Weird Worlds Manual
Weird Worlds Manual
Weird Worlds Manual
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MODS ...........................................................................................................................16
CREDITS ......................................................................................................................17
PERMISSIONS.............................................................................................................19
Over 100 years have passed since the millennium ships arrived. The colonies are
Pentium II 500MHz (600MHz or better recommended) thriving. Agricultural hubs have become cities, and an abundance of natural resources
128M RAM continues to provide for rapid progress.
Windows 98 (or newer)
DirectX 6 (or better) Technology has improved beyond that of 22nd century Earth. Robotic spaceships are
OpenGL 1.1 compatible video card no longer necessary. Slow cryoships have become obsolete. It is an exciting new era
DirectX compatible sound card of deep space exploration. And-
40M of free hard drive space
Click.
INSTALLATION "Hey, what did you do that for? The movie just started. Turn it back on."
It's easy! Double-click the __TBD__.exe and follow the simple instructions. "We've seen it before, George. Isn't this the one with the disgusting aliens and
inscrutable bird-beings in it?"
INTRODUCTION "Well yeah, so?"
In the 22nd century a multicultural schism group of peaceful rebels, scientists, "So, you know how I feel about those movies, George. They rot your brain -and they
scholars, engineers, artists and philosophers contrived a plan to build low tech atomic- cause juvenile delinquency!"
driven "millennium ships" to transport themselves to a new Eden, a planet as yet
undiscovered they called Hope. "Margie... It's only science fiction. It can't hurt anybody."
The colony fleet, constructed and launched from the far side of the Moon, was set on a "Well, I'm not too sure about that, George. Why, just today when I was--"
trajectory course calculated to encounter several candidate yellow star systems along
its grand arcing path. "Was what, honey?"
While the Terrans hibernated snug in their cryo-chambers, shipboard sensors scanned "What's that light, George?"
each star system for habitable worlds. If the search proved fruitless, eventually the
millennium ships would leave the Milky Way galaxy and be lost forever. "Gosh, I don't know, Margie. It's so bright now."
Thousands of years passed... The Nova Ship spent a year building up to detonation. When it occurred, the
supernova blast completely disintegrated the innermost planets of the backwater
At last, a suitable planet was detected and the Terrans were automatically revived yellow star system, and scoured the rest with cleansing radiation while boiling their
from their aeon-long slumber. According to their chronometers and charts, the star atmospheres away into space.
they would soon name Glory was the last viable system on their path, over 2000 light
years from home. The crew rejoiced and reveled in the destruction, hooting insanely and squirting
fiberglass from newly-formed blowholes. The energy released would propel them to
Remarkably, the Terran colonists had finally found an earthlike world. Even more another star system, whereupon the process would begin anew and another star
remarkably, it was, very literally, their last Hope. would die.
*** Kl9wanko burbled contentedly in his propylene relaxation cone. Life was good.
Hope is a temperate planet located in the Glory system on the edge of a vast dark ***
nebula called the Purple Void. The local neighborhood of stars is formally termed as
This is (almost but not quite) the setting of Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space.
Sadly, George and Margie do not appear in the game.
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SCORES
Discover exotic star systems; seek out new technologies, artifacts and lifeforms; SIMULATOR
boldly blow up stuff where no one has blown up stuff before!
Start the COMBAT SIMULATOR.
The object of Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space is to captain a starship, leave
your home world (Hope, in the Glory star system), explore as much of Sector Prime
(deep space) as you can, build up a flotilla of starships, make various discoveries and SETTINGS
then return to your planet of origin (Hope) before your mission time expires.
Adjust the volume levels of sound effects and music.
Mission success is calculated and scored depending on the value of what you bring
back with you, like ship upgrades, artifacts, technologies, lifeforms, allies, interesting
QUIT
information and even representatives of alien races.
CAPTAIN NAME
Launch the game program and go to the Main Menu.
A captain name is generated randomly each time the game is played. You may enter
MODS
your own captain name if you wish. Lock your captain's name for multiple sessions by
clicking RANDOM so it turns to LOCKED.
Open the Mod Loader.
STARSHIP NAME
VIDEO SETTINGS
A starship name is generated randomly each time the game is played. You may enter
Use Defaults your own starship name if you wish. Lock your captain's name for multiple sessions by
Custom Mode clicking RANDOM so it turns to LOCKED.
Full Screen Mode
Windowed Mode
SELECT SHIP
QUIT
Choose ship type and mission
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Large - 48 stars/30 years Pirate mission
Choose the amount of Nebula to appear on the starmap. Nebula areas usually slow Military mission
the movement speed of a starship or flotilla considerably.
