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The Decwar game, produced in the late 1970s, was one of the historic first "multiplayer" games, in which users would compete with each other on a computer.
Decwar was a sophisticated real time space battle game designed to be played by 1 to 18 players. It was written at the University of Texas at Austin. The game was originally based on a very limited, single job, single terminal, two player Star Trek type game known as WAR. This game came from the CDC-6600/6400 system at the University of Texas at Austin.
The game was rewritten, and then transferred to the DEC-10. In the transfer process, the game was renamed to DECWAR, largely re-designed, and almost entirely re-written, so that the current version bears little resemblance to the original. Almost all the commands were added once the game was on the DEC-10, as well as the basic concept of separate jobs controlling each ship, and most of the other features that make the game challenging, exciting, and enjoyable. The first version was installed on the DEC-10 in August 1978. After several revisions, the greatly enhanced and improved game, version 2.0, was finally installed in July 1979.
Decwar was unique in that it used a command line for input. Command structure was simular to the command structure of TOPS-10, the operating system for the DEC-10. Commands could be abbrieviated to their most simple and unique form. Decwars allowed the user to enter coordinates in absolute, relative or computed format. Finally, commands could be stacked on a line, allowing a list of commands to be executed at once. If the user wanted, the last command line could be re-entered by simply pressing the escape key.
Output for Decwar was also elegant. Output could be either in long, medium or short format. This allowed power users with the ability to get more information in a shorter amount of time. The output could be in absolute or relative format or both.
Each player commanded a ship. Each ship had several devices, including: warp engines, inpulse engines, photon torpedoes, phaser banks, deflector shields, computer, life support, sub-space radio, and a tractor beam. Each ship started with 5000 units of energy, 2500 units of shield strength, and 0 units of damage. Other objects in the 79 x 79 universe included: Federation and Empire ships, computer controlled romulans, Federation and Empire bases, Federation and Empire planets and black holes.
Instructions
Here are the instructions for DECWAR:
DECWAR GAME INSTRUCTIONS
DECWAR Version 2.3, November 20, 1981
Introduction and Overview of the Game of DECWARs.
DECWAR is a real time space battle game designed to be played by from 1 to 10 people. The object of the game is to destroy all enemy bases and ships, and capture all enemy planets, before the enemy does the same to you. Each person plays on a separate terminal, and enters the game by selecting
DECWAR (on the MultiPlayer Host)
Players are free to enter and leave the game as desired, since each has his own job and therefore won't interfere with the other players (the jobs interact through a shareable high segment).
Besides the enemy (Federation or Empire), the following may also be a threat to your well being.
1. Romulans are nasty beasts that beginners are better off without. However, if you're the only person playing, the Romulan is your only competition. Romulans tend to make for shorter games but when there are 3 or less players a Romulan will be included. After the fourth player joins the game, a Romulan will not be re-created once he is destroyed. include Romulans in the game.
2. Black holes are annoying, since if you are displaced into one, you're dead. They also tend to gobble up stray torpedoes. There is a 25% chance of black holes being included in the game.
There are two primary opposing forces in the galaxy -- Humans (Federation) and Klingons (Empire). As you enter the game for the first time, you get to choose which side you'll join (unless there is a large imbalance in the team sizes). If you are subsequently destroyed and later reenter the game, you automatically rejoin your old team.
You get to select the ship you want to control from a list of remaining ships on your side. There are 5 ships on each side:
- Federation ships Empire ships
-
- Lexington Cobra
- Nimitz Demon
- Savannah Hawk
- Vulcan Jackal
- Yorktown Wolf
Due to continuous espionage activities, present front-line ships of the Federation and the Klingon Empire are identical in strength and weaponry. These ships can move from sector to sector using either warp or impulse engines, can attack enemy installations and ships using either photon torpedoes or phasers, and can defend themselves against such attack using their deflector shields. All ships also possess sub-space radios which keep them in touch with friendly starbases and other ships.
The various devices of a ship are subject to damage. This damage may be due to enemy attack or to over use. These damages, unlike total ship damage (see ship attributes below), may be repaired while underway. If damage on a device is less than 300 units, its performance is degraded. If damage is 300 or more units, the device is inoperative. A ship possesses the following devices:
1. Warp Engines -- These engines are the normal mode of travel for starships. The maximum speed is warp factor 6, with warps 5 and 6 risking potential damage to the engines. If warp engines are damaged (less than 300 units) the maximum speed is warp factor 3.
NOTE
One warp unit is equivalent to one horizontal or one vertical grid movement. A diagonal movement is equivalent to the hypotenuse of the horizontal and vertical sides.
2. Impulse Engines -- These engines are basically for emergency use while the warp engines are critically damaged. Impulse engines move the ship at warp factor 1.
3. Photon Torpedo Tubes -- Used to fire photon torpedoes. If these tubes are damaged, the accuracy of torpedo bursts is impaired. The maximum torpedo range is 10 sectors.
4. Phaser Banks -- Each ship possesses two phaser banks, with a single phaser control. Damage to this phaser control or to the ship's computer reduces the strength of the phaser hit.
