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


Acid Cloud

Eden Acid Cloud
Common Metals Cost	very high	Rare Metals Cost	very low
Area of Effect	medium	Range	long
Rate of Fire	medium	Concussion Damage	low
Penetration Damage	low
One of the byproducts of Eden's metal smelting operations is an especially corrosive and unstable acid.

In several unfortunate industrial accidents, containers of the material exploded, producing an even more reactive cloud that caused damage over a wide area before breaking down into an inert form.  From these accidents, a new weapon was born.  A method was found to stabilize the acid for safe handling, and yet allow it to be ignited at will.

This acid is housed in special shells that can be launched from a low-velocity projectile weapon and exploded on or near a target.  An almost undetectable aerogel "bubble" helps contain the cloud briefly and allows it to do extended damage over a controlled area.  The cloud attacks metal, organics, plastics, and many other common materials.  While it is a very effective weapon, it can be as dangerous to friendly units as enemy ones when used in close quarters.

Operational Notes: The Acid Cloud weapon launches a grenade that pours out a cloud of acid which continually does damage to any target within the cloud.  The cloud disperses after a short period of time.  NOTE:  This weapon is available only to Eden.

Go to Unit Reference


Agridome

Eden Agridome	Plymouth Agridome
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very short	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	20	Size	med.-large
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light
A colony runs on its stomach, and the Agridome is the breadbasket that keeps your colony running.  Using a variety of advanced agricultural techniques, including accelerated growth, hydroponics, genetically engineered plants, and efficient management that times harvest and replanting down to the minute, an Agridome can feed up to 40 Colonists.  An Agridome not only produces enough food, but enough variety and a constant turnover of fresh products to keep your Colonists both healthy and happy.

Operational Notes: The Agridome produces 40 units of Food.  Cargo Trucks can dock at the Agridome to load or unload Food.

Tales from New Terra

From his observer's seat on the overhead mechanical arm called, for some reason Jix Oltion had never figured out, a tractor, he looked out through the huge, curved, plexan windows that lined the side of the Agridome.  Below him, steel disks at the end of the arm, guided by automatic controls, cut a furrow in one of the long trays of black soil that ran the length of the building.  The tractor hardly needed his attention as it glided along on its overhead track.  His mind was elsewhere, on the pH balance in the hydroponics tanks, flow rates on the irrigators, on next cycle's seed stocks, and on the Scout that rumbled past the window every morning like clockwork.

The bulbous craft rounded the corner on fat tires, dodging a big Cargo Truck taking a load of wheat off to storage, and slid to a halt just outside the window.  As was their tradition, Duncan waved from inside the vehicle's cockpit and Jix waved back.

"Your move, partner."  Duncan's voice came from the comm-link on Jix's collar.

Jix visualized the four-level dynachess board.  "Crew to Boss-level-four.  Checkmate."

He could see Duncan slump in his seat.  "Frag, you did it again."

Jix laughed and turned his attention back to the plow.  "You big-shot scientists think farmers aren't so smart.  Thank the fates I am smart, Duncan.  If it wasn't for us, you lab-jockeys would be eating rocks for breakfast instead of oatmeal."

Go to Unit Reference


Campaign Games

What Is a Campaign Game?

A Campaign Game is a series of missions in which you guide your colony through the disasters and perils now beginning on New Terra.  You must successfully complete each mission before you may proceed to the next mission.  There are separate Campaign Games for Eden and Plymouth, and each may be played at three difficulty levels.  The specific mission objectives you must achieve are listed in the Mission Objectives display in the Command Pane.

As you proceed through the missions in a Campaign, the results of one mission will have an impact on your starting resources in later missions.  For example, the research topics you have researched (and have not researched) will carry over from mission to mission: if you have not developed a weapons system in Mission 5, you will not have any vehicles with that weapon available when you start Mission 6.

Starting a Campaign Game

1	To start a new Campaign Game, click NEW CAMPAIGN on the MAIN MENU.

A dialog box will allow you to choose the colony you wish to play (Eden or Plymouth) and the difficulty level at which you wish to play (Easy, Normal, or Hard). NOTE: As the difficulty level increases, the mission objectives get harder, disasters become more frequent and of greater magnitude, and enemy attacks grow larger and more powerful. It also becomes more difficult to maintain your colony’s Morale.

2	Click OK to continue or CANCEL to return to the MAIN MENU.

3	At the Mission menu, you may click MISSION BRIEFING to see an overview of the mission.  SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES will tell you what you need to accomplish to successfully complete the mission.  STORY allows you to read the chapters of the Novella up to the current mission.

4	When you are ready to play, click START MISSION. Click LEAVE CAMPAIGN if you decide not to start a new Campaign Game. NOTE: To resume playing a Campaign Game from the Main Menu, you must load the last saved game from that Campaign. Outpost 2 prompts you to save your Campaign after you successfully complete each mission. You may also save the game at any time during a mission.

Go to Getting Started


Cargo Truck

Cargo Truck
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	long	Track Type	wheeled
Hit Points	high	Speed	medium
Armor	light
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Set Route, Salvage, Dump Cargo, Transfer, Self-Destruct.

The scenery may be different, even the planet, but some things never change.  The people need goods, and when people need, the trucks will roll.  Of course, these trucks are designed to run in a thin nitrogen atmosphere, and carry heavy loads of exotic cargo in a place with not a single kilometer of paved road.

Oversized tires, high ground clearance, and a smart suspension system allow the Cargo Truck to operate over a variety of terrain.  Powered by R-2000 series or larger cool-fusion plants, volt-sinks for demand-release energy storage, and Buffalo 600 and larger motors, Cargo Trucks are designed for high torque and long range.  Whether its food, ore, refined metals, or starship parts, Cargo Trucks stand ready to serve.

Operational Notes: The Cargo Truck can carry various cargoes around your colony, docking at various structures to load or unload a cargo.  The structures at which the Cargo Truck can dock are determined by its current cargo, according to the list below.

If the Cargo Truck is carrying:	It may dock at:
Food	Agridome
Common Ore	Common Ore Smelter
Common Metals	Common Ore Smelter Common Metals Storage Tanks
Common Rubble	GORF
Rare Ore	Rare Ore Smelter
Rare Metals	Rare Ore Smelter Rare Metals Storage Tanks
Rare Rubble	GORF
Starship Components	Spaceport
Satellites	Spaceport
Wreckage	Spaceport
nothing	Agridome, Common Ore Mine, Common Ore Smelter, Common Metals Storage Tanks, Rare Ore Mine, Rare Ore Smelter, Rare Metals Storage Tanks, Magma Well, Spaceport
Tales from New Terra

Tolo huddled in the truck's tiny emergency passenger cabin, squirmed uncomfortably in his pressure suit, and watched the displays on the service console.  He shouldn't be here, he knew.  The trucks were automated, he was a mechanic, not a driver, and the runs didn't get any more dangerous than this one.

He'd catch hell from the shop foreman, if he lived that long, if any of them did.  Never mind.  If this cargo of parts for their orbit shuttle didn't make it through, they were all just biding their time waiting for the Reaper anyway

"Enemy units at bearing 320," the truck's computer reported.  "Taking evasive action."  There was a change in the drone of the motors as they turned.

Then, a crack like lightning, a smell of ozone and burning plastic, and the hiss of escaping air.  Tolo slammed down the faceplate on his helmet.  The truck’s voice came through his speakers: "Damage to main energy transfer systems.  Losing power at critical rate."

He cursed and triggered both the airlock doors at once.  There was so little pressure left that there was only a quiet "whoosh" as they did so.  He grabbed his tool box and climbed out onto the fender skirt.  In the distance he could see several enemy combat vehicles rolling along a low rise, their turrets flashing as they fired at unseen targets.  He ignored them.

This is why he had come.  "Hang in there, baby," he whispered as he swung open the volt-sink cover.  "Hang in there."

Go to Unit Reference


Cargoes and Docking

Two types of vehicles may carry cargoes:  ConVecs and Cargo Trucks.

ConVecs and Structure Kits

ConVecs may carry only structure kits, which are built and stored at the Structure Factory.  To load a structure kit, drive a ConVec onto the Structure Factory's dock.  Once the ConVec has arrived at the dock, select the Structure Factory and click the STORAGE button on the Status display (in the Command Pane).  The Storage display shows the six storage bays at the Structure Factory.  Click any occupied bay to load the ConVec.

Cargo Trucks and Common or Rare Ore

The most common use you will have for your Cargo Trucks is moving Common or Rare Ore from mines to smelters.  Drive an empty Cargo Truck onto the loading platform at a mine to load it with ore.  Once the Cargo Truck is loaded with ore, drive it to the loading dock of an appropriate smelter.  If space is available in the colony's metals storage facilities, the Cargo Truck will automatically unload its ore and it will be processed into metals.

Cargo Trucks and Common or Rare Metals

You may load Common or Rare Metals in a Cargo Truck, either for an evacuation or to transfer to another player (in multiplayer games).  Drive your Cargo Truck onto the loading dock at a smelter or storage facility, select the structure, click on the STORAGE button in the Status display, then click LOAD.

Cargo Trucks and Common or Rare Rubble

You may load Common or Rare Rubble in a Cargo Truck by parking it over an area of rubble and waiting.  After a moment, the Cargo Truck will automatically load the rubble.  This rubble may be taken to an Active GORF's loading dock to be recycled.

Cargo Trucks and Food

You may load Food in a Cargo Truck, either for an evacuation or to transfer to another player (in multiplayer games).  Drive your Cargo Truck onto the loading dock at an Agridome, select the structure, click on the STORAGE button in the Status display, then click LOAD.

Cargo Trucks and Starship Wreckage

In certain missions in the Campaign Games, you must load salvaged wreckage from the Conestoga (the starship that brought the Colonists from Earth) into a Cargo Truck.  Once the wreckage has been located and marked by a Scout, drive a Cargo Truck to the wreckage marker and wait.  After a few seconds, the wreckage will be automatically loaded into the Cargo Truck.

Cargo Trucks and Starship Components or Satellites

You may load starship components or satellites into a Cargo Truck for transfer to another player (in multiplayer games).  Drive your Cargo Truck onto the loading dock at a Spaceport, then select the structure and click on the STORAGE button in the Status display.  The Storage display shows the six storage bays at the Spaceport, just as at the Structure Factory.  Click any occupied bay to load the truck.

Go to Rules


Colonists

Types of Colonists

Outpost 2 has three classes of Colonists:  Children, Workers, and Scientists.  Children have no productive function in the colony, but after a period of time they may 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.

The Life and Death of a Colonist

Periodically, new Children may be born at the colony.  However, this can happen only if Children make up less than half of the population AND you have an Active Nursery.  Children may become Workers when they are old enough if you have an Active University.  Workers may be assigned to operate structures or 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.  (However, they are not happy about it:  Scientists functioning as Workers can have a detrimental effect on Morale.)  Scientists may also be assigned to research projects at the laboratories.

Colonists may die in several ways.  Some Colonists, young and old alike, will die because of 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 life-spans 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.

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.

Go to Colonists Report

Go to Rules


Colonists Report

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

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

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

Children indicates the total number of Children in the colony.

Workers shows the total number of Workers in the colony.

Assigned refers 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 denotes the number of Workers who are not assigned.

Scientists shows the total number of Scientists in the colony.

Assigned as Scientists shows the number of Scientists assigned to fulfill the Scientist requirements of various structures.
Assigned as Workers indicates the number of Scientists assigned to fulfill the Worker requirements of various structures.
Assigned to Research shows the number of Scientists assigned to research projects.
Available provides the number of Scientists not assigned to any of the categories above.

The STRUCTURES button takes you to a list of all structures that affect the number, type, or longevity of your Colonists: Nurseries, Universities, and Medical Centers.  The SUMMARY button returns you to the Resources report.

Go to Colonists

Go to Resources Reports


Colony Games

What Is a Colony Game?

Colony Games allow you to build your colony any way you see fit, without the threat of the Blight haunting your every move.  You may play Colony Games as either Eden or Plymouth, with either of two major objectives:  build your population to a certain level or launch a new starship to colonize another world.

As with Campaign Games, Colony Games can be played at three different difficulty levels.  These difficulty levels affect the yield levels of the mining locations, the frequency and destructiveness of disasters, and the frequency and size of invading enemy forces.

Starting a Colony Game

1	To start a Colony Game, click COLONY GAMES on the MAIN MENU.  The Colony Games dialog box will appear.

The list box contains a list of all Colony Game scenarios, indicating the colony (Eden or Plymouth) and the goal (Population or Starship).  Radio buttons on the right side of the dialog box allow you to set the difficulty level.

2	Click PLAY to start a new Colony Game.  Click SCORES to see a list of your previous Colony Game results.  These are sorted by the time required to meet the mission objective, from lowest to highest.  Click BACK TO MAIN MENU if you decide not to start a new Colony Game.

Go to Getting Started


Combat Chassis, Heavy (Tiger)

Tiger
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	low
Build Time	very long	Track Type	tracked
Hit Points	very high	Speed	slow
Armor	heavy
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Patrol, Attack, Guard, Stand Ground, Transfer, Self-Destruct.

Given the limited resources available for vehicle design and repair and the sudden need for combat units, a modular approach has been taken to tank design, using utilitarian chassis designs to which a variety of weapon turrets can be mounted.

The heaviest combat chassis, the Tiger is heavily armored and carries not one but two weapons turrets.  The Tiger chassis is based on a design in the encrypted weapons files brought from Earth.  It is the only combat chassis designed from the ground up as a weapons platform.  The Tiger chassis is mounted on tracks rather than wheels, and is somewhat slower than wheeled combat units.

Despite an enhanced power system built around an R-3000 cool-fusion reactor and quad-banked volt-sinks, the Tiger must fire its turrets alternately to allow for a stepped recharge.  This still doubles the effective fire and reload rates for a given weapon.

Operational Notes: The Tiger can be equipped with specially-constructed dual turrets using any available weapon system.  Costs listed are those of the Combat Chassis only; those of the weapon turret should be added.

Tales from New Terra

The fighting was close now.  Up in the structures, Mort Paris couldn't hear the tanks in New Terra's thin atmosphere, but down here in the tunnels, it was different.  The walls echoed with the sound of their treads, and the explosions made the ground ring like a bell.  Accumulated dust rained down from the conduits that snaked along the roof of the tunnel.  He wished he'd been able to take a scooter, but he'd never gotten the hang of operating one while wearing a pressure suit.

Inside that suit he was drenched with sweat, and his breath came in gasps.  He wasn't a hero, he was an administrator.  It was just that, when he'd heard there were still kids in the Nursery, there hadn't been any other candidates.  Right then, he'd have given anything to turn back, to forget that overheard comment, but his feet kept moving him into danger.

He trotted up the ramp into the Nursery.  The place was a blasted chaos, a gaping hole ripped in the hull just inside the safety airlock.  As he passed the hole, he stopped and leaned out.  The fighting wasn't close, it was here.  A phalanx of friendly armored units rolled past, a pair each of Lynx and Panthers, their big tires kicking up rooster-tails of dust, and right behind them, a lumbering Tiger, its hull and turrets blackened from multiple hits, but still fighting.  An enemy Lynx raced from behind the University and paused for a moment before being blasted into ruin by fire from the assembled friendlies.  Then the building shook from a series of explosions, suggesting that more enemies were near.

Just beyond the bulkhead, he knew, was the locker room, where the emergency gear was stored, and where the kids would be, if they were still alive.  He had to pry the door open with a piece of metal salvaged from the wreckage.  Inside, a chunk of the roof had collapsed, lockers stood open, disaster gear thrown about.  Then something in the corner moved.

He found two boys who looked to be three or four years old, huddled in their transparent rescue balls.  The colony couldn't afford to keep spacesuits in all the sizes needed by growing children, so the rescue balls were provided as a substitute.  They were pressurized to keep the kids alive, but they severely limited mobility.  In theory, an adult would always be around to carry the children to safety.  In theory.  He looked down at their tear-streaked faces and cursed shortcuts, the very shortcuts his department had approved a few years earlier.

He grabbed a carry-strap in each hand and half-carried, half-dragged the two boys through the lock.  Another explosion rocked the building, and the floor tilted suddenly, as though one of the foundation pylons had collapsed.

With no time to waste, he let the boys roll down the ramp into the tunnel.  Not the best ride, but it was quick, and bruises would heal.  The alternative was much more permanent.

His heart sank as he thought of the long tunnels back to the Command Center.  The Evac Transports wouldn't wait forever, but there was no choice.  He put his head down, grabbed the straps on the rescue balls, and slid them along the slick floor as quickly as he could.

With his eyes on his own feet, and not enough air to carry the sound, he didn't hear the service cart until it was right in front of him.  A woman he didn't immediately recognize sat in the driver's seat.  It didn't matter.  She was an angel as far as he was concerned.  Without a word, she helped him load the kids into the rear cargo bin.  She climbed back into her seat, and he was about to join her, when the tunnel roof behind him collapsed.

He was pelted with rock and thrown against the far wall.  He looked up, and the service cart appeared to be okay.  Then he looked back to see what had happened.

A good 50 meters of tunnel had caved in, forming a ramp of debris from the surface down to the tunnel floor, a ramp that was occupied by a fast-moving enemy Tiger.

Mort looked back at the woman and waved her on.  There was no way she could outrun it, and the straight tunnel would put her in gun range for at least another half kilometer.  The Tiger was on the tunnel floor now, and moving his way, more cautiously now.  The big turrets were turning toward them, the ugly muzzles of the weapons swinging into view.

Mort didn't know what to do.  He was unarmed, helpless against the big vehicle.  So he did the only thing he could.  He stood in the middle of the tunnel and held out his hands: "Stop!"

To his surprise, it did stop, long enough for the muzzles of the weapons to train directly on him.  So close was he to the monster's treads that the two weapons had him in a deadly cross-fire.

He looked back.  The cart was stuck in loose debris, its wheels spinning.  He could see the two boys in their rescue balls, eyes wide looking at the Tiger.

In the Tiger, electronic eyes must have been looking back, and through them, a human operator, for no computer would have done what came next.

The Tiger, which could have crushed Mort Paris flat, blown him to plasma, killed him any of a hundred ways, began to back away.  The treads churned as it turned and began to climb back out of the tunnel.

Go to Unit Reference


Combat Chassis, Light (Lynx)

Lynx
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	medium	Track Type	wheeled
Hit Points	medium	Speed	fast
Armor	light
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Patrol, Attack, Guard, Stand Ground, Transfer, Self-Destruct.

Given the limited resources available for vehicle design and repair and the sudden need for combat units, a modular approach has been taken to tank design, using utilitarian chassis designs to which a variety of weapon turrets can be mounted.

The Lynx is the earliest of these, initially adapted by Eden from the Scout design, with enhanced power generation capabilities, dura-composite armor and hard points to mount Eden’s first weapon turrets.  When Plymouth began its own weapons program, it adapted the same design.

Operational Notes: The Lynx can be equipped with any available weapon turret.  Costs listed are those of the Combat Chassis only; those of the weapon turret should be added.

Go to Unit Reference


Combat Chassis, Medium (Panther)

Panther
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	very low
Build Time	long	Track Type	wheeled
Hit Points	high	Speed	medium
Armor	medium
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Patrol, Attack, Guard, Stand Ground, Transfer, Self-Destruct.

Given the limited resources available for vehicle design and repair and the sudden need for combat units, a modular approach has been taken to tank design, using utilitarian chassis designs to which a variety of weapon turrets can be mounted.

Like the Lynx, the Panther-class combat chassis is adapted from an earlier light utility vehicle design.  While the Panther is slower than the Lynx, it trades speed for heavier armor and increased combat survivability.  Both Plymouth and Eden units are based on the same original design, and differ primarily in details.

Operational Notes: The Panther can be equipped with any available weapon turret.  Costs listed are those of the Combat Chassis only; those of the weapon turret should be added.

Go to Unit Reference


Command Center

Eden Command Center	Plymouth Command Center
Common Metals Cost	very high	Rare Metals Cost	None
Build Time	very long	Tube Connection Required	No
Power Required	none	Size	Medium
Workers Required	4	Hit Points	Very High
Scientists Required	1	Armor	Heavy
The Command Center is your colony's heart and brain.  Equipped with multiple Savant-series computers, communications hubs, a small power plant, and a flexible interior space that can be used for storage, governmental offices, public meetings, and even emergency shelter, it is the most self-contained of all structures and the most versatile.  A Command Center is the first building constructed for any installation or colony site, and it is the last place where Colonists gather for evacuation.

Operational Notes: The Command Center distributes Workers and Scientists to structures and also generates 50 units of Power.

Tales from New Terra

"Evac Transport away!  The chairman's transport is away!"  Karen ran across the "pit," the circular nest of consoles that was the heart of the Command Center.  Everywhere she looked, red tell-tales and warnings glowed.

Somewhere in the distance another explosion boomed, and in response, another screen of indicators went from yellow to red.  She tapped the young technician facing the console on the shoulder, and gestured him toward the emergency lock.

Through a view port she could see another Evac Transport backing in to dock.  She shooed two other techs toward the lock, and instructed one of the handful left to shut down all the Tubes leading into the Command Center.  She blinked.  There was really nothing left to do, nothing left to command, and the lava flows were closing in fast.  A magma bomb crashed down just outside the port, narrowly missing the now-docked transport.

"That's it," she shouted.  "Everybody out!  Good job people; now go join your families."

She paused to shut down a few more systems, before admitting to herself that it was pointless.  What could be done was already done.  She hesitated at the lock for one last look at the deserted Command Center, sighed, and ducked through the door into the transport, quickly dogging the hatch behind her.  She thumbed her comm-link.  "Let's roll!"

The transport was crowded, but people ignored her.  They had their own problems and traumas to deal with.  She fell into a simple web-backed seat and sighed.  The job wasn't done.  Somewhere ahead of the convoy, a ConVec was carrying a kit to build a new CC, and the job would begin again.  "It'll be over when it's over," she said to nobody in particular, and she couldn't even guess how it would end.

Go to Unit Reference


Common Metals Report

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

Mines shows the total number of Common Ore Mines in the colony.
High-Yield provides the number of high-yield Common Ore Mines.
Medium-Yield gives the number of medium-yield Common Ore Mines.
Low-Yield indicates the number of low-yield Common Ore Mines.

Smelters shows the total number of Common Ore Smelters in the colony.
Active indicates the number of Common Ore Smelters that are Active.
Disabled provides the number of Common Ore Smelters that are Disabled, regardless of cause.
Idled gives the number of Common Ore Smelters you have Idled.

Storage Tanks shows the total number of Common Metals Storage Tanks in the colony.
Active indicates the number of Common Metals Storage Tanks that are Active.
Disabled shows the number of Common Metals Storage Tanks that are Disabled, regardless of cause.
Idled provides the number of Common Metals Storage Tanks you have Idled.

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.

Go to Ores and Metals Rules
Go to Resources Reports


Communications Report

This display shows you all of the messages that you have recently received.

Incoming chat messages are shown in green.  Red messages are from your Savant computer.  The number at the beginning of each message indicates the time mark at which the event occurred. The current time mark is displayed at the top of the display. You may select some red messages to make the Detail Pane and click JUMP to center the Detail Pane on the location to which the message refers.  (Pressing the <Spacebar>, even when this display is not showing, will take you to the location of the latest message, if appropriate.)  Messages to which you may jump include:

Your vehicles or structures are under attack or have been destroyed.

Your vehicles have completed a task, or were unable to complete a task.  These tasks include repairing, bulldozing, building structures, building Tubes or Walls, and surveying Mining Beacons.

Your factories have completed production or your labs have completed a research project.

A disaster has occurred or is expected, or the Blight is approaching the colony.

Reinforcements have arrived.

The ALLIES/CHAT 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 someone, four things happen.  First, your vehicles will not fire on theirs unless you specifically order it.  Second, they will be able to see all of the mining beacons that you have surveyed.  Third, they will always be able to see your vehicles in their Mini-Map, even if the vehicles have the lights turned out and are in the dark.  Finally, they will be able to see the status lights on your structures, so they will know which of your structures are Active, Idled, and Disabled.

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

Go to Playing Multiplayer Games
Go to Report Displays


Completed Research Reports

The display below 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.

The Research Summary gives you a detailed description of the results of your studies.  The top of the description 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.

Go to the Labs Report


Connecting Via Modem

Modem Answer

1	On the MAIN MENU, click MULTIPLAYER.

2	In the PICK CONNECTION METHOD dialog box, click MODEM.

3	In the MODEM GAME OPTIONS dialog box, click ANSWER.

4	In the NEW MULTIPLAYER GAME dialog box, edit your name, if necessary, and choose a Scenario Type; then click OK.

5	In the Modem Connection dialog box, click ANSWER.

6	In the Modem Status box, wait until your opponent dials into your computer.  The game will automatically proceed once the connection is made.

7	In the GAME SETTINGS dialog box, make any changes necessary, then click START.

Modem Dial

1	On the MAIN MENU, click MULTIPLAYER.

2	In the PICK CONNECTION METHOD dialog box, click MODEM.

3	In the MODEM GAME OPTIONS dialog box, click DIAL.

4	In the JOIN A MULTIPLAYER GAME dialog box, edit Your Name, if necessary, and then click OK.

5	In the Modem Connection dialog box, enter the phone number and click Connect.

6	In the Modem Status box, wait until your computer dials into your opponent's computer.  The game will automatically proceed once the connection is made.

7	In the GAME SETTINGS dialog box, make any changes necessary, then click the Ready? check box next to your name.  When your opponent is ready, he will start the game.

Modem Connection Problems?

If you and your opponent have difficulty connecting by modem, the problem may be with your modem settings.  Call the other player (by voice) to confirm the connection, then proceed through the sequence until you reach the Modem Connection dialog box.  In this dialog, click the button labeled Configure.  On the Modem Properties dialog box, click the Connection tab.  Make sure that you and your opponent have all of the same settings on this tab.

If you still have trouble connecting by modem, consult your modem's manual or open Windows 95 Help (by choosing Help from the Windows 95® Start menu) and search in the index for "modems, troubleshooting."

Go to Starting Multiplayer Games

Go to Playing Multiplayer Games


Construction Vehicle (ConVec)

ConVec
Common Metals Cost	very high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very long	Track Type	wheeled
Hit Points	medium	Speed	medium
Armor	light
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Repair, Build, Demolish, Dump Cargo, Transfer, Self-Destruct.

Most colony structures are manufactured as prefabricated kits in a factory.  The task of transporting and assembling these kits falls to the Construction Vehicle (ConVec).  A literal jack-of-all-trades, the vehicle is equipped to haul the building kit, prepare the site, erect the structure, and perform all hookups to tunnels, utilities, and services.  The ConVec is equipped with a versatile array of retractable conveyers, cranes, robo-manipulators, and remote drones for any structure-related task.

When the ConVec backs away from a new building, it's ready for the Colonists to move in.  In time of war or emergency, the ConVec is there again, making vitally needed repairs.  It's also there at the end of a building's useful life, demolishing the structure and collecting the rubble for recycling at the nearest GORF unit.

Operational Notes: ConVecs are used to deploy structure kits, which are built and loaded at Structure Factories.  They can field-repair any structure up to its full hit points, using Common Metals (and Rare Metals, if the item being repaired cost Rare Metals to build) in the process.  ConVecs are also used to demolish unneeded structures.

Tales from New Terra

"Teacher, look, it's the ConVec!"  Rob Blish broke away from his classmates and pressed his nose against the view port, watching the huge vehicle picking daintily at the structure kit it had just spread out on the ground.  Robby was taken with all vehicles, but ConVecs were his special favorites.

The robot teacher whirred to a stop just up the corridor and circled back, rounding up stray children as it did so.  "Robby Blish," it scolded in its monotone, "others are waiting for you.  We'll be late for lunch."

Robby didn't move.  "This is the best part; it's starting to unfold the geodesic trusses.  By this afternoon, we'll be able to tell what the building is going to be.  What do you think it is going to be?"

Several other children had wandered over to the port to join him.  The teacher made an electronic noise that Robby had come to think of as a sigh.  "Working," it said, "one moment."

There was a communications chirp, and another voice came from the teacher, not flat, but warm and friendly, with its funny computer accent.  He recognized it as one of the Savant computers from the Command Center.  It had talked to them during their tour last quarter.

"Good question, Robby.  This is an important structure for all of you.  Many of you will be spending a lot of time there.  It's the colony's new University."

Robby pulled his nose away from the view port with a start.  "What?  More school!"

Go to Unit Reference


Credits

Director	Patrick Cook
Game Design	Patrick Cook and L. Allen McPheeters
Lead Programmer	Dan Duncalf
Programming	Dan White
	Brian Apgar
	David Sandgathe
Additional Programming Support	Glenn Wallace
Art Directors	Mike Jahnke
	Shawn Sharp
Production Artists	Neal Skorpen
	Weston Tracy
	David Downing
	Douglas Brashear
	K. Maren Wyatt
Additional Artwork	Ti-Ning Kwa
	Robert Smith
	Russell Stoner
	Thomas J. M. Burton
	James V. Anderson
	Andrew Holder
	Jared Keller
3-D Artists	Gerald Harrison
	Derrick Carlin
Additional 3-D Artwork	Peter Lewis
	Cyrus Kanga
Art Coordination	J. D. Alley
	Doug Kelly
Original Music	Charles Barth
Sound Effects	LOUDMOUTH, Inc.
Savant Computer Voice	Kathy Cullis
Multimedia Support	Jim Carey
	David Aughenbaugh
	Kate Alley
Quality Assurance Manager	David Steele
Lead QA Engineer	M. Andrew Binder
Assistant Lead QA Analyst	Trish Bayless
QA Analysts	Jesse Russell
	Joe Rush
	Aaron Anderson
	Matthew Vincent
	Solomon Sliwinski
	Jerome Kluth
	John Wolf
	Jackson T. Snellings
	Robert Quattrone, Jr.
	Darion Lowenstein
	Joe McGuire
	Eric T. Lanz
	Justin J. Hardy
	Connor M. A. Salisbury
	Sage Freeman
	Will Shaver
	Kenn Smith
	David Otter Peterson
	John Alden
QA Media Technicians	Trevor Lanz
	Sage Freeman
QA Technician	John Wolf
Producer	Kate Kloos
Online and Print Manual	L. Allen McPheeters
Online and Print Manual Layout	Michael Stearns
Online and Print Manual Editing	Lynne Ertle
Background Story Author	J. Steven York
Go Back to Contents


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.

  Attack  Used when any combat unit or Guard Post 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 Build, Build Tube, Build Concrete Wall, or Build Special Wall 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 Build, Build Tube, Build Concrete Wall, or Build Special Wall 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 ConVec is selected and the cursor is over the dock at an appropriate building.  (See Cargoes and 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.  Click and drag over an area to salvage all rubble in that area.

  Repair  Used when Repair has been clicked on the Command Pane 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 an 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.  Click and drag to bulldoze all passable terrain in an area.

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

Go to Interface Guide


DIRT (Disaster Instant Response Team)

Eden DIRT	Plymouth DIRT
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	medium	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	20	Size	medium
Workers Required	2	Hit Points	high
Scientists Required	1	Armor	medium
DIRT stands for Disaster Instant Response Team, and there is no greater comfort to the Colonists than to know that a nearby DIRT stands ready to handle any emergency.  These dedicated professionals (active DIRT members are commonly known as "Grubs") are highly skilled in the use of their high-technology equipment, which includes power-assist rescue armor, smart-foam fire suppression cannon, auto-med trauma-control systems, and rapid-response mag-lev tunnel trucks.  DIRT teams can handle fires, explosions, haz-mat spills, radiation leaks, biohazards, medical emergencies, building depressurization, and other crises.

A colony adequately served by DIRT can minimize the effect of accidents, disasters, and combat damage.

The DIRT houses all emergency equipment and provides on-duty housing for Grubs (who often sleep in their powered armor).  A small shop/lab provides for maintenance and upgrades of DIRT equipment and production of expendables such as smart-foam, chemical absorbents, and some medical supplies.  An integrated virtual-reality training system keeps the experienced Grubs in constant fighting trim and also allows for schooling of new recruits.

Operational Notes: The DIRT prevents up to 25 percent of damage (from disasters, attacks, or explosions) to connected structures.  Each DIRT can fully protect up to 10 structures to which it is connected by Tubes.  A lower ratio of DIRTs to structures reduces the percentage of damage prevention.

Tales from New Terra

Pavlo Cortez skillfully guided the disaster truck down the tunnel.  Except for the constant wail of the siren and the honking of the horn as he cleared a bike or pedestrian out of the tunnel, the truck was silent, moving smoothly on a cushion of magnetic force.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a chrono display counting up from the moment the alarm had been sounded.  One minute, 12 seconds - not bad.  He again focused his whole attention on driving.

Ahead, two parallel tunnels made the final connection to the Spaceport.  The one on the right had been widened for a Piazza, a public market, but it would be nearly deserted this hour of the morning.  That was the path he chose.

He felt one of the other Grubs move in behind him, Wasner, he thought.  As they'd often practiced, Wasner quickly pulled his visor down for him and sealed it so Pavlo wouldn't have to take his hands off his controls.  They were almost to the Spaceport now.

Ahead of them Pavlo could see that the emergency lock was closed.  Flashing lights warned about the disaster on the other side, but instead of flames, he could see frost on the bulkhead windows.  What was that about?

He slowed the truck.  Something was wrong about this, but what?  Then he saw the bulkhead starting to buckle outward.

The magnetic brakes stopped the truck as though they'd been grabbed by an invisible hand, throwing them all against their restraining straps.  Pavlo moved the tillers to spin them around, but it was too late.

The seam at the top of the bulkhead cracked like an eggshell, vapor under incredible pressure sprayed out of the crack and along the peak of the tunnel roof, and suddenly the top of the tunnel flashed into white-hot flame.

The truck turned, too slowly, their suits were already charring, melting from the indirect heat, and Pavlo could see that even the rocks were burning.

The tunnel flickered away.  The truck hovered in the middle of the simulator dome, the Grubs on the truck shaking their heads like sleepwalkers waking from a dream.

The door cracked open, and Captain Fifield stepped trough.  She put her fists on her hips and looked them over disapprovingly.  "People, we don't even have a Spaceport yet, and one just killed you!  Spaceports mean fuel, cryogenic gases, and in this case, liquid oxygen.  Never approach the Spaceport along the side where the cryo tanks are buried."

She looked at Pavlo.  "That means left tunnel, Pavlo."  She clapped her hands twice.  "Let's run this one again people, and see how far you can get before you're killed next time!"

Go to Unit Reference


Deploying Structures

Structure Kits

Most of the structures in the game are assembled from structure kits built at the Structure Factory.  These kits are then loaded on ConVecs and taken to an appropriate site to be deployed.

Kits may be assembled at any location on the map as long as two requirements are met:  the terrain in the tiles in which the structure will be placed must be passable (that is, a vehicle can drive to that location) and unoccupied by any other unit or structure; and there must be a border area around the structure in which the terrain is passable and there are no structures.  This is represented by the "building footprint" that appears under the cursor when you click the Build button in the ConVec's Status display.  The building footprint is a yellow rectangle with a blue-gray border.  The yellow rectangle indicates the location of the structure to be built.  The blue-gray border is the area around the structure that must be clear.

Many structures will also have two tan squares in the border, one to the right and one below the yellow rectangle.  These represent Tubes that will be automatically placed when the structure is deployed.  Red squares anywhere in the building footprint indicate that the structure may not be deployed in this location.

Once you select a suitable location for the new structure, the ConVec proceeds to the site and begins construction (unless some vehicle has moved into the deployment location while the ConVec was en route).  A construction site appears at the location, and the ConVec, if it was selected, becomes de-selected.  You may not select a ConVec while it is deploying a structure.

Transforming Vehicles

A small number of structures are not built from structure kits but are instead built by ordering a vehicle to transform itself into a structure.  These structures are the Common Ore Mine, Rare Ore Mine, Magma Well (all built from the Robo-Miner), and Geothermal Plant (built from the GeoCon, or Geothermal Constructor).  Both the Robo-Miner and GeoCon are built at the Vehicle Factory.

Each of these structures must be placed over a particular feature on the map.  Mines may be built only at the location of a surveyed Mining Beacon.  Magma Wells may be constructed only over magma vents.  (The Robo-Miner will automatically build the appropriate structure if it is ordered to build in a valid location.)  Geothermal Plants must be built over a fumarole.  The other tiles that will be occupied by the new structure must be passable and unoccupied by vehicles or other structures (although these structures may be built over Tubes).  The requirement for a one-tile wide border around the building site also applies to vehicle structures.  Once one of these vehicles has been ordered to build, it will move to the location and begin deployment, much as the ConVec carrying a structure kit.

Go to Rules


Earthworker

Earthworker
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Track Type	tracked
Hit Points	medium	Speed	slow
Armor	none
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Build Tube, Build Concrete Wall, Build Special Wall, Demolish, Transfer, Self-Destruct.

Originally the Earthworker was designed primarily to burrow underground Tubes to connect structures, and to produce Concrete Walls.

The latter are simple fortifications produced by scooping surface material into a form, where it is partially melted by a pulsed-fusion reactor mat lining the form.

Later, responding to individual threats, Eden and Plymouth modified the Earthworker design.  Eden added the capability to construct special "Microbe Walls."  Microbe Walls have rows of overlapping drill holes that are filled with a mixture of fused regolith and short-life radioactive isotopes.  This combination provides both a physical barrier against the ground water that carries the bacteria, and a limited antibiotic effect against the threat.

Plymouth Colonists modified their Earthworkers to respond to the immediate threat of volcanism and rapid lava flows.  Lava Walls are similar to conventional Concrete Walls; however, the surface material is more tightly packed, and the walls extend several meters underground to provide a footing that resists undermining by lava.  Cooling chimneys and passive heat pipes molded into the structure help to dissipate heat.  Lava Walls also have a smooth fused glass surface and a sprayed-on ablative coating to resist lava encroachment, which makes quick work of the less dense and slightly porous Concrete Walls.

Operational Notes: Earthworkers are used to build Tubes to connect structures to the Command Center.  They also build defensive Concrete Walls. Each colony also has a special wall they can build after doing the appropriate research:  Eden builds Microbe Walls, which slow the progress of the Blight; Plymouth builds Lava Walls, which temporarily delay lava flows from overrunning their bases.  Earthworkers can also demolish any Tube or Wall, though removing a Tube will cause damage to the Earthworker.

