MUX Info
advancement
characters
combat
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policy
roleplay
rpg

Theme Info
aramandi
crimes
force
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rebellion
space
theme
time
weapons

The above menu mirrors the information accessible via the "news" files from within the game.

SPACE

The space system on this game is detailed and complete, with a great deal of possibilities for strategy and roleplaying, but it's not not very hard to learn, or particularly 'realistic' when realism interferes with the fun of the game. Those who want to jump right in should reference +help space, which will tell them all the commands they need to know. However, before entering space combat, they must at least read 'news space combat.' This file will tell you what space is all about and how it works.

Reminder: you must always wield the navigational computer of a starship before the space commands will work!

General Overview
Physically, the space system is set up in a two-dimensional plane, measured by artificial, somewhat abstract units. In each star system, a star is placed in sector 0,0, with several planets orbiting slowly around the star. Travel can be achieved by setting an angle for your ship, from 0 to 360, and a speed, which will vary depending on the ship's capabilities.

Every five-second round, space will update, and the ship will move forward at its current speed. An X-wing, traveling at its maximum speed of 32, would move 32 units every five seconds. (see news space piloting for more information)

For faster travel, the alternate dimension known as hyperspace, using the mysterious technology of the hyperdrive, can be used to plot either short-range 'micro jumps' within a star system, or longer-range 'hyperspatial courses' to other stars many lightyears away. (see "using hyperspace" below for more information)

Other ships can be detected on sensors, limited by the range of the ship and the skill of the sensor operator. A given ship can pass undetected, or be detected ("Contact 107"), identified ("YT-1300 Transport"), or registered ("Millenium Falcon"). For more accuracy or less likelihood of being detected, different sensor modes can be used, sweeping certain directions or focusing in on coordinates. (see "targeting and sensors" below for more information)

Communications can be achieved on any of many comm frequencies, all of which have different security levels. Since billions of frequencies exist in the galaxy, only a skilled communications operator can tap into any one of them without authorization, but those that do so may happen onto rewarding information. (see "communicating with other ships" below for more information)

When all else has failed, combat in the interstellar void can arise. Using weapons ranging from lasers to ion cannons to tractor beams, characters can engage in deadly turn-based space combat, deadening enemy controls, weakening hulls, crippling engines, knocking out hyperdrives and weapons, and finally being completely destroyed. After the glamour fades, however, space combat is very dangerous, and best avoided if at all possible. (see "Space Combat" below for more information.)

The space system is quite easy to use. Try flying around in the out-of-character simulators sometime after reading the +help space and the news space files. Even if you don't fly a ship in-game, it can be fun in its own right.

Flight and Piloting
Piloting in space is probably the easiest part of this space system. Just set an angle with the TURN command, set a speed with the SPEED command, and you're off. If you are trying to reach specific coordinates, you can turn towards it automatically with the INTERCEPT command.

Make good use of the SCAN and VIEW commands. While SCAN gives you more of an 'above-view' of the area, with coordinates of all ships on sensors laid out, VIEW lists the angles of nearby objects relative to your ship, more helpful for 'visualizing' a scene. In starfighter combat, you should almost exclusively rely on VIEW.

Landings and takeoffs are very easy as well. The normal landing site on a planet is 'Starport.' If that is not there, there is no starport at the planet. Landing at a starport will automatically guide you to one of the landing pads.

Flying Capital-Scale Ships
Capital ships are among the mightiest vessels flying the space lanes, particularly favored by the Imperial Navy for their ability to generate massive firepower and fear. Crewed by hundreds or thousands, they are near-invulnerable to puny starfighter hits.

Everything in this space file applies to capital ships, but there are a few extra things to note. First of all, instead of one navigational computer, capitals have three consoles -- the Helm Console (piloting and astrogation), the Comm Console (communications and sensors), the Tactical Console (shields and fire control). Anyone aboard the bridge can use any of the commands on any of the consoles, but can only man one console at a time. A console that is unmanned will use the skill of the NPC crew for actions related to that console.

For example, if Darth Vader mans the helm of the Executor, and Admiral Piett mans the tactical console, Vader's skills will be used for astrogating or dodging enemy shots, while Piett's skills will be used for raising shields. The comm console does not have a player manning it, so the NPC skill will be used to determine detection of contacts on sensors (5D, in this case). Anyone aboard the bridge will be able to use the commands, but for roleplaying purposes it is better to have the player actually manning the console type the command.

Using Hyperspace
Travel through the alternate dimension of hyperspace is simple. All hyperdrives have a 'multiplier' that determines roughly how fast they are. The higher the multipler, the slower the hyperdrive. The Millenium Falcon is one of the fastest ships in the galaxy with a x.5 hyperdrive. Most ships have x1 or x2 hyperdrives. If a given route normally takes 7 hours, it will take 7 hours with a x1 hyperdrive, 14 hours with a x2 hyperdrive, 21 with a x3, and so on.

The skilled astrogator, however (high Astrogation skill) can purposely plot a more risky or experimental course, saving a great deal of time. Likewise, the novice can plot a safer course at a slower speed, taking additional time for lower risk. In game terms, you take a -1 penalty to your roll for every hour you try to save, or a +1 bonus for every extra hour you take.

