Space Rogue General Walkthrough v1.02
Copyright 2009 by Vanshilar
If you find any bugs or errors, or have any comments or anything to add
(especially if there are any quests that you know of that's not listed here),
please look for me on the Abandonia.com forums. This is written for the PC
version of the game, although much of it should apply to the other versions of
the game as well.
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web
site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation
of copyright. If you want permission, look for me on Abandonia.com.
BASICS
------
I'll assume that you already know the basics of moving through space, such as
Newtonian Flight versus Cruise Flight. One thing that's nice is that the center
key (S or 5 on the keypad) automatically stops your rotation. Some other things
to note:
Ship Upgrades:
I've never found shields to be of much help, since they don't seem to work as
advertised. I'll usually get the cargo pods and turbo thruster first, then the
particle beam, then the rest as I get enough resources. The turbo thruster
doubles your acceleration so it's pretty nice. Due to a bug in the game, when
you buy an SM-1 missile, you will actually fire a Nova missile, and vice versa.
Thus, you should never buy Nova missiles, since they're more expensive and
you'll actually do less damage.
Space Hazards:
To avoid hazards, you can move backwards through space, since the game only
generates them ahead of you. For nebulae, only the white ones will damage you.
Some can be destroyed by shooting at them. You can also travel backward to a
Malir gate so that you're not damaged, for the gates that are inside of
nebulae.
Docking:
To dock, you must be traveling at 20 m/s or less, and contact certain locations
of each type of base:
Starbase: Contact the bright central pillar in the middle, or the top or bottom
tip of the pyramidal halves
Outpost: Contact any part of the arm which has a green/black door on the inside
Carrier: Contact any part of the main deck, top or bottom, as long as you don't
hit the island
Station: Contact any part of a station
Note that this is somewhat more expansive than what the manual told you about.
For several reasons they may reject you when you dock (such as firing on the
base). If this happens, travel around (via the navigation panel) until the next
day and return.
Ships List:
This is the list of ships and their stats. The Sunracer is your ship, but you
won't encounter other Sunracers.
Name Group Armor Laser Missile Systems Acc(m/s^2)
Sunracer None 300-500 10-par none f ebm 1.4
Cruiser Imperium 450 20 SM-1(100) cfaebm 1.05
Titan Imperium 1000 par Nova(250) cfaebm 0.7
Scow Guild 210 10 none aeb 0.7
Tanker Guild 360 15 SM-1(100) cfaebm 0.7
Dart Pirate 245 10 SM-1(100) cf ebm 1.4
Corsair Pirate 405 15 SM-1(100) cfaebm 1.05
Hunter None 350 par SM-1(100) f ebm 2.1
Wasp Manchi 180 15 Plasma(75) ebm 2.1
Vulture Manchi 480 20 Plasma(75) faebm 1.05
Group: This is the group that the ship belongs to, so your repute with them may
decrease if you fight those ships. Manchi ships are always aggressive.
Laser: Firing too often in too short of a time span will reduce the damage
done. The beam auto-lock automatically fires at the maximum rate where each
shot does maximum damage, which is nice.
10 = garnet (10 damage/shot)
15 = beryl (15 damage/shot)
20 = sapphire (20 damage/shot)
par = particle (20 damage/shot)
Acc: This is based on actual testing. Note that there are basically only four
acceleration rates, regardless of what the manual said. A turbo thruster will
double your acceleration. Being fully loaded with (8 tons of) cargo will
decrease your acceleration in half. Having damaged engines will also decrease
your acceleration in half. These stats may come in handy should you choose to
play as these ships (via save file editing or via OETA). By the way, note that
no matter your acceleration, your max speed is 70 m/s (except when near a
gravity well), while computer ships don't suffer this limit, so even a Titan
can catch up to you when you're fleeing.
When a ship appears, the percentage chance of which type it will be is below:
Type Karonus Deneb Gryphon Arcturus Nar'see Bassruti Sigure NedN27 Ja-Karn
Hunter 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 0
Pirate 10 10 20 5 20 30 25 20 0
Merchant 45 45 40 45 40 35 30 35 0
Imperium 30 30 25 35 20 10 10 10 0
Manchi 5 5 5 5 10 15 25 25 100
Repute and Relations:
Repute and relations affect how different characters and different ships react
to you. For example, you will not be able to proceed with the main plot until
you reach a certain repute, and Flitch will not pay attention to you if you're
disliked or hated by pirates, will charge you 25 credits to talk to him if
you're neutral to pirates, and will talk to you freely if you're liked or ally
to pirates. Some quests are easier to achieve depending on your relations
toward whomever you're talking to. It's best to be neutral or better with
everyone.
If you are disliked or hated by any group, their ships will attack you on
sight. If you are allied with them, then they will attack any third party
sharing the same space with you, even if you're not attacking the third party.
You may even see them attacking starbases.
Your repute may increase when you kill a ship or force one to surrender its
cargo. To increase your relation with one of the groups, get involved with
fights between different groups. For example, if you come across a Dart
fighting a Scow, and you help kill the Dart, your repute with the guild is
likely to increase, while your repute with pirates is likely to decrease. Since
the Manchi will hate you no matter what, you should always try helping to kill
off the Manchi when there's other ships around. Similarly, since Hunters are
not aligned with any group, if you come across a pirate fighting a Hunter, you
should try to kill the Hunter, since your relations may improve with a group
without having to worry about it decreasing with another group.
Your repute and relations change when the kill (or surrender) is made, so this
is something that can be load-and-saved.
List of Ship Upgrade Items:
Stealth Box - Reduces chance of detection by other ships (so that you're
alerted to hostile ships rather than attacked by them, presumably).
Beam Lock - Will automatically fire your lasers if a target is in front of you
and if the laser will hit at full strength. Note that although the manual says
it will fire only on the desired target, it will actually fire on any ship or
base on front of you, including friendly targets, so be careful when using it.
Also, this allows you to fire missiles while your laser is still firing on your
target.
Turbo Thruster - Doubles your acceleration. Can be bought on Hiathra or
Denebprime.
Repair Droid - Repairs your damaged components while travelling in interstellar
space. Note that it does not repair armor.
Null Damper - Counters the corrosive effect of traveling through Malir gates.
