/// Colonisation II : Interstellar War \\\
Special Return Update Edition!
1. Tutorial
This tutorial is designed to teach new players how to play. If you've played Colonisation you should skip right on to part 2.
1.1 The Eagle has landed
When you start, you should see your ship (an Eagle Trader), the Earth and the edge of Jupiter.
Now, as you can see, it's not quite to scale, but what on BYOND ever is?
First, head over to Earth. This is the home planet of the Galactic Federation.
Bump into it once and answer yes on the alert box.
The planet toolbar will appear. Click the bottom button (mines).
Click the button which appears.
Click yes on the following alert box.
Choose 6 tons.
Easy enough? Thought so.
What you just did was collect 6 tons of minerals from the planet Earth.
What do you do with that? Sell it!
1.2 Show me the money!
Now, head North-east from your position, up to the planet Jupiter (you may have heard of it before).
This planet is owned by the Jupiter Mining Corporation (ever seen Red Dwarf?)
When you land you'll only see 3 icons in the toolbar. This is because you can't mine things from Jupiter.
Click on the bottom star-port (sell cargo) button.
Click 'yes'.
Now your six tons of minerals are gone and you've gained $600.
1.3 Shopping Trip
You now have $5600. Time to spend it on items.
Head north of Jupiter to the planet of Eks.
This planet is owned by the Mutang Raiders (though the Federation don't like to admit it).
The Mutang are space pirates. They specialise in fighting ships.
However tempted you might be to grab a fighter, don't yet. Your money is better spent on some defence for yourself. Land on Eks and click the market button (the $).
5 icons should pop up. Click the weapon button (2nd from right)
Click on the 'Laser' button.
Now check your ship stats.
Want to test it out safely? Find a floating asteroid.
Open the 'Fire' tab and click 'lasers'.
Boom goes the asteroid. Success!
1.4 Drilling for oil
Obviously the asteroids are there for something a little more than target practice. Who wants to mine?
First, get your cash back up to $5000. One trip should suffice.
Once you have your money, head back to Jupiter and open up the market. Then click ships (It looks like your ship).
Then click 'Mining Boat'.
Yippie. You icon and stats should have changed. Notice that you have a mining laser.
Also, your relationship with Jupiter Mining has increased slightly. Find another asteroid. This time, fire a mining laser at it.
Notice how it drops a blue box when destroyed. This is the cargo icon.
Fly next to it and click the collect button under the collect tab.
Now check your cargo hold. Some resources have been added to your ship.
These resources are randomly added each time you collect the debris from an asteroid.
1.5 Colonisation
Do you want a planet? I bet you do! Well, do you want me to tell you how? Ok then...
First, find an unoccupied planet. Attempt to land on it and answer 'Yes' to the alert box that pops up.
Next, you need to name your planet. Fill in the box and click OK.
Now, you must choose which faction you wish to claim the planet for.
This dictates what weapons and ships the planet sells.
It also increases your relationship with the corresponding faction.
Any of them are ok for the moment.
Now, land on the planet again. You only have one button at the moment. Click it.
Now you can see the many options that are open to you in building your planet.
That's about all I can say about colonising planets other than watch out for enemy takeovers!
1.6 Making your way in the universe
Well, that's about all I can tell you for now. There are many ways to make money in the universe:
Trading (Best Faction - Zhandri Corp.)
Mining (Best Faction - Jupiter Mining)
Pirating (Best Faction - Mutang Raiders)
and lots more (trading with other players, etc)
2. Ship Database
2.1 Original Ships
Eagle Trader
Ah, the humble Eagle Trader. The workhorse of the Galactic Federation.
