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Startopedia 1.01
Basic info, all info found by pressing F1 in-game:
Decks/Segments:
Technology-Deck: Right-click on the floor to access your menu of things you can build.
Recreational-Deck: Right-click on the floor to access your menu of things you can build.
Bio-Deck: Left or Right-click to change land conditions and grow plants to make the place nicer or to harvest.
Allies Segment: That area belongs to one of your allies, with whom you currently have an open-border policy; aliens are free to come and go between your territory, and you share technologies.
Enemys Segment: That area belongs to one of your enemies, with whom you are currently at war. Please note that this station's teleportation systems are fully compliant with the Cronenblum Treaty which expressly forbids the beaming of weapons, droids or people into enemy territory.
Empty Segment: That area of the station is currently vacant.
Segment Doors:
General: These bulkheads and the adjacent lock mechanisms separate the segments of the station. Right-click on them to see what action is available at the moment, is will be one of various options of opening the doors, and occupying adjacent segments.
Unlock: If you left-click, you will open these doors. You may see the backs of the adjacent player's doors. If they have opened theirs, however, peeps will be able to pass peacefully across the border. You will also share technology for the duration of the doors being open.
Buy: There is an unoccupied segment behind these doors. If you left-click, you will be charged the indicated amount to occupy the segment, if you can afford it.
Lock: If you left-click, you will shut your doors.
Breach: If you left-click, you will issue a command to your Police Scuzzers. One of them will pick the lock and force the doors open. This is seen as an aggressive act, and usually used when trying to take over an enemy's territory.
Take-Over: Click on these doors and you will issue a command to your Police Scuzzers. One of them will go to the lock and take over the mechanism. If he is successful (and not killed on the way), you will gain a segment at your opponent's expense.
Cancel-Breach: Click on these doors and you will issue a command to your Police Scuzzers. One of them will go to the lock and attempt to force the doors shut.
Your-Segments: There is no action available here. You cannot affect the segment doors between segments you own; they stay permanently open.
Must-Be-At-War: To affect these doors (owned by someone else) you would have to be at war. It is an aggressive act, because they aren't your doors.
Too-Far-Away: There is nothing you can do with enemy doors this far away from your own segments. If you click on enemy doors in the segment right next to your own territory, you will be able to try to take that segment over.
Lost-Players-Segments: You can take over these segments instantly, as the occupying player has lost.
Rooms:
Berth: Compact and safe, sleeping Berth pods automatically induce slumber into any who enter them. The occupant is woken after precisely the right amount of REM sleep. Although not the most luxurious of accommodation, Berth Pods are effective and an efficient use of space.
Brig: This is a containment facility for criminals. The Lockdown Brig is divided into isolation cubes, with one deviant per cube. Safely restrained here, each perpetrator undergoes a specially-tailored course of therapy and non-invasive brain restructuring to eliminate the criminal tendency. The reoffending rate, whilst low, is not zero. Apparently some criminal minds just can't be cured.
CargoBay: Each Cargo Hold uses Heisenberg physics to hold goods of far greater size and mass than its exterior dimensions and weight suggest. Even perishable goods and products stored in Cargo Holds are kept in perfect stasis, with no degradation or loss of freshness. Cargobots, simple droids, are provided free with each unit to store and retrieve goods within the Hold.
Casino: Games of chance are a galaxy-wide passion, and the Roulesse wheel provides an outlet for such gaming.This can be altered and configured to pay out on a variety of results by its owner.(Last scentence removed from game.
Bar: The Traditional Bar is designed for the robust drinkers of the galaxy. These types prefer to relax in an aggressive atmosphere and forego polite conversation in favour of volume-drinking.
Recreational Bar: The Recreational Bar is a relaxation facility providing simple, tasty food and drink.
Slugpartment: An expensive facility that caters exclusively to the needs of the aristocratic Gem Slugs.
Cocktail Bar: The Cocktail Bar caters for more refined tastes, serving from a database menu of over 2.2 million cocktail recipes.
Comm Sensor: The Com Sensor scans 2.9 trillion known frequencies across the galaxy and gathers data about vessel movements, radio transmissions, microwave bursts and any other communication. Vital for those wishing to be kept in touch, the system was designed by the Targ and, owing to the structure of their cranial nerve synapses, they are the only race capable of operating it. Com Sensors can send as well as receive information, and give reports of non-sentient activity, like stellar bursts, galactic anomalies and even small, low-key dinner parties held by single-cellular lifeforms.
