The Tradewars Universe is made up of inter-connected sectors. The minimum number of sectors is 1000 and the current maximum is 20,000. All of the sectors are numbered. Sector 2 may connect to Sector 3, however Sector 3 does not necessarily connect to Sector 2. You can think of a sector as a galaxy, and picture 1000's of galaxies all connected to each other by warps. Below is a screenshot from SWATH's graphical map display. Did I mention that Swath has the best graphical display of the universe?
. A warp is the connection between two sectors. There are four type's of warps in the TW universe. These are one-way warps, two-way warps, transwarp and planet warp. Most common of these is the two-way warp. In Swath a two-way warp is designated by a solid line. As you can see above, sector 959 connects to sector 1776 and 1776 connects to 959. What this means is that it is possible to go from sector 959 to sector 1776, and from sector 1776 to sector 959. This is the most common type of warp.
In the picture above, you can see that sector 959 also connects to sector 3173. In Swath's graphical display, a one-way warp is designated by a broken line between the sectors. In the example above sector 959 connects to sector 3173, but sector 3173 does not directly connect back to sector 959. This is designated by the line being broken on the sector 3173 line of the display. What this means is that it is possible to go directly from sector 959 to sector 3173, but in order to go from sector 3173 to 959, a different route must be taken. This is an example of a one-way warp. The number of one-way warps in a universe is sysop configurable.
Care must be taken when plotting courses to allow for one way warps, because while it may take 8 warps to go from sector 13 to sector 1, it may take 12 warps to go from sector 1 to sector 13.
A Transwarp is not a physical part of the tradewars universe. It is a method of moving between sectors. Some ships can be equipped with a Transwarp Drive, and are then able to move to distant sectors in one hop. As you can see above, sector 3449 connects to sector 4824 which connects to sector 3913. In a one-turn per warp ship, (more on ship movement later) it would take two turns to move from sector 3449 to sector 3913. If your ship was equipped with a transwarp drive, you could "twarp" from sector 3449 to sector 3913 in one turn. There are conditions on transwarping which are explained later, so don't try it yet, or you may find out what #Ship Destroyed# is. Once planets reach level 4, they are also able to "Planet Warp" also known as "Pwarp" . This allows planets to be moved around the universe, quite similar to ships.
There is another type of sector which deserves special mention. This is called the dead end. Above you can see that Sector 1715 connects *only* to sector 3939 via a two way warp. . These types of sectors are called "dead ends" and are the best places to begin building your empire. Of course everyone knows about the dead ends, so eventually you will be discovered, but hopefully by then, you will be strong enough to ward off invaders. A Swath shot again, but here you see a little of what Swath knows about each sector. The greyed out sectors with the question mark are unexplored. Other sectors here appear to be dead ends, however they are not. It is only because I have asked Swath to show me only X number of sectors out from sector 3939. Displaying too many sectors at once confuses the display and warps are not visible.
There are also "bubbles". These consist of a group of sectors with only one entrance.
The picture above is a screen capture from SWATH's bubble finder feature. Sectors 2084 and sector 386 are both dead ends which connect to sector 2531, which connects to sector 3007. Building or moving into a bubble is best because it allows players to control multiple sectors, while having to guard only one, known as the door. In the diagram above, sector 3007 is the door, and if a player were able to defend it, they would have three sectors to build in, four including the door. Bubbles range in size, I have seen some as large as 500 sectors, and the maximum bubble size is sysop configurable.
The sectors in the Tradewars universe are not all empty, and there are some elements of the universe which are static. Sectors may contain, ports, planets, players, ships, fighters, mines, beacons, aliens, and navigational hazards. When the universe is initially created, (ala Big Bang) the universe will contain a sysop specified number of ports.
There are nine different classes of ports. In each universe there are three "Class 0" ports and one "Class 9". These are special ports. The Class 9 port is "The Stardock", and is the most important port in the game. The Stardock is the only place in the universe where players may buy new ships, and other equipment. There are many places to go, and things to do, at The Stardock. The "Class 0" ports are special also, in that they are the only places besides The Stardock where players may buy ship holds, fighters and shields. The three Class 0 ports are named Sol, Rylos, and Alpha Centauri. The location of these four ports in the game determines the Major Space Lanes, also known as the MSL.
The Major Space Lanes (MSL) are the paths from each of the Class o's to the Stardock and from Stardock to each of the Class 0's. The path(s) between Rylos and Alpha Centauri are also Major Space Lanes. Remeber because of one way warps the paths may not be the same. The Class 0 "Sol" is always located in sector 1. The remaining two Class 0 ports and Stardock are always in a random sector, so the MSL's are never the same. The MSL's are patrolled by the Federation every nite at extern. All fighters, mines, and navigational hazards will be cleared, (i.e. destroyed) Upgraded planets left in the MSL at extern will be knocked down to a Level 2 Citadel if they are at Level 3 or above.
