Raece Mark IV
Basics
For starters, all your ships and ground forces are loaded on transports and grouped into a fleet when you start. It has a silly name, you can rename is under Settings. Your first objective once the clock starts is to colonize the planet(s) that surround your homeworld. Class III are best, Class II are next, and Class I are worst. When you colonize a planet you move population from a colonized planet, 100 population moves for every ground troop that you have on the planet or in orbit. To enter your movement order click Move on the Home (quadrant) page. Wait for the ships to move (Use Jump Now if they are within one tick) then planets which are unoccupied will automaticaly be conlonized with the arrival of your fleet (if you have troops on board the fleet).

You can now colonize the quadrant to your North while in protection, and it's highly advisable to gobble up those extra planets. The class III planet in that quadrant you'll have to attack, conquer, and colonize (it's undefended).

Jump Now Capability
In order to make game play smoother and less time intensive fleets have Jump Now capability which allows them to move one tick's worth of movement instantly. It also allows fleets to move into Jump Space for protection before the tick on a long journey. If your fleet is one tick away from its target, click Jump Now, and your fleet will arrive and be capable of attacking. No splits/joins after a Jump Now. The Jump Now is a once per tick capability. If you jump now with ground troops into an empty planet, you will automatically colonize it.

Expansion
Attacking other players and expanding outside your quadrant is similar to colonizing the planets in your home quadrant. On the home page (quadrant) there are red and black arrows pointing in various directions, clicking the arrow will move the map in that direction, then there will be more Move links so you can move outside your quadrant. Please note, if you're a late signup you may be able to move ships out of your home quadrant to the left, as they have left protection earlier then you, but your ships won't be protected. You can also click on Big Map and then click the planet names for a given quadrant. You'll want to use Long Range Sensors (LRS) on quadrants outside your home quadrant during noob mode to see who is building what. If you have a neighboring inactive you'll want to expand in that direction first, as least that's my advice. Read the combat section first though so you'll know about Admirals and Arch Nemesis.

If you click "Unit Specs", you'll see your troop stats, as well as customization points which can be used to improve your units. You gain Rand()+Rand()+Rand() points a day, Rand() is anything from 0-.999.

Fleet Bases
You can only place newly constructed units on planets where you have Fleet Bases. When you first take over a planet you have to wait for that planet to stockpile 5 Production Units(PU) before they can build their own Fleet Base. Fleet Bases also boost combat rolls for fleet and ground battles that take place at that planet. You can place Factories and Universities on newly captured planets without having a Fleet Base present. Level 2 Fleet Bases cost 10 PU, level 3 costs 25, and level 4 costs 40. Level 5 Fleet Bases are researchable.

Factories boost production on the planet where it's built. Level 1 Factories cost 5, level 2 Factories cost 20 and level 3 Factories cost 50. Level 4 is 80 cost, and level 5 is 150 cost. Level 1 Factory has a 1 multiplier, Level 2 is 2 multiplier, and level 3 is 4 multiplier. Level 4 has a 5 multiplier and level 5 has a 6 multiplier. Your economy page will show how much PU and RU each planet is producing.

Universities boost production on the planet where it's built. Level 1 University cost 5, level 2 University cost 15 and level 3 University cost 40. Level 1 University has a 1 multiplier, Level 2 is 2 multiplier, and level 3 is 4 multiplier.

The production equation is (Population + Slaves) / 50,000 * (1 + FactoryMultiplier) for Production Units (PU), and Population / 50,000 * (1 + UniversityMultiplier) for Research Units (RU)

Research Nodes
Terraforming planets will raise their population max by 10,000 permanently. A planet can be terraformed more then once, but when you take the terraforming research you must select different planets to terraform with that node and if you don't have enough planets for the node, i.e., you have 2 planets and it's terraform 3 planets, you lose the extra terraforming.

You can also terraform your homeworld by spending Research Units (via the Toys link), this option is only available to you if you own your homeworld. Also, each time you do this the cost of doing it again goes up by 10,25, or 50 Research Units.

Factory Upgrades will build factories on planets of your choice, ideally you want to take this node and build all level 5 factories but that's not always how it works out. University upgrades work in the same manner as Factory Updagrades.

Combat
Combat is a simple matter, all units have a to-hit value, a number of dice, and a hit point value. The dice are 10-sided dice and a to-hit of 9 would mean that a roll of 9 or 10 is a hit. The dice can be modified, typically by the presence of a fleet base or Admirals and sometimes +5% for Nemesis status. Units that roll more dice typically do more damage, units that have more than 1 hit point will survive in battle longer. Every unit on both sides rolls simultaneously, then hits are applied at random to all units present, if there are 10 Destroyers and 10 Troop Transports, there's an equal chance of hitting a Destoyer or a Troop Transport.

Loaded troop carriers dieing in fleet battles will drop thier ground troops off on the planet before the fleet battle, troops on carriers where the carrier dies and that player doesn't own the planet the troops die. If you lose more fighter carriers then fighters the fighters will split off from the fleet and be stranded.

Ground Bombardment
Capital Ships (cost > 10) have the ability to attack ground targets in support of ground invasions. They get one die at their to-hit factor during the first three rounds of the invasion.

