Missions Of The Reliant Manual 0

a game by Michael Rubin version 2.2 ©1996 by Michael A. Rubin DoD Productions Please click the zoom box in the upper right for optimal viewing SalesAgent, Copyright © 1996 Release Software Corporation. All Rights Reserved. The Missions of Starship Reliant The Missions of Starship Reliant II aere. "Greetings From" THE INTERPLANETARY ALLIANCE So, you think you have what it takes to be a starship captain? It takes a great deal of skill and concentration to become adept at one of the Alliance's most demanding positions. Accordingly, the rewards for the successful are great: honor, notoriety, and respect. For those who fail, however, there is only the eternal emptiness of space... Welcome to the upper ranks of the Alliance. Now comes your chance to prove your worthiness of the title of Starship Captain, at the command of one of the Alliance's most advanced spacecrafts, the IAS Reliant. Your starship is endowed with many important features: three torpedo bays, a high-energy laser cannon, shields, warp engines and, most importantly, four capable young officers. Your ability to orchestrate these many features will largely determine whether you succeed or fail at your command. The Alliance wishes you the best of luck. You will need it. Introduction The Missions of Starship Reliant II STARTUP INFORMATION What you need To run Missions! you need a color-capable Mac with a 13" or larger monitor running any version of System 7. Missions! requires at least 3.5 Mb of RAM as well. The following files should be present in the same folder: - The Missions! game application - Three resource files: Main.rsrc, Planet.rsrc, and Crew.rsrc If all four files are not in the same folder, the game will tell you and return to the Finder. You will need to turn 32-bit addressing on in the memory control panel on appropriate machines. Finally, your monitor needs to be set to 256 colors (8-bit). If it is not, an alert box will notify you of this and allow you to change depths, if possible. Startup After double-clicking the game icon, the title screen will present you with seven options: + New Mission will start the game and allow you to choose which mission to play. + Load Mission will load an old saved game. + About This Game will give you information about the game and credits, and tell you how you can register for the full version. + Register will begin the registration process using Release Software's AutoPay module, giving you access to the entire game. + High Scores will display the high scores for the three missions. + Preferences will allow you to reset key commands to your liking and adjust the speed of the game for your computer. + Quit will quit the game and return to the Finder. After selecting New Mission and choosing your scenario, you will be presented with the Game Screen, and your mission will commence. Startup Information The Missions of Starship Reliant II Once you begin your mission, you will be presented with the Game Screen, the area in which all the action takes place. To aid in the explanation of the Game Screen's features, the following diagram is provided as an example of what you might expect to see (reduced). LeAronS HARP “TDWPEIDES 30 THRPLON STANUS 40s TASET SCR END gore, | | (Morel OFF =D? eaieine SPD - SHIELD STATIS as t Toggle Target 3 ITM Lise — 100 & Sei sret For the remainder of this discussion, the following terms will describe areas of the screen as shown above: : The large window in the upper left (where the action takes place) The areas where the four crew members are pictured along the right side of the screen (with their accompanying , which are the thin slot-like windows to their right) The window at the bottom right where the crew commands appear The area where all of the ship's status indicators are located (bottom, middle) The window at the bottom left. Other features of interest: + Your score is displayed in the upper left. + The number identified as "GST" in the upper right is the current timedate, in "Galactic Standard Time". The game The Game Screen The Missions of Starship Reliant II begins at 2301.00 GST. + The buttons in the upper right toggle the sound on/off and activate the ship's computer. + The three buttons at the top of the screen switch between Long Range Scan, Sector Scan, and View Screen. Other aspects of the above picture will be referred to later, in order to clarify the discussion. The Game Screen The Missions of Starship Reliant II THE CREW Here is a summary of your officers’ duties: Weapons officer: Shield/Laser control. Helmsman: Screen display/Warp drive/Communication| Engineer: Starship repairs, Cargo control. Doctor: Treating crew injuries. There are, of course, many young officers waiting for their opportunity to serve on your starship, and they are strewn throughout the Alliance at space stations as well as planetary outposts. You may, when you are interfaced with