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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!"

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. GECP is not a bot. It will not fight for you. But it will make it much easier for you to fight, and win.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• GALACTIC EMPIRE VERSIONS SUPPORTED
• DISCLAIMER
• INSTALLATION AND USE
• CONTROL PANEL LAYOUT
• COMMAND REFERENCE
• NAVIGATION AND MOVEMENT
• AUTOPILOT
• COMBAT
• MAPPING
• CARGO HANDLING
• CREATING MACROS
• MESSAGES
• ADDITIONAL FEATURES
• HINTS FOR SUCCESSFULLY USING GECP

GALACTIC EMPIRE VERSIONS SUPPORTED:

This version of GECP was written for and tested extensively on the various 3.xx versions of Galactic Empire for The Major BBS. Specifically, it has been tested with versions 3.0a through 3.2e. Since any Sysop who is running Galactic Empire has the ability to make certain modifications to the game, GECP may have problems with a particular installation of the game, even if it is running one of the tested versions. Attempts have been made to accommodate some known variations; however, no guarantees are stated or implied.

Please note that there was a change in the Shield command in Galactic Empire V3.0c. Since GECP v2 uses the new version of that command, your shields may behave erratically in earlier versions of Galactic Empire. If you are playing versions 3.0a or 3.0b of Galactic Empire, encourage your Sysop to upgrade to a newer version, since those versions were just for testing anyway. Also, the Cloak command changed in Galactic Empire V3.2d. Since GECP v2 uses the new command format, your cloaking devices on earlier versions of Galactic Empire may be affected as well.

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.

INSTALLATION AND USE:

Installation

GECP v2 requires Java 8, and should run on any platform which has Java 8 or newer. Other than installing Java 8 if necessary, there is no installation required. Just download the GECP jar file and save it somewhere convenient on your computer. Then, depending on how Java is set up, GECP can be run by double-clicking the .jar file, or from the command line.

Running

To run GECP from the command line, use this command:

To connect to a BBS, use the telnet command.

To disconnect, you can log off the BBS, or use the disconnect command to hang up.

To exit GECP, simply type ALT-X then Y.

Setup

GECP

Galactic Empire has a number of variables that may be changed by the Sysop from game to game to keep it interesting. In order to account for this, GECP has settings that may need to be changed from their defaults so that it will function properly for a given BBS. These settings must be altered while GECP is connected to that BBS, and may be accessed by pressing ALT-K then P. In addition, GECP has a few global settings which may be accessed the same way, whether or not GECP is connected to a BBS. For more information about possible settings, please refer to the COMMAND REFERENCE section of this document.

MajorBBS

It is important that you keep your screen width setting on the BBS at 80 columns. This is because MajorBBS 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.

Also, you should set the MajorBBS "Pause output" setting to CONTINUOUS to prevent the BBS from regularly interrupting you with Continue? prompts.

Galactic Empire

GECP supports the new SCANFULL ON and SCANNAMES ON settings in Galactic Empire V3.x. However, FILTER should be set to OFF, because when ON, it prevents Galactic Empire from sending some message which GECP requires for proper function. To make sure filter is off, type this command while in Galactic Empire:

CONTROL PANEL LAYOUT:

Following is an ASCII mock-up of the main GECP screen. It is NOT identical to the real screen as it is shortened 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.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+----+
|                              |                                          |    |
|                              |                                          | I  |
|                              |                                          | n  |
|                              |                                          | d  |
|                              |                                          | i  |
|                              |                                          | c  |
|         Scan Window          |      Enemy Ship Information Window       | a  |
|                              |                                          | t  |
|                              |                                          | o  |
|                              |                                          | r  |
|                              |                                          | s  |
|                              |                                          |    |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+----+
|                                                                              |
|                                  Dashboard                                   |
|                                                                              |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

                                Hailing Window                                  

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



                                Terminal Window                                 



+----------------------------- Ship Type and Name -----------------------------+
| > Command Entry Window                                                       |
+------------------------------ Commander's Name ------------------------------+

COMMAND REFERENCE:

Hotkeys

Most of these hotkeys are single-keystroke commands (ALT-<key> or CTRL-<key>). But a few will cause a list of options to be displayed above the command entry line, and require a second keystroke to select an option. Additionally, the ones which do that also often require data input after an option is selected.

