Shipyards and Shoreleave : TEP Specs

Facilities

• Launch Request
  Allows take off from the base. Before you launch you can optionally look at the launch checklist.
• The Commodities Market
  This is where the player can buy and sell commodities, strangely enough. Unsurprisingly the prices of different commodities will vary across systems and therefore profit can be made. For more details see cargo.
• The Shipyard
  Shipyards sell ship upgrades and new and reconditioned ships for part exchange. The quality and range of goods will depend upon the technology level of the system where the shipyard is located.
• The Bulletin Board
  Rather like a USENET group without the banal chat :) People in desperate need of resources, looking for hire or with a task which needs doing will advertise here. If you are looking for crew members, it is wise to post on the board yourself. TEP will include an optional filtering system so you can quickly get to the adverts for which you are looking.
• The Police
  The Police, in systems where they exist, promote contact and fine payment. In some less lawful systems they may be open to bribery.
• The Military
  Most of the galactic powers have found mercenary space captains to be very helpful over the years. Some see them as future wing commanders ready to be called up for battle whereas others appreciate the way they can absolve themselves of all responsibility if a mission was to go wrong. The military will offer missions to the player, bestow ranks and issue calls-to-arms here. If the player was to advance high in the hierarchies chances are he/she

• Entertainment Complexes
  If you can spare the time and money, these help to raise crew (and your own) moral. If we had one or two of these, people could actually write some gambling code or whatever, ala Golden Saucer.
• Spacer Bars
  Every system has its sleazy and otherwise bars, but some systems are particularly notorious in this respect. Watch your back and your wallet if you choose to go information hunting here.
• Colleges
  Some systems specialize in running courses for crewmen and captains on the workings of a ship. If you are willing to dedicate a few days and a few hundred credits you could see an improvement in the skills of your crew. In addition, this could act as a 'tutorial' mode for TEP, with the usual simulated combats etc.

Shoreleave

For some captains a stop in port is only an opportunity to refuel, whereas to others (and their crew) it can mean a few days of relaxation between long haul space flights.
When you arrive at a port you will have the option of spending some time seeing the site and catching up on the local gossip. This can have a number of benefits; crew are generally happier when they get some time-off and you may pick up some salient pieces of information about the locality. There are also particular facilities which require a day or longer to utilize.

One of the most important uses of shoreleave is information gathering. The chance of finding useful information depends upon a number of factors.

• Your experience (number of times you have attempted this before).
• The number of crew members on shore leave
• The knowledge skill of your crew.
• The amount of money you are willing to spend to get this information (drinks/sweetners etc.).

• Rumoured location of a nearby haul of minerals/equipment. This could be naturally occurring (rich nebula), a haul of stolen goods (so you can return them to their rightful owners) or a long abandoned 'ship graveyard' rumoured to be haunted etc.
• The location of a nearby pirate base.
• The location and time of a robbery or assassination about to take place.
• Details about a planet which is suffering unusual economic circumstances in the vicinity.
• Plot links. See The Plot.
• Location of notorious/famous people who have bounties on their heads.

• A salesman willing to part with unusual/unlawful/alien goods for a price. No money back guarantee.
• Blackmarket traders willing to do a deal on dodgy cargo (slightly less obvious than the BBS approach of FE2).
• Someone looking for hire as a wingman or looking for a partner (ie. a henchman).

Cargo

• Water
• Animal meats
• Hydroponic meats
• Arable crops/food which isn't meat
• Liquid Oxygen
  
• Engineering Parts
• Computers
• Robots
• Hitech Goods (leading edge (possibly development) stuff, available only in quantity at scientific worlds)
• Medical Supplies
  
• Hydrogen Fuel
• Military Fuel
  
• Minerals
• Precious Minerals
• Gemstones
• Hybrid Materials

Illegal Goods in some systems

• Personal Weapons
• Siege Weapon (parts) - for ships/armoured vehicles etc.
• Animal Parts
• Alien Items/Artefacts
• Radioactives
• Narcotics

Launching and the Checklist

As fun as being in port is, soon the call of the void will lead any pilot worth his salt to get back into the cockpit and lift off. However, if this pilot has spent slightly too long/too much in the local bar a few minor details (like refulling) may have slipped his mind. Therefore, for such absent-minded pilots, TEP introduces the pre-liftoff checklist. This is optional!

Commander Mystery
Takeoff Checklist for Endeavor (KB-711)

Status(required)        - Flags          Task
--------------------------------------------------
                
        ===General ship Status===
6 Present, ok (6 Present, ok)           Check Crew
Ok (Ok)                                 Check engines
Late (Ok)               - DANGER        Check maintenance

              ===Trade===

Yes (Yes/ignore)                        Check Local prices
No  (yes/ignore)        - REMINDER      Check remote prices

Done (as req'd/Ignore)                  Load cargo

VTOL 325 kN Ok (<475 kN Ok)             Check Takeoff weight
HTOL 325 kN Ok (<600 kN Ok)    

VTOL 405 kN Ok (<425 kN Ok)             Check Landing weight
HTOL 405 kN Ok (<550 kN Ok)

Not Req. [no]    (500m/ Not req.)       Runway @ Takeoff
Not req. [2500m] (700m/ Not req.)       Runway @ Landing


No (Yes/ignore)        - REMINDER       Checked missions?

           === Navigation ===

Earth,Sol (As req'd/ignore)            Set dest.
Ignore (As req'd/ignore)               Set Route.
2 t (15 t, Ok.)         - WARNING      Load Hyperspace fuel
Low (OK)                - DANGER       Check intrasystem Fuel       


None (Yes /none)                        Fines Paid?
No  (Yes)               - WARNING       Req. Launch permission?

           ==== Take Off =====

Landed (Take off)       -REMINDER       Take Off

          === Total Flags  ====

2 Flags set (none)      -DANGER         DANGER
2 Warnings   (none)     -WARNING        Warnings
3 Reminders   (none)    -REMINDER       Reminders      

• You can click on any part of the checklist to view a problem.
• Flags:
  REMINDER "It might be useful to do this"
  WARNING "Some bad things might happen to you if you don't."
  DANGER "If you forget this: Say your prayers"
  
• Colours will be used to highlight flagged categories.
• A ship will take off without any further ado if there are WARNINGs.
• If there are one or more DANGER flags set, the ships computer will display a prompt and reminder before activating the engines.
• The ship will never refuse to takeoff. Just don't expect it to get very far if there is a Danger Flag set }:-).
• You can set certain things to (permanent) ignore if you don't need them or if they're irrelevant to your flight. They will not appear on the checklist.
• You can switch a filter on/off to see the whole checklist, or only the flagged sections. This way, you can simply keep clicking at the top of the list, fixing the problems, until the list is empty.
  For example:

  Filtered T/off checklist (sorted per priority):
  
  Status                  - Flag          Task
  
  Late (Ok)               - DANGER        Check maintenance
  Low (OK)                - DANGER        Check intrasystem Fuel       
  3 t (15 t, Ok)          - WARNING       Load Hyperspace fuel
  No  (yes/ignore)        - REMINDER      Check remote prices
  No (Yes/ignore)         - REMINDER      Checked missions?
  No  (Yes)               - WARNING       Req. Launch permission?
  Landed (Take off)       - REMINDER      Take Off
  	

  The player can click on each heading, to be instantly zipped to the screen which will allow him/her/it to fix the problem. If a problem occurs it is automatically added to the list. If a problem is solved, it is automatically removed from the list.
  Eventually the only remaining flag is 'Landed'. Clicking on this will request permission and start the engines.