5. Deflector Shields -- The deflector shields of a ship protect it from damage from phaser and photon torpedo hits, and shield it from the energy released when a star goes nova. The percent shield strength indicates the percent of the incoming hit which will be nullified. In addition, strong deflector shields may deflect photon torpedoes with little or no damage.
NOTE: If a ship's shields are up, the amount of energy expended during movement is doubled.
6. Computer -- The ship's computer is used for computed firing, computation during ship movement, and for phaser control. If the computer is inoperative, navigation during warp and impulse movement becomes inexact.
7. Life Support -- If the life support units of a starship are inoperative, the ship must either repair this damage or dock within 5 stardates. If this is not accomplished, the crew will die.
8. Sub-Space Radio -- The sub-space radio is used to communicate with other ships, of either side. Bases under attack also use the sub-space radio to call for help and notify their team's ships of their destruction.
9. Tractor Beam -- The ship's tractor beam is used primarily to tow damaged friendly ships away from danger. The beam can not be used unless both ships have lowered their shields.
In addition to the individual devices discussed above, a newly commissioned ship (or a fully repaired and rearmed older ship) possesses the following attributes:
1. 5000 units of ship energy. Ship energy is used during movement and phaser firing. It is also decreased each time the ship gets hit with phasers or photon torpedoes. If this quantity ever reaches zero, the ship is dead. A ship possessing 1000 units of ship energy or less automatically goes to yellow alert, and a warning bell sounds after every move.
2. 2500 units of shield energy. This energy is stored in the ship's shields (whether up or down), and is separate from the ship energy. However, energy may be transferred between these two energy reserves as needed. If shields are up, their energy is decreased each time the ship gets hit.
3. Zero units of ship damage. During battle, a ship collects hits from enemy installations and ships. If these accumulated hits ever reach 2500 units of damage or greater, the ship is destroyed. Ship damage may be reduced only by docking.
The galaxy is arranged in a grid of 75 by 75 sectors. Players can move freely throughout the galaxy in search of enemies, which come in several categories:
1. Romulan. This can be the most dangerous thing to come up against, and fortunately there is a maximum of 1 Romulan in the game at any given time. The Romulan moves around concealed by his cloaking device until he comes across a suitable target (Federation or Empire ship or base) which he immediately proceeds to attack. An infinite supply of torpedoes and energy make him a formidable foe. If you kill one, another will eventually appear somewhere in the galaxy.
2. Enemy ship. This is the second most dangerous thing to come across, since all enemy ships are backed by human intelligence. All ships are created equal, and so the outcome of a clash between two ships is usually due to skill on its captain's part, although some other factors do come into play.
3. Enemy base. These aren't dangerous unless you come within range (4 sectors) since they are immobile. If you ARE foolish enough to get within range, however, their overwhelming phaser power will quickly pound you into rubble! Destroying a base is useful primarily because this removes it from use by your enemy (bases are used as supply stations and as a refuge in times of stress). A damaged starbase will slowly build itself back to full strength if it is not completely destroyed.
4. Enemy planet. These are just like enemy bases, except that they are weaker (how much weaker depends on how many fortifications the enemy has built on them), and they can be captured. Their firing range is only two sectors, and they can re-supply the enemy less rapidly than can a base.
5. Neutral planet. While these aren't strictly classified as enemies, they will take pot shots at you (their range is also 2 sectors), so be wary of them. You can capture neutral planets and win them over to your side.
When playing the game, all commands can be abbreviated to 2 characters, and some can be abbreviated to 1 character (you can use the shortest unambiguous abbreviation). For a list of commands type
HELP *
and for a description of an individual command type
HELP command
The help on individual commands will be read from this help file (that's what the periods in column 1 are for in the long description of each command). The legal commands are:
1. BASES -- List information on friendly and known enemy bases.
2. BUILD -- Develop installations on a planet, and eventually build it into a base. The planet must first be captured.
3. CAPTURE -- Win a neutral or enemy planet over to your side.
4. DAMAGES -- List damaged devices and their current status.
5. DOCK -- Dock at an adjacent base or planet. This increases your energy, replenishes your torpedoes, repairs your ship a little, and reduces your ship damage.
6. ENERGY -- Transfer energy between two ships.
7. GRIPE -- Record bugs, comments, suggestion, etc. in the file GAM:DECWAR.GRP, which is periodically reviewed by the implementors.
8. HELP -- List or describe the legal commands.
9. IMPULSE -- Move using impulse engines.
10. LIST -- List various information about ships, bases, and planets.
11. MOVE -- Move using warp engines.
12. NEWS -- Tell about any new features or enhancements described in the file GAM:DECWAR.NWS.
13. PHASERS -- Fire phasers at a target.
14. PLANETS -- List information on friendly and known enemy and neutral planets.
15. POINTS -- List your score breakdown so far.
16. QUIT -- Get out of the game.
17. RADIO -- Turn ship's sub-space radio on or off; ignore or restore communications from individual ships.
18. REPAIR -- Repair your damaged devices a little.
19. SCAN -- Display the galaxy with the default range set to maximum (10 sectors in each direction from your ship).
20. SET -- Set various input and output defaults.
21. SHIELDS -- Transfer energy to or from your shields; raise or lower your shields.
22. SRSCAN -- Display the galaxy with a default range of 7 sectors (1 greater than the maximum warp factor).
23. STATUS -- List your ship's current status and supply levels.
24. SUMMARY -- List various information on ships, bases, and planets.
25. TARGETS -- List targets (enemies within range) and their current locations.
26. TELL -- Send messages to other ships using the sub-space radio.
27. TIME -- List information on run time and elapsed time.
28. TORPEDOES -- Fire photon torpedoes at a target.
29. TRACTOR -- Use tractor beam to tow friendly ships.
30. TYPE -- List current input, output, and game characteristics.
31. USERS -- List the names and other information known about the players currently in the game.
General INPUT information
- Only the first 5 characters of each input word are stored. Any characters beyond that are ignored.