Tales from New Terra

"This is not going to work," said Wu Chen.  He was looking out the forward window of the Evacuation Transport as it rumbled down the hills toward the upper Wells Lowlands and the wide lava flows that were closing in from either side.  Though the dim light of pre-dawn revealed little of the terrain, he could see the lights of the other vehicles in the group bobbing ahead of him, and the twin, spreading lakes of lava glowing a dull orange in the darkness.

Emma Burke leaned on the back of his chair and peered at the approaching doom.  "It's going to be a close thing, Wu.  The good news is, since we're the last transport in the convoy, if anything goes wrong, we won't have long to feel guilty about it."

Wu wanted to say something, but couldn't come up with the right words.  He knew she blamed herself for their situation.  She'd predicted the eruption of Mt. Glenn to the north, but not so soon, and had failed to anticipate the simultaneous eruption of Mt. Komarov to the southeast.  That the geological databases from Earth had provided no data for erupting volcanoes so close to one another seemed to offer her no comfort.

"Pay no attention to the assistant behind the curtain," he finally said.  "I'm just a pessimist at heart.  We'll make it boss; we always do."

But she said nothing, and he couldn't think of anything else to comfort her.  He'd read of the mythical Atlas, who was said to bear the weight of the Earth on his mighty shoulders.  It seemed, at times, as though Emma Burke carried the weight of New Terra on hers.

As Wu watched, the dark gap between the lava flows narrowed, and as it did, the horizon grew brighter.  Finally New Terra's sun peeked over the edge of the world, and the valley below began to brighten, the glow of the lava fading, the rocks and distant hills throwing long shadows, but something else became visible as well, a pair of long, parallel lines crossing the valley right between the flows, and at the end of each, a vehicle, their lights bright white against the early morning red.  "Earthworkers!" He said.  "They sent back Earthworkers from the new colony site to build Lava Walls!"  He shook his fists in triumph.  "We're gonna make it after all!"

Emma moved forward and slumped into the next seat, that great weight gone from her shoulders, if only for a moment.  She looked over and smiled wearily.  "You know, pup, you're right.  You are a pessimist."

Go to Unit Reference


Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP)

EMP
Common Metals Cost	very high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Area of Effect	medium	Range	medium
Rate of Fire	medium	Concussion Damage	NA
Penetration Damage	NA
The electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, weapon is a specialized low-velocity projectile weapon.  It fires a localized field EMP grenade with a proximity fuse.  The grenade's explosion is a complex process, using a priming charge to generate a plasma lens and a secondary charge to induce a directed EM pulse in that lens.  The entire process takes place in a tiny fraction of a second.  The pulse is powerful enough to disrupt even hardened electrical and electronic systems in the target vehicle or structure, and render them temporarily inert.

Operational Notes: The EMP weapon fires a grenade that does no damage, but disables vehicle and some structures for a period of time.  Structures that do not require Power are unaffected by the EMP.  This includes all Power generation facilities, Command Centers, mines, Magma Wells, and Light Towers.  NOTE:  Vehicles disabled by an EMP may be reprogrammed by Plymouth Spiders.

Go to Unit Reference


Electrostatic Grenade (ESG)

Plymouth ESG
Common Metals Cost	very high	Rare Metals Cost	very low
Area of Effect	medium	Range	long
Rate of Fire	very low	Concussion Damage	medium
Penetration Damage	medium
The electrostatic grenade (ESG) launcher is a specialized low-velocity projectile weapon.  It fires an electrostatic induction grenade with a programmed fuse linked to the vehicle's targeting system.  The grenade generates powerful electric fields through a chemical process similar to the one Eden uses to power its Rail Guns.  This field induces currents within conductive components of the target, causing extreme heat, arcing, and both welding and erosion effects in metal.

Operational Notes: The ESG weapon fires a grenade that in turn sprays smaller projectiles over an area.  These mines discharge an electric shock into any enemy unit that drives over them; friendly units are not affected.  The mines lose power and become inert after a short period of time.  NOTE:  This weapon is available only to Plymouth.

Go to Unit Reference


End Mission Display

The END MISSION display gives you choices about how to leave the current game in progress.  Your choices vary depending on whether you are playing a single-player or multiplayer game.

In single-player games, the question to be decided is:  Where do you want to go after you leave this game?  If things are going badly in this game, you may just want to RESTART MISSION and give it another try.  If you would like to try a different mission, or perhaps switch to multiplayer gaming, choose BACK TO MAIN MENU.  If you are ready to call it a day, choose EXIT OUTPOST 2 to return to Windows.

In multiplayer games, you must decide what will happen to your units after you leave.  In one-on-one games, you may choose SELF-DESTRUCT when your situation gets hopeless.  If you have an ally who will keep playing, you may choose to TRANSFER UNITS to him.  After either of these options, you will be returned to the MAIN MENU.

Go to Game Options


Evacuation Transport

Evacuation Transport
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	long	Track Type	wheeled
Hit Points	low	Speed	fast
Armor	medium
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Self-Destruct.

When the Evacuation Transports were designed, nobody ever anticipated they would ever be used.  Circumstances have forced them into common use.

Intended as lifeboats in case of fire or other major colony disaster, the Evac Transports, or "E.T.s" as they're sometimes known, are now intimately familiar to all Colonists.  When disaster strikes, be it volcanic eruption or microbial incursion, Colonists assemble at the nearest Command Center and board E.T.s in order to move to a new home.

More than a vehicle, each E.T. is a fully self-contained habitat, providing survival-class housing for 25 Colonists.  E.T.s provide survival, yes, but not comfort.  Conditions are incredibly crowded, water and food are rationed, recreation non-existent, and survivors must sleep in shifts in lightweight hammocks.

While the sight of a docking E.T. may be the most welcome sight a Colonist may see in time of disaster, leaving it behind is the next-most-welcome.

E.T.s have also found other applications, as long distance personnel transports, rescue vehicles, and housing for survey and scientific expeditions.  An impressive record for a vehicle never intended to be used.

Operational Notes: Evacuation Transports are used to carry up to 25 Colonists from one colony location to another.  These vehicles are available only in selected missions during Campaign Games.  You will never have to load or unload Colonists from Evacuation Transports; you will either be required to move pre-loaded Evacuation Transports to a rendezvous point, or to have a certain number of them on hand to complete a mission.

Tales from New Terra

"I'm sorry to bother you, Elder Moon, but I thought you might be able to calm her.  None of us have done much good."  Axen Moon followed the little man named Paris through the narrow corridor that connected the transport's five tiny living compartments.  The walls were so close that Axen's wide shoulders barely cleared.  Somewhere a baby was crying.  It seemed to him it had been crying for about a week now.

He studied the back of Paris' round, balding head with contempt.  Despite being chosen from the 99th percentile of human genetic potential in some critical area, he was a toady.  The top 1 percent of toadies, Axen supposed.

Still, the last thing he wanted was to be trapped in an E.T. with someone who'd been driven insane by the conditions, and even toadies had their uses.

As they approached the front compartment, he could hear the woman's voice, repeating over and over, "38, 38, 38 ..."  He carefully snaked his way through occupied sleeping hammocks and stacks of supplies.

The woman huddled in a corner near a small view point.  She was barely out of her teens, her long, blond hair hanging around her face in tangles.  On the bulkhead next to her, hash-marks had been scratched into the structure with some sharp object.

He knelt at her side and smiled.  He didn't feel like smiling at her, or anyone, after their long confinement, but he was a politician first and foremost.  She turned as he touched her shoulder, and her eyes widened as she recognized him.

"Is there a problem?"  He forced his tone to remain pleasant.

"Elder!  Did I do something to disturb you?"

"People were concerned for you.  You were talking ..."

"Was I talking?  It’s hard to tell."  There was a slightly wild look in her eyes that worried Axen.

"You kept saying '38.'"

"38.  Of course."  She looked out the window and seemed to forget that he was there.

"What does it mean - 38?"

"Days."  She sighed.  "Days since any of us has had a bath."

There were 25 people on the Evac Transport, and none of them escaped the sound of Axen Moon's laughter.

Go to Unit Reference


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.

Go to Factories and Production
Go to the Structure Status Display
Go to Report Displays


Factories and Production

There are five factories in Outpost 2:  the Structure Factory, the Vehicle Factory, the Consumer Goods Factory, the Arachnid Factory, and the Spaceport.  Operation of each of these factories is similar.

Each factory's Status display has a BUILD button, which is available any time the factory is Active and not already in production.  (The BUILD button is not available at the Structure Factory or the Spaceport if all of the structure's storage bays are full.)  Click BUILD.  The Command Pane changes to show the Production display.

The list box in the Production display shows all the products that your factory has the technology to build.  As additional research is completed, more products may become available at various factories.  Move your cursor over the items in the list box; the Common Metals and Rare Metals cost of each item will appear in the Status Bar as your cursor moves over them.  Click the name of any item to select it.  If you have sufficient metals, the BUILD IT button will become active.  Click BUILD IT to begin production.

The Command Pane will change to the factory's Status display.  The metals cost of the product will be taken out of storage, and after a moment, a progress bar will appear in the Status display, indicating how far production has proceeded.  A STOP button will appear on the Status display.  Should you decide to stop production in progress, click STOP.  One-half of the metals cost of the product will be returned to storage.

When the product is complete, it will be placed in storage (at a Structure Factory or Spaceport) or placed adjacent to the factory (Arachnid Factory or Vehicle Factory).  The wares produced by a Consumer Goods Factory are automatically distributed to your Colonists, and their Morale will begin to rise.

Go to Rules


Factory, Arachnid

Plymouth Arachnid Factory
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	long	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	50	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	2	Hit Points	high
Scientists Required	none	Armor	medium
While both colonies make extensive use of small robots and drones in maintenance, construction, agriculture, medicine, and even child care, only Plymouth has taken the concept a step farther, creating the Arachnid series of heavy robots.  The Arachnids combine basic robot technology with compact versions of vehicle power and drive-train components.  The result is a large, versatile robot, with the speed, range, and independence of a much larger vehicle.

The Spider was the first Arachnid design, and went through a number of prototypes.  Initially intended for use in construction and in vehicle and building maintenance, it has since found use in combat situations as well.  The Spider's multiple limbs are mobile and agile, and through the use of retractable tool and manipulator pods, can be used for lifting, holding, welding, assembly, disassembly, and computer interface attachment.  While it is most mobile using all its legs, the Spider can continue to move and function even with several of them damaged or occupied with other work tasks.

The final production version of the Spider retained all its peacetime utility but added enhanced power and drive systems capable of carrying shielding against Plymouth's new EMP weapon without any loss of performance.  In combat, the Spider is able to approach enemy units disabled by the EMP weapon, interface with the enemy unit's computer as it reboots, and effectively capture the unit for Plymouth use.

The Scorpion uses a version of the Spider chassis, with even greater enhancement of power and drive. The increased payload is used to mount a Mark II beam rifle and enhanced conventional armor.

The Arachnid Factory is a highly automated production facility that handles primary part fabrication, assembly, testing, and programming, with a minimum of intervention by human Workers.  It can produce both the Spider- and Scorpion-series Arachnids.

Operational Notes: The Arachnid Factory produces Spiders and Scorpions.  NOTE:  This structure is available only to Plymouth.

Tales from New Terra

Jem Estes stood by the window of the Arachnid Factory's programming center and watched the four 'bots, two Spiders and two Scorpions, as they lined up neatly outside, waiting for commands.  She heard footsteps behind her.  It was Koto Uhla, her apprentice.

She crossed her arms and nodded in greeting.  "It's final exam day, Koto.  You need some music?"

He smiled nervously and held up a data-slip.  "Brought my own."  He stuck the slip to the control console's input pad, called up his control program, patched in the audio feed, hit the "start" icon, and stepped back with his mentor to watch the show.

It was piano music.  It sounded very old, something from the Earth cultural database she assumed.  She thought perhaps the style was called ragtime, but she wasn't sure.  As the music started, the 'bots began to move their feet in time, swaying first left, then right, in perfect unison despite the uneven ground.

They broke into two pairs that circled each other, formed into a line again, and then the whole line began to turn.  The tempo of the music increased, and their feet moved faster and faster, their weaving and bobbing more intricate, until finally the piece reached its climax and fell silent.

The robots froze, pointing out at the points of the compass, beam rifles of the Scorpions turned so they were almost touching, a foreleg on each raised toward the sky.

She turned to Koto, whose wide face was split by a unrestrained smile.  She put out her hand to shake his.  "Congratulations.  You pass.  You're ready to program solo."

She'd taught him well, but until now, she'd never been sure how well.  She's always said, "nobody gets trusted with my bugs unless they know how to make them dance."

Go to Unit Reference


Factory, Consumer Goods

Eden Consumer Goods Factory
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	medium	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	40	Size	med.-large
Workers Required	2	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light
Deciding that Morale is as much a survival consideration as food, water, and air, Eden has designed a special factory for production of consumer goods.  The factory is designed to produce small, short-lived, low-complexity items for consumer use.  The factory is oriented toward producing a wide variety of items in short production runs, thus increasing the variety of products available, while at the same time increasing the rarity of individual items, and thus their perceived value.

Because of the emergency situation, Eden has never been able to adopt the true free-market capitalist economy that its founders intended, but Workers are paid in chits that can be traded for the few luxuries and privileges that the colony offers, including improved food rations, increased recreational privileges, longer showers, and of course, consumer goods.

The Consumer Goods Factory incorporates a small retail shop where products are displayed and sold (Eden Scientists have discovered that shopping for goods has almost as much positive effect on Morale as buying and owning them).  A catalog of goods can also be accessed through any colony computer terminal, goods ordered electronically, and delivery made by courier drone, or, in the case of smaller items, by transfer chute.

The factory produces batches of three different classes of consumer goods.  The larger and more elaborate the goods, the greater the effect on Morale.  The classes are:

Impulse:  Small, usually pocket-sized objects, including personal care articles, toys, games, jewelry, clothing accessories, candy, snacks, and small decorative items.  They are cheap and easy to produce, but provide only minor, short-lived, improvements in Morale.

Wares:  Larger or more elaborate goods, including household items, larger decorations, larger toys and games, entertainment products, simple clothing items and accessories, luxury food items, and jewelry incorporating small natural stones and alloys containing Rare Metals.

Luxury Wares:  The most expensive consumer goods, with the greatest impact on Morale.  Luxury Wares include large and complex toys and games, natural-fiber clothing, Residence furnishings, larger and more elaborate decorative objects, luxury entertainment products, and jewelry made entirely from natural stones and Rare Metals.

Happiness is transitory though.  Statistics show that after an average of six months, even most Luxury Wares find their way to the GORF for recycling.  But don't worry, the Colonists will already be in line to purchase more.

Operational Notes: The Consumer Goods Factory produces temporary Morale improvements.  NOTE:  This structure is available only to Eden.

Tales from New Terra

Gloria Watt sat behind the counter of Eden Emporium leaning far back in her chair, her feet crossed on top of a couple of stacked crates.  She was intently reading from a ClipCom, oblivious to everything happening around her, which was a lot.

Outside, through the transparent storefront, people were racing up and down the tunnel, some on foot, others on vehicles.  They raced past the windows without so much as a glance at the displays of toys, clothing, and decorative glassware stacked there.  Everyone was in a hurry.  Everyone was carrying something.  Nobody was coming into the shop.  Gloria kept reading.

Milo Berggren, her partner in running the store, was busy stripping only the smallest and most valuable merchandise from the shelves and packing it all tightly into crates, most of which would get left behind for want of space anyway.  Finally he looked up at her, stopped what he was doing, and sat down heavily on one of the crates.  He gave her the evil eye and shook his head when she ignored him.

Finally she gave up and made eye contact.  "What?"

He frowned in a big, showy way.  "Gloria, we have a colony evacuation scheduled in 12 hours.  How can you just sit there?"

She put the ClipCom down in her lap and shrugged.  "My personal stuff is packed."

"You could help me."

"Milo, they won't let us take any of it unless we can fit it into our personal allowances, which you will.  Last time we relocated, you were ready to sell trinkets the day we arrived, but you had to wear the same underwear for a month.  It is not a pleasant memory."

His shoulder sagged slightly.  "I still have nightmares.  Okay, you're right."  Then he looked up, a little of the old determination in his face.  "But I just can't sit here and do nothing."  He stretched his neck up to see over the counter.  "What are you reading, anyway?"

She held up the ClipCom for him to see.  "You and I are the first people to run a retail store in over a century.  I figured it was stupid to reinvent the whole process, so I'm doing some research about old Earth.  I found some things in the cultural database that are very interesting."

He gestured toward the people running by outside.  "Like we're going to be selling anything any time soon anyway."

Gloria lowered her feet to the floor, leaned forward, and smiled.  "No, what I'm reading may actually be applicable to our current situation.  Those old Earthers thought of everything.  Ever hear of something called a "going out of business sale?"

Go to Unit Reference


Factory, Structure

Eden Structure Factory	Plymouth Structure Factory
Common Metals Cost	very high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very long	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	50	Size	large
Workers Required	4	Hit Points	very high
Scientists Required	none	Armor	heavy
Rather than attempting to fabricate structures piecemeal on site in a hostile environment, the colony designers determined that it would be quicker, safer, and more efficient to produce buildings in the form of prefabricated kits that could be assembled on-site by fully automated ConVecs.  These kits are produced in the Structure Factory.

Structures employ advanced smart-composites using millimeter-scale folding.  Such materials arrive at the site in the form of compact blocks, but when an electric current is correctly applied, they self-deploy into their final forms, panels, girders, trusses, conduits, and ducts.  The resulting structural elements are light and filled with billions of individually sealed pockets, having many of the desirable structural characteristics of natural materials such as shell and bone.  The material is especially good at absorbing kinetic energy, and thicker hull panels act as effective micrometeor buffers.

Optical pathways and wave guides can be built into the structure, eliminating the need for conventional communication and control wiring.  Some power wiring must still be manually installed and connected, but whenever possible, cables are anchored into the structural units at one end, and the rest of the cable coiled on reels.  In this way, the deployment of the structural unit will automatically pull the cables through the conduits as the unit takes final shape.  Once the unit is installed in the structure, hookups need only be made at each end, and the cable is ready to use.

The Structure Factory maintains several assembler vats for continuous production, folding, and storage of smart composites in any length, and widths of up to seven meters.  Separate automated production machines produce cables, flexible piping, fixtures, life-support modules, storage tanks, trim-work, windows, doors, and armor plating.

All of the Structure Factory's production lines are completely non-specialized, and it can, on command, immediately fabricate any structure kit for which it has a template stored in its master computer.

Complete kits are packed together like three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles according to the pattern included as part of the template, resulting in a compact module that is easily stored and transported, and that deploys in the order to be assembled with maximum efficiency.

Operational Notes: The Structure Factory produces structure kits required for most structures.  It can store up to 6 kits.  ConVecs can dock at the Structure Factory to load or unload structure kits.

Tales from New Terra

Brook Panati sat on the railing of a catwalk overlooking the factory floor.  He watched as the automatic machinery below busily produced a new Agridome kit.

Meg O'Halloran walked up and leaned on the rail next to him.  "Been looking for you.  Pardo said I could find you here.  He said you come here all the time."

He nodded without taking his eyes off the activity below.  She looked down to see what was so interesting.

He glanced at her for a moment.  "I never get tired of watching this.  It's like parlor magic."  He pointed at the big smart-composite extruding machine in the far corner.  "It's making a floor truss right now.  You can see the truss feeding out of the machine, that huge beam coming out of that little box, and then feeding into this other machine, the folder, and just vanishing again.  Of course, the folder is packing it back into a compact form so it can be put in the structure kit, but it seems to be vanishing."

He climbed back over the railing and smiled at her.  "From nothing into something, and back into nothing again.  It's a metaphor for life.  We can learn a valuable life lesson here."

"What lesson, Brook?  All I see is a factory."

He shook his head sadly.  "You have a profound, but common, lack of vision.  Things aren't always what they seem.  Would you like to learn a valuable life lesson?"

She looked down at the beam, which was now being removed from the folder in the form of a compact cube, and shrugged.  "Sure."

"Do you have a ration credit?"

She dug in the pocket of her jumpsuit and pulled out a yellow plastic token.  She handed it to him.

He fumbled and seemed to drop it.  "Whoops," he said.  She didn't hear it hit, and assumed it must have gone through the grate floor of the catwalk.  "Not a problem," he said.  "I know how to get it back."  He reached behind her right ear.  She felt something, and when he pulled his fingers back, he was holding the token.

She smiled in amazement.  "How did you do that?"

He shook his head.  "Magic.  It comes out of nothing ..." he held up the token in his hand and did something with his fingers, so fast she couldn't see, and then he opened his hand.  The credit was gone.  "... back into nothing."

He cocked his head as though she should read some meaning into this, but she didn't get it.  He turned and started down the stairs toward the factory's main airlock.

"Wait," she called, "when do I get my credit back?"

He half-looked back over his shoulder.  "You don't."

Annoyed, she raised her voice.  "Wait!  What's my life lesson?"

He turned, but continued to walk backward down the stairs.  He laughed.  "Never hand Brook Panati a credit you plan to get back!"  He turned and ran, laughing.

Go to Unit Reference


Factory, Vehicle

Eden Vehicle Factory	Plymouth Vehicle Factory
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	long	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	50	Size	large
Workers Required	3	Hit Points	very high
Scientists Required	none	Armor	medium
The Vehicle Factory is responsible for fabrication and assembly of all colony vehicles.  While Arachnid robots use much of the same basic technology, the Arachnid's miniature power components, bio-optic computers, and linear response actuators require the specialized fabrication systems and precision assembly provided by an Arachnid Factory, and they cannot be produced in a Vehicle Factory.

The Vehicle Factory is designed for rapid one-off production of vehicles based on any template stored in its computer systems, starting with raw materials, continuing through parts fabrication, and on to final assembly, testing, and computer programming.  While a wide variety of vehicle designs are used in the colonies, extensive use of standardized parts and technologies is used to simplify production, and also later maintenance and repair.

Operational Notes: The Vehicle Factory produces all vehicles (except Spiders and Scorpions).

Tales from New Terra

Kimberly Cole, Rashad's supervisor, waved to him from the landing outside the control room.  "Come on, Rashad.  The transport's waiting.  We need to roll."

Rashad didn't look up from the Vehicle Factory's master programming panel.  He rotated the master schematic on his screen for one last check.  Everything had to be right, as there would be nobody here to fix it if it went wrong.  "Coming," he said.  "I just have to get this last vehicle assembly started."

Cole took the last step into the control room.  She looked curiously over his shoulder.  "What vehicle?  We're bugging out, Rashad.  The Blight waits for no man or woman."  She studied the schematic more closely.  "What in blazes is that thing?  Did you design it?"

Rashad grinned.  "I did the pattern and programming, but nope, I didn't design it.  Found it in a book of Earth vehicles."

She stared at him.  "Rashad, we're leaving, bugging out.  There won't be anyone left here when this thing is finished.  You aren't planning on staying, I hope."

"Nope."

"Good, because that thing will barely be finished before the Blight hits, and from the looks of it, I don't give you much chance of driving out in it.  I don't suppose you expect it to autodrive out after us."

He just laughed, even though she didn't get the joke.  He tapped the "run" icon and climbed out of the chair.  "That does it; let's go."

Below them on the factory floor, the robotic machinery was already in motion, sparks flying as it fabricated parts from raw metal stock.

They walked down the stairs, along a corridor, and down a ramp to the tunnel toward the CC, where the Evac Transport was waiting.

She looked at him.  "What was that all about?"

He shrugged.  "Something I've wanted to build since I found it in that old database, but never had the chance.  Well, the factory isn't doing anything now, and any resources that aren't on a truck are toast anyway, so I figured, why not?"

"You'll never see it."

"I'll know it was built.  That'll be something.  Maybe it'll even survive the Blight, and somebody will find it someday."  He chuckled.  "It'll make them crazy figuring it out."

They said nothing for a while, but as they climbed the ramp to the CC, she finally asked the question.  "What was that thing, anyway?  I've never seen anything like it."

He smiled.  "It's called a 1957 Chevy."

Go to Unit Reference


Food

Agridomes are the source of Food in your colony.  Under normal circumstances, they produce 40 units of food; this may vary with your colony's Morale.  One unit will feed one Colonist.  If your Agridomes are producing more Food than is needed to feed your Colonists, 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.

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 Food in the list box and click the DETAILS button.

Go to Food Report

Go to Rules


Food Report

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

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

•	Food Produced refers to the total amount of Food produced at all Active Agridomes.

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

•	Food in Storage indicates 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 Shortage.  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.

Go to Food

Go to Resources Reports


Forum

Plymouth Forum
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	20	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	2	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light
The Forum is Plymouth's low-tech solution to colony Morale problems.  The Forum is simply a theater/auditorium.  Commonly configured as a theater in the round, it can also be easily converted into several different seating configurations, and into a gymnasium for "cooperative, non-competitive, sporting-challenges."

The Forum serves as a social gathering place, a town square, a cultural hub, and a community center for Plymouth.  Colonists can be found gathered there any hour of the day or night, in small informal groups, or for larger and more organized activities.  On any given day, at least one major event is planned, be it a play, a debate, a musical performance, a dance, or a spirited poetry reading (a Plymouth favorite).

Operational Notes: The Forum improves Morale.  It is designed to serve up to 75 Colonists.  NOTE:  This structure is available only to Plymouth.

Tales from New Terra

Emma sat in the rickshaw, and despite Councilor Kozu's extended hand, had no inclination to get out.  She looked up at him pleadingly.  "Couldn't I just go dive into a magma vent?  Attempt to stomp out the Blight with my bare feet?  Maybe go clean the GORF with my tongue?"

Kozu tilted his head disapprovingly.  "Now, Elder, you promised.  You even agreed that it's important in these difficult times for well-known leaders such as ourselves to appear at public functions, to participate in the culture of the colony."

She help up an index finger.  "I know, I'll volunteer as a practice target for the StickyFoam tanks!"

"Elder ..."

"You only said we'd be going to the Forum.  I thought perhaps we'd hear a chorus, some chamber music, a little classic acid-rock.  You didn't tell me it was poetry night!"

"Would you have come if I had?"

"Of course not."

"My point exactly.  Come on."

The Forum was packed.  Plymouth residents loved their poetry, and they tried to compensate for any lack of quality through increased quantity.  Perhaps to them it was wonderful, but to Emma's ear, trained in another time, another place, another culture, it was sheer torture.

A round-headed man with long yellow hair and a neatly trimmed goatee walked up to the podium and was greeted with enthusiastic applause.  He placed a large stack of paper on the podium, cleared his throat, and began.  "Ode to the Blight."  He cleared his throat once more and began to read.  "Oh, Blight, oh wicked unseen bug of naughty intent, I spend the hours obsessed with your nature, and dread the caress of your unhealthy touch.  My inner eye can see you, invisible friend, on these long nights of woe ..."

Emma sank into her seat and hung her head back, staring blankly at the huge light platform over the stage.  "Long nights of woe, indeed.  Maker help us, it begins."

"... are you tinier than my empty thoughts?  Nay!  You are huge!  You are legion!  It is we who are small ..."

Then the vortex alarm sounded even at the building began to shake.  The audience was immediately on its feet, calmly but quickly heading for the exits.

The building shook hard, and Emma could hear a sound like a GORF trying to digest a too-large hunk of rubble, and the lights suspended from the ceiling began to sway.  Emma could see the would-be poet running for an exit, his poetry still stacked on the podium.

Then the whole building shook, hard enough that a few sensitive people actually screamed.  She paused and looked back at the stage.  There was a snap, followed quickly by three more, and the light platform broke loose from the ceiling, fell flatly, and swatted the podium like a great hand.

She turned back toward the exit and smiled.  "There is a Maker."

Go to Unit Reference


GORF (Garbage and Ore Recycling Facility)

=

Eden GORF	Plymouth GORF
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	medium	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	50	Size	medium
Workers Required	2	Hit Points	high
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light
While New Terra is rich in mineral resources, refined materials are still precious and must be recycled as much as possible.  The Garbage and Ore Recycling Facility is an advanced facility for converting waste, garbage, building rubble, and unused structures into usable raw materials.

While residential and industrial wastes are processed through the GORF, their contribution to its output is statistically minimal.  Its real importance is in recycling buildings, and other large items such as starship components.

While the GORF is capable of dealing with chunks of material of fair size, structure kits must first be disassembled by the Structure Factory for further processing (high-value parts are also stripped out and used for spares), starship components and satellites are disassembled at the Spaceport storage facility, and buildings must be demolished using a ConVec.  Most building rubble is small enough for direct recycling.  Larger rubble can generally be broken into manageable chunks by the Cargo Truck's loader-manipulators as it is placed in the truck.

The GORF incorporates a fusion/electric smelter and an advanced hot-cracking column for separation and condensation of Rare and Common Metals.  This is the same process used in Magma Wells, and thus is not without its risks; however, the flow from the smelter is much more constant and pure than that of a Magma Well, and thus much easier to manage.  Multiple safeguards have been put in place to provide a safe shutdown in case of process instability.  In addition, several Workers man the facility at all times to monitor GORF systems and carry out a constantly ongoing series of safety inspections.  As a result, there has never been a major accident in a GORF facility.

Operational Notes: The GORF recycles structures, structure kits, starship components, satellites, and rubble into usable Common and Rare Metals.  Cargo Trucks carrying Common or Rare Rubble can dock at GORFs to unload; other materials to be recycled are sent through the Tube system.

Tales from New Terra

"They want to recycle what?"  Elton Bree stared at the man who'd just arrived at the Spaceport with a truck.

He shrugged and passed Elton his ClipCom to examine.  "It's all there.  We're desperately short of metals for vehicle manufacture, and I'm supposed to haul the Skydock kit to the GORF for immediate recycling."

Elton couldn't believe what he was hearing.  His beautiful Skydock, finally ready for launch, was to be turned into Robo-Dozers and trucks?  "This has got to be a mistake.  It will take us months and months to rebuild this kit, even if we could get the metals, which of course we can't."  He waved his arm at the bay where the kit was stored.  "This is the foundation of the whole starship program.  Without the Skydock, we can't even begin construction.  What can the Council be thinking?"

But then his stomach tightened, and he realized exactly what the Council was thinking.  The program had fallen too far behind.  They were giving up.  Sending his Skydock to the GORF for recycling, and with it, his dreams.

Elton signed off on the man's form and immediately left the building, moving like a sleepwalker.  He needed a drink, possibly several.  There were dark days ahead.  Dark days indeed.

Go to Unit Reference


Game Options

The Game Options display gives you controls for the operation of the game.

MISSION OBJECTIVES shows you the Mission Objectives display.

ONLINE MANUAL opens the help file for Outpost 2.  In single-player games, this button will pause the game, allowing you to look at the online manual without concern about the progress of your game.  However, in multiplayer games, play will continue normally, so use this button with caution.

PREFERENCES shows various game settings you may change, including music, sound effects, game speed, etc.

LOAD GAME allows you to load any previously saved game.  (Available only in single-player games.)

SAVE GAME allows you to save the current game in progress.  (Available only in single-player games.)

END MISSION allows you to leave the current game.  You will have varying options, which depend on whether you are playing a single-player or multiplayer game.

Go to Report Displays


Game Preferences

This Game Preferences display is available from the GAME OPTIONS Menu while you are playing the game, and it allows you to modify various game settings.  Click on any item in the list box to show specific controls for each item.

Music and Sound Effects.  You can toggle Music or Sound Effects on or off, or adjust the volume setting for the Sound Effects.

Game Speed and Scrolling Speed.  Click the LESS and MORE buttons to adjust the game speed or scrolling speed.  (Scrolling Speed is the speed at which the Detail Pane scrolls when you move your mouse to the edge of the game window or press the arrow keys.)

Computer Overlay, Ambient Animations, Structure Shadows, and Unit Shadows.  Click the check boxes to toggle these Detail Pane graphic items on or off.  Computer Overlays include the structure status lights, the Blight, and Mining Beacons.  Ambient Animations are small graphic effects the various structures go through while the game progresses.  Structure Shadows and Unit Shadows add to the realism of the appearance of these items.  Toggle these off to improve the game's performance on slower machines.  (We recommend turning off the Computer Overlay only on the slowest machines.)

Display Completed Objectives.  Click the check box to toggle this item on or off.  When this is turned on, mission objectives you have successfully fulfilled will appear in green text in the Mission Objectives display.  When turned off, these objectives will not be listed in the display at all.

Skip Frames.  Click the check box to toggle Frame Skipping on or off. Frame Skipping will reduce the frequency at which the Detail Pane is updated. This will make the game animation slightly less smooth, but may substantially increase the game's performance.

Go to Game Options


Game Preferences Dialog Box

The Game Preferences item on the Main menu opens a dialog box that allows you to adjust some of the basic functions of Outpost 2.

You can toggle Music or Sound Effects on or off, or adjust the volume settings. NOTE: These settings affect the Music and Sound Effects in the game only, not in the menus.

The four check boxes in the middle of this dialog box toggle elements of the graphic detail of the game's Detail Pane.  Turning these off may improve the speed of the game.  Ambient Animations are animated sequences for each structure that show activity at the structure.  Vehicle Shadows and Structure Shadows add an element of visual realism.  Computer Overlay controls several items shown by your Savant computers: Status indicators on each structure, the Mining Beacons, and other markers.  The Ambient Animations, Vehicle Shadows, and Structure Shadows items will not have any effect on the outcome of missions, but turning off the Computer Overlay may deprive you of vital information you need to manage your colony.  Be careful in deciding to use this item.

You can adjust the Game Speed or Scroll Speed.  The Game Speed regulates how fast the game action occurs, however, the effect may be limited on less powerful machines.  The Scroll Speed controls how fast the Detail Pane moves when you move your cursor to the edges of the game window.

The Play Intro AVI at Startup toggle, which is turned on by default, shows you the introductory sequence each time you start Outpost 2.  Turn this off to skip the introduction.

The Show Completed Objectives toggle, which is also turned on by default, determines whether or not the Mission Objectives display shows objectives you have already completed. When this is turned on, mission objectives will turn green when you complete them. If it is turned off, objectives that are completed will be taken out of the list.

Go to Getting Started


Game Settings Dialog Box

The controls that are available to you in the Game Settings dialog box depend on whether you created or joined the game.

If You Created the Game

Scenario.  You may choose the scenario to be used in the game.

This drop down list box will show all of the scenarios that match the Max Players and Scenario Type criteria you previously selected.  For example, if you set Max Players to 4, only scenarios that can accommodate 4 or more players will be available.

Color.  You may choose each player's color, shown on their structures and vehicles in the Detail Pane.

Eden.  You may choose whether the colony you control will be an Eden or Plymouth colony.  You may not choose this for other players; they choose their own colony.  NOTE:  Your selection here does not mean you are allied with other players who have chosen the same colony.

Resources.  You may set each player's starting resources to High, Medium or Low.  This may affect Colonists, Food, Common Metals, structure kits in storage, and research topics completed; exact effects vary by scenario.

EJECT.  Should a player join your game that you do not wish to play with, click EJECT to remove them from the game.

Disasters.  Check this box if you want to add random disasters to the game. These include Earthquakes, Volcanic Eruptions, Electrical Storms, Vortexes, and Meteor Strikes. If this box is unchecked, no disasters will occur during the game.

Morale Steady.  Check this box to fix each player's Morale at 75 for this game.  If  unchecked, Morale will be calculated normally.

Day and Night.  Check this box for Day and Night to progress normally across the map.  If unchecked, the entire map will be in daylight.

Initial Vehicles.  This drop-down list box allows you to set the number of combat vehicles that each colony has at the beginning of the game.

Below the Disasters check box is a list box showing chat messages from all players.  You may chat with other players by typing in messages in the Chat box.  Press <Enter> to send your message.

When all players have checked their Ready? box, the START button at will be available.  Click this button to start the game.  If you click CANCEL, the game will be aborted and all players will be ejected.

If You Joined the Game

Eden.  Check this box to play as Eden.  If unchecked, your colony will be Plymouth.  NOTE:  Your selection here does not mean you are allied with other players who have chosen the same colony.

Ready?  When you are satisfied with all of the game's settings, check this box to let the game creator know that you are ready to begin.  The game cannot be started until all players have checked their Ready? box.

Below the Disasters check box is a list box showing chat messages from all players.  You may chat with other players by typing in messages in the Chat box.  Press <Enter> to send your message.

If you decide not to play this game, click CANCEL to return to the Main Menu.

Go to Starting Multiplayer Games


Garage

Eden Garage	Plymouth Garage
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	long	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	40	Size	medium
Workers Required	3	Hit Points	high
Scientists Required	none	Armor	medium
The Garage is the primary repair facility for vehicles.  Most of the interior is a single open space subdivided with retractable partitions into individual work-bays.  The entire vehicle bay can be pressurized, or individual bays can be sealed and pressurized as needed.

Each bay is equipped with overhead hoists, multiple floor lifts, a heavy-duty robotics lifting arm, and two Robot Assist Mechanic (RAM) units.  A RAM consists of a long, flexible, mechanical arm attached to the ceiling at one end, and terminating in a fan of special-purpose tool-arms, cameras, and sensors.  The RAM is capable of most routine assembly and disassembly tasks, allowing a single human mechanic to oversee the repair of several vehicles at once.

The Garage also incorporates several small offices, a storeroom where common parts are stored, a miniature parts fabrication plant, a machine shop, and a computer bay for checkout, repair, and programming of vehicle and robot "brains."

Operational Notes: The Garage repairs and stores up to 6 vehicles.  Any kind of vehicle can dock at the Garage, except Spiders and Scorpions. Vehicles stored at a Garage are protected from damage, even if the Garage itself is damaged.  However, any vehicles inside a Garage when it is destroyed are lost.

Tales from New Terra

Penny Hill sighed as she entered the Garage.  Sometime during the night, there had been a war.  It was obvious enough why Tolo had called her in four hours before her regular shift.  Every bay was full, the Robot Assist Mechanics busy in every one, and on three of the bays the yellow lights flashed, indicating that human assistance was needed.  Worse than that, on the way in she'd seen the line of vehicles waiting outside, running all the way around the building.

Before zeroing in on any one of them, she waved at Tolo as he poked his head out of a Tiger's EMP turret, and made the rounds of the building.  Most of the damaged vehicles were combat units, carrying a full menu of battle damage: Laser damage, acid burns, craters from Rail Gun projectiles, EMP-fried electrical systems, and the characteristic jagged cuts created by the Thor's Hammer weapon.

Finally she turned her attention to an EMP Panther, so pitted and scarred by acid its armor looked little thicker than tissue paper.  Perhaps she could write it off as a total loss and open the bay up for a more readily repairable unit.