Nothing special and it starts with only 1 torpedo, but is nonetheless capable of holding more weapons and trading amongst the stars.
c1000 - 0/2 lasers - 1/2 torpedoes - 6 tons of cargo - 20 armour
Avaliable from :- Galactic Federation, Zhandri Corp, Mutang Raider and Jupiter Mining markets
Hawk Fighter Mk II
An upgrade of the original (duh), this ship is capable of taking down most trading ships without a fuss.
c5000 - 4/4 lasers - 4/4 torpedoes - 4 tons of cargo - 60 armour
Avaliable from :- Galactic Federation and Mutang Raider markets
Kestrel Freighter
The average trading ship. Armed to withstand light attacks and twice the cargo space of an Eagle Trader.
c5000 - 2/2 lasers - 0/4 torpedoes - 12 tons of cargo - 60 armour
Avaliable from :- Galactic Federation and Zhandri Corp markets
Falcon Cruiser Mk II
A powerful ship, armed to the teeth (for a trading ship) and a good amount of cargo space. A great all-round ship.
c10000 - 6/8 lasers - 2/12 torpedoes - 10 tons of cargo - 80 armour
Avaliable from :- Galactic Federation markets
Naval Carrier
This giant ship has only recently begun production for sale to the public.
If costs a fortune and destroys ships of any price. Even better, it can hold up to 20 tons of cargo (soldiers not included).
c15000 - 6/10 lasers - 12/12 torpedoes - 20 tons of cargo - 120 armour
Avaliable from :- Galactic Federation markets (or at least those with connections to the military *cough*)
Mutang Raider
Very dangerous. Designed for fighting, this ship was adopted and re-named by the Mutang Raiders after the war began.
c10000 - 8/8 lasers - 8/8 torpedoes - 8 tons of cargo - 80 armour
Avaliable from :- Mutang Raider (ie. black) markets
Zhandri Tug
Giant hold and a lot of armour too. Expensive, but it soon makes up for it's cost.
c10000 - 4/4 lasers - 0/0 torpedoes - 20 tons of cargo - 100 armour
Avaliable from :- Zhandri Corp markets
Mining Boat
This is one of the few ships that can be fitted with a mining laser and it's also the cheapest.
c5000 - 1/2 lasers - 2/2 torpedoes - 10 tons of cargo - 40 armour - Mining laser
Avaliable from :- Jupiter Mining markets
Mining Frigate
Fitted with a mining laser and armoured comfort as standard. Able to outfight even a Hawk Fighter.
c10000 - 4/4 lasers - 4/4 torpedoes - 15 tons of cargo - 80 armour - Mining laser
Avaliable from :- Jupiter Mining markets
Alien Fighter
An organic fighter with a solid cockpit for human use. Looks weedy but packs a few lasers. Don't expect much for c1000.
c1000 - 3/3 lasers - 2/2 torpedoes - 2 tons of cargo - 40 armour
Avaliable from :- Alien markets
Alien Barge
The standard alien fighter of the Federation war. As powerful as a mining frigate for half the price.
c5000 - 4/4 lasers - 4/4 torpedoes - 12 tons of cargo - 80 armour
Avaliable from :- Alien markets
Alien Warship
Only recently identified by Federation troops, this giant is more than a match for most federal ships.
c10000 - 6/8 lasers - 6/8 torpedoes - 12 tons of cargo - 120 armour
Avaliable from :- Alien markets
Federal Police Ship
A ship owned by the police of the federation. A Federal Police Ship. Obvious really.
You can't buy it but you may see a few flying about. If you get on the wrong side of the Federation they'll attack you.
N/A - 4/4 lasers - 0/0 torpedoes - 6 tons of cargo - 80 armour
Avaliable from :- N/A
Thunder Fighter
Available at a shipyard near YOU! Give it orders and then watch it carry them out!
c2000 - 2/2 lasers - 0/0 torpedoes - Unmanned - 40 armour
Avaliable from :- Shipyards (Passport only)
2.2 Special Return Update Ships
Itrox Trader
An well-armoured trader for those who like a bit of a punch behind their cargo.
c7500 - 2/4 lasers - 4/4 torpedoes - 15 tons of cargo - 40 armour
Avaliable from :- Independent markets
Trex Explorer
"Like exploring the galaxy? On a tight budget? This nifty ship will get you there". - Trex advertising quote.
Cheap, lightly armed but can be equipped with a mining laser. Just don't get into any fights!
c2000 - 1/2 lasers - 0/0 torpedoes - 3 tons of cargo - 30 armour
Avaliable from :- Independent markets
Lightning Fighter
This little ship is basically a small laser platform. Albeit a very tough laser platform.
c5000 - 4/4 lasers - 0/0 torpedoes - Unmanned - 60 armour
Avaliable from :- Shipyards (Passport only)
Unmanned Mining Vessel
A good alternative to the overpriced Jupiter Mining ships.
