ANACREON: Reconstruction 4021  v1.30                11/04/90

Welcome to Anacreon!

NEW FEATURES

Version 1.30 introduces the following new features:

-    MAP: The map can now be used to get information about fleets as
     well as worlds. When you select a sector with the map, a menu listing
     all the objects in the sector appears. Select the one that you are
     interested in and you will get a close up of it.

-    BERSERKER EMPIRES: This type of empire commands one or more starbases;
     its sole purpose is to wander around the galaxy conquering worlds
     to get supplies, sometimes leaving them as life-less chunks of rock.

     To create a berserker empire in a scenario, you will need to use the
     CreateNPEmpire command with a type of 4. For example:

               CreateNPEmpire 4 "Berserker" 0 0 0

     A berserker empire needs a capital (which must be a world) and at least
     one command base or fortress (created with the CreateStarbase command)
     A berserker empire may command any number of command bases and
     fortresses, but unlike other empire, it will not organize worlds into
     an empire.

     During play, the berserker empire will send out its starbases on
     random courses, seeking out planets with resources and destroying them
     until the starbases are destroyed or they run out of supplies.

-    GUARDIAN EMPIRES: Guardian empires are generally single worlds that
     control a region of space. Their sole tactic is to attack any fleet
     in range with LAMs. To create a guardian empire you will need to use
     the CreateNPEmpire command with a type of 5.

     Guardian empires are generally used in a scenario when you need to
     protect a region of space. For example, suppose that you have placed
     some valuable worlds (such a paradise or ambrosia) in a particular
     zone of the galaxy. You could place a guardian world in the area so
     that the player has to overcome it in order to get to the prized
     worlds.

     A guardian empire need at least a capital. It will use any world that
     it owns with LAM capabilities to attack passing fleets. Unlike other
     empires, guardians do not conquer other planets.
     
BUG FIXES

-    Fixed a bug that caused the program to get into an infinite loop
     whenever a player empire was conquered.

-    Fixed a bug in the Launch LAM routines that did not allow the player
     to launch LMAs to a starbase that was known but not scouted.

-    Fixed a bug which caused non-player empire fleets attacking transports
     to retreat without fighting.

SCENARIOS

"Rogue" is a new scenario that takes advantage of berserker
empires. It's a solo game in which you must defend your worlds
against the attack of a single berserker fortress. You have about
thirty years to build up your starfleet to repel the attack; if
fail, your capital will be destroyed.

There's also a scenario in this release written by Lee
Davies. It's a solo game called "The Gauntlet" that puts you
in the middle of seven empires, all rapidly expanding. I
think you will find it to be most challenging.

All scenarios that include a copyright notice on the title
page are the property of TMA and should not be distributed
or sold in any way. All other scenarios are the property of
the user and can be modified at will. If you create a new
scenario you retain all rights to it and may upload it to
bulletin boards, sell it, and otherwise do as you please.

HISTORY

Changes from version 1.21 to 1.22 are described below:

-    Fixed a bug in empire update that would send fleets to
     coordinate 0,0 on the map and crash the system. This bug caused
     garbage to appear on the menus. Thanks to Bruce Johnson who pointed
     out the bug and provided substantial documentation to help me fix it.

-    Fixed a bug in empire conquest. When a capital is
     conquered, a new world is chosen as a capital. Sometimes a starbase
     is chosen. Unfortunately, the NPE routines cannot deal with a
     starbase as a capital. I had to take out the routines in empire
     conquest so that only planets can be capitals. Thanks to Julian
     Richter for finding this bug.

Changes from version 1.20 to 1.21 are described below:

-    AUTO ATTACK COMMAND: A new command under Ministry of War
     allows you to attack a fleet or a world without having
     to go get involved in the details. Simply select a fleet
     to attack with and a target; the attack will be carried
     out automatically and you will be presented with the
     results.

-    MESSAGES BUG: Under certain circumstances the game would
     freeze when messages are used. This has been fixed in this
     release.

-    NPE STRATEGIES: Non-Player Empire attack strategies have
     been improved slightly. NPEs now send out fewer hunter-
     killer fleets and more attack fleets. Be careful when
     playing scenarios like "The Gauntlet".

-    CONSTRUCTION SPIES: In earlier versions, constructions
     could be used as spies because they scouted surrounding
     sectors just as worlds do. In version 1.21 they do not
     scout at all. Thanks go to Ben Scherrey for pointing this
     out.

The changes from version 1.1 to 1.2 are described below

-    INSTALLATION: When setting up the game for a 2-floppy
     drive system, please note that the help file is on the
     scenario disk. When configuring the directories from
     the menu, make sure that the program knows where to
     find the help file.

     As you can see, the game is almost too large to fit on
     two 360K floppies. It is likely that the next version
     will require a hard drive. Please let us know if you
     would NOT like that to happen.

-    MAP: The map [F10] now has a cursor that can be used to
     issue some commands. For example, pressing Alt-Z in the
     map will launch a probe to the sector at the cursor.

-    FLEET ORDERS: Two new commands, Fleet/Orders and
     Fleet/Cancel Orders are used to issue long-range orders
     to fleets. Fleets, for example, may be instructed to go
     to a planet, pick up some metals, go to another planet
     to drop off the metals, and repeat the entire cycle
     until told otherwise.

-    DISRUPTERS: A new type of construction, disrupters, are
     used to protect areas from jumpships. Any enemy
     jumpships within three sectors of a disrupter is forced
     to travel at warp speed (one sector per year).

-    NPE: Non-player empires have been made more aggressive
     and slightly more intelligent. Both aggresive and
     kingdom empires will now use LAMs to protect their
     worlds.

-    MINES: Enemy mines will show up on a player's map once
     they've been discovered.

-    TRILLUM: Worlds no longer have an infinite supply of
     trillum, only a certain amount may be extracted from
     the ground. Once all the trillum is used up, the world
     will be unable to produce more. The World/Production
     screen will list the amount of trillum reserves on the
     planet.

QUESTION, COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, call or
write to:

                        TMA
                        15 Whittier Rd.
                        Natick, MA 01760
                        (508) 655-5823