- - Input words may be separated by spaces, tabs, or commas. - The input line can be terminated with , , , , , or ^Z.
- - ^G toggles echo. At the beginning of each input line, echoing is turned on. Typing ^G turns it off, the next ^G turns it back on, etc. Echoing is always turned back on at the end of an input line, or if ^U is typed.
- - Multiple commands may be given on a single command line by separating the commands with / (slash). If the TELL command is given, it must be last on the line.
- - Anything after ; (semicolon) is treated as a comment and is ignored (but TELL rescans the line and takes the text after the first ; as the message to send).
- - (escape, or altmode) entered as the first character in response to the command prompt (even before ^H, ^U, or ^R) repeats the previous command. This is useful when building a planet, docking, repairing, firing torpedoes, etc. Altmode can't be used to repeat a TELL command.
- Any ship name can be abbreviated to 1 character.
- - Any command or keyword can be shortened to the shortest unambiguous abbreviation, which is never more than 2 characters.
- Many commands require a coordinate as an argument (PHASERS, TORPEDOES, CAPTURE, BUILD, etc.). The required coordinate(s) can be specified in one of three ways:
- Absolute - the default coordinate input type, which is simply an absolute vertical position followed by an absolute horizontal position. The coordinate may be preceded by the keyword ABSOLUTE, but this isn't necessary unless the default coordinate input type has been changed by SET ICDEF RELATIVE.
- Relative - the keyword RELATIVE, followed by a relative vertical distance and a relative horizontal distance. A positive distance is either up or right, and negative is either down or left. The absolute coordinate is computed by adding the relative distances to your current position. The keyword RELATIVE isn't needed if the default coordinate input type has been changed by SET ICDEF RELATIVE.
- Computed - the keyword COMPUTED followed by a ship name. The coordinate used is the location of the given ship. This type of coordinate computation is available only to captains controlling their ships through slow terminals (< 1200 baud), and requires an operational computer.
- The keyword ABSOLUTE, RELATIVE, or COMPUTED is only given one time for each set of coordinates. For instance, the TORPEDO command can accept up to 3 coordinates, but the keyword describing the coordinate input type is given only once, and all coordinates must be of the same type.
General OUTPUT information
The SET OUTPUT LONG/MEDIUM/SHORT command controls the length of text output throughout the game. In particular, Medium or Short hit messages received during battle are greatly reduced in length when compared to the Long format. Unfortunately, these shorter forms are not as self-explanatory as the Long form. The following are some equivalent Long, Medium and Short hit messages:
- Goblin @22-31, +83.6% makes 285.3 unit torpedo hit on Vulcan displaced to 20-31, +72.1%
G @22-31, +83.6% 285.3 unit T V -->20-31, +72.1%
G 22-31 +83 285T V >20-31 +72
- Emp planet(3) @15-16 makes 155.5 unit phaser hit on Buzzard @15-17, 66.8%
-@3 @15-16 155.5 unit P B @15-17, 66.8%
-@3 15-16 155P B 15-17 +66
Note: The -@3 indicates an Empire planet built 3 times.
- Star @22-31 +4,+2 makes 301.2 unit hit on Panther displaced to 20-31 +2,+2, -72.1%
- @22-31 +4,+2 301.2 unit N P -->20-31 +2,+2, -72.1%
- 22-31 +4,+2 301N P >20-31 +2,+2, -72
Note: The relative coordinates appear due to a SET OCDEF BOTH command. The Panther's shields are 72.1% of max strength, but down (-72.1%).
The Decwar PRE-GAME feature
DECWAR provides a Pre-game feature to allow: - New players to view the help file without entering the current game.
- - Experienced players to check the status of a current game before choosing a side and ship.
- - Players to submit Gripes without entering the game.
The commands currently active within the Pre-game section are:
- Activate Gripe Help News Points Quit Summary Time Users
The ACTIVATE command (valid only in the pre-game) is used to exit the pre-game section and enter the normal ship setup stage. The pre-game can be recognized from the 'PG>' command prompt.
Some general HINTS
- When in doubt, use the on-line help system. See the help on HELP for more information.
- - If the output starts piling up in the middle of a battle, type ^O (CTL-O). None of your commands will be executed until output is finished, so it's sometimes better just to ignore the hit messages so your attack or run commands can be executed immediately.
- - Use multiple commands per line (separate commands with /). Once you're in a danger area, things can happen faster than you can react to them. Plan your action ahead of time, before you enter a danger area.
