Bridge Crew Player Game Manual 
Shareware Version
Contents

Introduction	1
LICENCE	1
Main Console	3
How the Game Plays (The Computer as a Rules Lawyer)	4
Space	4
Directions	4
Time	5
Energy Management	5
Movement	6
The Main Display	6
Types of objects	6
Starships	6
Planets	6
Starbases or Outposts	7
Stars	7
Missiles	7
Finding your mission	7
Sensors	7
Cloaking	7
Overheating (Heat Strain)	8
Missiles	8
Granularity (or the Problem with Missiles)	9
Beams	10
Transporters	10
Security	10
Ship's Functions	10
Communications	11
Shields	11
Science	12
Bridge Officers	12
Helm Officer	12
Damage Control	12
Beam Weapon	12
Missile Weapons	13
Communications	13
Computer Officer	13
Engineering	13
Security Officer	13
Shield Control	14
Science	14
Strategy Officer	14
Player Commands	14
General Commands	14
DIRECT   end_location   [start_location]	14
ETA  start_location   speed   end_location	15
FROM  ship_id  start_ship_id	15
FUNCTION function_id	15
GET message number	15
HELP command	16
INTERCEPT ship_id [speed]	16
LOG [text]	16
MACRO number text	16
MACGET filename	16
MACLIST	17
MACSAVE filename	17
ME name	17
PORT [port_number RESET]	17
READ message_number	17
RECON	17
REPORT CREW	18
REPORT CLOAKING	18
REPORT COMPUTER	18
REPORT CROSSSECTION	18
REPORT ENERGY	19
REPORT ENGINES	19
REPORT FUNCTIONS	19
REPORT PEOPLE	19
REPORT SECURITY	20
REPORT SHIP	20
REPORT TRANSPORTER	20
SYSTEMS  start_system	21
TELL  system	21
TERM [BS|ECHO ON|OFF]	21
THINGS  ship_id	21
WHO	22
VERS	22
ZONE  location	23
Helm Officer	23
AUTOVIEW [ON|OFF]	23
COLOUR number	23
COURSE angle	23
MAGNIFY number	24
MODE TACTICAL|STRATEGIC	24
SCALE number	24
SPEED speed	24
STARS star size	24
TRACK ship_id	24
VIEW location	24
Damage Control	25
ASSIGN function1 number function2	25
REPORT DC	26
Beam Weapon Officer	26
ARC angle weapon_list	26
BLOCK target weapon_list	26
BFIRE weapon_list	26
BUNLOCK weapon_list	27
CHARGE weapon_list	27
or	27
BCHARGE weapon_list	27
REPORT BEAM	27
Missile Weapon Officer	28
LOAD weapon_list	28
or	28
MLOAD weapon_list	28
MFIRE weapon_list	28
MLOCK target weapon_list	28
MUNLOCK weapon_list	28
PROXIMITY range  weapon_list	28
RELOAD starbase	29
REPORT MISSILE	29
Communications Officer	29
DELETE message_number	29
DETAIL ship_id	29
MODIFY dsf_ship  angle  distance	29
MODSPEED dsf_ship  speed  [rotate]	30
ORDER dsf_ship  mission details	30
QUEUE	31
READ message number	31
SEND ship_id  message	31
Computer Officer	31
REPORT COMPUTER	31
GET message_number	31
SEARCH key1 [key2] [key3]	31
FIND key1 [key2] [key3]	31
Ships Engineer	32
REPAIR starbase  function	32
TRANSPORT CREW crew TO|FROM ship_id  ship_function	32
TRANSPORT PASSENGERS pass TO|FROM ship_id  ship_function	32
Security Officer	32
CONDITION GREEN|YELLOW|RED|BLUE	32
GIVE security_id  port	32
Shield Control Officer	33
REPORT SHIELDS	33
shield ALL|FRONT|BACK|LEFT|RIGHT charge_value	33
shield ALL|FRONT|BACK|LEFT|RIGHT  UP|DOWN	33
Science Officer	33
ANALYSE LIFE|FUNC|BEAM|MISS|GEN ship_id  [via_ship_id]	33
ANALYSE GEN	33
ANALYSE LIFE	34
ANALYSE BEAM	34
ANALYSE MISS	34
ANALYSE FUNC	34
REPORT SENSOR	34
SCAN LIFE|FUNC|BEAM|MISS|GEN ship_id  [via_ship_id]	35
SENSOR ON|OFF sensor_id	35
Ships Strategist	35
CLOAK ON|OFF cloak_id|ALL	35
DETAIL ship	35
SCAN LIFE|FUNC|BEAM|MISS|GEN ship_id  [via_ship_id]	35
TAG ship	35
UNTAG ship	35
Glossary	36


Introduction

Welcome to the world of computer assisted co-operative role-playing. Bridge Crew is the first of a series of 
computer assisted multi-player role-playing games designed to be played on the current generation of high 
power DOS PCs.

Like all role-playing games, BRIDGE CREW is played with a game master who designs a scenario for the 
players and may get actively involved during the playing of the scenario.  The players roll up characters just 
as they would in a normal role-play game.

The players play the part of the crew of a starship.  Each player is a bridge officer in a universe created by 
the GM.  The typical players are Captain, Beam Weapons officer, Helm Officer, Missile Weapons officer, 
Communications officer, Security officer, Computer officer, Damage control officer, and others.  Obviously 
most players have more than one function, so things can get quite hectic for the players.

The PC's system console, which all players can see, reflects the starship's tactical display.  Ideally this is an 
overhead projector which has a projection panel placed on it, or a large video screen.

Whilst non combat scenarios can be built, it is essentially a combat driven game, hence most scenarios have 
starship combat.

Each player has a computer terminal with which he/she can pull up various reports about the state of the 
ship and the state of the universe.  He/she can also enter commands that relate to the player's assigned 
functions (e.g. the helm officer can set course and speed). 

Like the bridge of a modern warship, the captain gives orders and expects the crew to either obey or make 
sensible alternative suggestions.  The crew is expected to run the relevant parts of the ship without specific 
orders.
LICENCE

This licence applies to BRIDGE CREW version sw1.12 and all associated files and material distributed by 
Mithril Software.

This software is is protected by copyright law and by international copyright treaty.

You assume responsibility for the selection of the programs to achieve your intended results, and for the 
installation, use and results obtained from the program. Mithril Software is not responsible for any damages 
caused by the use of this software.

Mithril Software provides these programs and scenarios and licenses their use as follows:

You may:

a.	Copy and distribute this version (sw1.12) of BRIDGE CREW to whoever will take it.

b.	Use this software for private use. This includes such use as may be made by a private gaming group.

c.	Display this program at a seminar, conference, or convention publicly, provided you are not receiving 
reward for doing so. (i.e. you are not getting paid or charging for the privilege).

d.	Use the supplied terminal emulators VT100.exe and BCTERM.EXE and associated programs and files on 
up to four PCs provided they are connected to a machine running BRIDGE CREW version sw1.12.

e.	Change the medium on which it is distributed or distribute it electronicaly.

You may not:

a.	Charge EXCESSIVE copying fees for the copying of this software.

b.	Package the software in a way that infers to consumers that they are purchasing a registered version of 
the software.

c.	Change the software or any associated files.

d.	Use or demonstrate this program at any convention, seminar, party, meeting or other public or private 
event if as a result of this demonstartion you receive any kind of reward or payment without the 
permission of Mithril Software.

e.	Accept or receive reward for the use of the software, without the permission of Mithril Software.

f.	Use the software in a manner for which it is not intended.

g.	Use the software if a corporation you represent or are employed by will receive payment or reward as a 
result, without the permission of Mithril Software.

TERM

The licence is effective until terminated.  You may terminate it at any other time by destroying the program, 
data and scenario files and all copies as well as any printed material.

There is no time limit on this licence provided you keep within the terms and conditions listed above you 
may use this software for as long as you like.

WARRANTY

This version sw1.12 comes without any warranty at all.

While the authors have taken all reasonable care in the production of the software, they do not accept 
responsibility for any loss caused directly or indirectly by use of this software.

SUPPORT

This version sw1.12 comes without any official support at all.

David Readman has offered to answer questions and provide some limited support for this version on the 
INTERNET but makes it clear that Registered Customers come first. his internet adress is : 
JAGUAR@SUBURBIA.APANA.ORG.AU

REQUEST FROM THE AUTHORS

If you use this version of BRIDGE CREW for an extended period of time then it would be polite to consider 
(and act upon) getting a registered version. The registered version is superior in many ways and comes with 
printed manuals. It is constantly being updated in all probability by the time you read this it will have a new 
batch of features not found in sw1.12.

COPYRIGHT and TRADEMARKS

BRIDGE CREW is a trademark of Mithril Software.

