Star Trek(tm)  Starship Creator
================================================================
We sincerely hope you have as much fun playing and expanding-on the program as 
we here at Imergy and Simon & Schuster Interactive did developing it. Feel free 
to explore and experiment. If you are looking for some helpful tips, read on...


Contents___________________________________________

A Quick Tour of the Screens

What the Experience Levels Mean

How-To Tips
   To create a ship...
   To launch a mission...
   To refit or finish or repair a ship...

Printing

Creating Your Own Crew Members

Importing and Exporting Ships

___________________________________________________



A Quick Tour of the Screens ====================================

Every screen in Starship Creator has a Menu Strip and a Control Panel.

On the Menu Strip you'll see 9 buttons. (To see them all, just roll your mouse 
over the Menu Strip area.)

1. CLASS  *Start here* to choose a Class of vessel to create. You may also start 
here if 
you need to select a ship from your Fleet to repair or re-fit.  (PLEASE NOTE: 
The Structure, Assembly, Naming, Systems, and Crew screens will be empty if you 
havent chosen a ship to work on.)

2. STRUCTURE  To change the hull, nacelle, and saucer configurations of your 
ship: DRAG the available sections from the frames ONTO the image of the ship.

3. ASSEMBLY  Inspect your ship in an interactive 3D view.

4. NAMING  Christen your ship with a name and add it to your fleet.

5. SYSTEMS  Install engines, weapons, crew facilities, and so on by clicking on 
the menu choices and icons. Fine-tune their attributes. (HINT: The parts 
available here are restricted at Beginner level, and to a lesser extent at 
Intermediate level. Also not all parts are available on all Classes, since 
Starfleet specifies certain Classes as specialized for particular mission 
types.)

6. CREW  Recruit a command staff.  Click CREW COMPLEMENT on this screen to 
apportion the skill set of your ship's crew. (HINT: Starfleet restricts the most 
experienced bridge officers to their current rank, and in some cases their 
"era".)

7. FLEET  Oversee your Fleet's status. Assign one of your ships to a Mission.

8. MISSION  Click RUN MISSION to start the assigned mission. Watch as events 
unfold. Occasionally, as Admiral, you will need to reply to messages from your 
ship. (HINT: If you prefer to run the mission in a stealthy little window, click 
STEALTH. The chosen mission will start from the beginning. See more info on this 
below in "To Launch a Mission".)

9. OPTIONS  This is where the program starts. Log-in and choose an experience 
level. The preferences buttons in the Control Panel indicate what will happen if 
you click on them. For example, to activate the help prompts click HELP ON.

The Control Panel can be opened and closed by clicking the triangle on the "T-
bar" frame. The buttons in the Control Panel are mostly specific to the 
activities on each screen. You will always see...
      PROCEED ... takes you to the next logical screen
      BACK ... returns to whatever screen you were looking at previously

For more assitance while using the program, go to OPTIONS, open the Control 
Panel, and turn HELP ON. The status text area (in the bar next to the screen 
name) will describe the function of important areas of the screen as you roll 
over them.

For additional HINTS about writing your own missions, see the WRITING file.


What the Experience Levels Mean ================================

On the OPTIONS screen you can select one of 3 levels at which to run the 
program. Certain aspects of the program are different at each level.

BEGINNER  When you select a new vessel class to create a ship for your Fleet, it 
automatically comes equipped with a group of Systems, "ready to fly".  The 
Missions you have available to choose from tend to be shorter and simpler. The 
Status window on the Mission screen automatically pops open when damage occurs 
during a mission.

INTERMEDIATE   When you select a new vessel class to create a ship for your 
Fleet, it automatically comes equipped with the group of fundamental Systems 
which are required to fly. However, you must add officers (at least a Captain 
and Chief Engineer) and adjust your Crew Complement before the ship becomes 
spaceworthy.  
Ships with only fundamental systems can go out on Missions, but may be missing 
certain parts which a 
given Mission may require. (You might want to add additional Systems and Crew!) 
The Missions you have available to choose from at Intermediate tend to be 
somewhat longer and 
more complex than Beginner-level Missions.)