TRADING AND MAKING MONEY
------------------------
The minimum prices for each type of cargo at each station are below:
Cargo Spoil? Hiath MiCI Deneb Ross ConVec MiCII Lagra FreeG Troch MiCIV
X-rated holos No 156 90 140 80 56 74 58 26 42 60
explosives No 234 135 210 120 84 111 87 39 63 90
forged CRs No 312 180 280 160 112 148 116 52 84 120
anagathics Yes 390 225 350 220 140 185 145 65 105 150
shunt valves No 34 42 30 48 70 94 72 64 74 126
1GB RAMs No 51 63 45 72 105 141 108 96 111 189
antibiotics Yes 68 84 60 96 140 188 144 128 148 252
supercomputer No 85 105 75 120 175 235 180 160 185 315
methane No 20 32 14 12 6 6 4 10 26 8
titanium No 30 48 21 18 9 9 6 15 39 12
radioactives Yes 40 64 28 24 12 12 8 20 52 16
dilithium No 50 80 35 30 15 15 10 25 65 20
manure Yes 8 10 20 36 10 12 60 24 38 14
seaweed Yes 12 15 30 54 15 18 90 36 57 21
solvent grey No 16 20 40 72 20 24 120 48 76 28
hybrid grain Yes 20 25 50 90 25 30 150 60 95 35
souvenirs No 16 18 14 22 34 50 36 90 66 52
video games No 24 27 21 33 51 75 54 135 99 78
brandy No 32 36 28 44 68 100 72 180 132 104
exotic pets No 40 45 35 55 85 125 90 225 165 130
Note that although there are cargo prices for ISS Koth and Bassruti station,
there are no merchants on those bases, so they're not accessible and thus not
listed here.
There are five types of cargo: Contraband, high-tech, raw materials,
agriculture, and luxury goods. Each type (for example, high-tech) has one worth
twice the base value (i.e. shunt valves), another worth 3x the base value (i.e.
1GB RAMs), another worth 4x the base value (i.e. antibiotics), and another
worth 5x the base value (i.e. supercomputer). They are listed above in this
order. The base values are taken from the "MAPS" file, but if it is 16 or
greater, the game will randomly roll it to be between the value and 110% of the
value (rounded down), then multiply it by the appropriate multiplier for that
cargo. So for example, Hiathra's base value for contraband is 78, so it will
actually be randomly between 78 and 85 (inclusive), then multiplied by the
proper amount depending on which type of contraband, for example 4x for forged
CRs. Thus forged CRs on Hiathra will sell for between 312 and 340 credits, in
increments of 4 (312, 316, 320, ..., 340).
There will be between four and six cargo that you can buy. However, this is
rolled randomly, so you can always use load-and-save. The same goes for whether
or not you get caught with contraband, which is checked at Imperium bases.
Forged cargo papers is supposed to decrease your chances of getting caught. As
for spoilage, this occurs randomly as you travel between bases, so I usually
just check and reload or save every five squares or so if I'm carrying cargo
that may spoil.
Contraband is cheapest on Free Guild and Trochal, and most expensive on Hiathra
and Denebprime.
High-tech is cheapest on Denebprime and Hiathra, and most expensive on MiCon II
and MiCon IV.
Raw materials are cheapest on Lagrange and MiCon II, and most expensive on
Trochal and MiCon I. The range spread is not that big, though.
Agriculture is cheapest on Hiathra and MiCon I or ConVecEast, and most
expensive on Trochal and Lagrange.
Luxury goods are cheapest on Denebprime and Hiathra, and most expensive on
Trochal and Free Guild.
The relative chance of each type of cargo appearing is below:
Cargo Type Hiath MiCI Deneb Ross ConVec MiCII Lagra FreeG Troch MiCIV
Contraband 0 25 0 25 15 10 15 30 10 10
High-tech 45 35 45 35 30 25 35 40 35 25
Raw materials 60 60 60 85 85 5 80 55 50 85
Agriculture 60 55 50 45 40 10 40 45 40 45
Luxury goods 40 35 40 35 30 25 30 30 25 25
As for which routes to use, I think the initial route that you're given
(Hiathra and MiCon I) is a pretty good one. Trading between Denebprime and Ross
is somewhat quicker, since Ross is closer to Denebprime than MiCon I is to
Hiathra. I tend to not trade between star systems since I don't like to spend
my time going through Malir gates, but you can also go between the Deneb,
Nar'See, and Bassruti systems, since contraband is really cheap on Free Guild
but expensive on Denebprime, high-tech and agriculture goods are cheap on
Denebprime but expensive on Lagrange, and luxury goods are relatively cheap on
Lagrange but expensive on Free Guild.
Bounty Hunting:
The bounty that you get from killing a Wasp or Vulture is fixed, but for a Dart
or a Corsair, it's random. This can be load-and-saved.
I usually stay neutral or above with pirates. Then, when I see a Dart, I'll
launch an SM-1 (really a Nova) missile at it, without targeting it, since
that'll kill it in one shot without it reacting. Then I'll load-and-save based
on the number of credits earned, making sure that my relations with pirates do
not decrease.
Winning at HIVE!:
You die if two or more Manchi are adjacent to you (including diagonally). To
kill a mound, you have to be adjacent to it. When you are firing, the Manchi
won't move. Although the game suggests going for the mound first, I usually
kill the Manchi around the mound first so that I'm not killed by them as I go
for the mound. The game will beep when a mound opens up, so try to get rid of a
mound as soon as it comes out. The first mound always opens up around 3 seconds
into the drop. For the earlier drops (1st through 7th), a new one opens up
every 10-20 seconds or so. At higher levels (8th and above), multiple mounds
may open within seconds of each other. Around the 8th to 16th drops, if it's a
set of multiple mounds, they'll open within about 6 seconds between one and the
next, while in between sets, there'll be about a 20 to 25 second time span,
giving you some time to mop up. After that, mounds will open up randomly time-
wise, as far as I could tell. While for the earlier drops, a new mound is
opened every 16 seconds or so on average, at drop 19 one is opened every 5 or 6
seconds on average, so while each drop takes about 7-8 minutes from drop 8 to
drop 16, a drop only takes about 5 minutes at drop 19 and above, because
although there are more mounds to destroy, mounds are being created every few
seconds. Good luck.
You can earn credits if you get to the 5th drop or above. The number of credits
is:
Drop Credits Cr/Hive
5 8 0.233
6 16 0.333
7 24 0.365
8 32 0.369
9 40 0.361
10 48 0.348
11 56 0.333
12 64 0.318
13 72 0.303
14 80 0.289
15 88 0.276
16 96 0.264
17 104 0.252
18 112 0.242
19 120 0.232
20 65408 114.749
21 65416 103.833
22 65424 94.405
Drop = which drop you died on
Credits = how many credits you receive for dying on that drop
Cr/Hive = number of credits earned per mound (total) destroyed (assuming you
died without destroying any mounds on that drop, and subtracting the credit you
put in to play the game)
As you can see, there is a huge bonus if you can reach the 20th drop. Below
that though, the best ratio for credits earned per mound destroyed is to die on
the 8th drop. Since it takes a while to reach this many drops (it takes about
25 minutes to reach the 8th drop, all for a measly net 31 credits), unless you
can really reach the 20th drop, it's probably better to just trade or something
to gain credits. On the other hand, reaching the 20th drop just once means
you're pretty much set for the game. Note that 65408 credits puts you near the
max of 65535 credits; in fact, it's the same progression of credits earned
except you get an additional 255*256=65280 credits. Unfortunately, because of
the multiple mounds opening at the later drops, it is unlikely you'll reach
this many drops unless you alter the map (which I did to research this topic).
