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Space Combat Manual
Battle Maneuvering Commands
The combat commands available to a pilot are:
engage <ship> – This is a special command, used only to start battle. You must provide the name of another ship in the same sector as yours. Engage does not count as a combat order, so you can “engage” and then immediately enter another command such as “attack run” without waiting until the next turn.
attack run <ship> – Try to close range on the enemy. If successful, this can result in giving your shots a to-hit bonus. The bonus only applies to the specified ship that you are making an attack run against.
evasive action – Try to increase distance from the enemy. This also gives anyone shooting at you a to-hit penalty, but it also gives you a smaller to-hit penalty (it's harder to aim weapons while evading).
drift – Engines are turned off. This is the sitting duck command. Anyone shooting at you will get a huge to-hit bonus.
hold course – Continue on course through the sector. No bonuses or penalties.
parasite <ship> – A special form of attack maneuver, used by small ships against much larger ones. The idea is to get right up against the hull of the larger ship so that many of its weapons cannot bear upon you. The greater the difference in size between the two ships, the more likely that this maneuver will be effective.
break away – Attempt to escape from the battle sector. You must use the BREAK AWAY command for two consecutive turns. If successful, your ship will be dropped into a random sector adjacent to the battle, and you will be able to NAV from there. (Be careful that your new course doesn't take you back into the battle!)
When battle begins all ships in the sector have their NAV commands disabled and cannot fly away, and this also applies to any ships that fly into the sector while battle is in progress. The only way you can get away from the battle is by doing a successful BREAK AWAY maneuver, or by waiting for the battle to end. The battle ends when a turn goes by without anybody in the sector issuing battle commands.
Each combat turn is currently defined as 40 seconds long, though this is subject to change based on our testing. During each turn a player can do one of three things: issue maneuvering commands, fire guns, or launch missiles. This means crew members need to act as pilots or gunners, not both. (Exception: a class-zero ship pilot will be able fire guns and launch missiles without restriction.)
Note that issuing a maneuver command in battle doesn't automatically mean it will work. Other ships are also trying to maneuver against yours.
Weapons Control
It is possible to have a lot of weapons on a ship, especially a larger-classed ship. You can divide control of these weapons arbitrarily among different gunners. The control panel allows different players to choose weapons and take control of them. To enter the weapons control panel, just type control guns or control missiles. It looks something like this:
- - - Cannon & Beam Weapons Fire Control - - -
(1) General Products ETG-30AP electric cannon
Damage:0 Ammo:260 Gunner:NONE
(T) Tracking enemy vessel: –NO TARGET–
You are targeting: ENTIRE SHIP
Select new targeting mode: (E) ENGINES, (W) WEAPONS
(M) Release guns and switch to MISSILE control.
(R) Release control of all weapons.
(Q) Quit weapons-control console.
YOUR COMMAND?
You will be presented with a list of all guns or missiles (depending on the mode) installed on the spaceship. It will show their damage and ammo status, and who is controlling each gun. If nobody is controlling a weapon, you can type the number of that weapon to take control of it. If you are controlling a weapon, you can type its number again to release it. If somebody uses the console while you are asleep or while you are not on board the ship, any weapons you were controlling will be released.
For convenience, you can release all weapons with a single command (R), or you can release all guns and switch to missile controls (M), or release all missiles and switch to guns (G). If you release a weapon after starting its firing sequence, the sequence will abort.
The weapons console also allows you to choose a ship in the sector to target (T) with your weapons, but you must already know the ship's name – it doesn't give you a list of ships in the sector. All the weapons controlled by one gunner must aim at a single target. When using guns, the console allows you to target engines (E) or weapons (W). As long as you are targeting engines or armor, you have a reduced chance of hitting the enemy vessel, and there is still a small chance that you might hit some other part of it. Guided missiles do not allow for special targeting.
Once you've gotten control of the weapons you want, and have them aimed at your chosen target, you should quit (Q) the weapons console. You can then issue the 'fire guns' or 'fire missiles' command. You can enter these commands every turn without having to start up the weapons console again. You only need to re-enter the console if you want to change targets or change the mix of weapons you are firing.
After you have issued a firing command, the system takes a while to track the target ship and fire the weapons – basically, weapons fire at the end of the turn. In some circumstances the firing sequence can abort before the weapon fires, such as if the gunner released control of the weapon for any reason.
Buying Munitions
Currently ammunition for spaceship weapons is available at our major shipyards, and other munitions depots may be set up as time goes by. You need to taxi your ship into the munitions depot. Then enter: buy munitions
The program will ask for the name of the spaceship you want to arm. Then it will present a list of munitions available at the depot, so you can select the type you want to buy.
It is also possible to buy ammunition and have it loaded into a portable crate, which can then be taken away to set up supply caches at your faction's HQ or on board a carrier ship, and so forth. Just enter the name of your ammo crate instead of your ship's name. (The crates are special objects that you have to buy. Any random container won't work.)
Repairs
You should have already learned to use the damage status command to see what components you have installed, and which ones are hurting. When components are damaged, you need to use the repair command. It has four forms. To quote from the help screen:
Help information for repairs
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Repair
Repair [on ]
Repair #abort
Repair #status
To repair, you need to have a supply of parts. These
parts are used up when you make repairs, so you will
need to restock when you run low.
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The position of a component is the mounted location on your ship. For example, if you were repairing a 30mm ETG cannon mounted in Medium Turret 1, you would have to type:
repair medium turret 1
If you don't have repair parts (or “supplies” as the system calls them), you can't perform any repairs. Repairs are also limited by your location. If you are in open space without any repair facilities, you can't repair components beyond damage level 4. At a class 1 repair yard, you can repair components from damage level 5. A class 2 repair yard can handle damage level 6, and the repairs will be done at double the normal speed. A class 3 yard can handle damage level 7, and repairs are done at triple speed. Damage level 8 means a component is destroyed, and there's nothing to do but replace it.
While repairing a component, you must stay on board the ship or else in the same room with it. If you leave the area (i.e. navigate out of the sector), repairs will be halted. If several crew members are doing repairs, you can use repair #status to see who's working on what.