Hyperspace routes normally take one minute to calculate, if you have it loaded into your navigational computer. (12 rounds in combat) If you need to plot an all-new course, this is a much more painstaking task that can take much longer (call a judge). If you are in a hurry and need to jump right away, you can 'rush calculate' the course in 30 seconds, halving your effective Astrogation skill.

Although calculations can take place anywhere within a star system, the hyperdrive cannot be engaged when the ship is within range of a gravitational mass shadow or linked with another ship. In general, you must be at least 50 units away from a planet, 200 units away from a star, and 5000 (!) units away from the center of a nebula. Sometimes, artificial gravity fields, like those cast by the Imperial Interdictor Cruiser, will also disrupt travel.

Micro jumps work just like ordinary hyperspatial courses, except that they generally take no more than a minute or two to fly. Simply select the 'micro jump' course for your system, and set the exit coordinates appropiately.

Hyperspace trips can take as much as a few days, so if you are a freighter captain, you are highly recommended to recruit a small crew to roleplay with for the duration. Accepting passengers aboard the ship is also a risk -- those that do not exercise caution can become victims of hijacking.

Scanning Targets and Using Sensors
Any given target within range of your sensors can be:

Undetected. The target will not show up on sensors. Visual contact is not possible; its poses will not be seen; you cannot fire at it.

Detected. The target will show up only as a contact number, like 'contact 102.' Visual contact is not possible; its poses will not be seen; you can fire at it, but will not know whether you hit or missed.

Identified. The type of ship is identified, like 'YT-1300 Transport.' Visual contact is possible; its poses will be seen; you can fire at it and will know what happened.

Registered. The ship's transponder number was registered and BoSS records display its name, like 'YT-1300 Transport: Millenium Falcon.' Visual contact is possible; its poses will be seen; you can fire at it and will know what happened.

Which of those four things happen with a given target depend primarily on your Sensors skill (or your crew's) and secondarily on the strength of your ship's sensors. Other factors include sensor masking or jamming.

To increase your chances of getting a better sensor result, or to decrease your chances of being detected, you can select any of four sensor modes, as follows:

Passive Mode. The sensors rely only on incoming information and pass out no information of their own. You become slightly harder to detect, but range and detail are quite limited.

Scan Mode. The 'normal' sensor mode, this relies on 360-degree constant scanning pulses that relay information back to the ship.

Search Mode. In this mode, you select one fire arc to sweep with sensors (front, back, left, or right). Range is as much as doubled, and strength is greatly increased, but there is a serious cost: you are 'blind' on all other sides of the ship.

Focus Mode. The most limited mode of all, this mode focuses on a small radius centering around an X,Y coordinate you select. Although of incredible power, everything but this single radius will be completely 'blind.'

Capital ships can also scan targets, attempting to guage details such as the number of lifeforms aboard or the amount of cargo.

Since lifeform detection relies largely on tell-tale heat signatures, it will completely miss droids and other mechanical lifeforms, the mistake that the Empire made during its capture of Princess Leia's blockade runner. Sometimes, the reading will be inaccurate as well.

The amount of cargo aboard a ship is not too difficult to detect, but the specific types is near-impossible without a boarding and search. Furthermore, the estimate of cargo may be wildly off, or may be foiled by sensor-resistant secret cargo compartments.

Communicating With Other Ships
No conversation in space is truly 'private.' Anyone can be listening into a conversation, but due to the number of frequencies in the galaxy, prescence on restricted frequencies are unlikely. Frequencies are named rather than numbered; that way, instead of remembering '2392134.452349116,' a TIE pilot can simply remember 'TIE' for combat communications. Often, capital ships and ground installations will be linked into starfighter frequencies, but starfighters will be programmed with only a few frequencies, to minimize losses if the ship is captured by the enemy.

The main frequency used for 'public' ship-to-ship communications is 'Hail.' The Empire has many frequencies of its own in this game, as do certain other groups. Normally, listening into an Imperial frequency is a class one infraction punishable by death.

You can normally only tune into the channels that your ship is programmed for; a high Communications roll, however, could let you tune into a restricted channels -- a great advantage in espionage and combat, obviously.

The communications system also uses languages, by the way. The language you are currently 'speak'ing is the one that will go out over the com.

Ship Combat
When space combat is initiated, someone should use the +freeze command. This ships-only command will freeze all activity in the star system. Movement is shut down, hyperspace calculations don't happen, the overloaded generators will not blow -- until someone types the +spaceround command, performing a space update of one round (5 seconds game time). A judge should always be requested for space combat after the +freeze is initiated.

Each round of space combat has a few phases:

(1) Set defenses, including evasive action and shields. Often can be skipped.
(2) Fire weapons, if possible.
(3) Perform speed/direction changes, landings, takeoffs.
(4) ONE person (the judge usually) types +spaceround.

Normally, things aren't so organized. Since ships often break off into separate battles, one dogfight may be in the speed-change phase while another is still working on defenses. When there is doubt about which ships should be allowed to take an action first (especially shooting), the benefit of the doubt goes to the smaller ship.

This information is also available in-game via the "news consent" command.

See also: news policy, news combat