an Alliance base, exchange one of your current crew members for one located at the base. How this is done will be explained later; the reason for doing so shall be explained presently. The Alliance ranks officers in the following order: * Ensign * Leiutenant «Lt. Commander, and * Commander. The ranks are related to the number of duties the officer is trained to perform (Weapons, Helm, Engineer, and/or Doctor). Thus, an Ensign can perform only one duty, while a Lt. Cmdr. can perform three. + The ability of an officer to perform the duties of Weapons officer or Helmsman is indicated simply by a Yes or No. + The duties of Engineer and Doctor have ratings according to the officer’s ability: Poor, Fair, Good, and Best, relating to the amount of time it would take to perform their functions. It is of great importance, therefore, to surround oneself with the most capable crew, and thus the reason for exchanging crew members at Alliance bases. Space stations carry a maximum of eight officers, while planetary bases hold at most three. The currently selected crew member is shown on the screen with a yellow rectangle around their Crew Window, while their commands are shown in the Commands Window at the bottom. To select a different crew member, use the mouse or press the TAB key until the rectangle highlights the desired crew member. Their commands will then appear in the Commands Window. To select a command from the list, use the mouse or type the number preceding the command. + In some cases, command number 1 (1. [More]" as shown in the Game Screen picture) will display more commands from which to choose. To return to the first set of commands, choose command 1 again, press RETURN, or click the mouse on the crew member’s name in the Commands Window. Three crew commands which every crew member has shall be explained presently. + The first is “Personal Profile’’. This command displays in the Commands Window the crew member's abilities at each of the four positions. + The second is ““Reassign Crewman’’. This command allows you to switch duties between two crew members. In the Commands Window, just choose the position to which you would like the crew member to switch, and the two will exchange positions. This is helpful if crew members are injured, or if one crew member is strong at more than one position. + Finally, there is ““Report’’. If a crew member has some information to give to you, they will indicate so with a light in the Report Windows along the right side of the screen. If the window shows red (as in the picture above), the information is critical; if it shows yellow, it is less critical. Each crew member is capable of remembering multiple messages; however, it does not behoove the alert Alliance captain to ignore incoming messages. To view the message, select the crew member's “Report” command (with the mouse or keyboard) and the message will appear in the Commands Window. The Crew The Missions of Starship Reliant II THE LA.S. RELIANT To aid you in your command, your starship has many useful features. The primary ones are described below. * Long Range Scan: The Helmsman controls this important feature, or it can be activated by clicking on the left button at the top of the Game Screen. It displays a view of all known Alliance sectors. Your position is designated by a white blip. Space stations are designated by magenta blips (there are four). Planets are designated by green blips (there are fifteen currently holding Alliance bases). Any detected enemy ships are designated by flashing orange blips. A white rectangle initally highlights the sector you are in, and may (as described later) indicate your warp destination. * Sector Scan: Also controlled by the Helmsman, this displays a zoomed-out view of the sector you are currently in. Objects are indicated in the same fashion as the Long Range Scan. This may also be activated by the center button on the top of the screen. * View Screen: Displays the area immediately around your starship. This is the display mode used when the game starts; it is displayed in the Game Screen picture in chapter 4. This may also be activated by the right button on the top of the screen. © Radar: Located in the Radar Window, this gives yet another view of the area surrounding your starship. Several things shall be noted: + The white blip in the center is your ship. + The blue rectangle in the middle represents the area depicted in the view screen. Thus, the radar displays an area about 8-10 times larger than the view screen. + The light blue blip located around the rectangle indicates the direction your starship is facing. It moves around the rectangle as you turn your ship. + Other objects (planets, enemy ships, etc) are indicated in the same fashion as the Long Range Scan. However, the enemy ship on whom the laser is currently locked will be flashing to indicate this. Importantly, it should be known that the area