- - If some unexpected action happens, such as an enemy finding you, and you have several stacked commands (either from a multiple command line or typing ahead), type ^C to abort all stacked commands (especially if it involves time consuming commands such as BUILD, or commands that generate a lot of output, such as SCAN). You can then proceed to remedy the situation by giving your unexpected visitor a good beating.
- - If you're on a slow terminal, use computed coordinates, and move around a lot if you're fighting someone on a fast terminal. Computed coordinates are the primary advantage slow terminals have over the fast ones (computed coordinates give slow terminals a fantastic tactical advantage over fast terminals when used properly).
- - Use to repeat commands (see the help on ESCAPE). It's just a convenience when building planets, etc., but in battle, and combined with multiple commands per line and/or computed coordinates (such as PH C B/M R 1 0 or TO 1 32 45), it can make or break your career as a starship captain.
- - Don't get within range of an enemy base, unless you enjoy being pounded into rubble. You can kill a base just as well from 1 sector outside it's range (use the WARNING keyword on SCAN to see the range of an enemy base).
- - Don't waste your energy and torpedoes firing at friendly ships and bases. If you're not sure if it's friendly or not, type HELP SCAN for a list of what's what. You can also use the TARGETS command to see which enemies are lurking about (see the help on TARGETS and LIST).
- - Don't make it a habit of sitting next to stars; photon torpedoes can turn them into novas, which are extremely destructive. Conversely, if you notice an enemy ship or base adjacent to a star, take advantage of the situation!
- - One sure way to locate enemy ships is to watch for newly captured enemy planets by using the PLANETS or LIST command.
- - In general, don't waste photon torpedoes battering at a target with 85-100% shields. The chances are good that they will just be deflected harmlessly away. Use your phasers to weaken the shields, then use torpedoes to finish him off. This is especially true when attempting to destroy an enemy starbase.
- - Use the SET command in DECWAR.INI to personalize the output to your own tastes. That way you'll be guaranteed to have the output set right each time you play a game.
- - To always see the range and direction of any object listed (in hit messages, output from the LIST command, etc.), SET OCDEF BOTH. (The range is the magnitude of either delta v or delta h, whichever is larger.)
Commands that take real time
Many of the commands are designed to take a certain amount of real time. This is done to help equalize the game when there are different speed terminals and different speed typists in the game. Some commands take a constant amount of time, and some are based on the speed of the slowest terminal in the game.
BUILD 5 to 7 seconds
- CAPTURE 5 seconds + 1 second for each BUILD of enemy planet
- DOCK 2 to 4 seconds
- IMPULSE 2 to 4 seconds
- MOVE 2 to 4 seconds
- REPAIR (0.08 * repair size) seconds (* 0.5 if docked)
You have 2 phaser banks, each of which must be cooled off after it's fired before it can be used again. Each phaser bank takes 3 to 6 seconds plus the amount of phaser damage / 100 to cool off. For instance, if there was a 300 baud terminal in the game, and your phasers had 200 units of damage, each of your phaser banks would take 6 + 2 = 8 seconds to cool off after being fired. Therefore, you could fire once every 4 seconds, or twice every 8 seconds.
After each burst of torpedoes the tubes must be reloaded before being used again. It takes 2 to 4 seconds plus the amount of torpedo tube damage / 100 to load a torpedo. For instance, if there was a 300 baud terminal in the game, your torpedoes had 200 units of damage, and you had just fired 3 torpedoes, it would take 3 * (4 + 2) = 18 seconds before you could fire torpedoes again.
Use of ^C
If you're in command input wait (DECWAR is waiting for you to type a command), typing a ^C will abort the game and return you to monitor mode. When you abort the game in this manner, your ship is returned to the pool of available ships. You will be able to continue unless a new player has taken your ship or someone has moved into the spot you occupied.
If you're not in a command input wait state when you type ^C, any stacked commands (commands that you typed in ahead of time that haven't been executed yet) will be aborted, and a series of bells will be output.
NOTE: A ship under RED alert conditions can not be returned to the monitor level except by using the QUIT command.
and here is some additional documentation on the command syntax: Decwar Commands
List various BASE information
Syntax: BAses *
List location and shield percent of friendly bases; location of known enemy bases; or count of bases of either side within a specified range or the entire galaxy. The default range is the entire galaxy, and the default side is friendly bases only. See the help for LIST for more information and the complete set of keywords that can be used to modify BASES output.
Examples:
BA List location and shield percent of all friendly bases.
- BA ENEMY List location of all known enemy bases.
BUILD fortifications on a captured planet
Syntax: BUild *
A fortified planet hits harder and is more resistant to destruction by the enemy. A planet can normally be built up to 4 times. As your team's starbases are destroyed by enemy action, a fifth build will complete the construction of a new starbase on the planet. Only 10 starbases can be functional at any one time.
Examples:
BU 32 12 Build the planet at sector 32-12. BU A 32 12 Equivalent to "BU 32 12" BU R 1 1 Build the planet at sector 32-12, if your present location is 31-11.