This product is copyright Mithril Software 1994.

Main Console

When the game is started, the monitor of the host PC (or the display panel, if one is available) will show the 
main display.  Examples of the display are shown below, along with explanations of the objects found on the 
screen.


 

 
How the Game Plays (The Computer as a Rules Lawyer)

Bridge Crew is a multi player co-operative role-play game in which the players role-play the crew on the 
bridge of a starship.

Bridge crew is played by two or more players and a Games Master.  A normal complement of players would 
be; three crew members, a captain (without a terminal) and a Game Master.  In this configuration you will 
need four terminals or PCs configured as terminal emulators.

A normal arrangement is to have the main system console/monitor at the end of the table and the other 
terminal/PCs set up so that all players can see the main system's console.
The program, when running on a sufficiently powerful machine, will refresh the screen every 2 seconds.  
This 2 second interval is called a turn.  Turns happen in real time i.e. 2 seconds = 2 seconds of real time.  In 
one turn each player may enter and have processed by the computer, one command.  A type ahead buffer is 
used to store extra commands, however only one will be processed each two seconds. 

Space

For the purposes of this game, space has been divided into TSUs (Time Space Units.)  The game universe is 
a square 999,999 TSU by 999,999 TSU.  For simplicity's sake, space has been flattened into 2 dimensions (so 
forget about reality, this is a game).  The universe is bounded by the points (1,1) in the bottom left hand 
corner and the point (999999,999999) in the top right hand corner.  When quoting locations, the x co-
ordinate is first (x=horizontal, y=vertical).  Within the game, the notation used is a dot (decimal point 
between the co-ordinates).  (E.g. the point (12,450567) becomes 12.450567)

The speed of light in space is 10, which means that in 2 seconds light would travel 10 TSU.

Because of the very long travel times (e.g. to travel 70 light years at eight times the speed of light would 
require about nine years) we have compressed space very significantly.  This has been done to facilitate 
game play, so that journeys between stars can be completed in a three hour play session.

Directions

All directions are entered in tenths of a degree e.g. a course of 900 = 90 degrees, as shown below :

         0       
   3150  |  450  
        \|/      
2700<----+---->900
        /|\      
   2250  |  1350 
       1800      

Some directions are absolute, which is to say that they are based on the directions shown above and others 
are relative to the heading of the ship (e.g. the AIM angle of weapons).

Absolute directions are used in the issue of the commands COURSE and DIRECT as well as in the 
information returned from RECON and THINGS.

Relative directions are also used when displaying the arc of fire of beam weapons and the initial heading of 
missile weapons.

Time

Each milli-stardate tick occurs every 43 turns (86 seconds).  There are 1000 milli-stardate ticks in a normal 24 
hour day.

The stardate is shown on the main display.  The section after the dot on stardate shows divisions of day by 
thousands (milli-stardates).

Energy Management

Starships (hereafter known as ships) use energy to do things.  How much energy varies from ship to ship. 
The tasks that require energy are:

Cloaking the Ship to hide it
Sensors
Loading Missile Weapons
Moving the Ship
Charging the Shields
Charging Beam Weapons
Charging the Battery
Using Transporters

Energy is created each turn by the warp and impulse engines and is available for use in that turn.  Unused 
energy is placed in storage in the battery (if the battery is full, excess energy is lost).  If energy is needed 
then the energy will be taken out of this turn's supply.  If there is not enough, then the battery will be 
depleted.

Damage done to the functions associated with the impulse engines and the warp drive will reduce the 
amount of energy available in a turn, and can be seen with the command "report engines".

The order in which energy is used is as follows

1.	Cloaking the ship to hide it
2.	Sensors
3.	Loading missile weapons/using transporters
4.	Moving the ship
5.	Charging the shields
6.	Charging beam weapons
7.	Charging the battery

If all of the ship's energy is used up by the first two functions (Cloaking and sensors) then the missiles will 
not load, the ship will not move etc.

All of the energy using functions can be adjusted so they use no energy, Specifically:

1.	Turn off the cloaking using the "CLOAK" command.
2.	Turn off one or more sensors "SENSOR".
3.	Don't load the missiles "MLOAD" or use the transporters "TRANS".
4.	Reduce your speed "SPEED".
5.	Reduce the charge to the shields "SHIELDS ALL 0".
6.	Do not initiate the charging of the beam weapons "CHARGE" or "BCHARGE"
7.	You can not stop excess energy going into the battery this has NO negative side effects on play.

Energy will not be used unless  enough is available to complete the operation for that turn.  E.g. if the 
battery contains 200 EU (Energy Units) but it requires 300 to charge the beam weapons, then the battery will 
not be depleted to 0, because 200 is less than 300.
Movement

Each turn, ships move a number of TSUs equal to their speed in the direction of their current heading.  
Additionally, ships can rotate on their axis at a specific speed (depending on the ship) to put them in a 
different direction next turn.  The turn rate of a ship is fixed, e.g. a Monarch will always turn at 10*.  
However, dependant upon your speed, the distance travelled whilst you turn may in practical terms increase 
your turning circle.

The Main Display

The main display has 2 modes of operation, TACTICAL and STRATEGIC.  The helm officer may swap 
between the modes using the MODE command.

The TACTICAL mode is suitable for combat and manoeuvre.  It shows the direction and current location of 
all visible ships, starbases, planets, stars and visible missiles.

The STRATEGIC mode is suitable for campaign planning and strategy conferences.  It shows the last 
known location of the known starships and the correct location of the stars.  In strategic mode, the direction 
in which the ships are travelling is not indicated by the ship silhouette (the ships are shown in direction 0).  
If a starship is shown as a red blob, this means that it is within sensor range of a sensor that does not 
provide a clear picture.

Objects on the main display are not shown to scale.  Their size can be changed with the "MAGNIFY" 
command.

The scale of the main display can be changed with the "SCALE" command.  The scale is the number of 
TSUs from the centre of the screen to the top of the screen (the radius of the circle with centre at the centre 
of the screen).  E.g. "SCALE 5000" will display 5000 TSUs from the centre of the screen, i.e. 10,000 TSUs 
from top to bottom and 10,000 TSUs from left to right.

Types of objects

The game has 5 kinds of objects that can be seen on the main console:

Starships
Starbases or Outposts
Planets/Asteroids etc.
Stars
Missiles

Starships

If your ship's sensors can 'see' a starship (Use the 'RECON' command to see what your sensors are 
detecting) on the main display, and if SCALE, MAGNIFY, MODE and VIEW are set correctly then the main 
display will display the starships that can be seen by the sensors.

Planets

Planets are treated as starships with a zero movement allowance.  Planets however, do not disappear when 
they are destroyed.  Note that using the Scenario designer, it is possible to build a planet that has most of 
the properties of a starship; movement and weapons etc.

Starbases or Outposts

Starbases are treated as starships with a zero or reduced movement allowance.  Note that using the Scenario 
designer, it is possible to build a starbase that is indistinguishable from a starship, with full movement and 
weapons etc.

Stars

The universe has a backdrop of stars.  These are shown on the main display and may be listed by the use of 
the "SYSTEMS" command.  The shareware version of Bridge Crew has only a few stars; the registered 
version has 46 stars.

Missiles

If ships fire Missile Weapons, these can be shown on the main console.  Note that using the Scenario 
designer, it is possible to build ships that fire invisible missiles.

Three events are also indicated on the main console
Missile weapon explosions or self destruction
Beam weapons firing
Hits on the players ship

Finding your mission

Your mission will be found in the ships computer message number zero.  Use the command GET 0 to read the 
message.

Sensors

A sensor only uses energy when switched on.  It operates from the ship's current position in a radius 
around the ship as dictated by the sensor's range.

There are two types of sensor.  One which will give you a 'Clear Picture' - a proper silhouette on the main 
screen.  The second type or 'Poor Picture Quality' will only give you a red blob on the main screen.  Only a 
good quality picture can be used for locking missile weapons and for the 'ANALYSE' command.  A poor 
quality picture will however, be sufficient for the use of beam weapons and for the 'SCAN' command.

All sensors are limited to a speed range for detection purposes.  In real terms this means that your sensor 
will only register ships within a given warp range - e.g. WS Sensors cannot detect a ship going at under 
warp speed i.e. speed 10 or less.  EM Sensors cannot detect ships travelling above speed 10.

Each ship has a reflectivity for each type of sensor.  If a sensor cannot detect a ship's reflectivity (based 
upon a ship's sensor cross-section) then the ship is invisible.

Cloaking

Certain ships can cloak (hide from sensors).  This process works by reducing the sensor echo for a given 
class of sensor.  Ships with cloaking normally require energy to maintain the function.  Cloaking is 
controlled from the strategy position and ships generally have one cloaking device for each sensor from 
which the ship is hiding.

