Convolution

Planets: The Exploration Of Space

This text was taken from the PLANETS: TEOS Fansite
http://planetsteos.20m.com/planets.html

Planets
General
Owning planets is how you can gain a significant strategic edge over other 
players. By conquering planets you can gain control over interstellar 
trade and manipulate what happens in the galaxy.

Some Benefits: 

Safety If you quit the game while orbitting a planet you own, the planets' 
defense systems will protect you. 

Fighter Drones left on the planet will replicate themselves. 

Tax Revenue will be generated for your own personal use. The greater 
the population, the greater the tax revenue. The Population steadily 
increases generating more revenue for you. 

Trade Revenue from transactions (regardless of whether players trade 
there or not) will be generated for your own personal use. 

Conquering
Conquering a planet can be a difficult task if the planet has good 
defenses. There are a couple items that can aid you when attempting 
a takeover:

Zone Atomic Bombs are used when attacking a planet. Will destroy 
fighters on the planet. Usually a few hundred thousand.

Onboard Printing Kits are used when attacking a planet. Allows 
you to use the power of persuasion to inspire the people on the 
planet to rise up and destroy fighter drones on their planet. 
Effectiveness will vary depending on the size of the population 
on the planet.

Before Launching an Attack you will want to ensure that you have 
a combination of zone atomic bombs, onboard printing kits and a 
large number of fighters. Making such a maneuver shouldn't be 
taken lightly, having your ship destroyed by a Utopia Defense 
System can set you back greatly.

When you launch an attack on the planet (using the Planet menu) 
you will have menu options available to you to use the above 
items and launch your fighters. Once you have destroyed all the 
fighters on the planet, you can Demand Submission.

The Utopian Planetary Defense defends the planet by launching a 
defensive blast at your ship when you initially attack and each 
time you launch an attack of some form. The defense unit has 
fuel stored on the planet to power its' defensive blasts. As it 
runs out of fuel, its' attacks will be less effective. You will 
want to be sure you have a large number of shield batteries, 
particularly due to that first defensive blast. My recommendation 
is no less than 500,000.

Note: If you have more fighter drones than those residing on 
the planet, you may want to launch an attack early in the battle. 
This will keep you from receiving blast after blast from the 
Utopian Planetary Defense system and save the fuel remaining 
in that system for your own use when you conquer the planet.

Managing
Name & Description Owning a planet gives you the option to name 
it something different and give it a different description.

Beacon Status This allows you to set the beacon status so that 
only you can warp directly to the planet. You can leave the 
beacon status open as goodwill for traders, but should someone 
decide they want to take over that particular planet it would 
be easy for them to warp to it. The main benefit of limiting 
beacon access is to make it more difficult to single out your 
planet for an attack. If need be you can make someone an ally 
in your cartel and give them beacon privileges.

Trading Privileges By making the planet Private you only allow 
your Cartel and Allies to trade. This is mostly beneficial if 
you want to prevent enemy players from enjoying the benefit of 
the items sold there. For instance, if you own Eden, then you 
can prevent other players from being able to purchase Eden Warp 
Units. Likewise, you may have inexpensive fighter drones or 
some other benefit. It is possible that you gain funds from 
other players trading on your planet, which is a reason to leave 
trading privileges open.

World Treasury Your planet has a world treasury where you can leave 
funds. This allows you to store a lot more money than you typically 
can in a bank (500,000 is the default). Furthermore, if your planet 
has good defenses, it is also a much safer place to keep your cash 
than on your ship.

Store Items You have the option of storing items on the planet. You 
can only store one kind of item on a planet at a time, but as many 
as you want.

Utopian Planetary Defense can be installed at planets you own if 
they do not already have one. Defends your planet from attackers. 
When installing you will need to set the percentage of fuel power 
you want the defense unit to use in an attack. As the fuel runs 
out the strength of the defensive blasts will lessen.

Fighter Drones You will want to leave fighter drones on the planet. 
The fighter drones clone themselves every day. The more you leave, 
the more you'll have the following day.

Ships
General
Having a good ship is crucial. Some ships are not worth spending 
money on. Some ships may have great fighting capabilities, but 
weak for trading.

The ThrustMaster, Garbage Scow, Bantam, Maxiport, Sentinel, Reconnoiter 
and Mauler are all available on both Earth and Norhaven.

