Copyright: Copyright © Sierra On-Line, 1997
Citation: Outpost 2, Copyright © Sierra On-Line, 1997


1 Contents
Welcome to the Outpost 2 Online Manual
Demonstration Edition

This help file contains Interface and Game Play instructions for Outpost 2.  However, as this help file is included in a pre-beta-release demonstration version of the game, it may refer to features that are either disabled or not included in this version.  Each help topic will include notes to let you know which features are not available in this version of the game.  Both the game and this help file should be considered as Work-In-Progress.

IF THIS SCREEN IS HARD TO READ:  Please make sure that the "Use System Colors" option (in your Options menu, above) is UNCHECKED.  You may have to restart Help.

Outpost 2 is scheduled for release in Summer 1997.  We hope you enjoy this pre-release demonstration edition.

	INTRODUCTION			PLAYING OUTPOST 2
	"DIVIDED DESTINY"			INTERFACE REFERENCE
	TROUBLESHOOTING			UNINSTALLING
	PRODUCT INFORMATION
Developed by

Copyright © 1997 Sierra On-Line, Inc.  All rights reserved.

See our web site:  http://www.sierra.com/outpost2


2 Contents:  Introduction
What Has Gone Before...

In the early part of the 21st century, government funding of NASA had been all but eliminated.  What was left of the space program had fallen into the hands of a few multinational business conglomerates.  Then, an enormous Asteroid, dubbed "Vulcan's Hammer," was discovered headed on a collision course with Earth; a billion megatons of destructive force gliding silently through space.  One company responded to this threat with a plan to build a colonization starship, assembled in Earth orbit and fueled from the atmosphere of Jupiter.  By the time fueling began, panic had set in on Earth.  The government, belatedly, tried to act, firing a nuclear missile at the asteroid in an attempt to divert it from its course.  The mission failed.  The asteroid was split in two, and both parts struck the Earth's surface.  The 200 colonists aboard the colony ship were the last human beings in the universe.

The ship's pilots set course for a binary star system dozens of light years from Earth.  The system had one habitable planet, similar in many respects to Mars.  This world, named "New Terra," became mankind's new home.  The first settlement was called "Eden;" they planned to make their new world a paradise.

Some of the colonists did not share this dream.  Believing that remaking New Terra in Earth's image was wrong, they left Eden and founded a rival colony, Plymouth.  Relations between Eden and Plymouth were always rocky, and the two colonies have drifted apart.

Now, a new menace threatens both Eden and Plymouth.  Building Mankind's Future has never been more dangerous.

	"DIVIDED DESTINY"			CONTENTS


2 Contents: "Divided Destiny"
"Divided Destiny"
Part One

by J. Steven York

Eden: Conspiracy

Both wheels of the scooter left the ground as Axen sailed over the lip of the down ramp and into the connecting tunnel that connected the hot lab with the rest of Eden colony.  He touched down a third of the way along the ramp, the tires landing with a satisfying chirp that echoed off the metal lined walls, motors whining in protest.  He was breaking half a dozen safety regulations, driving like a teenager a third his biological age of forty-five.

He didn't care.  First of all, he was mad, damn it, and it felt good to break a few regs, and second of all, nobody was around to complain.  The tunnels were almost deserted.  Every adult who wasn't engaged in a service vital to the maintenance of the colony was in Nguyen's "town meeting," the meeting Axen Moon had just walked out on.

He sailed past a huge set of pressure doors, startling a workman who was inspecting the utility conduits that lined the wall like rows of fat sausages.  He squealed the scooter around a right angle turn and up the tunnel toward his residence unit.  He slowed slightly as he passed a group of children and their teacher-bot strolling down the ramp from the nursery, then twisted the throttle hard over to scream up the last bit of tunnel.  He hit the base of the ramp with a bump, started braking half-way up, and slid to a stop just short of the open airlock doors.

He nosed the scooter into the charging station next to a row of identical vehicles, and plucked his keycard, with its hacked safety overrides, from the slot in the handlebar.  He palmed the card and glanced out through the tran-station's observation port.  The sun was setting outside, exaggerating the hard reddish tones of New Terra's landscape.  The buildings of Eden spread out before him like a cluster of silver toadstools.  In the distance he could see the farthest of the lab structures, nicknamed the "hot lab," where the meeting would still be going on.

Nguyen was a fool.  He'd known that, he simply hadn't known how much of a fool until now.  He rubbed the keycard between his fingers.  The main lock into the hot lab was the one door in Eden it wouldn't open.  Axen Moon wasn't a man who liked anything closed to him.  He wasn't a man who was used to it.

He strolled through the safety lock, its open doors ready to spring shut at any sign of an emergency.  New Terra's thin atmosphere would kill a human in less than two minutes.  It was something you were either eternally aware of, or you were dead.  The common area, with its lounging chairs, planter islands, and multitainment consoles, was deserted, as he'd hoped.  He was about the break a law much more severe that a scooter speed-limit, the one law that carried a death penalty, and he didn't want any potential witnesses around.  He waved the key in front of the door to his private quarters and stepped quickly inside.

"Good evening, Axen."  The voice was cool, female, with the slight accent that all Savant series computers shared.  The computer itself, a glossy black cube exactly a meter on a side, was recessed into a console on the inside corner of the room.  It was as much a roommate as an appliance.  The Savants were the most sophisticated computers ever made, almost human in many ways, undoubtedly superior in others.

"Good evening, Frost.  Verify security?"

"We are secure, codeword 'collusion.' "

He nodded, the gesture doubtless detected by one of the Savant's many eyes hidden around the room.  He sat down on one of the room's two chairs.  He had what were considered luxury quarters by Eden standards, but the room was only two meters by three, and would have been smaller yet if he hadn't been allowed a little extra space for Savant Frost.

Except for a few of the most advanced researchers in the labs, only the handful of surviving Elders, such as himself, were allowed their own Savants.  He and Frost had been together since he'd emerged from cold sleep on the star-ship ten years out from New Terra.  He'd been just a child then, with only dim memories of Earth, open skies, and plants that didn't grow in a hydroponics vat.  He sometimes wished those memories meant more to him.  Eden was home now, for better or worse.  Earth was dead and nearly forgotten.

He sighed.  "Frost, open a stealth back-channel to Savant Kraft.  I need to talk with Emma."  There.  He'd done it, initiated a clandestine communication with the rogue Plymouth colony, an act of treason that could get him kicked out of the nearest airlock.

"One moment.  Emma is in her quarters.  Kraft confirms that she is secure.  Opening voice."

"Open visual."

"Confirm?"  Frost sounded incredulous, if that was possible for a computer.  Savants weren't supposed to have emotions, but there were those who had their doubts.  Certainly Frost had the justification.  Visual communications would take a hundred times the bandwidth of voice-only, with a correspondingly increased chance that their link, bootlegged on the subcarrier of a satellite control signal, would be detected.

"Confirmed.  I want picture."

One face of the Savant's cube brightened into a display.  Routing it through the internal network to the room's EnterCom screen would have been less secure.  Emma's thin, high-cheekboned, face turned toward him.  Her blond hair, streaked with gray, was piled on top of her head and held in place with a couple of writing styluses poked into the bun.  It had been years since he'd seen her face.  Some times he still missed her.  This was one of those times.

She looked into the camera, her eyes wide with surprise.  "Axen, are you crazy?"

"You need to see my face, Emma, to know I'm serious.  This is worth the risk."

Her brow wrinkled with concern, and she sat down.  Behind her he could see her quarters, if anything smaller than his own, and as always, a disorderly heap of clothing, rock samples, and scientific equipment.  "What's wrong?  You're not the joking kind, Axen."

"It's Nguyen.  I told you he'd slammed the lid down on one of the labs three years ago.  We'd assumed he was working on biotech for terraforming.  He's resisted all my efforts, legitimate and clandestine, to get inside.  His scientists are all hand-picked, and not about to talk."

"And...?"

"Today he threw the lid open, held a town meeting to show off his secrets.  He was working on terraforming, but that's only a small part of it.  He's also been mining the encrypted datafiles from the starship, the ones on military technology."

He heard an almost imperceptible gasp from Emma.  The Founders on Earth had been reluctant to throw away any science, but they'd also hoped that the new world could avoid some of Earth's worst mistakes.  Thus, certain information had been encrypted in hope they wouldn't be decoded until the new civilization was ready for them.  "How bad is it?"

"He has high-energy weapons, lasers of some kind I think.  He was hardly forthcoming with technical details, though he was all too happy to blast a hole through a piece of hull-metal as a demonstration.  There may be already be fixed installations on the new security posts, and he's working on adapting them to a turret on one of the mobile units.  Maybe he has them operational already.  I wouldn't put it past Nguyen to feed us misinformation."

She smiled slightly.  "As though you and I don't know a thing or two about misinformation.  Where did we go wrong, Axen?"

He leaned his head down and rubbed his brow, unable to face her.  This had been his idea initially.  "You saw the computer projections.  All the elders did.  Two independent colonies had a hugely greater probability of survival than one."

"We could have told the people..."

"Not and have the colonies be truly independent.  Creating a political rift seemed like the best way."

She nodded.  "And now you see where it's brought us?"

He sighed and leaned back in his chair.  "You can see for yourself what different paths Eden and Plymouth have followed.  The split might have happened anyway, given enough time.  It's human nature to cluster into like groups."

"It's human nature for groups to go to war too.  We should have seen it coming."

"There isn't a war yet, Emma. Plymouth doesn't even have weapons."

"They will, when they find out.  They'll be forced into it."

"How will they find out?"

She frowned, and a bit of the old fire flashed in her eyes.  "I'll tell them, Axen -- if I have to.  Of course there are probably less direct ways.  There always are."

He didn't agree, but he couldn't argue.  He'd do the same thing if he were in her place.  Why else had he contacted her?

"Besides," she continued, "if they start on terraforming without our consent, there'd have to be a reaction of some kind.  It goes against the principles that Plymouth was founded on, of living in harmony with New Terra rather than trying to make it into some kind of ersatz Earth..."

He cleared his throat and squirmed in his seat.  "Emma, from what I saw this afternoon, I'm pretty sure they already have started, some kind of atmosphere building microorganism injected into the bedrock.  Just test wells so far, but..."

"What!  What the frag do you people think you're doing?"

He signed.  "They hardly consulted me, Emma.  You know that I think any such drastic step has to be by consensus."

"Which is a little hard to do when the colonies aren't even talking to one another."

He could feel old wounds opening, feel them falling into the pit of their own differences, as powerful as the attraction that had once brought them together.  "It was your people who shut down the communications satellite.  They don't have the technology to talk even if we wanted to."

"It was an accident, Axen.  The council just wanted to make a dramatic gesture.  They had no idea that the satellite couldn't be turned back on.  Besides there's still our back-channel through the weather satellite telemetry links.  It's enough to open some dialogue between our leaders."

"It's too late for that.  I've been trying to talk sense into Nguyen for years, face-to-face.  What chance does some voice out of a box have?"

Her look turned deadly serious.  "Then it might be time to take Nguyen out of the picture, Axen."

He felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.  Emma had a ruthless side that he sometimes forgot.  "What are suggesting?"

"Doing what we've always done, Axen, what's necessary for the survival of the human race."

He shook his head.  "No, I can't do that, Emma."

"We're the last of the Elders, Axen, the last colonists born on old Earth.  It's a dangerous world, even as protected as we are.  We can't risk one of us dying with the Program out of control."

He was considering what she said, which is why he happened to be looking out the window as the fireball erupted.  The sound came a fraction of a second letter, mostly as a rumble in the floor, the air too thin to conduct much noise.  Somehow, without realizing it, he was on his feet and standing in front of the window.  "Creator's name..."

"What," pleaded Emma's voice, "I've lost visual.  Axen!"

"Malfunction," said Frost, "major malfunction.  I have lost contact with all computers in lab structure four.  Twenty seconds prior to this, a major cascade failure moved through all the structure's electronic systems."

"Emma, the hot lab exploded.  I can see flames, so there's a major oxygen leak.  It looks like the whole pressure vessel must be ripped open.  Frag, half the town was in there!"

The silence suddenly stuck him.  "The alarms!  Frost, where are the alarms?"