Cloaking devices come in several types, following the general rules laid out below:

*	They may or may not allow the firing of beam weapons while cloaked, depending on the type of 
cloaking device used.
*	They may not or may not allow the firing of missile weapons while cloaked, depending on the type of 
cloaking device used.
*	They may require several turns before they can be reactivated.
*	They may force the beam weapons to unload when decloaking.
*	They may force the missile weapons to unload when decloaking.
*	They may require energy to remain turned on.
*	They may not be powerful enough to hide from all ships (especially those with sensitive sensors)
*	If damaged they will not be as effective - they degrade slowly.

Overheating (Heat Strain)

When warp engines are asked to perform above the speed at which they can dissipate sufficient heat, they 
get hotter.  When their temperature reaches 100 HSU then they have a probability of failure.  The rate at 
which they reach these temperatures varies from ship to ship and can be quite slow or very rapid.  When the 
temperature reaches 100 HSU, damage is done to the warp function.  In blowing out, the warp engine cools 
and if not fatally damaged, the reaction will continue, usually resulting in a further warp blowout until the 
engine is sufficiently damaged to prevent further overheating.

The effects of heat strain are only modelled in the game when the parameter overheating is set to on.  (See 
the SETP and SETV commands for details.)

Missiles

Missiles use energy for one turn in order to load (called the missile's "Energy to Load").  Missiles fire at an 
original aim angle relative to the starship from which they are fired.  A missile will manoeuvre like a starship 
in terms of turn rate and speed.  However, as each missile has its own sensor, once released it will operate 
independently of your ship.  The sensor in the missile is relatively unintelligent and will only track an object 
that it is already locked on to.  This is why you must lock onto a target using the ship's sensors.

Before being fired, a missile must be told how far away from the target to explode.  This is called the 
proximity and is set with the "PROX" command.  See the section on 'Granularity' for the effects of proximity.

Missiles have a recognition signal keyed into them so that they will not deliberately explode when near 
friendly vessels.  You cannot, therefore, attack friendly vessels with missiles.  Neutral or hostile vessels can 
be targeted with missiles.  Note that the missile will explode when it comes within proximity distance of any 
"non-friendly vessel."  Missiles can therfore be blocked by "sacrifical" actions of other ships.

Any given missile type has a blast radius, doing damage depending upon how close to the centre of the 
blast radius an object is.  This means that if your ship is too close to an enemy ship when your missile goes 
off you will be damaged.  The purpose of setting a proximity is to tell your missiles how close to another 
ship they get before exploding.  A low proximity will inflict maximum damage; a high proximity will inflict little 
damage, but has an increased range and suffers less from the effects of Event Granularity.

E.g.  A Monarch Class vessel fighting a hostile vessel with a proximity of 10 will have a base range of 1210 
and a damage of 300.  The same missile with a proximity of 300 will have a base range of 1500 and a damage 
of one, if it detonates at extreme range.  NB the Monarch class is included with the registered version of 
Bridge Crew

All ships have a limited number of missiles which they can carry at any time.  If a ship runs out of missiles it 
must go back to a starbase in order to be reloaded.

Note that using the Scenario Designer's Kit, it is possible to build a ship which can reload itself and other 
ships.

Missile weapons also move each turn and are checked to see if they are in proximity at the start and end of 
their movement.

Granularity (or the Problem with Missiles)

Put simply, Granularity is the amount of time or movement between events.  In the case of BRIDGE CREW, 
this is 2 seconds.

The Bridge Crew software only checks the position of a missile for proximity (and therefore detonation) 
before it moves the missile and after it moves the missile.  The sequence of a turn is therefore:

1.	Move ships.
2.	Test missiles.
3.	Move missiles.
4.	Test missiles.

Using this sequence, it is possible for a missile with a low proximity to miss a target by moving over it.  
Here's how:

Proximity 50
Missile speed 120
Target speed 10 (Towards the missile)
Current distance 70 

1.	Move the ship.  Current distance now 60.
2.	test missile (outside proximity)
3.	Move missile (distance now 120-60 = 60)
4.	test missile (still outside proximity)
5.	the missile now starts to turn back toward the target, but will, in most cases, miss.

The golden rule here, is that proximity should always be set to greater than or equal to half the missile speed 
to ensure a detonation.

Also with this sequence, it is possible for a missile with a low proximity to detonate against a non-facing 
shield by moving past the target.  Here are 2 ways that this can happen:

Proximity 50
Missile speed 120
Target speed 80 
Current distance 60

1.	Move the ship (Current distance is now -20 i.e. behind the target ship)
2.	Test the missile (which is inside proximity, so it will detonate and attack the back shield)

Proximity 90
Missile speed 120
Target speed 0 
Current distance 100

1.	Move the ship (Current distance is now 100)
2.	Test missile (outside proximity)
3.	Move missile (the distance is now (100-120) = -20 - i.e. behind the ship.)
4.	Test missile (which is now inside proximity, so that it will detonate against the back shield).

The golden rules here, are that to increase the chance of hitting the facing shield, proximity should always 
be set to greater than the missile speed and greater than the target speed.

Because the ship moves before the missile when firing across the path of an opposing ship, a glance can 
occur where the ship moves into and out of proximity in one movement.  This will tend to occur more with 
lower proximity and higher ship speeds.  The golden rule here is that proximity should be not less than the 
target ship's speed.

Beams

A beam weapon is the space age equivalent of a cannon.  This means that if you can see it, make the 
weapon face it and have it within range you can shoot it.  Like a cannon, beams have a point blank range.  If 
you are at point blank range you will do maximum damage.  Damage will decrease as you move further away 
from an object, up to a point where no damage occurs, as you are out of range.

Beam weapons require a number of turns to load, and use energy in every turn in which they are loading.

Transporters

All transporters have a maximum distance at which they will work.  In order to successfully use the 
transporters, you must maintain a speed equal to or lower than the maximum speed for your transporter type.  
Energy cost for using transporters is calculated per person or crew.  Transporters also have a shield 
penetration value.  If any shield is below this value (in points, not as a percentage) then they will be able to 
transport crew onto the vessel.  If your transporter will not penetrate a shield, you can ask friendly ships to 
lower their shields using the 'ORDER LOWER' command.  If you wish to transport to/from unfriendly ships, 
you must lower their shields by other methods.  All transporters also have a maximum number of people 
they will transport at any one time.  If you are unaware of your transporters capabilities then a 'REPORT 
TRANSPORTER' should respond with the information needed.


Security

The game could not be played without this function.  The security officer is the person who assigns the 
ships functions.

It is also the job of the security officer to key in the ship's condition e.g. Red.  Some ships will only obey 
orders under condition Red or Blue; please consult the world book to discover the appropriate times to 
declare a change of condition.  When a condition red or blue is declared, then other ships may fall under 
your command.

Ship's Functions

The ship is divided into up to twenty functions.  Each of these functions has the following properties: 

1.	Each function has a certain quantity of native hit points.  This is called original damage.  As the 
function takes damage, the number of points remaining drops.  When it drops below the failure point, 
the function will no longer operate at full capacity.  When the hit points drop to zero, the function is 
totally destroyed.

2.	The function may additionally require crew in order to be operational.  If it does not have sufficient 
crew, then it will perform at less than 100% efficiency.

3.	If a function is damaged but still has at least one point of damage remaining, then any crew above and 
beyond those needed to make it 100% operational will start to restore the function to full operating 
potential.  Different starships and different functions will all restore at different rates, so the same 
number of crew will restore the same function at different rates on different ships.

4.	When a function has been damaged beyond easy restoration, which is to say its points have reached 
Zero, the function will need to be repaired.  In order to do this spares will be required.  If spares are not 
available then that function is crippled (which may cripple the entire ship).  If the ship cannot repair 
itself, it will require the services of a starbase repair facility (only useful if one can be reached).  On 
some occasions, if a ship is completely crippled, a repair ship may be sent.

5.	In order to prevent the entire crew rapidly fixing a function an artificial limit has been placed into all 
functions allowing varying maximums of extra crew in each function.  This maximum crew is the game's 
way of limiting skill bases and repair rates on each ship.

6.	Each function has a physical space requirement limiting the maximum number of people allowed in the 
function, this includes passengers and crew.

7.	One function may or may not be related to one weapon, or sensor.  E.g. all 10 missile weapons could 
rely on one ship's function if the scenario (ship) designer designed it that way.

Communications

Starships may send one line messages to each other over "warp space communications".  Non-player 
Starships will automatically respond to the messages "HELLO", "ID" and "NEWS".  Other communications 
that are sent by the players to non-player ships will be redirected to the GM's terminal.  Most GMs do not 
like large amounts of idle chatter which they then have to read and in such circumstances may miss 
important messages that you send.  The scenario designer can pre-program multi-line messages which can 
be read by any officer.  (Future versions of bridge crew will have enhanced multi-line communications 
facilities).