By the way, it takes about 2 hours to reach level 20, depending on how long you
took your breaks in between drops.
CHARACTER LIST
--------------
Fixed characters (always on the base except for after certain RPG plots are
fulfilled):
Orellian (Hiathra, Karonus) - Imperium official, go to him for all your
Imperium-related needs
HAL9K (Hiathra, Karonus) - Repair droid for a titan
Cebak (Hiathra, Karonus) - Teen with a twin sister on Lagrange
Geul Barnet (MiCon I, Karonus) - Musician, can ask for information on people
(Hiathra, Koth, Avenstar)
Sir Eld (MiCon I, Karonus) - Merchant, had an "indiscretion" with Orellian's
daughter
Blutous (ConVecEast, Gryphon) - Miner, has some info on the Bassruti incident
Omas Tyran (ConVecEast, Gryphon) - Malir disciple
Insane man (MiCon II, Arcturus) - There's more than meets the eye
Drak Stephons (MiCon II, Arcturus) - In charge of mining, but other than that,
nothing in particular on him
Janus (ISS Koth, Arcturus) - Introduces you to the carrier
Imperial Trooper (ISS Koth, Arcturus) - One-legged soldier, can talk to for
current events on the Manchi
Vengor (Denebprime, Deneb) - Duchess Avenstar's bodyguard
Duchess Avenstar (Denebprime, Deneb) - Leader of the Far Arm, she'll be driving
the main plot
Dr. Felsane (Denebprime, Deneb) - Alien anthropology professor looking for
research on aliens
Dr. Elanius Ferah (Ross, Deneb) - Blind cosmetic surgeon, can ask about people
(Koth, Avenstar, Rayson)
LUX-23A (Ross, Deneb) - Luxury robot looking for his lost girlfriend
Borf (Lagrange, Nar'See) - A Sishaz, a reptilian philosopher and drinker
Tiwa (Lagrange, Nar'See) - Teen with a twin sister on Hiathra
Chi-Sha (Free Guild, Bassruti) - A woman that's always drinking but never seems
to get drunk...
Omar (Free Guild, Bassruti) - Lieutenant to Gut, checks all newcomers
Sir Droughton Gut (Free Guild, Bassruti)- Leader of the Scarlet Brotherhood
Monster (Bassruti Station, Bassruti) - Yes, there is a monster on Bassruti
station
Sister Nycene (Trochal, Sigure) - Acolyte of the Black Hand
Priestess Vilanie (Trochal, Sigure) - Leader of the Black Hand
Professor Prosk (MiCon IV, Zed N27) - A professor working on a warp drive
Teb (MiCon IV, Zed N27) - A miner with a past
Random characters (one from below will randomly be on a base (except Bassruti
station) whenever you visit):
Flitch - a pirate; to talk to him, you need to pay 25 credits if you're neutral
to pirates, but free if you're liked or ally by pirates
Ichiki - Baakili far trader, can ask him for information (Hiathra; Black Hand;
Manchi or Chi-gonger - needs dilithium gem, statuette, malir artifact, or ruby
cube; Targon - will refuse to give information on him)
Kale - Bounty hunter, can get info on trading and pirates from him; will
threaten you if you have 256 or higher bounty on you
Robocrook - Can receive some special items from him (forged cargo papers; ruby
cube; key card)
Somar Tan - Exotic goods dealer, gives information on the Bassruti genetics lab
Toom - Imperium Guard on leave, can get info on characters
Veda - can get amoebic contact lenses (needed to get transmutation coil), and
blog globe (purpose unknown)
Characters will sometimes tell you to talk to them later, or some variation
thereof. For example, if you've talked to Robocrook today already, he'll tell
you that the guard's watching. In those cases, just come back the next day, and
the counter for this will reset.
WALKTHROUGH
-----------
Subquests:
Pilot's License:
Reward: Ability to buy weapons, shield, and ECM
Talk to Orellian and answer the questions as follows:
a) 3.26
b) type O
c) F = ma
d) Imperium
You'll receive a pilot's license which allows you to buy weapons, shields, and
ECM units.
Statuette:
Reward: Stealth Box
Notes: You must be liked or ally with merchants
Talk to Sir Eld, and accept his statuette. Then talk to Orellian, and say that
it is not a bribe. Return to Sir Eld, and he will give you advice and a stealth
box in return. (If you told Orellian that it's a bribe, or talk to Sir Eld
again before giving the statuette, then when you return to Sir Eld, he will say
you failed and summon the guards, and your repute with guilds will decrease.
However, you will still be able to talk and inspect before getting caught, so
you will be able to loot the safe for credits.)
Tiwa's letter:
Reward: Key card
Talk to Tiwa on Lagrange. She'll give you a letter to give to Cebak. Then go to
Cebak and give her the letter. Return to Tiwa, and she'll tell you that one of
the vacc suits in Cebak's room has a key card in it. Then go to Cebak's room
and get the key card by inspecting the suit on the right. Of course, you can
get the key card regardless of whether or not you've bothered with the letter.
Omas Tyran's wife:
Reward: Psionic shield
Talk to Omas Tyran and say that you're lost. Then leave and talk to him again
(you'll need to come back a day or more later). He'll tell you that he lost his
wife to the Black Hand, and ask you to look for her. Then go to Sister Nycene
and tell her of Omas. She'll say that he's dead to him now. Go back to Omas and
tell him of this, and he'll give you his psionic shield.
Koth tour:
Reward: Information about the ISS Koth, most importantly the transmutation coil
Notes: Must be neutral or better with Imperium to get a CRC-07
Go to Orellian, and type "CRC-07" on the "Other..." line to receive your
CRC-07. Then go to Janus, and you'll be able to take the daily tour to learn
about the ISS Koth. The most important thing is that there's a transmutation
coil onboard.
Sishaz Research:
Reward: Malir artifact
Notes: If you do this quest too late (i.e. if you've already progressed quite
far on the main quest), then Borf will eat you since he's really a member of
the Black Hand. Therefore, do this quest before doing the main quest.