Typed Commands

GECP has a set of commands you can type in the command entry window, but that are acted on by GECP instead of being sent to the BBS. These commands may also be used in macros. In the descriptions below, <> are used to mark values to be entered in the commands, and [] indicate optional values.

telnet <host> [<port>]

Connects to a telnet BBS.
<host> is the hostname or IP address of the BBS.
<port> is the port number to connect to. Optional. If omitted, defaults to 23.

disconnect

Disconnects from the BBS, if connected.

route [<speed>] <x>,<y>[,<p>]...

This command creates a route for the autopilot and begins navigation. The route consists of a list of sectors, planets, or wormholes for your ship to visit in order. It fills the same role as ALT-A,P and ALT-A,S, but also adds the ability to plan complex routes.
<speed> is the maximum speed to fly during the route. Optional. If omitted, GECP uses ship's desired speed at time the command is executed.
<x> is the sector x-coordinate.
<y> is the sector y-coordinate.
<p> is a planet/wormhole number. Optional.
You can provide one or more <x>,<y>[,<p>] values, separated by a space. There should be no spaces within a value. The last value is the final destination of the route. Previous values are waypoints along route.
Waypoints can be sectors, wormholes, or planets:

• Sector: Your ship enters the sector, then proceeds to the next waypoint or destination.
• Wormhole: Your ship flies through the wormhole, then proceeds to the next waypoint or destination.
• Planet: Your ship orbits the planet, then the autopilot pauses. When you unpause the autopilot, your ship proceeds to the next waypoint or destination.

Destinations can be sectors, wormholes, or planets:

• Sector: Your ship enters the sector, then stops and the autopilot disengages.
• Wormhole: Your ship flies through the wormhole, then the autopilot disengages, leaving your ship at a low speed to avoid falling back into the wormhole.
• Planet: Your ship orbits the planet, then the autopilot disengages.

explore [<speed>] <radius>

Creates an exploration route for the autopilot like that created by ALT-A,E and begins navigation.
<speed> is the maximum speed to fly during exploration. Optional. If omitted, uses ship's desired speed at time the command is executed.
<radius> is the number of sectors out from your current location the exploration will cover.

NAVIGATION AND MOVEMENT:

NOTE: With GECP, your ship's helm is fly-by-wire. Rather than directly changing heading and speed, you set your desired course in GECP and it takes care of maintaining that course for you.

GE Command Enhancements^{[New in GECP v2.1]}

When you type GE's ROTATE, IMPULSE, or WARP commands, or use them in macros, GECP will intercept those commands. Rather than passing them on to GE immediately, it will use them to update your desired course, which will then cause GECP to issue equivalent commands to GE. This avoids the problem of typed commands to GE "fighting" against the course set in GECP, and it allows GECP to provide you with improved versions of those commands.

rotate [@]<heading>

In GE, the ROTATE command is only allowed when your ship is stopped. GECP will allow ROTATE at any time, and it will adjust your heading without changing your speed. As in GE, <heading> can be a positive or negative number to adjust your heading by that many degrees, or put @ before the number to set your heading to that specific value. Also, rather than <heading> being limited to -180 to 180 (or @0 to @359), you can give any number, and it will be adjusted as necessary.

impulse <speed> [<heading>]

In GE, the IMPULSE command is not allowed when your ship is at warp. You need to completely stop, and then issue an IMPULSE command. GECP will allow IMPULSE at any time, and will take care of those details for you. As in GE, <speed> can be 0 to 99 and <heading> will adjust your heading by that many degrees, is optional, and defaults to zero. Rather than <heading> being limited to -180 to 180, you can give any number, and it will be adjusted as necessary.

warp <speed> [<heading>]

As in GE, <speed> can be 0 and up (depending on your ship's engine) and <heading> will adjust your heading by that many degrees, is optional, and defaults to zero. Rather than <heading> being limited to -180 to 180, you can give any number, and it will be adjusted as necessary.

Speed

Acceleration and deceleration are made easier through the use of a throttle control. By pressing INSERT, your speed is increased, and by pressing DELETE, your speed is decreased. This function will allow you to accelerate from a standstill through impulse 99 (in increments of 33) and into warp (in increments of 5) simply through repeated key presses. Likwise, you can decelerate through warp speeds into impulse, down to a full stop, in the same increments.

