THE PORTABLE HOST PHOST Extended Missions Version 3.2.2.12 Introduction ============ PHOST Extended Missions represent a new set of ship missions that enhance the current set of standard missions. These extended missions can be accessed via the M.I.T. interface in WinPlan, or through the PHOST command processor for DOS Planets users. The main motivation behind PHOST's extended missions is to remove the function of friendly codes as mission orders. For example, the 'mkt' friendly code is really a mission order (to build torpedoes). With the newfound importance of friendly codes as determinants of battle-order, it has become even more important to reduce the number of roles that the poor friendly code must play. Using an extended mission for an actual ship mission also reduces the number of friendly codes that players have to memorize. Extended Mission Summary ======================== The extended missions that PHOST currently supports are briefly listed below. They are discussed in greater detail in a subsequent section. This section is meant to be a "quick reference chart" for extended missions. +=======+================================+===================+===============+ |Mission| Mission Name | Intercept | Tow | | Code | | Parameter | Parameter | +=======+================================+===================+===============+ | 20 | Build Torpedoes From Cargo | (none) | (none) | +-------+--------------------------------+-------------------+---------------+ | 21 | Lay Minefield | Max. Torps to Lay | Owner Race | +-------+--------------------------------+-------------------+---------------+ | 22 | Lay Web Minefield | Max. Torps to Lay | Owner Race | +-------+--------------------------------+-------------------+---------------+ | 23 | Scoop Torpedoes from Minefield | Max. Torps Scooped| (none) | +-------+--------------------------------+-------------------+---------------+ | 24 | Gather Minerals/Build Torpedoes| Max. Torps Built | (none) | +-------+--------------------------------+-------------------+---------------+ | 25 | Beam Down Credits to Planet | Credits to Beam | (none) | +-------+--------------------------------+-------------------+---------------+ | 26 | Transfer Torpedoes to Ship | Receiving Ship | Torps to Xfer | +-------+--------------------------------+-------------------+---------------+ | 27 | Transfer Fighters to Ship | Receiving Ship | Ftrs. to Xfer | +-------+--------------------------------+-------------------+---------------+ | 28 | Transfer Credits to Ship | Receiving Ship | Cred. to Xfer | +-------+--------------------------------+-------------------+---------------+ Using Extended Missions ======================= WinPlan Players --------------- WinPlan players should place the MISSION.INI file that comes with PHOST (or an alternate file provided by the host) in the VPWORK subdirectory being used for the game. When you wish to give an extended mission order to a ship, bring up the mission menu for the ship and click on the "Extended Missions" button at the bottom of window. If you've placed the MISSION.INI file in the VPWORK subdirectory, you will then see a list of missions to choose from in a selection window. Click on the mission you wish to perform. Depending upon the mission you've chosen, you may be told that there is an "Intercept Required" and a "Tow Number Required". These really have nothing to do with towing or intercepting but are just generalized parameters for the mission. We will just refer to them as "Parameter 1" and "Parameter 2". If the mission you've chosen requires parameters, enter them in the "Intercept Number" (parameter 1) and "Tow Number" (parameter 2) edit fields. Click "OK" to accept the new mission. DOS Planets Players ------------------- You will need to enter new missions using the 'extmission' command processor command (see COMMANDS.DOC). Briefly, the syntax of the command is: extmission Ship Mission [Parm1 [Parm2]] where 'Parm1' and 'Parm2' need only be specified for missions that require parameters. For example, to perform the "Transfer Credits to Ship" mission, you would send the command: extmission 105 28 317 5000 to transfer 5000 credits from ship #105 to ship #317. The ships must be in the same location, of course. Hosts ----- Hosts will normally not have to do anything to support extended missions. The only thing to worry about is if another program is being used that also makes use of this extended mission (M.I.T.) interface. If the missions used by this other program overlap with those used by PHOST, then the mission numbers must be changed to eliminate the overlap. As of this writing, there are no other programs known to use the extended mission interface so conflicts should not be a problem. PHOST may be configured to respond to a different set of mission numbers to perform its extended missions. This is configured with the ExtMissionsStartAt config option (see CONFIG.DOC). This config option basically indicates the mission number of the first extended mission recognized by PHOST. Nominally, this is 20, but hosts may configure this to be any number from 20 through 900. If the host modifies the ExtMissionsStartAt config option from its nominal value of 20, then the host should ensure that: - WinPlan players receive modified MISSION.INI files with the correct mission numbers for PHOST - DOS Planets players are made aware of the new value so that they may issue the correct 'extmission' command processor commands For reference, here are the extended missions that PHOST recognizes as a function of the ExtMissionsStartAt config option: +================================+=========================+ | Mission Name | Mission Code | +================================+=========================+ | Build Torpedoes From Cargo | ExtMissionsStartAt + 0 | +--------------------------------+-------------------------+ | Lay Minefield | ExtMissionsStartAt + 1 | +--------------------------------+-------------------------+ | Lay Web Minefield | ExtMissionsStartAt + 2 | +--------------------------------+-------------------------+ | Scoop Torpedoes from Minefield | ExtMissionsStartAt + 3 | +--------------------------------+-------------------------+ | Gather Minerals/Build Torpedoes| ExtMissionsStartAt + 4 | +--------------------------------+-------------------------+ | Beam Down Credits to