Go to Dr. Felsane and offer to help. She'll tell you to go to Nar'See to drink
with Borf, and say "Rakbit". Go there and do that (use the "Other..." option
after drinking with him, rather than keeping on drinking). Then return to Dr.
Felsane. She'll give you a Malir artifact.
Warp Drive:
Reward: Null Damper or Stealth Box
Talk to Prosk and ask about his latest invention. He'll tell you that he's
working on a warp drive but needs a transmutation coil to complete it. If you
haven't done the Koth tour yet, there's a transmutation coil on the ISS Koth.
To actually take it, however, you'll need to get amoebic contact lenses from
Veda first. On Koth, go into the north room in the hallway, which you need a
key card for (either from Cebak's room or from Robocrook), and stay on the
right side as you move up toward the powerplant, since there's an alarm plate a
couple of squares north of the entrance. Inspect the powerplant, and you'll be
able to get the transmutation coil. Return to Prosk, and he'll let you take
either a null damper or a stealth box. (Note: You can get the coil before
talking to Prosk, in which case you can give him the coil as soon as he talks
about his latest invention).
Microchip:
Reward: 100 credits and hint as to who Chi-Sha is
Notes: Will need to pay 25 credits to Flitch if you're neutral to pirates, but
is free if you're liked or ally to pirates, to talk to Flitch, and you won't be
able to talk to him if you're disliked or hated by pirates; also, tell Chi-Sha
you're a rogue or a merchant
Talk to Flitch about getting a job. He'll give you a microchip to give to Chi-
Sha. Go to Chi-Sha and give her the microchip (using the "Other..." command),
and she'll give you 100 credits for it, and you'll find that it's an ID
scrambler chip. Now why would Chi-Sha need an ID scrambler?
LUX-23A:
Reward: Repair droid
Notes: You'll need to tell Chi-Sha you're a rogue or a merchant.
Talk to LUX-23A and ask why he's so sad. He'll tell you about his female
companion who ran away. Go to Chi-Sha and say "LUX-23A" on the "Other..." line.
She'll offer to hide onboard as a repair droid, so accept the offer. Go back to
LUX-23A and give her to him. Then go to HAL9K and he'll give you a repair
droid. Or, after you give her back to LUX-23A, you can go to Free Guild and
pick her up as a repair droid again!
Burned by HAL9K:
Not really a plot, but you can get burned by HAL9K. Veda will see it and offer
to heal you.
Bassruti incident:
Notes: This isn't a quest per se, but many characters refer to the Bassruti
incident, so I put it in its own section. See how to get what you need from the
station in the main plot section.
* Somar Tan: a goods dealer, he's looking for insurance people who aren't
willing to pay for the Bassruti incident. He'll tell you about NSBs --
Neurostabilizer Boosters -- which can temporarily calm crazy people, and are
still on the station. He'll also tell you that there are monsters loose and
that there was a miner who survived the incident.
* Blutous: He'll also tell you about the Bassruti incident, that a miner told
him what happened. Not much more than what Somar Tan will tell you.
* Teb: He's the miner who survived. Say "Bassruti" in the "Other..." option and
he'll tell you about it. The important detail is that the NSBs are next to a
safe in a back room.
* Bartender: They'll talk about it as well.
Main plot:
Reward: Win the game
Notes: It is advised that you complete the subplots above before doing the main
plot, since some of the characters will change once you start the main plot.
The main plot starts when you talk to Duchess Avenstar. You'll get stopped by
Vengor, Avenstar's bodyguard, but nothing special about that. When you first
talk to the Duchess, it doesn't matter if you tell the truth or make up a
story. What will matter though is your repute. For the plot to really begin,
you need to be of repute fierce or higher. Otherwise she'll just say to come
back when you've become "a seasoned warrior".
When you're of repute fierce or higher, Avenstar will tell you about the
previous owner of your ship, Captain Targon. He disguised himself as a pirate
and took on the name of Rayson, in order to find out what Admiral Koth was
really up to. The code name of the mission was "Ferret", and you are to
continue with Targon's mission. You must first find out what happened to
Targon. She'll give you a beam auto-lock.
Note that various characters now change. For example, if you visit Janus,
she'll ask if you're an associate of Avenstar's. If you say yes, she'll try to
bribe you to not follow Avenstar. If you then say "forget it", your repute with
the Imperium goes down, but if you say "Ok", then you get 250 credits. As far
as I know, which option you choose doesn't change things, based on looking at
the save files. Also, the trooper on Koth will say that some titans engaged
some vultures near Sigure.
Since Avenstar mentioned Targon disguised himself as a pirate, the Scarlet
Brotherhood is a natural place to check. To get into the Scarlet Brotherhood,
you'll need to talk to Omar first, and say you have to talk to Gut. If you're
liked or ally to pirates, you can go ahead and talk to Gut. If you're neutral
to pirates, you'll have to plunder a Scow or a Tanker (including getting it to
surrender and taking its cargo) first. If you're disliked or hated by pirates,
you'll have to kill a Titan first. Once you get in, you can ask Gut about
"Rayson" (or "brotherhood"). He'll tell you that Rayson left for Trochal.
What's really happened to Captain Targon is that he was driven mad by the Black
Hand and now resides on MiCon II (he's the vagrant that you see in the halls).
You can tell him "Vilanie" via the "Other..." command to see an interesting
response. To get to talk to him, however, you'll have to inject him with NSBs
(Neurostabilizer boosters). Those can be found on Bassruti. However, there's a
monster on Bassruti. To avoid the monster, when you land on the station, go to
the lower room and stay on the right. Be on the lower right side of the rubble.
The monster will enter and be on the lower left side of the rubble. A diagram
of this is below:
....X...
....XXX.
...XXX..
.XXXXX..
...MX.O.
X = rubble
O = where you should go
M = where monster will be
Then go out the door you came in from, and go in the door on the west into the
cantina area. This will trap the monster in the generator room that's to the
northwest of the room that you guys were in. You can then go to the southwest
room and retrieve the NSB, which is in the cabinet south of the safe. Might as
well as get credits from the safe while you're there.
Go to Captain Targon on MiCon II and inject him with the NSB (using the
"Other..." command). Then tell him the name of his mission ("Ferret"). He'll
tell you that he infiltrated the Scarlet Brotherhood, and found that the
pirates were being paid by Vilanie for Manchi kills. This way the Manchi would
be incited to declare war on Imperium, and Admiral Koth could ride in to be a
war hero and replace Emperor Hiathra (an aging, almost senile emperor). Then
he'll tell you go to go Gut and convince him to stop the raids.