The U.M.V © seeks out close by asteroids and destroys them with minimal effort.
c3000 - 0/0 lasers - 0/0 torpedoes - Unmanned - 20 armour - Mining laser
Avaliable from :- Shipyards (Passport only)
3. Advanced Guide
3.1 Inter-ship Trading
Ever been really deep into the galaxy and thought
"Damn, I need 10 more plutonium to buy that bomb but I'm nowhere a plutonium mine."
No? Well here's what you do just in-case:
Flag down a passing ship. Fly next to it and convince it to trade it's goods.
Go through the process and voila! They get the money and you get the goods!
3.2 Pirating
Now before we begin let me get this clear:
You won't make any friends.
Pirate work is the most dangerous, ruthless and annoying act you can honestly attempt.
The general gist of it involves destroying innocent traders and stealing their money.
Sound bad? It is:
1) The Federation REALLY don't like you blowing people up
2) The trader might have some defences of their own.
3) The trader might have an empty hold!
4) The trader may attack you later on.
So think before you shoot. It's never a clever idea. If you feel you have to, try hiding in a nebula or something equally sly.
But trust me, it ain't worth it.
3.3 Fighters (Passport only)
So far you will find two classes of fighters:
Attack fighters, designed for protection and pirating
The U.M.V. Unmanned Mining Vessel.
Both are controlled in much the same way. There are three essential verbs (all under the 'Fighter' tab):
a) Dock - This docks the fighter with your ship and places it in your hold.
b) Follow - Orders the ship to follow you.
c) Deploy - The opposite of dock. Send the fighter out into the big wide, um... vacuum.
Attack Fighters have another command:
d) Attack - Attacks the specified ship if it is within range.
The U.M.V also has a special verb:
e) Mine - Searches for nearby asteroids and blows them up!
3.4 Attacking a planet
There are two ways of attacking a planet. Both require special items.
1) Troops
Troops are the easiest way to steal a planet.
Assuming the planet is undefended, they have a 2/3 chance of taking the planets.
If it's defended, the job becomes a bit tougher. A 1/3 chance of conquering the planet is enforced.
Of course, this gives you complete control over all the structures on the planet.
2) Nukes
This is another passport benefit. Although I use the term 'nukes' - one of these planet nukes will wipe a civilisation clean.
Easy to use. Just click the nuke verb when you're next to a planet and watch all it's buildings and other contents explode.
3.5 Flying between galaxies
Galaxies tend to be pretty hard to get to.
The only way is through a natural wormhole.
In the starting galaxy this is situated in the most annoying place possible.
West of a black hole. So... lets talk about both at once.
Wormholes (you better be taking notice of this) are ways of getting from one galaxy to another. So far only 2 have been found.
1 in and 1 out. But it won't be long before some trader stubbles across a third galaxy and then another... etc.
A wormhole looks sort of like the one here:
Now you may think, "That's a little colourful." It's a collapsed gas giant. Jupiter and Saturn are colourful, right?
Don't ask me how it collapsed like that, I'm not a Zhandri science boffin... anyway....
Just fly into it and you'll enter a new world of planets and lots and lots of asteroids. As well as the odd mining boat.
From Earth you can get to it by heading north east (by the definition of north east in the Galactic Map - Fed Standard 1902-34-533).
Head a little bit farther east and you'll meet a black hole.
A black hole is an ex-star. That star was extremely dense and formed a neutron star powerful enough to suck in light.
Nobody has ever seen it, but some people believe it is a huge black patch with a big, long white thing in the middle.
The point is, stray into the big black patch and you won't get back out.
Somebody claims to have done it, but his names John so that's probably fake too.
9.9 Prologue?
Now you may be thinking, why is this manual online and not packaged with the game?
Did you know this manual takes 83 seconds to load on a 56.6k modem?
It would make the already huge BYOND file that little bit larger.
I'm glad somebody read to the end, because my hands hurt.
You've earned this sage advice:
'If it's firing at you, fire back.' - by The John who claims to have escaped a black hole but didn't.