The sectors numbered 1 through 10 are Fedspace. The sector the Stardock is located in is also Fedspace. There are special laws, enforced by the Federation that applies to these sectors. You may not deploy fighters or mines in Fedspace. Unattended ships left in Fedspace during extern will be repossessed. Any player who is Fedsafe, (less than 1000 experience and a 0 or greater alignment) may not be attacked in Fedspace. A sysop defined number of players may occupy Fedspace sectors overnight, (i.e. throughout extern) without fear of being towed, provided they have less than 100 fighters on their ship.
Sector 1 is special also. Sector 1 is where Terra is located. Terra is the planet that generates a sysop-defined number of colonists for the game. It is created at Big-Bang, and starts out with a sysop-defined maximum number of colonists. Colonists will regenerate to this maximum over time, as the number of colonists on Terra is reduced by players taking colonists to develop their own planets. Colonists are the workers of the universe and are needed to build planet defenses and to produce product and fighters. Additionally, sector 1 is the only sector in the game that does not allow player built planets.
The number of planets allowed in a sector is sysop configurable. Placing more planets than this number may result in a planetary collision when extern runs. For instance, if the sysop has "max planets per sector set to 5, and you have six planets in a sector when extern runs, it is possible that planets four and five may collide, leaving you with four planets left in the sector. Planetary collisions are random, and it is also possible that your planets may not collide. However, a "Planetary Disturbance" will be noted in the game log, including the sector number. This will give everyone in the game the location of your planets. This is not a good thing.
Early in the game it is advised to map the universe. Most helper programs are capable of "Zero Turn Mapping" aka "ZTM". Mapping is accomplished by plotting courses in the computer. These courses are plotted by the helper programs, giving them a pretty accurate layout of the universe. Below is a Swath screenshot of some Fedspace sectors. In Swath's display, Fedspace sectors are blue.
Courses are plotted using the ship's computer.
Using the map display above, you can see that it would take two "hops" to get from sector 1 to sector 10, and vice versa. Remember, it is always wise to plot your return course in order to better manage your turns.
I mentioned above that sectors may contain various items. Following is a brief explanation of these things.
Planets: created by players or aliens. Upgraded planets are capable of destroying your ship upon entry into the sector.
Armid Mines: These are deployed by fighters to do damage to unwary players. This type of mine explodes upon entry into the sector if they are not owned by the player or teammate of whoever deployed them.
Limpet Mines: These mines attach to enemy ships and are trackable by the player or corporation which deployed them. Going to your home base after being tagged with a limpet mine is a frequent method of discovery in the game. Limpets may be removed at the Stardock or any of the Class 0 ports for a sysop defined amount, typically 5,000 credits.
Ports: Aside from the ports mentioned above there are many ports in the Tradewars Universe. Ports buy and/or sell one of three products. Buying product from one port and selling at another is how players initially gain credits in the game.
Marker Beacons: These are simply markers, often used to taunt other players or to mark out player territory. They are released into the sector by players who then have the option of leaving a short text message, (i.e. Death awaits all who enter here!)
Players and/or Aliens: You may stumble across players or aliens during your travels. If you see the message, "so and so is powering up weapons systems" you must quickly decide whether to attack or flee.
Unmanned Ships: Sometimes it is necessary to leave a ship in open space. If you stumble across an empty ship, it may be captured or destroyed. If the owner has stocked the ship with corbomite, destroying the ship will result in a huge explosion, causing damage to, or even destroying your ship. Exercise care when attacking unamnned ships, they are frequently left as traps.
Navigational Hazards: Navigational Hazards, commonly referrred to as "navhaz" is created when something is destroyed in the sector. Destroying ports, planets or ships will generate navhaz which may damage your ship upon entry into the sector. It is not certain to do any damage to your ship, but if in a weak ship it is possible that you will be destroyed. Navhaz clears at a sysop defined interval, except in the MSL's when it is cleared at extern.
Fighters: Players and Aliens may both deploy Fighters in sectors. Fighters will be set as either defensive, offensive, or toll. If set as defensive, the fighter(s) must be destroyed to enter the sector. If set as offensive, the fighters will immediately attack any enemy ship that enters the sector. When set as toll, there is a fee of 5 credits per deployed fighter to enter the sector. Deploying 1000 fighters in toll mode would force any enemy player to either destroy the 1000 figs or pay 5000 credts to enter the sector.
TheFeds: There are 3 Federation Starships which patrol the universe. Captain Zyrain in his Starship the U.S.S. Intrepid, Fleet Admiral Clausewitz in the U.S.S. Valiant, and Admiral Nelson in the U.S.S. Lexington. The Feds will only attack players if they attempt to attack a Fedsafe player, attack the Feds themselves, or try to deploy fighters in Fedspace. Their wrath is sure and precise. The Feds are indestructible.
You should now have a good idea of what you can expect to find in the Tradewars Universe. Other sections of this guide go into detail on the elements of the game.