"All automatic alarms attached to lab four have been disabled, per chairman Nguyen's orders."

"Sound disaster alarms.  Dispatch disaster response teams.  Use my override codes."  Even as he was finishing the sentence, he could hear the klaxons sounding from every EnterCom speaker.

"Axen!" Emma called.  "What's happening?  I can't hear you.  The signal's breaking up."

Axen ignored her so he could listen to Frost.

"Disaster teams will be unable to respond," said Frost.  "Emergency tunnel bulkheads and airlocks were closed before the explosion."

"Open them."

"I do not have those override codes, and the doors have been locked."

"By whom?"

"The doors are locked from inside."

"Axen, what..."  Emma's voice was cut off.

"We have lost the link to Plymouth.  There is an incoming communication.  It's origin is the Lab four east safety airlock."

It was the same lock Axen had walked through only ten minutes earlier.  Perhaps someone had gotten inside and sealed it before the building had completely depressurized.  "On screen."

The big entercom screen on the far wall came to life.  He recognized Lil Komos, one of Nguyen's scientists, but one of the ones most friendly to his viewpoints.  There were several times he had thought she might agree to be a mole inside Nguyen's operation, but it had never happened.  He could tell before she spoke that she was terrified, and something else.  She didn't look well.  "Elder, I don't have much time.  I'm setting this message to record and repeat.  Something went wrong with the test well.  I told them the organisms we were using were too dangerous."

"Lil, are you..."

She continued, either unable to hear him, or unwilling to stop talking.  "It grows too fast, but Nguyen wasn't willing to wait.  'An atmosphere in our lifetime,' he said."  She shook her head as though to clear it.  She brushed her hair out of her face, and he could see that she was trembling.  "Not enough time to explain.  Attacks organics, even our protein computers, even the plastics in our environmental seals."

In the background, he noticed for the first time a slight hissing noise.

"Evacuate, now.  Get everyone you can in the evac transports.  Salvage what you can, but avoid the affected areas, and don't let anyone out.  Get away and don't come back."  She coughed.  Her face was white and waxy looking, red veins clearly standing out in her cheeks.  "Don't try to rescue us, or investigate.  Get out while you can.  Only you have the influence to make it happen, Elder, you and Nguyen, and Nguyen is dead.  We're all dead.  Don't..."  Her eyes went wide.  Her hands came up as though to cover her face, then stopped half way, shaking.

She fell back against the far wall of the airlock, her body shuddering as though in convulsion.  The camera lingered on her for almost a minute before there was a click, and the message repeated.  Axen cut off the picture with a gesture before he could hear her voice again.

He leaned against a chair to steady himself.  He had to do what she'd said.  There was no choice.  He'd seen what was happening to her before the message cut off.

She was melting.

Plymouth: Meltdown

Emma Burke climbed down the ladder from the surveyor vehicle and felt the muffled crunch of New Terra's porous soil under her rock-suit's boots.  After three days, the air inside her helmet was stale, and tasted metallic as she took a breath through her mouth.  The surveyor's small passenger cabin was intended for out-and-back day trips, not extended expeditions.

"Did you feel that?"  Wu Chen's voice crackled in her helmet speakers.  She turned to see the pale green head and shoulders of Wu's rock-suit poking out of the surveyor's hatch.

"Feel what?"

"Another tremor.  Just picked it up on the seismograph.  Might have been too weak to feel."

She frowned.  Weak or not, it shouldn't have happened at all.  New Terra's crustal plates were nearly locked, its faults all old, at least in human terms, and inactive.  That was part of the reason for their trip, to plant a series of automated seismic stations in order to study the quakes.

The other reason, unknown to anyone but Emma, was to search for evidence of Eden's clandestine terraforming experiments.  She thought back to her last message from Eden a few weeks before.  Though the colonies had officially broken off communications and the comm satellite was disabled, she and fellow elder Axen Moon had maintained a secret link through a weather-satellite telemetry channel.  His last communication had warned that Eden's leader, Nguyen, had begun weapons development, and had unilaterally begun a program of biological terraforming.

Then, something had gone wrong, and the link had been cut off.  Axen and Nguyen had clashed on numerous occasions.  Was he now a political prisoner, or worse, had he been killed?  There was no way to know, and she could only be certain that things had taken a dark turn at the rival colony.

Unfortunately, that put Emma in a difficult situation.  Maintaining her secret link with Axen could be considered a treasonous act.  At best, the colony's leaders would never trust her again, and she couldn't have that.  She had to find a way to alert them to the danger at Eden without showing her own hand.  If she could create concern, any kind of concern, there was still an observer satellite in orbit that could be used to spy on Eden, and the rest would come out soon enough.

A flash of motion at the edge of her vision caused her to glance up at the ruddy slope of the hillside that loomed over the surveyor.  A rock the size of her fist bounced down the slope and ricocheted off the roof of the vehicle.  It was nearly soundless in the thin air, only a soft crack as it hit the surveyor reaching her external microphone.  A cascade of sand and loose pebbles slid down the hillside, and suddenly the ground heaved under her feet.  Her eyes widened.

"Wu!  Get the surveyor out of here!  Get away from the hillsides!"

She saw the vehicle surge backwards a few meters, the hatch still hanging open, then hesitate.  "What about you?"

"Move!  I'll take care of myself!  We lose the surveyor and it’s a fifty kilometer walk!"  Even as she said it, she was running away from the slope, looking for some kind of shelter.  They'd come half a kilometer up a box canyon between two hills following some strange magnetometer readings.  Now that canyon was a trap they had to escape.  She glanced up, and just as she'd expected, a shower of boulders, some as big as the surveyor, was bouncing down the hillside like a dinosaur stampede.

She caught a glimpse of the surveyor as it raced out of sight, then began a serpentine run, dodging the small rocks that were even now tumbling past.  She jumped just in time to avoid having a half-meter rock cut her feet from under her, then angled toward what appeared to be a cleft in the ground rock ahead.  Great, she thought, there's a quake and I'm thinking about climbing into a crack in the ground.

There was simply no choice through.  She glanced back in time to see a boulder as big as a residence module rolling end-over-end directly toward her.  The cleft wasn't much more than a meter deep, and narrow enough that her rock-suit didn't want to fit, even as she tried to slide in sideways.

She grunted trying to squirm into the hole, even as she could see the huge rock bearing down on her.  For once, she wished she'd worn a regular pressure suit rather than the bulkier, reinforced, rock suit.

The boulder was only a dozen meters away now, the upper end of it looming over her.  Then something snapped, and she slid easily down into the cleft just as the huge rock dropped on her like a hammer.

She never would have thought that solid stone could ring, but it did, like a bell, the sound being transmitted by contact between her helmet and the rock, so loud that she thought it might deafen her.  She closed her eyes against the pain, and opened them to darkness.  Great maker, I'm buried alive!

Then, a low rumble, and the huge rock rolled over one last time, seeking an equilibrium.  Though its flank reared right over her head, there was plenty of room for her to escape.

She remained motionless for a time, until she was certain the quake was over, then tried to climb out of the cleft.  For a panicked moment she thought she was stuck, then, with a lurch, the upper part of her suit came free, and she was able to climb up onto the lip.

She sat there, feet dangling into the hole, waiting for her racing heart to slow.  It was only then that she noticed how clean the break was.  She ran her gloved fingers over the sharp edge of the break.  It lacked the characteristic billion-year-old orange oxidation that covered the rest of the rock surface.  Then she bent to examine the black residue in a vertical line in the cleft wall.  This crack wasn't natural.  It had been blasted open.

An unintelligible voice crackled in her helmet.  Wu was coming back for her.  "Wu, I'm okay."  It was unlikely that he'd be able to understand her, with her weaker suit transmitter, but there was at least a chance he'd hear enough to know she was still alive.

She followed the cleft in the rock a few meters.  It narrowed, then abruptly widened.  Now that she knew what to look for, she should see the marks made in the surrounding rock by vehicles and machinery, those that hadn't been scoured away by New Terra's thin, but furiously fast, windstorms.  It was in the wide part of the crack, where she found the drill-cap hidden.

The metal cylinder was painted reddish brown, to match the rock, a stubby metal plug as tall as her waist, though the blunt top of it was almost level with the surface of the rock.  Whoever had put it here clearly hadn't intended for it to be found.

The design was familiar to her, a standard cap for a drill hole created by one of the robo-moles used in mining operations.  Notches automatically engraved in the top cap by the drilling machine provided information about the depth of the hole, type of drilling, and other data.  A glance at the marks told her that this was a very deep shaft, several kilometers, and nearly straight down, not at all the kind of hole one would use for mining.

She sat down next to the cap to wait for Wu's return.  She ran her gloved hand over the cap and the ring of slots around the top designed to vent any underground gasses that might be generated.  As she did, she saw dust dancing along the surface of the nearby rock face.  Not believing her eyes, she grabbed a fist-full of dust from the bottom of the cleft and held it near the slots.  Slowly, layer by layer, it was blown away by the outflow of gas.  She didn't have a way to test it, but she was certain that testing would reveal oxygen and water vapor, somehow being generated deep in the rocks, possibly by bacterial action.

This was the evidence she'd been looking for, this was hard proof of Eden's actions, evidence she could present without creating suspicion.

"Emma, you're all right?"  She glanced up to see the surveyor roll around the end of the huge rock.

"I'm fine, Wu.  Get the cameras and the sampling gear.  We have work to do before we head home."

• • •

They'd driven all night, as fast as the terrain and their headlights would allow.  Emma took the first shift monitoring the autopilot, helping it to make difficult decisions about which path to take, then dozed off in the wee hours of the morning as Wu took over.

They'd been unable to raise Plymouth by radio.  She'd tried to reassure Wu that the relay on top of Mt. Williams might have been taken out by the quake, but judging by the constant tremors their seismic stations were reporting, she wasn't so sure.

"Boss, wake up."

She moaned and blinked the sleep out of her eyes.  She sighed.  "Where are we?"

"About twenty clicks out.  Once we come out of the canyon we might be able to see something."

"From twenty clicks?  I don't think so."  She glanced at Wu, and didn't like the look of the frown on his boyish face.  "Wu, what's wrong?"

He sighed.  "Just before we entered the canyon, I saw an orange glow on the horizon.  I thought it was sunrise, until I checked the chrono and realized it was twenty minutes early."

She shuddered involuntarily, but said nothing, her attention focused on the forward viewport.  The sun was up now, the rocks even redder than usual in the harsh morning light.  The surveyor topped a rise at the lip of the canyon and whirred to a stop.

Wu leaned forward, his eyes wide, his mouth open.  "Maker, they've blown it up.  Those Eden fraggers have blown it up!"

Emma stared at the huge, brownish, fountain that towered into the sky in front of them, more a plume than a cloud in the thin air.  It looked different than the pictures she'd seen in the geology database, but those pictures had been taken in Earth's thick atmosphere.  "It's not a bomb, Wu, it's a volcano."

"A what?"

"I don't know how, or why, but pray there's a Plymouth to go back to.  Mt. Williams has erupted."

	CONTENTS


2 Contents: Credits
Credits

Director	Patrick Cook

Designers	Patrick Cook and L. Allen McPheeters

Lead Programmer	Dan Duncalf

Programmers	Dan White

Brian Apgar

David Sandgathe

Art Directors	Mike Jahnke

Shawn Sharp

Production Artists	Neal Skorpen

Weston Tracey

David Downing

Doug Brashear

Maren Wyatt

Ti-Ning Kwa

Robert Smith

Russ Stoner

Tom Burton

James Anderson

3-D Artists	Gerald Harrison

Derrick Carlin

Multimedia Support	Jim Carey

David Aughenbaugh

Kate Alley

Quality Assurance Manager	Dave Steele

Lead Playtester	Andrew Binder

Playtesters	Trish Bayless

Sage Freeman

Jackson Snellings

Solomon Sliwinski

Erika Erkkila

Jesse Russell

Kenn Smith

Donna Whittaker

Sound Effects	Loudmouth, Inc.

Music	Chuck Barth

Online Documentation	L. Allen McPheeters

Producer	Kate Kloos

	CONTENTS

Additional credits:

Benchmark Testing	Dan White's dog, Jake
"My dog can complie faster than that!"

