Ulite: The Main Menu

The Main Menu

The main menu is always visible at the top of the screen with the following options:

• "Ship" - ship and flight
• "Market" - trade and manufacture
• "Player" - player-oriented pages
• "Messages" - in-game mailbox
• "Logout" - logout.

The submenu will depend on selection of the corresponding main menu option.

At the top of the window is some additional information, including the name of the currently logged in player (top left), the current server time on the 2nd Line, and on the right are a few useful links for the Ulite forum, the help, top 100 players and the stats page, as well as the tech tree.

For players of previous versions that do not want to get used to the new menu system, there is the option "Display menubuttons" under Player Status, where you can choose the number of rows of menu buttons to be displayed. This is useful if untested browsers are used since the position of the buttons may be different from what's expected. The default menu structure consisting of the main and sub-menus is described here as the "Tree" option.

Some buttons only appear when certain conditions are met. You may toggle this behaviour with the Player Status page option "Always show all menu buttons".

Just below the buttons there is a status line indicating the current state of the ship (type of flight with destination information, docked, floating, etc.). At the end of this same row to the right a few more links, namely the universe map ("Universe"), the local space map ("Map") and the "Distance-List" which lists all systems within 40 light years to the current system.

Ship

Default page when selecting "Ship" from the main menu is the "Flight" page.

Systems

First, to clarify: A flight to another system is a hyperspace flight (or interstellar flight). A flight within a system (such as from a point to a station) is a normal (or interplanetary) flight. The hyperspace flight can not be cancelled whereas a normal flight can. To fly somewhere, the target must be declared first. Once you have a target, you'll get the option to actually initiate the flight. To be able to fly from one system to another system, the on-board computer must first be fed with data from the target system. Under this menu item all systems are listed that are currently reachable. The ship is capable of hyperspace travel only for a limited distance. This maximum distance is dependent on the ship's mass, the drive and from the available fuel.

Within the Drive - Status section, the first item listed is the active drive. Thereafter, the Maximum Range as a function of ship mass and drive. If Maximum Range is 0 Lj (Lj = light-years, a measure of long distances), then either the drive is not functional (ie it needs to be repaired, see "Repair and Maintenance"), or there is no built-in drive. Following this is the Current Range depending on available fuel. There are three types of drives, the (classical) Hyperdrive, the Military Drive, and the Wrap Drive. The Hyperdrive requires Hydrogen Fuel, the Military Drive requires Military Fuel. Fuel consumption depends of the class of the drive (higher class drives consume much more fuel).

The Navigation section lists the inhabited systems that are currently within range (this behaviour can be toggled to also include those which are uninhabited). Along with each system the following details are listed: sector, name, population class, the number of planets, planetary, and orbital number of stations, the distance to the current system and the required fuel to travel to the system. The setting to include uninhabited systems is also located within the Player Status screen ("Show all systems under target systems").

For uninhabited systems there is no population class, and these are dangerous to visit as often hostile ships will be waiting to shoot someone!

Each system has the following buttons:

• Fly to system (green): The system is entered as the target system and the ship immediately enters hyperspace. The button will appear when you have enough fuel on board.
• Target system: The system is entered into the targeting computer, but no flight takes place yet. Under the "Flight" submenu, a button will allow you to hyperspace when you're ready.

The Map

Directly below the navigation bar there is a link "Map" on the map of the current sector with its systems and the surrounding sectors. With this card, you can easily determine a route from one system to another. There are links around the map to navigate "One sector up", "One sector down", "One sector left" and "One sector right". Similarly, the sector coordinates can be entered directly into the end of the URL in the web browser, eg. sector [2,-4]:

map.php?map_x=2&map_y=-4

Sector coordinates are always given as [x, y]. X is positive to the right and negative to the left, Y is positive increasing upward and negative downward. Inhabited systems are depicted white, while uninhabited systems are grey in color. The sectors are surrounded with green solid lines, the dotted lines have a distance of 2 Lj.

The system 'Map' shows a perspective view of the three-dimensional universe. A system's Z coordinate is depicted with a vertical line and referred to as the "height" of the system. This line ends with a "flag" (small apparent thickening at the end), systems that have the flag on top, float above the map. Where the flag is down, they float below the map.

The first time a system is explored it may take a while for the page to be generated. Just wait a while and try again. Repeatedly pressing on "Map" will bring the message "It is just expected". If you see this message, just wait a while longer before refreshing the page.

The distance list

The distance list provides a list of all systems, which is up to a distance of 40 light years from the current system. The list has two columns sorted by distance. Each entry lists: sector, name, distance and population class.

Auto Pilot

Auto pilot is designed for long trips without human intervention by automatically hopping between several predetermined systems. To use this option the player needs to have purchased Auto Pilot equipment.

Here you program the trip one system at a time, selecting systems within maximum range of the ship for each leg of the journey. These intermediate systems are entered into the autopilot with the "Set System" button.