Dine-o-Mat: Every race has the desire for fast food. A Dine-O-Mat will provide quick, nourishing meals or drinks to customers in seconds. Preparation consists of finding out what the customer wants and replicating it using macro-biological ingredients instantly, so that not only is the food fresh as it was literally created from atoms nano-seconds earlier, but it's piping hot owing to the molecular excitation. A Dine-O-Mat can create food for large numbers of customers using this system.
Dine-o-Mat Options:
Energy Select: Toggles whether this Dine-o-Mat serves up synthetic food produced directly from energy.
Food Select: Toggles whether this Dine-O-Mat serves up food from crates of natural produce.
Ore Select: Toggles whether this Dine-O-Mat serves up food produced from crates of mineral ores.
Disco: Entertainment is a vital part of most races' lives. Music is a universal language and the Trinatone Discotek provides the latest galactic beats, together with flashing lights in the visible spectrum, in infra-red, ultraviolet, microwave and ultra-low-frequencies. No race can fail to be mesmerised. A roaming DJ is the organic face of the Disco, and external feeds to the Disco are available, thus ensuring that the latest music is available, as well as those groovy 2070s nights.
Space Dock: Large in terms of space required to place and construct, and costly, the docking bay plays a vital role in a Station. There are giant external doors and a mobile docking swing arm which guides craft into the correct area. The docking facility can be expanded to handle both passengers and cargo if the correct units are installed. A docking bay thus enables visitors, large cargoes and trading to take place with ease.
Port: This external facility enables passengers to exit and enter the Station. An umbilical tube connects shuttles to the Station and a hyperlift transfers beings from one to the other. Only four beings can use this at a time, and it is slow and unwieldy. Additional Portals can be constructed, and this will increase the flow of visitors to and from the station.
Recharger: These resupply Scuzzer droids with energy, and administer maintenance and repair. Several Scuzzers can use a Scuzzer bay at one time, but many are required in a Station of some size if efficiency is to be maintained. When placed strategically, they reduce the time taken for Scuzzers to get to and return from them to their current place of work.
Energy Collector: The heart of any Station. The Collector stores energy and uses it to create power. It also maintains the correct supply to all the facilities on board. A standard Collector stores up to 100 mega-units of energy (100000e). Energy Collectors are expensive, and only the larger Stations require more than one. For safety reasons multiple Energy Collectors should be installed in separate sections to avoid overload.
Power Booster: Dedicated Power boosters complement Energy Collectors perfectly, as each Power booster can supply 20000 power units to be distributed between any of the Station's facilities. Facilities nearest the Generator get precedence if there isn't enough power to run everything on the Station. On many Stations important installations are placed close to Generators for this reason.
Space Hotel: A modest, yet comfortable structure with tea-making facilities in all rooms.
Space Inn: Well-appointed and stylish, each room has a remote-control
TV with 86.4 billion channels including the latest films.
Palace Galactica: The ultimate in luxury accommodation. Those wealthy or important enough will demand the best - even skilled workers sometimes see rooms here as their right. Refinements include twenty-nine hour room service, newspaper information beamed directly into the occupant's brain a nano-second before he wakes up and a free shoe, foot, tentacle or hoof-cleaning service.
Laboratory: Contrary to received thinking, not everything in science has been discovered. The Turraken still believe that Laboratories should be built and research undertaken. A Lab therefore requires staffing by Turraken alone. Extra research modules may be installed in a Lab, and there is always the chance of a new invention or discovery to shake the foundations of the known universe.
Lavotron: Most races enjoy cleanliness and a Lavotron will use robots to undress a customer, will speed-clean the clothes and will use nano-particles to remove every trace of dirt and grime from their bodies. The effect is not only sanitary and hygienic, it's extremely enjoyable and invigorating, especially if the sonic spray is used on bodily crevices.
Oroflex: This is plant/creature hybrid which enfolds any being in gentle, caressing pseudopods, including the insertion of one to the customer's mind, and provides a mental and physical session of sensation and enjoyment. Oroflexes are extremely difficult to mate in captivity, producing infrequent seedpods, and are therefore highly prized and rare. They are often bought and sold at huge prices.
Fountain: This is a pleasant, open area which often forms the centrepiece of a Station. The scent from exotic plants drifts through it, complementing the burbling of a small fountain. The attractiveness of a Plaza is often in direct proportion to the wealth of the Station itself. A nice Plaza will draw a better class of alien.