	CONTENTS


2 Contents: Gameplay
Playing Outpost 2

Welcome, Commander.

•	Missions.  Mission briefings for the Scenarios in the Demonstration Edition.

•	Units.  General notes on the use of vehicles in the game, and descriptions of each one.

•	Structures  General notes on the use of structures in the game, and descriptions of each one.

•	Research.  How to do research, and why.

•	Resources  What they are and why they are important.

•	Combat  Weapons available and how to use them.

•	Multiplayer Games  Setting them up, and special rules.

	MISSIONS			RESOURCES
	UNITS			STRUCTURES
	RESEARCH			COMBAT
	MULTIPLAYER GAMES


2 Contents: Interface
Interface Reference

The Main Game Window has four major parts.

•	The Detail Pane, which is your close-up view of what's going on

•	The Mini-Map Pane, which gives you an overall view of the field of play

•	The Command Pane, which shows information about, and issues commands to, all of your structures and vehicles

•	The Status Bar, where you can send and receive chat messages, and see your current stock of Metals

	DETAIL PANE			MINI-MAP PANE
	STATUS BAR			COMMAND PANE
	CONTENTS


2 Contents: Product Information
Product Information

Outpost 2: Divided Destiny is a new real-time, sci-fi strategy game from Dynamix that challenges you to ensure the survival of the human species in the stars after Earth has been destroyed. As the commander of either the original colony (Eden) or the splinter colony (Plymouth) you must balance the needs of your colonists, direct scientific research, and battle both the hostile planet and hostile neighbors.

Machine requirements

•	Windows 95/NT 4.0 or higher

•	IBM PC-compatible with Pentium processor or better

•	16 MB of RAM

•	2x CD-ROM drive

•	Local bus SVGA card

•	Windows 95 compatible sound card

•	Mouse

•	DirectX 3 is required for sound and for some other functions.  See TROUBLESHOOTING for more information.

Multiplayer options

•	2 players: 14.4 KBPS modem or null modem cable

•	2-6 players: IPX Network or TCP/IP (Internet)

Feature list

•	Play as either colony in campaign mode (distinct missions) or "original" mode (no time limit, expand the colony however you like)

•	Multiplayer over modem, LAN, or Internet.

•	16-bit hi-res color.

•	Over 60,000 frames of animation.

•	Day and night affects gameplay as planet continuously rotates.

•	Extremely large playfields. Some maps cover entire planet.

•	Variable difficulty levels for missions.

•	More than 35 different maps.

•	Detailed briefings between missions give player clear objectives for success.

•	Science fiction novella by professional writer unveiled as campaigns progress.

•	Trading resources in multiplayer games.

•	User-definable scenarios in multiplayer games competitive or cooperative play.

•	Over 55 different units and 65 different structures.

•	Extensive research options to improve your colony and weaponry.

•	Natural disasters include planetquakes, volcanic eruptions, vortexes, electrical storms, meteorite strikes and more.

•	Fantastic hi-res rendered story scenes.

•	You decide the balance between planetary disaster preparation, colonists needs, research advancement, and military conflict.

•	Simple, single screen interface.

•	Native Win95 application.

•	Documentation includes tutorials, reference section and complete strategy guide.

Developed by

	CONTENTS


2 Contents: Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting

"No one can ever see the games I start on Sierra's Outpost 2 server."

"There are never any games listed on Sierra's Outpost 2 server."

In order to play in a multiplayer game using Sierra's Outpost 2 server, your system must be able to receive packets of game data (technically, UDP packets) from other players.  Some service providers don't allow incoming data of this type, or don't provide users with a unique Internet address to which packets can be sent.  If you are unsure whether your provider is blocking this type of connection, please contact them for more information.

If you are trying to play Outpost 2 through a computer that is directly connected to the Internet through your employer or other organization, you should be aware that some companies block certain types of incoming data to their networks.  To play multiplayer games on Sierra's Outpost 2 server, you may have to ask your network administrator to allow incoming UDP packets on ports xBAA0 through xBABF.

"Why is there no sound in my game?"

"Why don't I have the option to play by modem?"

"What is DirectSound?  "What is DirectPlay?"

DirectSound and DirectPlay are two of a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) called DirectX, written by Microsoft and intended to allow game developers to make better games.  Outpost 2 uses DirectSound to access your sound card and DirectPlay to support playing by IPX (on local area networks), modem, and direct serial port connection.  You must have DirectSound installed in order to hear sounds from the game, and you must have DirectPlay installed in order to play multiplayer games by these methods.  Outpost 2 uses its own method of supporting the TCP/IP protocol, which is used with Sierra's Outpost 2 server (and some local area networks).  The current version of DirectX (as of April 1997) is version 3.

DirectX 3 is not included in this release of the Demonstration Edition of Outpost 2.  If you do not already have it installed (DirectX is used by games manufactured by many companies), you can download it from Sierra's web site at this address:   http://www.sierra.com/support/patches/

"Why can't I <Alt>-<Tab> to my other applications while I'm playing?"

This occurs when Outpost 2 uses DirectDraw (another DirectX API).  Outpost 2 uses 16-bit color.  If Windows 95 on your machine is set to use 256 colors, Outpost 2  calls DirectDraw to take over your display so that it can run in 16-bit color.

To see if your machine is set to run in 256-color mode, right-click on your desktop (when you are not running Outpost 2), and select "Properties" from the popup menu.  When the Display Properties box appears, select the "Settings" tab.  Below the picture of a monitor, on the left side, check the area titled "Color Palette."  If this says "256 Color", Outpost 2 will use DirectDraw.  If you change this to "High Color (16 bit)" or higher, Outpost 2 will no longer use DirectDraw, and you should be able to use <Alt>-<Tab> to task switch normally.

	CONTENTS

Microsoft, DirectDraw, DirectPlay, DirectSound, and DirectX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.


2 Contents: Uninstalling
Uninstalling Outpost 2

There are two ways to uninstall the Demonstration Edition of Outpost 2: Divided Destiny.

•	Control Panel.  From your Start menu, choose Settings, then choose Control Panel.  When the Control Panel window appears, double-click on Add/Remove Programs.  In the list box on the Install/Uninstall tab, scroll until you see Outpost 2 Demo.  Select that, then click the Add/Remove button.  A dialog box will ask you "Are you sure you want to completely remove the selected application and all of its components?"  Click Yes.  UninstallShield will remove Outpost 2.  NOTE:  UninstallShield can only remove the files and shortcuts that were initially installed.  During the course of playing Outpost 2, additional files may have been created in the installation directory.  If this happens, UninstallShield may not be able to delete the installation directory; you will have to delete these manually.

•	Windows Explorer.  From your Start menu, choose Programs, then choose Windows Explorer.  Select the directory into which you installed Outpost 2, then press the Delete key.

After doing either of these, you will also need to remove the shortcut from your Start Menu.  To do this, right-click on Start, then choose Open from the popup menu.  When the Start Menu window appears, open the Programs folder.  In the Programs window, open the Dynamix folder, then deleted the Outpost 2 Demo shortcut.  If this is the only shortcut in the window, then return to the Programs window and delete the Dynamix folder as well.

	CONTENTS


3 Gameplay: Combat
Combat

Text for this topic is not available in the Demonstration Edition.

	PLAYING OUTPOST 2


3 Gameplay: Missions
Missions

There are two kinds of games you can play in Outpost 2:  Campaign Games and Colony Games.  Campaign Games consist of a series of missions, each of which has a number of mission objectives that must be successfully achieved before you con move on to the next mission.  Colony Games are reminiscent of the mode of play in Outpost:  you are given a small colony as a start and you may proceed in any manner you wish.  There are no mission objectives in a Colony Game, except, of course, to keep your Colonists alive.

This Demonstration Edition of Outpost 2 gives you an opportunity to try each of them.  The Eden Scenario is similar to an early mission in a Campaign Game.  The Plymouth Scenario is a brief version of a Colony Game.

	EDEN			PLYMOUTH
	PLAYING OUTPOST 2


3 Gameplay: Multiplayer Games
Multiplayer Games

Outpost 2 supports multiplayer games with up to six people.  (NOTE:  The multiplayer scenario in the Demonstration Edition is designed to accommodate up to four players.)  You may play by direct serial port connection (two players only), by modem (two players only), by local area network (LAN), or via the Internet.

NOTE:  You must have DirectPlay (part of Microsoft's DirectX drivers) installed to play on an IPX network, by modem or by serial connection.

	STARTING A GAME			JOINING A GAME
	THE SCENARIO			PLAYING OUTPOST 2


3 Gameplay: Research
Research

Text for this topic is not available in the Demonstration Edition.

	PLAYING OUTPOST 2


3 Gameplay: Resources
Resources

One of your primary tasks as Colony Commander is to monitor your supply and usage of several key resources.  These resources are:

•	Colonists.  People are your most important asset.  Most structures require Workers to operate them; some also require Scientists.

•	Morale.  Technically, this is not a resource, but keep your eye on the Morale of your colony:  it can greatly affect the productivity of your colonists.

•	Food.  The key to keeping your colonists alive is to provide them with sufficient Food.  Should you run out, your colony will not last long.

•	Power.  Just as most structures need Workers, most also need Power.

•	Common Metals.  Common Metals are the raw material from which all of your structures and vehicles will be built.

•	Rare Metals.  You will have to develop the technology to process Rare Metals if you want to build the more advanced structures.

	COLONISTS			MORALE
	POWER			FOOD
	ORES AND  METALS			RESOURCES REPORT
	PLAYING OUTPOST 2


3 Gameplay: Structures
Structures

Text for this topic is not available in the Demonstration Edition.

	PLAYING OUTPOST 2


3 Gameplay: Units
Units

Text for this topic is not available in the Demonstration Edition.

	PLAYING OUTPOST 2


3 Interface: Command Pane
The Command Pane

The Command Pane is your primary source of information about what is going on within your colony.  There are three types of displays that you can use to manage your colony.

•	Unit displays.  These displays show you the status of, and allow you to issue commands to, any vehicle you select in the Detail Pane.

•	Structure displays.  These displays show you the status of, and allow you to issue commands to, any structure you select in the Detail Pane.

•	Report displays.  These displays show you information about various aspects of your colony.

	UNIT DISPLAYS			STRUCTURE DISPLAYS
	REPORT DISPLAYS			MAIN GAME WINDOW


3 Interface: Detail Pane
The Detail Pane

The Detail Pane is the primary area you will use to command your colony.  Here you can see all of the details of life in your colony.  Within this window, you may select structures or vehicles, examine the terrain, give orders, and quickly tell what structures in your colony are active, disabled, or idled.

You may select any of your structures or vehicles by clicking on it when you see the Selection cursor.  If you already have a vehicle selected, you may add other vehicles to your selection by holding the SHIFT key and clicking on them.  You may de-select all items by right-clicking in the Detail Pane.

Selected structures and vehicles are indicated by white selection brackets.  A strength bar, indicating hit points remaining, appears above the selected item.

Your structures have status lights to indicate their condition.  Green lights mean the building is Active and functioning.  Red lights mean the structure is Disabled; select the structure and look at the Command Pane to see the reason.  Gray lights indicate that you have Idled the structure..

	KEYBOARD CONTROLS			CURSORS
	MAIN GAME WINDOW


3 Interface: Mini-Map Pane
The Mini-Map Pane

The Mini-Map Pane, located above the Command Pane, shows a overview of the game map. The white rectangle indicates the area currently displayed in the Detail Pane.  You can change the area shown in the Detail Pane by clicking in the Mini-Map, or by dragging the white rectangle around in the Mini-Map.

White pixels in the Mini-Map represent Mining Beacons.  Once a mine has been built over a beacon, the white pixel will be replaced by one in the color of the player who built the mine.  Active structures and vehicles that have their lights on will appear in the Mini-Map.  Vehicles without their lights on will appear in the Mini-Map only if: a) they are your vehicles, b) they are in daylight, or c) they belong to a player who has allied with you.

These controls may be available in the Mini-Map:

Zoom in:  Increase the number of pixels used to represent each tile, giving you a closer view of the map.

Zoom out:  Decrease the number of pixels used to represent each tile, allowing you to see more area in the map.