of the Radar Window represents the range for laser locking. If the laser cannon has been locked on an enemy ship, which then leaves the area shown in the Radar Window, the laser will no longer be locked on that target. For the other features of the starship, refer to the picture below of an example of the Status Window. click here to click here to click here for activate shields charge laser target scanner ck here to (dejactivate warp raise/lower warp The I.A.S. Reliant The Missions of Starship Reliant II * Energy reserves: This is indicated above by the green bar labelled ““Total”’. Your starship is equipped with energy capacitors capable of holding a fixed amount of energy. Energy is used to support the shields, laser cannon, warp drive, and target scanner, as well as some ship bonuses. When all are inactive, energy is gradually regenerated; otherwise, it gradually declines. * Shields: The shields are controlled by the Weapons Officer, and their status is displayed in two locations in the Status Window. On the left side is a small view of the starship, with green lights around it. This is simply the shield indicator; the green lights denote the shields being currently activated. The status of the shields is shown on the bottom in the middle. When the ship is hit, the shields are reduced accordingly. Gradually, as energy is consumed, the shields will rise back to their maximum. You may also click on the image of the Reliant to activate or deactivate the shields. * Laser Cannon: The laser cannon, controlled by the Weapons Officer, is created from the working of two parts: the laser energy couplings, which hold and conduct the energy charge which is dispensed upon firing, and the laser, which is the locking and firing mechanism. To use the laser cannon, the couplings must be charged by the Weapons Officer (in the picture above, they are fully charged, indicated by the red bar labelled ““Laser’’). The couplings may also be charged by clicking inside the laser indicator bar at the bottom of the screen. Next, the laser must be locked on a target. To select a target to lock onto, press the CONTROL key. Upon doing so, the blip representing the enemy ship will flash in the Radar Window, and a small target sight will appear in the view screen on top of the enemy ship (if it's visible). Repeatedly pressing the control key will toggle among all enemy ships which appear in the Radar Window. Now you are ready to fire: do so by pressing the SPACE BAR and holding it down for as long as you want it to fire. As you do so, energy will drain from the laser energy couplings, and when they no longer hold energy, the cannon will stop firing. Energy will be channelled back into the couplings gradually, as they need time to cool and recharge. The cannon will also stop firing automatically if the target ship is no longer in range (see below). It should be pointed out that the View Screen represents the range of the laser cannon. This is not to be confused with the range of the laser target lock, which is represented by the Radar Window. Thus, you can lock the laser onto a target that is outside the view screen, but you cannot fire until it is visible in the view screen. Likewise, if you are firing on a target which leaves the view screen area, the laser cannon will stop firing, although the target lock will still be in effect (at least until it leaves the range of the Radar Window). * Torpedoes: Your ship is equipped with three torpedo bays (2 fore and 1 aft) and a torpedo holding area capable of holding up to 30 torpedoes. This capacity may be increased through extra torpedo holding units when available at Alliance outposts. The number of torpedoes left in holding is indicated above the laser status box, while the status of each torpedo bay is indicated on the right side of the Status Window. Torpedoes can be fired at any time by pressing ‘F’ to fire a fore torpedo bay or ‘A’ to fire the aft bay. There is a slight delay after firing to allow for reload; this is indicated by a red “reload” light. * Warp Drive: Controlled primarily by the Helmsman, the warp drive allows for swift travel. In the Status Window, the current destination coordinates and warp speed are indicated on the left side next to the energy indicators. To select new coordinates, you must be able to view the Long Range Scan. While doing so, use the mouse to click on the sector you wish to warp to (or use the OPTION key in combination with the arrow keys to move the selection box); the coordinates are entered automatically. To engage the warp drive, select the command from the Helmsman’s menu, or click on the warp coordinates in the Status Window. Note that the destination can be changed while in warp; if you click the mouse on a new sector, your course will change automatically. The warp engines will shut down themselves when you reach the middle of the destination sector. You may, of course, shut