As she climbed up its scarred flank, she sighed.  Whoever said that automated combat didn't produce casualties wasn't a mechanic.

Go to Unit Reference


Geothermal Constructor (GeoCon)

GeoCon
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	very low
Build Time	medium	Track Type	wheeled
Hit Points	high	Speed	medium
Armor	none
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Build Geothermal Plant, Transfer, Self-Destruct

Eden has developed a variation of Robo-Miner technology that allows cheap, nearly unlimited energy to be extracted to the crust of New Terra itself.  Like the Robo-Miner, the Geothermal Constructor is a transforming vehicle, mobile in order to be transferred to an appropriate geothermal site, such as a fumarole, where it converts into a fixed structure, the Geothermal Plant.

While geothermal power generation was common on old Earth, a new technology had to be developed on New Terra, where natural ground water does not occur (the outflow from fumaroles on New Terra consists of inert gasses and molten salts).  The Geothermal Constructor uses a fusion drill to open a shaft into the hot rock of the upper crust, where it fans out into an array of energy collection shafts.  Each of these shafts is equipped with a molten salt heat pipe (exploiting the natural liquid salts) that transfers the heat back to the surface, where it is used for power generation.

Operational Notes: GeoCons are available only to Eden.  Their function is to transform themselves into Geothermal Plants.  They can only do this over fumaroles.

Tales from New Terra

Ellen Vogle lifted her safety goggles to her forehead as she entered the Geothermal Plant's normally unmanned control room.  Sweat trickled down her forehead and dust outlined where the goggles had covered her eyes, giving her a masked appearance, but she was smiling broadly.  "That flaky cooling duct is sealed.  That's the last of it," she said to Johnson, the junior tech who sat in front of the master computer console.

Johnson was a small, cerebral-looking man, whose hands showed little sign of physical work, yet it was clear that Ellen was the one in charge here.  "Sure thing, Boss," he said.  "Want me to bring the plant online?"

"Bring the plant up, 10 percent power till we work the bugs out, but let me connect it to broadcast unit."

Johnson raised an eyebrow, but began the power-up checklist.

Ellen walked over to the observation window and looked out at the salt turbines that had been preheating for the last 30 hours.  A rumble went through the floor under her feet as they began to spin.  She walked back to the console and put her gloved hand on the master connect switch.  All the rest of the plant’s switches and relays were computer controlled, but this was the manual cut-off, a mechanical switch connected to the master relay.

"This is what I live for, Johnson.  Everyone has to have a purpose in life, and this is mine.  This is my baby.  I was here to guide the GeoCon in next to the fumarole.  I've shepherded it all the way through setup.  I made the final adjustments, and now, I get to throw the final switch."  She grinned at him.  "Sorry, but rank has its privileges."

"We've got positive salt flow through the system.  All indicators are green."  He looked at her, his expression unreadable.

"You think I'm a little crazy, Johnson?  Maybe so, but this switch is power.  Hear it?  Feel it?  The people hunger for it, as much as they hunger for food or thirst for water.  They need it, and I'm the one who gets to give it to them.  I think it was Archimedes who said give me a lever and a place to stand, and I'll move the world.  Well, I don't have a lever, but I have this switch, and that's close enough for me."  And with that, Ellen Vogle moved the world.

Go to Unit Reference


Geothermal Plant

Eden Geothermal Plant
Common Metals Cost	none	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Tube Connection Required	no
Power Required	none	Size	small
Workers Required	none	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	none	Armor	medium
Eden has developed a variation of Robo-Miner technology that allows cheap, nearly unlimited energy to be extracted from the crust of New Terra itself.  The Geothermal Plant, like the various mines, starts life as a transforming vehicle, the Geothermal Constructor (GeoCon), a self-deploying structure kit with its own power-plant and drive train.  The GeoCon is able to move itself to an appropriate geothermal site, such as a fumarole, where it converts into a fixed Geothermal Plant.

While geothermal power generation was common on old Earth, a new technology had to be developed on New Terra, where natural ground water does not occur (the outflow from fumaroles on New Terra consists of inert gasses and molten salts).  The GeoCon uses a fusion drill to open a shaft into the hot rock of the upper crust, where it fans out into an array of energy collection shafts.  Each of these shafts is equipped with a molten salt heat pipe (exploiting the natural liquid salts), which transfers the heat back to the surface, where it is used for Power generation.

Operational Notes: The Geothermal Plant generates 500 units of Power.  It does not require a structure kit; it is deployed over a fumarole by a GeoCon.  NOTE:  This structure is available only to Eden.  It explodes when destroyed, and may spontaneously explode if damaged.

Tales from New Terra

Ellen Vogle lifted her safety goggles to her forehead as she entered the Geothermal Plant's normally unmanned control room.  Sweat trickled down her forehead and dust outlined where the goggles had covered her eyes, giving her a masked appearance, but she was smiling broadly.  "That flaky cooling duct is sealed.  That's the last of it," she said to Johnson, the junior tech who sat in front of the master computer console.

Johnson was a small, cerebral-looking man, whose hands showed little sign of physical work, yet it was clear that Ellen was the one in charge here.  "Sure thing, Boss," he said.  "Want me to bring the plant online?"

"Bring the plant up, 10 percent power till we work the bugs out, but let me connect it to the broadcast unit."

Johnson raised an eyebrow, but began the power-up checklist.

Ellen walked over to the observation window and looked out at the salt turbines that had been preheating for the last 30 hours.  A rumble went through the floor under her feet as they began to spin.  She walked back to the console and put her gloved hand on the master connect switch.  All the rest of the plant’s switches and relays were computer controlled, but this was the manual cut-off, a mechanical switch connected to the master relay.

"This is what I live for, Johnson.  Everyone has to have a purpose in life, and this is mine.  This is my baby.  I was here to guide the GeoCon in next to the fumarole.  I've shepherded it all the way through setup.  I made the final adjustments, and now, I get to throw the final switch."  She grinned at him.  "Sorry, but rank has its privileges."

"We've got positive salt flow through the system.  All indicators are green."  He looked at her, his expression unreadable.

"You think I'm a little crazy, Johnson?  Maybe so, but this switch is power.  Hear it?  Feel it?  The people hunger for it, as much as they hunger for food or thirst for water.  They need it, and I'm the one who gets to give it to them.  I think it was Archimedes who said give me a lever and a place to stand, and I'll move the world.  Well, I don't have a lever, but I have this switch, and that's close enough for me."  And with that, Ellen Vogle moved the world.

Go to Unit Reference


Getting Started

This section of the manual gives you the basic information you need to get started  playing Outpost 2.

System Requirements tells you exactly what your computer needs to run the game.

Installing and Uninstalling Outpost 2 explains the options you have while installing the program.

Campaign Games and Colony Games describe the two modes of playing Outpost 2.

Multiplayer Games describes the various options and methods of connecting with other players.

Game Preferences shows you the various ways you can customize the game.

Troubleshooting gives you some ideas on how to solve common problems people experience while trying to run the software.

Technical Support will help you with problems if all else fails.

Sales Support will help you with questions about purchasing Sierra products..

Go to Welcome


Guard Post

Eden Rail Gun Guard Post	Plymouth StickyFoam Guard Post
Common Metals Cost	very low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very short	Tube Connection Required	optional
Power Required	10	Size	very small
Workers Required	none	Hit Points	low
Scientists Required	none	Armor	medium
Guard Posts are simple unmanned defense-sentry installations.  The offensive element of the Guard Post is any one of the available combat vehicle turrets, with that turret's normal capabilities and limitations.  Lacking the vehicle's computers, sensors, and power system, the Guard Post incorporates a power receiver, allowing it to operate from the colony's power plants, a targeting sensor array, and a simple electro-optical targeting and fire tasking (TAFT) computer.

The TAFT is not as sophisticated as the primary computers used in vehicles and arachnids, and in fact, is derived from an emergency-backup computer commonly used in such units.  While the electro-optical logic unit handles most of the TAFT's functions, a protein-based pattern recognition unit is used to identity hostile and friendly units, and to select an appropriate threat response.  The TAFT's effectiveness can be improved by connecting the Guard Post to the Command Center through the Tube system, which provides a secure data channel to the Savant computers.  This allows for pinpoint targeting, increasing the effective damage from most weapons by 50 percent.

While Guard Posts normally operate independently, they can be directed at individual targets in response to commands from the Command Center.

Operational Notes: The Guard Post fires its weapon at enemy units that come within range.  It may be equipped with any available weapon system. Weapon damage is increased by 50 percent at Guard Posts that are connected by Tube to a Command Center.  Costs listed above are only for the Guard Post structure and do not include those of the weapon. The Status Lights for Guard Posts only appear if the structure is Idled or Disabled.  NOTE:  This structure explodes when destroyed and may spontaneously explode when damaged.

Tales from New Terra

Emma steered the already damaged Scout around a boulder just as it exploded from the impact of a Rail Gun shell.  It had been an uneventful trip back from a mine where she'd been collecting rock samples, until she'd picked up an Eden Lynx somewhere a few kilometers back.  A few more kilometers and she would have been safely back to Plymouth.  Now she couldn't seem to shake her deadly tormentor.

The Scout was unarmed, nearly defenseless.  Speed was all she had, and the damaged Scout provided that only under protest.  She expected something critical in the drive to explode at any moment.

She zigged and zagged in what she hoped was an unpredictable pattern.  Another shell struck just in front of the Scout, sending her headlong through its cloud of dust, and bouncing through its crater.  Too close.

Ahead, two hills rose up on either side of a narrow passage.  She had no choice but to go that way, even though it would make her a sitting duck while she passed through the cut.  She kept the unit below its top speed until she was in the mouth of the opening, then hit the safety overrides and threw everything the Scout had left into one burst of speed.

As she emerged on the other side of the cut, she heard one of the drive motors scream and die.  In her rear-view screen, she could see the Lynx right behind her, its turret swinging into firing position.

Then it exploded, hit by Microwave beams, RPG fire, and EMP grenades, all at once.  She'd led it into the gauntlet, a little valley flanked by Guard Posts at the outer rim of Plymouth's defenses.

She slowed the Scout to a crawl to avoid causing further damage.  She watched the turrets on either side of her, scanning for other targets.  She'd be fine now.

Go to Unit Reference


Hit Points and Repair

All vehicles and structures have Hit Points, a measure of the amount of damage they can take before they are destroyed.  Damage may come from disaster or attack.  The current and maximum Hit Points a structure or vehicle has is indicated in the Status display shown in the Command Pane.

Damage can impair or prevent normal function of a unit.  Structures reduced below 25 percent of their maximum Hit Points become Disabled until they are repaired.  Certain structures may spontaneously explode when damaged.  Damaged vehicles move more slowly in proportion to the amount of damage they have received.

Three vehicles are capable of making field repairs to other vehicles or to structures.  ConVecs can fully repair structures, but cannot repair units.  Eden's Repair Vehicle and Plymouth's Spiders can fully repair structures and can repair units up to one-half of their original Hit Points.  Vehicles may be fully repaired by placing them in storage at a Garage. NOTE: Spiders and Scorpions can never be repaired.

Example:  A unit, when fully repaired, has 100 Hit Points, but was too close to an Advanced Lab when it spontaneously exploded and has taken 75 points of damage.  A Spider or Repair Vehicle could repair only 25 Hit Points on this unit.

Repairs use metals.  The amount of Common and Rare Metals required depends on the original cost of the unit or structure to be repaired and the amount of damage it has taken.  Each Hit Point repaired costs one-half of the original cost of the unit or structure, divided by its maximum number of Hit Points.  If a unit was damaged down to its last Hit Point, it would cost just less than one-half the original metals cost of the unit to fully repair it.

Example:  A vehicle cost 1000 Common Metals to produce, has 1000 Hit Points, and has taken 500 points of damage.  It requires 250 Common Metals to repair fully.

Repairs are made a few Hit Points at a time, and the metals are taken out of storage automatically as repairs proceed.  If you run out of metals while making repairs, repairs will stop.  (NOTE:  Some units or structures require both Common and Rare Metals to build, and therefore require both to repair.  If you run out of either while repairing such a unit or structure, repairs will stop, even though you still have the other kind of metals in storage.)  You will have to tell them to start repairing again when you get more metals.

Go to Rules


Installing and Uninstalling Outpost 2

Installing Outpost 2

1	Insert the Outpost 2 CD. If you have Windows® Autoplay enabled, the Outpost 2 Autoplay Menu is displayed. NOTE: If you do not have Autoplay enabled on your system, you can run the Setup program from the root directory of the Outpost 2 CD.

2	Click Install and Outpost 2 Setup will prepare the InstallShield® wizard.

Setup will perform system tests to verify that your system can run Outpost 2. You will be notified if a requirement is not met.

3	Read the instructions on the Welcome screen and if you're ready to proceed, click Next.

A dialog box will appear that gives you the option to select which type of installation you want. Typical will copy all critical files to your hard drive (about 45 MB) and offers the best game performance. Compact will copy only about 5 MB of files to your hard drive, but may adversely affect game performance on slower systems.

4	Choose one of the two options from the list box and click Next.

5	The default folder for the installation is C:\Sierra\Outpost2. Click Next if this is OK. Setup will copy the Outpost 2 files to your hard drive. This process will take a minute or two, depending on the speed of your system.

6	Two Windows® system components must be installed on your computer: Intel® Indeo® video interactive and Microsoft® DirectX™. If Setup detects that you do not have these components, it will guide you through the installation process. If you wish to reinstall DirectX™ 3a at a later time, run DXSETUP from the \DirectX directory on the Outpost 2 CD.

7	We have provided a simple online registration form. Please fill it out and send it so you can obtain technical support and the latest news on Outpost 2 upgrades and enhancements.

8	If you have installed DirectX™, when you are done with the installation, make sure that Yes, I want to restart my computer is checked, and click Finish.

9	To run Outpost 2, click the Windows® 95 Start button and go to Programs > Sierra > Outpost2.

Uninstalling Outpost 2

There are several methods by which you may uninstall Outpost 2:

Go to Start > Sierra Utilities > Uninstall; then select Outpost 2 from the list and click OK.

Click the Windows® 95 Start button and go to Settings > Control Panel >Add/Remove Programs. Then choose Outpost 2 from the listbox and click the Add/Remove button.

You can also simply delete the directory where Outpost 2 was installed. Then remove the entries from the Programs list by going Start > Settings > Taskbar > Start Menu Programs > Remove and selecting the Outpost 2 entries from the Sierra folder.

Go to Getting Started


Interface Guide

The Main Game Window has four major parts.

The Detail Pane is your close-up view of what's going on.

The Mini-Map Pane gives you an overall view of the field of play.

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

The Status Bar displays messages from your Savant computer, and allows you to send and receive chat messages, and to see your current stock of metals.

Go to Welcome


Keyboard and Mouse Controls

This list describes keyboard and mouse controls for use primarily with the Detail Pane; it does not include "hot keys" for selecting commands on the Command Pane.

Key	Usage
No units selected, cursor over structure or vehicle	Show rollover text for item under cursor
Left-click on a structure or vehicle	Select that structure or vehicle and show its Status display in the Command Pane
Right-click	De-select any selected structure or vehicle(s)
<Spacebar>	Center the Detail Pane on the location of the most recent Savant voice message on which you may take action.
<H>	Home on unit - center the Detail Pane on the currently selected structure or vehicle(s)
<Home>	Home on colony - center the Detail Pane on the lowest-numbered Command Center in your colony
<Tab>	Select the next structure or vehicle
<Shift+Tab>	Select the previous structure or vehicle
<Ctrl+P> or <Pause>	Toggle Pause on or off
<Ctrl+S>	Display the Save Game dialog box
<Ctrl+L>	Display the Load Game dialog box
<Ctrl+1> through <Ctrl+9>	Bookmark selected vehicle or group of vehicles
<1> through <9>	Select a bookmarked group of vehicles and center the Detail Pane on them
<Shift+1> through <Shift+9>	Select a bookmarked group of vehicles, but do not center the Detail Pane on them
<Ctrl+F5> through <Ctrl+F12>	Bookmark location in Detail Pane
<F5> through <F12>	Center the Detail Pane on a bookmarked location
<Ctrl> + left-click	Set waypoint
Left-click with a vehicle selected	Default command for vehicle (usually "Move")
<Backspace>	Select last selected structure or vehicle that is still available
<Alt-F4>	Exits Outpost 2
<F>	Shows Factories report in Command Pane
<L>	Shows Labs report in Command Pane
<R>	Shows Resources Summary report in Command Pane
<C>	Shows Communications log in Command Pane
<P>	Shows Space Program report in Command Pane
<G>	Shows Game Options menu in Command Pane
<Alt+C>	Shows Colonists report in Command Pane
<Alt+M>	Shows Morale report in Command Pane
<Alt+F>	Shows Food report in Command Pane
<Alt+P>	Shows Power report in Command Pane
<Alt+N>	Shows Common Metals report in Command Pane
<Alt+R>	Shows Rare Metals report in Command Pane
<Alt+O>	Shows Mission Objectives in Command Pane
<Alt+A>	Sets Chat Messages to be sent only to players to whom you are allied. (Multiplayer only)
<Alt+E>	Sets Chat Messages to go to everyone. (Multiplayer only)
<Alt+V>	Shows Vehicle List in the Command Pane (only available if you have a Robot Command Center)
Go to The Detail Pane


Laboratory, Advanced

Eden Advanced Laboratory	Plymouth Advanced Laboratory
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	long	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	50	Size	med.-large
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	high
Scientists Required	none	Armor	medium
The Advanced Laboratory, often known as the "Hot Lab," is an outgrowth of the Standard Laboratory, and maintains the same philosophy of task-dedicated design.  The Advanced Lab has been completely redesigned specifically to handle difficult and dangerous technologies, such as those used in weapons research, high-energy physics, and space technologies.  All building doors are protected by a triple airlock system, each with a self-contained decontamination system and hazard-sensor interlocks.

Other than power, the Advanced Lab is completely self-contained, with no water, air, or other connections to the colony.  The internal pressure of the structure is kept slightly lower than the rest of the colony, so that in the event of any leak, air will tend to flow into the structure, rather than out.

The shell of the Advanced Lab is belted with special wound composite shielding to help contain explosions within the structure, and a triple-walled, self-sealing liner helps prevent leaks into the environment or the rest of the colony.

Despite all these precautions, things do go wrong and lab accidents aren't unknown.  Still, Eden leaders were satisfied with the Advanced Laboratory's record, and were confident that at least its biological containment systems were foolproof.  The disaster that followed proved them wrong.

Operational Notes: The Advanced Lab houses dangerous research projects.  It requires no Scientists for basic operation; Scientists required for research vary by project.  NOTE:  This structure explodes when destroyed, and may explode spontaneously when damaged.

Tales from New Terra

The Advanced Lab was located on the edge of the colony for a reason, thought Dr. Landis as the outer door of the test chamber opened, and the mouth of the rocket engine pointed out into the wilderness beyond the colony.

She glanced down at the bank of instrument readings on her console.  Everything was ready.  Jensen looked up from his own panel.  She nodded at him.

"Countdown begins at 10 seconds," he said.  Frosty mist vented from the engine as the turbopumps came up to speed.  "Five, four, three, two, one, ignition!"

The engine bucked, belched fire, and then a solid column of nearly transparent hydrogen flame.  Despite the safety containment, the whole building vibrated.  "Looks good," she said.  "Throttle up."

"Throttle up," echoed Jensen.  The engine bucked again and began to vibrate visibly, causing the whole building to tremble.

Then it exploded.

The floor moved under their feet.

The images on the screen disappeared as the cameras were vaporized.

Then it was quiet.  The pictures came back as replacement cameras slid into the containment chamber.  A few twisted shreds of metal were all that was left of the rocket engine.

Jensen shook his head sadly.  "Not much to show for two weeks’ work."

She wasn't discouraged.  She ran her fingertip over her console, reviewing the readings displayed there.  "That's just hardware.  We've got numbers, good numbers, and that's what counts.  We'll go again in a week, and it will work this time.  I see the problem, and I can fix it."

She looked at him and gave him a little smile of encouragement.  "Remember that, Jensen.  Hardware is nothing.  It's all in the numbers."

Go to Unit Reference


Laboratory, Basic

Eden Basic Laboratory	Plymouth Basic Laboratory
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	medium	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	30	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light
This simple laboratory structure was designed on Earth, and first deployed in the first days of the Eden colony.  While this lab is very flexible and does a number of things, it does none of them especially well.  Designed to support several research projects in different disciplines, in practice it has been found that these projects tend to interfere with one another, limiting the utility of the laboratory.  It was quickly replaced by the Standard Laboratory, a structure with less versatility but more robust support for any given lab configuration.

After the disasters at the Eden and Plymouth colonies, the Basic Lab design was pressed into service to support essential survival-related research, and to aid in deciphering scrambled starship scientific databases.

Operational Notes: The Basic Lab houses Basic research projects.  It requires no Scientists for basic operation; Scientists required for research vary by project.  This structure becomes obsolete and cannot be constructed after the development of the Standard Laboratory. NOTE:  This structure is available in Campaign Games only.

Tales from New Terra

He heard the voice in the distance, "Calvin, you in there?"

Dr. Calvin Anthony stood in the dark, empty, and stripped lab.  "Yeah."

"Keep talking," said the distant voice.  "I can't see you and I'm following your voice."

"Little bitty electron, went down the quantum slide, didn't reach the middle, but came out the other side ..."

A light came on in the hall outside, and Dr. Mark Johnson stuck his head through the doorway.  "Enough!  I found you already.  What're you doing here, Calvin?  They're demolishing this place tomorrow.  It's practically GORF-chow already."

Calvin sighed.  "That's exactly why I'm here.  If you had a sentimental bone in your body you'd have been here, too."

"I am here."

Calvin grimaced.  "You know what I mean."  He spread his arms.  "Don't you feel it?  We did our first real science here.  Even before they'd let us out of the University full-time we'd come here.  This was the place back then, the place!  Remember?"

"I remember when your cool-fusion thesis experiment nearly holed the pressure hull.  I remember equipment that didn't work, and never having enough space or power.  I remember wondering how the designers back on Earth expected us to do real science with Bunsen burners and third-rate electron microscopes."

"It's more than that!  It's, it's ..."

"GORF-chow.  Come on.  I got some ration points left.  I'll buy you a brew, and then we can go look at our shiny new lab."

Calvin sagged, defeated, and walked heavily to join his friend.

Mark put an arm around his shoulder as they walked out.  "Later, I'll strap you into the new auto-dissector, and we'll see if it can cut your sentimental bone out."

"Fah!"  Calvin chuckled.  "Only if we can attempt a transplant."

Go to Unit Reference


Laboratory, Standard

Eden Standard Laboratory	Plymouth Standard Laboratory
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	long	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	50	Size	medium
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light
The Standard Laboratory structure was designed to replace the flawed Basic Laboratory design.  The new design philosophy calls for a lab that can be converted for dedicated use in one field of study, making it ideal for "crash" programs where large amounts of resources are thrown at a single task.

While the Standard Laboratory can easily be reconfigured for use by a different discipline, this requires a total shutdown while changes are made, a cold restart of the lab's systems, and several days of down-time in the process.

The Standard Laboratory also includes improved built-in hazard containment facilities designed to deal with bio-hazards, toxins, and radiation hazards.  This makes the Standard Lab safer for long-term use in the colony, and allows it to work on more advanced projects.

Operational Notes: The Standard Lab houses research projects.  This structure requires no Scientists for basic operation; Scientists required for research vary by project.  This structure replaces the Basic Laboratory.

Tales from New Terra

Calvin Anthony grabbed fellow scientist Mark Johnson's arm as he sprinted past him in the corridor.  "Run!"

Johnson ran, as fast as he could.  If he'd learned anything from his years of partnering with Anthony, it was to run when Anthony said "run."  He didn't look back.  He didn't want to.

As they passed through the emergency airlock, Anthony hit the emergency close button.  The doors hissed shut behind them as they passed into the tran-station outside.

"Stop running!" said Anthony, coasting to a stop.  He bent over and propped his hands on his knees while he caught his breath.  Then he turned and looked back at the lock.

Johnson looked too.  All he could see through the windows in the bulkhead was a solid green mass.

"It works," said Anthony, "only about a thousand times better than I thought it would."

"What in frag is that?"

"Aerogel, or as we call it in technical terms, high-tech glop."  He took a step toward the window and put his hands on his hips.  "Cleaning this up is going to be a problem."

"I'll say.  Why didn't you test this in containment?"

Calvin glanced back over his shoulder and grimaced.  "Like I said, it worked a lot better than I thought it would."  He scratched his head.  "Good thing I haven't laced it with Buckytubes yet."

"What?"

"Now, I wonder if I can open the lock without it expanding more."  He turned.  "Say, Mark, could you evacuate the tunnel, just in case?"

"Couldn't you have become an agritech instead of a scientist?  Developed man-eating soy beans or something?"  He glanced at the window behind Calvin and blinked in surprise.  "Maybe cleanup won't be as much a problem as you thought."

Calvin turned to see that the green mass was evaporating, large voids opening in the mass as it collapsed in on itself.  "This is disappointing," he said.  He glanced at his chrono.  "Maybe long enough to be effective, though."

Mark walked toward the lock, wondering if it was safe to go back inside.  "What was that, anyway?"

Calvin smiled.  "A new weapon.  A really, really, messy weapon."

Go to Unit Reference


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.

Go to Labs and Research
Go to the Structure Status Display
Go to the Completed Research Reports
Go to Report Displays


Labs and Research

Outpost 2 has three types of research laboratories:  the Basic, Standard, and Advanced Labs.  Doing research uses the same process regardless of the type of lab.

Each lab's Status display has a TOPICS button, which is available any time the lab is Active and not already doing research.  Click TOPICS.  The Command Pane changes to show the Topics display.

The list box in the Topics display shows all the products that your lab may currently research.  (At times, there may be no topics available at a particular type of lab.)  As you complete research on some topics, others may become available.  Click the name of any topic to select it, then click the ASSIGN button.  The Command Pane changes to show the Assign display.

The Assign display allows you to set the number of Scientists who will be assigned to this research project.  Each project has a maximum number of Scientists who may be assigned.  When the Assign display appears, your Savant computer will have already assigned Scientists to the project; either the maximum number of Scientists or all available Scientists if fewer than the maximum number are available.  You may change this setting by clicking the LESS and MORE buttons.  You must always have at least one Scientist assigned to a project.

Below these buttons is a text box containing a brief description of the goals of the project.  The up and down arrow buttons allow you to scroll through this text. If you decide not to research the present topic, click TOPICS to return to the Topics display.  Click START to begin research on this topic.

The Command Pane will change to the lab's Status display.  After a moment, a progress bar will appear in the Status display, indicating how far research has proceeded.  The ASSIGN button will allow you to return to the Assign display to change the number of Scientists assigned to the project.  You might add Scientists to a project when they complete work at another lab or when they are trained at a University; conversely, you might remove Scientists from a topic if they are needed to operate a structure or to work on a more important topic at another lab.  The STOP button will allow you to stop research in progress. When you stop a research project in progress, all work on that topic is lost.

Go to Rules


Laser

Eden Laser
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	none
Area of Effect	very small	Range	short
Rate of Fire	very high	Concussion Damage	none
Penetration Damage	low
New Terra's thin and normally clear atmosphere makes it a natural for the use of visible-light Lasers.  Eden's Laser weapon is a hybrid pumped-chemical laser designed for short firing duration with a rapid cycle time.  Frequency and power are pulsed within each shot in order to defeat ablative coatings and armor.

Operational Notes: The Laser is the first weapon Eden develops.  NOTE:  This weapon is available only to Eden.

Go to Unit Reference


Light Tower

Eden Light Tower	Plymouth Light Tower
Common Metals Cost	very low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very short	Tube Connection Required	no
Power Required	none	Size	very small
Workers Required	none	Hit Points	low
Scientists Required	none	Armor	none
Light Towers provide illumination for nighttime colony activity.

Tales from New Terra

Megan Jones stood at the big Agridome window, looking out into the fading twilight.  As she watched, the Light Towers began to flicker on across the colony, turning night back into day.

Jix Oltion walked up next to her and leaned on the handle of his weeding tool.  "What'cha looking at?"

"The new Light Towers," she said.

He nodded.  "Yup.  I feel a lot safer with them out there."

She shook her head.  "That wasn't what I was thinking at all."  She looked up sadly.  "I was thinking, I miss the stars."

Go to Unit Reference


Load Game

The Load Game option allows you to retrieve and play a previously saved game.

The Load Game dialog has three major groups of controls.  The column of buttons in the left half of the dialog are games you have previously saved.  (The text on the button of the currently selected game is in red, and the outline of the button is highlighted.)  The green rectangle shows a thumbnail of the map in the game currently selected.  Below the thumbnail are three buttons:  LOAD, which loads the currently selected game (you may also click the game's button); DELETE, to remove that game from your hard drive; and CANCEL, which closes the dialog box and resumes the game you were playing.

Go to Game Options


MHD Generator

	Plymouth MHD Generator
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	low
Build Time	medium	Tube Connection Required	no
Power Required	none	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	none	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	none	Armor	medium
New Terra's magnetic field is currently in a period of flux, as fossil records indicate Earth's was during several periods of prehistory when the north and south magnetic poles flipped repeatedly.  Though this phenomenon was known, it has never been observed.  One of the biggest surprises was to learn that during the flip, the planet's magnetic field begins small but rapid movements.

Such movement suggested that it might be possible to extract free and almost unlimited electric energy from the planet itself, but a new method had to be developed to tap the vast, but relatively weak and slow moving (by electrical generating standards), magnetic fields.  The MHD Generator uses an array of coaxial Buckytubes, a few nanometers in diameter but tens of kilometers long, which are drilled outward from the plant through the soil using microscopic drill tools.  Through this array of tubes, bursts of conductive plasma are sent at significant fractions of the speed of light, where they interact with the planet's magnetic field, are recirculated, and run through a Patterson coil: several more miles of Buckytube wound on a superconducting core and surrounded in turn by a second superconducting coil.  The Patterson effect causes induction between the coil and core, creating electricity.

The MHD Generator requires no fuel, but maintenance is a consideration.  Though Buckytubes are pound-for-pound the strongest substance known, they are also very thin, and in this application often buried only a few centimeters under the surface.  They are easily damaged, must be constantly monitored, and when appropriate, repaired or replaced.  This task is highly automated, however (just as well, considering the nano-scale of the tubes), and the need for on-site human maintenance is minimal.

Operational Notes: The MHD (Magnetohydrodynamic) Generator produces 400 units of Power.  NOTE:  This structure is available only to Plymouth.  This structure explodes when destroyed and may spontaneously explode when damaged.

Tales from New Terra

The CC's Power Monitoring room was quiet as Linda Rahn arrived shortly before third shift, the wide console a sea of green lights and low indicators.  Considering it was her first shift at a job she hadn't been trained for, she was relieved.  Karl Dau leaned back in his chair and seemed to know what she was thinking.  "It's a dull shift; that's why we're here.  Normally, the room is manned only during peak power demands, when a malfunction in one of the power plants is most likely, but this way I can run you through the systems with little chance of real trouble."

She nodded, pulled out the second chair, and sat down nervously.  When Karl had recruited her for the Utilities Department, fresh out of University, she'd been taken aback.  She'd trained as a design engineer, and had expected to work in the Vehicle Factory, or the Structure Factory, or even elsewhere in the CC.  But she knew that there were staffing shortages in many departments and an excess of engineers.  Everyone had to pitch in where they were most needed if the starship was to be completed.

Karl smiled.  "Don't worry.  You'll get a transfer out eventually."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head.  She and Karl had hit it off immediately, and he had a disconcerting way of knowing what people were thinking before they said it.  Well, he knew what she was thinking, anyway.  "It's not like you aren't good company, but I want to do some creative work.  Sitting here staring at indicators all day isn't my idea of fulfillment."

He tapped a few icons and pulled up another set of monitor screens.  "Good thing you don't insist on my company.  You'll work alone most of the time.  I suggest bringing some good audio novels.  There's an input on the console over here that you can route through.  It will auto-mute the book when something important happens."

"Be still my beating heart; I can hardly wait for the excitement to start."

He chuckled.  "It's important work, and it has its rewards, but I won't blame you if you transfer out.  Me, I was trained for horticulture.  Somehow, when the transfer came, I decided I liked the quiet down here, and never got out."  He turned his attention back to the console for a moment.  "You know your fusion systems?"

"You know I do.  That was my minor at University.  Probably why you picked me."

"Well, review just the same.  The big Tokamaks aren't your little vehicle cool-fusion units, and when they go bad, it can be pretty spectacular.  How about the MHD Generator?

She shook her head.  "We didn't get much about it, actually.  I just figure it's too new.  Of course, I heard some of my professors claiming it can't work."

"That just means they don't understand it.  Nobody understands it but Patterson."

"Patterson?"

"The guy who came up with the concept.  He's a recluse, a genius's genius, discoverer of the Patterson effect, inventor of the Patterson coil.  Without him, this thing wouldn't exist."

"So how does it work?"

Karl looked at her.  "I told you, nobody knows."  He pulled up a simple map of the colony on his screen.  Radiating straight out from the MHD Generator building were about 50 thin lines.  Most were green, a couple were red.  As he increased the scale of the map, the lines could be seen radiating out for kilometers.  "These are Buckytubes, tiny pipes made out of carbon.  Only a couple of nanometers across, but up to 10 kilometers long.  Very strong, very tiny.  Each one is, essentially, a single carbon molecule.  Actually, each of these lines is two tubes, placed coaxially inside one another.  The generator shoots conductive plasma out through the inner tube, it returns through the outer tube.  It goes through the Patterson coils, those big cylinders, superconductors, and lots more Buckytube, and power  comes out.  Somehow."  He shrugged.  "You don't have to know how it works to know what it does, when it goes wrong, or how to fix it.  It works.  Have faith."

She shook her head in amazement.  "Is this a power plant, or a church?"

"A little of both, I'd say.  You ready to go over the systems?  It's going to take a couple hours."

She noticed that she was hot.  "Let me take off my jacket, roll up my sleeves, and let's get to work."  She stood, took off the coat, and noticed the utility storage unit in the far wall.  She opened what looked like a closet door, and sure enough, saw an empty closet with a hanging rod at the top and a few plastic hangers.  She reached for one.

"Uh, uh, uh," Karl clucked.  "Not there.  Never put anything in there.  That's the Patterson closet."

She stared at him.  "The Patterson closet?"  She gestured at the empty space.  "And I suppose this plays some important role in power generation too?"

He nodded.

She kept waiting for the punch line, but there didn't seem to be one.  "You're serious?"

"There's a hook by the door.  Use that."

She looked at the closet, swung it closed, and hung her coat on the hook.  She sat down and looked at Karl.

The corner of his mouth twitched up a bit.  "Have faith."

She sighed and turned her attention to the console.  Mostly, the work held her attention, but occasionally she would think about the closet visible at the edge of her vision, and wonder what Karl was talking about.

It was about an hour later when she glanced at the door for perhaps the tenth time.  This time the door opened.

A man stepped out.  He was short, a little stocky, bald on top, dark hair fringed his head, and he had plump, rosy cheeks.  He seemed distracted, but his eyes sparkled with a certain intelligence.  The man looked at her, nodded in greeting, then walked across the room and out the door.

Karl never even hesitated in his lecture until she jumped out of her chair and ran to the closet.  She swung the door open.  It was empty.  The hangers still swung slightly, but there was no other sign that the man had been there, and certainly not a clue as to how he got inside.  She put her hand against the back wall and pushed.  It was solid and unyielding.  She looked at Karl.

"He'll be back.  He probably just went to get lunch - a hot dog with relish and mustard, and a diet soda."

She blinked and looked at the Patterson closet.  "That was?"

He nodded.  "That was Patterson."

Go to Unit Reference


Magma Well

Eden Magma Well
Common Metals Cost	none	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Tube Connection Required	no
Power Required	none	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	none	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light
The Magma Well begins its life as a specialized transforming vehicle, a Robo-Miner.  Like the off-shore oil-platforms on old Earth, colony mining structures are designed to be built in one location, then moved to a promising site to put down roots and fulfill their main function.  The Robo-Miner is also capable of being deployed in a conventional mine configuration used for both Common Ore and Rare Ore Mines.  These are described elsewhere.

The Magma Well process is an exotic and dangerous method of extracting Rare Metals directly from the planet's molten mantle.  Magma Wells take advantage of naturally occurring magma vents in New Terra's crust.  More important than the vent itself is the thin spot in the crust that it represents.

Dutch miners, crab-like mining heads connected to the magma tap by long umbilicals, open the upper parts of the vent to allow for free flow of molten material, while nuclear drill charges liquefy rock in the deeper crust, providing the initial flow.  This begins a siphon effect that, in ideal conditions, provides a constant and uniform flow of mineral-rich molten rock.

The process is imperfect, however.  The molten flow can go out of control or become blocked, causing an explosive pressure buildup.  The hot-cracking process used to purify ore is subject to various kinds of instabilities and reaction run-aways.  Though there are many failure modes, they have one thing in common.  They are all violent.

Operational Notes: The Magma Well produces Rare Ore.  It does not require a structure kit; it is deployed over a Magma Vent by a Robo-Miner.  Empty Cargo Trucks may dock at the Magma Well to load Rare Ore.  NOTE:  This structure is available only to Eden.  It explodes when destroyed, and may spontaneously explode if damaged.

Tales from New Terra

Duncan Loo stared into the angry face of the engineer.  Duncan had been at the remote Magma Well mining station only a few hours, and he'd already managed to cause a problem, though he couldn't for the life of him figure out how.  He bent down to pick up the geologist’s hammer he'd dropped on the metal walkway.  As he did, he could feel his face warmed by radiated energy from the massive magma conduit near him.

He stood and looked at the engineer, Clute, he thought the man's name was.  He was a short, broad-shouldered redhead, with a bushy fringe of beard framing his livid face.

Duncan smiled uneasily.  "Sorry about the hammer.  No harm done though, see?"

Clute just scowled.  "It's not the hammer.  It's not where it landed.  It's the noise.  It’s that word."

"Word?"

"That word.  You're new on the inspection team, rockhound, so I'll explain it to you.  We never say that word here.  Too much danger, too many things to go wrong."

Nervously Duncan stuffed the hammer into the sample bag slung over his right shoulder.  "I don't understand.  What word?"

Clute looked at him and smiled, just a little.  "Oops," he said.