Terrain View	Bird’s Eye View
These options toggle between a normal overhead view (Bird's Eye) and a view which emphasizes the different terrain types.

Globe View	 Flat Map View
These buttons, which are only available in multiplayer games using the largest maps, toggle between a spherical globe view and a flat map view. (NOTE: The Demonstration Edition's Multiplayer scenario uses a smaller map, so these buttons are not available.)

You may move these controls around by right-clicking in the Mini-Map.  Each right-click will move the controls through this cycle:  top, bottom, left side, right side, and hidden.

	MAIN GAME WINDOW


3 Interface: Status Bar
The Status Bar

Directly below the Detail Pane is the Status Bar, which is divided into three areas:  two wide text display areas, one above the other, on the left side of the Status Bar, and a third area to the right side.  The top left area is the Information Display.  This display has three functions.  When you move the cursor over the Detail Pane or the Mini-map, this display shows the map coordinates of the location of the cursor.  When you move the cursor over the Command Pane, this display shows hot key information for any button the cursor passes over, or, when a Factory’s Build display is shown, the Information Display shows the amount of Metals required to build any product that the cursor is over.  Finally, if you press the Enter key, this display changes to a Chat Entry mode.  This can be used to send messages to other players in multiplayer games.  Pressing Enter again sends the message and exits Chat Entry mode.  Pressing the Escape key exits Chat Entry mode without sending a message.

Below this, is the Incoming Chat Display.  Messages from other players (during multi-player games) is shown here.

To the right of these two areas is the Metals Storage indicator, which shows how many units of Metals are in storage at the colony.

	MAIN GAME WINDOW


4 Command Pane: Report Displays
Report Displays

The buttons shown above, which are located at the top of the Command Pane, call up various report displays.  From left to right, these buttons are:

Factories.  A report on how many manufacturing facilities you have and what items are currently in production at each.

Labs.  A report on how many research facilities you have and what projects are currently underway.

Resources.  A summary report on all of your colony's resources.  Detailed reports on each resource are available from here.

Communications.  A log of messages received from your Savant-series computers, as well as chat messages received in multiplayer games.

Space.  A report on all satellites and starship components launched.  This report is not available until you have reestablished a space program.

Game.  A menu leading to Mission Objectives, loading and saving games, preferences, help, etc.

	FACTORIES			LABS
	RESOURCES			COMMUNICATIONS
	SPACE			GAME
	COMMAND PANE


4 Command Pane: Structure Displays
Structure Displays

Each structure you deploy, except for walls and tubes, can be selected in the Detail Pane.  When a structure is selected, the Command Pane changes to a Status display for the selected structure.  The Status displays of some structures allow you access to additional displays to control Production or Storage at those facilities.

	STATUS			STORAGE
	PRODUCTION			COMMAND PANE


4 Command Pane: Unit Displays
Selected Unit Displays

When you select one or more vehicles in the Detail Pane, the Command Pane changes to Selected Unit display for the selected vehicle(s).  These displays show Status information and offer command icons.

	STATUS			COMMANDS
	COMMAND PANE


4 Detail Pane: Cursors
Cursors

When you move your mouse cursor into the Detail Pane, it will change its appearance to let you know what command you can issue at its current location.  The available command depends on what unit(s) or structure you have selected, what (if anything) is at the cursor's current location, and what command icon you have clicked on in the Command Pane.

Below is a list of cursors that you may see in the Detail Pane, and when they are used..

Select	Used when nothing is selected, or when any structure is selected, except for Guard Post when cursor is over an enemy unit.

Move	Used when any vehicle is selected and cursor is over passable terrain.

Waypoint	Used when a vehicle is selected, the cursor is over passable terrain, and you are holding down the CTRL key.

Cannot Move	Used when any vehicle is selected and cursor is over impassable terrain or a friendly structure.
Also, when you have clicked on the Bulldoze icon on the Command Pane and cursor is over any unit or a Bulldozer-impassable tile.

Attack	Used when any combat unit or Guard Tower is selected, and cursor is over enemy unit or enemy structure; or when Attack icon has been clicked on Command Pane.

Guard	Used when you have clicked the Guard icon on the Command Pane.

Build	Used when you have clicked any of the various Build icons on the Command Pane and the "footprint" of the structure to be deployed is over an appropriate area.  (See DEPLOYING STRUCTURES.)

Cannot Build	Used when you have clicked any of the various Build icons on the Command Pane, but the "footprint" of the structure to be deployed is not over an appropriate area.  (See DEPLOYING STRUCTURES.)

Demolish	Used when you have clicked the Demolish icon on the Command Pane.

Dock	Used when a Cargo Truck or Construction Vehicle is selected and the cursor is over the dock at an appropriate building.  (See DOCKING for details.)
Also, when any unit is selected and cursor is over Garage.
Also, when selecting target locations for Cargo Routes.

Cannot Dock	Used when setting Cargo Routes if the cursor is not over an appropriate dock.

Salvage	Used when you have clicked the Salvage icon on the Command Pane.

Repair	Used when a repair-capable unit is selected and the cursor is over a friendly unit or structure.

Cannot Repair	Used when Repair has been clicked on the Command Pane and cursor is over something the selected unit cannot repair..

Reprogram	Used when a Spider is selected and cursor is over EMP-stunned enemy unit.

Cannot Reprogram	Used when Reprogram icon has been clicked on Command Pane and the cursor is not over an EMP-stunned enemy unit.

Bulldoze	Used when Bulldoze icon is clicked on Command Pane and cursor is over any structure or Bulldozer-passable tile

For more information on the commands associated with these cursors see Unit Commands.

	UNIT COMMANDS			DETAIL PANE


4 Detail Pane: Keyboard
Keyboard Controls

The table below outlines keys to be used in Outpost 2.  This list does not include "hot keys" for selecting commands on the Command Pane.

Key	Usage

Tab	Select next unit.

Shift-Tab	Select previous unit.

Shift-LMB	If clicked item is an empty tile, no effect.
If clicked item is a structure, deselect all items and select clicked structure.
If clicked item is a friendly unit, add clicked unit to group of selected units.
If clicked item is an enemy unit, deselect all items and select clicked unit.

CTRL-LMB	If one or more friendly units are selected, add clicked location as way point.
If nothing is selected, structure is selected, or enemy unit is selected, no effect.

CTRL-# (1-0)	If one or more friendly units are selected, designate all selected units as a group.
If nothing is selected, structure is selected, or enemy units are selected, no effect.

# (1-0)	Select designated group; Detail Pane jumps to center of group.

CTRL-F# (F5-F12)	Select current area in Detail Pane as a Bookmark.

F# (F5-F12)	Center Detail Pane on Bookmark.

CTRL-H	Center Detail Pane on (first) Command Center.

CTRL-P	Pause game.

Home	Center Detail Pane on (first) Command Center.

Pause	Pause game.

Esc	Deselect all units.

ALT-F4	Exit program sequence (confirmation dialog, then exit.)

	DETAIL PANE
CTRL-M	Toggle music.

CTRL-S	Toggle sound effects.

ALT-L	Load game.

ALT-S	Save game.

ALT-Q	Quit game; return to shell (confirmation dialog)


4 Missions: Eden
Playing the Eden Scenario

"Commander:  A volcanic eruption is imminent.  Evacuate the colony and rendezvous at the mining beacon north of our location."

Those words, made more chilling by the unemotional voice of your Savant computer, set in motion the emergency evacuation plan.  Eden must be abandoned, but your colonists may still have a future, if you can evacuate the base before it is destroyed by molten lava.

Your Mission Objectives display (available from the Game Options display), will show a list of the supplies and vehicles you will need to build a new colony elsewhere.  Load your Cargo Trucks and Construction Vehicles (ConVecs) and move all your vehicles into the area around the mining beacon (the white dot on your mini-map display) to the north.  If any are destroyed, you won't have enough supplies for your new base to survive.  Good luck.

If you are having difficulty completing your mission objectives, click HOW TO WIN to find out everything you need to know to win this scenario.

	HOW TO WIN			MISSIONS


4 Missions: Plymouth
Playing the Plymouth Scenario

This colony building situation starts you with a few buildings already in place.  You have 240 time units (shown on the Communications display) to develop your colony as you see fit.  Some things to try:

•	Mining  There are two Mining Beacons on the map.  Try setting up a mine on each of them.

•	Research  Once you deploy a Basic Lab, you can begin to do research.

•	Build more structures  Your Structure Factory can build several kinds of structures, and you can develop more through research.

For all the information you could possibly want about this mission, see STRATEGY GUIDE.

	STRATEGY GUIDE			MISSIONS


4 Multiplayer Games: Joining
Joining a Multiplayer Game

Getting Connected

When starting a multiplayer game, one player creates the game (that player is designated the Host) and one or more other players may join.  To join a game, click "Join a Multiplayer Game" on the game menu screen.  A dialog box will ask for your player name.  When you click "OK" on this dialog box, another will ask you to "Pick a Provider".  The provider is the method by which you will connect to other players.

Outpost 2 Internet TCP/IP

This option may be used either for playing over the Internet or on a Local Area Network (LAN) that is running the TCP/IP protocol.  Once you choose it, Windows 95 will automatically call up your system's default Internet provider.  (For information on setting up an Internet provider on your computer, open Windows95 Help and search the index for "Internet, connecting to".)  Once you have successfully connected to your Internet provider, Outpost 2 will automatically connect to Sierra's Outpost 2 server and you will see a list of all the games you may join.  Once you choose one, you will proceed to the game settings dialog box.

NOTE:  If you do not have DirectPlay installed, this will be the only option available.

IPX Connection For DirectPlay

IPX is a protocol commonly used on Local Area Networks (LANs).  As soon as you select this option, you will see a list of all the games you may join.  Once you choose one, you will proceed to the game settings dialog box..

Modem Connection For DirectPlay

If you choose this option, Outpost 2 will check with Windows 95 to see what kind of modem you have.  A dialog box will allow you enter the phone number of your opponent, select the modem you wish to use (should you have more than one installed) and to make changes to the configuration of the modem.  When you are finished here, you may click "Connect".  This will set your modem to dial your opponent.  Once the connection has successfully been made, Outpost 2  will proceed to the game settings dialog box.

NOTE:  If DirectPlay does not find a modem, you will be returned to the main menu.

Serial Connection For DirectPlay

Choosing Serial Connection For Direct Play will bring you to a dialog box which allows you to change your serial port settings.  In most cases, the only setting you will need to change is the Port.  Each of the other settings should match those on the computer with which you are connecting.  When you click OK, the game will proceed to the game settings dialog box.

Game

 OptionsOnce you are connected to your provider, the Game Options dialog box will appear.  The first player listed is the Host; your name will appear in one of the text fields below.  To the right of which is your color selection list box.  Only the Host can change player colors.  If you would like to change your color, send a chat message asking the Host to chang

e it.  .You may click the check box in the "Eden" column if you want your colony to use Eden technology; otherwise you will play as Plymouth.  There are no restrictions on who may be Eden or Plymouth.  There is no requirement that both sides be represented in the game.  Choosing one side does not mean that you are allied to other players who have chosen the same side, though you are able to ally with them once the game has

started.When you are ready, make sure your "In Game" check box is checked.  While you are waiting, you may chat with other players by typing in the text entry box near the bottom of the dialog box.  When every player's "In Game" box is checked, the Host will begin t

h [image] e	game.MULTIPLAYE	R		G
AM

E [image] S


4 Multiplayer Games: Scenario
Playing the Multiplayer Scenario

You and your rival colonies are placed in an area rich with mining locations.  You can proceed peacefully, or go to war!  Unlike the Plymouth scenario, there is no time limit on this game.  It will continue until only one colony is left or until everyone leaves the game.

While you are playing, you may designate other players as allies.  Click the Communications report button to bring up the Messages display, then click the Allies button at the bottom of the display.  The top set of check boxes indicate which other players will receive the chat messages you send.  The bottom set indicate which players are your allies.  No players are designated as allies at the beginning of the mission.

When you designate a player as an ally, they will be able to see the status lights for your structures and your units will not automatically fire at theirs when they are in range.  NOTE:  Designating another player as an ally does NOT mean that they will not shoot at you!  The other player may (or may not) decide to designate you as an ally.