As you add more systems you will see the total fuel requirement is calculated as long as the distance. You can delete entries to traverse an alternative route. You may start flying to any of the systems in the program with the "Fly to system" button, then hyperspace flight begins and you are committed to the route entered to reach the specified system.

Once the program is entered or the journey begins, the final destination is specified under "Stations" submenu, and you can pick a station where you want to dock in the target system.

Flight commences with "Fly to system" in "Auto Pilot", or with "Fly to station" under "Stations". The "Flight" screen then shows the same details as usual under the heading "Navigation".

Auto pilot is also possible during a Convoy flight. Only the "Leader" requires Auto Pilot equipment. However, take note: Each ship requires an appropriate supply of fuel. Be sure to review the fuel supplies of each ship in the convoy and refuel as required (use redistribution of fuel). The Auto Pilot screen ONLY lists statistics such as fuel consumption for the Leader ship, not the fuel consumption of the other ships. The time of arrival may be wrong. Arrival time only refers to a flight of the lead ship alone. Larger ships in the convoy may cause longer flight times than what is predicted by Auto Pilot as the convoy always flies at the speed of the slowest ship.

Stations

Space stations are located on or in orbit around planets within an inhabited system. After a hyper jump you land somewhere in the target system, but then have to fly to a station. The stations and the planets of the target system are listed on the "Stations" screen. The screen lists the object position number (from inside to outside) of the planet, the planet name, the distance to the sun and respective stations and their positions (distance from the planet). A station may be on the surface of the planet - then it is a ground station - or has a certain distance to the planet, it's a space station. The stations can then be accessed with the buttons:

• Fly to the station: (orange) Returns the station as a destination station, and immediately flies off.This flight takes place in a normal room and can be interrupted any time by simply typing a different target.
• Target as destination: Targets this station as a destination, but doesn't start flight.

Planetary information is available by clicking the link (the number/name of the planet).

It should also be noted that the system displayed is always the current "target". One can therefore look at other systems using the system target functions. Furthermore, you can choose to target or fly to a station within your current/destination system at any time, even if you have already selected a station to fly to and later change your mind (this function is also available during hyperspace flight).

Flight

This screen details the current flight to the target system, target planet and allows a destination station to be specified. Similar functions are also listed on the "Systems", "Stations" and "Objects" screens during flight. There are different colours for each of the options "Fly to system!," "Fly to planet!" and "Fly to station!". Furthermore, during interplanetary flight it's possible to view exact coordinates for the ship within the system, the speed of the ship, and possibly also the position and velocity of the target.

In free space, it is also possible at any time to stop the ship ("Brake!" , green), or turn the engines off ("Engines off!", orange).

Attention, if you turn off the engines and the ship still has a velocity, it drifts further from the system, so it can be very difficult later to reach planets or stations.

The final option available on this screen is to input specific target coordinates. Simply enter the coordinates in the line labelled "Enter" then click the "Fly to coordinates!" Button (green).

Objects

In each ship, a scanner is installed (not to be confused with the "Ship Scanner" in the equipment). This scanner detects objects in the current system.

Any objects are listed under this menu item. All the planets and stations are listed in order of distance from the sun. Furthermore, there are also other objects such as other vessels or hyperspace clouds that occur when a ship has jumped recently into hyperspace, or when a ship is soon to come out of of hyperspace in this system. Foreign ships and hyperspace clouds can be investigated in more detail with special equipment.

Following paragraph translation is still not clear and requires further refinement

The scanner provides detailed analysis of an object only up to a distance of 100 AU, but can also locate objects that are farther away. Then there is a corresponding line of text as a last resort. Multiple scanners (up to 7) increase the range. A detail resolution are available with the first Radar Mapper within 15 AU. Additional Radar Mappers are unlimited, and range will increase accordingly.

Crew

Larger ships require additional crew. Refer to the "Crew" column of the The Ships page to determine how much crew each ship requires. Additional crew may be hired in the Bar (potential crew are known as "bored persons").

The Skills region compares skills of the crew with that which is required to fly the ship (skills with * are player only skills).

Skill	Description
Engine	Expected to be equal to the class of the ships drive. Additional skill points add 1% to maximum velocity.
Technics*	Determines how fast hull damage can be repaired
Offensive	One weapon is allocated to each of the crew members in the top positions. Each crew should have skill equal to the "Optimal Skill" attribute of the weapon.
Defensive	Sum of all active crew. Adds additional shield strength.
Leadership	Sum of all active crew. Must be atleast twice the number of crew - 1.
Navigation*	If this skill is below the expected level for the current ship, interplanetary travel to stations will take longer as your hyperspace attempts are less precise.
Maneuverability*	If this skill is below the expected level for the current ship, hull damage may be incurred when docking at stations.
Evasion	Sum of all active crew. Decreases the % hit chance to your ship.
Convoy guidance*	Determines how many ships may be included in any convoy the player may lead.