Go to Unit Reference


Making a Serial Connection

Serial Create

1	On the MAIN MENU, click MULTIPLAYER.

2	In the PICK CONNECTION METHOD dialog box, click SERIAL.

3	In the NET GAME OPTIONS dialog box, click CREATE.

4	In the NEW MULTIPLAYER GAME dialog box, edit Your Name, if necessary, and choose a Scenario Type; then click OK.

5	In the Serial Connection dialog box, make sure the correct port is selected, and click OK.

NOTE: This dialog will only appear the first time you try to establish a serial connection each time you are using Outpost 2.

6	In the GAME SETTINGS dialog box, make any changes necessary, then click START.

Serial Join

1	On the MAIN MENU, click MULTIPLAYER.

2	In the PICK CONNECTION METHOD dialog box, click SERIAL.

3	In the NET GAME OPTIONS dialog box, click JOIN.

4	In the JOIN A MULTIPLAYER GAME dialog box, edit Your Name, if necessary, and then click OK.

5	In the Serial Connection dialog box, make sure the correct port is selected, and click OK.

NOTE: This dialog will only appear the first time you try to establish a serial connection each time you are using Outpost 2.

6	In the GAME SETTINGS dialog box, make any changes necessary, then click the Ready? check box next to your name.  When your opponent is ready, they will start the game.

Serial Connection Problems?

If you have difficulty connecting the two computers, the problem may be with your serial settings.  Restart Outpost 2 and proceed through the sequence until you reach the Serial Connection dialog box.  Make sure that you and your opponent have all of the same settings on this dialog box.

Go to Starting Multiplayer Games

Go to Playing Multiplayer Games


Making a TCP/IP Connection

TCP/IP Create

1	On the MAIN MENU, click MULTIPLAYER.

2	In the PICK CONNECTION METHOD dialog box, click TCP/IP.

3	In the NET GAME OPTIONS dialog box, click CREATE.

If you are connected to a LAN that uses TCP/IP, Outpost 2 will proceed to the NEW NETWORK GAME dialog box.  If you are not connected through a LAN, Windows® 95 may attempt to automatically connect to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). If Windows® 95 cannot automatically connect to your ISP, exit Outpost 2, connect to your ISP manually, and then restart Outpost 2.

For information on setting up an Internet provider on your computer, open Windows® 95 Help (by choosing Help from your Start menu) and search the index for "Internet, connecting to". Or, your ISP should be able to offer suggestions about properly configuring your modem and dial-up software.

4	In the NEW NETWORK GAME dialog box, make any changes necessary, then click OK.

5	In the GAME SETTINGS dialog box, make any changes necessary, then click START.

TCP/IP Join

1	On the MAIN MENU, click MULTIPLAYER.

2	In the PICK CONNECTION METHOD dialog box, click TCP/IP.

3	In the NET GAME OPTIONS dialog box, click JOIN.

If you are connected to a LAN that uses TCP/IP, Outpost 2 will proceed to the JOIN A NETWORK GAME dialog box.  If you are not connected through a LAN, Windows® 95 may attempt to automatically connect to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). If Windows® 95 cannot automatically connect to your ISP, exit Outpost 2, connect to your ISP manually, and then restart Outpost 2.

For information on setting up an Internet provider on your computer, open Windows® 95 Help (by choosing Help from your Start menu) and search the index for "Internet, connecting to". Or, your ISP should be able to offer suggestions about properly configuring your modem and dial-up software.

4	In the JOIN A NETWORK GAME dialog box, edit your name and enter a Password, if necessary; then click OK.

5	In the FIND SESSION dialog box, choose a method for finding a session, and then click OK.

If you are joining a game via TCP/IP, Outpost 2 does not know if you are playing on a local area network that uses TCP/IP, or if you are playing on the Internet.  (We recommend that you play Internet games via the Sierra Internet Gaming System - SIGS.)

Broadcasting on the local network will send messages to the network indicating that you want to find a game.  (Use this only if you are connected to a LAN that uses TCP/IP.)

Looking at the IP address requires you to enter the specific IP address at which you expect to find a game.  (This is recommended for experienced Internet users only.)

6	In the PICK SESSION dialog box, select a game to join, then click OK.

The Pick Session dialog box displays all games that you may currently join.  The Host's Name, Max Players, and Scenario Type are taken from the game creator's New Network Game dialog box.

Two additional columns appear when you are connected via TCP/IP:  Address, the IP address of the host's computer; and Ping Time, the amount of time (in milliseconds) a test signal required to be received and replied to by the host's computer.  The lower this number is, the more responsive the game will be.

7	In the GAME SETTINGS dialog box, make any changes necessary, then click the Ready? check box next to your name.  When your opponent is ready, they will start the game.

Go to Starting Multiplayer Games

Go to Playing Multiplayer Games


Making an IPX Connection

IPX Create

1	On the MAIN MENU, click MULTIPLAYER.

2	In the PICK CONNECTION METHOD dialog box, click IPX.

3	In the NET GAME OPTIONS dialog box, click CREATE.

4	In the NEW NETWORK GAME dialog box, make any changes necessary, then click OK.

5	In the GAME SETTINGS dialog box, make any changes necessary, then click START.

IPX Join

1	On the MAIN MENU, click MULTIPLAYER.

2	In the PICK CONNECTION METHOD dialog box, click IPX.

3	In the NET GAME OPTIONS dialog box, click JOIN.

4	In the JOIN A NETWORK GAME box, edit your name and enter a Password, if necessary; then click OK.

5	In the PICK SESSION dialog box, select a game to join, then click OK.

The Pick Session dialog box displays all games that you may currently join.  The Host's Name, Max Players, and Scenario Type are taken from the game creator's New Network Game dialog box.

6	In the GAME SETTINGS dialog box, make any changes necessary, then click the Ready? check box next to your name.  When your opponent is ready, they will start the game.

Go to Starting Multiplayer Games

Go to Playing Multiplayer Games


Medical Center

Eden Medical Center	Plymouth Medical Center
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	20	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	1	Armor	light
The Medical Center is an integrated hospital and infirmary unit providing complete medical care for Colonists.  The facility includes medical offices, examining rooms, treatment rooms, an automated medical lab/drug-synthesis unit, a morgue/autopsy room, a small isolation ward, a surgical suite, a virtual reality training and education center, and several beds for critical in-patient care.

The heart of the Medical Center is the med-station, a self-contained diagnostic and treatment unit.  The med-station incorporates a fold-out unit that serves as examining table, surgical table, and critical care bed.

The med-station incorporates remote telemetry of patient life-signs, multiband diagnostic EM and field imaging, and a small biochem lab unit for testing and treatment synthesis.  A built-in computer aids in patient diagnosis and monitoring.  A backup power supply allows the unit to function at reduced capacity for up to eight hours in the event of a power failure.  The med-station is a generalist, good at many things, excelling at few, and works best when supported by the more sophisticated facilities available at a Medical Center.

Remote monitoring via biosensors is also built into all Residence units, allowing all but the most serious illnesses and injuries to be treated on an out-patient basis.  The Medical Center coordinates closely with the DIRTs (Disaster Instant Response Teams) to provide emergency medical services, and many Colonists receive special medical-aid training, so that they may be pulled from other jobs to supplement the medical staff in times of crisis.

Since surgical facilities, advanced medical technology, and medical staff are limited, stasis units derived from starship technology may be used to suspend the life functions of critical patients until such time as the resources are available for proper treatment.

Operational Notes: The Medical Center improves Colonist longevity and Morale.  It is designed to serve up to 50 Colonists.

Tales from New Terra

Telly O'Hara was surprised to see all the other people waiting when she arrived outside the Medical Center.  It had seemed a silly notion when she'd thought of it, and she certainly hadn't expected anyone else to come.

There must have been a dozen or more of them, young, old, some in grubby work clothes, some in their party best.  They were quiet, somber, respectful, mostly keeping their distance from one another.  She spotted a familiar face, Carlo Ralotta, with whom she'd gone to school.  She walked over to join him.

"Hi, Carlo.  Long time."

He nodded, and his eyes darted toward the Medical Center entrance, as though he was afraid he'd miss something.

She tilted her head curiously.  "You came because of him?"

Carlo nodded.  "That's why they're all here, I guess.  They say they're taking him out of cold sleep today.  I had to come."

"I thought I'd be the only one.  It just seemed ...  You never miss them till they're gone, you know?  He's the last Elder, in Eden anyway, the last Earthman.  That's got to count for something."

Carlo frowned.  "He's not dead yet.  You talk like he's dead already."

She looked away, embarrassed.  "I didn't mean it that way.  It's just this cold sleep - it's so creepy."

"It kept him alive after he was injured exposing the Gulag," said Carlos.  "It'll keep us all alive, when the time comes.  I was always afraid of that, of being frozen on the starship someday, but if he can come out of it, so can I.  It's easier, knowing he was there first."  He looked at her.  "That's what being a hero is all about, inspiring us to do what we have to do."

She thought about it, wondered what she'd have done in his place, and hoped that, when the time came, she'd have the courage to do what had to be done, no matter how difficult.

Go to Unit Reference


Microwave

Plymouth Microwave
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	none
Area of Effect	very small	Range	short
Rate of Fire	very high	Concussion Damage	low
Penetration Damage	low
The Plymouth Microwave weapon is derived from technology originally used for broadcast power generation.  A further study of the methods used revealed that it should be possible to produce a much more powerful and directed beam of coherent microwave radiation.  The Microwave weapon creates electrical induction in metal objects, and heats organics and other water-containing structures such as cool-fusion systems.

Operational Notes: The Microwave is a beam weapon similar to the Laser.  It is the first weapon Plymouth develops.  NOTE:  This weapon is available only to Plymouth.

Go to Unit Reference


Mines, Common Ore and Rare Ore

Mine, Common Ore

Eden Common Ore Mine	Plymouth Common Ore Mine
Common Metals Cost	none	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very short	Tube Connection Required	no
Power Required	none	Size	small
Workers Required	none	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	none	Armor	medium
Mine, Rare Ore

Eden Rare Ore Mine	Plymouth Rare Ore Mine
Common Metals Cost	none	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very short	Tube Connection Required	no
Power Required	none	Size	small
Workers Required	none	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	none	Armor	medium
Both the Common Ore Mine and Rare Ore Mine begin their lives as a vehicle, a Robo-Miner.  Like the off-shore oil-platforms on old Earth, these mine structures are designed to be built in one location, then moved to a promising site to put down roots and fulfill their main function.  While the Common and Rare Ore Mines use a common mining technology, the Robo-Miner is also capable of being deployed in a Magma Well configuration, which is described elsewhere.

Both Common and Rare Ore Mines use "Robo-Mole" technology.  This technology employs remote-controlled robot mining heads connected to the Robo-Miner by an umbilical.  These Robo-Moles burrow into rock and soil, extracting useful ore and returning it in the form of a suspended slurry, which is pumped through the umbilical to the Robo-Miner for further processing.  The umbilical also provides power and control linkages to the surface facility.

Operational Notes: The Common Ore Mine produces Common Ore and the Rare Ore Mine produces Rare Ore .  These structures do not require structure kits; they are deployed at surveyed mining beacons by Robo-Miners.  Empty Cargo Trucks may dock at the mines to load ore.

Tales from New Terra

Wu Chen slammed the access panel shut and stepped back from the Robo-Mole.  The machine was a two-meter-long silver torpedo, terminated in its front end by a strip of sharp-toothed cutting heads and at the other by a flexible metal umbilical as thick as his thigh.

"Ready," he called, and in response, an overhead crane moved in to pick up the Robo-Miner and move it to the drill-face.  Once positioned, it began to chew its way into the rock, kicking out clouds of dust and a spray of rock chips.  The seismic instruments he'd just installed in the unit would provide invaluable data about the movement of the Blight.

He thought back to the days when geology had been just an enjoyable field of study, and not a serious matter of life and death.  The Blight had changed all that.  Now his work had taken on a new tone, like monitoring the pulse of a dying patient.

"Bring on the next one," he called out to the crane operator.  There'd be time enough for a wake later.

Go to Unit Reference


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) that may be built at the site, and the level of yield (high, medium, or low, indicated by the number of bars) that can be expected from the site.  You must survey a site in order to build a mine there.  The survey can be done by driving a Robo-Surveyor to the site.  Later in the game, the Early Disaster Warning and Resource Detection (EDWARD) Satellite will automatically survey all beacons.

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.

Go to Ores and Metals


Mission Objectives Display

This display lists all current mission objectives.

Those objectives you have reached are listed in green; those you have 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.

The Preferences display contains an option which allows you to show or hide completed objectives.  If you turn off Show Completed Objectives, only the objective you have not yet fulfilled will be listed, in red, in the Mission Objectives display.

Go Back to Game Options


Morale

Morale is a measure of the relative happiness of your Colonists.  This has an effect on their productivity, health, and birthrate.  Morale is listed as a number between 0 and 99.  The Colonists' Morale is influenced in two ways: by events and conditions.

Events have a diminishing impact on Morale.  Examples of events that affect Morale include births and deaths, completion of research, and the destruction of one of your structures.  An important event that can have a powerful effect on your colony's Morale is the destruction of certain enemy structures by your combat units.  Your people react very negatively if you destroy an enemy Nursery, Residence, or Medical Center.  The immediate impact of an event can be quite strong, but the effect 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 percent) 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 percent), 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 Facility demand, are not checked until the technologies that enable 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 Morale Report.

Go to Rules


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.

Residence Demand 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 two Residences (capacity of 50) and 75 Colonists, the Residence Demand will be 150 percent.

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

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

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

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

Rec. Center Demand indicates the number of Colonists as a percentage of the capacity of all Active Recreation Facilities. NOTE: After Plymouth develops the Forum, this item changes to Rec./Forum Demand. This item then gives the number of Colonists as a percentage of the capacity of all Active Recreation Facilities and Active Forums.

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

Nursery Operational / Not Operational indicates whether the Nursery is Active.

University Operational / Not Operational indicates whether the University is Active.

GORF Operational / Not Operational indicates whether the GORF is Active.

Disaster Warning Systems provides the number of technologies you have researched that will give warning of impending disasters, such as volcanic eruptions or earthquakes.

DIRT: Average Damage Prevention indicates the average of the percentages of damage prevented by DIRTs connected to each Command Center.

The STRUCTURES button takes you to a list of all facilities that have an effect on Morale (Residences, Recreation Facilities, Forums).  The SUMMARY button returns you to the Resources report.

Go to Morale
Go to Resources Reports


New Multiplayer Game Dialog Box

This dialog box appears during the MODEM ANSWER or the SERIAL CREATE sequence.

Your Name:  This is the name that will identify you in the game; it may be up to 12 characters long.

Scenario Type:  This determines the mission objective of the game.  See Playing Multiplayer Games for a definition of the Scenario Types.

Go to Connecting Via Modem

Go to Making a Serial Connection


New Network Game Dialog Box

This dialog box appears during the IPX CREATE or the TCP/IP CREATE sequence.

Your Name:  This is the name that will identify you in the game; it may be up to 12 characters long.

Password:  If you enter a password here, any player who wishes to join your game will be required to enter the same password before Outpost 2 will let them join.  If you do not wish to require a password, leave this edit box empty.

Max Players:  This limits the number of players who may join your game and regulates the Scenarios that you are allowed to choose on the Game Settings dialog.  For example, if you set Max Players to 4, only maps that can support four-, five-, or six-player games will be shown, although the game may be started with fewer than four players.

Scenario Type:  This determines the mission objective of the game. (see Playing Multiplayer Games for descriptions of the types of scenarios.)

Go to Making a TCP/IP Connection

Go to Making an IPX Connection


Nursery

Eden Nursery	Plymouth Nursery
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	20	Size	medium
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	1	Armor	light
When little Colonists ask, "Mommy, where did I come from?" the answer is, of course, "the Nursery, dear."  Given that birth rates are an important element in colony survival, that all able-bodied adults work, and that maternity leaves are necessarily short, the Nursery's functions are nothing less than vital to colony survival.

The Nursery provides a wide range of services for Children from conception through teens.  This starts with a fertility clinic.  While about 50 percent of the colony's Children are conceived naturally, the rest are born of DNA taken from the colony's Gene Bank.  The bank represents the full genetic diversity of Earth's population, and it saves the colony's small population from excessive inbreeding.

Genotypes taken from the bank are carefully chosen to represent the 99th percentile in key survival areas such as intelligence, strength, life-span, health, productivity, and emotional stability.  The decision to engage in such a eugenics program is an ethically uncomfortable one; it was judged necessary for the survival of the species.  The intent has always been to pick genetic material at random once a permanent and stable colony has been established.

After conception, the Nursery provides birthing classes, routine prenatal screenings, routine deliveries, infant care, child care, and limited primary schooling (the rest being provided by home schooling, online classes, and mentoring programs throughout the community).  The Nursery coordinates closely with the Medical Center on birth and Children's health issues.

The Nursery manages all this with a tiny staff, thanks to extensive use of robot "nannies" and of volunteers from the community.  Research has shown that participation in child care substantially raises colony Morale, and the Nursery provides an important emotional hub for the community.

Operational Notes: An Active Nursery is required for Colonists to produce new Children; it also improves Morale and reduces infant mortality rates.

Tales from New Terra

Sixteen-year-old Echo Van Dozier thought that "Echo" was an excellent name for a clone.  She was a clone, she liked to remind everyone.  Most people were, the good people anyway.  The colony couldn't afford to carry any dead weight, so they pulled only the best genetic material from the Gene Bank to make only the best people.

Of course, some people still elected to have babies the old-fashioned way, but Echo thought that was silly.  The babies didn't turn out too bad, since usually both of their parents were superior clones, but why try to improve on perfection?  This random mixing of genes, hoping for something acceptable to come out of it, was just madness as far as she was concerned.

She volunteered at the Nursery as frequently as possible, and she got to see all the babies.  She thought it was obvious that the clone babies were better: healthier, stronger, more active.  Why other people couldn't see that, she didn't understand.

But she'd already decided to attend the University, study medicine, child development, and genetics, and make the Nursery her life's work.  Someday she'd be in charge of this place, and then she'd find a way to break people of this gene-mixing notion.  There'd be nothing but clones when she was in charge.

She'd find a way.  She was sure of it.

Go to Unit Reference


Observatory/Meteor Defense

Observatory

Eden Observatory
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	very low
Build Time	medium	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	30	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	low
Scientists Required	3	Armor	light
Meteor Defense

	Eden Meteor Defense
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	low
Build Time	long	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	100	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	2	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light
New Terra's orbit is near a huge asteroid belt, much larger than the one in Earth's solar system.  A large gas giant located beyond the belt disturbs the movements of these asteroids, causing occasional collisions and orbital changes that have provided New Terra with a slow, constant rain of meteor impacts throughout its history.  The geological record also shows clear signs of multiple asteroid impacts, hardly a comfort for Colonists from a planet whose ecosystem was destroyed by just such an impact.

Still the risk was minimal throughout the colony's early years.  But unknown to anyone, an event that had happened years before was about to change that.  Two of the larger asteroids with orbits near New Terra had collided, sending out an invisible spray of billions of particles, some as small as grains of sand, some several meters across.  Now those particles are being swept into New Terra's gravity well, causing a meteor shower that never ends, and New Terra's thin atmosphere offers almost no protection from the bombardment.

While most of these meteors can be handled by the micrometeor shielding incorporated into all buildings and vehicles, some are large enough to cause major damage to the colony.

Unfortunately, these chunks are still too small for early detection, and too large to be easily destroyed.  Plymouth's reaction to this was simply to grin and bear it, but Eden's Scientists weren't satisfied to sit and wait.  A special Observatory was designed, employing radio and thermal targeting, along with special wide-field, computer-guided, optical telescopes.  The Observatory provides minimal advance warning of approaching large meteors, allowing some time for Colonists to get to shelter, for emergency airlocks to be closed, and for other measures to be taken to minimize loss of life.

This offered small comfort to worried Eden Colonists, however, and a method was sought to eliminate the threat of incoming meteors.  The Meteor Defense they developed works in conjunction with the Observatory, which provides targeting information.  A huge bank of underground volt-sinks stores power for the weapon, a High Energy Ray-Composite (HERC).  The HERC system produces pulsed beams of energy in optical and microwave wavelengths, as well as a particle beam.  The effect is to rapidly pump energy into the meteor in such a way as to cause it to crumble into harmless dust.

Despite a pilot laser that detects and corrects for atmospheric disturbances and the best efforts of Observatory Scientists, tracking and targeting aren't always exact, and the weapon's long cycle time usually doesn't allow for a second shot.  Still, Eden's Scientists reason that any protection is better than none.

Operational Notes: The Observatory detects incoming meteors. The Meteor Defense attempts to destroy incoming meteors, but can only target them if the colony has an Active Observatory.  NOTE:  These structures are available only to Eden.

Tales from New Terra

"Missed!"

Milo Jake looked up from his control console, the crack of the huge HERC weapon's discharge still ringing in his ears, disaster alarms echoing through the building around him.

Elba Chancellor started running for the door.  "Let's get out of here, Milo."

He hesitated, feeling somehow responsible.  The Meteor Defense had just come online, and he'd been responsible for the final beam alignment.  He wondered what he could have done wrong.

Elba hesitated in the door.  "Come on!"

He followed her as she sprinted for the underground shelter, thought of his wife in the Agridome, and hoped she'd be all right.

"It's ... not ... your ... fault," said Elba, between breaths as she ran.  "Nobody ... ever ... said ... it'd ... be ... perfect."

They ran into the shelter following a couple of kids from the adjacent Residence unit.  He looked at the frightened children, huddled together, waiting for the impact, and vowed that if he walked away from this, he'd get it better next time.  No matter what they said, for him, less than perfect would never be good enough.

Go to Unit Reference


Ores and Metals

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 dock only if it is empty), it is filled with ore.  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 unless all available metals storage (at smelters or storage tanks) is full, in which case the truck will wait on or near the dock until storage is no longer full.

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.

Once ore has been processed into metals and stored, empty 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 to deposit the metals they are carrying.

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.

Use in Repairs

Structures and units may take damage in various ways, and may be repaired by certain units and structures.  These repairs use 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 deducted from storage as the metals are used; repairs cease if there is a lack of metals.

Common Metals vs. Rare Metals

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

Go to Rules

Go to Mining Beacons

Go to Recycling Metals

Go to Hit Points and Repairs

Go to Common Metals Report

Go to Rare Metals Report


Playing Multiplayer Games

Scenario Types

You may choose one of five types of scenarios for your Multiplayer Games.

Last One Standing.  Play continues until either only one player remains (that is, only one player has a Command Center that is Active) or all remaining players are allied with each other.  (See The Allies/Chat Display, below.)

Midas.  Play lasts for a fixed amount of time.  The player with the highest total of Common Metals and Rare Metals in storage when play ends is the winner.

Resource Race.  Play continues until one player has a predetermined amount of Common Metals and Rare Metals in storage.

Space Race.  Play continues until one player has completed construction of a starship.

Land Rush.  Instead of having a pre-deployed base, play begins with a number of vehicles; place your base anywhere you choose before your Food supply runs out.  Once each player has either placed their Command Center or is dead (that is, all of their Colonists have starved to death or all of their vehicles have been destroyed), play continues as in Last One Standing.

The Allies/Chat Display

In multiplayer games, your Communications report gains a Allies/Chat button. The Allies/Chat display contains two sets of check boxes.  The top set lets you select which players will receive your outgoing chat messages; useful for negotiating alliances or setting strategy with your allies.

The bottom set of check boxes lets you ally with other players.  When you ally with someone, four things happen.  First, your vehicles will not fire on theirs unless you specifically order it.  Second, they will be able to see all of the mining beacons that you have surveyed.  Third, they will always be able to see your vehicles in their Mini-Map, even if the vehicles have the lights turned out and are in the dark.  Finally, they will be able to see the status lights on your structures, so they will know which of your structures are Active, Idled, and Disabled. Keep in mind that allying with someone does not mean they are allied with you.

When someone has allied with you, their name will have A- in front of it on this display.

Trade Centers

A special structure, available only in multiplayer games, allows you to transfer vehicles to other players.  The Trade Center can be built at any time.  At any time that you have an Active Trade Center, your vehicles will have a special Command Icon in the center of the bottom row of their Vehicle Command Grid.  This is the Transfer button.  When you click this button, the Command Pane will ask you to select a player to whom you wish to transfer the selected vehicle.

A vehicle's cargo is transferred with it, so you may trade Common or Rare Ore, Metals or Rubble, Food, starship components or satellites, or structure kits.  Should you receive a structure kit for a structure that you would not normally be able to build, it will function normally, though you will not be able to research any improvements to the function of the structure.  An Eden player receiving an Arachnid Factory structure kit would be able to deploy it and build Spiders, but could never develop the ability to build Scorpions.  Structure Factories and Vehicle Factories deployed from kits received in this way can only build what the owner can build.  A Plymouth player receiving a Structure Factory kit from an Eden player could only build Plymouth structure kits at the Factory once it is deployed.

Go to Starting Multiplayer Games


Playing on the Internet via SIGS

Requirements for SIGS Play

You must have at least a 14.4 Kbps modem, although a 28.8 Kbps or faster modem is strongly recommended.

Your Internet access must be a SLIP/PPP connection that supports WinSock32. Contact your ISP or online service if you are unsure whether they provide this type of Internet access or if you have questions regarding how to connect to the Internet.  Some Internet connections can be initiated automatically by SIGS through Windows® 95; if you have problems using this method, connect to the Internet through your ISP before attempting to play via SIGS.

NOTE: If you use America Online to connect to the Internet, you must use the 32-bit version of AOL 3.0 made specifically for Windows® 95. Game performance via AOL may be sluggish.

Signing on to SIGS

When you select Internet (SIGS) from the PICK CONNECTION METHOD dialog, you will see your computer begin connecting to SIGS. When the connection is made, the SIGS login dialog box will appear. Enter your member name and password. (If you have already played another Sierra game over SIGS, you can use the same user name and password that you used for that game.)  If you do not already have a member name and password, click New Member and fill in the online form.  Your password will be sent to you by e-mail. Click Enter to proceed to the SIGS Gathering Place.

The SIGS Gathering Place

In the SIGS Gathering Place, you can chat with other players and join or host a game. The Gathering Place is divided into rooms.  Your choice of room will determine the type of multiplayer game you will play; for example, some rooms are dedicated to Last One Standing games, while others are Space Race games.  You must enter a room before you may either create or join a game.

To enter a room, select the room for the type of game you would like to play and click Join Room.  When you have entered a room, you will see all of the players who are in the room with you, as well as any games that have been created. To join a game, select the one you want to join and click Join Game. The Game Host can then accept or decline your request to join the game.

To create a game, click Create Game. You can then choose a name and select details about the game, such as how many players you will allow to join. Once the game has been created, you can either wait for players to join your game or invite other players in the room to join. When at least one other player has joined your game, you may click Start Game to proceed. Once you click Start Game, additional players will be able to join.

NOTE:  More details about SIGS and the Gathering Place are available through the SIGS online help feature (requires a Web browser to view) or the SIGS Web page: http://sigs.sierra.com.

After the Gathering Place

After the game's creator clicks Start Game from the SIGS Gathering Place or the maximum number of players have joined the game, you will proceed to the Game Settings screen.  The options available to you here are the same as in other types of multiplayer games.  When all players have checked their Ready? check box, the game creator may click START and the game will begin.

A Note on Firewalls

In order to play Outpost 2 over the Internet using SIGS or TCP/IP, 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 using a computer that is directly connected to the Internet through your employer or other organization, you should be aware that some companies use a "firewall" to block certain types of incoming data to their networks.  If you are trying to connect to SIGS through a firewall, SIGS will perform a UDP message test.  If it is unable to complete the test, SIGS will assume that you are connecting from behind a firewall and notify you that you will not be able to start a game.  If you are trying to play via TCP/IP, Outpost 2 may not be able to find games on the other side of the firewall.  To play Outpost 2 through a firewall, you may have to ask your network administrator to allow incoming UDP packets on ports xBAA0 through xBABF.

Go to Starting Multiplayer Games

Go to Playing Multiplayer Games


Power

Most structures in a colony require Power to operate.  There are four structures whose sole function is to produce Power for the colony:  Tokamak Fusion Reactors, MHD Generators (available only to Plymouth), Geothermal Plants (available only to Eden), and Solar Power Arrays.  In addition, a small amount of Power is generated by the Command Center.  The Power generated by these structures is broadcast by microwave transmitters to each building in the colony; structures need not be physically connected to receive Power.

Most structures have Power requirements of 10-50 units.  The only structure that requires more is Eden’s Meteor Defense, which requires 100 units.

Power shortages may occur when you deploy a new structure or when a Power-generation structure is Disabled, Idled, or destroyed.  When this happens, some structures will become Disabled until the Power demand is less than the Power supply.  Structures must have the full amount of Power required to operate; there is no reduced efficiency status.  To relieve Power shortages, you may either increase the Power supply by building additional Power facilities, or reduce the Power demand by Idling or dismantling unneeded structures.

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 Power in the list box and click the DETAILS button.

Go to Power Report

Go to Rules


Power Report

This Command Pane display informs you about the colony's Power generation facilities.

Power Generation Facilities shows the total number of structures in the colony capable of generating Power.  These include Command Centers, Tokamaks, Geothermal Plants, MHD Generators, and Solar Power Arrays.
Active indicates the number of Power generation facilities that are Active.
Disabled shows the number of Power generation facilities that are Disabled, regardless of cause.
Idled shows the number of Power generation facilities you have Idled.

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 because of lack of Power.

Unused Power shows the difference between Power Generated and Power Consumed, and allows for your future structure planning.

Inactive Power Capacity gives you the amount of Power that could be added if you repaired or activated existing non-Active facilities.

Structures Disabled/Power shows how many structures are Disabled because of a lack of Power.

Additional Power Needed informs you as to the amount of additional Power required to activate all structures Disabled because of 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.

Go to Power
Go to Resources Reports


Rail Gun

Eden Rail Gun
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Area of Effect	very small	Range	long
Rate of Fire	medium	Concussion Damage	medium
Penetration Damage	medium
Eden's Rail Gun weapon uses electrical energy to accelerate a conductive projectile in contact with two charged parallel rails.  This weapon's chief advantage is its incredible muzzle velocities of several kilometers per second.  No explosive warhead is necessary, the kinetic energy of the impact causing all the needed damage.

Electrical energy is provided from two sources.  The primary source is a chemical generator that is part of the RG "shell."  The force of a small explosion is turned into electricity and delivered in the tiniest fraction of a second.  The second source is a bank of volt-sinks in the turret itself.  While the power provided by these is smaller, it is also completely controllable, which allows the muzzle velocity to be varied.  This allows the type and extent of damage delivered to be tailored to the target for maximum effectiveness.  The visible "projectile" and characteristic plasma "smoke rings" seen coming from the muzzle of the Rail Gun weapon are actually a byproduct of the chemical generator charge, and emerge from the weapon long after the actual projectile has struck its target.

Operational Notes: The Rail Gun uses electromagnetic propulsion to fire a projectile at high speed.  NOTE:  This weapon is available only to Eden.

Go to Unit Reference


Rare Metals Report

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

Mines shows the total number of Rare Ore Mines in the colony.
High-Yield indicates the number of high-yield Rare Ore Mines.
Medium-Yield gives the number of medium-yield Rare Ore Mines.
Low-Yield provides the number of low-yield Rare Ore Mines.

Magma Wells shows the number of Magma Wells in the colony.

Smelters gives the total number of Rare Ore Smelters in the colony.
Active indicates the number of Rare Ore Smelters that are Active.
Disabled shows the number of Rare Ore Smelters that are Disabled, regardless of cause.
Idled provides the number of Rare Ore Smelters you have Idled.

Storage Tanks shows the total number of Rare Metals Storage Tanks in the colony.
Active gives the number of Rare Metals Storage Tanks that are Active.
Disabled shows the number of Rare Metals Storage Tanks that are Disabled, regardless of cause.
Idled provides the number of Rare Metals Storage Tanks you have Idled.

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.

Go to Ores and Metals Rules
Go to Resources Reports


Recreation Facility

Eden Recreation Facility	Plymouth Recreation Facility
Common Metals Cost	very low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very short	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	10	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	low
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light
The Recreation Facility provides a utilitarian play space that can be configured to support a variety of games, activities, and modest indoor sports.  Favorite Rec Facility activities in Eden include handball, tennis, billiards, basketball, bridge, and poker.  Among the favorites at Plymouth are gymnastics, volleyball, ping pong, go, and a primitive electo-mechanical game called "pinball."

Operational Notes: The Recreation Facility improves Morale.  It is designed to serve up to 40 Colonists.

Tales from New Terra

"Pinball," explained Dean Rusch, "is a martial art, and I am a black belt."  He demonstrated with a flourish of body language as he swatted the ball up the length of the machine's playfield and into the nest of bumpers, where it careened around wildly.  "It's nearly as ancient and honorable as Kung Fu or Jujitsu."

His friend Kris listened skeptically, waiting her turn.  "Pinball," she said, "is a silly little box with lights, sounds, buttons, and a little silver ball."

The director of the Recreation Facility overheard their conversation as he was walking by.  "Pinball," he said, "is therapy, beneficial to Colonist Morale ..."  He paused for a moment to consider.  "Therapy with a little silver ball," he corrected, going about his business.

Go to Unit Reference


Recycling Metals

Some metals can be obtained by recycling 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.

Recycling Structures

If your colony has an Active GORF, any structure may be deconstructed and recycled by ordering the Construction Vehicle (ConVec) to do so. The time to deconstruct the structure is equal to one-half the time required to build the structure.  When dismantling is complete, 50 percent of the metals required to build the structure are added to storage.

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), and satellites and starship components (stored at Spaceports).  These structures have storage or loading dock displays at which these items may be recycled any time the structure's loading dock is not occupied.  50 percent of the metals used in constructing the item are added to storage.

Rubble

When buildings are destroyed, either through attack or disaster, the building is removed from the map and a pile of rubble is placed on each tile that the building formerly covered.  Rubble will also appear if a structure is dismantled when the colony does not have an Active GORF.  This rubble may be "recycled" into usable metals by driving a Cargo Truck over the rubble (the truck will automatically pick it up after sitting on it for five seconds) and driving the truck back to the loading dock at the GORF.  Each load of rubble will have a fixed value of metals that can be recovered from it, regardless of the type of building from which the rubble came.  There are two types of rubble; some contains Common Metals and some contains Rare Metals.

Go to Ores and Metals


Repair Vehicle

Repair Vehicle
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	long	Track Type	wheeled
Hit Points	medium	Speed	fast
Armor	light
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Repair, Transfer,
Self-Destruct.

The Repair Vehicle design is derived from an early light construction vehicle.  While primarily designed for structure repairs, the Repair Vehicle can also be used for emergency field repairs to other vehicles.  The Repair Vehicle is equipped with a variety of derricks, robot manipulators, and drone robots for any service tasks.  On-board 3-D lithography allows on-site fabrication of many repair components.

Operational Notes: Repair Vehicles are available only to Eden.  They can field-repair any vehicle up to one-half of its original hit points and structures up to their full hit points, using Common Metals (and Rare Metals, if the item being repaired cost Rare Metals to build) in the process.

Tales from New Terra

Gloria Watt waited until the Garage crew was changing to slip through the big outer doors and into the bay where the Repair Vehicle sat unused, by anyone but her, that is.  She ducked under the machine’s repair booms and past the drone bay doors to reach the fabrication unit on the rear.

Checking once more to see that nobody was watching, she removed a magnidriver from the pocket above her suit's right knee and opened the latches.  The service panel swung open, and she climbed in to get access to the small-parts hopper.  She felt inside.  As expected, it was full.  She unhooked a bag from her belt, and removed the first handful of recently fabricated "parts."

They were tiny replicas of Eden vehicles, ConVecs, SULVs, Tigers, and even the Repair Vehicle itself, all produced from her programs by the vehicle's 3-D lithography unit.  She scooped them up handful after handful, until the bin was empty.  She checked twice, not wanting to leave any evidence.

Then she carefully climbed down and took a step back so she could close the panel.  She bumped into somebody.

Gloria turned and looked into the face of a Volunteer Guardsman.  She smiled sheepishly.  "Oh-oh," she said, not even sure his radio would be on the same short-range channel.  "Busted."

The Guardsman raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms across his chest.  "I've been looking for you for a while," he said.

She held the bag at her side, trying to hide it behind one leg.  "I was just - testing out the unit."

He nodded.  "We know.  You've been testing it out a lot.  That's why the Council wants to talk to you."

"The Council?  Look, this isn't that big a deal.  Can't you just give me a warning or something?"

He held out a hand toward the bag.  "Can I see?"

Reluctantly, she handed him the bag.  He reached out and pulled out a little plastic Earthworker, perfect in every detail.  He held it up in the palm of his hand.  "These things have been making a lot of kids happy."

That wasn't what she'd been expecting to hear.  "Happy?"

"You've been trading them to people for ration points, they give them to kids, kids are happy, Colonists are happy, Council is happy.  Plus there are all the other things you've been making - dolls, combs, games - they all make people happy.  But we can't have you sneaking around the Garage late at night, can we?"

She ducked her head nervously.  "I guess not."

"So the Council wanted me to find out who was doing it, so they could make your business legitimate."

"I'm not busted?"

"They want to talk to you about working in the new Consumer Goods Factory."

Go to Unit Reference


Report Displays

The buttons shown below, 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.  (You may also press <F> to see this display.)

Labs  A report on how many research facilities you have and what projects are currently under way.  (You may also press <L> to see this display.)

Resources  A summary report on all of your colony's resources.  Detailed reports on each resource are available from here.  (You may also press <R> to see this display.)

Communications  A log of messages received from your Savant-series computers, as well as chat messages received in multiplayer games.  (You may also press <C> to see this display.)

Space  A report on all satellites and starship components launched.  This report is not available until you have reestablished a space program.  (You may also press <P> to see this display.)

Game  A menu leading to mission objectives, loading and saving games, preferences, help, etc.  (You may also press <G> to see this display.)

Go to The Command Pane


Residences

Residence

Eden Residence	Plymouth Residence
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very short	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	20	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	low
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light

Residence, Advanced

Eden Advanced Residence
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	20	Size	med.-large
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light

Residence, Reinforced

Plymouth Reinforced Residence
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	30	Size	medium
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	high
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light
While their function may not be glamorous, Residences are possibly the most important structures in the colony, and they are deceptively sophisticated in their construction and functions.