Recycler: The eco-friendly way of dealing with junk and rubbish is to recycle it in one of these appliances. Up to four Groulien Salt-Hogs are required to operate a Recycler, and anything placed into it will be turned into energy.
Security Column: The Ward-N Crimgon 1000 is a state-of-the-art column containing sensors, monitors and detectors. Tough and resistant to attack, a few well-placed Security Columns will make any Station a safer place, and will reassure all law-abiding visitors.
Security Control: Operated by Kasvagorian officials, this control centre provides the most comprehensive security possible in a Space Station. Security Columns and droids work as the eyes and ears of the system, and the addition of a Security Control Centre enhances every aspect of Station security. The alert status of a Station can be monitored here, and it controls any combat that might occur.
Shops: These attract visitors and residents alike, and using an automatic sale and delivery system, the Retail Outlet can make shopping an extremely pleasurable experience. Goods can be replicated on demand, or delivered from cargo storage. Retail Outlets are traditionally a useful way of gaining extra revenue.
Sick Bay: Able to provide accident, emergency and routine cover, the Medi-Corp Sick Bay is vital to the efficient running of a large Station. The Sick Bay requires Greys to staff it, but with a full complement of these, plus enough medical supplies and extra equipment, a Station can deal with almost anything.
Temple: The religious Order of Zedem often constructs mysterious temples and edifices, in which they conduct arcane ceremonies. No-one outside the Zedem really understand what the purpose of the Order is, but guesses range from trying to achieve galaxy-wide perfection to summoning dark gods of destruction.
Viewing Gallery: Through the viewing panels the infinite vista of deep space beckons, lit by stars, supernovae and darkened by black holes and antimatter clouds. Curious viewers can gain information about the views they can see by plugging into the info centres provided.
Holodrome: Anyone on a Station may visit an installed Holodrome and act out any fantasy that may lurk in the recesses of their minds. A variety of holographic projection programs to suit a multitude of alien minds are included with a Holodrome.
Factory: Installed Groulien Factories enable a Station to construct goods from raw energy. Compact and ingeniously-designed, each Factory is staffed by up to four Salt Hogs, who are the only beings capable of working in them.
Fighting Pit: Here would-be fighters can take on an invincible battle android to hone their skills and reduce their stress levels. Visitors not wishing to take part can watch, and the Security Forces regularly spectate, looking out for potential recruits amongst the combatants.(Not in final Version)
Lovenest: The Dahanese Sirens work in these facilities, providing sensous forms of pleasure and comfort to all comers. The galaxy is full of homesick, or lovesick aliens so a Siren within a Love Nest is rarely without a bit of business to attend to.
Lift: The only way to safely travel between decks.
Portables:
Technology: These crates contain technology in its pure form - information. Unpacking a technology crate will release it to your scientists and engineers, giving you the knowledge to create something on demand. Once opened, the appropriate technology is permanently added to your build and factory menu.
HardPlan: These crates are amazing pieces of engineering, containing blueprints, raw materials, and a production plant: everything you need to manufacture one single facility -- just add Scuzzers. Basic room contents are also provided, though at additional cost.
Furniture: In a similar fashion to Hardplans, these crates contain a blueprint and raw energy to build a single piece of equipment.
Scuzzer: This crate contains one "Scuzzer" droid in Sleep Mode. Open the crate to activate it, and the unit will make itself available to your station's control systems to perform construction, repair, cleaning or security duties. Occasionally used for the transportation of other lifeforms.
Damaged Goods: Cargo crates that are left out in the open too long will succumb to various types of space rot. Once in this state, recycling is the only option.
Industrial: This cargo type covers a wide variety of industrial parts, such as flux capacitors, proton discharge coils and ribbed flange sockets.
MedicalSupply: An important cargo type, produced primarily in the Gaem System. Medical supplies are required to efficiently operate the Sickbay
FoodSupply: Encompassing a broad range of culinary delights, food crates are an important cargo for keeping Dinomat stocks maintained.
Hardware: Power tools, computing devices and ergonomically designed kitchen utensils are just some of the items that can be found in Hardware crates. A common trade item throughout the galactic rim.
LuxuryItem: One of the more profitable cargo types, Luxury goods include all manner of consumer delights, from aromatic perfumes to the latest albums from Bruce Warpsteen.