Shields

Starships have four shields.  One at the front, one at the back and one on either side.  For game purposes 
there are no gaps between shields.  All attacks of any nature will be stopped by shields if the shields are up.  
(Note: there is a difference between a shield being up and a shield being charged).  A shield is charged when 
it is at 100% of its shielding capacity.  It can, however, be below its full capacity and still be charged.  
Shields take energy to charge, however a fully charged shield takes no energy to maintain.  A shield with a 
strength of 300 points is capable of taking 300 points of damage (DV).  Any damage done to it above this 
amount will penetrate the shield and effect damage on the ships functions and cause crew casualties.  Each 
turn, a shield that is down but is still capable of recharging will attempt to recharge itself in the following 
order; front, right, back and left.

The shield officer may alter the rate of recharge of one or all shields to assist with starship energy 
management.

E.g.  If the shield charge rate is set to 100 for all shields and 250 EU are available and the current state of the 
shields is 
front 300, (100%),
right 100, (30%), 
back 30 (10%),
left 150 (50%)
and the ship has a shield efficiency of 5%, then this turn the shields will recharge as follows:
	front 0:  
	right (will take 100 points of energy and give 5 points) 105
	back (will take 100 points of energy and give 5 points) 35
	left (will not recharge at all as there is insufficient energy left to recharge i.e. 50) 150.  
This would be an undesirable situation if an enemy was currently on your left bow.  A trained and efficient 
shield officer would reduce the charge rate on the right shield (assuming it is not facing an enemy ship) to 50 
or less to allow the left shield to recover.  Obviously this kind of decision is often made by the Captain as he 
or she knows which shields will be used next.

Science

The science officer is responsible for the sensor and the scanning and analysis of other ships.  If objects are 
visible on the sensors then the science officer, with the assistance of the ships computer, may be able to 
ascertain information about various aspects of the object or ship.  The basic rule is that scan will operate 
with poor picture sensors and analyse will only work with a good picture.  The two functions i.e. scan and 
analyse are independent of each other and may or may not work at the same time.  For general usage, if you 
can't scan it, analyse it; if you can't analyse it, scan it.  In many situations, the two commands will give you 
virtually the same information, but this is not always true.

Bridge Officers

Helm Officer

The Helm Officer's main function is to steer the ship in the manner and speed directed by the captain.

Instructions from the captain may be given in exact form or as general instructions.  The Helm Officer should 
be flexible in approach.

The Helm Officer is also responsible for the main view screen and should provide advice on views, scales 
and magnification at any time where it may be appropriate.  This includes keeping the starship centred in the 
display with the VIEW command.

A common abbreviation is the use of the term warp for speed.  Speed is given in tenths of a warp, so the 
captain ordering a speed of warp four would be asking for a speed of 40.

In the FIP universe, the Helm Officer is responsible for answering questions about direction and travel times 
to various objects.

Damage Control

The Damage Control Officer is responsible for assigning crew to repair stations.  He or she should, without 
instruction, assign crew to damaged functions in the priority sequence desired by the captain, whilst the 
ship is in combat.

When the ship is low on crew (e.g. as a result of combat) the DC Officer may need to recommend a sensible 
crew distribution in line with the general needs of the captain.

Beam Weapon

The Beam Officer is responsible for firing and loading the beam weapons.  The Beam Officer should not lock 
or charge the beam weapons on his or her own initiative unless condition red or blue has been declared.

If directed to "fire at will", the Beam Officer should fire at all possible opportunities. During a "normal" 
combat the captain must specifically authorise a list of targets.

Beam Officers should be aware of the problems associated with charging the beam weapons during energy 
crisis situations, and adhere to the captain's needs in such situations.

The Beam Officer should also advise the captain of beam firing opportunities and of manoeuvres that favour 
beam firing opportunities.

The Beam Officer should decide on the beam firing ARC before combat and set it without recourse to the 
captain.

Many captains like to be advised of beam hits made against enemy starships.

Missile Weapons

The Missile Officer is responsible for firing and loading the missile weapons.  The Missile Officer should not 
lock or load the missile weapons on his or her own initiative unless condition red or blue has been declared.

If directed to "fire at will", the Missile Officer should fire at all realistically possible opportunities, without 
unnecessarily wasting ammunition.  During a "normal" combat the captain must specifically authorise a list 
of targets.

A common command is to "keep lead in the air", which authorises the Missile Officer to fire even if a hit is 
not a certainty.

The Missile Officer should advise the captain of missile opportunities and manage the use of missiles.  It is 
common protocol to periodically advise the captain of the number of missiles remaining.

The Missile Officer should decide on the proximity setting before combat and set it without recourse to the 
captain.

Many captains like to be advised of missile hits made on other starships, since the main display is not to 
scale.

Communications

The Communications Officer is responsible for the sending and reading of messages from and to other 
ships.  He or she should bring any reports that may be relevant to the captain's attention.  The 
Communications Officer should not send any unauthorised messages.

The Communications Officer is also responsible for the sending of orders to other ships.

Computer Officer

The computer officer is responsible for scanning the ship's computer for information that may be of use to 
the captain in the current scenario.  

The computer will normally contain extracts from the FIP charter, and from any relevant FIP treaties, along 
with scenario specific information.

Engineering

The Engineering Officer is responsible for advising the captain on the state of the engines and transporter.

Repairs will be needed at various times.  The Engineering Officer will be responsible for their execution.  
Remember to liaise with the captain to ensure the optimum use of spares and starbase facilities.

The Engineering Officer also performs any transportation of passengers and crew.

Security Officer 

The Security Officer is responsible for the allocation of bridge functions to the crew.

Unless ordered otherwise, if the captain dies, he or she should assume command of the ship.

He or she is also responsible for the safety of passengers, cargo and Prisoners on the ship.

He or she should move rapidly to bring the ship to alert status of yellow, red or blue, on the captain's order.

Shield Control

The Shield Control Officer is responsible for the raising/lowering of shields and the recharge setting on the 
shields.

Given the serious effect that damaged shields have on energy management, he or she should advise the 
captain of the options available to him/her and be quick to respond to instructions given.

Science

The Science Officer is responsible for gathering information about the objects encountered during a mission 
and advising the captain of any anomalies. that are apparent.

He or she should also control the ship's sensors as required.

During combat he or she should offer advice to the captain on sensor usage and damage done to hostile 
ships.

Many captains expect the Science Officer to constantly monitor the damage status of enemy shields and 
functions and to advise any changes of status.

Strategy Officer

This member of crew is a 'behind the scenes' advisor to the captain.

His or her main function is to keep the captain advised of the strategic situation in which the ship is 
operating.

POSITION UPDATES of vessels being tracked by Deep Space Fleet will be transmitted to the strategy 
officer who should assess them for importance and advise the captain accordingly.

Player Commands

Only the first four characters of a command need be entered.  When entering function names or system 
names (i.e. anything that is shown in italics) the full word needs to be entered - abbreviations are not 
accepted.  For example, to get a RECON, you only need to type RECO into the computer, but to get a report 
on your impulse engines you need to type "FUNC IMPULSE".
__________________________________________________________________________________

General Commands

The following commands are available to all players.  

DIRECT   end_location   [start_location]

Reports the distance and heading from start_location to end_location.  End_location  and  start_location 
can be either  x.y  co-ordinates or an Object Id.  If an Object Id is used, then the last known  x.y  location of 
that object is considered.  The default for start_location is your own ship.

ETA  start_location   speed   end_location

Calculates an time taken to travel to end_location from start_location at constant speed.

End_location  and  start_location  can be either  x.y  co-ordinates or an Object Id.  If an Object Id is used, 
then the last known  x.y  location of that object is considered.

Speed is in TSU per turn.

It also tells you the stardate based on the current stardate, plus the travel time to end_location, along with 
the elapsed play time, in minutes.

FROM  ship_id  start_ship_id

Lists known objects regardless of sensors relative to a specific ship. Objects include ships, starbases and 
planets.

All known objects are stored in a list. The 'FROM' command will list up to 10 objects from this list starting 
from the start_ship_id.  Ship_id  specifies which ship to use as the origin for calculating Heading and 
Distance values.

For example:

FROM  F2 	will list the first 10 known objects relative to ship F2

FROM  K1  X7	will list the first 10 ships starting from X7, relative to K1.

The 'FROM' command is similar to the 'THINGS' command but calculates the listed Heading and Distance 
from a specified ship.

An example of the report is shown below

Id Heading Distance  Xpos.Ypos   Tagged
F1  2992     1420  500090.196277 Tagged
F2  1178       26  501353.195571 Tagged
K1   123    10149  503500.205500 Tagged
K2   195     9461  504500.204500 Tagged
K3   177    10409  504500.205500 Tagged

FUNCTION function_id

Lists crew and damage status of a function.

