Outpost Maasenstodt

Table of Contents

Minor Race Acquisition
Empire Diplomacy

Balance vs. Specificity
New Systems
System Modifiers

Special Structures
Morale Modifiers

Maneuvering
Successful Tactics
Ship Pairings
Experience Levels
Raid Modifier
Intercept Modifier
Damage Control Modifier
Defense Modifier

Usage
Signs of Intelligence Compromising

Cheats

Welcome to the Star Trek� Universe. This game encompasses all the various elements of the show that made it popular with only a few drawbacks. Diplomacy, alien technology, shipbuilding, and combat...combat...combat will eat up all of your free time. If you find yourself wandering the streets thinking of how to stifle the Federation into insignificance then you have played way too much! This FAQ is intended to help those people who have either never played a game of incredible micro-management or those who have and want a jump-start on the competition. In no way is the FAQ intended to take anything away or in association with Paramount�, Hasbro Interactive/Microprose�, or Brady Games� (they produced the strategy book). If I don't answer your question properly then by all means go buy the strategy guide. This may really sound stupid, but all the editing was done at 800x600 and would look best at this resolution.

To begin you must choose how hard the game is before you play. They are listed as Simple, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Impossible. Don't think that Normal isn't so difficult, because the enemy empires are a lot smarter than they are on even on easy, and their tactical combat is much better, too. Use the tutorials to learn your way around. You might find that the second time you play you won't make nearly that amount of mistakes that you did before, so don't be afraid to fail.

The size of your galaxy can mean a lot. They are Small, Medium, and Large. You have to own about 20 systems to win for a small galaxy. For a medium it takes about 40 systems. Just to give you an idea. There two ways to win the game. Either by Domination or Vendetta. Domination means you have to gain 75% of all systems throught treaties or conquest.  Vendetta means you have to destroy two of your most-hated rival empires. This may be different for each empire.  More minor races means more general power to all empires so beware.

One of the more underrated races in the Star Trek� continuum. The Cardassians are an efficient, xenophobic race. Their starships exemplify aquatic design and fluidity by being able to fire at any angle at any target. Their covert intelligence, due to the power of the Obsidian Order, is relentlessly strong. They prefer to rule with an iron fist and take no prisoners. They use guile and tact to win over allies and enemies alike. Their ship names imply death and power. They enjoy conquering and can control populations easier than any other. They don't mind breaking treaties with enemies either.

The Romulans have all the logic of their Vulcan cousins, but still have the strength and passion of the their ancient ancestors. They tend to keep to themselves, but have a hidden eye on everything anyone does. Their Tal Shiar is second only to the Cardassian's Obsidian Order, and have exceptional research capabilities. They choose to rule through quiet, persevering force. They are totalitarian and the population will support most anything the Praetor does. Their ship names imply stealth, grace, beauty, and avian life.

Fierce and ritualistic, the Klingons are proud and do not make friends easily. Their combat and weapons expertise are unrivaled in the quadrant. They fight with absolute authority and no challenge will go unheard. Their desired end is death in battle. They do not take any prisoners. Their ship names are really in Klingon, and most of the time they can guess the tactical maneuver the enemy is about to perform. They have no problem with any type of battle, but do not like to break treaties with formal allies.

Who said money can't buy everything. The Ferengi surely did not. They pride themselves on diplomacy through bribery. They forge trade routes to any system they choose. With the Rules of Acquisition in hand, a Ferengi can get whatever he needs. The Ferengi ships are not to be underestimated, but they have no real inspiration to fight other than money. Their ships have names implying money, greed, and the acquisition of wealth. They can raid a trade route easier than any other.

The UFP was formed to provide a sharing of thoughts and technology between willing races. Through this the success of the Federation was founded. Through diplomacy the Federation has gained resources and power far greater that other empires. Expansion is only found through diplomatic understanding.. Their ships are straight out of the TV shows and the movies. Go Defiant!!!

Each ship is listed in it's equivalent category. Some did not quite fit like the Ferengi Tokorn which the game considers to be a destroyer, but is built like a Heavy Cruiser with more speed. Most ships have an upgraded model except the Federation Defiant-Class Heavy Escort (It's so fast and powerful that it doesn't really need it). You can't buy Outposts or Starbases so an industrial build cost will not be figured and they don't move (They say both but they are useless statistics).