off the warp drive at will by selecting the appropriate command from the Helmsman’s menu or by clicking on the warp coordinates in the Status Window. The warp speed may be changed using the + and - keys, and by clicking as shown above. Other features of the ship include: * Steering: Movement of the ship is accomplished with the arrow keys (by default). The right and left arrow keys turn the ship clockwise and counter-clockwise, respectively, while the up and down arrow keys fire the forward and reverse thrusters, respectively. Note: SHIFT-down arrow (or, more accurately, SHIFT-reverse thrust) is “ALL- STOP”, quickly bringing the ship to a halt. Wait, did | emphasize that enough? SHIFT-Reverse Thrust is “ALL-STOP”, quickly bringing the ship to a halt. The I.A.S. Reliant The Missions of Starship Reliant II © Communications: To interact with an Alliance base (space station or planetary base), you must interface with it. After positioning the starship nearby the station/base, press the ‘H’ key to hail the base. You must be in close enough range, and must not be moving (use Shift-down arrow) to establish a proper interface. From there, the base will present you with your options. Remember, use SHIFT-down arrow before hailing a base. * Emergency Warp: Your ship also comes with this important safety feature. If you find yourself in dire straights, press the ESC key to activate emergency warp systems. If your warp drive is not damaged, the warp computer will select at random one of the immediately surrounding sectors and engage the warp engines. Remember that afterward you still might not be out of the enemy ship’s range. Also keep in mind that this will not work if the warp drive is damaged. * Cargo Bays: The ship is fitted with three cargo bays, each capable of holding a single item. Items are transferred between the Reliant and Alliance outposts via matter transportation ("mat-trans"), and range from planetary goods to new ship components like different shield types or laser energy sources, or extra torpedo holding units. The cargo bay contents are accessed via either the engineer's or the computer's menu. To activate or deactivate an item in a cargo bay, click on its name. To get a description of the item in a cargo bay, click on the cargo bay number. Mat-Trans is done while docked at a base, and is accessed via a menu command there. * Ship Modifications: Ship modifications are bonuses (awarded by Alliance Headquarters) you receive for accomplishing certain goals, and once activated can provide enormous help in battle. Bonuses include such things as triple torpedo tubes or a cloaking device. These bonuses apply only to the first and second missions ("Assault on the Alliance" and "The Enemy Within"). The modifications currently made to the Reliant are accessed also via either the engineer's or computer's menu. Likewise, to activate or deactivate a ship modification, click on its name. Complete descriptions of current ship modifications can be found in the ship's computer. Bonuses are awarded by selecting one of the possible eight from a menu. Some modifications use energy: therefore, they should be deactivated if the player wants to replenish energy reserves. © Target Scanner: The target scanner works in conjunction with the laser and gives information on the enemy vessel currently locked on target. The information includes current energy level, as well as weapon and shield energy types (see below). The target scanner is turned on or off via the weapons officer, or by clicking on the appropriate place in the status window, as indicated above. Having the target scanner turned on uses a slight amount of energy, so be sure to turn it off if you want your total energy to regenerate. Information such as that received from the target scanner will be displayed in the view screen, similar to a "heads-up display". Also displayed on-screen are signals indicating which ship systems are currently damaged, and a signal if any messages from headquarters are waiting. * Life Support: Life support operates at all times, unless damaged during an attack, so it normally does not need to be worried about. Once life support falls below 100%, the chances of a crew member suddenly passing out increase. * Computer: The Reliant has an on-board computer with a library of information about the Reliant and the Alliance. It also has the ability to display the current contents of the cargo bays and any modifications currently made to the Reliant. To activate the ship's computer, press the ‘C’ key or click the mouse on the computer icon in the upper right corner of the Game Screen. The available commands will appear in the Commands Window. Here, you can elect to view the Galactic Map, which is a view similar to the Long Range Scan but only providing the location of Alliance starbases and planets. By clicking on a sector containing a base or planet, you will be presented