Ore: Though seemingly unappealing in nature, raw mineral ores are an important dietry need for certain alien races that cannot or will not consume more traditional food types.
Black Market Goods: Many consumables that were once banned throughout the Galactic Empire are now available commonly, though they are still referred to as Blackmarket goods.
Bomb: A rather nasty explosive device, these can either be moved to an abandoned area of the station and left to detonate, or quickly defused by a security scuzzer. Defused bombs can then be safely disposed of in a recycler.
Alien Artifact: More unusual or exotic wares that defy categorisation are often packaged under this general term. Due to its rarity, this cargo type can often command high prices in the Galactic market place.
Junk: The debris left behind after the demolition or destruction of facilities. Ideal material for recycling.
Litter: This is the recyclable refuse and waste that accumulates on a busy station.
Turdite: A high energy substance extreted by contented Gem Slugs. Purported to be even rarer than fabled rocking-horse dung.
Peeps:
Scuzzers:
Scuzzer MkI: This is a basic construction and maintenance droid. It will build facilities when provided with the materials required, and will keep a Station tidy. Scuzzers require recharging every so often.
Scuzzer MkII: A faster, tracked version of the basic Scuzzer. It requires more frequent recharges and is less reliable owing to the increased amount of technology contained within it.
Scuzzer MkIII: A state-of-the-art hover version of the Scuzzer unit. It's much faster, but even less reliable than the Mk2. It also uses more energy and needs extremely frequent recharging.
Scuzzer Menu:
RepairBar: Drag the slider on this bar to set the Scuzzer's repair level. When the Scuzzer is damaged enough that the bar drops below the slider, the Scuzzer will seek out a Recharger at which to perform maintainance.
PowerBar: Drag the slider on this bar to set the Scuzzer's recharge level. When the Scuzzer's energy reserves fall below that level, the Scuzzer will seek out a Recharger to get its battery topped up.
Task Icons: Drag these icons around to set the priority the Scuzzer assigns to the various tasks it can perform. Tasks placed at the top, are considered more important and will be dealt with first, and tasks placed at the bottom are considered less urgent and will be dealt with last.
Link Button: Clicking this instructs every Scuzzer you own to follow the same commands as you have set for this one.
Police Scuzzer: A case-hardened, battle-tough version of the Scuzzer, capable of capturing criminals, defending its home Station from attack and taking control of Station segments currently held by opponents or enemies.
Menu:
Arrest: In this mode, Security Scuzzers will arrest criminals and escort them to a Brig if one is available, otherwise they will be deported, at the nearest Port.
Caution: In this mode, Security Scuzzers will give the criminals a stern warning including, in the case of particularly vicious crimes, harsh language.
Ignore: In this mode, Security Scuzzers will pretend not to notice criminal behaviour.
Terminate: In this mode, Security Scuzzers will terminate criminals.
Races:
Salthogs: Salt Hogs are the great workers of the galaxy. They have a natural affinity with machinery, construction and maintenance. This is because their home planet was partially constructed out of old spaceship parts by an ancient race. Groul is constantly going wrong and needing repairs, so from an early age the Salt Hogs learn to be resourceful and mechanically adept.
Greys: An advanced and slightly aloof race, the Greys have been known about for aeons owing to their inquisitive nature and their interest in all things medical. Although not the friendliest of races, their only desire is to acquire knowledge and help the ill and hurt. They claim, when pressed, to have given up abducting and mutilating various beings, stating that a series of fatal saucer accidents put them off such trips.
Kasvagorians: One of the few remaining warrior races, the Gor, as they call themselves, are proud, haughty and extremely violent when provoked. They are, however, disciplined and are naturally suited to Defence and Security work throughout the known regions of space. This sometimes brings them into conflict with races they cannot empathise with, such as the Karmarama .
Grekka Targ: Often shortened to just the Targ. they have a reputation as being sly, evasive and clandestine. They thrive on eavesdropping and snooping, and as such are not regarded as trustworthy. They do, however, have a natural affinity with communications equipment and sensors, and can often be gainfully employed in roles connected to these functions.
Karmarama: Originally from a misshapen planet that, from orbit, looks like a series of scatter-cushions with pinholes in them, the Karmarama are an extremely laid-back and easy-going race. Some have hinted that they ingest substances to achieve this, but research conducted while they were asleep indicates that this hasn't been the case for several thousand generations of Karmarama. However, the amount of mood-altering substances taken by the earlier Karmarama has led to a permanent change in the psychological profile of all that followed. The Karmarama have a natural affinity with plants and all manner of flora.