	STRATEGY GUIDE			MULTIPLAYER GAMES


4 Multiplayer Games: Starting
Starting a Multiplayer Game

Getting Connected

When starting a multiplayer game, one player creates the game (that player is designated the Host) and one or more other players may join.  To create a game, click "Start a Multiplayer Game" on the game menu screen.  A dialog box will ask for your player name and the number of players that will play the game.  When you click "OK" on this dialog box, another will ask you to "Pick a Provider".  The provider is the method by which you will connect to other players.

Outpost 2 Internet TCP/IP

This option may be used either for playing over the Internet or on a Local Area Network (LAN) that is running the TCP/IP protocol.  Once you choose it, Windows 95 will automatically call up your system's default Internet provider.  (For information on setting up an Internet provider on your computer, open Windows95 Help and search the index for "Internet, connecting to".)  Once you have successfully connected to your Internet provider, Outpost 2 will automatically connect to Sierra's Outpost 2 server and then proceed to the game settings dialog box.

NOTE:  If you do not have DirectPlay installed, this will be the only option available.

IPX Connection For DirectPlay

IPX is a protocol commonly used on Local Area Networks (LANs).  As soon as you select this option, the game will proceed to the game settings dialog box.  When other players choose to join a multiplayer game using the IPX Connection for Direct Play provider, your game will appear on their list of games to join.

Modem Connection For DirectPlay

If you choose this option, Outpost 2 will check with Windows 95 to see what kind of modem you have.  A dialog box will allow you select the modem you wish to use (should you have more than one installed) and to make changes to the configuration of the modem.  When you are finished here, you may click "Answer".  This will set your modem to answer any incoming phone call.  When your opponent has successfully connected to your game, Outpost 2 will proceed to the game settings dialog box.

NOTE:  If DirectPlay does not find a modem, you will be returned to the main menu.

Serial Connection For DirectPlay

Choosing Serial Connection For Direct Play will bring you to a dialog box which allows you to change your serial port settings.  In most cases, the only setting you will need to change is the Port.  Each of the other settings should match those on the computer with which you are connecting.  When you click OK, the game will proceed to the game settings dialog box.

Game Options

Once you are connected to your provider, the Game Options dialog box will appear.  As the Host, your name appears in the top text field, to the right of which is your color selection list box.  As other players join your game, you may set their color.  Should someone join that you do not wish to play with, you may EJECT them with the buttons on the right side of this box.

You may click the check box in the "Eden" column if you want your colony to use Eden technology; otherwise you will play as Plymouth.  There are no restrictions on who may be Eden or Plymouth.  There is no requirement that both sides be represented in the game.  Choosing one side does not mean that you are allied to other players who have chosen the same side, though you are able to ally with them once the game has started.

When you are ready, make sure your "In Game" check box is checked.  While you are waiting, you may chat with other players by typing in the text entry box near the bottom of the dialog box.  When every player's "In Game" box is checked, the "Start" button at the bottom of the dialog box will become active; press it to begin the game.

	MULTIPLAYER GAMES


4 Resources: Colonists
Colonists

Types of colonists

There are three classes of colonists in Outpost 2:  Children, Workers, and Scientists.  Children have no productive function in the colony, but after a period of time they become Workers.  Workers operate structures in the colony.  Scientists also have some duties in operating structures, as well as doing research to advance the technology of the colony.  Scientists may be substituted for Workers in the operation of structures if there are not enough Workers.  (Scientists functioning as Workers can have a detrimental effect on MORALE.)

The life and death of a Colonist

Periodically, new Children may be born at the colony.  However, this can only happen if Children make up less than half of the population AND you have an Active Nursery.  When children are old enough, they become Workers, and may be assigned to operate structures.  Workers may also be assigned to take classes at the University, after which they become Scientists.  Scientists are required to operate some kinds of structures, and they may be used in place of Workers if you do not have enough Workers.  Scientists may also be assigned to research projects at the Laboratory structures.

Colonists may die in several ways.  Some colonists, young and old alike, will die due to illness, injury, or old age.  These deaths cannot be prevented, although they can be reduced through the construction of Medical Centers.  Keeping your Colonists happier, that is, keeping Morale high, will also lengthen the lifespans of the Colonists.

Colonists who are assigned to operate a structure will be killed if it is destroyed.  You may prevent this by idling structures that are in danger of being destroyed.  Unfortunately, while the structure is Idle, it is not performing its function, which may be worse than the potential loss of the colonists.  Idling a Common Ore Smelter, for example, may result in the loss of valuable Metals.

Finally, Colonists will die if there is insufficient FOOD available.  Normally, each Colonist requires one unit of Food.  This can be stretched a little bit.  In times of famine 100 units of  Food can feed 105 Colonists, but any Colonists over this amount will die of starvation, with Children and Scientists being more likely to starve than Workers.

NOTE:  The Nursery and University structures are not available in the Demonstration Edition of Outpost 2.  However, the normal death processes have been disabled in this Edition.  Thus, you will only lose Colonists if they are operating a structure that is destroyed or if they starve.

Information about your colonists is shown in the Colonists Report in the Command Pane.  To see this report, click the Resources Reports button (third from the left), then select Colonists in the list box and click the Details button.

	COLONISTS REPORT			RESOURCES


4 Resources: Food
Food

Agridomes are the source of Food in your colony.  They produce 30 units of Food.  One unit will feed one Colonist.  If more Food is produced than consumed, the surplus is stored in the Emergency Bunker beneath the Command Center.  This emergency bunker has an unlimited Food storage capacity.  You may load Food on Cargo Trucks by driving the Truck to the Loading Dock at an Agridome.

Should your population exceed your colony's Food Production capacity, the shortage will be made up from Food in storage, as long as supplies last.  When these supplies run out, your Colonists will begin to starve to death.

	FOOD REPORT			RESOURCES


4 Resources: Morale
Morale

Morale is a measure of the relative happiness of your Colonists.  This has an effect on their productivity and health.  Morale is listed as a number between 0 and 99.  (NOTE:  In this Demonstration Edition of Outpost 2, Morale is fixed at 50.)  There are two types of factors that are used to determine the Colonists' Morale: events and conditions.

Events have a diminishing impact on Morale.  For example, completing research on a new technology provides a boost to Morale, but this increase fades as time passes.  Conditions affect Morale all the time, though the effect may change as the state of each condition changes. For example, one condition is the Residence Demand.  If you have enough Residences to house 50 people, but you have 90 Colonists, the Demand (180%) will have a negative effect on Morale.  Should you build two more Residences (bringing your capacity up to 100, and therefore your Demand down to 90%), your Morale will improve.

Although conditions have a continuous effect on Morale, not all conditions are checked at the beginning of the game.  Some conditions, such as the Recreation Center Demand, are not checked until the technologies that enables them have been researched..

The current values of all conditions are listed in the Morale Report in the Command Pane.   To see this report, click the Resources Reports button (third from the left), then select Morale in the list box and click the Details button.

NOTE:  Definitions of the conditions that affect Morale can be found in the topic describing the Morale Report.

	MORALE REPORT			RESOURCES


4 Resources: Ores and Metals
Ores and Metals

NOTE:  Rare Ore and Rare Metals are not available in any of the scenarios included in the Demonstration Edition.

Metals are required to build or repair structures and vehicles.  To obtain Metals, you must mine Ore, then refine it at a Smelter.

Mining and Smelting

A Mine may be built at any location marked with a Mining Beacon, once the site has been surveyed.  (Robo-Surveyors automatically survey a site when they drive to that location.  Later in the game, the EDWARD satellite will automatically survey all Mining Beacons.)  Robo-Miners can be sent to mining sites to build Mines.  The Robo-Miner will automatically build appropriately (either a Common Ore Mine or a Rare Ore Mine) for the location.  "Build" is not quite an accurate description; Robo-Miners actually transform into Mines at the mining site.  Once the Robo-Miner has transformed into a Mine, it cannot return to its Robo-Miner form.

Mines produce Ore.  When a Cargo Truck arrives and docks with a mine (the Truck will only dock if it is empty), it is immediately lowered into the mine and filled with 1000 units of raw ores.  This cargo has a "yield," or units of Metals that can be refined from it.  The yield of each successive truckload will vary from mine to mine.  The Yield of any particular truckload is indicated on the Status display for the Cargo Truck.  The Status display of the mine will show the Yield for the next truckload it will produce.  The Ore must be taken by the Cargo Truck to a smelter to be processed.

When the truck arrives at the smelter, it will dock only if there is sufficient storage available (either at the Smelter or at Storage Tanks) for the amount of Metals that will come out of this truckload of Ore.  If there is not sufficient storage, the truck will not dock but will sit next to the smelter until sufficient space is available.

Storage

Metals are stored at Smelters and Storage Tanks.  Smelters may store 10000 units of Metals.  Storage Tanks may store 5000 units.  The processed Metals are kept in a liquid form, called slurry, which is piped throughout the colony by the Tubes.  Metals are evenly distributed at all storage facilities in the colony.  Should a Storage Tank be Idled or Disabled, it will transfer as much of its Metals in storage to other storage facilities as possible.  The excess will be lost.  Smelters may store Metals when they become disabled (though they cannot produce additional Metals), but similarly eject their stored Metals when they are Idled.

Use at Factories

Within the colony, Metals are used by various Factories.  They are transported through the Tubes from storage facilities.

At the Factories, the colony may produce various items.  When production is started, all of the Metals required to produce the item are immediately taken from storage.  If there are not enough Metals in storage to produce the desired item, production may not be started.  Should production be started and then canceled, a portion of the Metals used will be returned to storage.

Once Ore has been processed into metals and stored, cargo trucks can dock at the storage facilities and take on a load of Metals.  Cargo trucks containing Metals may also dock at storage facilities; they may either deposit the Metals they are carrying or, if they are only partially full, they may take on additional Metals.

Use in Repairs

Structures and units may take damage in various ways, and may be repaired by certain units and structures.  These repairs require the expenditure of Metals.  The amount of Metals required depends on the cost of the structure, and the amount of damage it has received:  The cost of repair is from storage as it is used; repairs cease if there is a lack of Metals.

Common Metals vs. Rare Metals

There are two different kinds of Ores and Metals in Outpost 2:  Common Ores and Common Metals, and Rare Ores and Rare Metals.  These are always kept separate, that is, Common Ore Mines only produce Common Ore, which may only be processed at Common Ore Smelters and stored at Common Metals Storage Tanks.  At the beginning of a campaign, you are only able to produce and use Common Metals.  Research will eventually allow you to produce and use Rare Metals.

	MINING BEACONS			RECYCLING METALS
	METALS REPORT			RESOURCES


4 Resources: Power
Power

Text for this topic is not available in the Demonstration Edition.

	RESOURCES


4 Structures: Deploying Structures
Deploying Structures

Text for this topic is not available in the Demonstration Edition.

	PLAYING OUTPOST 2


4 Units: Docking
Docking

Text for this topic is not available in the Demonstration Edition.

	PLAYING OUTPOST 2


5 Eden: Strategy Guide
How to Win the Eden Scenario

WARNING:  This topic will tell you exactly how to win this scenario.  Read this only if you are having difficulty completing your mission objectives.

	SEE HOW TO WIN			GO BACK
This mission is not too hard, once you find all the items you need.  Your objective consists of moving everything to the white mining beacon near the top of the map.  Remember:  EVERY vehicle you have must be successfully evacuated in order for you to win.  There are three groups of vehicles you need to move:

•	Construction Vehicles, or ConVecs, which must be loaded with a structure kit before they evacuate.

•	Cargo Trucks, which must be loaded with either Common Metals or Food before they evacuate.

•	Other vehicles, including Robo-Miners, Robo-Surveyors, Evacuation Transports, and an Earthworker.  These do not need to be loaded with anything, you can evacuate them as soon as you find them.

The most time consuming part of this mission is going to be loading structure kits into the ConVecs.  All six of the structure kits are in storage at the Structure Factory.  Gather your ConVecs and move them near this structure, so that when you finish loading one, you can move it out of the way and start loading another.  One of the ConVecs you will need is in storage at the Garage.