Name: Name of ship classification
Race: C = Cardassian, U = Federation, F = Ferengi, K = Klingon, R= Romulan
Shield: Amount of shield strength, can also be regenerated.
HP: Hit Points before ship is destroyed.
Spd: Galactic speed of ship, or number of sectors it can move per turn.
Range: How the ship is bounded. Boundary lines on the map show yellow for short, green for medium, and red for long.
Phasers: Number of phaser banks.
P. Pwr: Phaser power per bank.
Torp: Number of torpedo bays.
T.Pwr: Torpedo strength per bay.
I. Cost: Industrial cost which are the production points necessary to build it or the money to buy it.
Maint: Maintenance cost to upkeep the ship per turn. This is subtracted from the earned credits.

There are 30 minor races and each has a special structure that provides them with a bonus. These bonuses only become available to you when they are a member of your empire. Diplomacy is the best way to get them to join.  Force works sometimes unless you are the Federation.

Acamarians	Home System: Acamar
A clan society that has moderate scientific ability.
Acamarian Clan Hall: +100% Credits, +1 morale

Andorians	Home System: Andor
An antenna-clad, militaristic race that now wishes for peace.
Andorian War College: +25 Ship Experience

Angosians	Home System: Angosia
They have a history of conflict based on genetic warfare.
Super-Soldier Academy: +50% Ground Combat

Antedeans	Home System: Antede
Ichthyoid race that prefers not to travel in space.
Harvesting Complex: +100% food

Anticans	Home System: Antica
A mammalian race that hate the Selay.
Mustering Base: +50% Ground Defense

Bajorans	Home System: Bajor
Once a highly advanced society of religious mystics.
Bajoran Jolanda Forum: +1 morale empire-wide

Bandi	Home System: Deneb
A primitive race of great architects.
Architectural Center: +100% Construction Research

Benzites	Home System: Benzar
An advanced race that requires a breathing apparatus to travel.
Industrial Center: +50% Industry

Betazoids	Home System: Betazed
A peaceful race of telepaths.
Counseling Academy: +50% Security

Bolians	Home System: Bolarus
Blue-skinned humanoids with a facial ridge, they are masters of cosmetics.
Cosmetology Center: +50% Espionage Total

Bynars	Home System: Bynaus
They are a race linked by a central computer.
Planetary Computer: +100% Computer Research

Caldonians	Home System: Caldonia
Very tall humanoids with great research ability.
Research Think Tank: +25% Research empire-wide

Chalnoth	Home System: Chalna
A brutal warrior race to rival the Klingons.
Gladiatorial Arena: +100% Weapons Research

Edo	Home System: Rubicon
A primitive race that worships an interdimensional being living above their world.
Palace of Edo: +1 morale empire-wide

Ktarians	Home System: Ktaria
A cunning race the builds small electronics devices.
Ktarian Game Studio: +100% Computer Research

Malcorians	Home System: Malcor
Xenophobic race with near-warp capability.
Kinetics Laboratory: +100% Propulsion Research

Mintakans	Home System: Mintaka
A primitive cousin to the Vulcans.
Mintakan Farm: +100% Food

Mizarians	Home System: Mizar
A cowardly race that surrenders to any foe.
Monument of Surrender: +5 morale

Nausicaans	Home System: Nausicaa
A prideful and strong society that have a disdain for cowardice.
Recruitment Center, +40% Ground Combat

Pakleds	Home System: Pakled
They gain all their technology by stealing it from other races.
Collection Facility: +100 Research

Selay	Home System: Selay
A reptilian race that hates the Anticans.
Selay Mustering Base: +50% Ground Defense

Shelliac	Home System: Shellia
A stone-like, xenophobic, non-humanoid race.
Shelliac Bioengineering Center: +100% Biotech Research

Takarans	Home System: Takara
They are great scientists with a no centralized internal organs.
Physics Institute: +100% Energy Research

Talarians	Home System: Talar
A war-like race that seems similar to Klingons.
Defense Network: +100% Ground Defense

Tamarians	Home System: Tama
An advanced warrior race that speaks in metaphors.
Mythological Library: +300 Research

Trill	Home System: Trill
A symbiotic race with knowledge and wisdom.
Research Committee: +30% Research empire-wide

Ullians	Home System: Ullia
A race of powerful telepaths.
Psychohistorical Archive: +25% Intelligence