CAPTURE a neutral or enemy planet
Syntax: CApture *
At the start of the game, all planets are neutral (they fire at everyone!). Once captured by either side, they fire only at enemy ships, and can be DOCKed at to refuel and rearm, just like a base (except a planet can only supply half the resources that a base can). Enemy planets can also be captured. When capturing an enemy planet, 1 second is added to the normal pause time of 5 seconds for each BUILD present. Also, 50 units of ship energy are lost for each build.
DECWAR GAME INSTRUCTIONS Page 12
Examples:
CA 12 32 Capture planet at 12-32. CA A 12 32 Equivalent to "CA 12 32". CA R 1 1 Capture planet at sector 12-32, if your present location is 11-31.
DAMAGE report
Syntax: DAmages *
List damaged ship devices and the amount of damage to each. The condition of all or just selected devices may be examined. Total ship damage is not reported.
Examples:
DA List all damaged devices and their current damages. DA SH T List damages for SHields and Torpedo tubes. DA PH RA C List damages for PHasers, sub-space RAdio, and Computer.
DOCK at a friendly base or planet
Refuel, repair, and rearm your ship, and set your ship's condition to green. While docked, any repairs are accelerated, and you have an "infinite" supply of torps. If you have no damages and are completely refueled and rearmed, DOCKing will have no effect on your ship. A STATUS command string can be appended to a DOCK order. The following table lists the maximum resources available per move when DOCKing at a base or planet:
Resource Base Planet
-- Ship energy +1000 +500 Shield energy +500 +250 Photon Torpedoes +10 +5 Life Support Reserves +5 +5 Ship Damage -100 -50 Ship Damage, if already docked -200 -100
Examples:
DO Dock, no status report. DO ST Dock, show ship's status AFTER docking. DO ST SH T Dock, show ship's shield strength and number of torpedoes on board AFTER docking.
Transfer ENERGY to a friendly ship
Syntax: Energy
The receiving ship must be located in an adjacent sector. 10% of the energy transferred will be lost due to broadcast dissipation. If you attempt to send more energy than the other ship can store (ie 5000 units), the transfer will automatically be reduced to the maximum possible.
Example:
E I 1000 Transfer 1000 units of energy to the Intrepid. The Intrepid will receive 900 units of energy.
Submit a GRIPE
Syntax: Gripe
Add a comment, bug report, suggestion, etc. to the top of file GAM:DECWAR.GRP. Type in your comments, then ^Z (CTL-Z) to exit and continue the game, or ^C (CTL-C) to abort and not send the gripe. Each gripe is preceded with a header that includes the version number, date, time, ship name, user name, TTY speed, PPN, TTY number, job number, and whether or not Romulans and/or black holes are included in the game. Unless you are currently under red alert, GRIPE will protect you from enemy attack. To view gripes not yet acted upon, type the file GAM:DECWAR.GRP. To view answered gripes, and see what action was taken on them, type the file GAM:DECWAR.FXD.
Give HELP
Syntax: Help *
Give general help info, a list of available commands, or a detailed description of a particular command or keyword. Unless you are under red alert, HELP will protect you from enemy attack. The following conventions are used in the detailed descriptions:
- - The first line contains, in all caps, the keyword that help is being given for.
- - The syntax line (second line) lists the portion of the keyword required to make it unique in caps, and the remainder of the keyword in lower case, followed by any parameters (if the keyword is a command).
- - A quantity to be filled in is lower case and enclosed in <> (angle brackets).
- - Optional parameters are enclosed in * (square brackets).
- - A choice (either or) is indicated by | (vertical bar).
- - Any parameter that must be typed in literally is started in capital letters and continued in lower case. The upper case letters signal the shortest unambiguous abbreviation (the shortest abbreviation may change slightly, depending on context).
Examples:
H Give general help info. H * List all available commands. H H List this block of text. H SH Give help for the SHIELDS command. H HI G Give some general HINTS and a description of the GRIPE command.
Move using IMPULSE engines
Syntax: Impulse *
Move one sector vertically, horizontally, or diagonally (equivalent to warp factor 1). Ship condition changes to green.
Examples:
I 37 45 Move to sector 37-45. I A 37 45 Equivalent to "I 37 45". I R 1 -1 Move to sector 37-45, if your ship's present location is 36-46.
LIST ship, base, and planet info
Syntax: List *
The following information is available via the LIST command: - Name of any ship currently in the game (including the Romulan).
- - Location and shield percent of any friendly ship, or any ship within scan range (10 sectors).
- - Location and shield percent of any friendly base, or any base within range.
- - Location of any known enemy base (any base that has previously been SCANned or LISTed by anyone on your team).
- - Location and number of builds of any known planet, or any planet within range.
- The above information is also available, in whole or in part, through the SUMMARY, BASES, PLANETS, and TARGETS commands. Each command has its own default range, side (Federation, Empire, Romulan, Neutral), and object (ship, base, planet). LIST (and SUMMARY) include everything (infinite range, all sides, all objects) by default. On output, enemy objects are flagged with * (star) in column 1 unless the command is TARGETS.
Keywords used with BASES, PLANETS, TARGETS, LIST, and SUMMARY (not all keywords are legal for all commands):
ship names Include only specified ships (several ship names may be given, including Romulan). vpos hpos List only the object at the location vpos-hpos. CLosest List only the closest of the specified objects.