The second-most time consuming thing you must do is load all of the Cargo Trucks.  You need to evacuate three loaded with Food and five loaded with Common Metals, but you start with only seven Cargo Trucks  You will have to build one more at the Vehicle Factory.  Food may be loaded at any Agridome.  Common Metals may be loaded at Common Metals Storage Tanks or at Common Ore Smelters.  Once a vehicle is loaded, move it out of the way.  Bring another vehicle on to the dock and start it loading, then select the loaded vehicle and get it moving toward the Mining Beacon.

You will also have to evacuate some vehicles which do not need to be loaded.  One of these, a Robo-Miner, must be built at the Vehicle Factory.  Evacuate these as time permits.

One strategy that can be successful is to move vehicles into a staging area just outside the base, then select the whole group and send them to the beacon.  This can save you some scrolling or jumping around the map.

If you are very efficient, all you need do is select each vehicle and (once it is loaded) send it off toward the beacon.  However, if the Lava is starting to close in on you, you may need to set a route that will avoid the lava.  Slower vehicles, like the ConVecs, can be overrun by lava if you are not careful.  A practical rule is after the first structure has been destroyed by lava, any vehicle you are sending out of the colony should go to the upper right corner of the map, then circle back to the rendezvous point.  You can send them straight to the corner of the map and then order them to the beacon, or you can use waypoints to send them to the beacon by way of the corner.  Once a vehicle has moved onto the light gray terrain, it is safe:  the lava will not flow into that part of the map.

If you have moved all your vehicles safely out of the base, but the mission does not end, some vehicles may not be close enough to the beacon.  Check your Mission Objectives display; the red items in the list are incomplete objectives.  Find out which items are not close enough, and try to bring them closer.

Important Structures

Vehicles

	PLAYING THE EDEN SCENARIO


5 Multiplayer Scenario: Strategy Guide
Multiplayer Scenario: Strategy Guide

WARNING:  This topic will tell you exactly how this scenario works.  Read this only if you are having difficulty with this scenario.

	EDEN RESEARCH			PLYMOUTH RESEARCH
	COMBAT			MINING
	GO BACK
Eden Research

Each research topic has a maximum number of Scientists that may be assigned to it.  The more Scientists you assign to a project, the more quickly it can be completed.  Always assign the maximum number, if at all possible.  Idle structures you are not using, such as the Agridome (if you have enough Food in storage) and the Structure Factory.  (Do not idle the Smelter: you will lose any Metals you have in storage there.)

•	Cybernetic Teleoperation.  Allows you to build a Vehicle Factory.

•	High-Temperature Superconductivity.  Opens up additional research topics.

•	Hydroponic Growing Media  Increases Food production at the Agridome.

•	Metallogeny.  Increases the yield of each load of Ore brought to the Smelter.

•	Environmental Psychology.  Increases the colonist capacity of Residences, improving Morale.

•	Large-Scale Optical Resonators.  Allows you to build Laser Guard Posts.

Several additional topics may become available during this scenario.  These are:

•	Plasma Geometry.  Increases Power production at the Tokamak.  (Requires High-Temperature Superconductivity.)

•	Mobile Weapons Platform.  Allows you to build the Laser Lynx vehicle. (Requires Cybernetic Teleoperation and Large-Scale Optical Resonators.)

•	Advanced Vehicle Power Plant.  Increases the speed of Cargo Trucks, ConVecs, and Earthworkers.  (Requires High-Temperature Superconductivity.)

•	Independent Turret Power Systems.  Increases the damage done by the Laser weapon.  (Requires High-Temperature Superconductivity, Large-Scale Optical Resonators, and Mobile Weapons Platform.)

•	Electromagnetic Pulsing.  Allows you to build vehicles and Guard Posts using the EMP weapon.  (Requires Independent Turret Power Systems.)

•	Dual-Turret Weapons Systems.  Allows you to build the Tiger heavy combat chassis, with any weapons system attached.  (Requires Independent Turret Power Systems.)

•	Acid Weaponry.  Allows you to build vehicles and Guard Posts using the Corrosive Acid weapon.  (Requires Independent Turret Power Systems.)

	PLYMOUTH RESEARCH			COMBAT
	MINING			MULTIPLAYER SCENARIO
Plymouth Research

Each research topic has a maximum number of Scientists that may be assigned to it.  The more Scientists you assign to a project, the more quickly it can be completed.  Always assign the maximum number, if at all possible.  Idle structures you are not using, such as the Agridome (if you have enough Food in storage) and the Structure Factory.  (Do not idle the Smelter: you will lose any Metals you have in storage there.)

•	Cybernetic Teleoperation.  Allows you to build a Vehicle Factory.

•	High-Temperature Superconductivity.  Opens up additional research topics.

•	Hydroponic Growing Media  Increases Food production at the Agridome.

•	Metallogeny.  Increases the yield of each load of Ore brought to the Smelter.

•	Environmental Psychology.  Increases the colonist capacity of Residences, improving Morale.

•	Focused Microwave Projection.  Allows you to build Microwave Guard Posts.

Several additional topics may become available during this scenario.  These are:

•	Plasma Geometry.  Increases Power production at the Tokamak.  (Requires High-Temperature Superconductivity.)

•	Mobile Weapons Platform.  Allows you to build the Microwave Lynx vehicle. (Requires Cybernetic Teleoperation and Focused Microwave Projection.)

•	Advanced Vehicle Power Plant.  Increases the speed of Cargo Trucks, ConVecs, and Earthworkers.  (Requires High-Temperature Superconductivity.)

•	Independent Turret Power Systems.  Increases the damage done by the Laser weapon.  (Requires High-Temperature Superconductivity, Focused Microwave Projection, and Mobile Weapons Platform.)

•	Electromagnetic Pulsing.  Allows you to build vehicles and Guard Posts using the EMP weapon.  (Requires Independent Turret Power Systems.)

•	Dual-Turret Weapons Systems.  Allows you to build the Tiger heavy combat chassis, with any weapons system attached.  (Requires Independent Turret Power Systems.)

•	Legged Rots.  Allows you to build the Arachnid Factory, and the Spider unit.  (Requires Independent Turret Power Systems.)

	EDEN RESEARCH			COMBAT
	MINING			MULTIPLAYER SCENARIO
Combat

Eden has three weapons systems available in this mission:  the Laser, the Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) grenade, and the Corrosive Acid grenade.  The Laser is roughly equivalent to Plymouth's Microwave; it is a little weaker against targets that have armor.  The EMP is a defensive weapon.  It does no damage, but disables the enemy unit for a period of time, leaving them unable to move or shoot.  The Corrosive Acid weapon launches a grenade that bursts into a cloud of acid, which lasts for a short period of time.  Any vehicle or structure inside this cloud will take repeated damage until they leave the cloud or it dissipates.  This is the most powerful weapon available in this scenario.  One Corrosive Acid unit, carefully managed, can destroy hordes of Microwave or Laser units.

Plymouth has only two weapons systems, and one of them is the non-damaging EMP.  This may seem to put Plymouth at a disadvantage, but that is balanced out by the development of the Spider unit.  This quick, inexpensive unit has the ability to reprogram, or steal, enemy units that are disabled by EMP.  One or two EMP Lynx units and a handful of Spiders can quickly become a powerful strike force after capturing Eden Corrosive Acid units.

Another weapon that is available to both sides is the ability to use any unit in a kamikaze attack, using the Self-Destruct command.  Spiders are good for this kind of attack, because they are fast and inexpensive.  Another unit well-suited for this kind of attack is the Robo-Surveyor.

Once you are familiar with your weapons, the next question is:  what do I attack, or, conversely, what do I defend?  One of the greatest challenges of an Outpost 2 "last man standing" scenario is figuring out which of your vulnerable areas your enemy will seek out.  In the early part of the scenario, prior to the deployment of a Vehicle Factory, the most important vehicle for you to protect is the ConVec.  You have only one, and if you do not keep it alive long enough to build more, you will quickly be out of the game.

The disabling or destruction of any of several structures will wreck your efforts.  The Tokamak is an appealing target, because it has only 1500 hit points and disabling it will in turn disable nearly every structure in your base that requires power.  (The Command Center will provide a small amount of power, enough to operate the Structure Factory while you build a new Tokamak.)  In addition, due to the volatile nature of the Tokamak's fusion reactor, if this structure is damaged, even a small amount, it may spontaneously explode!  Use your ConVec and Spiders to repair Tokamaks right away.

Loss of your Common Ore Smelter will result in the loss of all of your Metals, which ends your production of new structures and new vehicles.

If your Command Center is disabled, it can no longer assign Workers to operate your other structures, and they will also become disabled.  If the Command Center is destroyed, your people will very quickly starve to death.  This may also result from destruction of the Agridome, which has no armor and few hit points.

One measure you can take that will make your job easier is the construction of Concrete Walls.  Your Earthworker gains the ability to produce these after you have completed research on Cybernetic Teleoperation, High-Temperature Superconductivity, and Mobile Weapons Platform.  Use Walls to restrict entry into your base to a few narrow choke points, then build Guard Posts to fire into the choke points.  Keep in mind, though, that Lasers and Microwaves cannot fire over walls.

	EDEN RESEARCH			PLYMOUTH RESEARCH
	MINING			MULTIPLAYER SCENARIO

Mining

The map has 16 mining beacons, roughly four around each player's home base.  Use your Robo-Surveyor to survey the beacons closest to you.  In general, you will want to deploy your Robo-Miner at the beacon which has the highest yield, although you may also want to consider the proximity of each mining location to the Common Ore Smelter.

When you move your Robo-Miner to the beacon, send the Cargo Trucks with it.  As soon as construction of the Mine is complete, set cargo routes for each of your Cargo Trucks. Your cargo routes will be more efficient if you allow some space between each Cargo Truck.  One method is to set the route for the first Truck, then wait until it is unloading its Ore at the Smelter to set the route for the second Truck.  If you build additional Cargo Trucks, time the route for the third Truck so that it leaves the Mine when the first two Trucks are passing each other at the midpoint of the route.  Time your fourth Truck  so that it is leaving the Mine at the same time that the third Truck is leaving the Smelter.  Unless the distance between the Smelter and Mine is fairly long, four Trucks is the largest number you can efficiently use in this manner.

As the mission proceeds you may decide to invest some Metals in building Tubes to a point near a mining beacon and building a replacement Smelter there.  This can be very productive, even if you build near a low-yield mine, but the danger here is that your Mining operation is too far from your base for easy defense.  You may find that you need only one or two Cargo Trucks to run a very productive mining operation if your Smelter is adjacent to the Mine.

Research can provide two more ways to maximize the productivity of your mining operation.  First, you can increase the yield of each truckload of Ore by researching Metallogeny, which will increase the yield of each truckload you bring to the Smelter.  Second, the speed of your Cargo Trucks will be improved if you research Advanced Vehicle Power Plant.

	EDEN RESEARCH			PLYMOUTH RESEARCH
	COMBAT			MULTIPLAYER SCENARIO


5 Ores and Metals: Mining Beacons
Mining Beacons

Each map has Mining Beacons, which indicate the only locations at which mines may be built.

Unsurveyed Beacons look like a single white bar of metal.  Surveyed Beacons indicate the type of Mine (orange Beacons indicate Common Metals; yellow ones mark Rare Metals) which may be built at the site, and the level of Yield (High, Medium, Low, indicated by the number of bars) that can be expected from this site.  You must survey a site in order to build a Mine there.

Mining Beacons function in the game as computer overlays on the Detail Pane.  You can build any kind of structure at a mining site, and the Beacon will still appear over the top of the structure, to indicate that a Mine could be built in this location.

	ORES AND METALS


5 Ores and Metals: Recycling
Recycling Metals

Text for this topic is not available in the Demonstration Edition.

	ORES AND METALS

Some metals can be obtained by recycling vehicles, structures, structure kits, starship parts, and satellites, or by processing rubble left after structures are destroyed if the colony has an Active GORF.  Recycled metals are added to storage; any recycled metals in excess of the available storage capacity of the colony are lost.

NOTE  The GORF structure is not available in the scenarios included with the Demonstration Edition.