Primary objective: First Contact with alien races.
Less - 20% Secondary objective: Collect technology.
Normal - 30%
More - 40% CONTINUE
Note that these are approximate percentages.
Begin the game.
ENEMY STRENGTH
CANCEL
Choose the strengths of enemy flotillas to make the game easier or more difficult.
Return to the SPACE DOCK.
Less - Small flotillas
Normal - Average-sized flotillas
More - Large flotillas
INTERFACE & SPECIAL KEYS
Note that a flotilla is a group of starships. Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space is controlled with the mouse and one mouse
button. It has a one-click interface that is very easy to use.
TUTORIAL
The most important special key to remember is F1, which will evoke a HELP popup at
any time during the game.
Clicking this button will ENABLE or DISABLE the tutorial mode.
The second most important key is the SPACEBAR, which is primarily used to PAUSE
START starship combat.
Go to the MISSION BRIEFING. The number keys, 1-5, will select individual ships in the order that their icons are lined
up at the top of the STARMAP VIEW and BATTLE VIEW screens.
CANCEL Pressing ESC during the game will halt the game and evoke the DEBRIEFING
screen. Pressing the ESC key at any other time will evoke the MAIN MENU.
Return to the MAIN MENU.
Pressing F12 will take a screenshot and store it in the game folder as a .tga image
file.
MISSION BRIEFING
ALL SPECIAL KEYS
The Mission Briefing screen will provide you with a quick review of your mission
objectives. Starmap View & Battle View
Science mission F1 - HELP
F12 - Screenshot
Primary objective: Collect unusual lifeforms. NUMBERS 1-5 - Select Ship
Secondary objective: Discover star systems and other space phenomena. ESC - Quit to DEBRIEFING or MAIN MENU
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Starmap View ONLY
Note that you may first want to look at the star itself by pressing VIEW.
C - Open cargo hold
SPACEBAR - Advance time/stop advancing time (use with care) Also note that the primary planet (where items are found and events occur) will not
appear if you VIEW another star from afar unless you have already explored it.
Battle View ONLY
The option to FOLD (fold space) from star to star may also appear if a certain event
SPACEBAR - Pause combat occurs in the game. The option to ENTER a black hole may appear as well if certain
T - Turn conditions are met.
C - Cloak
S - Stop Flotillas travel at superluminal speeds. The faster the speed, the less time it takes to
R - Retreat move from star system to star system. Star travel speeds are determined by the quality
A - Ram/attack of a ship's star drive. During the game you can improve the speed of your flotilla by
installing better star drives.
Note that text input is required to change ship names, captain names, planet names
and to make a wish. While you travel, your sensors may detect an uncharted BLACK HOLE (See below.).
At this point you will be given options either to CONTINUE or GO BACK.
STARMAP VIEW When your starship or flotilla reaches its destination, if it is unguarded, an exploration
window will open to reveal what you have found there. This is when items and
The Starmap View contains two windows. lifeforms are discovered, and when most events occur.
The large main window displays stars, nebula areas, black holes, encounters and If the system already contains starships, the RADAR window (See RADAR
other important information. It is also the interface used to move your ship, or flotilla of CONTACT below.) will open and give you options either to ENGAGE the displayed
ships, from star to star. contacts or AVOID them. If AVOID is chosen, your flotilla will attempt to return to a
previously-explored system.
Note that you may click and drag the starmap in any direction to view the entire map.
DESCRIPTIONS
The self-adjusting window to the left of the main window displays your ships
(silhouette and image), ship names, onboard systems, cargo hold, any passengers Descriptions of things found and encountered are always given when something is
acquired during your journey and an icon button to evoke the SHIP FORMATION first discovered. After that, to view an item description, mouseover the item icon. A ?
window. (question mark) icon will appear. Click it at any time to review the description again.
Note that the ship images also display the firing arcs of installed weapons.
TRANSFERRING THINGS
At the top of the screen the self-adjusting window also displays the captain's name,
the current mission date, the icons that are used (by mouse click) to view ships and Things may be transferred from planet to cargo hold, from cargo hold to planet, from
the cargo hold, the buttons used to pass time deliberately (use with care), and the cargo hold to ship (ship system installation), from ship to cargo hold (uninstallation)
relative speed (Lightspeed) of your flotilla, both in deep space (green bar) and in and from ship to ship (both). Simply click the item to pick it up and then drop it in the
nebula areas (purple bar). appropriate place.