SHips Include only ships (Federation, Empire, or Romulan). BAses Include only bases (Federation or Empire). PLanets Include only planets (Federation, Empire, or Neutral). POrts Include only bases and planets. If no side is specified (Federation, Empire, Neutral, or Captured), include only friendly ports.
FEderation Include only Federation forces. HUman Same as Federation. EMpire Include only Empire forces. Klingon Same as Empire. FRiendly Include only friendly forces (Federation or Empire). ENemy Include only enemy forces (Empire or Federation and Romulan). TArgets Same as enemy. NEutral Include only neutral planets. CAptured Include only captured planets (Federation or Empire).
n Include only objects within n sectors. ALl Include all sides unless a side is explicitly given. Extend the range to infinity unless a range is explicitly given.
LIst List individual items. Turn off summary unless command is SUMMARY or the keyword SUMMARY is specified. SUmmary List summary of all selected items. Turn off list unless command is LIST or the keyword LIST is specified. Extend the range to infinity unless a range is explicitly given.
And Used to separate groups of keywords. & Same as AND.
Examples:
LIST List all information available on all ships, bases, and planets. LIST SUM List all available info plus a summary of the number of each object in game. LI EN BA List the location of all known enemy bases. LI SH List all available info on all ships in the game. LI CL PO List closest friendly base or friendly or neutral planet. LI 1 3 & 9 5 List the objects at locations 1-3 and 9-5.
MOVE using warp drive Syntax: Move * Maximum speed is warp factor 6, which will move you 6 sectors per turn. Maximum SAFE speed is warp factor 4; warp factors 5 and 6 risk potential warp engine damage. Energy consumption per move is proportional to the square of the warp factor. If the ship's shields are up during this movement, the energy consumption is doubled. Moving changes your ship's condition to green.
Examples:
M 37 45 Move to sector 37-45. M A 37 45 Equivalent to "M 37 45". M R 4 -5 Move to sector 37-45, if your present location is 33-50 (move up 4 sectors and left 5 sectors). M C W "Ram" the Wolf. No actual collision occurs, but your ship ends up adjacent to the Wolf's current position.
Display the NEWS file
Syntax: NEws
Display the file which contains information on any new features, enhancements, bug fixes, etc for each version of DECWAR.
Fire PHASERS at an enemy ship, base, or planet
Syntax: PHasers [energy
Phasers must be directed at a specific target, and only one target may be specified per command. Obstacles seemingly in the path of the phaser blast are unaffected, since the energy ray is not a line-of- sight weapon. The size of the hit is inversely proportional to the distance from the target. Maximum range is 10 sectors vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Each phaser blast consumes 200 units of ship energy, unless a specific amount of energy is given (the specified energy must be between 50 and 500 units, inclusive). The phaser banks have roughly a 5% chance of damage with a default (200 unit) blast, with the probability of damage reaching nearly 65% with a maximum (500 unit) blast. The severity of the resulting damage is also dependant on the size of the blast. Also, if your ship's shields are up, a high-speed shield control is used to quickly lower and then restore the shields during the fire. This procedure consumes another 200 units of ship energy. The weapons officer on board your ship will cancel all phaser blasts directed against friendly ships, bases, or planets. Firing phasers (or getting hit by phasers) puts you on red alert. NOTE: Although phasers can damage enemy planetary installations (BUILDs), they can NOT destroy the planet itself.
Examples:
PH 12 32 Phaser target at sector 12-32. PH A 12 32 Equivalent to "PH 12 32". PH R 2 -3 Phaser target at sector 12-32, if your location is 10-35. PH C BUZZARD Phaser the Buzzard (if in range). PH C B Same as PH C BUZZARD (ship names can be abbreviated to 1 character). PH 300 12 32 Phaser target at sector 12-32, using 300 units of energy.
List various PLANET information
Syntax: PLanets *
List location and number of builds for all known planets, and a summary of planets within a specified range or the entire galaxy. The default range is 10 sectors, and the default side is every side. See the help for LIST for more information and the complete set of keywords that can be used to modify PLANETS output.
Examples:
PL List all planets within 10 sectors. PL SUM Give summary of all planets in game. PL ALL NEU List all known neutral planets. PL ALL CAP List all known captured planets. PL ALL 20 List all known planets within a radius of 20 sectors.
List POINTS scored so far this game
Syntax: POints *
Itemize the current point breakdown. Information can be obtained concerning the points scored by your individual ship, your team, the opposition, the romulans, or any combination of the above. If the Romulan Empire is not involved in the game, the ROMULAN keyword will be ignored.
Categories in POINTS breakdown: - Damage to enemies. - Enemies destroyed (500 points each). - Damage to bases. - Planets captured (100 points each). - Bases built (1000 points each). - Romulans damaged/destroyed. - Stars destroyed (-50 points each). - Planets destroyed (-100 points each).
- Total points scored. - Total number of ships commissioned. - Total score / number of players. - Total score / stardates.
Examples:
PO List points for your ship. PO ME Equivalent to "PO". PO KLI FED List the score of the two teams. PO ALL List all the scoring information available.