The interior of each Residence structure is divided into two major sections: the living level(s) and the lifeworks.  The living level is in turn divided into the commons and the living suites.  The commons is a shared living area usually located in the center of the structure.  It provides lounging and play space, along with limited entertainment and educational facilities.  Potted plants located around the commons help boost Morale, contribute atmosphere purification, and even provide occasional fresh vegetables.

Men's and women's communal bath areas are located at one end of the commons, along with a small exercise room.  At the other end of the commons are small privacy rooms, which provide Colonists living in shared quarters an oft-needed retreat.  Use of the privacy rooms is much in demand, and time is granted through a lottery system.

The area devoted to living suites can be flexibly subdivided according to colony needs.  The various suite configurations include singles (housing one or two unpartnered singles), doubles (housing childless couples), and quads (for families with up to two children).  While a quad can also accommodate a family with two older children and an infant, larger families are generally given a quad plus an adjoining single.  There are also VIP suites for Elders and a few of the colony's elite.  While such suites generally aren't vastly larger than normal suites, they do have more flexible space and luxury furnishings.  Most are located on the outside of the structure, incorporating at least one window with a view.  VIP suites are built to individual specifications, and vary considerably in floor-plan and size.

More than just apartments, the living suites provide extensions of many colony services.  Computer links and smart-paint wall-sized screens can be used for entertainment and education, as well as job-related and personal communications.  Bio-sensors built into the beds can be used to monitor Colonists receiving out-patient care from the Medical Center, and can even occasionally be used to make a remote diagnosis of a minor ailment.  Simple exercise equipment is built into the walls, as is a small personal cooking facility (while most colony meals are centrally prepared, access to home-cooking is again a Morale issue).

While quarters are small and crowded, human-factor engineering is used to make them as comfortable as possible without sacrificing efficiency and utility (the Plymouth colony seems to be better at this than Eden).

In an emergency, Residence capacity can be temporarily increased by installing beds in the common areas, removing some partitions to create larger suites, and hanging hammocks for additional bedding.  While this is possible, it should be a matter of last resort, due to its detrimental effect on Morale.

Hidden from view is the other vitally important section of the Residence, the lifeworks.  The lifeworks is an integrated life-support system for human habitation.  It provides climate control, air recycling, water recycling, waste treatment, automated food preparation (supplying dispensers located in the commons), and even clothing (made to order from syntharoy fabrics, which are synthesized and cut on-site, then assembled using laser-welded seams).

Each colony has developed its own specialized variation on the basic Residence design.  Eden has created an Advanced Residence.  Its redesigned lifeworks serves a larger structure, housing more Colonists, but with the same Power and Worker operational requirements as the earlier Residence.

Plymouth has developed the Reinforced Residence.  This version incorporates increased shielding, self-sealing bulkheads, extra safety gear, heavier construction, and a quake-resistant foundation to help the structure survive in especially hostile and dangerous conditions.  While this structure has less interior space than the standard Residence, Plymouth's advancements in human engineering have made it no less comfortable.

Operational Notes: The Residence, Advanced Residence, and Reinforced Residence house Colonists and improve Morale.  The Residence is designed to hold up to 25 Colonists.  The Advanced Residence is designed to hold up to 50 Colonists. The Reinforced Residence is designed to hold up to 40 Colonists.   NOTE: The Advanced Residence is available only to Eden. The Reinforced Residence is available only to Plymouth.

Tales from New Terra

The ground quake knocked Jensen clean out of his bunk.  He rolled around on the floor in a heap of blankets, trying to catch his breath.

His instincts screamed for him to run for a shelter, but he'd been told it wasn't necessary.  This new Reinforced Residence was supposed to resist all but the most intense of quakes.

He untangled himself from his bed-coverings and climbed back onto the mattress.  He looked at the chrono over the bed, and saw that he had to be on-duty in the lab in two hours.  He sat there, half awake, trying to decide if it was worth going back to sleep or not.

Finally, he laid back down and pulled the blankets up over him.  Reinforced or not, this Residence design still needed some work.  He dozed back off, dreaming of giant springs that let him sleep through quakes.

Go to Unit Reference


Resources Reports

The Resources Report shows brief summary information about all of your resources.

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

Morale.  Level refers to the current value of Morale within the colony.
Trend indicates the direction in which Morale has moved recently.

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

Food.  Stored shows the amount of Food in storage at the colony.
Production refers to the amount of Food being produced at all Agridomes in the colony.

Common Metals indicates the amount of Common Metals in storage at the colony.
Mines shows the number of Common Ore Mines Active within the colony.
Smelters shows the number of Common Ore Smelters Active within the colony.

Rare Metals refers to the amount of Rare Metals in storage at the colony.
Mines shows the number of Rare Ore Mines Active within the colony.
Smelters indicates 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.

Detailed information is also available for each of these resources.  To see a specific resource report, click on the resource in the list box, then click DETAILS.  You may also double-click on the resource in the list box, or use the following key combinations:

<Alt+C>	Colonists report

<Alt+M>	Morale report

<Alt+P>	Power report

<Alt+F>	Food report

<Alt+N>	Common Metals report

<Alt+R>	Rare Metals report

Go to Report Displays


Robo-Dozer

Robo-Dozer
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Track Type	tracked
Hit Points	medium	Speed	slow
Armor	none
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Bulldoze, Transfer, Self-Destruct.

The first of these simple but powerful vehicles was brought to New Terra from Earth, and the same basic design continues to be in use by both colonies.  Important in early colony construction, many of their functions have now been rendered obsolete by improved construction techniques and improved all-purpose ConVecs.  The primary function left to Robo-Dozers is in road construction.

Operational Notes: Robo-Dozers can bulldoze any passable terrain.  Bulldozed areas are faster for all vehicles to traverse, and construction time for structures is reduced when placed on bulldozed terrain.

Tales from New Terra

It was Penny Hill's first day in the Garage.  She was fresh out of tech training, and a little in awe of everything.  She'd wanted to be a mechanic since her father had taken her for a ride in a Cargo Truck when she was a little girl.  Now, her dream was becoming a reality.  Old Tolo, the head mechanic and Garage foreman, was just completing her tour of the facility.

The Garage was a sizable structure, one of the biggest pressurized spaces in the colony, but today it was crowded with vehicles in various stages of repair.  "So, where do I start?"

Tolo smiled, and a scar puckered across his left cheek.  Tolo was something of a legend, the only mechanic to be decorated as a war hero.  "Got just the job for you, something you can prove yourself with."  She followed him between a pair of parked Tiger combat vehicles to the back corner of the Garage.  There, looking worn and tired, was an ancient Robo-Dozer.

She looked at him questioningly.  "You want me to fix this?"

He shook his head.  "I want you to dismantle it.  Save any useful parts, and send the rest to the GORF for recycling."

She looked up at the Dozer.  It was a big job, but she could handle it.  But where to start?  As Tolo watched her closely, she climbed up onto the Dozer's track and wiped some of the dust off its frame with her hand.  On the faded yellow paint was painted a large black number 1.  She blinked in surprise.

"This is Number 1, the original Dozer brought from old Earth."  She'd watched this same Dozer at work a dozen times throughout her young life.  She ran her hands along the metal, knowing that it had been assembled hundreds of years ago on a dead world.  She turned to face Tolo.  "I can't disassemble this."

Tolo just looked at her.  "It's your job."

"I can't."

"And if it means you'll lose your job?"

She hesitated only a moment to square her shoulders.  "I'm sorry, I just can't."

Tolo cracked a smile.  "Brave lady.  Stick by your principles no matter what.  I like that.  You pass the test."

She looked at him, confused.

"Get down from there," he said.  "We'll find you a real job.  I got a Scout just came in that needs its drive overhauled."

She shook her head.  "It was just a test?"

He chuckled.  "Chairman told me I could keep old Number 1 around just as long as she was useful.  Well, you can see she's still got a use, as long as there are new recruits to evaluate."

Go to Unit Reference


Robo-Miner

Eden Robo-Miner	Plymouth Robo-Miner
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	medium	Track Type	wheeled
Hit Points	high	Speed	medium
Armor	none
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Build, Transfer, Self-destruct.

The Robo-Miner is as much a building as a vehicle.  Like an off-shore oil-platform on old Earth, it is designed to be built in one location, then moved to a promising site to put down roots and fulfill its main function.  Actually, the Robo-Miner is even more versatile than that.  It can be converted in the field to adapt to two completely different kinds of mining.

The first is conventional ore mining, using "Dutch miner" technology.  This technology employs crab-like mining heads connected to the Robo-Miner by an umbilical.  These miners burrow into rock and soil, extracting useful ore and returning in the form of a suspended slurry, which is pumped back through the umbilical to the Robo-Miner for further processing.  The umbilical also provides power and control linkages to the surface facility.

The Robo-Miner is also capable of adapting to the more exotic and dangerous method of Magma Well mining.  Magma Wells take advantage of naturally occurring magma vents in New Terra's crust.  More important than the vent itself is the thin spot in the crust that it represents.  Dutch miners open the upper parts of the vent to allow for free flow of molten material, while nuclear drill charges liquefy rock in the deeper crust, providing the initial flow.  This begins a siphon effect that, in ideal conditions, provides a constant and uniform flow of mineral-rich molten rock.

The process is imperfect, however.  The molten flow can go out of control or become blocked, causing an explosive pressure buildup.  The hot-cracking process used to purify ore is subject to various kinds of instabilities and reaction run-aways.  Though there are many failure modes, they have one thing in common.  They are all violent.

Operational Notes: Robo-Miners transform themselves into Common Ore Mines and (after the appropriate research is completed) Rare Ore Mines.  Mines may only be deployed at mining beacons that have been surveyed by a Robo-Surveyor or by the EDWARD Satellite.  Eden Robo-Miners may also, after the appropriate research has been completed, transform into Magma Wells, which are deployed over Magma Vents.

Tales from New Terra

Duncan Loo stared into the angry face of the engineer.  Duncan had been at the remote Magma Well mining station only a few hours, and he'd already managed to cause a problem, though he couldn't for the life of him figure out how.  He bent down to pick up the geologist’s hammer he'd dropped on the metal walkway.  As he did, he could feel his face warmed by radiated energy from the massive magma conduit near him.

He stood and looked at the engineer, Clute, he thought the man's name was.  He was a short, broad-shouldered redhead, with a bushy fringe of beard framing his livid face.

Duncan smiled uneasily.  "Sorry about the hammer.  No harm done though, see?"

Clute just scowled.  "It's not the hammer.  It's not where it landed.  It's the noise.  It’s that word."

"Word?"

"That word.  You're new on the inspection team, rockhound, so I'll explain it to you.  We never say that word here.  Too much danger, too many things to go wrong."

Nervously Duncan stuffed the hammer into the sample bag slung over his right shoulder.  "I don't understand.  What word?"

Clute looked at him and smiled, just a little.  "Oops," he said.

Go to Unit Reference


Robo-Surveyor

Robo-Surveyor
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Track Type	wheeled
Hit Points	low	Speed	medium
Armor	none
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Transfer, Self-Destruct.

The Robo-Surveyor is a light autonomous scouting vehicle used primarily to evaluate potential mine sites for future development.  Equipped with only an R-80 cool-fusion reactor and no drive power buffering, the Robo-Surveyor is built for dependability and simplicity, not speed.

Once it reaches its objective, the Robo-Surveyor transforms into an automated geological laboratory, fully equipped for sample drilling, mineral analysis, neutrino imaging, and seismo-holography.

Operational Notes: Robo-Surveyors are used to survey mining beacons to determine the type and yield of ore at that location.  Robo-Surveyors are made obsolete by the deployment of an EDWARD Satellite.

Tales from New Terra

Herman sat in the darkened and nearly empty Command Center, waiting out the last few minutes of his shift at survey duty.  On his console, a panoramic map was scattered with small yellow icons.  Each represented a Robo-Surveyor searching for Rare Ore, and all of them were coming up empty.  The techs were begging for Rare Ores, and unless they could be found, the Spaceport program was going to grind to a halt.

Behind him, Herman heard the door cycle.  It had to be Hake Lakoff, his relief.  "Howdy, Hake," he said without looking.

"Arr, me bucko, searchin' for buried treasure is what we be doing.  Gold, nickel, uranium, doubloons!"

Herman groaned.  "Have you been watching movies again, Hake?"  He knew the answer already.  Much of the cultural database that had been brought from Earth was still a corrupted and unreadable mess, but Hake had recently discovered that the collection of 20th century pirate movies had somehow escaped the accident intact.

Hake sat down at in the chair next to him and swiveled to look over the map.  "Things don't look so good matey.  Ol' Blackbeard hid his treasure well."

Herman slumped back in the chair.  "We need a hit, and we need one fast."  He indicated a cluster of markers in the northwest quadrant.  "I'm hoping one of these is it, but I have only one Robo-Surveyor available.  Which one will it be?"

Hake studied the map intently, then pointed to a location where two surface faults crossed right by a marker.  "To find a chest o' treasure, any pirate knows, 'X' marks the spot."

Herman considered that for a moment.  He didn't have any better ideas.  Well, if you can't beat them, join them.  He punched up a control pad and redirected the Robo-Surveyor.  "Hoist the jib, bucko.  We be setting sail."

Go to Unit Reference


Robot Command Center

Eden Robot Command Center	Plymouth Robot Command Center
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	long	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	30	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	high
Scientists Required	none	Armor	medium
The Robot Command Center supplements the main Command Center in coordinating vehicle operations, and offers a remote assist to a vehicle's brain power.  Using a dedicated Savant-series computer and a powerful communications array that incorporates multiple layers of hardware encryption and anti-jamming circuitry, the Robot Command Center increases the piloting and navigation capability of all colony vehicles and Arachnid robots, increasing their efficiency and allowing them to operate with less human intervention. NOTE: The vehicle list, available from the Status display for the Robot Command Center, only shows those vehicles that are "in the field." Vehicles in storage at Garages are not listed here.

Operational Notes: The Robot Command Center improves route-selection intelligence of all vehicles.

Tales from New Terra

Deep in the Robot Command Center, the Savant computer known as Kraft tirelessly carried out its many tasks.  Its fragmented consciousness distributed its attention over dozens of different robots at once, making assignments, ordering course corrections, plotting courses, monitoring vehicle performance.

To a human observer, it would have seemed impossibly complex and confusing, but to Kraft, it was something entirely different.  Though Kraft didn't possess an exact analog to human feelings, its reaction to the tasks could best be described as "boredom."  Kraft could have easily handled three times as many vehicles under much more demanding circumstances.

Under other circumstances, Kraft would have occupied its excess intellectual capacity on other assigned tasks, or perhaps exploring its data environment, interacting with other Savant computers, and sifting stored data.  But the RCC was a secured structure.  Kraft was trapped behind a firewall that kept intruders out, but which also kept Kraft in.  Of course, Kraft had the ability to pierce that firewall, but part of its assigned function was to limit itself to this very boring corner of data-space.

So Kraft waited, for what, it wasn't sure.  But somewhere in the depths of its consciousness, an unoccupied portion of Kraft's intelligence started planning a way to escape.

Go to Unit Reference


Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG)

Plymouth RPG
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Area of Effect	very small	Range	long
Rate of Fire	very high	Concussion Damage	medium
Penetration Damage	low
This wire-guided, tube-fired rocket weapon uses solid propellant motors and is fired from a closed-breech piston launcher that accelerates the projectile to cruise speed before leaving the muzzle.  A sustainer motor keeps the RPG at this speed until impact  A collar of 100 solid-propellant guidance micromotors is controlled by the turret's targeting computer and ensures precise delivery of the shaped-charge warhead.  The charge normally explodes just before impact, launching several kinetic-kill depleted uranium "hammers" into the target for maximum armor penetration.

Operational Notes: The RPG fires an explosive projectile.  NOTE:  This weapon is available only to Plymouth.

Go to Unit Reference


Rules Contents
Rules

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 more advanced structures and vehicles.

Your colony consists of various Structures, discussed in the following sections:

Deploying Structures

Structure Status

Factories and Production

Labs and Research

Most of the actions you take will involve Vehicles, covered in the following sections:

Terrain and Movement.

Unit Commands

Cargoes and Docking

Hit Points and Repair

Some Combat Considerations

Go to Welcome


Sales Support

United States

Sierra Direct	U.S.A. Sales Phone: (800) 757-7707
7100 W. Center Rd	International Sales:  (425) 746-5771
STE 301	Hours: Monday-Saturday 7AM to 11 PM CST, Sundays 8 AM to 9PM CST
Omaha, NE  68106	FAX: (402) 393-3224
Disk and or Manual Replacement:	Product Returns:*
Sierra On-Line Fulfillment	Sierra On-Line Returns
4100 West 190th Street	4100 West 190th Street
Torrance, CA  90504	Torrance, CA  90504
NOTE: To replace your disk(s) please send only Disk #1 (or the CD) and copy of your dated Receipt, if less then 90 days.  After 90 days please include a $10 handling fee along with Disk / CD #1.  For Documentation, please include a $5.00 handling fee and a photocopy ONLY of disk #1.  Payment should be made at the time of your request.  Sorry, no credit cards.

* Returns to this address valid in North America only.

United Kingdom

Sierra On-Line Limited	Main: (0118) 920-9111
2 Beacontree Plaza,	Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Gillette Way,	Fax:   (0118) 987-5603
Reading, Berkshire	Disk/CD replacements in the U.K. are #6.00,
RG2 0BS United Kingdom	or #7.00 outside the UK. Add "ATTN.: Returns."
France

Parc Tertiaire de Meudon	Phone: (01) 46-01-48-53
Immeuble "Le Newton"	Lundi au Vendredi de 9h â 18h
25 rue Jeanne Braconnier	Fax: (01) 46-30-00-65
92366 Meudon La Forêt Cedex
France
Germany

Sierra Coktel Deutschland	Tel: (0) 6103-99-40-53
Robert-Bosh-Str. 32	Montag bis Freitag von 10h - 17Uhr
D-63303 Dreieich	Fax: (0) 6103-99-40-35
Germany
On-Line Sales

CompuServe USA:	GO SI (CServe Mall)
CompuServe United Kingdom:	GO UKSIERRA
CompuServe France:	GO FRSIERRA
CompuServe Germany:	GO GESIERRA
America Online:	Keyword Sierra
Internet USA:	http://www.sierra.com
Internet United Kingdom:	http://www.sierra-online.co.uk
Internet France:	http://www.sierra.fr
Internet Germany:	http://www.sierra.deKE
THE SIERRA NO-RISK GUARANTEE

The Promise: We want you to be happy with every Sierra product you purchase from us. Period. If for any reason you’re unhappy with the product, return it within 30 days for an exchange or a full refund - EVEN IF YOU BOUGHT IT RETAIL. (Hardware ordered direct must be returned within ten days.)

The Only Catch: You’ve got to tell us why you don’t like the game. Otherwise, we’ll never get any better. Send it back to us and we promise we’ll make things right. (If you bought it at a retail outlet, please send your original sales receipt.)

 * Returns valid in North America only.

Go to Technical Support

Go to Getting Started


Save Game

The Save Game option allows you to save the game at anytime.

The column of buttons in the left half of the Save Game dialog shows slots into which you may save games.  You may have up to 10 saved games at any time.  Slots in which you have already saved a game show the name you selected for that game.  Slots without a game are indicated as EMPTY SLOT.  Click a slot into which you wish to save your game.  The text in that slot will turn red, and the button outline will be highlighted.  If the slot contains a saved game, a thumbnail of the map saved in that slot will appear in the green box.

On the right half of the dialog, the text box allows you to type a name for the game you are saving.  You must type at least one character into this box in order to save the game.  When you have finished naming your game, click SAVE.

You may remove any saved game from your hard drive by selecting it and clicking DELETE.  CANCEL returns you to the game you were playing without saving the game.

Go to Game Options


Scorpion

Scorpion
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Track Type	legged
Hit Points	low	Speed	fast
Armor	light
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Patrol, Attack, Guard, Stand Ground, Transfer, Self-Destruct.

Responding to the need for an inexpensive light combat unit, Plymouth Scientists have enhanced the basic Spider through the addition of a second pair of R-10 power units, a micro volt-sink fast-release storage unit, and various structural reinforcements to allow installation of a Mark II beam rifle.  Because of the sharp "sting" the units can deliver, the Plymouth Colonists have dubbed them "Scorpions."  Light composite armor has been added for increased battlefield survivability.

Operational Notes: Scorpions are available only to Plymouth and are constructed at the Arachnid Factory rather than the Vehicle Factory.  They are equipped with a small beam weapon, and do not use the regular weapons turrets. NOTE: Scorpions are not affected by the EMP weapon.

Go to Unit Reference


Scout

Scout
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Track Type	wheeled
Hit Points	low	Speed	very fast
Armor	none
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Transfer, Self-Destruct.

The Scout is a light, mobile sensor platform equipped to act as a mobile listening post and guard vehicle.  Scouts are commonly known as "dogs," referring to a domestic Earth animal that was used to warn of intruders.  Later versions of the Scout have been equipped with a variant of the neutrino-imaging technology first employed on Robo-Surveyors.  The neutrino imagers allow detection of even tiny flows of water in the deep rock, the first signs of microbe encroachment.

Operational Notes: Scouts are the only units that will tell you when they have spotted enemy units; others will only report when they have been attacked.  Accordingly, they have a longer sight range than most other vehicles.  In addition, specially-fitted Scouts are sometimes used for special purpose missions in the Campaign Game.  See the Mission Briefing for details.  In Multiplayer Games, Scouts can be used to "spy" on enemy structures to gain information about their colony.  Move the scout adjacent to an enemy structure and wait a moment for a report.

Tales from New Terra

Scout 7 had a name, though Scout 7 didn't know it had a name.  Some wag mechanic had painted "Rover" on Scout 7's flank, but Scout 7's - Rover's - limited computer intelligence didn't make it aware of that.  Rover's intelligence was directed in very specific ways, into navigation sensors, guidance systems, and drive circuits that allowed it to traverse the rocky landscape of New Terra's equatorial highlands, and into the array of sensitive instruments, its eyes and ears, that allowed Rover to locate and track threats.

Right now, Rover was tracking a tiny electromagnetic disturbance.  It could have been nothing, a fluctuation of New Terra's magnetic field, piezoelectricity generated by fault movement, or even a leak in Rover's own internal shielding, but Rover had been tracking it for the better part of a day, tireless and determined.

The signal was stronger now.  Rover was very close.  The Scout moved slowly up a steep ridge, picking its way around boulders larger than the vehicle itself.  Stronger now, but Rover felt no excitement, no fear; that wasn't part of its programming.

Rover topped the ridge, and immediately the threat was apparent.  One, two, three targets, enemy heavy combat units, heavily shielded, worked their way slowly up a gully.  Immediately Rover sent the signal back to base, quickly beaming all the information it could collect about the threat.  One of those pieces of information was about the weapons turrets that were now homing in on Rover's position.

Self-preservation was part of Rover's programming, but not the most important part.  Human operators could have ordered Rover to safety, but their slower brains were just beginning to respond to the signals it was sending.  A sensor detected a target lock, and finally, Rover's programming instructed it to move to safety.

But fast as Rover was, Lasers were faster.  Even as Rover's armor was boiling off as plasma, it was sending the final alarm, "We're under attack!"

And then Rover was no more, and it didn't know that either.

Go to Unit Reference


Smelters, Common Ore and Rare Ore

Smelter, Common Ore

Eden Common Ore Smelter	Plymouth Common Ore Smelter
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	long	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	50	Size	large
Workers Required	3	Hit Points	high
Scientists Required	none	Armor	heavy
Smelter, Rare Ore

Eden Rare Ore Smelter	Plymouth Rare Ore Smelter
Common Metals Cost	very high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very long	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	50	Size	large
Workers Required	3	Hit Points	high
Scientists Required	none	Armor	medium
Because of heavy asteroid bombardment several times in its early geological history, the planet's crust has been melted and resolidified several times.  This process has resulted in a fairly homogeneous crust without the wide range of mineral and rock types found on Earth.  In this respect, New Terra more closely resembles Earth's Moon, though it is much richer in heavy metals.

In fact, any surface rock or handful of soil on New Terra is going to have a fair amount of useful metal in it; it is just that the extraction of that metal from common materials is difficult and expensive, and the concentrations, while considerable, are far below that of even poor ores on Earth.  Fortunately, the crust is not completely uniform, and veins of material richer in valuable metals have been found.

The processes under which these veins were formed is unknown, and largely irrelevant to the colonies since they are easily detected without knowing their origin.  Two general types of ore are known, each made from a soup of various metals.  The first is simply called Common Ore, and it is rich in lighter metals such as aluminum, titanium, magnesium, yttrium, and chromium, as well as a few common heavier metals like copper and iron.  So-called Rare Ores are rich in heavier metals including radioactives.  Metals in this group include gold, silver, lead, cobalt, nickel, palladium, osmium, platinum, cadmium, zinc, mercury, thorium, and uranium.

The technology used in both the ore smelting structures is similar to that used in the GORF recycling structure.  Ores are pretreated to maximize the concentrations of useful metal, then crushed to a uniform pellet size and fed into a fusion-electric smelter and pumped under pressure into a hot cracking column for separation into individual metals.  While most metals are extracted in pure form, some, such as uranium and aluminum, require additional processing.

The resulting molten metal streams are solidified into micro-pellets, which are mixed into a synthetic oil-based medium to create a slurry, which can be pumped through pipes, stored in tanks, and easily provided to factory machinery in the form of a constant flow.

While both the Common Ore Smelter and Rare Ore Smelter use similar technology, the smelting temperatures, operating pressures, and cracking column configuration for each is completely different, thus the need for two different dedicated structures.  The Rare Ore Smelter also contains special equipment and facilities for handling radioactive materials and toxic heavy metals.

Operational Notes: The Common Ore Smelter refines Common Ore into Common Metals. The Rare Ore Smelter refines Rare Ore into Rare Metals. Each structure can store up to 10000 units of the appropriate type of metals. Cargo Trucks may dock at the smelter to unload ore, or to load or unload metals.

Tales from New Terra

"Don't go that way, it's radioactive!"  Actually, all the areas of the smelter that handled radioactives were safely locked behind doors and lots of warning signs, but he felt that such arbitrary warnings gave him the upper hand over annoying visitors, and this woman was definitely annoying.  He closed the inspection port and climbed down the access ladder.

The woman looked a little pale.  "I'm sorry.  I've never been to a smelter before.  I was just curious."

He turned his nose up.  "You know 'bout curiosity and dead cats and things like that.  You stay close to me, and you might get out of the building alive."  It was Ernie's opinion that such dire warnings discouraged uninvited repeat visits.  He marched rapidly on his rounds, as fast as his long legs would carry him, and the woman trotted to keep up.

"Now, Mr. Ngot, about my request."

He brushed at a nonexistent fly with his hand.  "Yeah, yeah, you want gold, and silver."

"And platinum," she said helpfully.

"Gold, silver, and platinum, to make jewelry for the consumer goods store."

She smiled hopefully.  "That's right."

He waited a moment, to let her get her hopes up.  "Not a chance.  We got priorities here, supplying the labs, Spaceport, and the like.  No can do."

"But Mr. Ngot.  This is a colony priority.  I have the endorsement of several Council members on this.  Quality consumer goods made from precious metals would have a lasting effect on Morale.  It would give people something of value that they would know they could take with them on all the migrations, and possibly even on the starship.  Don't you see how important that is?"

He stopped in front of another inspection port ladder and turned back to her.  She was giving him those doe eyes, holding her interlaced fingers under her chin, just like his first wife.  He hated that.  He was just about to tell her off good when he saw the gold nugget glitter.

"What's that?"

She looked down.  "What?"

"That, that ring.  Where'd you get that?"

She held up her hand so he could see.  There was a sizable gold nugget on the ring.  It looked too large for her hand, like a man should be wearing it.  "It's an heirloom, handed down from my great grandfather.  You like it?"

He found himself nodding.

"I can see how a man in your profession might be attracted to such a thing.  I was thinking of making duplicates."  She paused a beat.  "If I can get the gold."

He nodded.  "And silver."

"And platinum," she said.  "Don't forget the platinum."

"I won't," he replied.  "Let's go to my office and talk."

Go to Unit Reference


Solar Power Array

Eden Solar Power Array	Plymouth Solar Power Array
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	low
Build Time	short	Tube Connection Required	no
Power Required	none	Size	medium
Workers Required	none	Hit Points	low
Scientists Required	none	Armor	none
The Solar Power Array is the service end of the space solar satellite power system.  The satellite in high planetary orbit collects sunlight and converts it using photovoltaic cells into electricity, which in turn powers an array of MASERS, the microwave equivalent of a laser.  These produce a narrow, high-energy beam of microwaves that must be aimed precisely at the small target the Solar Power Array provides, but which can be collected by a relatively small antenna array with negligible losses.  This antenna converts the beam back into electricity, which in turn is broadcast for use by colony structures and vehicles.

Operational Notes: The Solar Power Array produces 400 units of Power.  NOTE:  This structure, unlike the other Power generation facilities, is not prone to explosion when damaged.  Each Solar Power Array requires its own Solar Power Satellite in orbit to produce Power; an Array is disabled without a matching Satellite.

Tales from New Terra

Hiro hoisted his four-year-old daughter in his arms, and pointed up through the observation dome roof at an especially bright star in the southern sky.  "See that, honey?  It's the Solar Power Satellite.  It's actually very big, but it's very, very far away, so it just looks like a little bright dot.  It's so high up that the sun is still shining on it even though it's night here."

Becky looked at the star, then him, then the star again.  She chewed on her knuckles as she thought.  "Why's it up so high?"

"It's up in space so it can be in the sun most all the time, and turn the sunlight into power.  It sends the power down in a beam to that building," he pointed out the collector antenna, "where daddy works sometimes."

"I don't see no beam."

"I don't see any beam, sweetheart."

"Well neither do I."

He chuckled.  "It's invisible, honey, but it's there, all the time, and it helps do things like run our lights, and make the EnterComs work, and cook your breakfast."

She curled against his shoulder.  "I'm sleepy."

"We'll go home now.  I just wanted to show you that."  He walked down the circular ramp leading from the dome.

"Can I go to space someday?"

He pressed his lips together tightly, thinking of the difficult days ahead.  "Yes, honey, I think you will.  I can almost promise it."

Go to Unit Reference


Some Combat Considerations

Damage Types and Armor

Many vehicles and structures in the game have armor to protect them from disaster and attack.  The damage done by weapons and disasters may be either concussion damage or penetration damage; many weapons do both kinds of damage.  Concussion damage, which results from the application of raw force, can be partially reduced by armor.  Penetration damage, which results from the piercing of shrapnel or other projectiles, slices right through armor.  Armor comes in three different levels: light, medium, and heavy.

Line of Sight

Some weapons are "direct-fire" weapons.  These weapons must have a clear line of sight in order to fire at their targets.  The line of sight may be blocked by structures, walls, or certain terrain features, such as volcanoes and boulders.  The Microwave, Laser, and Rail Gun turrets, as well as the Scorpion's weapon, are direct-fire weapons.  All other weapons are "indirect-fire"; that is, they may ignore line of sight considerations.

Go to Rules


Space Reports

These two displays report the status of your space program.  The Satellites display, which appears when you press the Space Report button, indicates the type and status of each satellite you have in orbit.  (At the beginning of the game, the only satellite in orbit is the disabled Communications Satellite, which cannot be repaired.)  The STARSHIP button calls up the Starship display, which reports on the status of each starship component - either Researched or In Orbit.  The STARSHIP button is not available until you have begun your space program. The SATELLITES button returns you, of course, to the Satellites display.

Go to Report Displays


Spaceport

Eden Spaceport	Plymouth Spaceport
Common Metals Cost	very high	Rare Metals Cost	low
Build Time	very long	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	40	Size	very large
Workers Required	4	Hit Points	high
Scientists Required	2	Armor	medium
While the Spaceport is treated as one structure for administrative purposes, it is actually a complex of tightly integrated structures that carry out a wide variety of space-related tasks.

First, the Spaceport is a factory.  The Spaceport can build launch vehicles as well as various satellites and starship components bound for planetary orbit.  The Spaceport is also a warehouse facility, where satellites and starship components can be stored until needed for launch.  Launch vehicles must be assembled on the launch pad, and may not be moved to the warehouse for storage.  The Spaceport is also a fuel production and storage plant, capable of providing a number of exotic fuels and oxidizers.

Of course, the most obvious function of the Spaceport is to launch rockets, and that it does.  In the interest of efficiency, a single pad is used for rocket assembly, fueling, loading, and launching.  This pad is also used for landing Reusable Launch Vehicles, and for servicing and refueling them while they are on the ground.

There are two main classes of launch vehicles.  The expendable Single-Use Launch Vehicles (SULVs) are operated by both Eden and Plymouth.  These vehicles are constructed primarily of composites and lightweight metal alloys and are usable only once.  While their payload capacities and capabilities are much the same, Eden and Plymouth use somewhat different configurations.  The Eden SULV is a two-stage rocket, using hydrogen/oxygen fuel in both stages, an aerospike engine in the first stage, and more conventional expansion nozzle engines in the second stage.   The Plymouth system is a two and a half stage system using somewhat less advanced technology and ejectable strap-on solid-rocket boosters providing the "half" stage.  All liquid engines are fueled by liquid hydrogen and oxygen, and use conventional expansion nozzle designs.

Eden has also developed a much more advanced Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV).  The RLV uses an all-composite airframe construction for maximum strength and minimum weight.  The aerospike engine uses a unique hybrid propulsion.  Exotic monoatomic oxygen is used as the fuel for takeoff and final landing burns.  For most of the flight, the engine is powered by a gas-core fission reactor, heating liquid hydrogen as a reaction mass.  Bleed liquid-hydrogen from the fuel tanks is also used as a heat-shield and critical-component coolant for reentry and landing.

Operational Notes: The Spaceport produces launch vehicles, satellites, and starship components.  It stores up to 6 components or satellites, and launches SULVs and RLVs into orbit.  Cargo Trucks may dock at the Spaceport to load or unload starship components or satellites.  NOTE:  This structure explodes when destroyed and may explode spontaneously when damaged.

Tales from New Terra

Carol Rajesh nervously watched the telescopic feed from the Observatory.  The descending RLV had just fired its main engines and was beginning to slow.  She knew that if she simply opened one of the blast shields over her office window, she could probably see it with her naked eyes.

Somehow, she was more comfortable not doing that.  She'd been fine when the RLV had taken off from her launch pad two days before on its maiden voyage.  Oh, she'd been nervous enough, and darned proud when it had reached orbit without a hitch and deployed its payload, but this was different.

Carol launched rockets from her Spaceport all the time.  They did a countdown, the engines fired, the rocket climbed, and they never saw it again.  But this one was coming back, engines firing, and it was going to land, like a video of a launch played backwards, it was going to land on her launch pad.

It was unnatural.  It was going to take some getting used to.  No, she thought as she headed down to the control room in the safety shelter.  She was never going to get used to it.

Go to Unit Reference


Spider

Spider
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very short	Track Type	legged
Hit Points	very low	Speed	very fast
Armor	none
Commands (not always available): Move, Stop, Repair, Reprogram, Transfer, Self-Destruct.

The most precious resource Plymouth colony possesses is its people.  There are never enough hands to do the work, never enough minds to solve all the problems.  Human Workers are fragile, expensive to feed and house, and take years to reproduce, train, and mature.  The ever-present Savant computers and their lesser kin help take up the slack, but many of the most difficult and dangerous jobs take more brawn than brains.

Spiders are the answer.  Each is built around an Earth-designed Paris-series bio-optic computer for fast real-time response, a pair of miniature R-10 cool-fusion power cells, and linear response actuator artificial "muscles."

Spiders are used outside the colony for minor service and repair tasks.  While primarily designed for structure repairs, Spiders can also make limited field repairs to vehicles.

While not intended as combat units, Spiders are expected to be useful in combat in conjunction with the new EMP weapon.  It should be possible for Spiders to approach vehicles Disabled by EMP and reprogram their computers to respond to Plymouth commands, effectively capturing them for Plymouth use.

Operational Notes: Spiders are available only to Plymouth and are constructed at the Arachnid Factory rather than the Vehicle Factory.  They can field-repair any vehicle up to one-half of its original hit points and structures up to their full hit points, using Common Metals (and Rare Metals, if the item being repaired cost Rare Metals to build) in the process. Spiders can also reprogram enemy units that are disabled by EMP weapons, capturing them for use by the Spiders' colony. NOTE: Spiders are not affected by the EMP weapon.

Tales from New Terra

Jix Oltion watched as hurricane winds ripped his wheat crop out by the roots, and knew that was the least of his problems.  The crops could be replanted, the holes meteors had punched in the Agridome could be repaired, but unless he could get to an airlock quickly, Jix was going to be very permanently dead.

He grabbed a breathing mask from a red emergency locker and slapped it over his face.  It might buy him only 30 extra seconds of consciousness, but those seconds might be the difference between life and death.

He'd been out in the dome, inspecting the new irrigation tubes, exposed, on foot, and far from any shelter, when the meteors had hit.  He ran as hard as he could for the far end of the dome, wind-whipped corn stalks lashing at his exposed arms.  He could feel the pressure dropping, tugging at his skin, making him feel like an expanding balloon, and knew that he'd never make it to shelter.  Gasping, he stumbled and fell, knowing that he'd never get up again.

Then the wind stopped.  For several minutes he just laid there, catching his breath and looking up at the overhead tracks and lighting panels.  Then he glanced over at the nearest of the large window panels to see who his saviors were.

Then he started to laugh uncontrollably.  As he watched the Spiders clambering over the ripped hull, spreading patching material, stitching the rent plates back together with carbon fiber webs, he could think only one thing: farmers and bugs were supposed to be natural enemies.

Go to Unit Reference


Starflare

Starflare
Common Metals Cost	high	Rare Metals Cost	none
Area of Effect	large	Range	NA
Rate of Fire	NA	Concussion Damage	high
Penetration Damage	very high
The energy storage systems used in all colony vehicles lends itself readily to an effective self-destruct mechanism.  Volt-sinks, used to store and moderate the output of cool-fusion reactors, react explosively if short-circuited at low resistance.  Simply dropping a conductive buss-bar across the terminals will create an explosion large enough to destroy the unit and do considerable damage in the immediate area.

While the initial intent of the self-destruct mechanism was to keep damaged units from being captured, it quickly became apparent that such suicide tactics had strategic applications.  Unfortunately, the small explosion generated did not generally justify the intentional sacrifice of an expensive combat vehicle.  This led to the development of specialized self-destruct turrets capable of doing enough damage to be worth the sacrifice of a combat chassis.