At this point, many changes occur. When you go back to Duchess Avenstar, you'll
find that someone tried to assassinate her, so she's moved back to the Imperial
homeworld. If you talk to Borf, he will reveal himself to be employed by the
Black Hand, and kill you. If you talk to Vilanie without the psionic shield,
she'll kill you (and even with the shield, she'll summon her guards who'll then
kill you).
From here, go to Gut and explain Koth's plot. He'll tell you that Vilanie paid
him a lot for a Manchi egg, and ask you to find out more about it. If you
haven't already, you'll need to ask Ichiki about the Manchi to find out more
about them, but you need to give Ichiki a special item in exchange. Gut will
tell you that there's gems on Ross. Aside from the dilithium gem on Ross, you
can also use the statuette from Sir Eld, the Malir artifact from Dr. Felsane,
or the ruby cube from Robocrook.
Now, things get even more serious. The trooper on Koth will tell you that
there's thousands of Manchi ships headed this way.
Once you go back to Gut with information about the egg, he'll say you need to
take it back from Vilanie. He'll attack the outpost while you go in; this means
that the guards will be busy and not grab you. To get past Vilanie however
you'll still need a psionic shield. Just keep it on so that she can't kill you.
Then go to her back room and grab the egg, and might as well as get the credits
from the safe.
When you return to Gut, he'll tell you to look for a professor working on the
warp drive. That's Professor Prosk in Zed N27. You'll have to do the
transmutation coil quest first however. Tell Prosk about the egg, and he'll let
you use the warp drive. You'll have to know the coordinates to the Manchi
homeworld (GC 3409), from Ichiki. Make sure your ship is fully repaired and
upgraded and has a full complement of weaponry, since there'll be no more bases
after this. Once you make it to the Manchi star system, set a course for the
inner planet, and land on it. Then you win the game!
TIPS AND TRICKS
---------------
Alternate methods to acquire items:
Null damper (Free Guild): There's a null damper in the room outside Gut's
office. The door needs to be successfully picked, however, so either you can
the credit loss (don't worry, you can just come back a day later to try again
after the guards catch you) or just load-and-save it. There is an alarm plate
two squares east of where you enter the room, and the null damper is northeast
of it, so move clockwise around the room and inspect the bottom container for
the null damper.
Psionic shield (Zed N27): The northeast room on MiCon IV has a psionic shield.
Again, the door needs to be successfully picked. There are alarm plates in the
room, east of the door, two east of the door, and northeast of the door. The
shield is in the bottom row of the green containers. Unfortunately, there is a
bug in the game; when you are north of an alarm plate, it'll trigger the alarms
(if this were intended, there would be no need to put the plate that's
northeast of the door), preventing you from getting this shield. The version I
uploaded onto Abandonia removes the yellow countertop thus allowing you to get
this item; you can also use the ALL.DES method below to get around this bug.
Manchi egg (Trochal): Before you learn of Koth's plot, Priestess Vilanie will
only tell you to go away, but won't kill you. Thus, you can pick the door to
her back room and grab the egg before telling Gut about Koth, and thus you
won't have to deal with the shield or getting Gut to attack the base for you.
Play as any ship:
Delete (or better yet, rename for future use) the file OETA. When you create a
new game, you will have zero armor, and most components will be damaged. Travel
around using the navigation panel, and go to the cockpit view when you
encounter a ship. You will become that ship, including armor, acceleration,
etc. Then put OETA back into use.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to reproduce this in Windows XP nor Dosbox,
though I used to do this regularly on my old computer. I've thus included the
file oeta.sav on Abandonia.com which is already in this state. You will become
the next ship you encounter.
You will have whichever laser your ship is supposed to have, and upgrades won't
change it. From the ships list above, note that the Hunter and the Wasp have
the best acceleration; the Hunter has the best laser, however, so it is the
best ship overall. Turbo thrusters won't work, unfortunately. However, cargo
also doesn't weigh you down. So a Hunter accelerates faster than a fully-loaded
Sunracer, but a turbo-boosted, empty Sunracer will still beat a Hunter (or a
Wasp). Note that although your current armor will change to whatever armor the
ship had, your max armor does not change, it will stay at 300-500 (depending on
your upgrades).
Additionally, you can change which ship you are by altering the save file; this
will be covered in the file editing walkthrough.
Remove obstacles:
The file ALL.DES is what describes what's what. By deleting (or renaming) it,
features such as nebulae, asteroids, etc. won't show up in cockpit view (nor
will they slow you down), even though they'll still appear on the navigation
panel. Also, walls and other objects will no longer hinder your movement when
in top-down view on bases. This is one way to get the psionic shield and any
other items on bases.
The vertical strip to the left of the map seems to act like tape, where if any
computer characters wander into it, they'll be stuck (and invisible). Also,
moving to the square southwest of the southwest corner of the map will crash
the game.
Big furball:
If you're interested in getting into a big fight, save the game when you're
approaching a Malir gate. Then delete or rename MAPS, which contains the data
for all the...maps. Reload the game and go through the Malir gate. You'll end
up in an area with another Sunracer, a Wasp, a Dart, a Cruiser, and a Vulture.
They'll all be attacking each other, so you can try to improve your repute and
your relations with each group this way. Then save the game, and put the MAPS
file back, so that you can travel. You'll be in the lower left corner of
Karonus.
For some reason, sometimes when you kill the Sunracer, you'll end up with -1
Nova missiles. Since you can have at most 10 missiles (total) on your ship, you
can then fire Nova missiles (unfortunately, they're really SM-1 missiles that
do 100 damage) for free, and buy SM-1 missiles (really Nova missiles that do
250 damage) so that the it sums arithmetically to 10. This allows you to have
say 50 SM-1 missiles and -40 Nova missiles, etc.
FILE EDITING
------------
I am working on writing up how to edit the save file and the data files that
the game uses (such as the MAPS file which contains the map data). However,
there are some things that I haven't been able to figure out, so if you do,
please let me know and I'll credit you:
Extra plot: Part of the save file records your progress in your plots. However,
I haven't been able to figure out what toggles byte 1025 or bytes 1134 to 1137
(byte count starting from 1, not from 0). So if you find out an extra plot that
isn't listed here, please let me know.
Space Rogue Save File Editing v1.00
Copyright 2009 by Vanshilar
If you find any bugs or errors, or have any comments or anything to add
(especially if there are any quests that you know of that's not listed here),
please look for me on the Abandonia.com forums. This is written for the PC
version of the game.
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web
site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation
of copyright. If you want permission, look for me on Abandonia.com.