Recycling structures

Any structure may be deconstructed and recycled by ordering the Construction Vehicle to do so.  When the CV arrives at the structure, the Construction animation sequence is played in reverse.  The time to deconstruct the structure is equal to one-half the time required to build the structure.  When the animation sequence is complete, fifty percent of the metals required to build the structure are added to storage.  (This can be improved to sixty percent by research.)

Recycling from storage

Items held in storage can generally be recycled if there is an Active GORF in the colony.  These items include Structure kits (stored at Structure Factories), Satellites and Starship Components (stored at Spaceports), and Vehicles (when stored at Garages).  These structures have storage or loading dock displays at which these items may be recycled, at any time that there is not a Cargo Truck docked at the structure.  Fifty percent of the metals used in constructing the item are added to storage.  (This can be improved to sixty percent by research.)

Rubble

When buildings are destroyed, either through attack, or disaster, the building is removed from the map and a tile of rubble is placed on each tile that the building formerly covered. This rubble may be "recycled" into usable metals by driving a cargo truck over the tile (the truck will automatically pick up the rubble after sitting on that tile for 5 seconds) and driving the truck back to the loading dock at the GORF.  Each rubble tile will have a fixed value of metals that can be recovered from it, regardless of the type of building from which the rubble came.  (The amount of metals recovered from rubble tiles can be increased by research.)  There are two types of rubble tiles; some contain Common Metals, and others contain Rare Metals.


5 Plymouth: Strategy Guide
Plymouth: Strategy Guide

WARNING:  This topic will tell you exactly how this scenario works.  Read this only if you are having difficulty with this scenario.

	MINING STRATEGY			RESEARCH STRATEGY
	ADDITIONAL NOTES			GO BACK
Mining

The map has two mining beacons, which are randomly placed each time you start the scenario.  Use your Robo-Surveyor to survey each of them.  In general, you will want to deploy your Robo-Miner at the beacon which has the highest yield, although you may also want to consider the proximity of each mining location to the Common Ore Smelter.  Eventually, you may decide to build mines at both locations, in which case you will probably deploy a second Common Ore Smelter.

When you move your Robo-Miner to the beacon, send the three Cargo Trucks with it.  As soon as construction of the Mine is complete, set cargo routes for each of your Cargo Trucks. Your cargo routes will be more efficient if you allow some space between each Cargo Truck.  One method is to set the route for the first Truck, then wait until it is unloading its Ore at the Smelter to set the route for the second Truck.  Time the route for the third Truck so that it leaves the Mine when the first two Trucks are passing each other at the midpoint of the route.  If you decide to build a fourth Truck, time it so that it is leaving the Mine at the same time that the third Truck is leaving the Smelter.  Unless the distance between the Smelter and Mine is fairly long, four Trucks is the largest number you can efficiently use in this manner.

Two more tips for increasing the productivity of your mining operation.  First, use your Robo-Dozer to clear a road between the Mine and the Smelter.  Your trucks will travel more quickly over the bulldozed terrain.  Make sure the path is wide enough for two Trucks to pass each other.  Second, you can increase the yield of each truckload of Ore by researching Metallogeny.

	RESEARCH STRATEGY			ADDITIONAL NOTES
	PLAYING THE PLYMOUTH SCENARIO
Research

Your research efforts must begin with the construction of a Basic Lab structure kit at the Structure Factory.  Once the kit is finished, load it on a ConVec and deploy it.  The location at which you deploy the kit is not important, so long as the Lab is connected to the rest of the colony by Tubes.

Once the Basic Lab is Active, you must research three topics:  Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.  These projects do not develop any new technology; they are reconstructions of databases damaged during the flight from the old Plymouth colony site.  After these topics are completed, you may build a Standard Lab.

Each research topic has a maximum number of Scientists that may be assigned to it.  The more Scientists you assign to a project, the more quickly it can be completed.  Always assign the maximum number, if at all possible.  Idle structures you are not using, such as the Agridome (if you have enough Food in storage) and the Structure Factory.  (Do not idle the Smelter: you will lose any Metals you have in storage there.)

When your Standard Lab is in place, you may begin any of  the following research projects:

•	Cybernetic Teleoperation.  Allows you to build a Vehicle Factory.

•	High-Temperature Superconductivity.  Opens up additional research topics.

•	Hydroponic Growing Media  Increases Food production at the Agridome.

•	Metallogeny.  Increases the yield of each load of Ore brought to the Smelter.

•	Environmental Psychology.  Increases the colonist capacity of Residences, improving Morale.

•	Focused Microwave Projection.  Allows you to build Microwave Guard Posts.

Several additional topics may become available during this scenario.  These are:

•	Plasma Geometry.  Increases Power production at the Tokamak.  (Requires High-Temperature Superconductivity.)

•	Mobile Weapons Platform.  Allows you to build the Microwave Lynx vehicle. (Requires Cybernetic Teleoperation and Focused Microwave Projection.)

•	Advanced Vehicle Power Plant.  Increases the speed of Cargo Trucks, ConVecs, and Earthworkers.  (Requires High-Temperature Superconductivity.)

•	Independent Turret Power Systems.  Increases the damage done by the Microwave weapon.  (Requires High-Temperature Superconductivity and Focused Microwave Projection.)

•	Legged Robots.  Allows you to build the Arachnid Factory and Spider units.  (Requires Independent Turret Power Systems.)

•	Electromagnetic Pulsing.  Allows you to build EMP Guard Posts and EMP Lynx vehicles.  (Requires Independent Turret Power Systems.)

	MINING STRATEGY			ADDITIONAL NOTES
	PLAYING THE PLYMOUTH SCENARIO
Additional Notes

•	When deploying structures, be careful to place them so that they are connected by Tube to the rest of the colony.  Any structure requiring Workers (that is, any structure except the Light Tower, Common Ore Mine, Tokamak, and the Guard Posts) must be connected by Tube to a Command Center.  (This connection may run through your other buildings, of course.)  If you inadvertently deploy a structure so that it is not connected, use your Earthworker to build Tubes from the new structure to the colony.

•	If you need an additional Worker or Scientist to operate structures for a short time, you may Idle your Agridome to make its Worker available.  Keep an eye on your Food storage when you do this.  If you run out of Food in storage, your people will quickly starve to death.

•	If you build a Basic Lab, remember to Idle it after you have completed research on Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.  No other research will be available there, and you can use that Worker somewhere else.

•	Once you complete research on Focused Microwave Projection, two Eden Laser Lynx vehicles will enter the map and head for your Standard Lab.   If you don't have any defenses, they will attack the Lab and destroy it.

	MINING STRATEGY			RESEARCH STRATEGY
	PLAYING THE PLYMOUTH SCENARIO


5 Report Displays: Communications
Communications Report

This display shows you all of the messages that you have recently received.  Red messages are from your Savant computer.  You may double-click on some red messages to make the Detail Pane jump to the location to which the message refers.  Incoming chat messages are shown in green.  The Allies button, available only in multiplayer games,  takes you to the display shown below.  The up and down arrow buttons scroll you through the message list if you have a large number of messages.

This display, available only in multiplayer games,  allows you to select which of your opponents will receive your chat messages, and with which opponents you will ally.  When you ally with a player, your combat units will not automatically start shooting at them, and they will be able to see the status lights on your structures.

NOTE:  If you ally with another player, it does not mean that they are allied with you.

	MULTIPLAYER RULES			REPORT DISPLAYS


5 Report Displays: Factories
Factories Report

The Factories Report lists all of your colony's Factories and their current status.  You may click on a factory in the list box to select it, then click the Details button to see the Status display for that factory.  The up and down arrow buttons scroll through the list box if you have a large number of factories.

	STRUCTURE STATUS			REPORT DISPLAYS


5 Report Displays: Game Options
Game Options

Text for this topic is not available in the Demonstration Edition.

	REPORT DISPLAYS


5 Report Displays: Labs
Labs Report

The Labs Report lists all of your colony's Laboratories and their current status.  You may click on a lab in the list box to select it, then click the Details button to see the Status display for that factory.  The up and down arrow buttons scroll through the list box if you have a large number of factories.  The Completed button changes the Command Pane to show a list of all research topics that your colony has finished studying.

	STRUCTURE STATUS			COMPLETED TOPICS
	REPORT DISPLAYS


5 Report Displays: Resources
Resources Reports

This display shows brief summary information about all of your resources.

•	Colonists.  The total number of colonists in the colony.
Available Workers.  The number of Workers who are not assigned to operate structures.
Available Scientists.  The number of Scientists who are neither assigned to operate structures nor to research.

•	Morale Level  The current value of Morale within the colony
Trend  The direction in which Morale has moved recently.

•	Power Use  The amount of Power used by all non-Idled structures, and the amount of Power generated within the colony.
Unpowered Structures  The number of structures that are Disabled because of a lack of Power.

•	Food Stored  The amount of Food in storage at the colony.
Production  The amount of Food being produced at all Agridomes in the colony.

•	Common Metals  The amount of Common Metals in storage at the colony.
Mines  The number of Common Ore Mines active within the colony.
Smelters  The number of Common Ore Smelters active within the colony.

•	Rare Metals  The amount of Rare Metals in storage at the colony.
Mines  The number of Rare Ore Mines active within the colony.
Smelters  The number of Rare Ore Smelters active within the colony.
NOTE:  Rare Metals information is not displayed until the colony has developed technologies that produce Rare Ore and Rare Metals.

NOTE:  Rare Metals are not available in the Demonstration Edition of Outpost 2.

	COLONISTS			MORALE
	POWER			FOOD
	COMMON METALS			RARE METALS
	RESOURCES RULES			REPORT DISPLAYS


5 Report Displays: Space
Space Reports

The Space display is not available in the Demonstration edition of Outpost 2.

	REPORT DISPLAYS


5 Report Displays: Structure Lists
Structure Lists

Text for this topic is not available in the Demonstration Edition.

	REPORT DISPLAYS


5 Structure Displays: Production Displays
Production Displays

This display allows you to select a product to be built at a factory.  Click on any item in the list box to select it, then click the Build It button to begin production.  The up and down arrow buttons scroll through the list box if you have a large number of products available.  The Status button returns you to the structure's Status display without beginning production.

Labs have a similar Topic Selection display.  The primary difference is that the Build It button is replaced by an Assign button which takes you to the display below.

This display allows you to select the number of Scientists to be assigned to the research project.  Maximum indicates the maximum number of Scientists that may be assigned to the project. Available shows the number of Scientists in the colony who are not currently assigned to either operating a structure or researching another project.  Assigned is the number of Scientists already assigned to this topic.  When starting a new research project, your Savant computer will automatically assign the maximum number of Scientists allowed on the project.  If there are not enough Scientists available, the computer will assign all available Scientists.  You may adjust the number of Scientists as you see fit, then click the Start button to begin study.  The Topics button takes you back to the Topic Selection display without starting research.  The up and down arrow buttons scroll through the list box if the project description is too long to be fully displayed.

After the project is underway, you may return to the Assign Scientists display by choosing the Assign button on the Status display.  This allows you to add Scientists as more become available, or remove Scientists if you have a shortage elsewhere.

	STRUCTURE DISPLAYS


5 Structure Displays: Status
Structure Status

The top part of any structure's status display shows the following information:

•	Name and ID.  Each structure has an ID number.  The number before the dash indicates which player built the structure.  (In single-player missions, you are always player 1.)  The number after the dash is indicates the order of deployment among structures of this type.  In the example above, the structure is the first structure factory built by this colony.

•	Armor level.  Armor ranges from "None" to "Extra Heavy".

•	Hit points.  The numerical indicator for hit points shows the number remaining (before the slash) and the maximum number (after the slash) when fully repaired.

•	Strength bar.  A graphical view of the number of hit points.

•	Research improvements.  If any research has improved the function of this structure, the improvement is shown here.

Information about the structure's operational status, resource requirements, production and storage are shown in the middle of the display.  Some of the common items listed in this section are:

•	Status.  This may be Active, Idle, or Disabled. If the structure is Disabled, the reason will be indicated here.

•	Power  The number before the slash indicates the amount of Power being used, the number after is the amount needed.

•	Workers.  The number before the slash indicates the number of Workers operating the structure, the number after is the number needed.

•	Scientists.  The number before the slash indicates the number of Scientists operating the structure, the number after is the number needed.

•	Production.  This indicates the resource produced at this facility, usually Food or Power.