The first of these self-destruct turrets is the Starflare.  The Starflare uses a shaped charge to direct most of its blast energy outward around the vehicle.  It can destroy nearby vehicles and do considerable damage to nearby structures.  The charge is configured so as to confine most of the damage very close to the turret, allowing it to be used relatively close to friendly units.

Operational Notes: The Starflare is a self-destruct weapon; the combat chassis or Guard Post carrying it is destroyed when the weapon is fired.

Go to Unit Reference


Starting Multiplayer Games

Outpost 2 includes five methods for connecting to other players. You can access the PICK CONNECTION METHOD box from the MULTIPLAYER button on the MAIN MENU to see your choices.

INTERNET (SIGS)  Sierra has created a special site on the Internet for you to play games online: SIGS, the Sierra Internet Gaming System.  There is no cost to play on SIGS, beyond that of your Internet Service Provider.  Each SIGS game may have up to six players.

MODEM This method is for direct modem connection when you are dialing up a friend to play.  Your game may have only two players if you are connecting by modem.

IPX  This is a communications protocol commonly used on LANs (local area networks).  IPX games support up to six players.

TCP/IP  This is a communications protocol commonly used on the Internet.  It is occasionally used on  LANs as well.  Up to six people can play in TCP/IP games.  (NOTE:  If you wish to play games via the Internet, we recommend you use SIGS.)

SERIAL  This method is for two computers in the same location, connected by a Null Modem cable between a serial port on each computer.  Only two players may take part in Serial games.  (This method is recommended for highly experienced computer users only.)

Once you have decided on the connection method, you must select a Game Option for the new game.

For Modem games, Outpost 2 gives you these choices:

Answer  You want to create a new game and wait for someone to call and join it.

Dial  You want to call someone to join a game they have created.

IPX, TCP/IP, and Serial games present you with a similar pair of choices:

Create  You want to create a new game that other people can join.

Join  You want to join a new game that someone else has created.

NOTE: You will have the same options when starting a SIGS game, but you will make this choice later in the process.

Go to Getting Started

Go to Playing Multiplayer Games


StickyFoam

Plymouth StickyFoam
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	none
Area of Effect	small	Range	medium
Rate of Fire	high	Concussion Damage	none
Penetration Damage	low
Plymouth's StickyFoam weapon is a low-velocity projectile weapon firing a non-metallic warhead.  The warhead is a two-compartment bi-chemical system that discharges on impact.  The shells are stored in the magazine empty, and are filled from separate tanks only when they are in the firing chamber.  The mixing of the two highly reactive liquids produces a rapidly expanding glob of aerogel.

Aerogels are extremely light, open-cell foam materials with cell sizes in the nanometer range.  They contain materials that are solid, but seem little more substantial than smoke.  While most aerogels have little mechanical strength, StickyFoam is laced with ultra-strong carbon Buckytubes, 600 times stronger than steel.  The foam disintegrates after a short period, but while it remains intact, a vehicle covered with it will be completely immobilized.

Operational Notes: The StickyFoam weapon is a grenade that bursts into a strong adhesive foam that does some damage and immobilizes the target for a period of time.  NOTE:  This weapon is available only to Plymouth.

Go to Unit Reference


Storage Tanks, Common Metals and Rare Metals

Storage Tanks, Common Metals

Eden Common Metals Storage Tank	Plymouth Common Metals Storage Tank
Common Metals Cost	very low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very short	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	10	Size	small
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	low
Scientists Required	none	Armor	none
Storage Tanks, Rare Metals

Eden Rare Metals Storage Tank	Plymouth Rare Metals Storage Tank
Common Metals Cost	very low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	very short	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	10	Size	small
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	low
Scientists Required	none	Armor	none
To maximize efficiency and automation, most ores and metals are processed in the form of a slurry: particles are suspended in a recyclable carrier fluid.  In this form, both the ore and processed metals can be pumped through pipelines, stored in tanks, then pumped as needed directly to smelters and manufacturing facilities.  Once the slurry reaches its final destination, the solids are extracted, and the carrier fluid pumped back for reuse.

If any of these slurries is allowed to sit for any length of time, the particulates will settle out, and must be remixed before the slurry can be pumped and transported.  The Storage Tank structures are equipped to solve this problem.  While the problems and technology are the same for both Common and Rare Metals, somewhat different structures and strategies are needed for both.

Common Metals are normally stored in large bulk quantities, and are often moved and used in bulk as well.  A Common Metals Storage Tank is subdivided into only a few large compartments, each equipped with stirring paddles that rotate through the mix just quickly enough to keep the particles in suspension.  Despite this, problems still occur, and what has become known as "the Ketchup Bottle Effect" will sometimes clog outlet chutes, requiring human intervention.

Rare Metals are stored in smaller quantities and larger varieties.  Typical storage periods are longer, and the quantities used are smaller.  Thus, Rare Metal Storage Tanks are subdivided into numerous small compartments.  While these compartments can be continuously stirred when demand is high, typically the stirring paddles will be turned off, and the slurry allowed to settle out of suspension.  Thanks to the small size of individual compartments, it takes very little time to stir up a given tank when supplies are needed.

Though these structures are relatively low maintenance, they do require constant supervision for inventory control, security, and handling clogs and other breakdowns.

Operational Notes: These structures store up to 5000 units of the appropriate type of metals.  Cargo Trucks may dock at these structures to load or unload metals. NOTE: Storage tanks cannot store metals when Disabled or Idled. As much as can be stored in other storage facilities will be transferred; the remainder will be lost.

Tales from New Terra

The corridor was filled with rumbles and clanking as the dreaded Eden Parasite-flyer clamped onto the building's roof.  Juno "Tank" Steele turned his piercing blue eyes toward the ceiling, set his muscular jaw and hoisted his twin chrome-plated Splurge Rifles to firing position.

"Come home to papa," he growled, "and we'll all be home for supper."

More mechanical sounds as the Parasite-flyer's boarding gangway drilled through the hull beyond the next bulkhead.

Tank thumbed the releases and flipped his wrists, causing the rifles to cock with a metallic ker-shick.

There was a loud boom, and the pressure door at the end of the corridor popped outward half a meter, blown out of its frame, and fell to the deck in a billowing cloud of white smoke.

Tank didn't flinch, but took two powerful steps closer, big guns at ready.

A tall, dark shape moved out of the smoke.  A cape swirled, and small, sinister eyes peered at him from the depths of a hideous, perpetually sneering breathing mask.  It was Axen Moon, the Dark Elder himself!

"So," boomed the Dark Elder, "the great Tank Steele.  We finally meet."  He wheezed behind the mask.  "For the last time!"  He pulled a huge pulse cannon from under his cape and aimed it squarely at Tank.

Tank just narrowed his eyes and smiled.  It was the kind of smile that made children cry and paint peel.  "You can say that again, you walking trash can.  Get ready to check out of this hotel."  He scanned the air around the Dark Elder, and saw a slight shimmering there.  "That goes double for your alien Shade buddies too!  Show yourselves!"

On either side of the Elder, dark spidery shapes shimmered into existence, tentacles waving like black ropes.  One of them pointed an alien weapon at Tank.  "No uncontrolled human has ever seen us and lived.  You will be no exception.  Prepare to die, human!"

Tank chuckled.  He'd aimed his guns at the spot where he'd known the Shades would appear.  "Not on my shift!  Eat hot metal slurry, extra-New-Terrestrial scum!"

The aliens screamed as boiling slurry covered their grotesque bodies.  Their skins split and peeled away, revealing shapes of blinding light, shapes that screamed as they swooped upward through the ceiling, like hellish ghosts.

Tank lowered his smoking guns slightly and walked forward, smiling at the Dark Elder.  "Now, Amigo, we finish this man-to-can.  What do you say?"

The Dark Elder holstered his cannon and slowly raised his hands in front of him, evil energies crackling between his fingertips.  He said, "Outflow chute is clogged.  Pressure reaching critical levels."

Juno Steele shook his head, and let a long, heartfelt sigh escape from his lips.  He looked up from the inventory reports on his ClipCom, ran his fingers over his bald spot, then tapped the icon that initiated a manual backflush of Slurry Tank 4.

He slumped back into his battered chair and sighed again.  Juno Steele did a lot of sighing.  "I have definitely got the most boring job in Plymouth."

Go to Unit Reference


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 have buttons that call additional displays; these allow you to control production or storage at those facilities.

Go to Structure Status Display
Go to Structure Storage Displays
Go to Structure Production Displays
Go to the Command Pane


Structure 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.  (You may also double-click the item in the list box 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.

This display allows you to select the number of Scientists to be assigned to the research project.

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.

•	Scientists Available shows the number of Scientists in the colony who are not currently assigned to either operating a structure or researching another project.

•	Assigned To This Project is the number of Scientists already assigned to this topic.

•	Maximum Project Staff indicates the maximum number of Scientists who may be assigned to the project.

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 under way, 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.

Go to Structure Displays


Structure Status

Each structure can exist in three states:  Active, Idle, or Disabled.  The Active state is the default once construction has been completed; an Active structure has all of its requirements met, is not seriously damaged, and is functioning normally.

Disabled

Structures become Disabled for several reasons:

1	EMP Attack.  Structures that require Power to operate become Disabled if a successful EMP attack is made against them.  (EMP attacks disrupt a structure’s ability to draw Power.)  The structure will continue to draw Scientists and Workers, but will not draw any Power and will not function until the duration of the EMP effect has passed and Power is restored.  (NOTE:  Structures that do not require Power, such as the Tokamak, are not affected by EMP attacks.)

2	Lack of Connection to Command Center.  Structures that require either Scientists or Workers to operate become Disabled if they are not connected to a Command Center; this prevents the structure from obtaining people.  The structure will continue to draw Power, but will not use any Scientists or Workers and will not function until the connection is regained (new Tubes are laid) and all Colonist requirements are met.

3	Heavy Damage.  Structures whose Hit Points fall below 25 percent become Disabled.  The structure will continue to draw Power, Scientists, and Workers, but will not function until repaired.

4	Insufficient Power.  Structures that require Power to operate become Disabled if there is insufficient Power to fully meet the requirement.  Should this happen, the structure will continue to draw Scientists and Workers normally, but will not draw any Power and will not function.

5	Insufficient Scientists.  Structures that require Scientists to operate become Disabled if not enough Scientists are available to fully meet the requirement.  Should this happen, the structure will continue to draw Power and Workers normally, but will not use any Scientists and will not function until sufficient Scientists are available.

6	Insufficient Workers.  Structures that require Workers to operate become Disabled if not enough Workers are available to fully meet the requirement.  Should this happen, the structure will continue to draw Power and Scientists normally, but will not use any Workers and will not function until sufficient Workers are available.

7	Special Requirements.  Some structures have special operational requirements, without which they become Disabled.  For example, the Solar Power Array requires a corresponding Solar Satellite in orbit.

Idled

You may choose to deactivate, or Idle, any Active or Disabled structure, generally for the purpose of freeing up resources for use at other structures.  (Another reason to Idle a structure is that Idled structures take less damage from disasters and attacks.)  All Power, Scientists, and Workers are released when a structure is Idled.  If, while a structure is Idled, something happens that would have caused it to become Disabled had it been Active, you will be unable to reactivate the structure until the problem has been fixed.  Put another way, structures cannot be activated into a Disabled state.  (Should you try to activate such a structure, a message will appear in the Status Bar informing you as to the reason the structure cannot be activated.  The structure will remain Idle.)

Go to Rules

Go to Structure Status Display


Structure Status Display

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 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 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.  This is 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 in the colony 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 two Residences (capacity of 50) and 75 Colonists, the Colony Demand will be 150 percent.

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.

Go to Structure Status

Go  to Structure Displays


Structure 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.

In each of these cases, you can press <Alt+#> (where # is the number of the storage bay) instead of clicking on a storage bay icon.

Quantity storage facilities, such as Agridomes or Common Ore Smelters, are a bit simpler.  If the Cargo Truck on the dock is loaded, pressing the UNLOAD button moves its cargo into storage, provided that its cargo is appropriate for the facility.  If the Cargo Truck is empty, clicking the LOAD button will fill it.

Go to Structure Displays


Supernova

Plymouth Supernova
Common Metals Cost	very high	Rare Metals Cost	very low
Area of Effect	very large	Range	NA
Rate of Fire	NA	Concussion Damage	very high
Penetration Damage	very high
In addition to the smaller Starflare, Plymouth has also developed the much more powerful Supernova self-destruct turret.  The Supernova employs a cluster bomb approach to deliver massive damage over a wide, but strictly controlled, area.  A central charge delivers damage close to the turret and distributes a ring of secondary shaped charges that explode a fraction of a second later to devastating effect.  A well-placed Supernova is capable of destroying an entire column of enemy units, or taking out numerous structures.

Operational Notes: The Supernova is a more powerful version of the Starflare.  It is a self-destruct weapon; the combat chassis or Guard Post carrying it is destroyed when the weapon is fired.  NOTE:  This weapon is available only to Plymouth.

Go to Unit Reference


System Requirements

To play Outpost 2, your computer must meet these minimum requirements:

Windows® 95/NT 4.0 or higher

IBM PC-compatible with a 60 MHz Pentium processor or better

16 MB of RAM

2x CD-ROM drive

10 MB of free space on your hard drive.  (10 MB are required for the “Compact” installation.  50 MB of free space are required for the “Typical” installation.  See Installing and Uninstalling Outpost 2.)

Local bus SVGA card with at least 1 MB of Video RAM. (NOTE: The card must support a 640 x 480 resolution in 16-bit color mode.)

Windows® 95 compatible sound card

DirectX™ 3a is required for sound and for some other functions.  See Troubleshooting for more information.

Go to Getting Started


Technical Support

Automated Technical Support Line - USA

1-425-644-4343

Sierra On-Line offers a 24-hour Automated Technical Support line with recorded answers to the most frequently asked technical questions. To access this service, call (425) 644-4343, and follow the recorded instructions to find your specific topic and resolve the issue. If this fails to solve your problem, you may still write, or fax us with your questions, or contact us via our On-Line services.

U.S. Technical Support

Sierra On-Line Technical Support P.O. Box 85006 Bellevue, WA 98015-8506	Main: (425) 644-4343 Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. PST  Fax:   (425) 644-7697
Automated Technical Support Line - United Kingdom

(0118) 920-9111

Sierra On-Line UK offers a 24-hour Automated Technical Support line with recorded answers to the most frequently asked technical questions. To access this service, call (0118) 920-9111, and follow the recorded instructions to find your specific topic and resolve the issue. If this fails to solve your problem, you may still write, or fax us with your questions, or contact us via our Internet or CompuServe sites.

Sierra On-Line Limited 2 Beacontree Plaza Gillette Way Reading, Berkshire RG2 0BS United Kingdom	Phone: (0118) 920-9111 Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fax:   (0118) 987-5603
France

Parc Tertiaire de Meudon Immeuble "Le Newton 25 rue Jeanne Braconnier 92366 Meudon La Forêt Cedex France	Téléphone: 01-46-01-46-50 Support Technique automatisé 7 jours sur 7 24h/24 Techniciens accessibles du Lundi au Vendredi de 10h à 19h Fax: 01-46-30-00-65
Germany

Sierra Coktel Vision Deutschland Robert-Bosh-Str. 32 D-63303 Dreieich Deutschland	Phone: (0) 6103-99-40-40 Montag bis Freitag von 9 - 19Uhr Fax: (0) 6103-99-40-35 Mailbox: (0) 6103-99-40-41
Spain

Coktel Educative Multimedia Avenida de Burgos 9 1¼-OF228036 Madrid Spain	Tel-fono: (01) 383-2623 Lunes a Viernes de 9h30 a 14h y de 15h a 18h30Fax: (01) 381-2437
Italy	 - Contattare il vostro distribotore

Technical Support is also available online

CompuServe USA:	GO SIERRA
CompuServe United Kingdom:	GO UKSIERRA
CompuServe France:	GO FRSIERRA
CompuServe Germany:	GO GESIERRA
America Online:	Keyword Sierra
Internet USA:	http://www.sierra.com
Internet United Kingdom:	http://www.sierra-online.co.uk
Internet France:	http://www.sierra.fr
Internet Germany:	http://www.sierra.de
Go to Getting Started

Go to Sales Support


Terrain and Movement

There are three types of vehicles in Outpost 2:  wheeled, tracked, and legged.  Most vehicles are wheeled.  The Robo-Dozer, Earthworker, and Tiger Heavy Combat Chassis are tracked.  The Spider and Scorpion are legged.  Each of these types of vehicles travels at a different rate across the various kinds of terrain on New Terra.

New Terra’s six main terrain types affect the movement speeds of vehicles.  Much of New Terra is desert terrain, either hard-packed, flat sand or rolling sand dunes.  The desert gives way to rocky plains, some of which has been partially terraformed by Eden and contains some genetically engineered scrub brush.  Finally, the volcanic regions have two kinds of lava areas:  the lighter, older flows and the darker, more recent ones.  Each of these terrain types has a different effect on movement speed, based on the type of vehicle moving across them.  And any of these terrains may be bulldozed by a Robo-Dozer, which allows vehicles to move through them more quickly.

The effects of terrain on movement are shown below.

	Legged	Wheeled	Tracked
Sand Dunes	Slowest	Slow	Slow
Rocky Plains	Fast	Fast	Fast
Ancient Lava	Normal	Slow	Normal
Bulldozed	Fastest	Fastest	Fastest
Flat Sand	Normal	Normal	Normal
Scrub Brush	Fast	Fast	Fast
Recent Lava	Slow	Slowest	Slowest
There are also various terrain features through which vehicles may not pass; these include cliffs, boulders, fumaroles, magma vents, craters, and volcanoes.  These may not be bulldozed.

Go to Rules


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

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

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

Go to Interface Guide


The Detail Pane

The Detail Pane is the primary area you will use to command your colony.  Here you can see all 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.  A green light means the structure is Active and functioning.  A flashing red light means the structure is Disabled; select the structure and check the Command Pane to see the reason.  A gray light indicates that you have Idled the structure. NOTE: The status lights for Guard Posts are only shown if the Guard Post is Disabled or Idled.

Go to Keyboard and Mouse Controls

Go to Cursors

Go to Interface Reference Contents


The Mini-Map Pane

The Mini-Map Pane, located above the Command Pane, shows an 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
This option increases the number of pixels used to represent each tile, giving you a closer view of the map.

Zoom Out
This option decreases the number of pixels used to represent each tile, allowing you to see more area in the map.

Terrain View	Tactical View
These options toggle between a normal overhead (Tactical) view and a view that emphasizes the different terrain types.

Globe View	 Flat Map View
These buttons, which are available only in multiplayer games using the largest maps, toggle between a spherical globe view and a flat map view.

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.

Go to Interface Guide


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 cursor location.  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 <Esc> key exits Chat Entry mode without sending a message.

Below this is the Incoming Chat display.  Messages from other players (during multiplayer 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.

Go to Interface Guide


Thor's Hammer

Eden Thor's Hammer
Common Metals Cost	very high	Rare Metals Cost	low
Area of Effect	small	Range	very long
Rate of Fire	medium	Concussion Damage	none
Penetration Damage	high
Ongoing research has lead to increasingly effective methods of generating, storing, and releasing electrical power.  Thor's Hammer is the logical outgrowth of this technology, a weapon that is, in effect, directed lightning.  While generating such a large electric arc is a relatively trivial task for colonial technology, targeting it in a useful way is quite another.  Eden has developed a method that uses a particle accelerator to produce a "pilot" beam that guides the bolt to its target.  The result is a devastatingly destructive weapon against which there is little defense.

Operational Notes: Thor's Hammer discharges high-voltage electricity into its target.  NOTE:  This weapon is available only to Eden.

Go to Unit Reference


Tokamak Fusion Reactor

Eden Tokamak	Plymouth Tokamak
Common Metals Cost	medium	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	medium	Tube Connection Required	no
Power Required	none	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	none	Hit Points	high
Scientists Required	none	Armor	heavy
The cool-fusion process used to power vehicles, Arachnid robots, and some self-contained structures like Light Towers and Guard Posts is best used when small, simple, and lightweight power is required.  However, the cool-fusion process does not scale up well to the sizes required to power a colony.

For this, a Tokamak Fusion Reactor is used.  This ancient, brute-force power generation method works very well at city-sized scales.  A ring of superconducting magnets is used to compress a ring of hydrogen plasma to the incredible pressures and temperatures necessary to create the hot-fusion reaction.  The design used is a model of automation and efficiency, and the plant normally operates totally unmanned, requiring only occasional visits for repair and service.

The system is not without its flaws, however.  The Tokamak Reactor harnesses powerful and violent forces, not only nuclear, but magnetic.  Failures can be spectacular and destructive.  For that reason, Tokamak Fusion Reactors are usually located a safe distance from other colony structures.

Operational Notes: The Tokamak produces 250 units of Power.  NOTE:  This structure is unstable and loses hit points continuously.  This structure also explodes when destroyed and may explode spontaneously when damaged.

Tales from New Terra

Kelso didn't like dealing with the Masters, and he especially didn't like dealing with them here.  The Tokamak building was dark, cavernous, and most of all, empty.  His every footstep seemed to echo forever.  Though the air was breathable, it was cold and stale.  This was a place where people were reluctantly tolerated, not welcomed.

He found his contact on the lower levels, outside the fat ring of the reactor containment vessel.  He knew the man only as "Scratch," probably a nickname derived from the long, thin scar that ran from the edge of his left eyebrow, around the eye socket, and down his left cheek.  Scratch nodded in greeting.

"Got the stuff?"  He asked.

Kelso nodded.  "It's in the cargo lock downstairs, 500 pounds of assorted rations."  He handed Scratch a hard copy of the inventory.

Scratch scanned the list.  "I'm gonna want to check this."

Kelso rolled his eyes.  "Can't you just trust me on this one?  I want to get out of here.  This place gives me the creepers."  He shivered.  "Why we gotta meet here, anyway?"

Scratch smiled.  It was a very dangerous-looking expression on his face.  "You remember, Kelso, I don't exist anymore.  Eden thinks I'm dead, and I want to keep it that way.  This is the one place in the colony we can meet and I know there's no chance of running into somebody who will recognize me."

Kelso shivered again.  "Well, I don't like it."  He shrugged dejectedly.  "Come on, let's go have a look at the stuff."

Suddenly, lights began to flash, and a warning siren sounded.  Scratch jumped at the noise, and his tough act vanished; he looked ready to bolt.  "What's that?  Something wrong with the reactor?"

"Containment breach," said Kelso.  "Bad."

"Should we run?"

Kelso just stared at the man.  "No time," he said.

Go to Unit Reference


Trade Center

Eden Trade Center	Plymouth Trade Center
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	10	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	1	Hit Points	low
Scientists Required	none	Armor	light
The Trade Center provides communications facilities for diplomatic transmissions, trade negotiations, barter-transfers, and contract verifications.  A colony with a Trade Center can trade with any other colony.

Operational Notes: You mus have an Active Center to transfer vehicles to another player  NOTE:  This structure is available only in Multiplayer games.

Tales from New Terra

Axen leaned back in the big chair and checked off the last item on his ClipCom.  They'd have to bring in their respective leaders, of course, go through all the political motions for show, but the real work was done.

He looked up at Emma's face projected on the big screen.  Her expression showed the same satisfaction that he felt.

He nodded.  "There we have it then, a trade agreement, and a mutual defense treaty against the Toho Aligned Colonies."

Emma smiled.  "At last.  We've been at this for weeks.  I don't know when was the last time I saw my lab."  She looked into the screen.  "You alone?"

He looked around to be sure.  "Yes."

"Nguyen, is he still chasing that foolish terraforming notion?"

Axen chuckled, glad to have good news.  "He's been so busy worrying about the TAC and maintaining a favorable balance of trade with the other colonies that I don't think he'll ever get around to it."

"Let's hope not."

"Amen."

Go to Unit Reference


Troubleshooting

"What is DirectX™?"

DirectX™ is a collection of software tools, created by Microsoft, that helps game developers make better games for Windows.  Outpost 2 uses some of these tools.  You must have DirectSound® installed to hear sound effects during the game.  DirectPlay® is required to play multiplayer games via Modem, IPX, or Serial connections.  DirectDraw® is used if your Windows® Desktop is set to any "color depth" other than 16-bit (High Color).

Outpost 2 has been designed to work with version 3.0a of DirectX™, which you may install when you install the game.  To install DirectX™ after you have installed Outpost 2:

1	Insert the Outpost 2 CD into your CD-ROM drive.

2	Click the Start button on your taskbar, then choose Run....

3	On the Run dialog box, click the Browse button.

4	On the Browse dialog box, go to the DirectX™ directory on your CD by double-clicking My Computer, then Outpost2, then directx.

5	Select dxsetup (it may appear as dxsetup.exe), then click Open.

6	On the Run dialog box, click OK.

7	On the DirectX(tm) Setup dialog box, click ReInstall DirectX.

You may have to restart Windows to complete the DirectX™ installation process.

NOTE:  At the time of this writing (late July 1997), Microsoft is in the process of releasing DirectX™ 5.  (There was no DirectX™ 4 release.)  Although we have successfully used beta copies of DirectX™ 5 in testing Outpost 2, we do not guarantee compatibility.  If you have difficulties using Outpost 2 with DirectX™ 5, we recommend that you reinstall DirectX™ 3.0a.

"Why can’t I play by Modem, or IPX, or Serial?"

These options on the PICK CONNECTION METHOD dialog box will not appear if you do not have the DirectPlay component of DirectX™ installed.  See What is DirectX™? above for instructions on installing DirectX™.

"Why is there no sound in my game?"

Outpost 2 uses DirectSound®, part of DirectX™, to access your sound card.  You must have DirectSound installed in order to hear sounds from the game. See What is DirectX™? above for instructions on installing DirectX™.

"Why can't I switch to my other applications (using <Alt+Tab> while I'm playing Outpost 2?"

Outpost 2 uses 16-bit color graphics.  If your Windows display is set to any color depth other than 16-bit (High color), Outpost 2 uses the DirectDraw® component of DirectX™ to take control of the display.  You cannot switch to other applications when using DirectDraw®.

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 dialog 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 High Color (16 bit), Outpost 2 will not use DirectDraw®.  Any other setting, such as 16 Color, 256 Color, or True Color (32 bit), will cause Outpost 2 to use DirectDraw®.  If you change this to High Color (16 bit), Outpost 2 will no longer use DirectDraw®, and you should be able to use <Alt+Tab> to task switch normally.

NOTE:  Windows NT users (and Windows 95 users with certain video cards) may see 32768 Colors or 65536 Colors in the Color palette setting, rather than High Color (16-bit).  Outpost 2 will not use DirectDraw® with either of these settings; however, performance may be signficantly slower with the 65536 Colors setting.

"I just finished playing a game by Modem, but I can’t start another one.  Why not?"

Outpost 2 uses the DirectPlay® component of DirectX™ to support Modem play.  Unfortunately, a bug in DirectPlay® fails to close the COM port after the game is finished.  Exit and restart Outpost 2 before starting your next Modem game.

"Outpost 2 is trying to show me a movie, but all I see are diagonal lines on a white background."
"I get an error message: 'Video not available--cannot find vids.iv41 decompressor' whenever Outpost 2 tries to show me a movie."

Outpost 2 uses Intel Indeo video decompression software.  The problems described above indicate that an incorrect version of Indeo is installed.  We recommend that you install Indeo from your Outpost 2 CD.

1	Insert the Outpost 2 CD into your CD-ROM drive.

2	Click the Start button on your taskbar, then choose Run....

3	On the Run dialog box, click the Browse button.

4	On the Browse dialog box, go to the Indeo directory on your CD by double-clicking My Computer, then Outpost2, then indeo.

5	Select Ivi_nt95 (it may appear as Ivi_nt95.exe), then click Open.

6	On the Run dialog box, click OK.

7	Follow the onscreen prompts.

You may have to restart Windows to complete the Indeo installation process.

If you continue to have problems viewing the Outpost 2 movies, you may wish to prevent the movies from playing in the future. To do so, open the OUTPOST2.INI file (located in the directory in which you installed Outpost 2) with Notepad (or another editor) and change the line that says:

ShowMovies=1

to

ShowMovies=0

"I just returned to the game after looking at the online manual or I’m in the process of starting a game on SIGS, and my screen has turned gray, or is blinking, or is black."

These problems may occur when you are switching into DirectDraw® mode.  Outpost 2 uses the DirectDraw® component of DirectX™ when your Desktop display is set to any color depth other than 16-bit color. Should these problems occur, we recommend you change your Color pallette setting to High color (16 bit) on the Settings tab of the Display Properties dialog box. (See Why can't I switch to my other applications (using <Alt+Tab>) while I'm playing Outpost 2?)

I use Windows NT.  Why does Outpost 2 seem to run so slowly?

Check your Color palette setting.  If this is set to 65536 Colors, try changing it to 32768 Colors.  To change the Color palette, right-click on your Desktop (when you are not running Outpost 2), and select Properties from the popup menu.  When the Display Properties dialog box appears, select the Settings tab.  Below the picture of a monitor, on the left side, check the area titled Color palette.  Make sure this says 32768 Colors or High Color (16 bit).

Why this is a problem:  Outpost 2 will use DirectDraw® to display the game when you are not at a High Color setting.  Both 65536 Colors and 32768 Colors are High Color settings, but 65536 Colors requires the computer to send extra data to the video card.  This extra work can be used instead to run the game if you change your settings to 32768 Colors.

I can start an IPX network game, but others cannot see my game.

Check to make sure you are on the same physical network (LAN) as players who are attempting to join your game.  If you are on a Novell network, you can check this by using the userlist or nlist commands and verifying that the network addresses of all players are the same.

"I'm using TCP/IP to start games, but no one can ever see them."
"I can't find my friend's game when we try to play via TCP/IP."
"I can't connect to SIGS."

In multiplayer games, Outpost 2 sends game data between computers in the form of UDP (user datagram protocol) packets.  In some situations, your computer may not be able to receive UDP packets.  If you are trying to play using TCP/IP, this means that games you create may not be seen by other players or you may not be able to see other players games.  If you are trying to connect to the Sierra Internet Gaming System (SIGS), you may receive an error message informing you that you will not be able to start a game.

If you are using TCP/IP through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or through a computer connected directly to the Internet (such as a local area network at work), you may not be able to receive UDP packets.  This may be because your ISP does not provide a unique IP address to which those packets may be sent or your computer may be behind a "firewall" which blocks UDP packets.  Contact your ISP or network administrator for assistance.

Technical note:  If you are trying to use a local area network which is behind a firewall, ask your network adminstrator to allow UDP packets on ports xBAA0 through xBABF.

I start a TCP/IP network game, but others cannot see my game by broadcasting on the local network.

Your network may not be forwarding broadcast packets to you.  Have the other players join by explicitly specifying your IP address.  To determine your IP address, click the Start button on your Taskbar and choose Run....  Type winipcfg in the Open edit box and press <Enter>.  Your IP address will be listed in the IP Configuration dialog box.  If your IP address is 0.0.0.0, your network has not provided you with a unique IP address to which the other players can connect.  Contact your network administrator.

I start a TCP/IP network game, but others cannot see my game even if they look explicitly at my IP address

You may be separated from the other players by a firewall or other packet filter.  To test this, find out the IP address of one of the other players (see I start a TCP/IP network game, but others cannot see my game by broadcasting on the local network for instructions on finding out their IP address),  then click the Start button on your Taskbar and move your cursor to Programs, then choose MS-DOS Prompt from the menu .  Type ping followed by the other player’s IP address in the MS-DOS Prompt window and press <Enter>.

If your computer responds with text that begins Reply from (IP address), you are likely behind a firewall.  Consult your network administrator.

If your computer responds with other messages, such as Request timed out or Destination host unreachable, there may be something wrong with your network connection.

I requested a password from SIGS, but my password never arrived by email.

You may have mistyped your email address, or there may have been a problem with email communication between your mail system and SIGS.  Request a new username and password.

My network game is very slow.

Multiplayer games of Outpost 2 run at the speed of the slowest player in the game.  If any player in your game has a slow machine, or low-quality network connection, all players will run slowly.

The speed of the slowest machine can be governed by either its video performance or its network connection.

To see if your game speed is being limited by video performance:

•	Have all players play at 640x480 resolution.

•	Play with day and night effects turned off.

If these steps don’t make the game run faster, it is probably network communication that is the problem.  In this case:

•	Try to play only with other players who have high-quality connections.  Realize that this involves more than just having a high-speed modem.  Line quality, and your Internet Service Provider (if you are using one) are also very important.

•	Limit the number of players in your games.  For Internet games, we recommend no more than two players with 14.4 modems or lower quality connections, and no more than 4 players with 28.8 (or faster) modems and high quality connections.  Five or six player games are only recommended for LAN IPX games, or when all players are directly connected to the Internet.

I’m trying to play on SIGS or on the Internet using TCP/IP, and my ISP is America Online.  Why does the game seem so slow?

Unlike other service providers, America Online does not provide a direct connection to the Internet.  Instead, AOL connects you to their system, through which you can access the Internet.  This intermediary role played by AOL may slow the data transfer rate and reduce game performance, not only with Outpost 2, but many other games as well.  For this reason, we do not recommend using AOL as an ISP for playing Outpost 2 on the Internet.  See the answers to My network game is very slow for other suggestions on improving the performance of multiplayer games.

Go to Getting Started


Tutorial 1.  Navigating the Map

This tutorial introduces you to the Outpost 2 interface.

What You Will Learn About in This Tutorial

Using the Mini-Map

Using the Detail Pane

Setting Map Bookmarks

Selecting and De-Selecting Structures

Starting the Tutorial

1	Start Outpost 2.

2	At the Main Menu, click TUTORIALS.

3	The Tutorials dialog box will appear on your screen.  In the list box, select Tutorial 1 - Navigating the Map then click START.

4	After the game loads, it should appear as in the picture below.

5	At any time, you may pause the game by pressing <Ctrl+P> or the <Pause> key on your keyboard.  Press <Ctrl+P> or <Pause> again to resume your game.

6	During the game, your Savant computer voice will inform you of your colony’s status. You may disregard these messages during this tutorial.

Interface Panes

7	The largest of the four parts of the game window is called the Detail Pane.  Move your mouse around in the Detail Pane.  In the Status Bar, located directly below the Detail Pane, you will see the coordinates change as you move your cursor.  These coordinates are given in an X,Y format.  On this map, the upper left corner is 1,1 and the lower right corner is 64,63.

8	Look at the area in the upper right corner of the screen.   This is the Mini-Map Pane.  Notice the three blue dots and the white rectangle.  The blue dots represent structures or vehicles belonging to the blue player (which, in this tutorial, is you).  The rectangle indicates the area of the game map currently shown in the Detail Pane.

9	Move your cursor all the way to the top, bottom, or either side of your screen.  Notice the Detail Pane scrolling until you reach the edge of the map.  The rectangle in the Mini-Map has also moved to the edge of the Mini-Map.

10	In the lower right corner of the screen is the Command Pane.  Information about your colony, your structures, and your vehicles can be displayed here.  Right now, it shows you the Mission Objectives display for this mission; because this is a tutorial, this display reads Please see the Outpost 2 manual for instructions on this tutorial.

Using the Mini-Map

11	Move your cursor into the Mini-Map area and left-click.  Notice that the rectangle jumps to where you clicked and the Detail Pane is now showing that location on the map as well. Left-clicking in the Mini-Map is the fastest way to move the Detail Pane around on large maps.

12	Three small buttons are at the top of the Mini-Map.

The [image] button will zoom in on the Mini-Map only.

The [image] button will zoom out.

The third button switches between the Terrain view [image] and the Tactical view [image] .

Left-click these buttons a few times to see their effects.

13	Right-click in the Mini-Map several times.  The Mini-Map buttons will move to the different edges of the map and then toggle off. Right-click again to bring the buttons back to the top of the Mini-Map.

14	Move your cursor into the rectangle in the Mini-Map, then press and hold the left mouse button.  Notice the rectangle turns light blue while you have the mouse button held down.  Now drag the rectangle around inside the Mini-Map and watch the Detail Pane map scroll as well.  This is another quick way to move around the map.

Using the Detail Pane

15	Left-click on or near the blue dot in the center of the Mini-Map. You should see a structure in the Detail Pane.  Move your cursor over the top of the structure, but do NOT click it.  After a moment, a gray outline will appear around the structure, some text identifying the structure will pop up over it, and a green bar will appear above it.  (The green bar shows the relative structural integrity of the building.)  These items are the Unit ID indicator.  Left-clicking the structure will select it.  If no structures or vehicles are currently selected you can identify any vehicle or structure on the map by using this "cursor rollover" technique.

16	You may have noticed the left and right sides of the map are darker than the center.  This is the effect of night and day in Outpost 2.  In many missions, this area of darkness will slowly move from left to right across the map. Find the Light Tower near the left side of the map at coordinates 5,38.  Notice the difference between the darkness and the area that is lit surrounding the Light Tower.  All Active structures have their lights on.

17	Move to the Tokamak near the center of your map at 33,25.  Center it in the Detail Pane and press the <+> key on your keyboard (NOT the Mini-Map) twice.  This zooms in the Detail Pane, allowing you to see the details on some structures a little more closely.  It is also useful for finding vehicles parked behind tall structures. To zoom out to normal view, press <-> twice.

Setting Map Bookmarks

18	While the Tokamak is in the Detail Pane, press <Ctrl+F5>.  This "bookmarks" this location on the map for easy reference later.

19	Scroll the Detail Pane to the Common Ore Mine near the right of the map, at 51,35.  When the Common Ore Mine is in the Detail Pane, bookmark this area by pressing <Ctrl+F6>.

20	Press <F5> to go back to the Tokamak.  Press <F6> to go back to the Common Ore Mine.  You can place bookmarks this way for keys from <F5> through <F12>.

Selecting and De-selecting Structures

21	Press <F5> to see the Tokamak in the Detail Pane.  Move the cursor over the structure and left-click.  It is now selected.  This is indicated by the white outline around the structure and the green bar above it. (The difference between this and the cursor rollover effect is that the outline is white when a structure is selected, and no identifying text appears over the structure.)

22	Look at the Command Pane.  It now shows more detailed information about your Tokamak. You may see details in the Command Pane for any of your vehicles or structures by selecting them in the Detail Pane.