ADVANCED  Newly-chosen ships are entirely empty, and wont be ready to fly until 
the required systems and crew are installed. Missions are the most complex.

The Control Panel is normally open at Beginner level, but it will remember if 
you've opened it or closed it at any level.



How-To Tips ====================================================

Follow these steps if you'd like help getting started...

TO CREATE A SHIP________________________________________

1. OPTIONS
a) Login as a new user or pick the existing name.
b) Click a Level, for example: Beginner.
c) Click PROCEED (if the the Control Panel is closed, open it with the arrow), 
or 
roll over the menu strip at the bottom of the screen and click SELECTION...

2. DESIGN: CLASS SELECTION
a) Drag the slider under the gallery of ships until you see a class you like. 
b) Click on one of the ships. You have now selected a Class to work on. 
c) Click PROCEED, or roll over the menu strip at the top of the screen and click 
STRUCTURE. (HINT: This ship is now in your Fleet as "Ship In Progress". All the 
work you do on this ship from now on will be automatically recorded. If you want 
to erase this ship from your Fleet, you can do that on the FLEET screen.)

3. DESIGN: STRUCTURE
a) Change the part styles available using the little arrows in each of the three 
frames.
b) *Drag* parts from the frames onto the large image of the ship.
c) When you have a shape you like, click PROCEED, or roll over the menu strip at 
the top of the screen and click ASSEMBLY.

4. DESIGN: STRUCTURE INSPECTION
a) In a moment, a 3D model of your chosen design will appear.
b) To see the model with its surface applied, click CREATE SHIP.
c) It can be rotated if you click and drag on the image. 
d) You can also zoom in and out on the model: 
     Windows: right-mouse drag up and down
     Mac: hold down the CONTROL key and drag up and down
e) Click PROCEED, or NAMING in the menu strip.

4. DESIGN: STRUCTURE: NAMING
a) Type a name of 12 characters or less. Note: "U.S.S." is added automatically. 
You don't need to type it.
b) Click NAME SHIP. You can change your mind and try another one if you want.
c) Click CONFIRM NAME AND STRUCTURE. This ship with your name applied is updated 
in your Fleet.
d) Click PROCEED, or SYSTEMS in the menu strip.

5. DESIGN: SYSTEMS
a) Select a Primary System from the left popup, then an individual Subsystem 
from the right popup.
b) One click on a system icon allows you to access the "Info" and "Install" 
buttons for that system.
c) Click the "Install" button inside the part frame to add the part to your 
ship.
(HINT: While working on your ship, the SHIP INFO button in the control panel 
presents a window with a list of systems you've added.) (ANOTHER HINT: This and 
all other windows in the program are draggable and thus can be moved to any 
position you find useful.) 

6. CREW
This area presents two screens. 
a) Assign specific command officers using the selection buttons.
b) Click CREW COMPLEMENT to adjust the percentage of your total crew population 
assigned the various disciplines. 
(HINT: The actual number of crewmembers is determined by what kind of Living 
Quarters you have chosen.  "Living Quarters" is found in the Support systems 
group on the Systems screen.)


TO LAUNCH A MISSION________________________________________

1. FLEET
a) Click on a ship and click SELECT. (HINT: If it is on a mission in progress, 
you may RECALL it 
to Starbase. Recalling is not required unless the ship is badly damaged.)
b) Click on a mission name. Click MISSION PROFILE to read about it. (Is your 
chosen ship suitable for this mission?)
c) Double-click on the mission name, or click PROCEED to advance to the Mission 
screen.

2. MISSION
a) Click RUN MISSION.
b) The default simulation speed is slightly faster than "Real Time". You may 
open the Control Panel and change the speed directly. 
c) When a Mission is over, you may be awarded some additional cRedits. You will 
also get a Ship Performance evaluation which should help you in refitting or 
designing new ships.
d) Damaged systems are repaired by your engineering crew over time. "Damaged" 
crewmembers are "repaired" by your Chief Medical Officer and associated Support 
staff. 
If systems deemed critical to the function of your ship are damaged at the end 
of a mission, you will have to RECALL your ship to starbase to repair them 
before the ship can run another mission.