Report For WARP
Crew Needed 65 Actual 65 Maximum 75 
Damage at Start 100 Damage to Degrade 70 
Current Damage 100 Current Performance 100% 
Repair rate 0 Spares held    2 
Casualties 0 Passengers 0 Max People 76 

The function_id can be found from the command REPORT FUNCTIONS.

GET message number

Retrieves the multi line message from the ships computer.  Message 0 is usually the scenario orders.
HELP command

Where command is a player's command or security code.

NOTE: This command is designed to assist only those players who are familiar with the game.  It is not 
designed as a tutorial, or to tell the player what effect the commands will actually have.  Its objective is to 
assist with the syntax of less commonly used commands.

INTERCEPT ship_id [speed]

Tells the players of the speed and course needed to intercept a given starship.  In order for the command to 
be effective, the starship must be visible on sensors at the time that the command is given.

LOG [text]

Makes an entry in the ships log. Text is the message entered.  This is stored in a file called 
BCREWLOG.DAT.

If text is empty, the command lists the last ten logged messages.

MACRO number text

Sets up a user macro, where number is a number from 0 to 9, and text is the command that you wish to have 
available as a macro.

For example, the Helm officer may set up macros for the command VIEW and certain headings as follows:

	Macro 0 View
	Macro 1 Course 0
	Macro 2 Course 900
	Macro 3 Course 1800.

To recall the macro (and therefore enter the command in the macro), he or she can subsequently simply enter 
the number of the macro at the terminal.

E.g. entering 2 will execute the command COURSE 900 at his or her terminal.

Macro recall occurs on a 0 through 9 at the beginning of the line

Macros may include %digit, which is evaluated to the digitth word in the player command.  Digit can only 
be 0 through 9

Eg:  MACRO 0 MLOCK %1 PT1 PT2 followed by 0 K1 evaluates to MLOCK K1 PT1 PT2

This is also known as parameterised macros (for those of you with a bent for programming.)

MACGET filename

Where filename is a digit between 0 and 9.

This will restore a set of previously saved macros.  See MACSAVE for details.

The user must have entered their name using the ME command for this to work (the player must have 
entered the same name as when he or she did the MACSAVE).

MACLIST

Lists your macros:

In the example given for the command MACRO, the following report would be returned.

0 VIEW
1 COURSE 0
2 COURSE 900
3 COURSE 1800

MACSAVE filename

This command will save the macros currently used by the player to a .BCM file.  In order to use this 
command, the player must be logged on using the ME command.

Filename is a number in the range 0 through 9.

E.g 
	ME fred
	MACSAVE 2

ME name

Registers the character (or player's) name at the terminal, so that it can be used for log reports and for saving 
macros.

PORT [port_number RESET]

This command can be run on any terminal.  If it is run with no parameters, it will list the status of all active 
terminals that the Bridge Crew program is aware of.

Its main use, however, is to reset the communications line to a particular port after a failure has occurred (eg 
someone tripping over the cable and unplugging it).

Eg:  PORT
lists the status of all ports that the Bridge Crew program beleives a terminal is attached to.

	PORT 2 RESET
Restarts communications to port 2.

READ message_number

Displays a message that was received in the players' queue.

RECON

List all objects detected by the sensors on that turn. Objects include ships, starbases and planets. Ships 
outside the range of the sensors or that are effectively cloaked for that turn will not be listed.

An example of the report is shown below

Id Heading Distance  Id Heading Distance
F1   3320    836
F2    830    810

Note:  if more than 30 objects are visible, only the first 30 will be shown.

To list all ships regardless of sensors use the 'THINGS' command.

REPORT CREW

Lists the status of your ships crew.
An example of the report is explained below.

Function Needed Actual Spare max Function Needed Actual Spare max
    HELM    15    15     0    25       DC     1    45    44    50 
     PH1    20    20     0    30      PH2    20    20     0    30 
     PH3    20    20     0    30     MIS1    25    25     0    35 
    MIS2    25    25     0    35    COMMS     5     5     0    15 
    WARP    65    65     0    75  IMPULSE    25    25     0    35 
  SHIELD    20    20     0    30     COMP     5     5     0    15 
   TRANS     5     5     0    15    SENS0    20    20     0    30 
   SENS1    20    20     0    30    SENS2     7     7     0    17 
    HULL     1     1     0    10    OTHER     0     7     7    10 

Function	identifies the ship functions that crew are assigned to.
Needed	refers to the minimum number of crew needed for normal operations of the system at 100% 
efficiency.
Actual 	refers to the number of crew are currently assigned to the functions.
Spare 	calculates the number of 'Actual' crew over the 'Needed' crew for each function.  These 'extra' 
crew could be restoring damage and are not necessarily spare.
Max	The maximum number of crew that can be assigned to the function.

Function OTHER represents miscellaneous functions.

REPORT CLOAKING

This command reports on the status of the cloaking devices, if any are featured on the players' ship.

REPORT COMPUTER

This command lists the multi-line messages in the computer and lets you know which ones you can access.

REPORT CROSSSECTION

Lists the sensor echo for your craft for all of known frequencies.

The example crosssection report is shown below:
EM          69
WS          78
SR          69
SE          67
PS          77
ZZ          66

Note:  In the current release, frequency ZZ is not actually used.

REPORT ENERGY
This report simply lists the energy required to maintain various speeds.

Energy management is critical at high warp speeds.  Normally the warp engines provide surplus power that 
is used in the ships power grid. At high warp speeds they may consume more than power than they create. 
The meagre output of the impulse engines and battery reserves are needed to supplement this.

This table assists the crew in managing energy and determining the amount of energy needed.

REPORT ENGINES 

Lists the current state of the engines

Current Energy Generation 1500
Current Maximum Speed 80
Impulse Energy Available 400
Warp Energy Available 1100
Engine Temperature 0
Warp Max speed (safe) 80 (60)

REPORT FUNCTIONS

Reports on damage status of  ships functions.
An example of the report is explained below.

Function  Orig remain fail perf   Function  Orig remain fail perf
    HELM   100   100    50 100%         DC   100   100    20 100%
     PH1   100   100    80 100%        PH2   100   100    80 100%
     PH3   100   100    80 100%       MIS1   100   100    50 100%
    MIS2   100   100    50 100%      COMMS   100   100    70 100%
    WARP   100   100    70 100%    IMPULSE   100   100    30 100%
  SHIELD    20    20    10 100%       COMP   100   100    10 100%
   TRANS   100   100    80 100%      SENS0   100   100    90 100%
   SENS1   100   100    90 100%      SENS2   100   100    90 100%
    HULL   500   500   100 100%      OTHER   100   100   100 100%
Function	identifies the ships functions.
Orig	is the amount of damage a function can sustain before being destroyed when undamaged (i.e. 
ignoring current damage).
remain	is the amount of damage a function can sustain before being destroyed allowing for current 
damage.
fail	is the value which 'remain' has to fall to or below for the system to fail.
perf	is a percentage of effective performance allowing for current damage.
Function OTHER represents miscellaneous functions.

REPORT PEOPLE

Reports on casualties amongst crew and passengers.
An example of the report is explained below:
Function Crew Pass Invade Casual Function Crew Pass Invade Casual
    HELM   15    0     0     0         DC   45    0     0     0 
     PH1   20    0     0     0        PH2   20    0     0     0 
     PH3   20    0     0     0       MIS1   25    0     0     0 
    MIS2   25    0     0     0      COMMS    5    0     0     0 
    WARP   65    0     0     0    IMPULSE   25    0     0     0 
  SHIELD   20    0     0     0       COMP    5    0     0     0 
   TRANS    5    0     0     0      SENS0   20    0     0     0 
   SENS1   20    0     0     0      SENS2    7    0     0     0 
    HULL    1    0     0     0      OTHER    7    0     0     0 

Function	identifies the ship functions.
Crew 	refers to the number of crew assigned to that function.
Pass 	refers to the number of passengers assigned to that function.
Invade 	refers to the number of invaders performing a boarding action.
Casual 	refers to the number of casualties taken in that function.

Function OTHER represents miscellaneous functions.

Note:  Invaders are not included in the current release, so the column with heading Invade will always 
contain 0.

REPORT SECURITY

This report lists each of the security positions along with the terminal that is allocated to that position.

REPORT SHIP

A quick summary of your ship's damage status.  An example of the report follows.

