WF
C
+ 0f0f GALACTIC EMPIRES
+
+  e f Menu Bar Options
-  b f   [
-  f 9 S
-  b f ]end Fleet
+  3 7  - allows you to send fleets from a world you own to any other
+          world in the galaxy.
+
-  b f   [
-  f 9 L
-  b f ]og
+  3 7  - displays the fleet activity log.  You view parts with the following
-  a f     C
-  2 7 )omplete
+  3 7  - view the complete log.
-  a f     L
-  2 7 )ast turn
+  3 7  - view the activity for the last turn only.
-  a f     S
-  2 7 )ince
+  3 7  - view all fleet activity since you last played.
-  a f     1..9
+  3 7  - view all fleet activity for the last 1 to 9 turns.
+
-  b f   [
-  f 9 W
-  b f ]orld Data
+  3 7  - will re-display the main screen.  The top line tells you how
+            many fleets you have launched, and how many ships are in those fleets.
-  9 f     Planet
+  3 7  lists the planets number.
-  9 f     Cont
+  3 7  lists the number of the player who controls the planet.
-  9 f     Prod
+  3 7  is how many ships this planet produces each turn.
-  9 f     Ships
+  3 7  is how many ships were on the planet at the beginning of the turn.
+            If you own the planet, this number is the actual number of ships on the
+            planet.  If you launch ships, then this number is updated.
+
B  a f
-  b f   [
-  f 9 M
-  b f ]ap
+  3 7  - will display the current map.  Your planets will be highlighted.
+          Pressing the number of a given player will make their planets blink.
-          See [
-  f f G
+  3 7 ] for a non-graphical map.
+
-  b f   [
-  f 9 P
-  b f ]layer List
+  3 7  - this option will list each player in the game, and how many
+          worlds are currently controlled by each.
+
-  b f   [
-  f 9 I
-  b f ]nstructions
+  3 7  - will get you this display.
+
-  b f   [
-  f 9 T
-  b f ]ime Remaining
+  3 7  - this option will say how much time you have left.
+
+  e f Options not listed on the screen
-  b f   E[
-  f 9 X
-  b f ]it game
+  3 7  - if the game is more than 15 turns old, this allows you to
+          surrender.  Your planets will be given to Fleet Admiral Null, and your
+          fleets will become rougues.  This option is not recommended.
+
-  b f   [
-  f 9 C
-  b f ]olor Toggle
+  3 7  - this option toggles the mono/color display.
+
-  b f   [
-  f 9 D
-  b f ]istance Calculator
+  3 7  - calculates the distance in both spaces and turns
+          between two worlds.
+
B  a f
-  b f   [
-  f 9 G
-  b f ]alaxy Map
+  3 7  - displays map in ASCII format (perfect for capturing in a text
+          log for later manipulation.  See [M] for more graphical display.
+
+
+  e f Game Strategy (questionable) and other Arcana
+
-  b f   The Game Itself
+  3 7  - was written in 1979 by Thomas G. Cleaver in Apple Basic.
+          In 1987, it was rewritten in Turbo Pascal 3.0 on an MSDOS-PC by Andrew
+          J. Mead, who wrote this BBS version in 1990 in Turbo Pascal 5.5.  The home
+          version of this game which allows up to 400 planets, and from 1 to 20
+          players is floating around BBSland as a freeware program.  An upgraded
+          version of the home game will be available late in 1992.  The home game
+          does make an excellent solitaire or 2 or 3 player game.
+
-  b f   Production
+  3 7  - every player's homeworld is a 10 producer.  The rest of planets
+          are unknown at the beginning of the game.  The production values for the
+          the other worlds will generally be between 0 and 3, but each game will
+          usually contain three or four worlds in the 6 to 9 range.  There is no
+          upper limit, but if a planet producing 12 or more ships a turn is not
+          captured in the first few turns, it will generally be left alone.
+          Non-player planets will have reduced production for the first 25 turns.
+
B  a f
-  b f   Early Strategy
+  3 7  - the beginning of the game can be very important.  You need
+          to capture the worlds near your homeworld, but you need to keep enough
+          ships on your homeworld to defend against rougue players.  You can attack
+          another player immediately, but generally all that this accomplishes is to
+          weaken both yourself and your victim.
+          It is very important to capture some planets that produce ships early in
+          the game.  If all you do is attack, and not build any ships, you will run
+          out of ships very quickly.
+
-  b f   Patience and a War of Attrition
+  3 7  - once the early expansion period slows
+          down, the game shifts into its strategic phase.  The key to winning is to
+          out-produce the other players, and get them to attack eachother instead of
+          you.  The player that has the highest production total has the advantage.
+          If this is you, it is generally best to sit and grow and let the other
+          players weaken themselves.  If you find yourself on the short end of the
+          production stick, the game is by no means lost.  By selectively attacking
+          your larger opponent in situations where you outnumber him, you can destroy
+          a large number of his ships with only minor losses to your own fleet.
+
B  a f
-  b f   Attacking
+  3 7  - generally the attacking fleet should outnumber the defending
+          fleet 2 to 1 to ensure victory.  The defenders have the advantage, but
+          only when the fleets are relatively close in size.  The larger the size
+          difference in fleets, the more complete the massacre.
+
-  b f   Distances
+  3 7  - it is to your advantage to be aware of how far apart two worlds
+          are, and how long it takes to get from one to the other.  At one turn per
+          day, it takes a week and a half to go from corner to corner.
+
-  b f   Text Map
+  3 7  - the game generates a text map that the SysOp may make available
-          for download, if not you can capture the map by using the [
-  f f G
+  3 7 ] option.
+          this map is designed to printed or captured in a log.
+
E  f f