Zedem Monks: Hailing from a planet which has been turned into a massive Temple, the fanatically religious Zedem Monks are a throwback to the time when idealistic deity belief was the norm. The austere devotion the Monks show indicates how strongly they hold their tenets, and this is underlined when they display their disapproval of such races as the Dahanese Sirens (qv) or the pragmatic, empirical scientists, the Turakken (qv).
Turakken: Blessed with dual brains crammed into their overdeveloped craniums, the Turakken are excellent scientists and like nothing better than research and development projects. Originally evicted from their solar system for a series of out-of-control experiments which left three planets ablaze and vaporised a fourth (of which no trace was ever found), they have not lost their love of research and are now more employable, especially at tasks linked to science and development.
Sirens: The Sirens of Dahan are a race famed throughout the known worlds as sensuous, voluptuous and romantic. Their chief reason for existing is to provide pleasure on an intimate nature to other beings from any race. They are not remotely warlike and care little for material possessions. This easy-going, loving and giving nature makes them extremely popular amongst all bar the Zedem Monks, who disapprove most fervently.
Gems Slug: Polvak VII is a rich, lush planet and has the highest ratio of aristocracy-to-commoners in the galaxy. Virtually all the inhabitants are upper class layabouts who take delight in the finest and most luxurious things in life. This last bastion of class culture can make them unpopular, especially amongst races that the Groulien Salt Hogs, to whom hard work and poor conditions come as standard. The greatest wish of any Gem Slug is a high level of cleanliness and maximum luxury and comfort.
Penance Suit: The Zedem Monks take their religion so seriously that those who sin against it are forced to wear massive and uncomfortable Penance Suits. This punishment forces the wearer to consider his or her wrongdoing and to make others aware that the wearer is undergoing this period of quiet, rueful contemplation and extreme discomfort.
Other:
Vermin: Space Vermin. Although cute, they have a propensity to spread nasty infections among the population. To be avoided at all costs.
Memau: This is the juvenile form of two creatures known collectively as Spawn. These parasites appear as small furry animals and will attach themselves to individuals, behaving like a much-loved pet. They perform the function of eating refuse, which is their chosen nutrition, and they grow at a considerable rate. However, should they reach a sufficient size, they will seek out a host being, infect it and incubate. The host dies and is reborn as a Skrasher. Now starting to be recognized as a sentient being.
Spawn: A Memau which has grown big enough to incubate within a host is reborn as a Skrasher. This violent, unpredictable and tough creature will attack anything or anyone, and can take a great deal of punishment before dying. After a certain time, the creature's body clock will cause it to give birth asexually to a number of Memau, whereupon the cycle is repeated.
Spy: Exciting. Mysterious. Deadly. Can assassinate visitors and plant bombs.
Removed from game:
Goma: Goma
Goulifor: Gloath
Haerocan: Pteraglyde
Furniture:
Litter Bin: Scuzzer Droids (qv) place tidied-up litter into bins. These are later emptied when they reach critical mass and begin to smell. Remember - Keep Space Tidy
Corridor Lamp: The Light Of A Thousand Suns, Brought To Your Very Own Space Station. Not Available In Stores. Order Now.
Lava Lamp: Cosy diffuse light, for giving your station that special pre-post-modern retro-futuristic self-consciously ironic ambience. Lamps also provide on-Station visible-spectrum lighting for those races unable to see in the infra-red, ultra-violent or hyper-green ranges.
Bench: Sit. Relax. Then fidget because it's not actually that comfortable. Beats standing though. Although benches are low-tech items, a surprising number of sentient life forms have never developed them, and as such they are something of a novelty in the galaxy.
TV: This Is Your God
Ping-o-Tron: It's a machine. It goes ping. Don't you watch scifi movies? They're vital to the restoration of health.
Analyser: A clever piece of scientific technology, the Analyser links to any other Lab equipment you have and allows remote research to be carried out. Just beam something onto the analysis platform and your scientists will do the rest.
Workbench: The workbench is one of the most basic of Lab items, providing a clear, well lit area for scientists to carry out their vital research work.
Workstation: Research data is easily retrieved and analysed at a Workstation terminal, improving the work rate of your scientists. The terminal is also used to retrieve email and surf the Galactic Net, though such activities are restricted to off-duty scientists only.