Damaged Functions    0
Casualties           0
Damage Remaining  2120
Failure Point      585
Hull Before Fail  1535

Damage Functions is the number of ship's systems that are currently subject to any damage.
Casualties refers to casualties amongst the crew and passengers.
Damage Remaining is the damage remaining in all functions.  In role play terms, this is the ship's current hit 
points.
Failure Point when 'Damage Remaining' falls below this point, the ship falls apart.
Hull Before Fail is 'Damage Remaining' minus 'Failure Point' and is the amount of damage in DV that you 
can take before the ship falls apart .

REPORT TRANSPORTER

Reports on the properties of the ship's transporters.

Transporter Features :
  Maximum Range      400
  Energy per person  50
  Shield Penetration 20
  Capacity in people 5
  Maximum Speed      9

SYSTEMS  start_system

Lists star systems in the current sector (game play area).

Star systems are stored in a list. The 'SYSTEMS' command will list up to 10 star systems from this list 
starting from the start_system.  For example, 

	SYSTEMS SOL

will produce the following report:

    Name Heading Distance       X.Y
      SOL 2492   524404  10000.10000
     XING 3523   787341  394688.975699
ALPHA_CEN 2507   453093  72667.46326
  PROXIMA 2511   455525  69507.48027
  MENKENT  242   347792  643265.512640
    PLATO  170   650166  690899.817163
ARISTOTLE  269   624878  784087.752323
 EINSTEIN 3152   474395  165830.531725
   SCARAB   47   643722  554254.836974
   PLANCK 3389   316940  385945.491014

The registered version of Bridge Crew (which contains 46 stars) will show the first ten stars; the shareware 
version will show less as the shareware universe has less than 10 stars.

TELL  system

Reports on the status of a star system.

TERM [BS|ECHO ON|OFF]

This command configures the terminal characteristics for the port that the player is on.  If entered without 
any parameters, it will display the current characteristics for the terminal.

The characteristic BS is used to control the printing of the Backspace character. When this option is 
switched on, it will echo a backspace as character 8. When the option is switched off, it will use an ANSI 
escape sequence.

The terminal characteristic ECHO controls whether the command is echoed back by the Bridge Crew 
program.  This allows for easier development of "smart" terminal emulators to provide a better/friendlier 
user-interface than the 'dumb terminal' currently used. 

Eg:	TERM BS ON
Sets the backspace character echo to character '8' for this terminal.

THINGS  ship_id

Lists known objects regardless of sensors. Objects include ships, starbases and planets.

All known objects are stored in a list. The 'THINGS' command will list up to 10 objects from this list starting 
from the ship_id supplied.  If no ship_id is supplied, it will start from the player ship.

For example:

THINGS 	will list the first 10 known objects (starting with the player ship).

THINGS F2	will list the 10 known objects starting at F2.

Objects are listed with their last known position, updated from your own and other friendly sensors.  At any 
time during the game, the ships' true positions may be nowhere near their last known position.

An example of the report is shown below
Id Heading Distance  Xpos.Ypos   Tagged
F0     0        1  500500.195500 Tagged
F1  3306      790  500111.196188 Tagged
F2   797      758  501246.195639 Tagged
K1   167    10440  503500.205500 Tagged
K2   239     9848  504500.204500 Tagged
K3   218    10770  504500.205500 Tagged

Note:  The "Position updated ..." messages received by the strategy officer indicate that the last known 
position of the starship concerned has changed.

The 'FROM' command is similar to the 'THINGS' command, but calculates the listed Heading and Distance 
from a specified ship.

A more graphical display of the last known location of known objects is obtainable by switching to strategic 
mode and selecting a large scale.

WHO

Lists who you are, your terminal and your current security assignments.

An example of the report follows.

port 1
      HELM          DC        BEAM  
      MISS       COMMS         ENG  
       SEC      SHIELD         SCI  
     STRAT        COMP  

The port number is the terminal number. The codes are explained below:

HELM	Helm Officer
BEAM	Beams Weapons Officer
COMMS	Communications Officer
SEC	Security Officer
SCI	Science Officer
COMP	Computer Ops Officer
DC	Damage Control Officer
MISS	Missile Weapon Officer
ENG	Engineering Officer
SHIELD	Shield Operations Officer
STRAT	Strategy Officer

Note:	The name entered by the 'ME' command will also be shown.

VERS

Will tell the player the current version of Bridge Crew that is running.

ZONE  location

Reports who owns the space at location.  Location  can be either an  x.y  co-ordinate or an Object Id.  If an 
Object Id is used, then the last known  x.y  location of that object is considered.  Ownership may be 
currently contested.

Helm Officer

The following commands are available only to the Helm Officer.

AUTOVIEW [ON|OFF]

If this command is entered without parameters it will display the current AUTOVIEW setting.

This command switches the main display into and out of auto view mode. When in AUTOVIEW mode, the 
players' starship is automatically centred on the screen each turn.  This mode makes it difficult for 
inexperienced players to tell if the player ship is moving.  AUTOVIEW can be disabled by the GM for any 
given universe.

COLOUR number

This command changes the colour scheme of the main display.  Its major use is with mono monitors or liquid 
crystal displays.  Values for number are:

0	Full colour (16 colours)
1	Grey ships (suitable for grey scale LCD displays).
2	Black & blue (0,1) (mono).
3	Black, blue, green, cyan (0, 1, 2, 3) (4 colours)
4	Black & white (0, 15) (mono)

	COLOUR 1 

sets the colours for the display.

COURSE angle

Sets the ships course, in tenths of a degree.  Angle can be any number from 0 to 3599.  See the diagram 
below:

          0       
    3150  |  450  
         \|/      
 2700<----+---->900
         /|\      
    2250  |  1350 
        1800      

MAGNIFY number

Sets the magnification of ships.  Number can be any number between 1 and 300.  Some examples  of 
MAGNIFY are:

MAGNIFY 130	The default; i.e. normal size.  Ships will be shown this size when the game starts.
MAGNIFY 50	Small
MAGNIFY 200	Large

A large magnify can be used to take a good look at a previously unknown ship, thereby providing clues to 
its origin.

MODE TACTICAL|STRATEGIC

Sets the main view screen mode.

The TACTICAL mode is suitable for combat and manoeuvre.  It shows the direction and current location of 
all visible ships, starbases, planets, stars and visible missiles.

The STRATEGIC mode is suitable for campaign planning and strategy conferences.  It shows the last 
known location of the known starships and the correct location of the stars.  In strategic mode, the direction 
in which the ships are travelling is not indicated by the ship silhouette (the ships are shown in COURSE 0).  
If a starship is shown as a red blob, this means that it is within sensor range of a sensor that does not 
provide a clear picture.

SCALE number

Scales the viewport size in TSU measured from the centre of the screen to the edge.  The view screen is a 
square with sides twice the length of the scale.  A command of SCALE 5000 will give a view screen that is 
5000 TSU from the centre to each side, and 10 000 TSU from top to bottom and left to right.

SPEED speed

Sets the ship's speed.
Speed 1	1 TSU/turn
Speed 10	10 TSU/turn
Speed 100	100 TSU/turn
STARS star size

Sets the size of stars between 1-100.  The default star size is 20.

TRACK ship_id

Sets the ship that is being tracked on the main screen.

VIEW location

Sets the centre of the view screen.  If location is left blank, then the current location of the players' ship is 
used.  If location is used, then the centre of the view screen will be the ship, system, or  x.y  co-ordinates of 
the location parameter.  

E.g. if the helm officer enters VIEW F5, and F5 is not currently visible, the screen will be centred on F5, and 
the players' ship will not be shown on the screen.  This is a good way to confuse the captain.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Damage Control

ASSIGN function1 number function2

This command moves a number of crew from function1 to function2.  For example:

	ASSIGN WARP 3 SHIELD

will move 3 crew from the function warp to the function shield.  A situation where this might be required 
would be if the shields were damaged, but the warp engines were fully functional.

Use the REPORT CREW command to see which types of crew members (and how many) can be moved to a 
different location.

Note that if the Damage Control function is damaged, you can only order crew to and from the HELM 
(Bridge) until DC is repaired.



REPORT DC

This useful report is only available to the Damage Control officer and is as follows:

Function  Damage Fail Spare Perf  Function  Damage Fail Spare Perf
  HELM 1     0     0     0 100%       DC 9     0     0    44 100%
   PH1 0     0     0     0 100%      PH2 0     0     0     0 100%
   PH3 0     0     0     0 100%     MIS1 0     0     0     0 100%
  MIS2 0     0     0     0 100%    COMMS 0     0     0     0 100%
  WARP 2     0     0     0 100%  IMPULSE 1     0     0     0 100%
SHIELD 1     0     0     0 100%     COMP 0     0     0     0 100%
 TRANS 0     0     0     0 100%    SENS0 0     0     0     0 100%
 SENS1 0     0     0     0 100%    SENS2 0     0     0     0 100%
  HULL 0     0     0     0 100%    OTHER 0     0     0     7 100%

Function	the id of the ships function.
Unlabeled field - the number of spares - the report will not show more than nine spares.
Damage	the total points of damage done to the function.
Fail	the points needed to be repaired to make the function perform at 100%.
Spare	the number of excess crew assigned to the function.  If the figure is negative, then it shows the 
number of crew needed to bring performance to 100%.  Eg  a spare of 2 means that there are two 
crew 'extra' assigned to the function; a spare of -5 means that five more crew members are needed 
for 100% performance.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Beam Weapon Officer

ARC angle weapon_list

Sets the dispersion angle of the beam weapons.  In the current version of Bridge Crew, no advantage can be 
gained from setting it to anything other than the default (10).