This may seem like a lot to deal with the first time you play, but it is really very easy. Any item (except passengers who have their own compartment) may be dropped in
Take a minute or two to click on various icons and buttons to see what they do. Most the cargo hold.
features and functions in the game are obvious once you try them.
Ship systems may also be dropped (installed) in ship system slots. See UPGRADES
MOVEMENT below.
To move from one star system to another, click a destination star system and choose
the ENGAGE option. Your flotilla will travel in a straight line (called a star lane) at best
speed toward the destination system.
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UPGRADES
ENCOUNTERS
Each ship has a number of ship system slots visible on their silhouettes in the
STARMAP VIEW. Slots come in four flavors, one for each type of ship system, and STARS & PLANETS
each is shaped differently.
Each time you visit a star system, an exploration window will popup and display the
Triangular slots are for weapons. star your flotilla is currently in orbit around and the most interesting planet located
there.
Circular slots are for general ship systems like combat computers, shields and
sensors.
RADAR CONTACT
Square diamond-shaped slots are for combat thrusters.
Often, a star system is already occupied by one or more alien flotillas, preventing you
Trapezoidal shield-shaped slots are for star drives. from exploring the system. Your ship's hyperwave radar will display the number of
flotillas encountered, the number of alien vessels in each flotilla, their relative sizes
Starships may be upgraded by swapping out old systems for newer, more advanced and the names of the alien races involved (if you have met them before).
and more powerful ones. This is a very important thing to do. A properly-equipped fleet
is essential to achieving the best success, and highest scores, in the game. If you wish to initiate combat, press ENGAGE on the radar window. If not, click
AVOID.
Note that installations use up time depending on how advanced, powerful, rare or
exotic the system being installed is. ITEMS & LIFEFORMS
REPAIRS When you visit a star system, you may find an artifact, technology, lifeform, or other
items of interest there, that may be transferred to your cargo hold.
If a ship system is highlighted in red, click it to repair it. If a ship's hull integrity bar is
visible and red, click it to repair it. Repairs take time. More advanced or complex EVENTS
systems take longer to repair. Repair is automatic in combat but only if the proper ship
systems have been installed.
When you visit a star system, you may find or trigger an event. Some events are
benign, others are dangerous, but many are helpful, like finding an opportunity to
SHIP FORMATION expand your flotilla by hiring a mercenary.
To evoke the ship formation window, click the circular icon just to the right of the ship Note that some particularly important events may interrupt the game at any time.
silhouette -the one with three triangles. Yeah, that's the one.
MERCS & SIDEKICKS
The ship formation window looks similar to the RADAR display and can be used to
arrange the starships in your flotilla any way you like. To do this, click and drag each
As you explore Sector Prime you will have opportunities to hire mercenaries and
ship into position.
rescue spacecraft to increase the size of your flotilla. If payment is required, select an
appropriate item and give it to the mercenary. He, she or it will join your flotilla and be
To select a leader, click on a ship then click LEADER. When you begin combat, all
controllable by you. You will see its ship icon appear next to your starship icon at the
ships will be set up to escort your leader.
top of the screen on both the STARMAP VIEW and the BATTLE VIEW.
Note that when you select a leader, the order of the ship selection icons at the top of
Note that the player flotilla can include up to five spaceships, including the one
the screen change appropriately.
chosen at the beginning of the game.
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BLACK HOLES MOVEMENT
Black holes are deadly. Unless their gravitic forces are negated by extremely Ships move automatically. All you need do is click a ship then click anywhere else.
advanced technology, they will devour any starships that pass too close (star drive The ship will move at best speed toward that location. Combat speeds are determined
speeds do factor into this). by the quality of a ship's thrusters.
Black holes may be safely explored if the player flotilla possesses the proper gizmo. If ALLIES
a flotilla is able to successfully orbit a black hole, an additional command, ENTER, will
appear. Entering a black hole provides another means of space travel (often called a You may have allies in your flotilla. You may also make alliances with other races
wormhole) however it can be a very bumpy ride. under certain circumstances and fight alongside one or more of their flotillas.
Some black holes are as yet undiscovered when the game begins. As your flotilla of
ships travel through space, your sensors may detect one and alert you to its presence. SHIP STATUS
SUPERNOVA The status of any ship in combat can be easily checked. Mouseover a ship. A window
will open displaying the silhouette of the ship, shield and hull damage bars and ship
system locations. As the ship takes damage in combat, ship systems can be damaged
A supernova event is rare but when it happens your flotilla must avoid its expanding or disabled. The severity of damage is represented by four colors.
shockwave when traveling or be instantly destroyed.