SAVE FILE EDITING
-----------------
The save files are stored in the same directory as the executable, with the
name that you gave during saving plus a ".SAV" suffix. You can edit the save
file with any regular hex editor, or any other program that can read ASCII
values (0-255) from files. The save file is a fixed-length file, always 1151
bytes long. Any value that uses two bytes to store (such as number of credits)
means the value of the second byte should be multiplied by 256. For all byte
locations in this document, the index starts from 1, not 0, so the first byte
is byte 1, not byte 0. Rather than try to cover the whole save file (because
most of the data just involved the ship positions and so forth), this'll be
about the more important stuff.
Byte 7 is whether or not your components are damaged. This is stored with each
bit representing each component, so:
32 = ECM
16 = fore shields
8 = aft shields
4 = engine
2 = laser
1 = missile launcher
These values are additive. So a value of 21 (16 + 4 + 1) means that your fore
shields, engine, and missile launcher are damaged.
Bytes 283 and 284 determine how much armor you currently have.
Byte 619 determines which ship you have:
0 = Sunracer
1 = Wasp
2 = Dart
3 = Cruiser
4 = Vulture
5 = Corsair
6 = Titan
7 = Scow
8 = Tanker
9-11 = SM-1, Nova, and plasma, but you continually lose armor and then die
12 = Hunter
For the implications of using different ships, see my general walkthrough.
Bytes 983 to 994 determine your name, in regular ASCII characters.
Byte 995 determines which star system you're in:
0 = Karonus
1 = Deneb
2 = Gryphon
3 = Arcturus
4 = Nar'See
5 = Bassruti
6 = Sigure
7 = Zed N27
9 = Ja-Karn
Bytes 996 and 997 are your position in the map. Byte 996 is your X-axis (left-
right) position, starting with 0 on the left, while byte 997 is your Y-axis
(up-down) position, starting with 0 on the bottom.
Bytes 1004 and 1005 are the bounty on you.
Bytes 1006 and 1007 are the number of credits you have. Note that because only
two bytes are used to store your number of credits, it's capped by the game at
65535.
Byte 1008 is your repute:
0 = unknown
1 = pesky
2 = fierce
3 = deadly
4 = ace
5 = invincible
Bytes 1010 and 1011 are your desired map coordinates (where you want to move
to). Byte 1010 is your X-axis and byte 1011 is your Y-axis.
Bytes 1012 to 1015 are your relations with pirate, guild (merchant), Imperium,
and Manchi, respectively:
254 = hated
255 = disliked
0 = neutral
1 = liked
2 = ally
Although not shown, you start out as hated by the Manchi, but this can be
changed by editing the save file.
Bytes 1016 to 1018 are the number of Nova, SM-1, and plasma that you have.
0-127 are positive amounts, while 128-255 are negative amounts. Meaning if the
value is 250, then you really have -6 missiles. If you have negative missiles,
you can fire them for free, each time adding another -1 to your amount.
Bytes 1019 and 1020 are the maximum amount of armor you can have.
Byte 1021 is your amount of ECM.
Bytes 1022 and 1024 are your fore and aft shields.
Byte 1023 is the laser that you have:
0 = none
1 = garnet
2 = beryl
3 = sapphire
4 = particle
5 = invisible, but you do 58 damage each shot. Basically triple damage beyond
what particle beam gives you.
Note that this will change only if you're using the Sunracer. Otherwise, the
laser is based on whichever ship you have.
Byte 1026 is the multiplier on your acceleration. 250 is your standard amount.
251 will double your acceleration, and is toggled when you buy a turbo
thruster. 252 will double your acceleration compared with 251, so forth and so
on. At 255, you're basically as fast as you can adjust your speed via the
keyboard. You can set it to 0, 1, etc. as well for even faster accelerations.
Works only if you're using the Sunracer, not if you're using other ships.
Bytes 1027 to 1031 are the onboard items:
1027 = stealth box (from Sir Eld or Prosk)
1028 = beam lock (from Duchess Avenstar)
1029 = turbo thruster (note that this is the item only, the actual effect is
from adjusting byte 1026)
1030 = repair droid (from LUX-23A/Chi-Sha quest)
1031 = null damper (from Free Guild or Prosk)
Bytes 1032 to 1047 are the items on your person:
1032 = key card (from Cebak's room or Robocrook)
1033 = Manchi egg (from Trochal)
1034 = CRC-07 form (from Orellian)
1035 = transmutation coil (from ISS Koth)
1036 = NS Booster (from Bassruti Station)
1037 = statuette (from Sir Eld)
1038 = Malir artifact (from Dr. Felsane)
1039 = ruby cube (from Robocrook)
1040 = Tiwa's letter (from Tiwa)
1041 = psionic shield (from Omas Tyran or MiCon IV)
1042 = microchip (from Flitch)
1043 = pilot's license (from Orellian)
1044 = forged cargo papers (from Robocrook)
1045 = amoebic lenses (from Veda)
1046 = blog globe (from Veda)
1047 = dilithium gem (from Ross Station)
Bytes 1048 to 1068 are whether or not you've already picked up the above (ship
and person) items from bases, for the ones where you could, in the respective
slots:
1052 = null damper (from Free Guild)
1053 = key card (from Karonus)
1054 = Manchi egg (from Trochal)
1056 = transmutation coil (from ISS Koth)
1057 = NS Booster (from Bassruti Station)
1062 = psionic shield (from MiCon IV)
1068 = dilithium gem (from Ross Station)
Bytes 1069 to 1076 are the cargo that you're carrying:
0 = X-rated holos
1 = explosives
2 = forged CRs
3 = anagathics
4 = shunt valves
5 = 1GB RAMs
6 = antibiotics
7 = supercomputer
8 = methane
9 = titanium
10 = radioactives
11 = dilithium
12 = manure
13 = seaweed
14 = solvent grey
15 = hybrid grain
16 = souvenirs
17 = video games
18 = brandy
19 = exotic pets
20 = spoiled
255 = empty
Bytes 1077 to 1084 are the prices you paid for the cargo.
Byte 1085 is how many cargo slots you can carry.
Byte 1086 is the chance of a ship appearing. It's not out of 100 though; I'm
not sure what the denominator is. This value is taken from the MAPS file for
the star system that you're in.
Bytes 1087 to 1091 are how the relative chances of a Hunter, pirate, merchant,
Imperium, or Manchi ship appearing, respectively. Note that these five bytes
add up to 100. These values are taken from the MAPS file for the star system
that you're in.