The Ardent Supplier, Revelation, Prophecy and ACCOLADE are only 
available on Earth and may only be purchased by members of the Alliance.

The MayhemMaster, Nognutter, Quietus, LEXOR, and APOCALYPSE are 
available only on Norhaven and may only be purchased by members 
of the Maraken.

Note: Ship Details/Statistics can vary depending on the configuration 
of the game by the Sysop of the BBS. 

Ship Data
1. Thrustmaster  Symbol : S»
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 8
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 3
Torpedo Bays                : 1
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 10 of 50
Ship Fighting Odds          : 1.0
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 1,500
Max Shields                 : 750
Cost : $58,600


2. Garbage Scow  Symbol : 88»
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 7
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 2
Torpedo Bays                : 0
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 7 of 40
Ship Fighting Odds          : 0.7
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 800
Max Shields                 : 1,000
Cost : $13,900


3. Bantam  Symbol : F
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 12
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 1
Torpedo Bays                : 0
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 5 of 25
Ship Fighting Odds          : 1.6
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 300
Max Shields                 : 200
Cost : $33,500


4. MaxiPort  Symbol : O=O=O
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 7
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 4
Torpedo Bays                : 0
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 35 of 125
Ship Fighting Odds          : 0.7
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 1,500
Max Shields                 : 3,000
Cost : $237,000


5. Sentinel  Symbol : I¯
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 8
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 5
Torpedo Bays                : 2
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 20 of 70
Ship Fighting Odds          : 0.9
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 5000
Max Shields                 : 500
Cost : $1,224,000


6. Reconnoiter  Symbol : 
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 8
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 4
Torpedo Bays                : 3
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 20 of 90
Ship Fighting Odds          : 1.0
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 30,000
Max Shields                 : 1,000
Cost : $1,840,000


7. MayhemMaster  Symbol : }->
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 6
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 6
Torpedo Bays                : 6
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 20 of 75
Ship Fighting Odds          : 1.3
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 10,000
Max Shields                 : 1,000
Cost : $2,270,000


8. Ardent Supplier  Symbol : ßþþþß
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 8
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 0
Torpedo Bays                : 0
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 20 of 400
Ship Fighting Odds          : 0.7
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 1,000
Max Shields                 : 5,000
Cost : $3,500,000


9. Mauler  Symbol : Ã-{}
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 8
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 6
Torpedo Bays                : 4
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 45 of 150
Ship Fighting Odds          : 1.0
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 250,000
Max Shields                 : 15,000
Cost : $5,000,000


10. Nognutter  Symbol : -ì-
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 4
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 10
Torpedo Bays                : 2
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 25 of 100
Ship Fighting Odds          : 0.9
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 100,000
Max Shields                 : 10,000
Cost : $5,700,000


11. Quietus  Symbol : í
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 10
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 6
Torpedo Bays                : 10
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 12 of 50
Ship Fighting Odds          : 1.5
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 5,000
Max Shields                 : 1,000
Cost : $6,500,000


12. Revelation  Symbol : }ð¯
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 8
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 3
Torpedo Bays                : 4
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 40 of 70
Ship Fighting Odds          : 0.9
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 20,000
Max Shields                 : 5,000
Cost : $7,243,900


13. Prophecy  Symbol : }þð¯
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 8
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 4
Torpedo Bays                : 6
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 75 of 225
Ship Fighting Odds          : 1.1
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 200,000
Max Shields                 : 10,000
Cost : $9,220,000


14. ACCOLADE  Symbol : }äðþ-
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 10
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 6
Torpedo Bays                : 10
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 100 of 300
Ship Fighting Odds          : 1.1
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 1,000,000
Max Shields                 : 100,000
Cost : $36,000,000


15. LEXOR  Symbol : î-ä-
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 8
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 6
Torpedo Bays                : 5
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 40 of 200
Ship Fighting Odds          : 1.0
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 150,000
Max Shields                 : 10,000
Cost : $13,439,000


16. APOCALYPSE  Symbol : îäðì-
Standard Jump Reactor Power : 8
Possible Reactor Upgrades   : 8
Torpedo Bays                : 10
Base Cargo Spaces Included  : 100 of 300
Ship Fighting Odds          : 1.1
Max Fighter Drone Control   : 1,000,000
Max Shields                 : 100,000
Cost : $29,340,000


Battling
When battling it is important to not to overextend yourself. If a 
ship has considerably more fighter drones and shields than you, 
then it is best to avoid getting into a battle.