Vulcans	Home System: Vulcan
The highly logical race that made first contact with Earth.
Vulcan Science Academy: +35% Research empire wide

Yridians	Home System: Yridia
A cousin to the Ferengi, they deal in espionage.
Intelligence Service: +40% Espionage Total

Zakdorn	Home System: Zakdorn
Arrogant tactical geniuses.
Military Academy: +100 Ship Experience

Even if you believe you are a warlord don't disregard this section! Diplomacy is the easiest part of the game.   Some empires being better at it than others. The functions of this can be paying a bribe to keep the peace, to quelling a warring state with a non-aggression treaty. Best to worst: Federation, Romulan, Ferengi, Cardassian, and Klingon. This is mainly due to the types of statements that each empire makes. The effect of many treaties will be due to the choice of words, territorial disputes, and amount of money that goes along with it. A thing to remember is that these galactic empires do not necessarily follow the Star Trek� cannon.  An example is that the Federation sometimes requests a bribe.

To begin, there are eight types of treaties that can be made. They are Friendship, Request, Gift, Affiliation, War Pact, Membership, Declare War, and Alliance (Empire only).  The key is not to make enemies too quickly. You do need friends in this game in order to win. First they allow you to trade and make more money.  You do not have to fight all four empires just to survive. Here are some generalizations that can be made about each empire:

Friendship: The empire or minor race should be at Neutral or higher and this will allow you to trade with them.
Request: Bribe or ask for a tribute.
Gift: Giving money for a good cause.
Affiliation: After being friends with an empire or minor race you can ask to move freely through their space. Must be at Cordial or higher.
War Pact: Ask another empire to declare war on another.
Membership: This is only for minor races. You can ask them to become part of you empire and control their system.
Declare War: It's not really a treaty, but you get the idea. You can declare war on both another empire or minor race.
Alliance: This is the ultimate treaty between empires and one type of goal in the game.

The Federation has a wide variety of message choices and their's are generally more cordial. Most minor races practically throw themselves at the Federation. Warning: Do not make enemies of the Federation early in the game unless you seek a large scale war. If you want to stay on the good side of the Federation, do not perform plantery assaults and succumb to their requests.

The Romulans are logical and show that with their words, which are generally neutral in their intent. Though they are kind of arrogant, many races will be enemies with Romulans from the start.   So if you want friends as the Romulans you will have to pay. To stay on the good side of the Romulans do not enter their territory.

The Ferengi, though respectful, often show their single-minded desire for trade and acquisition of wealth in their words. Some minor races truly hate the Ferengi and other do not mind. They do acquire money quicker than others and can simply bribe minor races and other into submission. If you want to stay on the good side of the Ferengi you must accept their requests.

Cardassian always have an underlying want to show superiority to their neighbors.  Some races will outright hate them upon meeting them. You can't really stay on the good side of the Cardassians because they will betray you when they feel it necessary.

Klingons are honorable, have a decided lack of friendliness, and there is usually a forcefulness in their words. They do seem to like the Federation and will probably ally after initiallly fighting each other. To stay on the good side of the Klingons ally yourself with them in battle.

To get a minor race inside your empire is a slow process unless you have tons of money. It is important that the right words are chosen. Not that this is too difficult considering there are three to four ways to say something.  Understanding this will make your money do the best job at softening them up to you as possible.  Always read or listen to the Race Info when you have first contact with a minor race. Most minor races are either highly scientific, primitive, or very warrior-like.  Appeal to this nature.

The scientific races want kindness and truth in their diplomacy while warrior races want it sweet and to the point. Primitive races have a little more tolerance, but generally they like kindness. Mizarians are the only ones that truly don't care.  Mizarians will offer membership as soon as you meet them.  Once you figure out the right words just keep using them when you make a treaty. The following list may help. Some races don't quite fit:

Warrior Races: Acamarians, Andorians, Angosians, Anticans, Chalnoth, Nausicaans, Selay, Talarians.
Scientific Races: Antedeans, Bajorans, Benzites, Betazoids, Bolians, Bynars, Caldonians, Ktarians, Malcorians, Mizarians, Shelliac, Takarans,Tamarians, Trill, Ullians, Vulcans, Yridians, Zakdorn.
Primitive Races: Bandi, Edo, Mintakans, Pakleds.