(HINT: You can run a Mission in STEALTH mode. Clicking that button in the 
Control Panel causes the main program to quit and open the Watcher. Your chosen 
mission runs from the beginning in a much smaller, draggable window.)
Results of missions run in either mode are saved to your user profile.


TO REFIT or FINISH or REPAIR A SHIP________________________

1. Make sure you are logged-in as the appropriate User.

2. On the CLASS SELECTION screen choose Fleet (rather than Class) from the 
Control Panel. Or, on the FLEET screen click on a ship and click SELECT.

3. Go to SYSTEMS or STRUCTURE or CREW to revise its parts. Repairs can be made 
in SYSTEMS by selecting the part and clicking REPAIR in the part frame.





Printing========================================================

To Print Your Ship Designs...
Open the "Ship Info" window (possible on the SYSTEMS screen from a Control Panel 
button, and both the CLASS screen and the FLEET screen as the INFO button inside 
the frame which appears when you click on the ship).

In the "Ship Info" window you will see the PRINT button. Click it and wait a 
moment for your computer's print dialog to appear. The output is standard 8-1/2 
x 11, color or black and white, and includes a full listing of your installed 
systems and crew, and the top and side views of your ship as you have created 
it. (If you do not have a printer already working with your computer then this 
obviously isn't going to work!)



Creating Your Own Crew Members==================================


Step 1. Create a Crew Member Portrait

In any image editing program create or capture a bitmap image no
larger than 220 pixels wide by 225 pixels tall at 72 dpi.  If your
application supports it, save or export the image as a PICT file.
If the program doesn't save-as PICT, export as another common file
format and use the Quicktime(r) 3.0 ImageViewer program
(installed with Quicktime 3.0) to convert it to a PICT file.


Step 2. Create a Crew Member Biography

You will find a template file in the IMPORT folder in the
"ShipMain" folder titled "temp_bio.txt" This should help you begin
to correctly describe your crewmember. Please refer to that document now.

There are three simple steps to creating your crewmember's biography. (NOTE: You 
must follow the format of this file exactly, or the import will not work. We 
suggest cutting and pasting with a copy of the temp_bio file.)

A. On the first line, you will see a series of numbers which refer
to the specific characteristics listed below. Rank your crew
member's strengths and abilities by assigning a number from 1 to
10 for each characteristic. Ten being the best and one being the
worst. (Keep the numbers in the same order as the traits they
refer to below.)

They are as follows:
[COMMAND, ENGINEERING, TACTICAL, SCIENCES, MEDICAL, COUNSELOR,
OPERATIONS, COMMUNICATIONS], CHARISMA, AUTHORITY

--  If this line is incorrectly formatted or placed, the file
will not import correctly. Ð

A correctly formatted line will look like:

[5,8,1,10,6,3,9,2],2,8


B. Simply fill in the rest as follows, keeping the content to one line.

Name: 
Rank: 
Born: 
Place of Birth: 
Assignment: 
Last Ship: 
Academy Class: 
Biographical Details:

-- The program requires each line have the category and colon (i.e. "Name:").
If not, then the file will not import correctly. -

For Biographical Details, you may describe your character's background in 
several paragraphs.


Ready to Import!  

We recommend that your photo and bio text be put in the Import folder that is in 
the same folder as the main application (ShipMain).  This is not mandatory 
however as a dialog box will prompt for the file's location.  Once imported, the 
files are not needed by the program, but it may be desirable to keep them as a 
backup.



Importing and Exporting Ships===================================

To share your designs, or swap them among the various Admirals in your Log-in 
collection, simply use the IMPORT and EXPORT buttons on the FLEET screen, to 
save the description file and images of any one of your ships. (This file is in 
a special format which only the Starship Creator program will be able to read.)

Exporting:  
Your Starship is exported to the Export folder that is in the same folder as the 
main application.  The file is named the same as the ships registry number.

Importing:  We suggest your file be put in the Import folder that is in the same 
folder as the main application (ShipMain).  This is not mandatory however as a 
dialog box will prompt for the file's location.  Once imported, the file is not 
needed by the program, but it may be desirable to keep it as a backup.


================================================================




