT-R then N). This is the only way that GECP can check on your status. All relevant data is taken from these scans so this is VERY important. You should do this immediately upon entering Galactic Empire whenever you change ships so that GECP knows your location, heading, and status. GECP does not check your range before loading flux and firing missiles. Make sure you are within range when using missile lock on opponents. Three missiles are fired each time GECP attempts to lock using a total of four flux pods. Do not set your ship's autopilot to manuever you to a distant sector and leave the room. GECP does not control any offensive or defensive weaponry. This would place you in a very bad situation should someone with bad intentions come across your ship.