The second step is to gain their confidence. There are three levels of friendship treaty with a minor race. Each is only really usable if the race feels positive about you. This list shows when to ask for a treaty from a minor race.

Neutral/Receptive - Friendship Treaty
Cordial/Enthusiastic - Affiliation Treaty
Enthusiastic/Worshipful - Membership.

The only way to get them through diplomacy is to work on each treaty and acquire more of their respect.  Setting up a trade route will increase the positive feeling between the minor race and your empire.  Remember that minor races that are already affiliated with another empire can not be bought without a hefty bribe.  Even afterwards you may have to make more treaties in order to acquire them.  After a friendship treaty is made, trading with the minor race will better their feelings toward your empire. If it does not, it means that another empire is undermining you efforts with the minor race.

Empire Diplomacy

Way back there at the top where the empires are listed is information about what conditions your empire will break a treaty.  Some empires you will have to endear yourself to them.  Other simply watch what you do and say to others. Do not force treaties down their throats too often because they tend to become ignored.  Sooner or later treaties have to be made to make money. Many times a War Pact can solidify bonds, but watch the political situation so that you do not make an enemy out of a friend. The game can be won through peace with any of the empires.

Neutral - Non-Agression Treaty
Receptive - Friendship
Cordial/Enthusiastic - Friendship/Affiliation
Worshipful - Alliance

You have to be a fan of micro-management to win this game.  At times it is completely overwhelming. If this happens just stop playing and come up with a plan.  Each system has the ability to provide food, industry, energy, intelligence, and research.  Only intelligence and research are used as an empire-wide statistic.

Balance vs. Specificity

There are several ways to look at systems, either balanced or specific. Each can work, but you must always put everyone to work as soon as possible. In the beginning this will not matter, but to defeat you enemies you wil have to a strategy. Upgraded structures require fewer people to run them, yet achieve a higher level of output.  This is most evident with food production. This frees up labor so that it can be put into the other functioning areas. It would be wise to put this in industry, intelligence, or research.

Something I really recommend is building many construction facilities (i.e. Fabricators,Machining Guilds, etc). As many as 30 depending on the size of the system.   Once you are done upgrading you can enjoy profits from trade.

A balanced system strategy requires that all systems effectively operate the same regardless of the population. If a system has 95 million people just think of it as a microcosm to that giant 400 million people system. The positive is that if any one system is lost or is in the process of upgrading, then the others do not suffer as much. This is a major consideration for construction. The negative is that they require upgrade for every system. This can be time-consuming and a real headache. It is important to provide the two necessities to use this strategy which are food and production. Building upgrades and structures will be less of a hassle if the production level of the system is high.

A specific system strategy says that each system has a vital role like intelligence, shipbuilding, or research. Since food nor energy is distributed between systems no solar system can just produce food or energy. This requires much planning that may require you to actually write down the plan for each system (Whoa, paper use in a video game?). If you find a better way then use it, but 20 systems under your control is time-consuming. I have tried both strategies and they both work fine. You will find that there are certain hindrances when trying to move things quickly with this strategy. If there is a lack of industry in the system to provide for newer structures many will have to bought. (But you could always overbuild construction facilities...) Systems should be broken down into three classes: Shipbuilding, Intelligence, and Research. Small systems should never be a Shipbuilding system, while the home planet should always be a shipbuilding planet. Any system with Dilithium should be a shipbuilding system.

This is a tricky business. It is vital that for the best growth all planets are terraformed before colonization occurs. It is useless to send multiple colony ships to one system every time you want to expand, except to terraform quickly.

The growth per turn percentage is available for the system before anyone is there. This factors into how many new people you have after a one turn. Small systems will definitely have a problem here. To figure out how many new people you have next turn:

A system with a Class M planet will always grow the fastest.  If a system has more than 2.0% growth then structures will have to be constructed way ahead of time, while those under 1.0% growth have time to grow. The build list can be put to automatic so that necessary structures are made when they are need, but the automation seems to be rather dumb. Usually this doesn't work well for a brand new colony because nothing can be produced very quickly (who needs 100 turns to make a farm). Most of the time, the equipment and upgrades will have to be bought for a new colony. Save money for this if you plan galactic conquest. If there is a Class J or Class P planet then you can have Wind Turbines and Charge Collectors, respectively. This means a lot if you want Subatomic Simulators. Food and industry are an early priority. If the new system is to become strong then it must be able to produce its own equipment. Overproduction of food will cause the population to grow more quickly.