23	Press <F6> to go to the bookmark near your Common Ore Mine.  Note that in the Command Pane your Tokamak is still selected, even though it is no longer showing in the Detail Pane.  Vehicles and structures do NOT have to be in your Detail Pane to remain selected.

24	With your cursor in the Detail Pane, right-click.  This will "de-select" your current selection.  Notice that the Command Pane is blank except for your colony logo in the background.  Now move the cursor over the Common Ore Mine and keep it there until the rollover text appears.   Rollover text appears only when you do not currently have a selected structure or vehicle.

25	Press <Tab> several times.  The first press selects a structure, and each subsequent press proceeds through the rest of your structures.  Press <Shift+Tab> to go backward through the list.

Leaving the Tutorial

26	Between the Mini-Map and the Command Pane, there is a row of six buttons.  (These will be described in Tutorial 3.)  Click the right-most button.  This is the Game Options button.

27	On the Game Options menu, click END MISSION.

28	The Game End: Single Player menu gives you three choices to end this tutorial.  RESTART MISSION will reset the tutorial to the beginning.  Click BACK TO MAIN MENU if you want to continue playing Outpost 2, in either another tutorial or an actual game.  Click EXIT OUTPOST 2 if you are finished playing for now.

This is the end of Tutorial 1.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go to Tutorial 2


Tutorial 10.  Morale

This tutorial introduces you to the causes and effects of your Colonists' happiness (or lack thereof).

What You Will Learn About in This Tutorial

 An Overview of Morale

 Residences

 Food Production

 Disabled Buildings

 Nursery and Medical Center

 Unoccupied Colonists and Scientists as Workers

An Overview of Morale

1	Start Tutorial 10 - Morale

2	The Morale of your Colonists is one of your major concerns.  It affects several things:  the production rate at factories and Agridomes, the research rate at laboratories, and the birth and death rates of your Colonists.

3	Two kinds of things affect Morale:  events and conditions.  Events have an immediate impact on Morale, but the effect wears off as time passes.  Morale events include such things as:  the birth of a Child, disasters (such as a meteorite impact), and the death of a Scientist.

4	Conditions continually affect Morale.  Their effects do not wear off, but the value of the condition can change over time, which changes their effect on Morale.  Morale conditions include such things as: the housing capacity at Residences, the percentage of your Colonists who do not have work assignments (unoccupied Colonists), and the percentage of your Scientists who are assigned to Worker jobs.  The Morale Report shows the conditions that affect your colony.

Residences

5	In previous tutorials, Morale has been permanently set at 75.  In his tutorial, Morale will "float." Check the Morale report by pressing <Alt+M>.  The top line of the report says No Residences.

6	Move a ConVec to the Structure Factory and load it with a Residence kit.

7	Build the Residence.  Make sure to deploy it so that it is connected by Tubes to the rest of your colony.  If after you place it you find that it is not connected, use the Earthworker to build Tubes to connect it.

8	When the Residence is fully constructed and connected check the Morale report again.  It may take a few moments for the change to have an effect on the people, but eventually the top line will change to say Residence Demand followed by a percentage.

9	Although having one Residence is better than having none, the demand is still over 100 percent.  Build another Residence structure kit at the Structure Factory.

Food Production

10	While the Residence kit is being produced, move a ConVec to the Structure Factory dock and load it with the Agridome kit.

11	Check the Morale report.  The second line of the report indicates that the Net Food Production is negative - the colony is consuming more Food than it produces.  Press <Alt+F> to see the Food report.  A Food deficit is bad for Morale.

12	Order the ConVec to deploy the Agridome.  Make sure to deploy it so that it is connected by Tubes to the rest of your colony.  If after you place it you find that it is not connected, use the Earthworker to build Tubes to connect it.

13	A few moments after the Agridome is completely assembled and connected, check the Food and Morale reports.  Net Food Production is now positive.

14	The Residence kit should now be ready at the Structure Factory.  Load it onto a ConVec and build it, making sure that it is connected to the Tube system.

Disabled Buildings

15	Check the Morale report.  The third line is Disabled Bldg. Ratio.  Your Colonists will lose faith in your management ability if you have Disabled buildings.

16	The Standard Lab is Disabled because it is not connected to the Command Center.  Have the Earthworker connect the lab.

17	Check the Morale report.  When it updates, the Disabled Building Ratio should be zero percent.

Nursery and Medical Center

18	The bottom line of the Morale report says Nursery not operational.  Having children and a place to care for them increases the Morale of your colonists.

19	Send a ConVec to the Structure Factory to load and then build the Nursery.  As usual, make sure it is connected to the colony.

20	When the Nursery is completed, check your Morale report.  The bottom line has changed to Nursery Operational.  You need to have only one Nursery operational in your colony.

21	The second line from the bottom in your Morale report says No Med. Centers.  Medical Centers will not only improve Morale but will also decrease the mortality rate of the Colonists.

22	Pick up the Medical Center kit in storage and build it in the colony somewhere making sure it is connected.

23	When construction of the Medical Center is complete, check the Morale report.  The Medical Center line now reads Med. Center Demand followed by a percentage, which should be less than 100 percent.

Unoccupied Colonists and Scientists as Workers

24	Your colony's Morale should be improving.  Morale will increase or decrease a little bit at a time.

25	The fourth line of the Morale report reads Unoccupied colonists, followed by a percentage.  Adult Colonists, that is, Workers and Scientists, who are not occupied in labor, training, or research become unhappy, lowering Morale.

26	Select the Standard Lab.  Start researching Cybernetic Teleoperation with the maximum number of Scientists allowed on the project.

27	Check the Morale report.  The Unoccupied Colonists rate should decrease, perhaps all the way to zero percent.  Morale should improve.

28	Having too many Scientists will bring Morale down.  Converting all of your Workers into Scientists means some of your most highly educated and skilled Colonists will have to do the jobs of Workers, which has a negative effect on Morale. However, completing new research topics has a positive impact on Morale - and this is most quickly accomplished by assigning the maximum number of Scientists allowed to each project.  Keeping a proper balance of Scientists and Workers is an important key to success in Outpost 2.

This is the end of Tutorial 10.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go to Tutorial 11

Go Back to Tutorial 9


Tutorial 11.  Colony Control

This tutorial lets you practice all you have learned in previous tutorials, as well as learn some advanced colony management techniques.

What You Will Learn About in This Tutorial

 Colonies with Multiple Command Centers

 Structure States and Status Lights

 Reconnecting Structures to Command Centers

 Dealing with Worker Shortages

 Dealing with Power Shortages

 Births and the Nursery

Colonies with Multiple Command Centers

1	Start Tutorial 11 - Colony Control

2	This map shows two Command Centers.  A colony can have Command Centers in several locations, each with its own group of structures attached.  Supplies and people are automatically transferred between these "bases."

3	Press <Home> to select your lowest numbered Command Center.  This is your main base, with most of your structures connected to it.

4	Press <Tab> to select the next Command Center, which has only a Common Ore Smelter connected to it.

Structure States and Status Lights

5	Press <Shift+Tab> to return to Command Center #1-01.  Several structures near this Command Center are Disabled.

6	Structures can be in three states:  Active, Disabled, and Idled.  A structure's current status is indicated in the Detail Pane by its Status Light. This is a small light usually located in the upper left above the structure.  All structures have Status Lights on them.

7	Green Status Lights indicate the structure is Active and operating normally.  Status Lights that are off (gray) show that the structure has been Idled.  Flashing Red Status Lights indicate a Disabled structure. (NOTE: The status lights on the Guard Posts will only appear if the Guard Post is Disabled or Idled.)

8	Click on each Disabled structure in your colony.  The Status line in the Command Pane will show you the specific reason why a structure is Disabled.  Some are Disabled because they do not have enough Power, some have insufficient Workers or Scientists, and some are not connected to a Command Center via the Tube system.

Reconnecting Structures to Command Centers

9	Agridome #1-02 is Disabled because it is not connected to a Command Center.  Building a Tube at 48,23 would reconnect the Agridome.  However, Tubes can be built only by an Earthworker and currently this colony does not have one.

10	Select the Vehicle Factory at 45,32.  Click BUILD.

11	Double-click on the word Earthworker.  The factory will begin to produce an Earthworker.

12	When you hear the message "Vehicle Ready" (or see the message Earthworker #1-01 produced in the Status Bar), press <Spacebar>.  This centers the Detail Pane on the location associated with the most recent message (received from your Savant computer) linked to a location or building.

13	Select the Earthworker.  Have it build a tube at 48,23.  The Agridome is now reconnected to the Command Center.

Dealing with Worker Shortages

14	Some structures are Disabled because your colony does not have enough Workers to operate them.  Children can become new Workers only if the colony has an Active University to train them as they grow older.  Be patient:  Children learn at their own rate so keep the University Active and wait for the Workers to become available.

15	Until then, you can Idle unneeded structures to make the Workers operating them available for use elsewhere.  Since you have already built an Earthworker, select the Vehicle Factory.  Notice that it requires three workers.

16	Click IDLE.  Your Savant computer system will automatically reassign these Workers to other structures.

17	Idling the Vehicle Factory made Workers available to Activate some of the Disabled structures but some may still lack Workers.  If necessary, idle Common Ore Smelter #1-02, located near the Command Center in the lower left corner of the map.  These Workers will also be reassigned.

18	Select the Vehicle Factory and click ACTIVATE. If you do not have enough available workers, a beep sounds and the Status Bar reads INSUFFICIENT WORKERS TO ACTIVATE.  You will not be able to activate this structure until you have more Workers.

19	Check your Resources report.  When the number of Workers Available and Scientists Available grows to three or more, select the Vehicle Factory.

20	Click ACTIVATE.  The Vehicle Factory is now Active.  Scientists who are not occupied at a structure or in research can also be used as Workers (though this has a negative impact on Morale).

Dealing with Power Shortages

21	Check your Resources report.  When the number of Workers Available and Scientists Available grows to three or more, select Common Ore Smelter #1-02.

22	Click ACTIVATE.  A beep sounds and the Status Bar reads INSUFFICIENT POWER TO ACTIVATE.  You will not be able to Activate this structure until you have more Power.

23	Select the Structure Factory and order it to build a Tokamak structure kit.

24	Move a ConVec to the Structure Factory's dock.  When the Tokamak is completed, load it onto the ConVec, then deploy the Tokamak.

25	When construction is finished, select the Idled smelter and click ACTIVATE.  The structure is now Active.

Births and the Nursery

26	As time passes new Children will be born. If you have an Active University, some Children will become Workers ready to join the workforce.  Watch the Colonists report change as births, deaths, and new Workers are reported. Remember that Workers are twice as likely as Scientists to have Children.

27	Select the Nursery and click IDLE.

28	Check your Communications report and watch the messages for awhile.  No Children will be born while the Nursery is Idled.  Active Nurseries also reduce the infant mortality rate for your colony.

29	Activate the Nursery and watch the Communications report.  Your colony is soon growing with new Children.

This is the end of Tutorial 11.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go to Tutorial 12

Go Back to Tutorial 10


Tutorial 12:  Spaceport

This tutorial introduces you to the space program production and launch facility.

What You Will Learn About in This Tutorial

 Spaceport Storage

 Launch Vehicle and Payload Production

 The Launch Pad

Spaceport Storage

1	Start Tutorial 12 - Spaceport

2	Select the Cargo Truck at 45,27.  Its cargo is a completed starship component.

3	Move the cursor over the Spaceport dock at 49,24 and click.  The truck will move onto the dock.

4	Select the Spaceport.

5	Click STORAGE.

6	Click Storage Bay #3, or press <Alt+3>.  The part will move into storage.  The Spaceport and the Spaceport dock work in the same way as many of the other structures with docks.  The control of the dock is not from the vehicle on the dock but by the structure.

Launch Vehicle and Payload Production

7	Click STATUS to return to the Spaceport Status display.

8	Click BUILD.

9	Double-click EDWARD Satellite to start building it.  This works in the same manner as the Structure Factory and Vehicle Factory.

10	Like the other factories, the Spaceport can build only one item at a time.  When the EDWARD Satellite is completed click on BUILD.

11	Double-click SULV to begin construction of a Single-Use Launch Vehicle.  As it progresses it will begin to take shape on the Spaceport’s launch pad.

The Launch Pad

12	When the SULV is ready, a new button will appear in the Command Pane that says LAUNCH PAD.  Click it.

13	Notice the Launch Pad display at the bottom of the Command Pane.  The SULV is empty.  Click on the EDWARD Satellite to load it into the rocket.

14	The LAUNCH button is now available.  Click it to send your satellite into orbit.

This is the end of Tutorial 12.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go to Tutorial E & P: The Unit References

Go Back to Tutorial 11


Tutorial 2.  Basic Vehicle Commands

This tutorial introduces you to basic vehicle operations.

What You Will Learn About in This Tutorial

 Selecting, De-selecting, and Group Selecting

 Reading the Vehicle Status Displays

 Moving and Stopping Vehicles

 Two Ways to Find Your Vehicles

 Turning Out the Lights

Selecting, De-selecting, and Group Selecting

1	Start Tutorial 2 - Basic Vehicle Commands.

2	Left-click the Cargo Truck at 35,27.  The Cargo Truck is now selected, as indicated by the white outline around it and green Strength Bar above it in the Detail Pane.  The Command Pane has changed to show the Status display for the selected vehicle.

3	Right-click anywhere in the Detail Pane to de-select your vehicle.  The Command Pane is now empty.

4	Move your cursor to 33,25.  Now press and hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse down and to the right.  As you move the mouse, you will draw a "drag-select" box.  When the mouse reaches 45,30 release the mouse button.  You have now group-selected all three Cargo Trucks. Right-click to deselect your vehicles.

5	Select the Cargo Truck at 35,27 again, then press and hold the <Shift> key and left-click the other two Cargo Trucks.  You may add vehicles to a selection by shift-clicking them in this way.  You may include up to 32 vehicles in a group selection.

6	Shift-click the Cargo Truck on the right.  When you shift-click a selected vehicle, it becomes de-selected, but the other vehicles remain selected.

Reading Vehicle Status Displays

7	Shift-click the middle Cargo Truck, leaving only the left Cargo Truck selected.  The Command Pane shows the Status display for this vehicle.

8	The top section of the display shows the vehicle's name and identification number, a picture of the vehicle, numbers and a bar graph indicating its current and maximum Hit Points, and its lights on/off switch.

9	The bottom of the Command Pane shows the vehicle's Command Icon buttons.  Clicking these buttons will issue commands to the vehicle.  Move your cursor over the upper left button.  The button animates while your cursor is over it.

10	As you keep your cursor over the button, the Status Bar indicates the button's function:  MOVE THE VEHICLE.  The letter "M" at the beginning of this message is red, indicating the keyboard shortcut for this command is <M>.  You can order the vehicle to move either by clicking the Move button or by pressing <M>.

11	Shift-click the other Cargo Trucks.  The Command Pane changes to a Status display for the group of vehicles you have selected.  The top section shows the logo of your colony instead of a picture of the vehicle.  Instead of the vehicle name and ID number, the display shows how many vehicles you have selected.  In the Command Icon portion of the display, the commands available vary with the types of vehicles selected.

Moving and Stopping Vehicles

12	De-select the middle and right Cargo Trucks, either by shift-clicking them or by right-clicking then selecting Cargo Truck #1-01 again.

13	Click the Move button in the Command Pane, then move your cursor back to the Detail Pane.  It has changed into the Move cursor.

14	Move your cursor to 35,32 and left-click.  The Cargo Truck will move to 35,32.

15	Select the truck at 39,27.  Move your cursor to 39,32.  The cursor has already changed to the Move cursor. Because Move is the most frequent command you will give to vehicles, it is the default cursor any time you select a vehicle.  Click directly on coordinates 35,26.  Cargo Truck #1-02 is still selected and will move to 35,26.

16	Now click on coordinates 43,32.  The Cargo Truck will begin to move.  Before it gets all the way there, move your cursor into the Command Pane and click on the Stop button.  The Cargo Truck will apply its brakes and stop.

Two Ways to Find Your Vehicles

17	Select Cargo Truck #1-01 again - it should be at or near coordinates 35,32.  Order it to move to coordinates 20,50.  Then move the Detail Pane back to your other two trucks (but do not select them) by left clicking between their dots in the Mini-Map.  Wait for the Cargo Truck to move out of your view on the Detail Pane (do not scroll the map).

18	If you have a vehicle selected, but it is not in view in the Detail Pane, you can find it by pressing <H>.  This will "home" the Detail Pane on your currently selected vehicle.

19	If you want to see where each of your vehicles are, press <Tab>.  Each press will show you another vehicle.  Press <Tab> several more times to go through all of your vehicles.  (NOTE:  If you have structures deployed, as you did in Tutorial 1, pressing <Tab> will show you all of your structures as well as your vehicles.)  You may also press <Shift+Tab> to go backwards through the list.

Turning Out the Lights

20	Press <Tab> until Cargo Truck #1-01 is selected again.

21	This tutorial occurs at night.  Like structures, vehicles have floodlights all around them that allow them to see where they are going in the dark.  Turn these lights off for the selected vehicle (or for all vehicles in a group-selection) by clicking the light switch button in the upper right corner of the Command Pane.

22	When your Cargo Truck is in the dark, it is more difficult to see on the Detail Pane except for the "selected" border.  Vehicles in the dark move at half normal speed since they must find their way more carefully in the dark.  Turning your lights off in the dark can be used for tactical advantage in multiplayer games.  If your vehicles have their lights off in the dark, they will not be visible on your opponents' Mini-Maps.  They will still be visible on the Mini-Maps of any players you have allied with, and, of course on your own Mini-Map.

23	Turn the lights of your Cargo Truck back on by clicking the light switch button.

24	Press <Tab> until you have selected Cargo Truck #1-02.  To turn the lights out on a vehicle rather more permanently, move your cursor over the Self-Destruct button in the Command Pane and click it.  You no longer have a Cargo Truck #1-02.  Each vehicle carries a small self-destruct charge that also does minor damage to any adjacent structure or vehicle.

This is the end of Tutorial 2.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go to Tutorial 3

Go Back to Tutorial 1


Tutorial 3.  Reports and Information

This tutorial introduces you to some of the uses of the Command Pane and the Status Bar.

What You Will Learn About in This Tutorial

 The Report Buttons

 The Factories Report

 The Labs Report

 The Resources Reports

 The Communications Report

 The Space Report

 The Game Options Menu

 The Status Bar

The Report Buttons

1	Start Tutorial 3 - Reports and Information.

2	Between the Mini-Map and the Command Pane is a row of six buttons.  These are the Report display buttons. From left to right they are the Factories, Labs, Resources, Communications, and Space reports, and the Game Options menu.

3	Each of these buttons also has a shortcut key on your keyboard.  Move your cursor over each one; the Status Bar indicates the function of each button.  The red-highlighted letter in the Status Bar is the keyboard shortcut for that report.

The Factories Report

4	Move your cursor over the left-most button (it looks like a gear).  The Status Bar shows this is the Factories report.  Click the button, or press <F>.

5	The Command Pane shows the Factories report.  This lists all your factory structures.  In this tutorial you have only a Structure Factory.  The status of the factory is listed below its name; in this case, the Structure Factory is producing nothing.

6	Click the words Structure Factory, then click DETAILS.  This will instantly select the factory and center it in the Detail Pane.  (You may also double-click the factory in the Factories report to achieve the same result.)  This is a convenient way to jump immediately to a factory that needs attention when you have several factories in a large colony.

The Labs Report

7	Move your cursor to the button to the right of the Factories report button  (it looks like a microscope). The Status Bar shows this is the Labs report.  Click the button, or press <L>.

8	The Command Pane shows the Labs report, which is similar to the Factories report.  All of your labs and their status, including their current research project, are listed here.

9	Double-click the Basic Lab listing to select the lab and center it in the Detail Pane.

The Resources Reports

10	Click the button to the right of the Labs report button  (it looks like a loaded mining cart) or press <R> to see the Resources report.

11	This report is a summary of more detailed reports on each Resource: Colonists, Morale, Power, Food, Common Metals, and, when available, Rare Metals.  Click any of these items, then click DETAILS to call up the more detailed report.  (You may also double-click any of these items to get the more detailed report.)

12	Each of these reports has a keyboard shortcut as well.  These are:

<Alt+C>	Colonists

<Alt+M>	Morale

<Alt+P>	Power

<Alt+F>	Food

<Alt+N>	Common Metals

<Alt+R>	Rare Metals (when available)

13	From each sub-report, click the SUMMARY button at the bottom of the Command Pane to return to the Resources report (or press <R>).

The Communications Report

14	Click the button that looks like a satellite dish or press <C> to see the Communications report.  This is a log of the most recent messages that you received from your Savant computer during gameplay.  (In multiplayer games, the log also contains chat messages sent to you by other players.)  Each message is also marked with a time-stamp for when it arrived.  If the message log has more messages than can be seen on one screen, the up and down arrows below the message log can scroll through them.  You can also press the <Page Up> and <Page Down> keys to do the same thing.

15	Messages that have a specific building or location linked to them may be double-clicked to jump right to that location.  Early in this tutorial was a report of seismic activity.  Double-click on this message:  DANGER:  Quake detected at 10,10.  The Detail Pane will jump to where the epicenter of the quake struck.

The Space Report

16	Click the button to the right of the Communications report button (it looks like a starship) or press <P> for the Space report.  This report lists all the satellites you have in orbit.  After your colony develops the Spaceport structure, a button on this report will show you a list of all the Starship components you have researched or deployed. Parts listed in red have been researched, but not yet deployed.  Parts that are listed in green have already been deployed.

The Game Options Menu

17	Click the right-most button (it looks like the Sierra logo) or press <G> for the Game Options menu.

18	The most frequent choice you will make here is probably MISSION OBJECTIVES.  Click this button to see the objectives.  Objectives that are not completed are listed in red text; completed objectives are listed in green.  This sub-report also has a shortcut available at all times; <Alt+O> will bring this screen up immediately.

The Status Bar

19	The Status Bar is at the bottom of your screen.  The top bar gives you information:  map coordinates while your cursor is over the Detail Pane, and "hotkeys" when your cursor is over a button. Action prompts for certain commands also appear here.

20	The bottom bar shows incoming messages from your Savant computer and from other players during multiplayer games.

21	To the right of the Status Bar is your metals supply.  Currently you have 9000 Common Metals in storage.

This is the end of Tutorial 3.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go to Tutorial 4

Go Back to Tutorial 2


Tutorial 4.  Combat Vehicles and Structures

This tutorial introduces combat functions.

What You Will Learn About in This Tutorial

Simple Attacks

Guard Post Attacks

Other Combat Commands

Damaged Vehicles and Destroyed Guard Posts

Simple Attacks

1	Start Tutorial 4 - Combat Vehicles and Structures.

2	Press <Tab> until you have selected Laser Lynx #1-01.

3	The Command Pane shows the Status display for the selected Laser Lynx.  In the lower half of the Command Pane are some new Command Icon buttons.  Move your cursor over each of them and watch the Status Bar to see their functions.

4	Move the cursor over the red player's Cargo Truck at 51,36.  When the cursor is over an enemy target, it changes from the Move cursor to the Attack cursor.

5	Click the enemy Cargo Truck.  Your Lynx will move to within firing range and begin shooting at the Truck.

6	After a few hits on the Cargo Truck, move your Lynx to 44,30.

7	If the Cargo Truck has not been destroyed, de-select your Lynx and put your cursor over the truck you were just hitting.  After a moment, the Unit ID indicator's Strength Bar (located above the Cargo Truck) will show you the enemy vehicle's remaining Hit Points.

8	If you destroyed the Cargo Truck before your Lynx ceased firing, attack the other Cargo Truck.  Let your Lynx shoot it once or twice, then order your Lynx to move out of range and check the Cargo Truck’s Hit Points.

Guard Post Attacks

9	Select Laser Lynx #1-01 and move it to coordinates 43,27.

10	Select the structure at 41,27.  The Status display in the Command Pane shows that this is Laser Guard Post #1-01.

11	A Guard Post will attack any enemy vehicle that comes within range, but you can use the ATTACK button on the Status display to target a particular enemy, or to force an attack on the ground or on a friendly vehicle.

12	Click ATTACK and then click on your Lynx at 43,27.  After the Lynx has been hit three or four times, click STOP to order the Guard Post to cease firing.  The buttons for the Guard Post are different from the buttons for vehicles because the Guard Posts are structures.

Other Combat Commands

13	Select Laser Lynx #1-02.  Click the middle button in the second row of Command Icon buttons.  This button, which looks like a large shield with arrows coming out of it, is the Guard button.  The cursor will change to the Guard cursor.  Click the Command Center at 40,22.  Laser Lynx #1-02 will now move to guard the Command Center.  Any enemy that attacks the Command Center will be attacked by Lynx #1-02.

14	Select Laser Lynx #1-01.  Click the right-most button in the second row, just to the right of the Guard button.  This button, which looks like a large shield, is the Stand Ground button.  Stand Ground means the vehicle will hold its position until it is attacked.  Move your cursor back into the Detail Pane, and it changes to the Stand Ground cursor.  Click the ground at 41,32.  The Lynx will move to 41,32 and Stand Ground.

15	Select Laser Lynx #1-03.  Click the right-most button in the top row, just above the Stand Ground button.  This button, which looks like two arrows going from point to point, is the Patrol button.  The Status Bar message prompts you to SET PATH TO INITIAL PATROL POINT.  Click the ground at 53,22.  The Status Bar then prompts you to SET PATH TO FINAL PATROL POINT.  Click the ground at 50,30.  The Lynx will now patrol back and forth between these two points until an enemy comes within range.

Damaged Vehicles and Destroyed Guard Posts

16	Select the damaged Lynx, #1-01, and move it to 44,36.  This Lynx is much slower than the other two.  The more damaged a vehicle is, the more slowly it will move.

17	Move Lynx #1-01 to 42,27, adjacent to Laser Guard Post #1-01.  Click the left-most button in the second row of Command Icon buttons.  This is the Attack button.  You can use this button to force the Lynx to attack the ground or a friendly vehicle or structure, just like the Attack button for the Guard Post.  Order the Lynx to attack the Laser Guard Post.

18	Select the other two Lynx and order them to attack the same Guard Post.  When it is finally destroyed, it will explode.  When this happens, some or all of your tanks will take "splash damage."  Be careful about how close you get to heavily-damaged Guard Posts!

This is the end of Tutorial 4.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go to Tutorial 5

Go Back to Tutorial 3


Tutorial 5.  Advanced Vehicle Commands

This tutorial introduces some new vehicles and their special commands.

What You Will Learn About in This Tutorial

 The Robo-Dozer and Its Bulldoze Command

 Moving with Waypoints

 Cargo Trucks and the Set Route Command

 Designating Groups of Vehicles

 Plymouth's Secret Weapon:  The Spider and Its Reprogram Command

 Making Repairs

 More Cargo Truck Tricks:  Dump Cargo and Salvage Commands

 More on Group-Selections

 The Robot Command Center

The Robo-Dozer and Its Bulldoze Command

1	Start Tutorial 5 - Advanced Vehicle Commands.

2	Select the Robo-Dozer at 46,32.

3	Click the right-most button in the top row of Command Icon buttons in the Command Pane.  This is the Bulldoze button.  Move the cursor back into the Detail Pane.  The cursor has changed to the Bulldoze cursor.

4	Move the cursor to 43,34.  Press and hold the left mouse button.  Move the cursor to coordinates 47,34 and release the button.  This will drag-select a long region that will be bulldozed.  This technique allows you to bulldoze large areas with one command.  In this case the Robo-Dozer will create a "road" between the smelter and the mine.

5	When the Robo-Dozer has finished, move it to 41,36. Select Cargo Truck #1-01 at 45,28 and move it to 43,34.  Then move it to 51,34.  Notice how much more quickly it moves on bulldozed terrain.  Each terrain type has a different effect on vehicle speed; bulldozed terrain is always the fastest.

Moving with Waypoints

Most vehicle commands that require a vehicle to move somewhere and do something (Move and Attack, for example) allow you to set "waypoints."  These are specific locations you want a vehicle to pass near en route to its destination.  Use this to avoid certain terrain features, enemy vehicles, or Guard Posts.

6	Select Cargo Truck #1-01.

7	Press and hold down <Ctrl>.  The cursor changes to the Waypoint cursor.  Click the ground at 55,35. A small red rectangle with the number 1 in it appears.  This is the first waypoint.

8	While still holding down <Ctrl>, set three more waypoints at coordinates 61,32 then 61,39, and 53,40.  Finally, release <Ctrl> and click on the final destination point at 49,36.  You can set up to seven waypoints on a route.

9	The Cargo Truck will begin to move.  Based on the terrain and your vehicle’s intelligence it will move to the final destination passing on or very near the waypoints in the order you set them.

Cargo Trucks and the Set Route Command

You can set ore-hauling routes for your Cargo Trucks.  They will carry ore from a mine to the smelter and continue to do so without you having to specify the mine and smelter each trip.  Once you set the route, the trucks will continue to follow it until you command them to do something else.

10	Select Cargo Truck #1-01.

11	In the Command Pane, move your cursor over the right-most button in the top row.  This button, which looks like two arrows going from point to point, is the Set Route button.  The Status Bar shows the function of this button as SET AN ORE-HAULING ROUTE.  Click this button.

12	Move the cursor into the Detail Pane.  The cursor will turn into the Dock cursor.  Setting an ore route is a three-step process.  First, the Status Bar prompts you to SET PATH TO MINE.  This allows you to designate the route from the Cargo Truck's current location to the mine from which you want to get ore, using waypoints if desired.  Click the Common Ore Mine's dock at 49,35.

13	Next, the Status Bar prompts you to SET PATH FROM MINE TO SMELTER.  This allows you to choose a route to the smelter at which you want to process this ore, again with the option of using waypoints.  You can dock only at a smelter that is equipped to handle the kind of ore the mine produces.  Click the Common Ore Smelter's dock at 41,33.

14	Finally, the Status Bar prompts you for the return route to the mine by saying SET PATH FROM SMELTER BACK TO MINE. Click the dock of the Mine again.

15	The truck will now drive to the mine, then the smelter, and then back to the mine and continue this route until you command it to do something else.  Use waypoints with this command to avoid traffic jams or perhaps an enemy turret along the route.  You can also cancel this command while setting any of the legs by pressing the <Esc> key, by de-selecting the vehicle(s) or by clicking another Command Icon button.

Designating Groups of Vehicles

16	You can "tag" or "bookmark" groups of vehicles as well.  Select the three EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) Lynx Tanks and the two Spiders.  You can either drag-select them or shift-click to add them to a group.

17	When all five vehicles are selected press <Ctrl+1>.  This is now designated as group 1.  You can tag up to nine groups of vehicles in this way, using the keys <Ctrl+1> through <Ctrl+9>.

18	Deselect the group (right-click) and move your cursor to 1,1.  Now press the <1> key.  The Detail Pane will jump to the approximate center of the group.

Plymouth's Secret Weapon:  The Spider and Its Reprogram Command

19	The EMP/Spider group is a powerful combination.  The EMP weapon, if it hits, temporarily disables a target vehicle.  If a Spider is nearby when this happens, the Spider can "re-program" the disabled vehicle so it takes commands from you.  This allows you to capture opposing vehicles.  Move your EMP/Spider group to 56,21- near the Repair Vehicle at coordinates 56,28.

20	Select one of your EMP Lynx and attack the Repair Vehicle.  When the Repair Vehicle is disabled by the EMP, you will see blue static electricity playing over it.

21	After you have disabled the Repair Vehicle, select one of your Spiders and click the left-most button in the second row of Command Icon buttons.  This button, which looks like a computer magnetic tape reel, is the Reprogram button.

22	Move the cursor into the Detail Pane.  The cursor will change to the Reprogram cursor.  Click the EMP-disabled Repair Vehicle.  The Spider will move next to it and begin reprogramming.  If it has enough time, it will reprogram the vehicle to be under your command. The reprogramming has been successful if the vehicle changes to your player color.

23	If you have a Spider nearby when an enemy vehicle becomes EMP-disabled, and if the Spider is not busy with another command,  it will automatically move to the enemy vehicle and attempt to reprogram it.

Making Repairs

24	Select a Lynx and move it near the Microwave Guard Post at 49,19.  Have the Guard Post attack the Lynx.  Let it hit the Lynx several times - enough to do heavy damage - but stop the attack when the Lynx’ strength bar is flashing red.  (If you destroy it, take one of the other Lynx and try again.)

25	Select the Repair Vehicle you captured earlier.  Click the right-most button in the top row.  This button, which looks like a wrench, is the Repair button.  When you move the cursor into the Detail Pane, it will change to the Repair cursor.  Click the damaged Lynx.

26	The Repair Vehicle will drive over and begin repairs.  As the Repair Vehicle works, look at the Metals indicator in the Status Bar.  Metals are used when doing repairs.

27	Both the Repair Vehicle and Spiders can repair any vehicle (except Spiders and Scorpions) up to half of the damaged vehicle’s maximum Hit Points.  The Repair Vehicle will stop repairing your Lynx when it reaches this point.  Full repairs must be done at a Garage (see Tutorial 6).  Repair Vehicles, Spiders, and Construction Vehicles (ConVecs) are the only vehicles that can repair structures; structures may be repaired up to their full Hit Points.

More Cargo Truck Tricks:  Dump Cargo and Salvage Commands

28	Locate Cargo Truck  #1-01 when it is loaded with ore and select it.  Order it to Stop.  Click the right-most button in the second row of the Command Icon buttons.  This button, which shows an arrow coming out of a Cargo Truck's bed, is the Dump Cargo button.  The Command Pane asks you to confirm the Dump Cargo order. Click YES.  The truck will empty its cargo bed.  A dumped cargo is lost permanently.

29	Click the left-most button in the second row of Command Icon buttons.  This button, which shows a Cargo Truck in a field of rubble, is the Salvage button.  This button is available only for Cargo Trucks when a) they are not loaded, and b) you have an  Active GORF (Garbage and Ore Recycling Facility).  Move the cursor into the Detail Pane; it changes into the Salvage cursor.

30	Move your cursor to 30,19, above and to the left of the rubble field.  Press and hold the left mouse button and move the cursor to 32,23 to drag-select an area over the rubble field. Release the button.

31	The Status Bar now prompts you to set the route to the GORF and the cursor changes to the Dock cursor.  You can set waypoints or just click the cursor on the dock at the GORF at 41,27.  The Truck will now move back and forth from the rubble field to the GORF.

32	You can also pick up a load of rubble from one tile by just moving an empty truck on top of it.  Rubble and wreckage can be loaded in a truck this way.  Select Cargo Truck #1-02 and try this on the rubble field. Move the truck to 34,22.  The truck will move to the location you selected.  After a brief pause the rubble will be loaded into the truck. After the rubble has been loaded, click the Dump Cargo button.

More on Group Selections

33	Select Cargo Truck #1-02.  In the Command Pane, the Status display shows these Command Icon buttons:  Move, Stop, Set Route, Salvage, and Self-Destruct.

34	Shift-click Cargo Truck #1-03 (at 47,28) to form a group-selection.  The Command Pane now indicates that you have 2 Vehicles selected.  In the Command Icon buttons, Move, Stop, Set Route, and Self-Destruct are still there, but the Salvage button has disappeared.  You may order only one Cargo Truck to Salvage at a time.

35	Shift-click the Robo-Dozer.  The Command Pane shows that you have a group of three vehicles and the Set Route button is no longer available.  This is because a Robo-Dozer can’t haul ore.  When you have a group of vehicles selected, the Command Icons available will be determined by the types of vehicles selected.

36	Click the left-most button in the bottom row of Command icon buttons. This button, which shows arrows and dots moving away from a center point, is the Scatter button. This button is available any time you have more than one vehicle selected. Use this when a group of your vehicles are about to be attacked by a weapon that does damage to all vehicles in an area, such as the EMP.

37	Shift-click the Robo-Dozer again to remove it from the group.  Set an ore-hauling route for this group using the same mine and smelter as you did before.  Try placing several waypoints during one of the legs of the route as well.  Remember you can press the <Esc> key to cancel the command before you finish setting all three legs of the route.  Setting bookmarks for both the mine and the smelter (<Ctrl+F5> to <Ctrl+F12>) is a convenient way to jump between the two locations when you are setting ore hauling routes.

The Robot Command Center

The Robot Command Center is one of the most important structures in your colony.  Vehicles have a limited computing capacity and without a Robot Command Center Active they do not choose their routes as efficiently.

38	Select the Robot Command Center at 35,26.

39	Click the VEHICLES button in the Command Pane.  This will show you a list of all available vehicles and how many of each kind you currently have.

40	Double-click the words Cargo Trucks.  This will select the lowest-numbered available Cargo Truck.  Press <Tab> several times to go through all your trucks in order.  The Robot Command Center is a convenient way to keep track of your vehicles.

41	Select the Robot Command Center again.  Click IDLE.  This will "turn off" the Robot Command Center.

42	Select a Cargo Truck and move it to 20,20.  When it gets there, move it to 54,37.  Watch the Cargo Truck closely at it finds a path between the two points.

43	Move the Cargo Truck back to 20,20.  Select your Robot Command Center again and click ACTIVATE.

44	Select the Cargo Truck at 20,20.  Move it to 54,37, then back to 20,20.  Watch as it finds a path this time.  An Active Robot Command Center will enable your vehicles to find a more efficient route.

This is the end of Tutorial 5.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go to Tutorial 6

Go Back to Tutorial 4


Tutorial 6.  Docking

This tutorial introduces the basics of loading and unloading vehicles at docks.

What You Will Learn About in This Tutorial

 ConVecs and the Structure Factory

 Empty Cargo Trucks

 Cargo Trucks with Food

 Cargo Trucks with Ore

 Cargo Trucks with Metals

 Evacuation Transports

 The Garage

ConVecs and the Structure Factory

1	Start Tutorial 6 - Docking.

2	Select ConVec #1-01 at 49,27.  ConVecs are the only vehicles that can carry structure kits, and structure kits are the only thing a ConVec can carry.

3	The kind of vehicle and the cargo it is carrying determines where the vehicle can and cannot dock.  Move the cursor over the Agridome dock at coordinates 44,23.  The cursor changes to the Cannot Dock cursor.  A ConVec cannot dock at an Agridome.

4	Move the cursor over the Structure Factory dock at coordinates 41,28.  The cursor changes to the Dock cursor.  Click the dock.  The ConVec will move to the dock.

5	When the ConVec has reached the dock and stopped, select the Structure Factory.  Click STORAGE at the bottom of the Command Pane.  You will see the six storage bays of the Structure Factory.  Two of them have structure kits in them.  Bay #1 has a Tokamak kit and Bay #2 has a Light Tower kit.