Planet | ExtMissionsStartAt + 5 | +--------------------------------+-------------------------+ | Transfer Torpedoes to Ship | ExtMissionsStartAt + 6 | +--------------------------------+-------------------------+ | Transfer Fighters to Ship | ExtMissionsStartAt + 7 | +--------------------------------+-------------------------+ | Transfer Credits to Ship | ExtMissionsStartAt + 8 | +--------------------------------+-------------------------+ Mission Descriptions ==================== This section describes each PHOST extended mission in detail. Note that some missions are available to registered players only. The 'Shareware' field of each description indicates whether or not the mission is available to shareware players. Some extended missions take parameters. In most cases, the values that these parameters can take is obvious. The value of 0 is usually given special treatment however. Rather than using a zero value, PHOST will take a 0-valued parameter to mean "the default number". For example, when a parameter represents the maximum number of torps to use in a mission, the value of 0 means to use all available torps, not 0 torps. *** Mission Name: Build Torpedoes From Cargo Mission Code: 20 (ExtMissionsStartAt + 0) Parameter 1: (none) Parameter 2: (none) Shareware: NO This mission is intended to replace the 'mkt' friendly code. It performs the same function as the 'mkt' friendly code: torpedoes are built from available cargo and credits. *** Mission Name: Lay Minefield Mission Code: 21 (ExtMissionsStartAt + 1) Parameter 1: Maximum number of torps to lay (0=use all torps) Parameter 2: Owner race of minefield (0=same race as ship owner) Shareware: NO This mission is intended to replace the 'mdh', 'mdq', 'mdN', and 'miN' friendly codes. It allows a minefield to be laid with the exact number of torps desired and it also allows the field to be laid in another player's name. Setting parameter 1 to 0 means that all torps will be converted to mines. Setting parameter 2 to 0 means that the mine will belong to the same race as the ship's owner, as usual. *** Mission Name: Lay Web Minefield Mission Code: 22 (ExtMissionsStartAt + 2) Parameter 1: Maximum number of torps to lay (0=use all torps) Parameter 2: Owner race of minefield (0=same race as ship owner) Shareware: NO This mission is intended to replace the 'mdh', 'mdq', 'mdN', and 'miN' friendly codes when laying web mines. This extended mission is only available to the Crystalline race, it will be ignored for all other races. *** Mission Name: Scoop Torpedoes from Minefield Mission Code: 23 (ExtMissionsStartAt + 3) Parameter 1: Maximum number of torps to scoop (0=scoop all) Parameter 2: (none) Shareware: NO This mission is intended to replace the 'msc' friendly code. This extended mission also implies a regular Mine Sweep mission, but if the ship is inside a same-race minefield, then the mines will be converted back to torps, up to the maximum specified by parameter 1. If parameter 1 is 0 then all possible mine units are converted back into torps. *** Mission Name: Gather Minerals/Build Torpedoes Mission Code: 24 (ExtMissionsStartAt + 4) Parameter 1: Maximum number of torps to build (0=as many as possible) Parameter 2: (none) Shareware: NO This mission has no counterpart among friendly codes, but it is intended to be the equivalent of an 'lfm'-type friendly code for torpedoes. When a ship is in orbit of a friendly planet, this mission will cause the ship to beam up minerals and credits from the planet and use them to build torpedoes. The number of torpedoes to build is limited by the resources on the planet and the amount of free cargo room on the ship. The maximum number of torpedoes to build can also be limited by the value of parameter 1 (unless it is 0, which signifies no limit). A "friendly planet" as used above means a planet that is of the same race as the ship's owner, or an allied planet owned by an ally who has granted the ship's owner the Planetary Level (+p) of alliance. *** Mission Name: Beam Down Credits to Planet Mission Code: 25 (ExtMissionsStartAt + 5) Parameter 1: Maximum number of credits to beam (0=all credits) Parameter 2: (none) Shareware: NO This mission is intended to replace the 'bdm' friendly code. When a ship is in orbit of a planet, this mission will cause the ship to beam down the specified number of credits (given by parameter 1). If parameter 1 is 0, then all credits from the ship will be beamed down to the planet. *** Mission Name: Transfer Torpedoes to Ship Mission Code: 26 (ExtMissionsStartAt + 6) Parameter 1: Receiving ship (0 is an illegal value) Parameter 2: Torps to transfer (0=transfer all torps) Shareware: NO This mission is intended to replace the 'btt' friendly code. Parameter 1 indicates the ship number which is to receive the torpedoes. The two ships must be in the same location in space and must both have the same type of torpedo tubes. The two ships cannot belong to the same player. Parameter 2 indicates the number of torpedoes to transfer, or 0 to indicate a transfer of all torpedoes (limited by cargo space on the receiving ship). *** Mission Name: Transfer Fighters to Ship Mission Code: 27 (ExtMissionsStartAt + 7) Parameter 1: Receiving ship (0 is an illegal value) Parameter 2: Fighters to transfer (0=transfer all fighters) Shareware: NO This mission is intended to replace the 'btf' friendly code. Parameter 1 indicates the ship number which is to receive the fighters. The two ships must be in the same location in space and must both have fighter bays. The two ships cannot belong to the same player. Parameter 2 indicates the number of fighters to transfer, or 0 to indicate a transfer of all fighters (limited by cargo space on the receiving ship). *** Mission Name: Transfer Credits to Ship Mission Code: 28 (ExtMissionsStartAt + 8) Parameter 1: Receiving ship (0 is an illegal value) Parameter 2: Credits to transfer (0=transfer all credits) Shareware: NO This mission is intended to replace the 'btm' friendly code. Parameter 1 indicates the ship number which is to receive the credits. The two ships must be in the same location in space. The two ships cannot belong to the same player. Parameter 2 indicates the number of credits to transfer, or 0 to indicate a transfer of all credits (limited by how many credits are already on the receiving ship).