System Modifiers

There are eight types of planets one can find in a system, with one type being uninhabitable. Some can increase food production or energy production. Most will have to be terraformed except for a Class M planet. Each can hold a certain amount of people and have a growth rate dependent on the type of world, though the game does randomize this heavily. Depending on how close to the star the modifier can vary. These modifiers are additive and with several in a system can increase to over 100% of the initial value.

Structures

All races have the Aquaculture Center and basic or advanced replicators. They have some kind of general science enhancement which is either a Theoretical Simulator (+100 Research) or a Subatomic Simulator (+150 Research). Finally the scanners of each have two upgrades with the Cardassians getting the best in a Covert Sensor Array (+6 Scan Range), all other get Isolinear Scanners (+4 Scan Range). Orbital Batteries, Bunker Networks, and Planetary Shields exist for all races with no differences.

Inquisition: +10 morale
Labor Camp: +25 industry, -1 morale
Re-education Center: +2 morale
Phoenix Facility: +100 Intelligence
Forced Labor Farms: +60 food, -1 morale
Obsidian Order: +30% Espionage and Sabotage, +1 morale
Central Command: +40 ship Experience, +1 morale
Theoretical Simulator: +100 Research
Covert Sensor Array: +6 Scan Range
Basic Replicators: +30 Food

Genesis Research Lab: +100% Biotech Research, +1 morale
Daystrom Institute: +100 Computer Research, +1 morale
Martial Law: +7 morale
Trade Center: +50% Credits
Federation Council: +1 morale empire-wide
Private Farms: +20 food, +1 morale
Utopia Planitia: +200 shipbuilding, build special ships, +1 morale
Starfleet Academy: +50 Ship Experience, +1 morale
Subatomic Simulator: +150 Research
Isolinear Scanner: +4 Scan Range
Federation Replicator: +50 Food

Astrophysics Academy: +100% Energy Research, +1 morale
Tribunal: +9 morale
Imperial Senate: +1 morale empire-wide
Phoenix Facility: +100 Intelligence
Tal Shiar: +25% General Intelligence, +1 morale
Organic Regenerators: +50% food
Singularity Plant: +2 Dilithium
Naval Academy: +35 Ship Experience, +1 morale
Subatomic Simulator: +150 Research
Isolinear Scanner: +6 Scan Range
Advance Replicator: +50 Food

Combat Testing Center: +100% Weapon Research, +1 morale
Police State: +9 morale
Mining Prison: +1 Dilithium, -1 morale
Great Hall: +1 morale empire wide
Forced Labor Farms: +60 food, -1 morale
Tactical College: +45 Ship Experience, +1 morale
Hall of Warriors: +100% Ground Combat, +1 morale
Theoretical Simulators: +100 Research
Isolinear Scanner: +4 Scan Range
Basic Replicator: +30 Food

Festival of Fun: +8 morale
Franchise Office: +5 trade routes, +1 morale
Trade Center: +50% credits
Holo-Cinema: +1 morale
Fantasy Land: +1 morale empire-wide
Private Farms: +20 food, +1 morale
Tower of Commerce: +50% income on trade routes, +1 morale
Commerce Authority: +25% economic intelligence, +1 morale
Theoretical Simulator: +100 Research
Isolinear Scanner: +4 Scan Range
Advanced Replicator: +40 Food

Morale Modifiers

Each time a governmental action takes place, either a new treaty or winning or losing a battle, the morale of each system is changed. The home system tends to change the most. The morale figures into the amount of industry by increasing it or lowering it by the amount of change to the general morale of the system. So 105 morale points means +5% Industry to that system. The same goes for lowering it so that 75 morale points means -25% Industry. All empires start out with a morale of Content at 100 points.

Actions that change morale are often different for each race. Cardassian like to acquire resources.  Klingons love to fight, while the Federation does not. Romulans can hold a grudge, and Ferengi see potential investments in the form of allies and treaties allowing them access to a market.

Win Battle: (+4 Romulan)
Lose Battle: (+4 Romulan)
Conquer Enemy System:
Planetary Bombardment:
System Raid:
Declare War:

The most important part of winning is the choice of maneuver based on the enemy you are facing.  Many start with a full frontal assault that you may or may not survive.  The tactic you choose can mean the difference between wiping you enemies off the face of the sector or just flying around like an Ensign. A Cardassian Heavy Cruiser in the right hands can take out four Galaxy Class Command Cruisers in two or three volleys.  A Starbase can wipe out an entire invasion fleet.