For finer control you can use CTRL with those keys. CTRL-INSERT and CTRL-DELETE will increase and decrease your speed in increments of 11 at impulse and 1 at warp.

Heading

Turning may be done using the numeric keypad (with NumLock off) or the cursor keys. Simply press the key according to how much you wish to turn. Your desired heading will be increased or decreased by various amounts. For finer control, you can use CTRL with those keys. When the controls are locked (not in GE), the cursor keys send cursor control codes to the BBS. This can be helpful when a BBS lets you interact with it using arrow keys.

Below is a chart to illustrate this process. The keypad layout is at center, and the outer number connected to each key indicates how much (and in which direction) your desired heading will change. When using cursor keys, (in case you don't have a numeric keypad to look at), 1=End, 2=Down, 3=PageDown, 4=Left, 6=Right, 7=Home, 8=Up, 9=PageUp.

   Regular keypad keys                    CTRL keypad keys     

            0                                     0            
   -45      |      +45                    -1      |      +1    
      \     |     /                         \     |     /      
        \   |   /                             \   |   /        
          7 8 9                                 7 8 9          
-90 ----- 4 * 6 ----- +90             -15 ----- 4 * 6 ----- +15
          1 2 3                                 1 2 3          
        /   |   \                             /   |   \        
      /     |     \                         /     |     \      
  -135      |      +135                  -30      |      +30   
          +180                                   180           

AUTOPILOT:

Flight

Autopilot has a number of options which can be engaged. They may be used for long hauls in freighters, to head for a certain sector or planet, or to explore the area around you.

• Setting a bearing lock (using ALT-A then B) will maneuver your ship to keep the current target ship at the chosen relative bearing. Your ship's speed will still be manually controlled.
• Creating an exploration route (using ALT-A then E) will task your ship with exploring the surrounding sectors. GECP will plan a route which flies through all the nearby sectors up to the chosen distance away from your current sector, and then returns you to the starting sector.
  Your current ship's speed will be used as the maximum speed for the route. GECP will reset your speed to the starting speed for each leg of the route. You are free to adjust your speed manually outside of those times.
• Setting a heading (using ALT-A then H) will cause your course to be reset to the chosen heading. Your ship's speed will still be manually controlled.
• Setting a destination planet or wormhole (using ALT-A then P) will put your ship in control of navigation to that object. GECP will calculate the shortest route to your destination and will steer your ship to it, using wormholes if possible to shorten the flight time. Once your ship has arrived, it will orbit the planet or fly through the wormhole, and await further navigation orders.
  Your current ship's speed will be used as the maximum speed for the route. GECP will slow your ship down as necessary to orbit a planet or enter a wormhole, and will reset your speed to the starting speed for each leg of the route. You are free to adjust your speed manually outside of those times.
• Setting a destination sector (using ALT-A then S) will put your ship in control of navigation to that sector. GECP will calculate the shortest route to your destination and will steer your ship to it. Once your ship has arrived in that sector, it will come to a halt and await further navigation orders.
  Your current ship's speed will be used as the maximum speed for the route. GECP will slow your ship down as necessary to orbit a planet or enter a wormhole, and will reset your speed to the starting speed for each leg of the route. You are free to adjust your speed manually outside of those times.
• Setting a speed (using ALT-A then W) will cause your ship to alter its current speed to comply with your new orders. Your ship's heading will still be manually controlled, unless a route autopilot is engaged.

To cancel your autopilot, simply press ALT-A then X. To skip the next waypoint in a route, you can press ALT-A then K. Also, you can temporarily pause following a route using ALT-A then Z if you need to detour for some reason, then resume the route with the same keystroke.

Typed Commands

GECP also has two commands you can type to control the autopilot. These allow creating autopilot macros, and are also sometimes more convenient than using ALT-A sequences to set your route. See the route and explore commands for details.

Orbit

When you enter the gravity pull of a planet, GECP will attempt to auto-orbit that planet if auto-orbit is turned on. Auto-orbit is toggled with ALT-O, which also issues an orbit command if there is a planet within orbit range. The "Orb" indicator is lit up if auto-orbit is engaged. If you are leaving orbit slowly, you may need to turn auto-orbit off to prevent an automatic re-orbit.