Byte 1093 is whether or not you can enter the base:
0 = Can enter
1 = Can't enter because you fired on it
2 = Can't enter because of trouble-making while on base
Bytes 1106 to 1137 are RPG toggles (mostly 0 = not yet and 1 = completed) for
the plots and quests:
1106 = If you've talked to Duchess Avenstar
1107 = If Duchess Avenstar's told you about Captain Targon
1108 = If someone's tried to assassinate Duchess Avenstar and she's left
1109 = If you've injected Captain Targon with NSB and been told about Koth
1110 = If you've talked to Priestness Vilanie
1111 = If you've told Gut about why the Manchi egg is important, and he'll go
attack Trochal while you take the egg
1112 = If you've told Gut about Koth's plot, but you don't know why the egg is
important, so you need to find Ichiki
1113 = If Ichiki has told you about the Manchi
1114 = If you've used the warp drive to go to Ja-Karn
1115 = If you've offered to find a transmutation coil for Prosk
1116 = If you've given the transmutation coil to Prosk
1117 = If you've told Prosk about the egg and he's installed the warp drive,
but you need the coordinates
1118 = If Omar's approved you to talk to Gut
1119 = If you still need to plunder a merchant ship to talk to Gut
1120 = If you still need to kill a Titan to talk to Gut
1121 = Omas and his wife quest (0 = haven't started, 1 = you've asked Omas for
help, 2 = you've offered to help find his wife, 3 = you've talked to Sister
Nycene about Omas)
1122 = If you've let Dr. Elanius Ferah touch your face
1123 = Dr. Felsane's alien research quest (0 = haven't started, 1 = you've
accepted the quest, 2 = you've told Borf "Rakbit" successfully, 3 = you've
returned to Dr. Felsane with the results)
1124 = If Flitch has given you a microchip for Chi-Sha
1125 = Unknown (if anyone knows, please let me know and I'll credit you!)
1126 = If you've given the statuette to Orellian (0 = not yet, 1 = you failed
(said was bribe), 2 = you succeeded (said wasn't bribe)
1127 = LUX-23A quest (0 = haven't started, 1 = you've accepted LUX-23A's quest,
2 = you've returned Chi-Sha to LUX-23A)
1128 = Sir Eld's statuette quest (0 = haven't started, 1 = received statuette
from Sir Eld, 2 = failed so Sir Eld doesn't like you, 3 = succeeded and Sir
Eld's given you stealth box)
1129 = If Janus has tried to bribe you
1130 = Tiwa's letter quest (0 = haven't started, 1 = you've given the letter to
Cebak, 2 = Tiwa's told you about the key card)
1131 = If you've bought Geul Barnet a drink
1132 = If you've been burned by HAL9K (this allows Veda to see your scar)
1133 = Whom Toom has already talked about, doesn't increase if you've talked to
him today already (0 = haven't started, 1 = Avenstar, 2 = Flitch, 3 = Dr.
Elanius Ferah, 4 and above = Vilanie)
1134 to 1137 = unknown or not used
Bytes 1138 to 1151 are whether or not you've talked to these people today,
usually so they won't say anything meaningful until you revisit them (1 means
you've talked to them, reset to 0 at the beginning of every day):
1138 = unknown
1139 = Dr. Felsane
1140 = Borf
1141 = Chi-Sha
1142 = LUX-23A
1143 = Robocrook
1144 = Drak Stephons
1145 = Sir Eld
1146 = Blutous
1147 = Omas Tyran
1148 = unknown
1149 = Kale when you have a bounty on you, and you've paid him off
1150 = Veda
1151 = Toom
GAME FILE EDITING
-----------------
MAPS:
This file contains the data for all the maps, each map in a 1346-byte chunk.
The data for each map starts at:
Byte Map
1 Hiathra
1347 MiCon I
2693 Denebprime
4039 Ross
5385 ConVecEast
6731 ISS Koth
8077 MiCon II
9423 Lagrange
10769 Free Guild
12115 Bassruti
13461 Trochal
14807 MiCon IV
16153 Karonus
17499 Deneb
18845 Gryphon
20191 Arcturus
21537 Nar'see
22883 Bassruti
24229 Sigure
25575 Zed N27
26921 Ja-Karn
28267 HIVE! map
For each map, the first 1024 bytes are taken up by the actual 32x32 map itself,
in rows starting from the upper left corner. To figure out which byte value
maps to which icon, you can just compare the values to the map of the bases or
stars.
Byte 1025 is the type of map (0 = star map, 1 = base map, 2 = HIVE! map)
Bytes 1026 to 1029 are empty (zero).
Bytes 1030 to 1039 are the name of the map (in ASCII).
Byte 1040 is empty (zero).
Bytes 1041 to 1072 are the X-coordinates (starting from left) of objects or
characters.
Bytes 1073 to 1104 are the Y-coordinates (starting from bottom) of objects or
characters.
The rest (bytes 1105 to 1346) depends on the type of map.
For base maps (i.e. maps in overhead view):
Bytes 1105 to 1136 are the type of movement that the object has:
128 = stays still
129 or 130 = wanders
131 = chases you from anywhere on the map (used for the monster on Bassruti)
132 = chases you once on screen (i.e. Vilanie and Vengor)
Bytes 1137 to 1168 are the object icon to use.
Bytes 1169 to 1200 are the type of object or character:
0 = Duchess Avenstar
1 = Captain Targon
2 = Priestess Vilanie
3 = Sir Droughton Gut
4 = Professor Prosk
5 = Vengor
6 = Ichiki
7 = Omar
8 = Sister Nycene
9 = Dr. Felsane
10 = Flitch
11 = Borf
12 = Orellian
13 = Chi-Sha
14 = LUX-23A
15 = Robocrook
16 = Imperial Trooper (on ISS Koth)
17 = Drak Stephons
18 = Sir Eld
19 = Teb
20 = Blutous
21 = Janus
22 = Omas Tyran
23 = Dr. Elanius Ferah
24 = Cebak
25 = Tiwa
26 = Geul Barnet
27 = HAL9K
28 = Kale
29 = Somar Tan
30 = Veda
31 = Toom
32 = Cargo Merchant
33 = Guard
34 = Outfitter
35 = Supply and Repairs
36 = Bartender
128 = stealth box
129 = beam lock
130 = turbo thruster
131 = repair droid
132 = null dampe
133 = key card
134 = Manchi egg
135 = CRC-07 form
136 = transmutation coil
137 = NS Booster
138 = statuette
139 = Malir artifact
140 = ruby cube
141 = Tiwa's letter
142 = psionic shield
143 = microchip
144 = pilot's license
145 = forged cargo papers
146 = amoebic lenses
147 = blog globe
148 = dilithium gem
160 = locked door
161 = safe
Bytes 1201 to 1232 determine, for the locked doors, whether or not the key card
can open the door:
0 = key card can open, or not a locked door
1 = key card does not fit locked door (can only pick door)
Bytes 1233 to 1296 determine which text to use for the signs. Note that each
object receives two bytes (in a row) rather than one. The two bytes give the
location in STRAD that gives the right location in STRINGS to find the text.