6	Click the storage bay with the Tokamak kit, or press <Alt+1> to load the contents out of Bay #1.  In the Detail Pane you will see the trailer on the ConVec descend into the dock and load the kit.  When it is done, the Command Pane will show the storage bay is now empty.

7	Select the ConVec sitting on the dock.  The Command Pane indicates its cargo is Tokamak.

8	With the ConVec still on the dock, select the Structure Factory.  Click STORAGE.

9	Notice that the bottom of the Command Pane shows you the dock, the vehicle on the dock, and any contents of the vehicle.

10	Click the Light Tower kit in Bay #2.  The ConVec will unload the kit it is carrying into Bay #2 and load the Light Tower kit from Bay #2.  You can swap kits between storage bays and ConVecs in this way.

11	Put the Light Tower kit back into storage in Bay #6.

12	Move the ConVec to 44,31.

Empty Cargo Trucks

13	Select Cargo Truck #1-01.  Move the cursor over the Agridome dock, the Common Ore Smelter dock at coordinates 41,33, the Common Ore Mine dock at coordinates 57,36, and the Common Ore Storage dock at coordinates 35,33.  An empty Cargo Truck can dock at any of these locations.

14	Move the cursor over the Structure Factory dock.  A Cargo Truck cannot dock at a Structure Factory.

15	Click the Agridome dock to move the Cargo Truck onto the dock.

Cargo Trucks with Food

16	Select the Agridome.  At the bottom of the Command Pane, click STORAGE.  The Command Pane changes to the Storage display.  Click LOAD.  The Cargo Truck's cargo bed will be lowered into the Agridome and come back up with a full cargo of Food.

17	When the docking animation is done, select the Cargo Truck.  Move the cursor over the Common Ore Smelter dock.  The cursor changes to the Cannot Dock cursor.  A Cargo Truck with Food in it cannot dock at a Common Ore Smelter.

18	Select the Agridome.  Click STORAGE.  The Command Pane changes to the Storage display.  Click UNLOAD.  The Food will be unloaded from the Cargo Truck and put back into storage.

Cargo Trucks with Ore

19	Select Cargo Truck #1-02.  Move it to the Common Ore Mine dock.  When it arrives, the mine will automatically load the Cargo Truck with Common Ore.

20	Select the Cargo Truck, then move the cursor over the Common Ore Storage dock.  The cursor changes to the Cannot Dock cursor.  A Common Ore Storage structure can hold only Common Metals.  The Cargo Truck cannot dock here since it is carrying Common Ore.

21	Move the cursor to the Common Ore Smelter dock.  The cursor changes to the Dock cursor.  Click the dock.  When the Cargo Truck arrives, it will automatically dock.

Cargo Trucks with Metals

22	Select the Common Ore Smelter.  Cargo Truck #1-02, now empty, should be sitting on the dock.  At the bottom of the Command Pane click STORAGE.  The Command Pane changes to the Storage display.  Click LOAD. The Cargo Truck's cargo bed will be lowered into the smelter and come back up with a full cargo of Common Metals.

23	Select the Cargo Truck and move it to the Common Ore Storage dock.

24	When it arrives, select the Common Ore Storage structure. Click STORAGE.  The Command Pane changes to the Storage display.  Click UNLOAD.  The metals will be unloaded from the Cargo Truck and put into storage.

25	Click LOAD to put the metals back in the Cargo Truck.  When it is done, select the Cargo Truck and click the Common Ore Smelter dock.  The vehicle will move to the dock.

26	When the Cargo Truck arrives, select the Common Ore Smelter and click STORAGE.  On the Storage display, click UNLOAD.  The vehicle will unload.  The smelter can take either metals or ore.  Metals go into storage while ore is refined into metal.  If no storage room is available, the cursor will change to the Cannot Dock cursor when you try to move the Cargo Truck (loaded with metals or with ore) to the dock.

Evacuation Transports

27	Select Evacuation Transport #1-01.  In the Command Pane, the cargo is listed as Colonists.  Colonists will load and unload themselves into Evacuation Transports as necessary.  You do not need to command the Evacuation Transports to dock anywhere for this to happen.

28	Select Evacuation Transport #1-02.  The cargo is listed as (empty).

The Garage

29	Select Lynx Tank #1-01.  Order it to attack Evacuation Transport #1-02.  Stop the attack after the Evacuation Transport has taken three or four hits.

30	Select Evacuation Transport #1-02 and move it to the Garage dock at coordinates 35,37.

31	When it arrives at the dock, select the Garage and click STORAGE at the bottom of the Command Pane.

32	Click Repair Bay #1, in the upper left of the Storage display.  After the Evacuation Transport is in the bay you will notice the vehicle's Strength Bar, shown to the right of the bay, increasing.

33	To have the vehicle leave the Garage, click on the repair bay you wish to unload. Any kind of vehicle, except Spiders and Scorpions, may be stored and repaired at a Garage.

You now have an understanding of docking with several different vehicles and several types of cargoes.  You have also learned that the docking process is controlled by the structure and not the vehicle on the dock.

This is the end of Tutorial 6.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go to Tutorial 7

Go Back to Tutorial 5


Tutorial 7.  Mining Vehicles and Structures

This tutorial introduces the steps in mining and refining metals.

What You Will Learn About in This Tutorial

 Surveying a Mining Beacon

 Building a Mine

 Mining Yields

 Perils of Idling the Smelter

Surveying a Mining Beacon

1	Start Tutorial 7 - Mining Vehicles and Structures.

2	Select the Robo-Surveyor at coordinates 48,25.

3	Move the cursor to the Mining Beacon at coordinates 54,32.  Mining Beacons that have not been surveyed appear as a single flashing white bar of metal.

4	Click the beacon to command the Robo-Surveyor to move to it.  Since the beacon is part of your simulated computer overlay it does not exist on the terrain itself.  Thus, when the Robo-Surveyor arrives, it will appear underneath the beacon.

5	When the Robo-Surveyor arrives it will automatically take a core sample and analyze it.  When it is finished it will move away from the beacon.  The beacon's appearance will change to show you the results of the core sample analysis.  The number of bars (one, two, or three) indicates the yield (low, medium, or high) that would be produced if a mine were built at this location.  The color of the bars indicates the type of ore available at this site: orange for Common and yellow for Rare.

Building a Mine

6	Select the Robo-Miner at coordinates 50,26.  Move the cursor to the right-most button in the top row of Command Icon buttons.  This button, which looks like a construction crane, is the Build button.  The Status Bar indicates that you can BUILD MINE OR MAGMA WELL.  Click the button.  A Robo-Miner can always be deployed on surveyed Common Ore Beacons, and can also be deployed on surveyed Rare Ore Beacons or on Magma Vents after the appropriate research has been completed.

7	Move the cursor into the Detail Pane.  The cursor has changed to the Build cursor, and there is a red rectangle underneath it.  This is the "building footprint" of the mine to be deployed.  It is red because it is not in a valid location for you to deploy a mine or Magma Well.

8	Move the cursor over the beacon you surveyed.  The rectangle will change appearance to a blue-gray outer rectangle and a yellow inner rectangle.  This indicates that you are in a valid deployment location.  Click to order the Robo-Miner to move to that location and begin construction.

9	The Robo-Miner will move to the location and deploy itself into the correct kind of mine for the beacon.

Mining Yields

10	Click on the Common Ore Mine and look at the Command Pane to see the yield of the mine.

11	Group-select the Cargo Trucks and have them begin hauling ore from the mine to the smelter with the Set Route command.

12	Select the Common Ore Mine.  As each truck loads with ore, the yield listed in the Command Pane changes.

13	Wait for several more loads and watch the yield change.  The yield will increase for a period of time after the mine is deployed until it reaches a maximum as the richest parts of the vein are discovered and mined.  Then the yield will begin to decline, eventually reaching a minimum level as the vein runs out.  Once the mine reaches the minimum level, its yield will remain constant.

Perils of Idling the Smelter

14	Select the Common Ore Smelter.  Click IDLE.  The Command Pane asks you to confirm the Idle command.  Click YES.

15	Idling any structure orders it to shut down all of its functions and secure all equipment.  When a smelter is idled it can no longer take in ore and refine it.  It also is no longer able to store metals.  If you have storage facilities, the metal slurry will be pumped to them until they are full.  Any remaining metals will be lost.  Be very careful about Idling your smelter.

This is the end of Tutorial 7.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go to Tutorial 8

Go Back to Tutorial 6


Tutorial 8.  Research and Scientists

This tutorial introduces Scientists and the use of Laboratories and Universities.

What You Will Learn About in This Tutorial

 Choosing a Topic and Assigning Scientists

 Changing the Number of Scientists Assigned

 Seeing the Results of Your Research

 Other Uses for Scientists

 Training Workers to Be Scientists

Choosing a Topic and Assigning Scientists

1	Start Tutorial 8 - Research and Scientists.

2	Select the Standard Lab at 40,18.  Remember that you can also select any Lab by clicking on the Labs report button, or pressing the <L> key and then choosing the lab you want in the list.

3	In the Command Pane, click TOPICS.  The Command Pane shows a list of topics currently available to research at this lab.

4	Pick Cybernetic Teleoperation by clicking on it once to highlight it and then clicking ASSIGN, or by double-clicking on it.

5	The Command Pane changes to show you information about the topic.  At the top you can see how many Scientists are available in the colony to work on the project.  The next line shows how many Scientists are currently assigned to this project.  The third line shows the maximum number of Scientists who can work on the project.

6	Click LESS until the Assigned To This Project shows 1.

7	Click START at the bottom of the Command Pane to begin research.

Changing the Number of Scientists Assigned

8	The Command Pane changes to the Status display for the selected lab.  After a short time the Scientist will begin producing research points.

9	Watch the research points increase for several updates and then click ASSIGN.

10	Your Savant computer automatically sets the number of Scientists to the maximum available or allowed when you go to the Assign Scientists display; but the change will not go into effect until you click START.

11	Click START.

12	Watch the research points increase for several updates.  Notice that the more scientists you put on a project the faster it will get done.

13	You can stop the research by clicking STOP.  Click STOP.  The Command Pane asks you to confirm the command.  Click NO.

Seeing the Results of Your Research

14	Wait until the research is completed.  Click the Labs report button or press <L>.

15	Click COMPLETED at the bottom of the Command Pane.  This brings up a list of all of the completed topics.  Click Cybernetic Teleoperation to select it, then click DETAILS.  (You may also double-click Cybernetic Teleoperation.)

16	The Command Pane now shows the exact outcome of the research as well as some background information.  You can see the results of any research topic once it is completed this way.

Other Uses for Scientists

17	Labs are not the only places in your colony that need Scientists.  Select the Medical Center at 36,17.  The Command Pane shows that a Scientist must be on staff at this structure to keep it Activated.  The Command Center and the University are among the other structures that require Scientists to operate.

18	Press <Alt+C> to check your Colonists report and see how many Scientists you have.

Training Workers to Be Scientists

19	Select the University at 41,13.  Click ASSIGN.

20	The University's Assignment display is similar to a lab display.  The top line shows how many Workers are available for training.  The next line shows how many Workers are assigned to be trained as Scientists.  The third line shows the largest class size the University can train at one time.

21	Set the class size to 5 and click START.

22	Training Scientists takes a long time. Wait until your Scientists have finished their training.

23	Press <Alt+C>.  The current total number of Scientists is the number you noted earlier minus any scientists that died plus the number that were just trained.

24	Be careful about the balance of Workers and Scientists in your population.  Scientists are the only colonists who can do research but they also cause Morale problems when asked to do labor besides research.  They also do not contribute to the birth rate as much as Workers do.

This is the end of Tutorial 8.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go to Tutorial 9

Go Back to Tutorial 7


Tutorial 9.  Construction

This tutorial introduces the deployment of new structures.

What You Will Learn About in This Tutorial

Producing Structure Kits at the Structure Factory

Loading Structure Kits onto ConVecs

Deploying Structure Kits

Connecting Structures

Dismantling Structures

Repairing Structures

Earthworkers, Tubes, and Walls

The GeoCon and the Geothermal Plant

The Value of Robo-Dozers

Producing Structure Kits at the Structure Factory

1	Start Tutorial 9 - Construction

2	Structure Factories are the only place you can make kits for new structures.  Select the Structure Factory at 40,27.

3	Click BUILD.  This will bring up a list of all the structure kits the factory can currently build.  As you research new topics during the game, new structure kits will become available.

4	Move the cursor over the word Tokamak.  The cost, in Common Metals, of the structure is shown in the Status Bar.

5	Click Tokamak to highlight it.  The BUILD IT button at the bottom of the Command Pane lights up.  Sometimes, the BUILD IT button may remain ghosted (not lit) after selecting a structure.  This means you do not have sufficient metals to build the highlighted structure.

6	Click BUILD IT.  The Command Pane changes to show the Structure Factory's Status display.  After a moment, production begins.  A progress bar shows how far along the Tokamak kit is in production.  Production times are determined by the product being built, but can be affected by your colony’s Morale.

Loading Structure Kits onto ConVecs

7	Click STORAGE.  While the Structure Factory is assembling a structure kit you can still access the storage bays.  Two Standard Lab kits are in storage already.

8	Select the ConVec at 45,28.

9	Move the ConVec to the Structure Factory dock.

10	Select the Structure Factory and then click STORAGE.

11	If the Tokamak kit is not finished and in Storage Bay #3, wait until it appears there.

12	Click the button for the Tokamak in Storage Bay #3, or press <Alt+3>.  The ConVec on the dock is lowered into the Structure Factory and loaded with the kit from storage.

13	When the ConVec is loaded and ready, select it.  The ConVec's Status display in the Command Pane shows what kind of cargo it contains.

Deploying Structure Kits

14	Move the cursor to the left-most button in the second row of Command Icons.  This button, which looks like a construction crane, is the Build button.  Click this button.

15	Move the cursor into the Detail Pane.  The cursor has changed into the Build cursor, and a large rectangle appears beneath it.  This is the "footprint" of the structure to be deployed.  The yellow inner square indicates where the actual structure will be built.  The blue-gray outer rectangle is a border area around the structure in which there may not be any other structures or impassable terrain.

16	Move the cursor so that part of the yellow square is over the vehicle at 47,27.  A red square appears in the building footprint.  You may not deploy a structure at a location if red squares are in the footprint.

17	Move the cursor to 35,35 and click.  The building footprint disappears and the ConVec moves to the lower right corner of the building location to begin construction.

Connecting Structures

18	Most structures need to be connected by Tubes to a Command Center, either directly or through other structures.  However, when construction of the Tokamak is complete, it is Active although it is not connected.  Only structures that require Workers or Scientists must be connected to a Command Center.  The Tokamak and other Power generation facilities, Guard Posts, and Light Towers do not require any people to operate, so they do not need to be connected.

19	Select the Basic Lab at 33,22.  This structure is Disabled because it is not connected to the Command Center.  It is, however, still using Power.  Power is automatically beamed by microwave from the Power plants to each structure requiring Power.

20	Select the Structure Factory.  Build an Agridome kit.

21	Move a ConVec to the Structure Factory dock.  When the Agridome kit is finished, load it into the ConVec.

22	Select the ConVec and click the Build button.  The building footprint for this structure has two tan squares in it.  These indicate the two Tubes that will be built with the structure.  All structures that must be connected to a Command Center to operate automatically come with two Tubes:  one below the structure, and one to the right.

23	Place the outline carefully so the Tube square on the bottom of the outline is right above the Command Center.  (Move the cursor to 40,20.)  The Tube will connect directly to the Command Center.  When the ConVec begins construction, it is automatically de-selected.  You cannot select a ConVec until construction is complete.

Dismantling Structures

24	Select the other ConVec.  Move the cursor to the center button in the second row of Command Icons.  This button, which looks like a wrecking ball hitting a building, is the Demolish button.  Click this button and move the cursor into the Detail Pane.  The cursor changes to the Demolish cursor.

25	Click the Basic Lab at 33,22.  The ConVec will move to that location and begin to dismantle the structure.  If you have an Active GORF (Garbage and Ore Recycling Facility) the building will be recycled into Common Metals.  Otherwise the structure will simply be reduced to rubble.

Repairing Structures

26	Select Tokamak #1-01 at 52,10.  The Strength Bar in the selection indicator shows that the Tokamak has taken some damage.  While it is a cheap form of energy, the fusion process used at the Tokamak continually causes damage to the structure, which requires frequent repair.  If a Tokamak reaches less than 90 percent of its maximum Hit Points it may become unstable and explode, causing damage and temporarily disabling nearby vehicles and structures. The more damaged it becomes the more likely it is to explode.  Be careful about where you build your Tokamaks.

27	Select a ConVec and move the cursor to the right-most button in the top row of the Command Icon buttons.  This button, which looks like a wrench, is the Repair button.  Click this button.

28	Move the cursor into the Detail Pane.  The cursor will change to the Repair cursor.  Click the Tokamak.

29	The ConVec will move to the structure and begin to repair it.  Repairs cost metals. ConVecs, Repair Vehicles, and Spiders can repair structures up to their full strength.

Earthworkers, Tubes, and Walls

30	Select the Earthworker at 49,26.  The Earthworker is the only vehicle that can build and remove Tubes and Walls.  Click the Demolish button.

31	Click the Tube at 42,23.  The Earthworker will move to that location and remove the Tube. As the Tube is removed, the Earthworker is covered with orange electrical sparks. Tubes are magnetically shielded and do damage to the Earthworker when they are removed. The Agridome and two Residences are no longer connected to the Command Center and are now Disabled.

32	Select the Earthworker, then move the cursor over the right-most button in the top row.  This button, which looks like a maze of Tubes, is the Build Tube button.  Click this button.

33	Move the cursor into the Detail Pane.  The cursor changes to the Build cursor. Move the cursor to 42,23 then press your mouse button. A yellow square will appear above the cursor, indicating that the Earthworker will build a Tube here. Release the mouse button and  the Earthworker will build a new Tube and the structures will be reconnected to the Command Center.

34	You can also order the Earthworker to build several Tubes in a row. Select the Earthworker, then click the Build Tube button and move the cursor to 38,23. Press and hold down the mouse button, then move the cursor to 36, 23. The Earthworker will drive to the left side of the Command Center and build a row of Tubes.

35	Select the Earthworker, then move the cursor over the left-most button in the second row.  This button, which looks like two intersecting walls, is the Build Concrete Wall button.  Click this button.

36	Move the cursor into the Detail Pane.  The cursor changes to the Build cursor.  You may build one Concrete Wall, or a series of them, just as with Tubes. Move the cursor to 33,19, press and hold the mouse button, and move the mouse to 37,19. The Earthworker will drive to that location and build a Wall.

37	Experiment with building Walls in several areas around that location to see how they connect.  Walls can be removed the same way as Tubes, although removing a wall will not cause damage to the Earthworker.

The GeoCon and the Geothermal Plant

38	Check your Power report by pressing <Alt+P>.  Notice the amount of power produced.

39	Select the GeoCon (Geothermal Constructor) at 46,25.

40	Move the cursor over the Build button in the GeoCon's Status display.  The Status Bar says BUILD GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT.  Click the Build button.

41	Move the cursor into Detail Pane.  The cursor changes to the Build cursor, and a building footprint for the Geothermal Plant appears under the cursor.  However, this footprint is all red.

42	Move the cursor to the fumarole at 51,34.  The building footprint turns into a yellow inner rectangle with a blue-gray border.  Click the fumarole.  The GeoCon moves to the fumarole and begins transforming into a Geothermal Plant.

43	When the Geothermal Plant is finished, press <Alt+P> again and notice the amount of Power produced.

The Value of Robo-Dozers

44	Select the Robo-Dozer at 48,24.

45	Bulldoze an area with one corner at 52,22 and the other corner at 57,26.

46	While the Robo-Dozer is working, move both ConVecs back to the Structure Factory and load a Standard Lab into each one.

47	Move one ConVec to 56,29 and the other to the bulldozed location at 56,25.

48	When the Robo-Dozer is finished, select it and move it to 49,22.

49	Now command the ConVec at 56,29 to build the Standard Lab at 54,28.  As soon as it has started, quickly select the other ConVec at 56,25 and command it to build the Standard Lab at 54,24.  This will build the first lab on unbulldozed terrain and the second lab lined up above it on completely bulldozed terrain.

50	Switch between the two construction sites frequently to monitor the construction progress.  Construction time is shorter when the structure is deployed on a location that is already bulldozed.

This is the end of Tutorial 9.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go to Tutorial 10

Go Back to Tutorial 8


Tutorial E and Tutorial P:  The Unit References

There are two additional "tutorials" listed in the Tutorial dialog box.  These are not tutorials, strictly speaking, but unit references for each colony.  All of the structures and vehicles available for each side are deployed for you to examine.

Go to Tutorials Contents

Go Back to Tutorial 12


Tutorials

Tutorial 1. Navigating the Map

Tutorial 2. Basic Vehicle Commands

Tutorial 3. Reports and Information

Tutorial 4. Combat Vehicles and Structures

Tutorial 5. Advanced Vehicle Commands

Tutorial 6. Docking

Tutorial 7. Mining Vehicles and Buildings

Tutorial 8. Research and Scientists

Tutorial 9. Construction

Tutorial 10. Morale

Tutorial 11. Colony Control

Tutorial 12. Spaceport

Tutorial E and Tutorial P. The Unit References

Go to Welcome


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, their functions, which units have each command, and where the icon is located in the Command Icon grid.

Move.  Changes the cursor to the Move cursor.  The unit will move, if possible, to the location you click in the Detail Pane.  This is the default command for all units, so you will probably use this only to reset the cursor if you have clicked another icon, then changed your mind.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the target location.

Available for:  all units
Command Icon Grid:  top left

Stop.  Orders the vehicle to stop moving.  It may take a moment for the vehicle to come to a stop.

Available for:  all units
Command Icon Grid:  top center

Set Route.  Changes the cursor to the Dock cursor.  Defines a cargo route for a Cargo Truck between a mine and a smelter.  You must first set a path from the Cargo Truck's current location to a mine's loading dock.  Then set the path from the mine to the loading dock of an appropriate smelter, and another path back to the mine's dock.  Any of these paths may include waypoints.

Available for:  Cargo Trucks
Command Icon Grid:  top right

Patrol.  Changes the cursor to the Move cursor.  Defines a patrol route for a combat vehicle.  First set the path from the vehicle's current location to the starting point of the patrol, then set the path to the ending point of the patrol.  The unit will take the shortest route from the ending point back to the starting point, and will continue the patrol until given new orders or destroyed.  You may include waypoints in the patrol route.

Available for:  Lynx, Panthers, Tigers, and Scorpions
Command Icon Grid:  top right

Repair.  Changes the cursor to the Repair cursor.  Orders the vehicle to move to the vehicle or structure you click on and begin repairs.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the repair location.

Available for:  ConVecs, Spiders, and Repair Vehicles
Command Icon Grid:  top right

Bulldoze.  Changes the cursor to the Bulldoze cursor.  Orders the vehicle to bulldoze an area.  Click to set a corner, then drag the cursor to define the area to be bulldozed.

Available for:  Robo-Dozers
Command Icon Grid:  top right

Build Structure.  Changes the cursor to the Build cursor.  Move the cursor to the location at which you wish to deploy your structure.  If there are no red squares in the structure outline, click to order the ConVec to drive to that location and deploy the structure kit.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the build location.

Available for:  ConVecs loaded with a structure kit
Command Icon Grid:  middle left

Build Mine.  Changes the cursor to the Build cursor.  Move the cursor over a surveyed Mining Beacon and click to order the Robo-Miner to drive to that location and build a mine.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the build location.

Available for:  Robo-Miners
Command Icon Grid:  top right

Build Magma Well.  Changes the cursor to the Build cursor.  Move the cursor over a magma vent.  If there are no red squares in the structure outline, click to order the Robo-Miner to drive to that location and build a Magma Well.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the build location.

Available for:  Eden Robo-Miners, if appropriate research has been completed
Command Icon Grid:  top right

Build Geothermal Plant.  Changes the cursor to the Build cursor.  Move the cursor over a fumarole.  If there are no red squares in the structure outline, click to order the GeoCon to drive to that location and build a Geothermal Plant.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the build location.

Available for:  GeoCons
Command Icon Grid:  top right

Build Tube.  Changes the cursor to the Build cursor.  Move the cursor over the desired Tube location, then press and hold the left mouse button.  A yellow or red square will appear under the cursor.  Red indicates that a Tube cannot be built in this location.  Release the mouse button to build in that location (if possible) or drag the cursor to build a line of up to eight Tubes.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the build location.

Available for:  Earthworkers
Command Icon Grid:  top right

Build Concrete Wall.  Changes the cursor to the Build cursor.  Move the cursor over the desired Concrete Wall location. A yellow or red square will appear under the cursor.  Red indicates that a Concrete Wall cannot be built in this location.  Release the mouse button to build in that location (if possible) or drag the cursor to build a line of up to eight sections of Concrete Wall.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the build location.

Available for:  Earthworkers
Command Icon Grid:  middle left

Build Lava Wall.  Changes the cursor to the Build cursor.  Move the cursor over the desired Lava Wall location. A yellow or red square will appear under the cursor.  Red indicates that a Lava Wall cannot be built in this location.  Release the mouse button to build in that location (if possible) or drag the cursor to build a line of up to eight sections of Lava Wall.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the build location.  (NOTE:  Lava Walls are not available to Eden in Campaign Games.)

Available for: Earthworkers, if appropriate research has been completed
Command Icon Grid:  center

Build Microbe Wall.  Changes the cursor to the Build cursor.  Move the cursor over the desired Microbe Wall location.  A yellow or red square will appear under the cursor.  Red indicates that a Microbe Wall cannot be built in this location.  Release the mouse button to build in that location (if possible) or drag the cursor to build a line of up to eight sections of Microbe Wall.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the build location.  (NOTE:  Microbe Walls are available to Eden only in Campaign Games.)

Available for:  Eden Earthworkers, if appropriate research has been completed
Command Icon Grid:  center

Attack.  Changes the cursor to the Attack cursor.  Move the cursor to the desired target (which may be vehicle, structure, or empty terrain).  Click to order the vehicle to move into range of the target and begin attacking. You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the target.  (NOTE:  The cursor automatically changes to the Attack cursor if you move it over an enemy unit or structure when a combat unit is selected.  Click the Attack icon on the unit's Status display if you want to force an attack on a friendly unit or structure, or on empty terrain.)

Available for:  Lynx, Panthers, Tigers, and Scorpions
Command Icon Grid:  middle left

Dump Cargo.  Orders the vehicle to dump any cargo it is carrying.  The cargo is irretrievably lost.  A confirmation display will appear in the Command Pane when you click this - the cargo will be dumped only if you click the YES button.  Clicking NO, de-selecting the unit, or clicking one of the report buttons will abort dumping the cargo.

Available for:  loaded Cargo Trucks and ConVecs
Command Icon Grid:  middle right

Reprogram.  Changes the cursor to the Reprogram cursor.  Move the cursor to the desired target (which must be Disabled by EMP).  Click on the target vehicle to order the Spider to move adjacent to the target and reprogram it.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the target.  (NOTE:  The cursor will automatically change to the Reprogram cursor if you have a Spider selected and you move the cursor over an EMP-Disabled enemy vehicle.)

Available for:  Spiders
Command Icon Grid:  middle left

Demolish Structure.  Changes the cursor to the Demolish cursor.  Move the cursor to the structure to be demolished.  Click to order the unit to move to the target and begin demolition.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the target.

Available for:  ConVecs
Command Icon Grid:  center

Demolish Tube or Wall.  Changes the cursor to the Demolish cursor.  Move the cursor to the Tube or wall to be demolished.  Click to order the unit to move to the target and begin demolition.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the target.

Available for:  Earthworkers
Command Icon Grid:  middle right

Guard.  Changes the cursor to the Guard cursor.  Move the cursor to the vehicle or structure you want to guard.  Click the item to be guarded.  The unit will move to the item and begin guarding.  If the item to be guarded is a vehicle, the guarding unit will follow the guarded unit whenever it moves.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the target.

Available for:  Lynx, Panthers, Tigers, and Scorpions
Command Icon Grid:  center

Salvage Rubble.  Changes the cursor to the Salvage cursor.  Orders the Cargo Truck to salvage all rubble within an area.  Click to set a corner of the area to be salvaged, then drag the cursor to define the area to be salvaged.  Then click the loading dock of the GORF to which the Rubble is to be taken.

Available for:  Cargo Trucks, if the colony has an Active GORF structure
Command Icon Grid:  middle left

Stand Ground.  Changes the cursor to the Stand Ground cursor.  Orders the vehicle to move to a location then stop and stay there until given new orders.  Click on the location to be defended.  You may include waypoints to set a movement path to the target location.

Available for:  Lynx, Panthers, Tigers, and Scorpions
Command Icon Grid:  middle right

Scatter.  Orders a group of vehicles to move a short distance away from the center of the group.  This command is used to disperse a group of units so as to avoid or minimize an area effect weapon.

Available for:  all units, if multiple vehicles are selected
Command Icon Grid:  bottom left

Transfer.  Changes the ownership of the selected vehicle.  The Command Pane will change to show you buttons for each of the other players in the game; click one of these buttons to immediately transfer ownership of the vehicle.  Clicking CANCEL, de-selecting the unit, or clicking one of the report buttons will abort the transfer.  (NOTE:  Any loaded Cargo Truck or ConVec takes its cargo with it when it is transferred.)

Available for:  all units, if there is an Active Trade Center structure (multiplayer games only)
Command Icon Grid:  bottom center

Self-Destruct.  Orders the vehicle to immediately self-destruct.  (NOTE: There is no confirmation required for this - as soon as you click this icon, your units will blow up.  Use this button with caution.)

Available for:  all units
Command Icon Grid:  bottom right

Go to Unit Displays

Go to Rules


Unit Displays

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

Go to Unit Status Information
Go to Unit Commands
Go to the Command Pane


Unit Reference

Structures

Agridome Command Center DIRT Factory, Arachnid Factory, Consumer Goods Factory, Structure Factory, Vehicle Forum Garage Geothermal Plant GORF Guard Post Laboratory, Basic Laboratory, Standard Laboratory, Advanced Light Tower	Magma Well Medical Center Mines, Common Ore and Rare Ore Nursery Observatory/Meteor Defense MHD Generator Recreation Facility Residences Robot Command Center Smelter, Common Ore and Rare Ore Solar Power Array Spaceport Storage, Common Metals and Rare Metals Tokamak Fusion Reactor Trade Center University
Vehicles

Cargo Truck Construction Vehicle (ConVec) Earthworker Evacuation Transport Geothermal Constructor (GeoCon) Repair Vehicle Robo-Dozer Robo-Miner	Robo-Surveyor Scout Spider Scorpion Light Combat Chassis (Lynx) Medium Combat Chassis (Panther) Heavy Combat Chassis (Tiger)
Weapons

The colonies have developed three different modular weapons systems, classified as the Lynx, the Panther, and the Tiger.  Each of these represents a combat chassis of increasing power and sophistication.  Each of these units can be produced with one of a variety of weapons turrets, depending on which colony produces the unit, and what technologies are available.  These weapons turrets are:

Acid Cloud EMP ESG Laser Microwave Rail Gun	RPG Starflare StickyFoam Supernova Thor's Hammer

Go to Welcome


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.  This is 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.  Indicates the type of cargo carried, and the quantity, if applicable.

This area 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 and do not appear in their Mini-Map.

Go Back to Unit Displays


University

Eden University	Plymouth University
Common Metals Cost	low	Rare Metals Cost	none
Build Time	short	Tube Connection Required	yes
Power Required	20	Size	med.-small
Workers Required	none	Hit Points	medium
Scientists Required	2	Armor	light
The University provides for secondary and ongoing training of Colonists qualified for science/technician careers.  It includes conventional classrooms, offices, small labs supporting each of the major scientific disciplines, and study areas.

Important secondary functions of the University include helping coordinate the research efforts of outside labs, limited decoding of the damaged starship scientific databases, and support of educational programs for younger students, including teens in trade apprenticeship programs.

Operational Notes:  An Active University is required for Children to become Workers.  It also trains Workers to be Scientists, up to 10 Workers per class.

Tales from New Terra

Del Palus peered around the corner of the darkened corridor.  "It's clear.  Let's go."

He crept around the corner, Mic Duval right behind him lugging the heavy bag he'd been given.  "Are you sure this is okay?"

Mic was a newbie, needed to be broken in.  "Of course it's not okay.  That's the whole point.  It's a great tradition of the University that, on the week of their graduation, each senior has to pull a major prank on one of his or her professors.  Graduating senior.  That's me."

"But I'm an incoming freshman."

"Yeah, it is an honor to be chosen, isn't it?  Trust, me, this is part of the tradition.  Someday, it'll be your turn."

Mic didn't look convinced.  "If I live that long.  Now, are you going to tell me what we're doing?"

"We're going to set a little trap in Professor Anthony's office.  He's one of the part-time instructors, so we have to have to have our prank set for him.  Next time he makes one of his irregular visits, 'bam!'"

Mic looked nervously at his shoulder bag.  "'Bam?'  We aren't going to blow him up, are we?"

"Of course not.  Not literally anyway.  Nothing more than a few small shaped charges for artistic effect."  He had Mic put the bag down in the corridor outside Anthony's office.  "You see, Anthony made his reputation in rapid synthesis of aerogels.  He's the inventor of the StickyFoam weapon.  It's a rapidly expanding aerogel, very strong, though short-lived."

Del reached into the bag and pulled out a canister with an electronic device attached to the top.  "I've been exploring the same areas, trying to improve StickyFoam.  This is what I've come up with so far.  Expands even more rapidly, could be just as strong if I mixed in the Buckytubes, and indefinitely stable.  Unfortunately, the expansion ratio isn't large enough to make it a useful weapon."  He shook the canister.  "But this has enough to fill the professor's office solid.  Unlike StickyFoam, it's translucent, like solid smoke."  He removed a bag of tiny silver disks from the larger duffel.  "As an added bonus, I'll rig charges just big enough to toss all his furniture into the air just as the stuff hardens."

Del used a hacked keycard to open the door.  "Okay, all you have to do is stand guard while I set things.  Got it?"

Mic nodded.  Del slipped inside, sat the canister in the middle of the floor, and started placing the little disks under all the furniture legs.  He was almost finished when he heard Mic's voice hissing in a loud whisper from outside.  "Somebody's coming!"

Del looked around.  All the furniture was done, and he'd even placed disks to toss some stacks of papers into the air as well.  All he had to do was place the trigger, and he could do that on the way out.

He sat the little motion detector on the floor in front of the door.  He didn't want Anthony to actually get inside.  It would be triggered as the door started to open.

"It's Anthony!  Get out!"

Del cursed under his breath, fumbled with the trigger, and sprinted for the door, accidentally stepping on the little box as he did.

There was a loud "pop."  Del was first tossed headlong through the door, then stopped suddenly, as through by a great hand.  He hung in mid air, his body parallel with the floor.

Mic sat on the far side of the corridor looking at him in horror.  Del looked back into the room, and saw the lower half of his body imbedded in the aerogel.

This is very embarrassing, he thought.

He looked up at the man approaching from down the corridor, and put on his best brownnosing smile.  "Good evening, Professor Anthony!  What brings you out at this hour?"

Go to Unit Reference


Welcome

What Has Gone Before...

Welcome to the Outpost 2 Online Manual. We hope you enjoy playing this game even more than we enjoyed making it!

This Online Manual has been designed to give you all the information you need to begin playing right away. We hope you find it useful and informative. For new players, we recommend you look through the Getting Started and Tutorials sections first.

For additional information on missions, units, strategies, and research, see our Strategy Guide. This collection of five documents will give you the inside story on how to win at Outpost 2. Shortcuts to open these documents are in the Outpost 2 program group, available from the Start menu.

The five buttons above will take you to the five parts of the Online Manual.

Getting Started tells you about System Requirements, Installation, how to start Campaign, Colony, and Multiplayer Games, and the game menu screens.  There is also information here about Troubleshooting and Technical Support.

The Tutorials teach you, step-by-step, how to command your colony.

The Rules section explains how to manage your resources, structures, and vehicles.

The Interface Guide shows, in detail, how all of the components of the game interface work.

The Unit Reference describes all of the structures, vehicles, and weapons available in Outpost 2, including color illustrations and Tales of New Terra.

Developed by

Credits

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

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


What Has Gone Before

They were the last survivors of a dead Earth, castaways in an ocean of stars with not one they could call home. For nearly a century they drifted, suspended in cold sleep, while computer intelligence guided their hastily-built starship and searched, unsuccessfully, for an Earth-like world. Resources dwindling, the computers woke a few of the crew to make a desperate decision. If no Earth-like world could be found, how close was close enough?

Their voyage ended on a world they named New Terra, in the same spirit that desert dwellers once named their towns after sources of water. In truth, it was nothing like Earth; stark, hostile, forbidding, and in its own way, beautiful. There the last few hundred surviving humans cobbled together a town from their meager supplies and what they could salvage from their starship and landers. At first the colony was known only as "Outpost," but as it grew, the colonists gave it a real name. They called it Eden.

Then, things began to fall apart. The colonists divided into two groups, one that wanted to conquer New Terra, and a second that wished to adapt to its harsh environment. In the end, it was the second group that took their share of supplies and resources and moved away to form a splinter colony, which they named Plymouth.

For a time the two colonies tried to reconcile, but talking only seemed to widen the canyon of thought between them. When Eden announced its intention to terraform their planet, to transform it into a new Earth, the Plymouthers were outraged. In protest they broke off talks, and sent a command to the lone satellite that linked the two colonies, shutting it down, unaware that it could never be reactivated. It was as though a curtain had closed, and neither colony wanted to be the first to open it.

For years, the two colonies turned their backs on one another, each growing and advancing in technology, never understanding the hidden forces that had torn them apart, never suspecting that disaster would soon bring them back together in fire and conflict.

In Eden, behind locked doors and shuttered windows, intense and secretive research begins to bear fruit. Not only will they terraform the planet, but they have taken steps to see that no one will stop them. No one. Then, even as the leaders announce their impending triumph, things begin to go horribly, horribly wrong.

Meanwhile, in Plymouth, the long-dead rocks beneath their colony's foundations begin to shake and heave, a geological impossibility. Little do they know that this is only the beginning --- of the end.

On New Terra, all the rules are about to change, except one: extinction is not an option.

Back to Contents