Microscope: Using a high-resolution nano-particle scanning beam, the Microscope can display the surface composition of materials at an atomic level. This is particularly useful for making tiny harmless insectiods look like giant hairy space monsters. When not being used for such scientific purposes, it also doubles as a 'TankZone' arcade cabinet.
Matter Replicator: The Replicator simulates the composition of any recorded substance, allowing complex reactions to be run and studied in a purely virtual environment. This minimises the chance of unexpected violent reactions reducing your Lab to a smouldering heap of scrap metal.
Slumber Pod: Compact and safe, slumber pods automatically induce tiredness into any who enter them. The occupant is woken after precisely the right amount of REM sleep. Although not the most luxurious of accommodation, Slumber Pods are effective and an efficient use of space.
Diagnosis Unit: The most important item in the sickbay, the Diagnosis Machine comes equiped with an anti-grav Medi-bot that acts as both a medical scanner and gamma ray therapy dispenser.
Sickbay Waiting Couch: A comfortable seat where patients can wait to be seen by a Doctor.
Dispenser: The Dispenser uses an advanced form of optic delivery to fire micro-spray pharmaceuticals directly into the bloodstream of the patient. In addition a small cleansing laser can burn away the annoying crusty stuff that accumilates in the corner of your eye after a long sleep.
Medi-Bed: A hyper-comfortable, self cleaning theraputic matress combined with the latest in automated remote surgery make the medibed the first choice when a dangerous surgical procedure is required.
Z-Ray Machine: Once entering this machine, the patient is bombarded with powerful Z-rays that create a 3D picture of their entire cellular structure. This information can then be used to determine their illness and prescribe a suitable treatment, as well as pinpoint foreign objects ingested during childhood.
Recreational Bar Table: A standard hard-wearing table with four durable seats.
Recreational Bar Unit: The most popular of bar service units, with a wide selection of alien beverages and snacks.
Rough Bar Table: A reinforced table suitable for the more boisterous bar.
Rough Bar Unit: With only a forward facing service area and impact resistant guard panels, the Rough Bar Unit is specially designed to withstand the unwanted attention of even the most agressive of customers.
Cocktail Bar Table: A comfortable, countoured table and chairs arrangement designned for the more refined alien.
Cocktail Bar Unit: For those with more delicate tastes, the cocktail bar serves the finest in vintage beverages mixed to the customers exact specifications and served in crystal goblets of the highest quality.
Slug Bar Unit: A highly specialised dispenser that provides beverages and snacks exclusively for the Gem Slug palete.
Slug Pod: Slug Pods provide a soothing and relaxing gunge bath that can only be appreciated by the Polvakian race, though unfortunately can be smelt by any lifeform with nasal passages.
LoveChair: A sensual throne of passion from which Sirens can cast forth their love aura to all who desire it.
LoveBench: Seated here, expectant and excited aliens can nervously avoid eye contact while waiting their session with a Siren.
Bio-Pot: Though cunningly disguised as ordinary teracotta urns, these are in fact advanced life-support units, each one capable of maintaining the appropriate moisture, heat, nutrient and atmospheric conditions for a single plant.
Clock: A high tech time recording device housed in a quaint retro style case. Guaranteed to display accurate galactic time to the nearest nano-rotation.
Cell: This is a containment facility for criminals. The Lockdown Brig is divided into isolation cubes, with one deviant per cube. Safely restrained here, each perpetrator undergoes a specially-tailored course of therapy and non-invasive brain restructuring to eliminate the criminal tendency. The reoffending rate, whilst low, is not zero. Apparently some criminal minds just can't be cured.
Statues:
Kategukhat: Feel the pain, the strength and the duty in this work from General Varkur Drang of the Kasvagorian Thousand and Fifth Combat Death Army. And cleverly, General Drang has booby-trapped his art with phials of poison gas, primed to kill anyone who looks too closely or for too long at it. Inspired.
Endeavour: Who says the stupid, subservient underlings can't create art? This piece, which took nine decades to complete because the team of Groulien Salt Hog artists were constantly being made to do other things, sums up the pointless drudgery of their lives, and the fact that they really do think that all their hard graft is worth it. This work contains ample quantities of the three elements the Groulien look for in their sculpture: inspirational themes, dour greyness, and sheer weight of rock.