Byte 1297 is the type of base. This affects the message that you get when you
land on a base, and how hard the base will expel you when you undock:
16 = Station
17 = Carrier
18 = Outpost
19 = Starbase
Bytes 1298 and 1299 are the X- and Y-coordinates for the random character.
Bytes 1300 to 1304 are empty (zeros).
Bytes 1305 to 1336 are the type of object or character:
0 = your entrance point
2 = your exit point
37 = initiates conversation on contact(Vengor, Vilanie)
84 = alarm plate
131 = HIVE! game
133 = character
134 = Door or Safe
135 = Item that you can get
136 = Sign
199 = Transmutation coil
Bytes 1337 to 1341 are the base values for cargo (contraband, high-tech, raw
materials, agriculture, luxury goods). Please see my general walkthrough for
how these values are converted to cargo prices.
Bytes 1342 to 1346 are the relative likelihoods of the five types of cargo
being available for sale.
For star maps:
Bytes 1105 to 1136 are how the objects move. For example, ion storms have a
value of 1, planets have values of 3 or 4, etc.
Bytes 1137 to 1168 are the icons for the objects.
Bytes 1169 to 1200 are the type of object:
13 = Planetoid (in Sigure)
14 = Terrestrial Planet
15 = Gas Giant
16 = Station
17 = Carrier
18 = Outpost
19 = Starbase
20 = Malir Gate
21 = Black Hole
100 = Ion Storm
The purpose of bytes 1201 to 1232 for star maps is not yet known.
Bytes 1233 to 1296 determine which text to use for the log entries and other
messages in the navigation panel. As with the base maps, each entry receives
two consecutive bytes.
The purpose of bytes 1297 and 1298 for star maps is not yet known.
Byte 1299 is the likelihood of a ship encounter. However, it's not out of 100;
I'm not sure what it's out of. Bytes 1300 through 1304 are the relative chances
of a Hunter, pirate, merchant, Imperium, or Manchi ship, respectively, when a
ship appears. These are the values that the save file will save for your
current system. The values for each system are:
Star Karonus Deneb Gryphon Arcturus Nar'see Bassruti Sigure ZedN27 Ja-Karn
Chance 40 53 38 30 45 45 30 30 85
Hunter 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 0
pirate 10 10 20 5 20 30 25 20 0
merchant 45 45 40 45 40 35 30 35 0
Imperium 30 30 25 35 20 10 10 10 0
Manchi 5 5 5 5 10 15 25 25 100
Bytes 1305 to 1312 are empty (zeros).
Bytes 1313 to 1320 are most likely related to the bases, but I haven't
researched them yet.
Bytes 1321 to 1328 are empty (zeros).
Bytes 1329 to 1344 are the info for the Malir gates, in 4-byte sections. The
first byte is the destination of the Malir gate:
0 = Karonus
1 = Deneb
2 = Gryphon
3 = Arcturus
4 = Nar'See
5 = Bassruti
6 = Sigure
7 = Zed N27
9 = Ja-Karn
The next two bytes are the X- and Y-coordinates of your destination,
respectively. The last byte is how far you have to travel to reach your
destination, basically how many rings you have to travel through when going
through a Malir gate. Each light year is basically 4 rings. Note that there's a
small bug here; you have to travel 11 light years to go from Nar'see to
Bassruti, but only 10 to go from Bassruti to Nar'see.
Bytes 1345 to 1346 are empty (zeros).
STRINGS
-------
This file encodes most of the text in the game. However, it's in compressed
form. I haven't decoded how the compression works yet, but I know it's pretty
efficient. For example, the beginning text of when you meet Duchess Avenstar
takes up 226 bytes on screen, but only 133 bytes in the file -- an average of
4.7 bits per letter. It does seem to be some sort of replacement code, because
changing individual bytes will only affect that particular location in the
text, but not simply ASCII transcription. Also, text may begin in the middle of
a byte, furthering enhancing the effectiveness of the compression.
STRAD
-----
Although STRINGS encodes the text, each page of text, as well as each option
that you can choose, has an entry in STRAD. This file points to the correct
location in STRINGS for the game to display. Each "pointer" consists of three
bytes. The first, plus 256 * the second, is the byte location in STRINGS to
begin. The third is the bit within the byte to start reading. By changing these
values, you can read through all the text in STRINGS. Just (for example) save
your game so that you're about to meet Duchess Avenstar for the first time,
then change the first three bytes of STRAD (which points to where in STRINGS to
display for this) to whichever location in STRINGS you want to read.
Each character in the game takes up at most 64 pages, with empty "filler" pages
(that just point to half-byte blank pages in STRINGS) to fill the rest if
unused. The list is below; note that this is the same order as for the
characters in MAPS:
Byte Character
1 Duchess Avenstar
193 Captain Targon
385 Priestess Vilanie
577 Sir Droughton Gut
769 Professor Prosk
961 Vengor
1153 Ichiki
1345 Omar
1537 Sister Nycene
1729 Dr. Felsane
1921 Flitch
2113 Borf
2305 Orellian
2497 Chi-Sha
2689 LUX-23A
2881 Robocrook
3073 Imperial Trooper (on ISS Koth)
3265 Drak Stephons
3457 Sir Eld
3649 Teb
3841 Blutous
4033 Janus
4225 Omas Tyran
4417 Dr. Elanius Ferah
4609 Cebak
4801 Tiwa
4993 Geul Barnet
5185 HAL9K
5377 Kale
5569 Somar Tan
5761 Veda
5953 Toom
Then there are a lot of empty "filler" pages, until bytes 11071 to 11130 which
are the text for the signs on bases. The rest are other similar subsidiary game
text, such as the names of the items, the ship/onboard screens, death messages,
and so forth.
To give an example for how all this works, the sign outside Hiathra's office
has the values (106, 14) in the MAPS file. This corresponds to 106 + 14*256 =
3690. The 3690th entry in STRAD (starting from 0, since the game index starts
from 0) are bytes 11071 to 11073 (since 3690*3 = 11070). These byte values
(114, 184, 1) give the location in STRINGS to look for the text (byte 114 +
184*256 = 47241, starting at the first bit). The text here, once decoded, is
what you see when you read the sign: "Office of the Imperial Representative".
UNRESOLVED ISSUES
-----------------
Currently, how the RPG plots actually work is unknown. I suspect the TALK file
to be involved, but I don't know how. Figuring that out would help in
determining if there are any plots that aren't listed here, especially what
byte 1025 of the save file refers to.
