You asked "What is Trade Wars Helper?" Trade Wars Helper is a players TERMINAL PROGRAM with an optional GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE that maintains an ONLINE DATABASE of sectors with their port, warp to, and other information. Several commands are available to utilize this information in addition to automating most of the repetitive processes and a GRAPHICS MAPPING capability. Trade Wars Helper not only makes playing more enjoyable, it makes you much more effective. The latest version is TWHELP88.ZIP. It can be downloaded on the first call from the Just FUN Software BBS (801) 278-8839 and logging on as "Just Fun" with a password of "Software". The file size is 250K and 14,400 bps capability is available. Please just log on, download and log off. The GUI versions are in a separate zip file named TWHGUI88.ZIP. Its file size is 410K. There is a real mode version that can handle around 4000-5000 sectors and a protected mode version which handles 5000 sectors. Although the GUI is normally available to registered users only, this zip file contains an example data file allows unregistered users to check out the GUI. The main features of Trade Wars Helper are: Automated cross trading between paired ports, optionally using the psychic probe to maximize experience points. You can even cross trade between nonadjacent sectors with or without the TransWarp Drive, "triple trade", and involve the class 7 and 8 port in cross trading. And for those who like the evil side of things, there is the automated sell/steal cycle which utilizes the psychic probe with increasing accuracy at each trade without any intervention on your part! Of course you must find the best ports to trade at or steal from so there is not only the ability to locate specific port types and paired ports, but also triple trading pairs, nonadjacent trading pairs, transwarp trading pairs and other specialized combinations. You don't just trade or steal, you want to travel around and explore the TW universe, right? Just enter the /u command to see the paths to the five closest unexplored sectors or, better yet, just enter /e and have TW Helper take you to the nearest unexplored sector! Concerned about mines or other enemy forces? No problem! Just buy a long range scanner and tell TW Helper to density scan each sector before moving you into it. TW Helper can even move from one unexplored sector to another, stopping only when your direct involvement is required! And it can optionally and automatically holoscan, deploy fighters and/or trade or steal and even rob along the way! Then there are the E-probe routines that can launch an E-probe to an unexplored sector not warped to by any other known sector, launch to an isolated sector, or launch so as to pass thru the maximum numbers of sectors not visited during the current session. This, like many features in Trade Wars Helper, can be accomplished quickly and easily only with a terminal program accessing an online database. Other features include showing sectors with fighters closest to a dest- ination sector, locating enemy fighters, attacking enemy ships, showing isolated sectors, automated colonizing of a planet, automated buying and conveying of product to a planet, automated hauling of colonists, product or shields between planets, automated purchasing of planetary shields, automated mine disruption, automated robbing of credits, creating the TWVIEW and/or TWASSIST data files, merging another traders database, accessing a scroll back buffer and creating a capture file. TW Helper also keeps track of the last steal and rob ports, busted ports, avoided sectors and Major Space Lanes. And if all this weren't enough, Trade Wars Helper provides a graphics (EGA/VGA) mapping capability with mouse or keyboard interactive controls. A specific sector and its adjacent sectors to any level can be graphically displayed or the path between two sectors can be mapped. Controls include the ability to change levels, scale, contents, and separation to present the most useful layout. In addition to being able to click on any sector in the map, the sectors resulting from many of the other commands can be selected using the mouse. Whether used online or offline this graphics mapping capability makes strategic planning both more effective and more enjoyable. A new Universe Mapping module that utilized a technique known as Level Diagramming has been added as of release 7.0. This module uses the Crai computers CIM to determine connections between sectors without having to explore each sector. An Ether Probe command can then be issue to automatically launch the probes so as to move through as many unexplored sectors as possible. In addition to efficiently mapping the TW universe, this feature also can be used to quickly locate the Stardock and/or other two class 0 port in TW2002 version 1.03 and version 2.00 games. At release 8.0 this feature was expanded to do cost effective Ether Probe Mapping for the TW2002 version 2.00 game. Imagine exploring 1000 sectors for the price of 25 Ether Probes! Added at release 8.5 was the optional Graphical User Interface (GUI) for Trade Wars Helper. When using the GUI the graphics map is displayed in the upper center portion of the screen. To its left are the gauges and readouts such as time and turns remaining, current sector, fighters, shields and many more. To the right of the map are the buttons clicked on to initiate actions such as trade, explore, attack and others. The bottom portion of the screen is an eight line CRT to display the messages from Trade Wars. By being able to click on the function you want and seeing the gauges, readouts, map and CRT, your screen becomes the cockpit of spaceship! You just gotta see it! At release 8.8 enhancement for the MBBS version were incorporated which included the ability to chat when running a script, to halt a script and/or move out when someone warps in the current sector and to pursue a ship from sector to sector while attempting to destroy/capture it. If you haven't tried Trade Wars Helper before, now is the time. Since an example database is provided in the zip file, you can take a look at the graphics feature and many of the commands and displays without ever going online or initializing your own database! The graphics command is simply /G (capitalized). And although it is quite easy to install and run, an option has been incorporated to display only an introductory set of commands to simplify the learning process. Try it, and see for yourself that Trade Wars Helper is simply "the best player utility available"!