Torpedos can be loaded on to your ship at Earth and Norhaven if 
you have torpedo bays and can be useful for bringing down ships 
stronger than you.

Some ships have better fighting odds which gives them an edge in 
battle. The Maraken ships tend to have better fighting odds, but 
are usually weaker for trading.

Battling members of your own alliance will reflect badly on your 
record if you are a member of one.

Upon defeating a ship, you will have the option of destroying or 
plundering your enemy. You gain additional experience from destroying 
the enemy ship, but you do not get the benefit of examining their 
cargo bays which often have useful items or upgrades for your ship.

If your Ship Gets Destroyed The game is not over, but it may take 
some effort to get back up and going. Make sure that you always keep
the maximum amount of money that you can in your bank account that way 
you'll have some startup cash.

Upon destruction you will be launched into a mini-game where you 
attempt to hitch a ride from a passing ship. Ships will cross the 
screen, as will meteors. Take care not to get hit by a meteor or 
you will die and will have to wait till tomorrow to try again to 
hitch a ride.

Once you are picked up, you will be given a garbage scow to get 
started. The garbage scow is very limited and only has 7 cargo 
spaces, so you will want to upgrade to a new ship as soon as 
you have the cash. 


Cartels
Cartels are the manner by which you form alliances with other 
players on Planets. It helps you manage your planets and allows 
you to share the benefits of owning them.

If you are the boss of a cartel and you are a member of either 
the Alliance or the Marakens then it requires all members to be 
members of those alliances. For this reason, it can be beneficial 
to be neutral so that individuals can join regardless of their 
alliance. You can also simply make individuals Allies to your 
cartel, giving them beacon and trade benefits, without the full 
privileges of being in the cartel.

The Alliance
The Alliance Headquarters are located on Earth. There you can 
register to join, buy ships including those only for the Alliance, 
and check your status as a member of the Alliance.

When asked why you want to join the Alliance, give reasons about 
why you want to save the universe, etc. You can also say "I LOVE 
JENNIE GARTH", which worked nicely for me.

Killing other members of the Alliance will give you negative 
points on your status. For what reason this is detrimental, I 
don't know, but it's probably not a good idea.

Maraken
The Maraken Headquarters, Hell City, are located on Norhaven. 
Like the the Alliance headquarters, you can register to join, 
buy ships including those only for the Maraken, and check your status.

When asked why you would be good for the Maraken, give reasons 
about wanting to destroy the universe, etc.

Killing other members of the Maraken will give you negative 
points on your status.

Special Items
Most items you encounter are merely tradable items, but some 
have special uses: 

Fighter Drones are used to battle other players and NPCs.

Shield Batterys increase your shield strength. The maximum 
shield strength varies depending on your ship.

Big Cargo Spaces increase the amount of cargo you can carry. 
The more you can move on a trade run, the more money you make.

Reactor Units increases your reactor power, giving you a longer 
flight plan and more power to use when making direct warps to 
specific planets. It must be charged before enjoying the benefits 
(will have to wait until the next day).

Device of Cloakings allow you to cloak and make yourself invisible 
to other ships in the game. When you use a Device of Cloaking it 
will ask you at what level you want to cloak your ship at. It is 
important to note that you are not choosing what strength in which 
to cloak, but rather the frequency in which to cloak your ship. 
Unless they use an Anticloak Scanner at your level/frequency, 
they will not see you.

Anticloak Scanners allow you to search for other players who 
have cloaked themselves. When you use the Anticloak Scanner 
it will ask you what level you want to scan. If there is a ship 
cloaked at that same level it will be visible to you and you 
will have the option to battle the player. While traveling you 
will know if there are players cloaked at a given planet as it 
will indicate that your scanners are experiencing interference.

Eden Warp Unit allows you to warp to any planet of your choosing, 
whether or not the beacon of that planet is enabled.

Note: See Planets ? Conquering for information about Zone 
Atomic Bombs, Onboard Printing Kits and Utopia Planetary Defense systems

Secrets
The Eye If you give $500,000 dollars to the Dreamora Temple you 
get a special device installed on to your ship which allows you to 
Psychoanalyze your enemies telling you their disposition towards you.