Auto-orbit is automatically turned on as you leave warp to provide the best chance for protection in the event you drop out of warp in close proximity to a planet.

GECP will attempt to orbit whether or not auto-orbit is turned on if you get dangerously close to a planet, as a last-minute attempt to save your ship. 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!

When autopilot flies to a planet, it does everything it can to avoid a collision with the planet. The course it plots does not go directly to the planet. Instead, it computes a course to one side of the planet, passing just within orbital distance of the planet. This way if it fails to stop and orbit in time, you will pass harmlessly by, instead of cratering your expensive ship into the planet. In addition, after it orbits the planet, GECP turns your ship to face directly away from the planet, to make certain you won't accidentally hit the planet as you leave.

That being said, it is still not completely impossible to hit a planet with your ship. You could start a new course which causes your ship to turn and attempt to fly through the planet you are orbiting. While flying at impulse you could happen to fly into some random planet along the way. And you could drop out of warp directly onto a planet. Thankfully, all these possibilities are generally pretty unlikely. But keep your eyes open and watch the map. It takes only a small amount of attentiveness from you as the captain to make the chances of an embarassing accident vanishingly small.

COMBAT:

Aside from autopilot, the other big reason to use GECP is 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.

Some of these tools have additional features noted by the code next to their name:

• [C]: If your ship was cloaked, GECP will automatically re-cloak afterward.
• [S]: GECP will automatically raise the shield afterward.
• [Z]: Locked out by GECP while in the Neutral Zone to prevent painful self-inflicted damages.

Weapons

Torpedoes^[CSZ]

To use torpedoes, simply make sure the correct ship is targeted (using ALT-K then T) and then fire (using ALT-T). This will fire a volley of three torpedoes.

Phasers^[CSZ]

To use phasers, simply make sure the correct ship is targeted (using ALT-K then T) and then fire (using ALT-P). If your target ship is within scanner range, the phasers will lock on its bearing and fire. If the ship is not within scanner range, the phasers will not fire but will remain armed. The next time the currently selected target ship is sighted, they will fire at it. Pressing ALT-P a second time will disarm the phasers without firing.

Hyper-Phasers^[Z]

To use hyper-phasers, simply make sure the correct ship is targeted (using ALT-K then T) and then fire (using ALT-H). If your target ship is within scanner range, the hyper-phasers will lock on its bearing and fire. If the ship is not within scanner range, the hyper-phasers will not fire but will remain armed. The next time the currently selected target ship is sighted, they will fire at it. Pressing ALT-H a second time will disarm the hyper-phasers without firing.

Missiles^[CSZ]

To use missiles, simply make sure the correct ship is targeted (using ALT-K then T) and then fire (using ALT-M). If your target ship is within scanner range, a volley of three missiles will be fired, with the flux load specified in Preferences (ALT-K,P). If the ship is not within scanner range, the missiles will not fire but will remain armed. The next time the currently selected target ship is sighted, they will fire at it. Pressing ALT-M a second time will disarm the missiles without firing.
CAUTION: This command can waste flux pods! Any time it attempts to fire missiles, it will use a flux pod. This will occur even if no missiles are fired because your target is out of missile range, or if your ship doesn't have missiles onboard. It will even waste your flux if your ship doesn't have missile capability. Don't get careless with this command!

Mines^[CZ]

To use mines, simply make sure your desired delay time is set (using ALT-K then D) and then drop the mine (using ALT-N). This will drop one mine, with the preset delay. You may drop off several mines in quick succession by repeatedly hitting ALT-N.

Defense

Shields

Shields are automatically 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

Cloak is engaged by typing ALT-C. It is automatically deactivated and re-engaged when necessary to provide the fullest coverage possible.

Decoys^[C]

Decoys may be released by pressing ALT-D. This will deploy three decoys.

Jammers^[CZ]

Jammers may be released by pressing ALT-J. This will deploy one jammer.

Zippers^[C]

Zippers may be released by pressing ALT-Z. This will deploy one zipper.

MAPPING:

Map Window

GECP offers a map window which presents a detailed view of the space around you. You can open or close the map window with ALT-=. The map view can be zoomed in and out using the mouse wheel, or CTRL-- and CTRL-+ or CTRL-=.

Ships on the map can be displayed in a number of different colors. This is just a guide, and should not be relied on too heavily, as the BBS Sysop can use class numbers differently than the default setup.

