ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º º º Star Traders º º (C) J.N.Zaitseff, 1990-1994. º º º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ H O W T O P L A Y ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Star Traders is a game of interstellar trading. The object of the game is to amass the greatest amount of wealth possible. This is done by creating interstellar shipping lanes, expanding them and buying shares in the companies controlling them. Shares appreciate in value as company operations expand. In addition, the return on each share (as a percentage) also changes. Players may also borrow from the Interstellar Trading bank to finance additional purchases on the Stock Exchange. The map of the galaxy is represented by a 38 x 12 grid. A typical section of it may be: . . * . . . * * . . . . . . . . . . . represents empty space, . * . . . . . . . * represents a star. . . . . . . . * . . . . . * . . . . The computer selects 20 moves (labeled "a" to "t") at random, and places these on the map. To select any of the highlighted positions, press that letter. As an example, some of the moves on the map may be: a . * . . . * * . . . . c . . . . . . * . . . . e . . Moves "a" to "e" shown. . b . . d . . * . . . . . * . . . . Selecting a position that is not next to a star (such as positions a, c or e) will set up an outpost, not belonging to any company. Thus, if c was selected on the above map, a  would be placed on that position. If, on the other hand, a position next to a star (or another outpost) was selected, a company would be formed and its first letter would appear on the map. As a reward for creating the company, you are granted the first five shares. Up to 8 companies can be created in this way. If a position next to an existing company is selected, the company would expand its operations by one square. This increases the cost of its shares and hence your return. Thus, if the map was as shown below, selecting f increases Company B's shipping lane: a . * . . . * * . . . .  . . f . . . * . . . . B B B Move f increases company B. . b . . d . . * B . . . . * . . . h Selecting positions next to stars increases the value of your stock by about 5 times as much as an extension not next to a star. Thus move f should be preferred to move h. a . * . . . * * . . . .  . . f . . . * . . . . B B B Move f is preferred to h. . b . . d . . * B . . . . * . . . h If two companies are separated on the map by only one position, then they can be merged into one company by selecting that position (if available). For example, in the map below, companies A and B can be merged by selecting e. When this occurs, the company with the greater assets value takes over the other one. Thus, in this example, company A might take over company B. Company B ceases to exist, although it may reappear as an entirely new company at a later stage. a . * . . . * * . . . . A A e B . . . * . . A . B B B Move e merges companies A and B. . b . . . . . * B . . . . * .  . . When a company merges, players are granted shares in the dominant company proportional to the amount owned in the old company. As well, a cash bonus is also paid, proportional to the percentage of the old company owned. Once you select your move ("a" to "t"), you enter the Interstellar Stock Exchange. Here you can purchase shares, sell them, borrow from the Trading Bank or repay some of your debt (if applicable). Note that each company issues a limited amount of shares - you cannot go on buying for ever! You can, however, bid for more shares to be issued. You have a better chance of succeeding if you own a larger proportion of the company. The game ends after 50 turns. However, you can end the game sooner by pressing when asked to select a move. As well, individual players can declare themselves bankrupt at any time. If your debt is large enough, the bank may do this for you! If you do not complete your game in your time, you may save the game and continue it later. The winner of the game is the person with the greatest net worth (total value of cash, stock and debt). ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ I N S T A L L A T I O N ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Star Traders may be installed in any directory on a hard or floppy disk. The following files are required: TRADER.EXE - The actual executable game TRADER.HTX - Help Text TRADER.PIF - Windows Program Interface File, if run under Windows TRADER.ICO - Windows icon, if run under Windows. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ S T A R T I N G U P ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Star Traders may be executed by typing: TRADER Alternatively, if a game has been saved to disk, it may be executed by changing to that directory and typing: TRADER n where "n" is the number of the game (1-9). Star Traders requires a true IBM-compatible with a colour card capable of displaying 80 x 25 characters. In terms of memory, it requires a minimum of 100 KB of free DOS memory. Star Traders may also be installed to run under Microsoft Windows. In this case, the PIF file should be executed instead. This file may need to be edited if the program is not installed in C:\GAMES\TRADER. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ H I S T O R Y ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Star Traders was first written in 1990 for the MicroBee 64K machine running CP/M on a Z80 processor, using Turbo Pascal v3.01a. This version did not have colour support. In 1992, it was recompiled for the NEC APC computer (with 8" drives) running CP/M-86 on an 8086 processor, using Turbo Pascal v2.0. This version had colour added to it in the form of ANSI escape sequences. The next version came in 1993, when the program was recompiled to run on an IBM-compatible machine running MS-DOS and ANSI.SYS. Turbo Pascal v6.0 was used for this. The ANSI escape sequences were slightly different under MS-DOS than under the NEC, in that the NEC supported a number of extra character attributes. This version of Star Traders was compiled in 1994 for IBM-compatible machines running MS-DOS. The output routines were recoded to use a windowed look. Borland Pascal v7.0 was used for this purpose, along with a number of text window manipulation modules. In all these versions, the program itself has not been changed since its first inception in 1990; only the output routines have been customised for each machine. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ C O P Y R I G H T ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Star Traders is a freely-distributable program, which means that the program may be freely copied by anyone, AS LONG AS THE ENTIRE PACKAGE IS DISTRIBUTED. Although Star Traders is freely distributable, the program and all its components remain the copyright of John Zaitseff. This software, or its components, may not be altered in any way without the prior approval of the author. As this package is free, NO WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE IS IMPLIED OR STATED AS APPLYING TO THE USE OF THIS PROGRAM, INCLUDING EVEN THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. However, if any problems arise, please feel free to notify the author, using the following address: John Zaitseff, 4 McCabe Close, Menai, NSW, Australia, 2234. Email: J.Zaitseff@unsw.edu.au