To really test out the variety of moves, you should wait until a Destroyer Class ship or better can be built. Wait for a battle, even if you are likely to lose, and test them out.  Be sure to save so that you can come back and retry.  You will be surprised at how some moves work out even if they shouldn't.  You can also change the view around with the arrow keys or using the interface with the mouse. A buggy part about the game is no native 3D support and sometimes you don't see the battle in the way you want to even if you change the view.

Charge: Torpedoes and Phasers attack at close range and continue to stay near the target.
Assault: Phasers and Torpedoes at long range while stay a medium distance from the target.
Strafe: A pass across the side of an enemy ship firing at close range.
Flyby: Same as strafe but for larger ships.
Circle: Good for multiple ships, they go in for attack, then flee while still firing at long range.
Harry: Same as circle, but at short range.
Ram: This is used for last ditch effort and doesn't necessarily destroy the ship.
Retreat: Overwhelmed or a friendly ship, the just run away. You can still be killed while attempting this, though you have officially lost the battle.
Evade: Use this if you have a chance of regrouping and defeating you enemy. Remember that groups of ships have a better chance of survival if they evade individually.

1. Most ships have the full set of tactics available to them, but the Colony ship and Troop Transport have vastly limited abilities.  This is not true for the Klingons because they are armed.
2. Command Cruisers always enhance the battle situation for the smaller ships and Heavy Cruisers by provide better targeting and movement. It can also be the one thing that helps win a battle.  Offensively, the smaller ship can harass larger targets for more damage. Defensively, destroying the enemy Command Cruiser tends to disrupt the attack of your enemy. Sometimes if the enemy Command Cruiser is under attack the others will scatter.
3. Another tactic is to give all ships as much experience as possible.  Crews ranked "Green" are no match for a "Legendary" Crew. Acquire a race like the Zakdorn or Andorians if you want to improve their level quickly.
4. All maneuvers have their value and must be practiced to understand their tactical usage.  Read the description during battle to know what attacks counter each other.  An example is using a circle attack to get  behind a group of K'T'Inga destroyers.  Then charging behind them.  K'T'Inga have few anterior defenses.
5. Slower units and injured units can still be useful. Don't be a wimp.  If you expect to lose a ship at least let its destruction be useful to the rest of the fleet.  Ships phaser and torpedo strength never decrease.
6. If evasion is necessary, then split up units to give them a greater chance of survival. It is hard for an enemy to target multiple ship going in opposite directions.  A Nebula-class or Ooron-class strike cruiser usually will target one or two ships to fire all of there torpedos.
7. Klingon and Federation ships have poor aft defenses so use it to your advantage.
8. All Romulan ships should cloak before an offensive attack or the surprise will be lost. It only takes one to prevent this.
9. Cardassian ships should rely on the fact that they can fire at any angle, so evasion is not as bad.
10. Ferengi ships are great in group attacks, and their shields recover very fast.
11. When attacking a system, try to have one Command Cruiser for every orbital battery in the system.  This will insure that there are fewer casualtiles on your side.

• 2 or more Heavy Cruisers have a high offensive capability, but can not substitute for a Command Cruiser.
• 5 Destroyers provide for a system raid at 100% or more, even with no experience.  Use this to bankrupt you enemies.
• Colony Ships and Troop Transports should be escorted to their destination system when in war.
• 1 Command Cruiser plus any ship enhances present situation.
• Outposts and Starbase should have a defending ship in the sector to take out long range attackers. To defeat cloaked ships, simply outnumber enemy and hope you win.
  

All abilities increase as their experience does, which leaves fewer vulnerabilities. Even raiding destroyers vastly improve by about 5% percent per experience level.  Each ship has a defense number and a damage control percentage. Klingon ships have very high defense numbers, while Ferengi have relatively low which also increase with battle experience. All races have structures that help increase the initial ability of the crew to Regular level and make their training is easier.

Green	Regular	Veteran	Elite	Legendary
0 - 699	700 - 1999	2000 - 4999	5000 - 7999	8000+

The farther out you are from the sector from which the trade route originates, the harder it is to have a successful raid. Larger ships can raid, but with very poor results. Destroyers are the best for this. Grouping ships together enhances the percentage. The percentages below stand for general rankings.