QUIT the game
Syntax: Quit
Quit the game before normal end of execution and return to the monitor. Your ship is released for use by another player, you're chalked up as just one more casualty, and you can't CONTINUE the game. If you want to rejoin the game, you'll have to wait 2 minutes, and then either START or RUN the game. If you want to exit the game temporarily (to answer SENDS, etc.), type ^C (CTL-C), and you'll usually be able to CONTINUE. NOTE: If you're under red alert, you won't be able to ^C out of the game; you'll have to use the QUIT command.
Turn sub-space RADIO on or off, or set to ignore or restore communications from individual ships
Syntax: RAdio ON|OFf or RAdio Gag|Ungag
Turn your ship's sub-space radio on or off, thus controlling whether or not you'll receive any messages from other ships or your bases; or suppress or restore messages originating from specific ships.
Examples:
RA ON Turn sub-space radio ON. RA OFF Turn sub-space radio OFF. RA G L Suppress all radio messages sent by the Lexington. RA U W Allow radio messages sent by the Wolf to be received.
REPAIR device damage
Syntax: REpair *
Repair damaged ship devices. If a ship suffers a critical hit to a device, REPAIR can be used to restore the device to full (or partial) working order. A REPAIR removes the specified units of damage from each damaged device, in addition to the normal repair rate of 30 units per turn. If the ship is DOCKED, the pause time for the specified REPAIR is reduced by half of that needed while in flight. If the repair size is not specified, REPAIR defaults to a 4 second repair (50 units + 50 more if docked). REPAIR does NOT reduce the SHIP damage.
Examples:
RE 100 Remove up to 100 units of device damage. RE Same as "RE 100" if DOCKED, else same as "RE 50".
Full range SCAN
Display a selected portion of the nearby universe. If no range is specified, SCAN defaults to a square scan range of ten sectors from the present ship location. The keywords UP, DOWN, RIGHT, LEFT, and CORNER modify this to include only the part of this original square specified (relative to the ship). The maximum scan range is 10 sectors, and larger specified ranges are reduced to this value. If individual vertical and horizontal ranges are specified, the scanning field will be shaped accordingly. The WARNING keyword if added to the end of a SCAN command string will flag the empty sectors within range of an enemy base or planet with !'s instead of . 's. The SCAN symbols and their meanings are:
L, N, S, V, Y Federation warships C, D, H, J, W Empire warships ?? Romulan warship <> Federation starbase )( Empire starbase @ Neutral planet @F Federation planet @E Empire planet * Star Black hole . Empty sector ! Empty sector within range of enemy port (only when using WARNING keyword)
Examples:
SC Scan universe within a radius 10 sectors. SC 10 Equivalent to "SC". SC 13 Equivalent to "SC 10" or "SC". SC 4 Scan universe within 4 sectors. SC 4 4 Equivalent to "SC 4". SC 2 8 Scan up to 5 rows and 17 columns, centered on the present ship location. SC U 4 7 Show only upper half of normal "SC 4 7" scan. SC C -5 -5 Scan the region bounded by the present ship location and the location (-5,-5) sectors away (puts ship in upper right corner of the scan). SC W Same as "SC", plus shows danger zones around enemy bases and planets.
SET input and output parameters
Syntax: SEt
Keyword Value Description
---
-
--- Name name Change name (shows in USERS). Output Long Default. Use longest output format. Medium Use medium output format. Short Use short (cryptic) output format. Scan Long Default. Use long format scans. Short Use 1 character symbols instead of 2. Prompt Normal Default. Use "COMMAND: " prompt. Informative Use "> " for prompt. Precede the ">" with: S if shields are down or < 10%. E if ship energy < 1000 (yellow alert). D if ship damage > 2000. nL if life support is critically damaged (n stardates of reserves). Ttytype CRT, ADM-3a, ADM-2, SOROC, BEEHIVE, ACT-IV, ACT-V Doesn't do anything yet. OCdef Absolute Default. Display all coordinates in absolute format (vpos-hpos). Relative Display coordinates relative to your location (dv,dh). Both Display coordinates in both absolute and relative form. Icdef Absolute Default. All input coordinates default to absolute. Relative Input coordinates default to relative.
Examples:
SE PR I Switch to informative prompt. SE OU S Set output format to short. SE N THOR Change your name in USERS to THOR.
SHIELD control
Syntax: SHields Up|Down or SHields Transfer
Raise or lower ship shields, or transfer energy between ship and shield energy reserves. Raising shields consumes 100 units of ship energy, lowering them or transferring energy is "free". NOTE: Shield condition is displayed as +n% for shields up, n% of full strength, or -n%, for shields down, n% of full strength.
Examples:
SH U Raise shields. SH D Lower shields. SH T 500 Transfer 500 units of energy TO shields SH T -500 Transfer 500 units of energy FROM shields
Short Range SCAN
Equivalent to SCAN, but with a default scan range of 7 sectors. For complete information on sensor scans, see the help on SCAN.
Show ship STATUS
Syntax: STatus *
Show the current stardate, plus the status of any of the ship attributes: ship condition, location, number of torps, ship energy, ship damage, shield energy, and radio condition. Ship condition can be green, yellow (low on energy), or red (in battle). Radio condition is either on or off.
