Introduction

It's not an easy life trying to develop the Galaxy. Since the Wars of Intercession were won we've had a pretty rotten time trying to build ourselves a civilisation around here.

Now some smart-alec administrators had this flash idea - take a bunch of the old Starfighter pilots (currently out of a job), get them a ship - on loan at horrendous interest rates, of course! - and set them up as commercial traders, shuttling around the systems.

Bound to improve dispersion of goods that is, change the whole economic climate it will. We'll get Terran computers shipped across the Galaxy at very little cost, soon improve the Empire that will!

Hah! Typical pen-pushers' garbage! Did no-one tell him about the pirate ships we haven't caught yet? Or the magnetic storms left by the Plantkillers? Play havoc with your navigation they do. It's no joke making a living at this, I can tell you! Having to argue with smug dealers and sharp aliens - not to mention the bailiffs come to collect the "loans" - is no way for a fighter-pilot to carry on.

This is just too difficult - you'd have to be mad to pick up this tape and come join us. Absolutely mad. It's much too difficult...

Playing The Game

Once loaded and run, you can start to tackle this game of strategy and skill. Planetfall is set several decades into the future, a time where there is a vast merchant starfleet ploughing back and forth between the major star-systems. It is a multi-player game and your sole aim is to be the player with the greatest total assets at the end. The skill lies in making the decisions about which planet to visit next, what to buy and sell when you get there and the way you handle your financial reserves.

The game also includes a further element of skill in the buying and selling process. The program "haggles" with you over the price of goods you are trying to sell and you, in turn, may haggle over the price asked for the goods that the planet is trying to sell. If you aren't successful in this, you could blow the deal completely or end up either paying more than you ought or getting less than you expected! It is also very unwise to try to press unwanted merchandise on the occupants of a planet - try it and see what happens!

One of the most attractive features of the game is its multiplicity of screen displays. Each of the 11 screens has a distinct purpose and they are as follows:

1. Initialisation

At the beginning you are offered the option of starting a new game or loading an old one from tape. When you choose a new game you must enter the number of players, ships and planets. You can also choose to set a limit to the length of the game at this time and (on some versions) set the sound level.

2. Map Of The Galaxy

This shows the positions of the systems relative to Sol, the home system. Liberties have been taken with reality; our galaxy is two-dimensional!

3. Commodity Prices And Travel Time Display

There is a maximum of 15 star-systems, although you don't need to start with this many. Your ship can carry six commodities; Uranium, Iron ore, Machinery, Medical supplies, Computers and Gems. The display shows, for each star-system in the game, the buying and selling prices of these commodities. A star-system will either buy or sell a commodity, never both at the same time. The distance from your current position in the Galaxy to all the other systems is shown, as is a printout of your current cargo status.

4. Travel printout

This provides an overall schedule for all the players and their various ships. Use it when you are deciding which star-system to visit next.

5. Trading display

This is the most complex display of the game. Basically, it handles the buying and selling of commodities once you have achieved "planetfall". At the top of the screen is the elapsed time (real), the stardate (gametime) and the captain's name. Also in the top position of the display are the name of the ship and the star-system you are currently visiting.

The right-hand side of the screen contains the ship's log, the cargo printout, the cash onboard and the money you have in the bank. It also indicates whether you are in "buy" or "sell" mode - don't get confused!

On the left-hand side of the screen, messages will appear as the star-system's dealers bid for your cargo. Your offers are also displayed here, along with other relevant messages.

Once trading is finished, you will be asked which system you wish to travel to next. Pressing X here will give you the option display or you can simply key the initial letter of the planet you want to go to. Every so often, you will be offered the option to visit the local bank and deposit or withdraw cash.

6. Bank Display

If you choose to visit the local bank, you are informed of the amount you have in cash on board the ship and the amount in the Galactic bank. You can deposit or withdraw money at this stage.

7. Options Display

Selected by keying X when you finish trading it offers nine options. These are self-explanatory

8. Bank Statement

This display shows the current financial status of the captains, aggregated across his or her fleet of trading ships. The amount of cash on board ship and in the bank is shown together with the value of the cargo at current market prices. This display also forms the basis of the annual report and the end of game report.

9. New star-system

If you started with less than 15 star-systems, you will occasionally "find" a new star-system. Its name and position in the galaxy will be displayed.

10. ETA

Once trading is complete and you have selected the star-system you wish to visit next, you may find that you have been delayed for one reason or another. In any event, your planetfall ETA will be displayed.

11. Urgent Message

At unpredictable intervals, the screen will clear, revealing a message about an urgent need for some particular commodity on one of the star-systems. If you have a supply of that commodity you need to try to get there first, they will pay almost any price for it!

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CHAIN"" (RETURN)

Note: This program is only compatible with the BBC Model B.