Nova Bombs
Nova Bombs are single-use items that fire after the first round of combat, they must be researched, their to-hit is a 4. After the first research they cost 4, after you research the second nova bomb node they cost 3. One hit from a Nova Bomb will destroy ships with more then 1 hit point. Nova Bombs have to be deployed to Fleets from/to level 3+ Fleet Bases.

Troop transports cannot carry nova bombs, warships are limited in capacity to 1 nova bomb per 2 cost of the ship. So, a 4 point Hornet can carry 2 nova bombs, after the Lithor researches their cost decrease, it can only carry one nova bomb. Fleets which are carrying nova bombs cannot split off ships, you must unload the nova bombs at a fleet base before changing your fleet configuration (if you're packing novas).

Anti-Missile Defense
Some warships are equipped with anti-missile defenses and these defenses will block incoming nova hits before they get close enough to the ship to destroy it.

• Fortress 40%
• Horsemen 30%
• Battleship 25%
• Death-Bringer 25%
• Dreadnaught 20%
• Cruiser 15%

Nemesis
You can declare any player with at least 1/2 as many planets as you have an Arch Nemesis, this will give you +5% combat rolls against that player and you'll get double victory points for battles and planet conquering/scorching. Once selected you cannot deselect a Nemesis without capturing or scorching their homeworld. Once you do that, you'll keep the status for 72 hours, then you can redeclare. If somebody else captures your Nemesis's homeworld you have to wait seven days to redeclare.

Admirals start at +5%, you can only have three at a time, the first one costs 5 PU and 5 RU, and will gain 1% for every fleet battle he wins against a fleet at least 1/5th his fleet's nw. If you have an admiral buying a second costs 25 PU and 50 RU, the third costs 50PU and 150 RU.

War Generals start at +5%, you can only have three* at a time, the first one costs 5 PU and 5 RU, and will gain 1% for every ground battle he wins against a force at least 1/6th his armies's nw on the attack, and at least his nw on defense. If you have a war general, buying a second one will cost 20 PU and 50 RU, the third costs 40 PU and 100 RU. (War Generals are moved via fleets using "Load/Deploy" just like you do ground forces). You must have a level 4 fleet base to hire a War General. War Generals which are involved in a failed invasion attempt will survive but they will lose 2% off their skill.

Training - War Generals and Admirals can be trained up to 15% by spending RU. The first training costs 20, then either 0,20, or 40 is added to that sum for the second training.

Fleet Bases and Combat
For Fleet Battles:

• Level 1 Base will give the defender +5% to their combat rolls.
• Level 2 is +10%
• Level 3 is +15%
• Level 4 is +20% and -5% for the attacker
• Level 5 is +25% and -10% for the attacker

For Ground Battles:

• Level 1 Base is +15% for the defender
• Level 2 Base is +25% for the defender
• Level 3 Base is +30% for the defender -10% for the attacker
• Level 4 Base is +40% for the defender -20% for the attacker
• Level 5 Base is +45% for the defender -25% for the attacker

If an enemy fleet is over one of your planets and you have a Fleet Base and you attack their fleet, you'll get a trivial bonus for the Fleet Base, +5% for level 4 bases, and +10% for level 5.

Conquering vs. Scorching
Conquering a planet of your species will cause the population to decrease by 90% and you'll get 10% slaves, if you conquer a planet not of your species you'll get 10% of the population there as slaves. If you scorch a planet, you'll get double victory points and the population maximum of the planet will decrease by 10,000. You can only conquer or scorch a planet after all ships and ground forces have been destroyed at that planet.

Victory Conditions
Victory Conditions are checked once a day at 4pm game time. This happens for the first time at least 250 Hours into the round from the start. The number of planets required to start the count down clock is Total Planets * .4 (rounded down). Once victory conditions have been met a 72 hour count down clock will begin which will lead to a reset (reset means we delete everything and start over from scratch). Check the top of the scoreboard for current victory conditions.

Pulse Sensors
Pulse sensors cast out a sensor net centered on a quadrant where you have at least one level 2 Fleet base, you get one Pulse Sensor a day for your home planet, and you get an extra one per day for ever Level 4 Fleet Base you have. Pulse sensors detect all ships and fleets which are in transit towards that quadrant, effectively letting you know before hand if an enemy is invading your space.

L.R.S. Long Range Sensors
LRS are generated by level 3 and higher fleet bases. They are used to scan quadrants in which you don't have a troop presence.

4PM Game Time Pulse Sensors and LRS regenerate...

The Lithor Edge
Lithorian overpopulation leads to having plenty of leftover bodies to send off to war, every fully populated Lithor planet will have a chance to produce extra ground troop(s) every tick/hour. On a 5% roll they will produce Elite Troop(s). Production is based on Population / 150,000. A 75,000 pop planet will have a .5 chance of producing one unit. While a 200k pop planet will produce one unit for sure, and on a 1in3 roll will produce a second unit for the tick. PLANETS MUST BE SEEDED. Lithor planets must have an elite unit on the planet to produce elites (.1 chance), and a regular unit on the planet to produce regulars.