Examples:
ST Give full status report. ST T Report how many torpedoes remain on board. ST E D SH Report the ship energy, the ship damage, and the shield condition (energy, %, up/down). ST L Report the current ship location.
Give SUMMARY on number of ships, bases, and planets
Syntax: SUmmary *
Give any of the information available from the LIST command, but give only a summary by default. See the help on LIST for more information and the complete set of keywords that can be used to modify SUMMARY output.
Examples: SUM Tell how many ships, bases, and planets are in the game (broken down into friendly, enemy, and neutral categories). SUM EN Tell how many enemies are in the game (number of Romulans, enemy ships, enemy bases, and enemy planets).
List information on TARGETS
Syntax: TArgets *
Primarily for locating targets during battle, when a SCAN would be too time consuming. List location and shield percent of any enemy ship, base, or planet in range; name of any enemy ship in game (including the Romulan); or location and number of builds of any known enemy planet. TARGETS is equivalent to a LIST command with a default range of 10 sectors and a default side of enemy.
Examples:
TA List all targets within 10 sectors. TA 10 Equivalent to "TA". TA 5 List all targets within 5 sectors.
TELL another ship something using the sub-space radio
Syntax: TEll All|FEderation|HUman|EMpire|Klingon|ENemy|FRiendly| ;
Send messages to one or several of the players currently in the game, with no range limitation. Players who have turned their radios off, or have a critically damaged sub-space radio can not be sent to. The TELL command can not be repeated using the ESCAPE key (no junk mail!).
Examples:
TE V;Hello! Send "Hello!" to the Vulcan. TE KL;DROP DEAD Send "DROP DEAD" to all Klingons. TE V,E;HELP ME Send "HELP ME" to the Vulcan and Excalibur.
List various TIMEs
Syntax: TIme
List time since game started; time since your ship entered the game; run time for your job so far this game; total run time since login; and current time of day.
Fire photon TORPEDO burst
Syntax: TOrpedo Absolute|Relative|Computed n v1 h1 v2 h2 v3 h3
A photon torpedo is aimed along a path in physical space, thus any object lying along its path will intercept the torpedo. One, two, or three torpedoes may be fired with one command, and the torpedoes may be individually targeted, or fired at a common location. The minimum range of a torpedo is 8 sectors, but some will travel 10 sectors before self-destructing. Torpedoes may be deflected from the desired track by a number of different factors, including your ship's shield strength, computer and torpedo tube damage, and torpedo misfires. A torpedo misfire also aborts the remainder of the burst, and sometimes damages the torpedo tubes as well. Torpedoes can cause stars to go nova, and can also destroy planets (if no enemy installations remain intact). "Accidental" hits on friendly ships, bases, or planets are automatically neutralized. A torpedo burst uses no ship energy. Firing torpedoes (or getting hit by one) puts you on red alert.
Examples:
TO 1 12 24 Fire one torpedo at sector 12-24. TO 3 12 24 Fire three torpedoes at sector 12-24. TO 3 6 7 8 7 9 12 Fire one torpedo at sector 6-7, one at 8-7, and one at 9-12. TO 3 12 24 13 39 Fire one torpedo at sector 12-24, and two at sector 13-39. TO A 3 12 24 Equivalent to "TO 3 12 24". TO R 2 2 -5 Fire two torpedoes at sector 22-25, assuming your location is 20-30. TO C 3 BUZZARD Fire three torpedoes at the Buzzard. TO C 1 E Fire one torpedo at the Excalibur.
TRACTOR beam
Syntax: TRactor or TRactor Off
Tow another ship of the same team. The two ships must be located in adjacent sectors and both ships must have their shields lowered. Once such a beam is applied, either ship can pull the other behind it using warp or impulse engines. Energy consumption for the towing ship is 3 times the normal rate for movement with the shields down. The ship being towed will end the move trailing the lead ship. If either ship raises deflector shields, the tractor beam is automatically cut. The tractor beam will also be broken if either ship is hit by a torpedo or damaged by a nova.
Examples:
TR Break any existing tractor beam. TR OFF Equivalent to "TR". TR B Apply tractor beam to the Buzzard.
TYPE game, input, and output settings
Syntax: TYpe OPtion|OUtput
Type the current game OPTION and OUTPUT settings. The OPTION settings are: - The version number and date of implementation, - Whether there are Romulans in the game, - and whether there are Black Holes in the game. The OUTPUT settings are: - SHORT, MEDIUM, or LONG output, - NORMAL or INFORMATIVE command prompt, - SHORT or LONG sensor scans, - ABSOLUTE or RELATIVE default for coordinate input, - ABSOLUTE, RELATIVE, or BOTH for coordinate output, - and the current TTYTYPE.
Examples:
TY OP List the option settings. TY OU List the output settings.
List USERS
Syntax: Users
List all ships currently in the game. Include ship name, captain (may be changed by SET NAME), TTY speed, PPN, TTY number, and job number. If the output format is set to medium or short, omit the TTY and job numbers. If the output format is set to short, omit the TTY speed and PPN (include only the ship name and captain).
"Decwar"