with information about that particular outpost. In addition, the ship's computer contains information about Energy Types available in the game. They are conventional (Type A); high energy (Type B); particle (Type C); alternative (Type D); and unknown (Type E). The Reliant begins with weapons and shields of Type A, and can be changed by obtaining different weapons and shields at Alliance outposts. The descriptions available of the weapon and shield types held in the cargo bays gives an indication of the usefulness and vulnerabilities of each energy type. The I.A.S. Reliant The Missions of Starship Reliant II “ THE INTERPLANETARY ALLIANCE The Alliance has several bases scattered throughout the territory, including space stations (pictured in the large Game Screen picture) and planetary bases. Here, you can repair your ship, restock energy and torpedo supplies, treat crew members, exchange personnel, transfer cargo to and from your ship, or save the current game. Alliance bases are helpful in that they can perform their functions faster than your single crew member (Engineer or Doctor) - two to four times faster. Space stations are the most efficient, while planetary bases are half as efficient as space stations. The Alliance did all it could to make the interface easy and understandable, so this discussion will not delve into your options at a base. In addition, should Alliance Headquarters need to contact you with important information, they will do so via subspace message. Your Helmsman will inform you when a message is received, and will display the message for you on screen upon request. The command for this is in the Helmsman's menu. Note the importance of having a Helmsman; without one, important messages would not be able to be viewed. The Interplanetary Alliance The Missions of Starship Reliant II COMMAND SUMMARY Nobody said commanding a starship would be easy. Before mastering command of your ship and crew, the Captain must learn the geography of the command console. A summary of the default command keys accepted is shown below. The Preferences option on the title screen allows you to assign the commands shown below in red to any key of your choosing, providing each key is used for only one command. However, some keys are reserved: these are shown below in blue. [ese] FI)F2|)F3)F4 FS | Fé) FP) FS) | FS |FIO} R11 |F12|/FIS/ Pid FS q age| delete eto homdt28 clear’ det fend fP39*|| 7 WAlalol™ 1 + F: Fires one of the Fore torpedo bays. If one bay is currently reloading, the other bay will be fired. - A: Fires the Aft torpedo bay. - SPACE: If the laser is locked on a target, this fires the laser cannon until either it is let up or the laser energy charge is completely drained. It will also stop if the target ship is no longer in range (i.e., leaves the view screen area). » CONTROL: If the laser is in targeting mode, this key toggles the laser lock among all of the enemy ships visible in the Radar Window. - Arrow keys: Control ship movement. Up arrow thrusts forward, down arrow thrusts in reverse. + Please note: SHIFT-REVERSE THRUST brings the ship to a complete halt. - TAB: Selects the next crew member below the currently selected one. The crew member's commands will appear in the Command Window. - ESC: Emergency warp. Remember that the warp destination is selected at random from one of the surrounding eight sectors, and that this of course will only work if the warp engines are functioning. * - or +: Adjusts the warp speed accordingly. You do not have to press the SHIFT key to use +. ° H: Hails a base (space station or planetary base). You must be within a certain range, and at full stop. ¢ Remember: SHIFT—REVERSE THRUST brings the ship to a complete halt. * Q: Aborts the current game and returns you to the title screen. ° 1,2,3,4,5: Selects the appropriate crew command listed in the Command Window. - RETURN: At any time, this re-displays the currently selected crew member's commands in the Command Window. This is useful if a message is being displayed in the Command Window which is obscuring the currently available commands. * OPTION: While viewing the Long Range Scan or Galactic Map, depressing and holding down this key allows you to use the Command Summary The Missions of Starship Reliant II arrow keys (or whichever keys are being used to control the ship) to maneuver the selection box around between sectors. + SHIFT: used in conjunction with one of two keys. SHIFT-TAB works like TAB but in the opposite direction (selects the crew member above the currently selected one). Also used with the key for reverse thrust (default = down arrow) for “all-stop." ¢ One Last Time: SHIFT-REVERSE THRUST brings the ship to a complete halt. - C: Activates the ship's computer. The available commands will appear in the Command Window. - CAPS LOCK: Pauses the game for as long as it is activated. Command Summary The Missions of Starship Reliant II