Intercept Modifier

To intercept enemy ships you must have ships with at least medium range capability and still be in a sector that you control. The faster the ship the greater range it can intercept in a single turn. Destroyers are best for this. Grouping ships together enhances the percentage. The percentages below stand for general rankings.  The most powerful interceptor is the Federation Defiant-class Heavy Escort.  Go Defiant!!!

Damage Control Modifier

All ships begin with no damage control and all ships gain it by the same amount.

Green: 0%
Regular: -10%
Veteran: -25%
Elite: -40%
Legendary: -75%

Every ship begins with a base modifier. The larger the ship the lower the defense modifier. This helps during all combat.

Name: Name of ship classification
Race: C = Cardassian, U = Federation, F = Ferengi, K = Klingon, R = Romulan
Raid: Initial percentage that trade route will be raided.
+Raid: Increase per level of raid percentage.
Intercept: Initial percentage that a invading ship will be intercepted by specific ship.
+Intercept: Increase per level of intercept percentage.
Defense: Initial ship defense modifier for each level of experience. All ships gain five defense points per level.
An "*" after a number indicates that once this number is reached it does not increase afterwards.

 

Research is measured in teraquads, which you have probably heard all over Star Trek: The Next Generation�. Each research point seems to represent one teraquad of information, and are divided to a percent for each subject.

The Research is broken into six basic categories: Biotech, Energy, Computer, Propulsion, Construction, and Weapons. They initially start at 16 or 17% and can be changed on the fly. There are 10 levels of each research subject. The player always starts with level 1 research in all fields and after level 10 everything is referred to as Future Energy 1 or Future Construction 2. A technology bonus is added for each level about 10.  For Energy production this translates into +2% increase per level.

Biotech helps with food. Energy supports ship properties, ship upgrades, and planetary power. Computer affects the intelligence and research upgrades. Propulsion supports ship properties and new ship design. Construction only affects the production of items and is a basic model for how sophisticated the civilization of that system is. Weapons allows for ship upgrades.

Some areas are easier to research than others. The following is a list of the areas with their maximum research value and the approximate percentage to keep them in balance. This should cause all the areas to reach their new level at the same time.

Energy - 70000 (11%)
Biotech - 81700 (14%)
Computer - 93400 (16%)
Propulsion - 105100 (18%)
Construction - 116800 (20%)
Weapons - 128500 (21%)

If you want to know how long it will take you to get to a specific level use the equation below. Remember that all info on research points per subject and the amount to get to certain level are inside the game under "Tech Level Database".

          U-L                 T = Turns
T = -------------------       U = Upper level research points
    [RP + (RP * RM)]*TR       L = Lower level research points
                             RP = Research percentage in subject
                             RM = Research modifier percentage in subject
                             TR = Total research points

Intelligence is a nifty thing, even for the Ferengi. There is a balance between internal and external intelligence. Using too much external can make it obvious that you are spying.   Looking for a way in to another empires society can weaken you severely if you get caught defenseless. You have: Internal Security, Espionage, Sabotage, General, Economy, Science, and Military.  As the overall intelligence value becomes larger, incidents will occur more frequently and with more drastic consequences.

The Romulan Tal Shiar and the Cardassian Obsidian Order are the most powerful intelligence organizations the game. They have the strongest espionage and sabotage and can use mercenaries. Federation intelligence is mainly for internal security purposes and has little power for external affairs. Ferengi Intelligence regularly can obtain data from every empire. Klingon Intelligence is general in all categories and is much like the Federation. Unlike the manual, espionage and sabotage need only a few percentage points to be effective. Consider that 5% - 10% is the max for any category. The categories for espionage and sabotage against another empire is broken down into General, Economic, Science, and Military. Don't spread you external intelligence to thin or you risk having everything listed below done to your empire.

Espionage: Obtain empire data and current levels of technology.
Sabotage: Destroy buildings, steal starships, assassination attempts, data theft, poisonings, destroy starships, cause rioting, steal credits, destroy credits.

Intelligence can be compromised in many ways. Sometimes they look like the agents screwed up or that someone simply died in an accident. Most likely these are signs that your security has holes in it. The most obvious is if your buildings start to be destroyed or another empire tells you of the spying.

