Copyright Frontier Developments Ltd

AN INTRODUCTORY JOURNEY

If you want to be guided through a mission before going out on your own, read on!

You are at Sirocco Starport, on Merlin, a planet orbiting a gas giant which in turn orbits Ross 154, 9.35 light years away from Earth. What you can see on the screen is the front view from your ship with the ringed gas giant, Aster looming in the sky. The time of day and the date are given at the left of the console.

1. First take a look at the system you are in.

a) Select the Galactic Map icon (F2)  and you will see a map of all the stars in your vicinity. Ross 154 is in the middle, highlighted in green.

2. Find out details about the system.

a) Select the Data icon (F6)  and a diagram of your system will be shown.

b) Count two bodies from the star, Ross 154.This is Aster. Now click on the planet below it and information on Merlin will come up.

c) Select the Economy icon (F7)  to get trade details for the whole system. Notice that  major exports are animal meat (this is fish on Merlin) and liquid oxygen so both should be relatively cheap.

d) Select the Political icon (F8)  to get information on the social structure. This system is under Federation control so should be reasonably safe.

3. Find a place to sell the goods you buy at a reasonable price.

a) Go back to the grid by using the Galactic Map icon (F6) .

b) Use the arrow keys to move the map until Barnard's Star (look up and then right) is in the middle of the screen and highlighted in green.

c) Select the Data icon (F6)  

d) Click on the bodies until you find the space station orbiting Birminghamworld, it is called Boston Base.

e) In the same way as steps 2c and 2d, check the economy and social structure. You will see that animal meat and liquid oxygen are imports. The system is a corporate state and it should be reasonably safe, so you could trade here.

f) You can see the orbits of the system's bodies by using the Orbital Map icon (F10) .

g) If you want to take a closer look, you can use the Zoom In icon (F7)  and the Zoom Out icon (F8) .  Click on the body to place it into the centre of the screen and then use the icons.

4. Buy some fish and liquid oxygen at Merlin.

You can only trade while in dock so now is the time to do it.

a) Select the Communication icon (F4) , and you will be presented with a list of options.

b) Choose "Stockmarket."

c) A list of items with buy and sell buttons is now displayed so locate animal meat and liquid oxygen. You can afford to buy two tonnes of animal meat and three of liquid oxygen.

d) Click on the Buy button for animal meat twice and liquid oxygen three times so that two tonnes of animal meat and three tonnes of liquid oxygen will be autoloaded into your hull. If you buy too many by mistake, simply click on the sell button until you have the right amount. The console will display the amount of cash and cargo space you have left.

5. See if there are any packages to take to Barnard's star.

This sort of thing is what makes money but there is some risk involved. The good thing about packages is that they take up negligible cargo space and do not require cabins or life support.

a) Click on the Communications icon (F4)  again followed by "Bulletin Board".

b) Scroll through the advertisements using the up and down "More" arrows.

c) There may not be a suitable advertisement but if there is one, click on it. If there isn't go to step 6.

d) A list of replies will be presented to you from which you must choose one to send by clicking on it. The brave will click on "agreed" with no questions asked.

e) The package will be autoloaded into your ship.

f) You can check that it is on board by clicking on the Inventory icon (F3)  until the page showing passengers and small packages is displayed.

6. Take off for Barnard's Star system.

a) Go back to the front view by using the View icon (F1)  and click on it until "Front View" is displayed on the right of the console.

b) Select the Communication icon (F4)  and you will be given a list of options. Click on "Traffic Control and Services," followed by "Launch Request."

c) When clearance is indicated on the console, select the Flight Control icon (F7) . This will cause your vertical thrusters to engage, lifting you slowly upwards.

d) Tip up the nose of the ship by moving the mouse backwards whilst holding the right mouse button down.

e) Activate the thrusters using the Return Key for a couple of seconds and you will begin to fly out of the atmosphere. You now have manual control.

7. Make a hyperspace jump to Barnard's Star.

a) Use the Galactic Map icon (F2)  and make sure Barnard's Star is in the middle of the screen where it will be highlighted in green.

b) Return to View mode by using the View icon (F1) .

c) Activate the hyperspace engine with the Hyperspace icon (F8) . After your jouney through hyperspace you can see.

the effects of the disturbance. Use the View icon (F1)  to get a the rear view in order to see it. This hyperspace cloud behind you is visible for an enormous distance and may attract pirates, so it is wise to leave it as soon as possible by pressing the Return key to thrust you forward. Click on the View icon again until you get back to the front view.

d) Select the Name icon (F10)  which will overlay names onto the systems bodies which may not yet be visible to the naked eye.

e) If you wish to look around then you can do so by holding down the right mouse button to swing the ship round. This is not essential to get to your destination.

8. Fly to Birminghamworld by using the Autopilot and Stardreamer Time Control.

a) Take a look at the system structure by using the Galactic Map icon (F2)  and then the Current System Map icon (F2)  to obtain an orbital map of the current system.

b) Zoom in using the Zoom icon (F7)  until you can see Birminghamworld clearly.

c) Put Birminghamworld in the middle of the screen by clicking on it then zoom in until it is clearly defined and the orbital lines almost cover the width of the screen.

d) When you can see the space station name (Boston Base) move the mouse while holding down the right mouse button so that you can see the space station clearly.

e) Set up the destination for the Autopilot by using the Targeting icon (F10) .

f) You will be instructed by the console to select a target so point at the space station and click on it and a homing square will be displayed. If you take too long doing this you may have to use the Targeting icon again.

g) Return to View mode with the View icon (F1) .

h) Engage the Autopilot with the Flight Control icon (F7)  by activating it until "Autopilot" is displayed at the top right of the console. The ship is no longer under manual control.

i) You will see targeting squares looking like a tunnel leading to Boston Base. As you get closer they will come towards you more rapidly, indicating that you should slow down as you approach. Ideally, these should pass by at a constant rate.

j) Even though you are relatively close to Boston Base it will still take a long time to get there so use the Stardreamer Time Control to make time appear to pass more quickly. Further details of its function are given in the Navigation section.

k) Locate the Time Control icons . The single arrow sets normal time and each icon to the right increases the apparent rate of passage of time by ten times. Select 1000 times normal time (four arrows) or 10,000 times normal time (the last icon on the right) as you wish. When you approach the space station the onboard computer will return you to normal time for docking.

The docking process is handled by the Autopilot including obtaining clearance from Traffic Control. If you do not wish to watch the docking then you may operate the time control again.

9. Sell your goods

a) Once docked select the Communication icon (F4)  and choose "Stockmarket" again.

b) Sell your goods by using the sell buttons, ie.click on the sell button for meat twice and the liquid oxygen three times.

c) The money shown under "cash" at the bottom left of the console should now be a greater sum than you started with, unless you have been very unlucky with the stockmarket prices.

d) Remember to refuel by buying at least one tonne of Hydrogen fuel.