Father Zeodorus: This imposing statue is a shrine to the Zedem spiritual leader, whose all-seeing eyes gaze down from their vantage-point atop several metres of marble.
Matter Antimatter: The Turakken's scientific approach is clear in this work by young art researcher, Hak Vermeu. Note that no quarter is given to aesthetic idealism. Indeed, Vermeu claims that this is not actually art, but is in fact the casing on an old antimatter conducer. Insightful, moving treatise into the inherent contradictions of our place in the universe, or a bunch of concrete boxes? A controversial work.
Uplanter: The rich, verdant beauty of nature, just out of arm's reach. Poignant.
Gnmerich: The Greys sum up their uniform, creativeless culture with the nearest they get to freeform art. Although they work hard, and are more intelligent than many races, the strict, unbending regime in which they operate is the true enemy of creativity. But at least they got this piece of artwork finished on time.
Furies: Class just reeks from every atom of this masterpiece. The artist, Sirbol Bellew Parba-Tang III is clearly a cut above, and us critics are not worthy to gaze upon his towering genius and clear superiority.
Legacy: Ever evasive and clandestine, the Targ have produced a work which raises more questions than it answers. Indeed, it begs the viewer to move closer and touch the rough-hewn metalwork. Whereupon one feels it would swiftly crush the viewer's hand. Dangerous and exciting.
Mother: The essence of all things sensual and sensuous, this Siren piece longs to be caressed and gently cupped. You want to run your hands down the smooth flanks and, and you start to sweat, you feel a building of tension. Quicker and more powerful and quicker and oh. It's all over. Artist unknown.
Peace Totem: The Karmarama artistic commune produced this work overnight. Although interestingly the following morning none of the commune's members could recall constructing it. Rumours that it was done by another race while the Karmarama popped out for sucrose-based snacks are unsubstantiated.
Planetscape: A beautiful, decorative reminder that space, like time and the sense of smell, is truly curved. As the planets rotate around a star, so must we rotate around our Space Stations held in check by gravity and an overwhelming desire to see what happens on the next level.
Robot Heaven: The only piece of art not designed by an organic life-form, this is clearly the piece de la resistance. It's a representation of the huge robot corporation, Nanodyne Technologies HQ on the planet Guilfarr. The only clue as to the creator are the mysterious initials V, A and L on the bottom, next to the hallmark and the certificate of authenticity.
Plants:
Pinecale: Low Temperature, Low Moisture. Produces industrial materials and alien artefacts.
Willonidia: Low Temperature, Medium Moisture. Produces black market goods and food.
Ashvella: Low Temperature, High Moisture. Produces medical supplies and industrial materials.
Mopani: Medium Temperature, Low Moisture. Produces industrial materials and food.
Elderbaran: Medium Temperature, Medium Moisture. Produces medical supplies and industrial materials.
Mangotana: Medium Temperature, High Moisture. Produces industrial materials and food.
Eucalymus: Hot Temperature, Low Moisture. Produces medical supplies and food.
Amadinka: Hot temperature, Medium Moisture. Produces industrial materials and food.
Ebonicle: Hot Temperature, High Moisture. Produces food and luxury items.
Frostarian Snapper: Low Temperature, Low Moisture Produces alien artefacts.
Palabast: Low Temperature, Medium Moisture. Produces luxury items.
Iciqueue: Low Temperature, High Moisture. Produces medical supplies.
Drickling: Medium Temperature, Low Moisture. Produces food.
Lillith: Medium Temperature, Medium Moisture. Produces luxury items.
Succulus: Medium Temperature, High Moisture. Produces black market goods.
Cactoidal: Hot Temperature, Low Moisture. Produces Industrial materials.
Krans: Hot temperature, Medium Moisture. Produces black market goods.
Bazack: Hot Temperature, High Moisture. Produces food.
Stickrush: Produces medical supplies.
Weedicle: Produces black market goods.
Lilyenta: Produces luxury items.
Trade Panel:
Crates Trader: Items on this side of the panel are being sold by the trader visiting your station.
Crates Player: Items on this side of the panel are those you currently have in stock, and may sell if you choose.
Cost Trader: This indicates the price the trader is asking for the item. Green marks show a good price, red marks indicate a bad deal -- the more marks, the better (or worse).
Cost Player: This is the price the trader is willing to buy your stock for, if at all.
Other:
Muster Point: Left-click on it like an enemy unit to gather your forces around this point. Right-click to remove targets and ultimately cancel the muster point.
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