Green - The system is nominal.
HOME WORLDS Yellow - The system has sustained light damage.
Red - The system has been heavily damaged.
Home worlds are special in that they offer the opportunity to trade with other Gray - The system has been disabled.
civilizations. In most cases a home world must be won, either by defeating its
protective force of starships or by more diplomatic means. ATTACKING
To attack an enemy starship, select one of your ships, then click on the enemy
BATTLE VIEW starship you would like to attack. Your ship will begin to move towards the adversary
and will automatically fire its weapons as soon as the enemy ship is in range.
The Battle View displays starship combat. Combat is played out in real time. You may
pause combat at any time by clicking the PAUSE button or by pressing the ARTIFACTS
SPACEBAR.
Default actions are executed on the BATTLE VIEW by first selecting a friendly Some artifacts may be used in combat. If you have them they are represented by
starship and then clicking somewhere else. SPECIAL ORDERS (See below.) are given large icons at the top of the screen. To use an artifact in combat, click it. Artifacts may
by selecting a friendly ship and then using either the aftertouch popup or the be used only once per combat.
CONTROL BAR.
SPECIAL ORDERS
The aftertouch popup appears when you click a ship and hold the mouse button
down. A list of special tactical options will appear in a half of a second, or immediately Special orders may be given to any friendly ship either by using the CONTROL BAR
if you drag the mouse. or by selecting a ship and holding the mouse button down for a second or two.
The CONTROL BAR displays buttons for issuing orders to selected ships. Select a
ship and its particular special option buttons will be displayed. STOP
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TURN
Individual ships may be retreated as well by selecting them and choosing the
RETREAT option on the CONTROL BAR. Ships which successfully retreat in this way
Turn the ship. will wait until combat concludes and then rejoin your flotilla.
ESCORT Note that ships can retreat only if they are out of the range of enemy weapons, or if
they reach the edge of the combat zone (an area of space roughly 25 square
Escort a friendly ship. kilometers in size delineated by an orange grid line).
To escort another ship, click a ship then select the ship to be escorted by clicking it BATTLE VIEW SPECIAL KEYS
and holding the mouse button down. When the ESCORT option appears, select it. At
this point, when you move the mouse, you will open and close a circle. Click any point SPACEBAR - Pause combat
along the edge of the circle and the escorting ship will move to that position at best NUMBERS 1-5 - Select ship
speed, then follow. T - Turn
C - Cloak
Note that a ship may break formation at any time by giving it new orders. S - Stop
R - Retreat
FIRE A - Ram/attack
F1 - HELP
Point anywhere, select FIRE and the ship will auto-fire its weapons in that direction.
Note that this is not necessary to do. Ships weapons auto-fire whenever an enemy is
ENDING THE ADVENTURE
in range. This option is available for special tactical purposes.
To end the game, either return to Hope, your star system of origin, and click RETIRE
RAM or press ESC at any time during the game. In either case the game will stop and
conclude with a short DEBRIEFING.
To ram an enemy vessel, click on the ship you wish to ram with, then click on an
enemy and hold the mouse button down for a second or two. A small window will open DEBRIEFING
with a list of movement options. Choose RAM. Ramming is also an option available on
the CONTROL BAR.
When the game ends, whether by choice or circumstance, the DEBRIEFING screen
will display your captain's fate, a breakdown of the mission and a total star buck value
Note that most starship are not designed to ram. They will sustain heavy damage if
of everything brought back to Hope (minus the initial cost of the mission). This total is
used in this way.
your score and it will appear on the HIGH SCORE LIST.
BOARD
SCORE BREAKDOWN
Occasionally you will be given the opportunity to board an another spaceship. If you
Ships - allied ships in your flotilla
select an adversary and the word BOARD appears, you may move safely to the ship.
Exploration - planet exploration, First Contacts and general discoveries
When you hear a KACHUNK sound, the ship has been boarded and an event will
Diplomacy - battles, finding alien home worlds, alliances and ambassadors
occur.
Lifeforms - lifeforms brought back to Hope
Artifacts - ancient and unique artifacts brought back to Hope
Note that RAM and BOARD may be the default selection for some ships in certain
Technology - ship systems and other devices brought back to Hope
circumstances.
Bonus - bounties, defeating bosses, saving the world, fines
RETREAT
You may retreat your entire flotilla by pressing the RETREAT button. If retreat is
successful, the flotilla will attempt to return to a previously-explored star system.
