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- G A L A X Y !
-
- by Jason Anderson
-
-
- Now that the Cold War is over
- you'd think that the world is in for
- a century or so of peace and quiet.
- But noooo. According to a recent
- communique from Jason Anderson,
- LOADSTAR's man in the Pentagon, plans
- are being drawn for construction of
- five new space-faring vehicles,
- designed to do for space what the
- Sherman Tank did for Europe.
-
- The five new vehicles are:
-
- MOTHERSHIP - a base for all galactic
- operations. Each player will have
- one of these, and if it's destroyed,
- that player is kaput.
-
- BATTLESTAR - a huge destroying
- machine, for some reason shaped
- like a big red yoyo.
-
- Cruiser - a medium range battleship.
- It looks suspiciously like Kirk's
- Enterprise.
-
- Fighter - a swift and powerful
- attack ship.
-
- Scout - an extremely fast
- surveillance craft. Not heavily
- armed.
-
- Each vehicle has five characteristics:
-
- DP (Damage Points) - this tells how
- much damage a ship can take before
- being destroyed. When it hits
- zero, the ship is destroyed.
-
- Points - this tells how many units
- of energy are required to build
- a ship.
-
- Attack Percentage - this is a ship's
- odds of hitting a target when it
- shoots. The higher the percentage,
- the more accurate it is.
-
- Speed - this represents how many
- spaces a ship can move per turn.
-
- Damage - this shows how many Damage
- Points are deducted from a ship
- when it is hit.
-
- Two to four human players can run
- this simulation of what we can expect
- when/if galactic war breaks out.
- They will each take turns making
- their moves. All menus are basically
- the same. One of the options will be
- highlighted white. Use the CRSR UP
- and DOWN keys to highlight your
- option and press RETURN to accept it.
-
- There are four different kinds of
- warfare that you can simulate. After
- selecting the number of players, you
- will select one of the following:
-
- (1) General Warfare - dog-eat-dog
- fighting. The lone survivor is
- the winner.
-
- (2) Race - the first to position a
- ship in the opposite corner is
- the winner.
-
- (3) Quadrant Capture - the first to
- destroy all Space Pirates in his
- quadrant is the winner. Each
- player must remain in his
- quadrant.
-
- (4) Planet Possession - the player
- who captures all ten planets is
- the winner.
-
- Each type of warfare involves the
- following phases:
-
-
- PRODUCTION PHASE
- ----------------
-
- Each player starts out with 50
- energy units. If you choose to create
- a fleet (and you should at the
- beginning) you can cycle through the
- four types of ships available. The
- Mothership will automatically be
- placed in the corner of your quadrant.
- Each fleet consists of up to six
- ships. You are limited only by the
- amount of energy you have. A fleet
- has to have at least one ship in it.
-
- If you've selected a few ships and
- want to delete them and start over,
- press X. Press D when you have the
- fleet as you want it. You may create
- as many fleets as you have energy
- for.
-
- HINT: The order in which you choose
- the ships of your fleet can have a
- bearing on your battle tactics. As
- you play the simulation, pay
- attention to how the ships line up in
- the Attack Phase.
-
-
- MOVEMENT/ATTACK PHASE
- ---------------------
-
- After each player has created his
- fleet(s) in the Production Phase, the
- simulation moves to the Movement
- Phase. Here each player has the
- option of moving each of his fleets.
- He also has the option of examining
- each of his fleets to check for
- damage.
-
- When a player chooses MOVE FLEET,
- a blinking cursor will appear. The
- player is to move the cursor over one
- of his fleets and press RETURN. The
- fleet will appear in the view column
- and the move range will be displayed.
- The move range means that the fleet
- can move that many 'squares' in any
- direction, including diagonally. To
- move two spaces diagonally to the
- upper right, you will move two spaces
- up, then two spaces right.
-
- NOTE: A fleet can only move ONCE PER
- TURN.
-
- When a player has moved as many of
- his fleets as he wants, he exits the
- Phase and it's the next player's
- turn.
-
- If a player can move one of his
- fleets on top of an enemy fleet, they
- move into a COMBAT sub-Phase. Each
- player will be able to maneuver his
- ships into different positions then
- fire upon an enemy ship.
-
- A square cursor will identify a
- ship and the player can move that ship
- into position for firing upon an
- enemy ship. If enough hits are made
- to reduce a target's Damage Points to
- 0, that ship will be destroyed. The
- battle continues with each combatant
- taking turns firing until one of the
- players retreats or is totally
- destroyed.
-
- If you are playing Planet
- Possession, position your ship on the
- planet and press RETURN. Computer-
- controlled planets are held by space
- pirates and you must fight them in
- the space above the planet. You may
- not land on a planet until it is
- yours. Then you can move only
- Fighters or Cruisers onto the surface
- for its defense. Once a ship lands
- on your planet it can never leave.
- It is used only for the planet's
- defense.
-
- You are offered a chance to
- retreat after attacks. Sometimes
- you'll find that you can't move where
- you'd like to. This is due to
- invisible null-space. Just write
- this minor annoyance off to the
- vagaries of galactic warfare.
-
-
- ENERGY PRODUCTION PHASE
- -----------------------
-
- After each player has moved and
- attacked all that he desires, the
- players enter this next phase, where
- energy is added to a player's supply.
- He will receive energy for:
-
- (1) number of pirates destroyed
-
- (2) number of planets owned
-
- (3) just staying alive.
-
- If any players have been totally
- wiped out, the computer will announce
- this. If a Mothership has been
- destroyed, all of that player's fleets
- will be dismantled and all planets
- owned (if any) are repossessed by the
- pirates. If no player is the sole
- survivor, play goes back to the
- Production Phase.
-
- As you can tell, galactic warfare
- is serious business. Unless you make
- appropriate plans beforehand, you
- cannot solve disputes as Captain Kirk
- would, with his fists. You must use
- the armament you have and the
- strategic and tactical skills you
- developed in everyday life here on
- earth.
-
- At least you can always return to
- LOADSTAR by pressing the BACK ARROW
- key. Things are much tamer here at
- the LOADSTAR Tower.
-
- FT
-
- Jeff's note: I like this game. You
- might try recording your progression
- on your VCR in EP mode, then watching
- the war progress in fast motion.
-
- **** End of Text ****
-
-