The crew list shows each crew member's skills, wages, next pay date/time and the "Skill-Increase during combat". You may reorder crew position by modifying the listed sequence numbers and pressing the "Move" button (ensure you do not leave gaps in the sequence numbers of any "active" crew positions or you wont be able to fly). The "Catch up!" button will automatically fill any holes. If you are docked at a station, you can also "Dismiss" crew you no longer want.

Occasionally crew will request a pay increase. In which case a region will appear on the page to manage these requests. If you neglect crew wage demands for too long, they may leave.

When established as part of a convoy, you may also select crew to move into a convoy vessel.

Convoy

A convoy is established by the convoy leader. Large convoys may contain a nested command structure of additional convoys. Generally your first exposure to convoys will be that of a convoy participant during early military missions, not that of the leader.

Command structure

In a simple convoy there is one leader and at least one subordinate participant. The leader controls the flight and the participant comes along for the ride. As mentioned however, it's possible to create a tree command structure for your convoy by inviting leaders of multiple additional convoys to join. There are restrictions on the overall tree structure in that it's limited to a depth of three levels. The top level is obviously restricted to a single convoy leader. Level two may consist of up to 10 "supervisors" the 3rd level is restricted to 30 additional participants.

Convoy leader has the control over flight and combat of the convoy. Supervisors have control over distribution of goods between ships^{[To Be Confirmed]}. The leader is of course also going to be a supervisor over at least one convoy participant.

The recruitment process is as follows: A ship of the convoy sends a request to the anzuheuernde^[leader?] ship. The dude that gets the request confirms it^{[To Be Confirmed]}.

Invited ships may be up to 10 km away. They then appear under "convoy" in the list, besides also the button "Request". The request is a standard message which the other ship receives immediately. The player then has when viewing the message the opportunity to accept the request ("Answer"). After accepting the ship appears on the "convoy" page in the first list under "Ships in the current convoy".

Leaving the convoy is possible in several ways. The first way is simple to depend on his own request, relative to the corresponding button "I depend!" In "convoy" (upper list) is possible. When a supervisor of an additional ships leaves a larger convoy, the supervisors convoy remains intact.

The second option is to simply to initiate a flight before the convoy leader initiates one. In this case, if the defecting ship is a supervisor of a smaller convoy, they obviously take their convoy with them.

Battle structure

This section requires rewrite once confirmed

In the case of the attack, the battle structure is essential. This is automatically assumed in a fight and can not be influenced directly by the player. All ships of a convoy have the opportunity to fire a shot in each experiment. Attacked is always the ship, which has the strongest firearm and of which, in turn, is the largest. ATTENTION! From this scheme can be waived if you fight against players. We have the ability to adjust their speed dial.

The menu item convoy contains two lists: the list of ships in the current convoy, and the list of ships that are near to be recruited. A ship itself is considered here as a convoy. In the first list is specified: Reg no. the ship, the type of vessel and its mass, the actual propulsion of the ship, and the maximum current range, the strongest firearm, player name, and the ship on which the ship depends (in brackets the position of the vessel). Reload

In a convoy, it is also possible to provide specific goods and equipment for the ships present are available. The respective objects are easily moved from one ship to another. For this purpose, the target ship must of course provide the appropriate clearance available. The player must simply with the ship, which has the objects in the corresponding ship in a convoy in the numbers field the required number entered next to select the objects. By "reload" the action is made. Money is displaced none, that's up to the players. This provides a simple solution for players is created, the mistake in an uninhabited system or in a system with ground stations but with a ship without Atmos. Flew shield (or similar).

In the presence of an autopilot is no maximum range. It is because only the current range will be about the actual range of the ship, depending on the supply of fuel, go.

Wrap-convoy

When using a wrap-drive, the leader of the herd must provide all required energy. Energy requirements are based on the total tonnage of the convoy.

Configuration

The top section of this page lists all the details of your current ship. Then there are two further sections: ship configuration and combat configuration.

Ship Configuration

Here you can mount alternative engines and guns (it's worth checking here when you buy new engines or guns that they have been automatically mounted correctly).

Combat Configuration

This section determines behaviour during a combat event.

• Flee at .. % Player's hull condition
• Hyperspace at .. % Player's hull condition (if an Emergency Hyperdrive is installed)
• Firing Missile at .. % Player's hull condition
• Bomb until .. % Target station condition
• Target selection 1-3 .. Target ship selection priorities when engaging with a convoy/multiple enemy ships

Flee ends the fight, and continues as planned. When a defender attempts to flee, the attacker will continue to pursue possibly triggering another combat event if and when the attacker catches up.

Emergency Hyperdrive also finished the fight, but one is placed into hyperspace. The target is the nearest inhabited system. The flight is slow, but sometimes the last resort.

Warning: neither Flee nor Emergency Hyperdrive is possible if the opponent possesses a Hyperfield Dissipator, as any escape from a fight at least one micro-Hyper-or wrap-hop is^[WAT?].

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