Instructions
Getting
Started
- Appearance
- Probably the first thing you should do is select an appearance. There
are four distinct ship designs. Each ship has the exact same abilities
as the others so the choice of a design is mostly for cosmetic appeal.
Players with the same ship designs are on the same team. You may also
specify your name in the Appearance section.
- Controls
- You may specify your key controls. The <SHIFT> key is very
important as it modifies all the other keys. For example, holding down
the <SHIFT> key while pressing the fire key allows you to change
weapons. Similarly, holding down the <SHIFT> while pressing
thrust allows you to move backwards. The <SHIFT> key also allow
you to move a special item in your list rather than selecting a
different item in your list. You should become familiar with the
modifying action of the SHIFT key.
- Environment
- In the Environment section, you can specify the level of difficulty
for games against the computer (solo play or network games in cooperate
mode). In this section you may also select from 3 different "maps",
turn on/off fog-of-war, and enable/disable cheats.
- Optimizations
- If you play Battle for the Universe over AppleTalk, you will want to
uncheck (remove) the latency compensations. Most likely, you will
always want to leave the animation on "smoother" unless you have a very
slow Mac.
Starting a Game
- Single
Player - To begin a single player game against the computer, simply
press the "Single Player" button.
- Multiplayer
- Click on "Multiplayer", select a tracker (Misty Software's Tracker is
pre-selected), and then join a game by clicking on the "join" button.
If no games appear, then host your own by clicking on the "host" button
and then wait for another player to join you. If you are hosting a
game, click on either "cooperate" or "compete" to begin the game after
all the players have been gathered. For the time being, suppoort for
the built-in tracker is being discontinued, but support may be resumed
in the future.
Celestial Bodies
- Station
- Simply fly on top of your station to refuel and repair your ship.
- Bases
- Your bases build power-ups (weapons, shields, special items, and
add-ons) that will help you defeat your enemy. A green light indicates
that an item is built and ready to be sent to you. A red light
indicates that the base is building an item. The indicator at the
bottom displays how much time remains until the item is built. Once an
item is built, you must "request" the item (set your "controls" to
specify which key will request items). Once you request a built item,
the base will send you that item in a canister. Run over the canister
to retrieve the built item. You can also specify which items you would
like your bases to build by toggling through the item list (set your
"controls" to specify which key will toggle through items).
- Wormholes
- Flying through a wormhole will immediately transport you to the
far-reaches of the solar system.
- Nebulae
and Planets - These features are included for visual effect only.
- Small
Rocks - These green materials refuel and repair your ship.
- Asteroids
- Blow up these puppies to reveal the valuable materials inside them.
Run over the minerals to increase your fuel levels and repair damage.
Objects
- ?
- Builds a random object.
- Radar
- The radar is a powerful object as it can lead you to your opponent's
location and warn you of an approaching enemy as well as partially
penetrate a cloak.
- Shield
- The shield protects a player from all weapons. Be careful, though.
The shield consumes a lot of fuel and can be countered with the
"dispel-shields" special item.
- Bullets
- The wimpiest weapons in the galaxy.
- Fireballs
- A good weapon. They are fast and cause damage.
- Missiles
- Nasty as can be.
- Ally
- produces two wing fighters which fight by your side. They will stay
with you until they need supplies or are destoyed.
- Base
- Lets you build one base anywhere you place it in the galaxy. Smart
players will deposit them in the opponent's solar system for a
strategic advantage.
- Bomb
- Very dangerous. Useful for destroying enemy bases. Bombs can be
detonated by being fired upon or by an enemy being too close.
- Cloak
- Turns your ship invisible. Its numerous applications need no
explanation. A radar dish can partially penetrate the cloaking effect.
- Clone
- Produces a holographic image of your ship that moves as you do,
thereby confusing your opponent.
- Daze
- Causes your opponent to lose his sense of direction.
- Dispel
Shields - This item prevents your opponent from raising his
shields.
- Freeze
- Gunks up your enemy's jets, causing him to be easy target until he
can break away.
- Half
Speed - Reduces ship functions of your opponent to one-half normal
speed.
- Hyperspace
- Let me see you move!
- Pulse
- Ya don't have to aim this baby. A few in rapid succession can scare
away your opponent.
- Rock
- Disguises your ship as just a simple asteroid.
- Teleport
- Two objects bring players together. Another teleports you to your
station.
Add-Ons
- Fuel
Efficiency - Makes your ship burn fuel more slowly.
- Hull
Enhancer - Allows your ship to sustain more damage.
- Jets
- Allows you to move faster.
- Faster
Weapons - Increases the firing speed of your weapons.
Panels
- Fuel
and Damage Gauges - Keep a close eye on these indicators. Run out
of fuel and you run out of luck. You are a sitting duck without fuel.
- Target
- You can specify a player to receive a message or be teleported
through the target panel. You can specify which key will toggle through
the player list from the "controls" section before you begin the game.
- Telecomm
Panel - By default, messages are now broadcasted to all players.
You can send messages to the player specified in the target panel from
by ending your message with a backslash (\). You can broadcast a
message to your allies (and not your enemies) by ending a message with
an asterix (*).