=>Instructions for playing Ragnarok

Original StarWars written by Robert Wills (BBC B)
Converted for the Acorn, translated to C & improved by Jonathan Cooper
Translated to python by Jonathan Cooper


>> Introduction
 Ragnarok is another version of the game of galctic conquest, for at least
2 players. Each player controls fleets of ships, and must annihilate the
opponents to win.


>> What you'll need
 A python interpreter: see http://www.python.org
 Pygame: see http://www.pygame.org
 Tcl/Tk: from your Linux distro, or with python

 To run, execute ragnarok.py from a terminal window, double-click on
ragnarok.py, or whatever is appropriate for your system.

 To load a previously saved game, you can pass it as the first argument
on the command-line, eg "./ragnarok.py savedgames/Jon". Alternatively,
click on the 'Load saved game' button in the setup window.


>> Set up
 The set up menu allows you to set up the parameters for a new game. You
can set the number of players, the number of stars, player names, player
colours, and whether each player is controlled by a human or computer. For
computer players you can also select the style of ai.
 The "Comp, allied" AI also needs to know which player to ally with; you
can choose this using the far right column. This column is only relevant to
the "Comp, allied" AI; it's ignored for all other player types. If you don't
supply an ally, it will behave like the standard computer AI.

 When you are ready, click OK. You will be asked to enter a name for the
game, then Ragnarok will begin.


>> Game play
 Ragnarok is run as a series of events. Each time an event happens to you,
you get a turn. The star on which the event happened will be marked. When
you have selected a star, you will be presented with a menu with some of
the following options:

     LOOK  - allows you to select another star.
     SEND  - send some ships from this star (see Send menu).
     BUILD - alter the type of ship being built at this star (see Ship
             types).
     NOVA  - if you have the nova bomb technology (see later) this will blow
             up the star.
     GENE  - removes genestealers at all your stars.
     EXP   - activates experimental device.
     ALLY  - arrange alliances with other players.
     TACTICAL - displays all your fleets, and allows you to find out when
                they're arriving where, etc.
     PASS  - this ends your turn and the program moves on to the next event.
     HELP  - help on playing Ragnarok.
     SAVE  - saves the game.
     QUIT  - end the game. You wish be asked if you wish to save the game
             first.

Menu items can also be selected by keyboard shortcuts, which are generally
indicated by capitalisation.


>> Technologies
 Some stars may have various technologies at them. When you conquer a star,
the star's technology is given to your fleet, and can be spread around
your empire. The technologies are as follows:
   Stealth: if you send 1 non-dreadnought ship to attack a star, it will
            get in some free shots before the opposition returns fire.
            When researched you can send 2 ships of any type.
   Energy shield: This gives your ships an extra life in battles.
   Hyperwarp: This approximately halves the travel time between stars.
   Destructor: When your last ship is destroyed in battle, it explodes
               catastrophically and destroys some of the opposition.
   Turbo lasers: This increases your chances of shooting in battle.
   Mind control: This increases the chances of the enemy surrendering in
                 battle.
   Nova bomb: This allows you to blow up stars. Ships at the star will be
              destroyed.
   Experimental device: This has random effects, which can be good or bad.
 There are also some special technologies which can't be spread:
   Black Hole: Any ships which go to the star will be destroyed!
   Robot factory: ships are built here twice as fast as normal.
   Star Gate: A portal opens at this star offering instantaneous travel to
              any star. After use it takes 5 years to recharge.

 A star may have Genestealers lurking around. These use your fleets to
spread around your empire, and sometimes take over stars.

 Some technologies can be researched, instead of building a ship at one
star. Researching a technology increases its power, or removes defects.


>> Building
 At varying intervals after you conquer a star, a ship will be built there.
The length of time depends on the type of ship being built (see Ship types).
This will be added to any fleet at that star. If a star has a robot factory,
the build time is halved.


>> The Send menu
 This allows you to set the number of each type of ship being sent.
If you send a dreadnought, a 'Hanger' option will appear. This allows you
to set the number of ships in the dreadnought's hanger. If all the ships in
the fleet are either dreadnoughts or in a hanger, the fleet will travel at
the speed of a dreadnought.

 If route validation is enabled in the choices file, your proposed journey
will be checked. If there are any stars in the way of a straight-line
flight path, then the journey will be disallowed.


>> Ship types
 There are four different types of ship:

Fighter - this is the basic ship type (as in the original StarWars). It
 takes 5 years to build.

Frigate - this ship takes 8 years to build. In battle it will fire twice
 whenever it gets a shot.

Scout - this ship travels faster than a fighter, but can't shoot. It takes
 5 years to build.

Dreadnought - this is the most deadly ship. It takes 25 years to build.
 In battle it will fire three times if it gets a shot. It has an extra
 shield. It also travels slightly faster than a fighter, but not as fast
 as a scout. It has 20 hanger spaces so that it can take a bodyguard.
 Fighters & scouts take 1 space, frigates take 2. It has a deep-space
 communications array, so you can alter its destination after sending it
 somewhere. Select COMM (shortcut left-alt) after selecting the star you
 sent it from to access this.


>> Configuration
 Many game options can be altered in the file config.py. The comments next
to each option should be fairly self-explanatory. If not, tell me. I would
suggest reading through this file at an early stage to see what is
available.


>> Cheats
 If enabled in the config file, pressing F1 when the main menu is displayed
puts you in cheat mode. You'll have to guess or experiment to find out what
the cheats do.


>> Some useful keys
 Pressing these at any time _should_ have the described effect:
     F4 - reset 'game speed' to normal
     F5 - reduce 'game speed' (increase scale factor of delays)
     F6 - increase 'game speed'
     F7 - set config option 'await_user' to yes
     F8 - set config option 'await_user' to no

     F3 - set 'game speed' to maximum (only really useful for watching
          computers battle it out :)

>> Warning
 A couple of the 'effects' involve a flashing screen. I've no idea if
this'll cause problems for epileptics, but I thought I'd mention it just in
case.


>> Contacting me
 I suggest you do this by email; I should be available at
     jonc@pinkstuff.transformers.org.uk
 for the forseeable future.