CREDITS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks in particular go to Larry Weiskirch, Greg Swenson, Sean Rooney, and Michael LaBossiere, who offered countless pieces of advice and provided just enough crack on the whip to keep me imprisoned in my room hacking away, ignoring most other aspects of my life. This program would not have been possible without the enormous help of Ingemar Ragnemalm's Sprite Animation Toolkit, an outstanding programmer's library for making sprite-based animation which is available on the Internet; | recommend it for anyone wishing to use animation in their program. Thanks also go to Matt Slot, who designed the library routines used for the screen fade, and Eric Oehler of Kiwi Media, whose designs gave rise to the enemy battleship. And of course, thanks to all of the original play testers: Charles Kung, Jesse Anderson, Dan Schaeffer, Sean McLean, Geoff Peters, John Walker, Paul Lynch, Dameon Welch, Jason Aller, and Ingemar Ragnemalm. Hope | didn't leave anyone out... Credits & Acknowledgements The Missions of Starship Reliant II ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND THE GAME I'm 29 years old, author of the shareware game "The Missions of Starship Reliant!" which is coming up on three years old. In the real world, I'm making a career out of being a student; I'm currently enrolled ina dual degree M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of Illinois at Chicago, with the hope that someday -- some year -- I'll receive both degrees. Just recently | finished my graduate research in the field of cancer immunology, and currently I’m finishing up the final two years of medical school. I've been at all of this now for over seven years, and perhaps a year from now I'll be finished enough to say I'm a real “doctor doctor" with nothing more than a grueling residency ahead of me. Fun? | could think of other words. The idea for the original game came from those classic Trek games, where you keystroked around from quadrant to quadrant, wherever those pesky Klingons were (designated in the long range scan by "102" or "013" or whatever), blasting away with torps and phasers without much real action. | thought, what if there was a game like that, but in real-time? A real Star Trek game with pictures of Riker and LaForge to interact with, and fast, intense battle. And, to make the game more enticing, | could arrange to have different game themes (missions?) that could be acquired later, so that the game itself wouldn't lose player interest as rapidly. After a lot of initial work, | decided to stay away from an actual Trek game and go more toward my own creation, not wanting to mess with people's preconceptions about Star Trek. Thus began the concept of Missions. Programming began in February of 1993, but by April | realized what a mess | had gotten myself into. That realization came, not coincidentally, with the realization that animation programming on the Mac, at least fast animation programming, goes incredibly far beyond the huggable Toolbox routines one has at their disposal. After many desperate cries of help in comp.sys.mac.programmer, | came across a helpful fellow named Ingemar Ragnemalm, who spoke of his project called "Sprite Animation Toolkit". After describing my project to him, we agreed SAT would be perfect for this sort of game, and he let me be a beta tester for the toolkit. It saved my life; without the animation to worry about, | could focus more on the game and less on the real technical stuff, which would have taken a lot of extra time to learn. Because | had to junk everything | had written to that point (not much, really) and start again, | consider the actual programming of Missions to have begun then, at about the beginning of May '93. One full year later, | released version 1.0 of The Missions of Starship Reliant! to some local First Class BBSs and America Online. It's hard to believe | worked on it for that long, but there were so many different things to install in the game, most of which had to be learned as | went along. But with the aid of the THINK Pascal manuals and the Inside Mac volumes, not to mention the indispensable THINK Reference program, I'd have to say that was the best part of the whole project; that it was all one long, incredible learning experience. Even if the game didn't succeed, | knew | had succeeded. As my father once said in a letter to me some years back, "Sometimes we put so much emphasis on what we've produced (or, worse yet, on what others think of what we've produced) that we miss the essential point of creation: It's a process, not a product, and it's the joyfulness of the experience that defines it and you, not just the product." | think it applies well. And | believe it's what made this all worthwhile. Even if my Ph.D. advisor would slaughter me if she found out how much time | did not spend reading papers or working in the lab. Soon