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6. Use the Klakar like a bank and safety deposit box. Once you obtain a Klakar
COMBAT SIMULATOR beacon you can summon them at any time. They don't care about what objects are
worth, so trade your expensive but nonuseful items for cheaper ones as protection
The COMBAT SIMULATOR is evoked from the MAIN MENU. It allows you to fight against thieves, saboteurs and bad luck in combat.
battles and practice your tactical skills against up to three opposing sides.
Note that if an item is stolen, it may reappear and be available to you again at any
The simulator operates exactly like the COMBAT VIEW battles in the game. Refer to place where items are traded.
the COMBAT VIEW section above for commands and other details.
7. If you have the Klakar trade beacon or know where their home world is, always
When you start the simulator you will open RIPCORD'S FLIGHT SCHOOL, a screen trade cheap items for better ones with them one last time before you end a mission
for selecting ships and allies for yourself and your AI opponents. and RETIRE.
The first row of slots is for player ships. Up to five ships may be chosen. Note that the 8. If you survive a battle but one or more ships in your flotilla were lost, keep in mind
first ship slot denotes the LEADER (flagship). Also note that this flotilla may be that some items aboard those ships may survive and appear on the planet popup. If
comprised of ships from multiple races. so, the item(s) may be reacquired.
Rows two, three and four are for enemy flotillas. Each row represents the flotilla of any 9. Be sure to mount shields in rearward system slots. Forward ship system slots
one alien race. usually take damage first during starship combat. In other words, the position of each
system slot on your ship is actual.
To add ships to flotillas, mouseover the sliding race selection window and choose a
race by clicking its picture. When you do, the race's particular selection of ships will 10. The ability to destroy incoming missiles and torpedoes is called point defense.
appear in the same window. Choose a ship, click it and it will be added to the flotilla. Guns,like railguns and cone cannons, operate as point defense weapons and are
more useful than they may first appear.
Note that you may add up to 16 starships of any particular type to flotillas two, three
and four. Also note that although these flotillas default as enemies, you may set them 11. Lookout Frogs are wily and the Toy Robot is not a toy.
to be friendly if you wish.
12. There is a way to see cloaked ships.
1. Be wary of battles until you have increased the size of your flotilla and upgraded 14. In Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space, time is the ultimate adversary.
your ships.
15. If you have a ram-hardened ship in your flotilla, equip it with a good shield and a
2. Always make sure that you have a STAR DRIVE installed on your ship(s). Note that cloaking device. They'll never know what hit 'em.
the speed of a flotilla is derived by an average of the speeds of all installed star drives
on your ships.
MODS
3. Avoid nebula areas completely until you have nebula drives (or another more exotic
drive). Nebula areas will slow a flotilla to a crawl and eat up valuable mission time To obtain free mods online visit Shrapnel Games (www.ShrapnelGames.com) and
without the proper star drive technology. Digital Eel (www.digital-eel.com) for the latest mod information and downloads.
4. In combat, weapon and shield quality is important but remember that combat To prepare a mod for play, simply place the mod folder into the Weird Worlds game
computers, electronic countermeasures (ECM) and thruster quality are equally folder.
important to success in battles.
To play a mod click the MODS button on the MAIN MENU. User-created mods will be
5. Always keep a cheap item or two on hand to purchase mercenaries. (On the other listed in the mod loader window. Select one by clicking it. The title of the mod will turn
hand, if a merc is given a ship system he or she does not possess, or a better one yellow. It is ready to play. Click START and off you go!
than one he or she already possesses, the system will be automatically installed. It
may also be switched around later, aha!) To make your own mod see the Modmaker's Guide to the Galaxy documentation
found at www.ShrapnelGames.com
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CODE
PUBLISHER Phosphorous
Iikka Keränen
Tim Brooks Rich Carlson
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PERMISSIONS
Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space uses SDL and SDL_image dynamically linked
libraries (interface compatible with SDL 1.2.8 and SDL_image 1.2.4), released under
LGPL license: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/lesser.html
The use of LGPL libraries in a closed source application such as Weird Worlds:
Return to Infinite Space is allowed by section 6b of the license. Pre-built binaries are
included in the installation for your convenience.
SDL source code and binary downloads are available at the SDL
website: http://www.libsdl.org/
Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space also uses the following open media standards:
OpenGL: www.opengl.org
OpenAL: www.openal.org
Ogg Vorbis: www.xiph.org