BLOCK target weapon_list

Locks a list of weapons functions via the ship's sensors.  The Beam Weapon Officer cannot lock onto the 
target ship unless it is visible on the ship's sensors.  Weapon List is an abbreviation of the beam weapons - 
the beam weapons for your ship can be found by using the REPORT BEAM command.  E.g.:

BLOCK K3 LP FP RP

will lock the beam weapons LP, FP, and RP onto target ship K3.

Prior to combat, you will often know which ships are potential targets.  This command would normally be 
loaded into several macros (one for each target) to maximise the firing opportunities for the Beam Weapon 
Officer.  If there are numerous targets, a parameterised macro would be useful.  Eg - load the macro:

	MACRO 3 BLOCK %1 LP FP RP

to lock onto another ship, say, X4, type:
	3 X4 
this will execute the command 

	BLOCK X4 LP FP RP.

BFIRE weapon_list

Fires the weapons in the weapons list.  E.g.

	BFIRE LP FP RP

will fire the beam weapons LP FP and RP.

This command would normally be loaded into a macro to maximise the firing opportunities for the Beam 
Weapon Officer.

If the ship being fired upon is not within the firing arc of the weapons, no shot is fired.

BUNLOCK weapon_list

Unlocks the weapons in the weapons list.  Eg

	BUNLOCK FP RP

unlocks beam weapons FP and RP.

CHARGE weapon_list
or
BCHARGE weapon_list

Initiates a charge sequence which uses energy for a significant number of turns.  E.g.

	BCHARGE LP FP RP

will charge the beam weapons LP FP and RP.

This command would normally be loaded into a macro to maximise the firing opportunities for the Beam 
Weapon Officer.

REPORT BEAM 

Provides a report of the beam weapons:

Id  Arc Firing-Arc Function Perform Dam   Aim Status  Lock
 LP  10 2699-1          PH1 100%    300    0   Empty  NONE 
 FP  10 3149-451        PH2 100%    300    0   Empty  NONE 
 RP  10 900-0           PH3 100%    300    0   Empty  NONE 
End report

Id	The weapon identification string.  Usually meaningful (e.g. LP = Left Phaser).
Arc	Dispersion Angle (set by the 'ARC' command).
Firing-Arc	The firing arc of the weapon relative to the starship heading.
Function	The ship's function that governs the beam weapon.
Perform	Current performance (misfire chance) based on damage and crew.
Dam	The damage it will do at point blank range.
Aim	Manual aim angle (for future expansion).
Status	Charged, charging, or empty.
Lock	The current target ship.

__________________________________________________________________________________
Missile Weapon Officer

LOAD weapon_list
or
MLOAD weapon_list

Initiates a missile load sequence.  This uses a missile from the magazine and also uses energy.  E.g.

	MLOAD PT1 PT2

will load the missiles PT1 and PT2.

This command would normally be loaded into a macro to maximise the firing opportunities for the Missile 
Weapon Officer.

MFIRE weapon_list

Fires the weapons in the weapon list.  E.g.

	MFIRE PT1 PT2

will fire the missile weapons PT1 and PT2.

This command would normally be loaded into a macro to maximise the firing opportunities for the Missile 
Weapon Officer.

If the weapon is damaged, a misfire can occur.  A misfire will either unload the launcher or reduce the speed, 
turn rate and endurance of the missile.  In many ships, misfired missiles may travel more slowly than the ship 
that fired them.

MLOCK target weapon_list

Locks a list of missile weapons' functions.  Weapon List is an abbreviation of the missile weapons - the 
missile weapons for your ship can be found by using the REPORT MISSILE command.  E.g.:

	MLOCK K3 PT1 PT2

will lock the missile weapons PT1 and PT2 onto target ship K3.

Prior to combat, you will often know which ships are potential targets. This command is normally be loaded 
into several macros (one for each target) to maximise the firing opportunities for the Missile Weapon Officer. 
If there are lots of targets, a parameterised macro is useful.

MUNLOCK weapon_list

Unlolcks the weapons in the weapons list.  Eg

	MUNLOCK PT1 PT2

unlocks missile weapons PT1 and PT2.

PROXIMITY range  weapon_list

Sets the proximity range on the missile weapons.  E.g.

	PROXIMITY 90 PT1 PT2

See the Chapter How the Game Plays (sub-heading Missiles) for advice on the setting of proximity, along 
with the section on Granularity.

RELOAD starbase

Allows you to reload your missiles provided you are within transporter range of a starbase or tender ship.

REPORT MISSILE

Provides a report of the missile weapons:

    Id   Prox Ammo  Function Perform Dam   Sp End  Aim Status  Lock
     PT1   0    30      MIS1 100%    300   120 10    0 Empty   none
     PT2   0    30      MIS2 100%    300   120 10    0 Empty   none
End report

Id	The weapon identification string.  Usually meaningful (e.g. PT1 = Photon Torpedo 1).
Prox	Current proximity.
Ammo	Number of missiles ready in the magazine.
Function	The ship's function controlling damage to this weapon.
Perform	Current performance (misfire chance) based on damage and crew.
Dam	Damage done if a direct hit is scored.
Sp	Speed at which the missile will travel.
End	Endurance (number of turns before the missile self-destructs).
Aim	Initial launch direction relative to the ship.
Status	Loaded, loading or empty.
Lock	Current target.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Communications Officer

DELETE message_number

Removes a message from the queue to make room for new incoming messages.  Only twenty messages can 
be held in the queue at any one time.

DETAIL ship_id

Lists intelligence information about the ship given in shipid.  The resultant report is shown below:

Ship class   COOK CLASS
Delloits Attack Rating 104  Delloits Defence Rating 155
Ship Name    LASAGNE
mission
TO PATROL THE QUADRANT

The mission is only given if the ship is in your command.

The following three commands (MODIFY, MODSPEED and ORDER) are related; the explanatory notes 
follow the command definitions.

MODIFY dsf_ship  angle  distance

Changes the station-keeping parameters of a ship.

MODSPEED dsf_ship  speed  [rotate]

Modifies the speed of a starship under your command.

ORDER dsf_ship  mission details

Orders a ship to a specific mission type.

Explanatory notes for MODIFY, MODSPEED and ORDER:

dsf_ship	is a Deep Space Fleet ship under your command.
angle	is an angle in tenths of a degree.
distance	is a distance in TSUs
speed	is the requested speed and can be a number from 0 to 300, or the following text messages:
FULL	the starship's maximum warp speed
SAFE	the starship's maximum safe speed
rotate	is an angle to "orbit the selected craft by".  It is in tenths of a degree per turn and may be 
in the range -450 to 450.  Negative numbers rotate anti clockwise.  It is an optional 
parameter.
mission details	a list of commands for the subject starship to follow.  Permitted commands are in the table 
below:

Command
Meaning

wait
Do nothing till further orders.

escort ship
Escort and defend

trade  location  location
Move to and from pausing to load/unload

shadow ship
Follow, hide, don't attack (Works best for captain 20)

attack ship
Attack

patrol location  location
Defend and watch

scout  location  location
Just watch

goto   location
Go there

fleet  ship
Join a fleet and keep station

lower
Lower your shields for 10 turns for us to transport crew or passengers.

retreat location
Get the hell out of here


location	can be an object id (i.e. a ship or system) or an x.y co-ordinate.

Examples:

	order f2 attack k1

	Order ship F2 under your command to attack enemy ship K1.

	order f5 retreat

	Order ship F5 under your command to retreat (get out of there!)

	order f3 patrol Xenophon 12378.12345

	Order ship F3 under your command to patrol between Xenophon (a star-system) and the point 
12378.12345.

Order will only work on vessels under your command.  Some merchant ships will react to your commands if 
you call a condition red or blue.

To get an escort to circle you, try the following:
	order f1 escort f0
	modspeed f1 safe 50
	modify f1 900 1000
QUEUE

Shows messages that are waiting to be read and their status.

READ message number

Displays the message on the user's console.
This command is actually available to all players.

SEND ship_id  message 

Sends a message to an object via the comms function.