after, my game found its way onto the Internet at Sumex and UMich, and onto CompuServe and eWorld. | had no idea what to expect when | released it, but the indication from my beta testers was that it would do well. The response | got was swift and incredible, and | knew right away | was in for a fun ride. Aside, of course, from the numerous (and frustrating) crash reports, most of the letters | received in the first few weeks were tremendously complimentary. Within the first month | received letters from two or three companies looking to acquire or distribute the game, and by the second week of release | had already received the first few registration checks. Wow, money! The system seemed to be working. Then came a letter telling me the game had been nominated for Best New Shareware Game to be announced at the Mac Expo in Boston, and that it would appear (however briefly) in MacUser. Unreal. When it received Honorable Mention, it blew me away. In the nearly three years since its release, it has been a wild trip. About the Author and the Game The Missions of Starship Reliant II HOW TO REGISTER The UNREGISTERED copy of Missions (v2.2) is a fully functional, complete game, made available free of charge. Please feel free to distribute the game anywhere you like, just as long as you include all of the original files that came with the game, including this one, and as long as you do not charge for it. If you wish to sell or include the game in any for-profit collection, you must obtain permission from the author. The REGISTERED Version Wait, there's more! Although the unregistered version has access to only one mission ("Assault on the Alliance"), by REGISTERING your copy, not only do you gain peace of mind for helping a struggling Mac programmer, but you also gain access to TWO MORE MISSIONS, each with their own interesting plot twists, independent goals, and different enemies. The two extra missions are: THE ENEMY WITHIN A group of militant rebels have seized control of three Alliance planets, and they are intent on controlling more. It is up to the Reliant to regain control of the planets and save the populace from their terrorist control. Included are extra "sub-missions" that take place within the game, such as a rescue mission and a mission to escort relief supplies to the beseiged planets. THE RIFT A strange alien device of terrifying power has been discovered on an Alliance moon, and its activation has led to the formation of a rift in space and time that threatens the existence of the galaxy. The only option is to send the Reliant and her crew through the rift and back in time to try and prevent the discovery of the device...but the effects on the present could be disastrous... Registration Registering your copy of Missions costs US$20.00, and can be done easily from within the program. Just select the "REGISTER" option from the main menu. Missions uses Release Software Corporation’s embedded technology, called SalesAgent. SalesAgent is a secure, reliable technology open to all vendors and developers which makes it easy to register and pay for software. Just decide how you want to pay -- modem, mail, fax, or telephone. If you have a modem attached to your computer, you can register immediately. Choose Immediate On-line Payment with Modem. All you need is a credit card. Payment happens through a How To Register The Missions of Starship Reliant II secure, private dial-in network -- not the Internet. If you'd rather pay by check, then choose Order by Mail/Fax. With this option, you will print out an order form on paper and mail it in. You can also fax your order if you want to pay by credit card. If you don’t have a modem or don’t want to register Missions electronically, you can call a toll-free telephone number 24 hours a day and register over the telephone -- just choose Order by Phone and follow the instructions on the registration screen. SalesAgent makes it easy to register...it's that simple. What if I'm already registered? If you registered previously for Missions version 1.0 or 1.1, registration for Missions version 2.2 is FREE OF CHARGE. Just contact the author at DoDProdctn@aol.com to receive your FREE registration code. Thank you for your support. How To Register The Missions of Starship Reliant II 3K CONTACTING THE AUTHOR If you have any questions or comments about the game, or bugs to report, I'm always here to help out or listen. Or, if you are a previously registered user (versions 1.0 or 1.1), and you need your FREE registration code for version 2.2, let me know. | can be contacted by e-mail at: DoDProdctn@ aol.com or by U.S. Mail at: DoD Productions 1309 West Flournoy Street, Suite 2 Chicago, IL 60607-3336 Feel free to drop a line anytime. You can also visit the Alliance online! Visit the official Missions of the Reliant WWW site at: http://www.kraken.com/DoD/ Contacting the Author The Missions of Starship Reliant II