To solve espionage or sabotage failures, one must stop for a few turns and return the points to the internal security meter. Then increase the overall amount of intelligence.  Espionage is not as serious as sabotage. Sabotage can make even the most friendly empire declare war on you so watch out.  To solve slow intelligence from a specific subject just switch for a while. It is hard to compromise certain races different elements. Ferengi have stronger economic security and Klingons have strong military security, but that doesn't mean that it can't be compromised.

Many of the events that seem to occur are just passing ships in the night.  Some encounters attack unprovoked or just like to wander around. Most are worth a lot of experience. As much as 7000 experience points in one attack. Some just keep coming back like the Crystalline Entity.

Borg Cube - Deadliest encounter that can happen. They can kill more than 120 million people in a single strike to a planet. Planetary Shields and Orbital Batteries are ineffective. Only a fleet of Cruisers or larger ships can defeat one. It must be killed in quickly. It once took 9 Heavy Cruisers to destroy it in one attack and only 4 survived with heavy damage. This was on the Easys etting.  Evading, Ramming, Flyby, Strafe, Harry, and Circle will do little good. Charging is the most effective way of killing it.
Shields: 6100, HP: 735.

Calamarain - Gaseous lifeform that lurks for waiting ships.
Shields: 1100, HP: 185.

Chodak Dreadnought - Huge Starship that roams around for no reason. Will not fire unless provoked and sometimes even if provoked.
Shields: 1000, HP: 195.

Combat Drone - It doesn't come back once you kill it, so don't fret about fighting it again.
Shields: 550, HP: 80.

Crystalline Entity - Not the worst after a while. Its graviton beams can only do around 800 points of damage.  It has difficulty attacking starbases.  They can wipe out an entire system.
Shields: 300, HP: 1030.

Edo Guardian - Not that this is really much of an enemy. It just stays in the Edo system and does nothing if provoked. It is more powerful than a Borg Cube so just stay away.
Shields: 6350, HP: 1035.

Gomtuu - A lonely, suicidal sentient starship that just is looking for a place to die. If you leave it alone it will go on its way or stick around doing nothing, but if you attack it will do a 360 move killing or heavily damaging most of your ships after you have depleted it's shields. Not really worth the attack.  It may also ally itself with you in battle.
Shields: 300, HP: 1530.

Husnock Raider - Horrible ship from an extinct race that can kills anything it comes across. Doesn't actually look like the Husnock ship from the show.
Shields: 650, HP: 140.

Tarrellian Ship - One of the worst and the easiest to get rid of. Their ship has no weapons, so if you happen upon it just kill them fast for experience points. Their ships can move fast, something like three sectors per turn. There is more than one so watch out for multiple. They tend to kill more than 30 million people per turn and can destroy your home system in a matter of minutes. Shields and Orbital Batteries do nothing to them.
Shields: 600, HP: 130.

There is a screen saver in the game. You can see many of the ships in the game in high detail. It is only active inside the game and it generally takes 10-20 minutes to activate. A common question is how to speed up the game. One thing I have found is to turn of the system names in each screen and disable the tooltips.  Turning off the autosave feature will help too.

Cheats:

• You must open up a DOS terminal window. To do this, click "Run" on the start menu in the lower left hand corner.  This works for all versions of Microsoft Windows� after 95.
• Type this: Command
• Change to the directory in which the game is installed. This is usually "C:/BOTF". You will probably start in "C:\WINDOWS\DESKTOP". To move down a directory type "CD" and the name of the directory. To move up a directory type "CD.." So to get to the BOTF game directory type "CD C:\BOTF"
• Once you are in the install directory, type: "TREK.EXE -MUDD".
• Hitting the F9 button will increase your money by 10000 credits.
• Hitting the F10 button will increase you research.
• Hitting the F11 button will make the scan strength 65000 in all sectors.

More HTML conversion and some additions.

This isn't really new, it's been converted to HTML.

Everything! Not really. Just a few things including cheats.

Morale modifiers
System modifier
empire diplomacy

Added shield and HP info for random events.
Incorrectly named home systems fixed.
The Ferengi troop transport is called Tomax, but is really Glantor.
The Romulan troop transport is called D'retex, but is really R'daran.

Minor spelling errors.
More Empire info including home system, treaty breaking and conquest. Damage Control, Defense, Raid, and Intercept modifier for every ship.