Command Overview
From BeginWiki
Here is a brief description of the commands by catagory.
Setup
Commands available during simulation setup are different than the commands available after you begin the simulation. You will use these commands to configure both the ally and enemy fleets.
Setup related commands are: Configure, Ally, Enemy, Flagship, Library, Help, Quit, Begin
Displays
The tactical displays are shown on the right side of the screen. The upper display is the position display. It shows the actual positions of all ships relative to your flagship. You may set the magnification of this display to allow for a finer resolution. If you hover your mouse cursor over a ship in the display, more information on the ship will be shown.
The lower display is the ships' Systems Status display. It shows the condition of all the ship systems.
Within the System Status display two dashes are used to indicate a system is discharged. When a system is powered off it is indicated with two periods. If this symbol is blinking it tells you that the system has been damaged and maybe non-functional.
Display related commands are: Scan, Range.
Helm
The helm controls the direction and velocity of the ship. The ship will not always respond instantly to helm commands. Response depends on the size of the ship you are commanding and the current helm settings. Generally, the larger the ship or the faster the current speed, the slower the ship will respond to course and speed changes. The exception to this is that all ships respond instantly if the current speed and the requested speed are both warp one or less.
For specific ship class attributes, consult your ships' library computer.
Helm related commands are: Helm, Pursue, Elude, Dock, Undock, Report.
Weaponry
Available to you are a three different weapon systems that vary from ship class to ship class. Most ships have all three although of few of the smaller ships do not. These weapons are Phasers, Torpedoes and Probes.
All phasers banks and torpedo tubes may be locked on a specified ship or turned to a specified relative angle off the current heading (mark). The target or course of a probe is specified at launch time since probes are "smart" in that they may pursue a specified target or course and may be controlled after they leave the ship.
Phasers are short range weapons that hit their target instantaneously. The closer you are to the target, the better the hit.
Torpedoes travel at a specific velocity determined by the class of torpedo your ship carries although it is generally very fast. If the tube is locked on a target, the tube will "lead" the target to compensate for the target's course and velocity. Most classes of torpedo cannot change course once they are fired.
Probes are very slow in comparison to torpedoes. The advantage of a probe is the ability to pursue a target, and it's relatively large warhead. Probes may also be controlled after they are launched. They may be set to a specific heading or re-locked on to a target.
Consult your ships library computer for specifics on these weapons.
Weaponry related commands are: Fire, Lock, Turn, Status, Torpedo, Phaser, Probe, Detonate
Shields
Shields protect the ship from being damaged by enemy (or ally) weapons. A shield will weaken in proportion to the magnitude of the hit on that shield. This type of damage is actually only temporary and the shield will regenerate slowly over time. If the hit is larger than the shield can absorb, then the ship will sustain damaged.
The amount of damage will depend on the strength of the hit. Any of the ships systems may be damaged including the shields maximum strength. This damage is permanent and may only reduce the effectiveness of the system as in the case of reactors, engines or shields, or may totally disable the system as with phaser banks or torpedo tubes.
Shield related commands are: Raise, Lower, Drop, Reinforce, Shields, Status
Status Reports
All commands will result in the ending of your "turn" except for commands that only display status. The status command will display the current state of the entire ship, phaser banks, torpedo tubes, probe launchers, shields or active probes. This also includes scanning enemy or ally vessels and ally reports.
Status related commands are: Chart, Report, Damage, Fleet, Banks, Tubes, Launchers, Probes
Damage Control
All ships have a damage control crew which automatically makes repairs to any disabled ship system. The efficiency of damage control is related to the number of crew remaining. Once a system has been fully repaired you will receive a message informing you that repairs have been completed. The condition of your damage control is displayed on the damage report.
Damage related commands are: Status Damage, Damage, Repair
Power Management
During battle there may be times when you do not have enough power to maintain all ship systems. This can be caused by sustained high warp or due to damage. To conserve power you may need to power certain ship system up or down.
Power management commands are: Enable, Disabled, Raise, Lower
Miscellaneous
There are a few other commands available depending on the ship you command.
Miscellanous command are: Cloak, Tractor, Board, Self Destruct, Abort Destruct, Go
Computer
All ships are equipped with a library computer. The library computer will display information on any ship class, torpedo class or probe.
Computer related commands are: Library, Computer, Help
Ally Orders
During play, your ally ships will engage the enemy at will although you are allowed to give them a few general orders. These include who to attack, what course to follow, hold fire, etc. They will almost always follow these orders unless they are not very loyal or the order is very unreasonable. In any case, they will give a response to that order.
It is important to remember the orders you issued or you may render an ally useless. For example if you order an ally to follow a course, he will most likely follow that order until you cancel it.
If your ship sustains heavy damage (or even if it doesn't) you are allowed to trade ships with one of your allies.