Growth Rates

• Lithor:
  • 4.5% for >50,000 Population
  • 14% for >10,000 Population
  • 60% for <10,001 Population
• Quaglu:
  • 3.5% for >50,000 Population
  • 10% for >10,000 Population
  • 45% for <10,001 Population
• Human & Kilken:
  
  • 3% for >50,000 Population
  • 9% for >10,000 Population
  • 35% for <10,001 Population

Research Trees
Each species has it's own research paths to follow, they are represented graphically via the links below.

• Human
• Lithor
• Kilken
• Quaglu

Species

Humans	Humans technology tree is the most generous, they have the most ship hulls to chose from, their elite ground troops excel, and their carriers hold eight fighters instead of four.
Unit	To-Hit	Dice	Hit Points	Cost	Range	Speed	Notes	NW
Horsemen	3	3	4	22	20	6	Requires Research to Construct	500
Battleship	5	2	3	16	40	3	Requires Research to Construct	250
Cruiser	7	1	2	6	20	4		100
Destroyer	6	1	1	4	10	3		50
Carrier	10	1	1	3	20	3	Fighter Capacity: 8	25
Fighter	9	1	1	2	0	0		15
Troop Transport	10	1	1	3	20	4	Troop Capacity: 4	25
Elite Troop	4	1	1	2	0	0		25
Regular Troop	9	1	1	1	0	0		15
Hover Tank	3	1	2	5	0	0		50
Starting Units: 5 Cruisers, 5 Destroyers, 10 Troop Transports, 5 Elite Troops, 20 Regular Troops, 5 Hover Tanks
Lithor	The Lithor technology tree is the worst to traverse, as they are the dumbest species, but their population grows the fastest and their Drop Ships transport up to eight ground units into battle.
Unit	To-Hit	Dice	Hit Points	Cost	Range	Speed	Notes	NW
Dreadnaught	4	2	3	17	30	4	Requires Research to Construct	250
Demon	6	1	2	6	30	4		100
Hornet	5	1	1	4	40	5		50
Mongrel's Nest	10	1	1	3	20	3	Fighter Capacity: 4	25
Mongrel	9	1	1	2	0	0		15
Drop Ship	10	1	1	4	30	4	Troop Capacity: 8	25
Elite Troop	5	1	1	2	0	0		25
Regular Troop	9	1	1	1	0	0		15
Big Tank	6	1	3	5	0	0		50
Starting Units: 6 Demons, 8 Hornets, 4 Drop Ships, 2 Elite Troops, 10 Regular Troops, 5 Big Tanks
Kilken	Kilken are the slowest growth rate species, but their elite ground troops are devastating, on signup players chosing Kilken will chose for their elite to either have two hit points or roll three dice in combat.
Unit	To-Hit	Dice	Hit Points	Cost	Range	Speed	Notes	NW
Death-Bringer	4	2	3	18	30	5	Requires Research to Construct	250
Cobra	6	1	2	7	30	5		100
Python	3	1	1	5	30	4		50
Viper's Den	10	1	1	3	30	3	Fighter Capacity: 4	25
Viper	9	1	1	2	0	0		15
Hell-Bringer	10	1	2	4	30	3	Troop Capacity: 4	25
Elite Troop	4	1	1	3	0	0	Rolls either 3 dice or has 2 hit points, player's choice.	40
Regular Troop	9	1	1	1	0	0		15
S. Squad	1	1	1	2	0	0		25
Brawler Tank	5	2	2	5	0	0		75
Starting Units: 4 Cobras, 4 Pythons, 6 Hell-Bringers, 8 Elite Troops, 2 S. Squads, 2 Brawler Tanks
Quaglu	Quaglu on signup will choose whether their Defender class ship gets two hit points or rolls three dice, otherwise they are a rather lackluster species.
Unit	To-Hit	Dice	Hit Points	Cost	Range	Speed	Notes	NW
Fortress	5	2	4	17	40	4		250
Defender	7	1	1	5	30	5	Rolls either 3 dice or has 2 hit points, player's choice.	50
Colonist Ship	10	1	1	4	40	4	Troop Capacity: 6	25
Elite Troop	5	1	1	2	0	0		25
Regular Troop	9	1	1	1	0	0		15
Spider Tank	5	1	2	4	0	0		40
Starting Units: 3 Fortresss, 5 Defenders, 4 Colonist Ships, 10 Regular Troops, 4 Spider Tanks

---

To-Hit determines what that unit needs to roll to destroy another unit in battle. The dice are ten-sided, so if your To-Hit is a 5 you need to roll a 5,6,7,8,9, or 10. If your To-Hit it a 9 you must roll a 9 or a 10 (20% of that happening). Each hit is one point of damage (units with one hit point are killed with one point of damage).

Dice determines how many dice that unit rolls in battle.

Hit Points are how much damage a unit can take in battle before being destroyed.

Cost in Production Units.

Range how many spaces it can move on the map without stopping for food and fuel.

Speed how many spaces it moves in one tick (per hour).

Notes are the notes :)

NW stands for Networth, the military ranking you gain for each unit.

---

Copyright 2006, Geoffrey C. Porter