• Green: Your ship, at center. If your autopilot is currently following a route, that route will be shown as a green line.
• Yellow: Ships with class numbers normally reserved for Human players.
• Light Red: Ships with class numbers normally reserved for Cybertron fighters.
• Dark Red: Ships with class numbers normally reserved for Cybertron freighters.
• Magenta: Any other class number, including the dreaded Sysopian Death Star.

Explored sectors are black with light grey borders, and unexplored sectors are dark grey with no borders. The galaxy border is a yellow line, and there are blue lines where sector X is 0 or sector Y is 0.

Planets and wormholes can appear in several colors.

• Blue: Default planet color. Assumed to be unclaimed.
• Cyan: Planets which are known to have an owner.
• Green: Planets which are owned by you. These planets are also displayed slightly larger than the rest, so they stand out.
• Magenta: Wormholes, with a magenta line connecting them to their other end, if it is known.

Planets and wormholes are labeled with different information, depending on how much GECP knows about them, and the current zoom level.

Wormholes are labeled with their planet numbers, if known. They may be labeled with a '?' if their number is not known. This happens when they are known only from a downloaded Starmap, and you haven't personally visited that sector yet. The labels will be white if GECP knows the destination of the wormhole, so it is available for calculating routes. Otherwise, the label will be light grey. GECP learns about wormhole destinations either when you fly through them, or when you import a downloaded Starmap from that BBS.

Planets are labeled with their planet numbers. Depending on the zoom level, the label might also contain the planet name and owner, if known. That information is gathered by GECP when the planet is scanned, and is available from scans at warp speed. The label will be light grey if the planet is only known from a downloaded Starmap or if it has only been scanned at warp speed. When you scan a planet at impulse speed, GECP gathers more details about the planet. Once that has happened, the label will be white, and at some zoom levels the planet number will be followed by letters revealing those details. The planet details are displayed as a 2-letter code, where the first letter indicates the planet's Environment, and the second the planet's Resources. The possible values are:

• P: Poor
• M: Marginal
• G: Good
• V: Very Good

Real-time Mapping

As you fly around the galaxy, GECP continuously builds and updates a map of everywhere you go. In the map window you will see each sector added to the map shortly after you enter it. You also may notice that GECP automatically scans all planets when you enter a sector to check for ownership changes or newly created wormholes. When you fly through a wormhole, GECP looks at where you were before and where you ended up, and adds that wormhole link to the map.

The map GECP builds is stored separately for each BBS, and retained between sessions. Over time you will build up and expansive map of everywhere you have been in that galaxy. Unfortunately, there is one small problem you may encounter: Very rarely, you may find a BBS which has more than one Galactic Empire game running on it. In that case, because the map and Preferences are stored per BBS, you will need to choose just one of those games to play. If you try to play more than one game on a BBS, the map will contain conflicting data from the two galaxies, and you will need to delete the map data in Preferences (ALT-K,P) while connected to the BBS to clean it up.

If the Galactic Empire game is reset on a BBS where you are playing, then the old map data is invalid and useless. You will need to go into Preferences (ALT-K,P) while connected to the BBS to delete the map data.

Map Downloads

If you are very lucky, the Sysop has set up MBMGEMAP on your BBS, which generates a Starmap file every day containing the complete up to date galaxy map. The Starmap file is then available to download in the BBS files area, often under the name MBMGEPLT.ZIP. If that is available to you, GECP can download the Starmap and use it to update your local map.

To download and import a Starmap file:

1. Find the Starmap file in the BBS files area and tell the BBS to start the download. You can choose any XModem or YModem protocol. YModem-G is the fastest.
2. After you have told the BBS to start the download, start downloading in GECP using ALT-G,S. GECP will let the BBS know it is ready, and listen for the download to start.
3. When the download is complete, GECP will check the downloaded file to see if it is a Starmap file. If it is, GECP will offer to import the Starmap file. Type 'Y' to begin.
4. GECP will import the Starmap file into the local map for this BBS, and you will then be able to see a current map of all of known space in the map window.

If your Sysop has MBMGEMAP installed, you can repeat the download and import every day to update your local map with all the new sectors, planets and wormholes all players have discovered. Even better, the downloaded map has details of both ends of every wormhole, giving you the ability to use the wormholes for routing without first needing to fly through them to discover where they go!