•	Production Level.  This indicates the number of units being produced.

•	Colony Demand.  Often used at structures that affect Morale, this indicates the number of Colonists as a percentage of the capacity of all structures of the type selected.  For example, Residences have a capacity of 25 Colonists.  If you have 2 Residences (capacity of 50) and 75 Colonists, the Colony Demand will be 150%.

•	In Storage.  The number before the slash indicates the amount in storage; the number after indicates storage capacity.  For facilities that store items (such as Structure Factories, which store Structure Kits), the storage capacity is that of this facility only.  For structures that store quantities (such as Common Metals Storage Tanks), the storage capacity is that of the colony as a whole.

Factories and laboratories will show what they are producing with a display as shown above.  This indicates what's being produced (an Agridome, in this case) and both numerical and graphical progress indicators.

	STRUCTURE RULES			STRUCTURE DISPLAYS


5 Structure Displays: Storage
Storage Displays

There are two kinds of storage facilities, and each has its own display for moving items into and out of storage.

Some facilities store items, such as Structure Kits at Structure Facilities.  These structures have six storage bays, each of which may contain one item.  To move an item into or out of storage, click on one of the storage bays.  Any item in the storage bay will be transferred to the loading dock, and any item in the loading dock will be placed in the storage bay.

•	If there is an empty vehicle in the loading dock and an item in the storage bay, clicking on the storage bay transfers the item from the storage bay to the vehicle.

•	if there is a loaded vehicle in the loading dock and an empty storage bay, clicking on the storage bay transfers the item from the vehicle to the storage bay.

•	If there is a loaded vehicle in the loading dock and an item in the storage bay, clicking on the storage bay swaps items between the vehicle and the bay.

•	If the loading dock is empty and you have an Active GORF, clicking on a full storage bay recycles the metals used to build the item.

•	If the loading dock is empty and you do not have an Active GORF, clicking on a full storage bay throws the item away.

Quantity storage facilities, such as Agridomes or Common Ore Smelters, are a bit simpler.  If the Cargo Truck on the dock is full, the Unload button moves its cargo into storage, provided that its cargo is appropriate for the facility.  If the Cargo Truck is empty, the Load button will fill it.  Should it be partially full, TO BE DETERMINED.

	STRUCTURE RULES			STRUCTURE DISPLAYS


5 Unit Displays: Commands
Unit Command Icons

Command icons make up the lower half of each vehicle's status display.  The list below shows all of the command icons and their functions.

Move

Stop

Self-Destruct

Set Route/Patrol

Repair

Bulldoze

`	Build Mine

Build Tube

Build Wall

Build Special Wall

Build Structure

Attack

Dump Cargo

Reprogram

Demolish

Guard

Salvage Rubble

Stand Ground

Transfer

	UNIT RULES			UNIT STATUS
	UNIT DISPLAYS


5 Unit Displays: Status
Unit Status Information

The top half of the display contains status information about the selected vehicle, including:

•	Name and ID.  Each unit has an ID number.  The number before the dash indicates which player built the structure.  (In single-player missions, you are always player 1.)  The number after the dash indicates the order of construction among units of this type.  In the example above, the unit is the second Cargo Truck built by this colony.

•	Armor level.  Armor ranges from "None" to "Heavy".

•	Hit points.  The numerical indicator for hit points shows the number remaining (before the slash) and the maximum number (after the slash) when fully repaired.

•	Strength bar.  A graphical view of the number of hit points.

•	Research improvements.  If any research has improved the function of this unit, the improvement is shown here.

•	Cargo.

This section of the display also contains a light toggle.  At night, vehicles move more slowly with their lights off, but are more difficult for your opponents to see.

	UNIT RULES			UNIT COMMANDS
	UNIT DISPLAYS


6 Game Options: End Mission
End Mission display

Text and graphics to be added here.


6 Game Options: Help
Help

Text and graphics to be added here.


6 Game Options: Load Game
Load Game

Text and graphics to be added.


6 Game Options: Mission Objectives
Mission Objectives Display

This display lists all current mission objectives.  Those objectives you have reached are listed in green; those you not are listed in red.  Beware:  some mission objectives may be fulfilled and later unfulfilled, such as an objective of having a certain amount of Common Metals in storage at your colony.  The up and down arrows allow you to scroll through the list box, and the Game Options button returns you to the Game Options menu display.

In some missions, additional objectives may be added during the mission.  If this happens, your Savant computer will tell you, both by voice and with a message in your Communications display.

	MORE ON MISSIONS			GAME OPTIONS


6 Game Options: Preferences
Preferences

Text, graphics, and jumps to subsidiary preferences displays to be added.


6 Game Options: Save Game
Save Game

Text and graphics to be added here.


6 Game Options: Unit Reference
Unit Reference

Text and graphics to be added here.


6 Labs: Completed Research
Completed Research Reports

The display above lists all of the research topics you have completed.  Click any item in the list box, then click Details to see a description of the results of that research.  The Up and Down arrows move you through the list box a page at a time.  The Current button returns you to the list of laboratories and their current projects.

This display gives you a detailed description of the results of your studies.  These descriptions may begin with text in yellow print; this reveals any new structures, vehicles, research topics, or structure or vehicle improvements made available by this project.  The up and down arrows scroll you through the list box.  The Completed button returns you to the list of completed topics; the Current button returns you to the list of laboratories and their current projects.

	LABS REPORT


6 Resources: Colonists Report
Colonists Report

This Command Pane Display informs you about the colony's Colonists.

•	Children  this shows the total number of Children in the colony.

•	Workers  this shows the total number of Workers in the colony.
Assigned  this shows the number of Workers assigned to operate structures, followed by the number of Workers required to operate all non-Idled structures plus the number assigned to University training..
Available  this shows the number of Workers who are not assigned.

•	Scientists  this shows the total number of Scientists in the colony
Assigned as Scientists  this shows the number of Scientists assigned to fulfill the Scientist requirements of various structures.
Assigned as Workers  this shows the number of Scientists assigned to fulfill the Worker requirements of various structures.
Assigned to Research  this shows the number of Scientists assigned to research projects.
Available  this shows the number of Scientists not assigned to any of the categories above.

•	Total Population  this shows the total number of Colonists in the colony.

•	Total Residence Capacity  this shows the total capacity of all Active Residence structures in the colony.

The STRUCTURES button takes you to a list of all Residences.  The SUMMARY button returns you to the Resources Report.

	STRUCTURE LIST			RESOURCES REPORT
	MORE ABOUT COLONISTS


6 Resources: Common Metals Report
Common Metals Report

This Command Pane Display informs you about the colony's Common Ore and Common Metals facilities and stocks.

"Metal in Storage" refers to all Common Metals stored at Common Ore Smelters or Common Metals Storage Tanks throughout the colony.  Metals carried by Cargo Trucks are not counted here.  "Storage Capacity" refers to the capacity of all non-Idled Common Ore Smelters  and all Active Common Metals Storage Tanks.

The STRUCTURES button takes you to a list of all Common Ore/Common Metals facilities:  Mines, Smelters, and Storage Tanks.  The SUMMARY button returns you to the Resources Report.

	STRUCTURE LIST			RESOURCES REPORT
	MORE ABOUT ORES AND METALS


6 Resources: Food Report
Food Report

This Command Pane Display informs you about the colony's Food supplies.

•	Agridomes  this shows the total number of Agridomes in the colony.
Active  this shows the number of Agridomes that are Active.
Disabled  this shows the number of Agridomes that are Disabled, regardless of cause.
Idled  this shows the number of Agridomes you have Idled.

•	Food Produced  this shows the total amount of Food produced at all Active Agridomes.

•	Food Consumed  this shows the amount of food consumed by the Colonists.

•	Food in Storage  this shows the total amount of Food stored in the colony.

•	Added to Storage / Taken from Storage  if Food Produced exceeds Food Consumed, the difference is added to storage at the colony.  Should Food Consumed be greater than Food Produced, this line will appear in yellow letters, and will represent the amount of Food taken out of storage to make up for the shortfall.

•	Food Shortfall  Should the amount of food produced and the amount in storage be insufficient to fill the colony's needs, this line, in red text, will appear, showing the amount of the food shortage.

The STRUCTURES button takes you to a list of all Agridomes.  The SUMMARY button returns you to the Resources Report.

	STRUCTURE LIST			RESOURCES REPORT
	MORE ABOUT FOOD


6 Resources: Morale Report
Morale Report

This Command Pane Display informs you about the Morale of the colony's inhabitants.  Each factor listed is an element affecting the colony's Morale.  As the game progresses, more factors will be added to the list.

"Morale Level" may be from 0 to 99.  NOTE:  In this Demonstration Edition of Outpost 2, the Morale level is always fixed at 50.

•	Residence Demand  this indicates the number of Colonists as a percentage of the capacity of all Active Residences..  For example, a Residence has a capacity of 25 Colonists.  If you have 2 Residences (capacity of 50) and 75 Colonists, the Residence Demand will be 150%.

•	Net Food Production  this indicates the difference between the food produced and the food used.

•	Disabled Bldg. Ratio  this indicates the number of Disabled structures as a percentage of all structures in the colony.

•	Unoccupied Colonists  this indicates the number of Workers and Scientists who are not assigned to operate structures, to research projects, or to University training.

•	Scientists as Workers  this indicates the number of Scientists who are assigned to fill the places of Workers in operating structures.

•	Rec. Center Demand  this indicates the number of Colonists as a percentage of the capacity of all Active Recreation Centers.

•	Med. Center Demand  this indicates the number of Colonists as a percentage of the capacity of all Active Medical Centers.

•	Nursery Operational / Not Operational

•	University Operational / Not Operational

•	Disaster Warning Systems  this indicates the number of technologies you have researched which will give warning of impending disasters, such as Volcanic Eruptions or Earthquakes.

•	Forum Demand  this indicates the number of Colonists as a percentage of the capacity of all Active Forums.  (Plymouth only)

NOTE:  In this Demonstration Edition of Outpost 2, Recreation Centers, Medical Centers, Nurseries, Universities, DIRTs, and Forums are not available; likewise, the various Disaster Warning Systems cannot be developed..

The STRUCTURES button takes you to a list of all facilities that have an effect on Morale.  The SUMMARY button returns you to the Resources Report.

	STRUCTURE LIST			RESOURCES REPORT
	MORE ABOUT MORALE


6 Resources: Power Report
Power Report

This Command Pane Display informs you about the colony's Power Generation facilities.

"Power Generated" indicates the amount of power produced by all Power Generation facilities.  "Power Consumed" is the cumulative Power Usage of the colony; this includes all Active structures and all Disabled structures, excepting those Disabled due to lack of Power.  "Power Surplus" shows the difference between Power Generated and Power Consumed, and allows for your future structure planning.  "Power that would be generated by disabled or idled power facilities" gives you the amount of power that could be added if you repaired or activated existing non-Active facilities.

"Structures disabled due to lack of power" shows how many facilities are inactivated from this cause.  "Additional Power Needed" informs you as to the amount of additional power required to activate all structures disabled due to lack of power; it does not indicate how much power would be required by Idled structures should they be activated.

The STRUCTURES button takes you to a list of all Power Generation facilities, including Command Centers.  The SUMMARY button returns you to the Resources Report.

	STRUCTURE LIST			RESOURCES REPORT
	MORE ABOUT POWER


6 Resources: Rare Metals Report
Rare Metals Report

This Command Pane Display informs you about the colony's Rare Ore and Rare Metals facilities and stocks.

"Metal in Storage" refers to all Rare Metals stored at Rare Ore Smelters or Rare Metals Storage Tanks throughout the colony.  Metals carried by Cargo Trucks are not counted here.  "Storage Capacity" refers to the capacity of all non-Idled Rare Ore Smelters  and all Active Rare Metals Storage Tanks.

The STRUCTURES button takes you to a list of all Rare Ore/Rare Metals facilities:  Mines, Smelters, Storage Tanks, and Magma Wells.  The SUMMARY button returns you to the Resources Report.

NOTE:  Rare Ores and Rare Metals are not available in the Demonstration Edition of Outpost 2.

	STRUCTURE LIST			RESOURCES REPORT
	MORE ABOUT ORES AND METALS