The command will not return anything if the COMMS function on the receiving ship is damaged.

Standard messages are:

ID
Gives ship ID


HELLO
Opens friendly communications


QUERY
Request object mission
Must be in your command or will not return factual data

NEWS 
Request scenario relevant news


STATUS
How bashed up are you?
Must be in your command


Any non-standard messages will be passed on to the GM's queue.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Computer Officer

GET and REPORT COMPUTER are general commands, able to be performed by anyone.  

REPORT COMPUTER

This command lists the ten multi-line messages in the computer and lets you know which ones you can 
access.

GET message_number

Retrieves the multi line message from the ships computer where message_number is a number between 0 
and 199.  Message 0 is usually the scenario orders.

SEARCH key1 [key2] [key3]
Lists the first ten  entries with the key or keys, for use with a subsequent Get command.

FIND key1 [key2] [key3]

Finds the first occurance of a record with matching keys and retrieves that record.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Ships Engineer

REPAIR starbase  function

Allows you to repair a function if within transporter range and speed of a starbase, repair ship, or planet.  
REPAIR also allows you to repair yourself if you have that ability -to do this enter your own ship_id in place 
of starbase.

	REPAIR S5 Shield

	Repairs the function Shield when within range of starbase S5.

TRANSPORT CREW crew TO|FROM ship_id  ship_function

Provides for the transport of crew to and from a specific area of another ship.

TRANSPORT PASSENGERS pass TO|FROM ship_id  ship_function

Provides for the transport of passengers to and from a specific area of another ship, were pass is the number 
of passengers.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Security Officer

CONDITION GREEN|YELLOW|RED|BLUE

Allows the alert status to be set.
green	normal
yellow	man stations
red	under attack
blue	seriously damaged

The play effect of setting alert status is that some starships are programmed to accept your orders only 
when your condition is red or blue.

Other effects of changing the alert status are up to the Games Master.

GIVE security_id  port

Assigns ships functions to the crew (i.e. the players).  Each player (except the captain) has a terminal (or PC 
running a terminal emulator) which is connected to a port on the computer running Bridge Crew.  The ports 
have ids 0, 1, 2, 3 etc.

Security Ids are

HELM
DC 	(Damage Control)
BEAM
MISS 	(Missile)
COMMS 	(Communications)
ENG 	(Engineering)
SEC 	(Security)
SHIELD
SCI 	(Science)
STRAT 	(Strategy)
COMP 	(Computer)

The Game Master assigns Security to the relevant officer; it is up to the security officer to assign the rest.  
E.g. the command

GIVE COMMS 1

will assign communications to the player at the terminal (or PC) attached to the computer's port number 1.

Note that the WHO command will give you the current port number.
__________________________________________________________________________________

Shield Control Officer

REPORT SHIELDS

Lists the current status of the shields.

SHIELD ALL|FRONT|BACK|LEFT|RIGHT charge_value

Sets the charge rate for the various shields.

SHIELD ALL|FRONT|BACK|LEFT|RIGHT  UP|DOWN

This command raises and lowers the relevant shield.  Up to raise, Down to lower.

Note that shields do not lose any strength when they are lowered, they just don't stop any damage.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Science Officer

ANALYSE LIFE|FUNC|BEAM|MISS|GEN ship_id  [via_ship_id]

Provides a detailed scan of the object, showing only those functions which the federation has the ability to 
analyse.  The ship must be clearly visible by the ship doing the scan, or by the ship referred to in the 
via_ship_id clause.  The reports for each type of scan are shown with the corresponding command to scan 
your own (ie the players') ship - the same as this command, with ship_id omitted..

ANALYSE GEN

Provides an analysis of the players' ship.  The resultant report is shown below:

Front : 560 100 100% UP  
Right : 560 100 100% UP  
Back  : 560 100 100% UP  
Left  : 560 100 100% UP  
Battery 462
Energy  0
Class COOK CLASS
Race  Human
Course 237  Speed  60
End scan F1

ANALYSE LIFE

Provides an analysis of the players' ship.  The resultant report is shown below:

Function Crew  Pass  Function Crew    Pass
    HELM 15     0          DC 50        0
     PH1 20     0         PH2 20        0 
     PH3 20     0        MIS1 30        0 
    MIS2 30     0       COMMS 12        0 
    WARP 55     0     IMPULSE 25        0
  SHIELD 20     0        COMP 5         0
   TRANS 5      0       SENS0 20        0
   SENS1 20     0        HULL 1         0
   OTHER 2      0

ANALYSE BEAM

Provides an analysis of the beam weapons on the players' ship.  The resultant report is shown below:
   ID      Damage
       LP 180 
       FP 180 
       RP 180 
ANALYSE MISS

Provides an analysis of the missile weapons on the players' ship.  The resultant report is shown below:

   ID      Damage
      PT1 180 
      PT2 180 

ANALYSE FUNC

Provides an analysis of the functions on the players' ship.  The resultant report is shown below:

Function Status    Function Status
    HELM 100%            DC 100%   
     PH1 100%           PH2 100%   
     PH3 100%          MIS1 100%   
    MIS2 100%         COMMS 100%   
    WARP 100%       IMPULSE 100%   
  SHIELD 100%          COMP 100%   
   TRANS 100%         SENS0 100%   
   SENS1 100%          HULL 100%   
   OTHER 100%   

REPORT SENSOR 

Lists the status of the various sensors.  The resultant report is shown below:

  Id State Sensitiv Cost Range Speed Perform Function
0 SR ON       40    300   9500 0-100   100%  SENS0
1 SE ON       40    100   6000 0-180   100%  SENS1
2 EM ON       40     20   3500 0-9     100%  SENS2

SCAN LIFE|FUNC|BEAM|MISS|GEN ship_id  [via_ship_id]

Initiates a scan of the requested ship (ship_id), which need only to be visible as either a ship silhouette or 
as a blob.  The via ship is any friendly ship  which can see the target ship.

The scan command can scan for; Life, Function, Beam Weapons, Missile Weapons or do a General Scan.

SENSOR ON|OFF sensor_id

Switches a given sensor on or off.  See the REPORT SENSOR function for examples of sensor-id.
__________________________________________________________________________________

Ships Strategist

CLOAK ON|OFF cloak_id|ALL

This command controlls the cloaking devices on the ship.  Use the 'REPORT CLOAK' command to get the 
names of your cloaking devices.

Eg:  CLOAK ON SE

	will switch on the SE cloaking device

Eg:  CLOAK OFF ALL

	This command will decloak the ship (switch off all cloaking devices).

DETAIL ship 

Lists intelligence information about the ship given in ship.  The resultant report is shown below:

Ship class   COOK CLASS
Delloits Attack Rating 104  Delloits Defence Rating 155
Ship Name    LASAGNE
mission
TO PATROL THE QUADRANT

The mission is only given if the ship is in your command.

SCAN LIFE|FUNC|BEAM|MISS|GEN ship_id  [via_ship_id]

Initiates a scan of the requested ship (ship_id), which need only to be visible as either a ship silhouette or 
as a blob.  The via ship is any friendly ship  which can see the target ship.

The scan command can scan for; Life, Function, Beam Weapons, Missile Weapons or do a General Scan.

See SCAN under the Science Officer commands for a full description of this command.

TAG ship

Displays the id of the ship on the main viewer.

UNTAG ship

Removes the display of id from the ship on the main viewer.

__________________________________________________________________________________
Glossary

Clearly Visible
	A starship that is visible to a sensor that can resolve the ship's outline.

Course
	A direction between 0 and 3599 in tenths of a degree.

DV
	Damage Value.The amount of damage done by a weapon or stopped by the shields.  For internal 
damage, 1 DV - one point of damage to one function.

Energy
	An imaginary amount of energy measured in units called EU (Energy Units).

Energy Crisis
	When a ship is using more energy each turn than it is generating and its battery is flat, it is said to be 
going into energy crisis.

EU
	See energy.

Granularity
	The amount of movement each turn.

HSU
	Heat Strain Units.  The warp engines of a ship that exceeds its maximum safe speed generate excess 
heat measued in heat strain units.  A ship that reaches 100 HSU runs the risk of permanently damaging 
its warp drive.

Ship
	Throughout this document, the word ship refers to space faring ships, i.e. starships, not vessels that 
float on water.

Speed
	A number representing the number of TSU travelled in a two second turn.

Tag
	A note on the main console showing the ship ID of the ship silhouette.

TSU
	Time Space Unit

Visible	
	A starship is said to be visible if it can be detected by 1 or more sensors of the players' ship.  A starship 
may be visible but still shown as a blob if it is no being detected by a sensor with good picture 
resolution.

Warp
	A speed of 10 equal to the speed of light e.g. warp 2 would be a speed of 20.



* Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd 1993	2

* Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd 1993