CARGO HANDLING:

GE Command Enhancements^{[New in GECP v2.1]}

When you type GE's TRANSFER, BUY, SELL, or JETTISON commands, or use them in macros, GECP will intercept those commands and enhance them. It gives you more powerful and flexible versions of those commands, which it processes and passes on to GE as a series of regular GE commands.

For the TRANSFER command, along with GE's usual abbreviations for commands and items (only first three letters are required), GECP allows you to abbreviate "up" as "u" and "down" as "d". For example, to transfer up 1234 missiles:
tra u 1234 mis

For all four cargo handling commands, GECP provides the following enhancements:

• The item quantity can be given with commas as thousands separators, as will sometimes happen when doing a copy/paste from a calculator or spreadsheet. For example, to buy 1234567 men:
  buy 1,234,567 men
• The item quantity can be math expressions, using +, -, *, /, and (). This is especially useful for moving some portion of the inventory of your ship or planet, by copy/pasting the total number then dividing it. For example, to jettison half the food on your ship, when you have 1234567 food on board:
  jet 1234567/2 foo
• You can move multiple items in a single command, rather than needing a separate command for each item. For example, to sell 12345 gold, 200 mines, and 200 jammers:
  sell 12345 gol, 200 min, 200 jam
• Each quantity in the command can be applied to multiple items, without needing to repeat the number for each item. For example, to transfer down 100 missiles, 100 torpedoes, 100 flux, 50 decoys, and 50 mines:
  tra d 100 mis, tor, flu, 50 dec, min

CREATING MACROS:

GECP allows creating function key macros, using whatever combination of modifier keys your operating system supports (CTRL, ALT, SHIFT, etc). Certain combinations (such as ALT-F4) which are used by the operating system may not be available. To view or edit macros, use ALT-K,M. There, you can press the function key combination you are interested in. The current value of that macro will be displayed, and you will be given the option to update it.

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 you to press ENTER, add a "^M" to the end. Then when used, the macro will be sent immediately. Otherwise, the macro text will be placed in the command entry window for editing.

MESSAGES:

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 a bit.

To send a message, press ALT-Y, select the channel you wish to broadcast on, then enter your message as normal in the command entry 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 (as long as your message doesn't start with 'A', 'B', or 'C').

Incoming hails will appear in the hailing window, to keep them from quickly scrolling off screen and being lost. This includes messages transmitted from planets and other ships.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

GECP will load flux whenever power is lost or approaches a critical level (5000 power units).
NOTE: This feature is rather less important now that GE V3.x automatically loads flux pods for you. However, be advised that while GE V3.0l and above will load flux when power drops below 5000, earlier versions wait until it drops to 2000. Power levels that low will cause your cloaking device to fail. And even in newer versions of GE, it still seems possible to occasionally lose power unexpectedly. Stay alert!

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.

Hitting the barrier around the galaxy (if it doesn't wrap) will cause damage to your ship. And in some older versions of GE, you will be dropped into 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 (assuming you have told GECP the correct galaxy size for that BBS in ALT-K,P) the current sector display will blink to warn you. Second, if you DO hit the barrier and get thrown to a random sector, GECP will automatically send REPORT NAV to determine your current location, heading and speed, and set the scanners to SCAN RANGE 9 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.

After travelling through a wormhole, GECP will automatically send REPORT NAV and set the scanners to SCAN RANGE 9 to enable you to quickly regain your bearings. It will also make sure your ship's speed is at least impulse 30, to prevent you from falling back into the wormhole.

HINTS FOR SUCCESSFULLY USING GECP:

Use the map. It's the best tool you have for being aware of everything around you. It almost makes Galactic Empire a whole new game.

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 in each volley, and one flux pod is loaded for each missile to ensure enough energy is available. If your target is out of range, the missiles won't fire, but you've wasted three flux pods.

Do not set your ship's autopilot to manuever you to a distant sector and leave the room. GECP does not automatically operate any offensive or defensive weaponry. This would place you in a very bad situation should someone with bad intentions come across your ship.

Download and import the Starmap every day when you log on, if your Sysop has MBMGEMAP installed, and ask them about it if they don't. With that, you will know more about the galaxy than any non-GECP user in the game.