Glossary

Alignment - Alignment is a positive or negative number that shows a player's tendency to be good or evil or neutral. Good or evil players get access to special weapons and other benefits. Alignment changes up or down depending on your actions in the game. Attacking players or ports of your own race or ones friendly to your race will lower your alignment. Attacking players or ports that your race is at war with will raise your alignment.

Alliance - Players can join together to form alliances. The benefits of being in an alliance are many, including sharing cash and other resources, mutual protection, and the fact that alliance ships can attack and defend together when they are in the same sector.

Armor - The armor plating that protects a ship and adds to its defense rating. When a ship's armor is reduced to zero, it is destroyed. Armor is purchased at the UNO shop.

Attack Rating - The strength of a ship's attack on other ships during battle. Having many strong weapons make for a higher and more effective attack rating.

Bank - Banks hold credits for players in one of several accounts. Every player has a personal bank account they can use. Alliances have a shared bank account. Anonymous bank accounts are also available and are password protected. Hunters often attack the unwary trader at banks, so be careful.

Bounties - When a player kills another player, a bounty can be placed on his head by either the Federal Government or the Underground. Killing a player who has a bounty entitles the winner to collect the bounty. Federal bounties can be claimed at any friendly racial head quarters and UG bounties can be claimed at the Underground.

Builder - The general term for players who work to build up a planet's construction level.

Cargo Holds - Cargo holds on a ship are used to carry goods from place to place. Most ships have cargo holds.

CIJSD - This indicator tells what hardware is present on a ship. Some hardware can only be installed on certain ships. The letters stand for the type of hardware: C=Cloaking Device, I=Illusion Generator, J=Jump Drive, S=Scanner, D=Drone Scrambler.

Cloaking Device - Hardware installed on a ship that allows it to become invisible to players who are the same level or lower. A cloaked ship will appear as an unidentified or phantom trader if it is the only ship in the sector. If there is more than one uncloaked ship in the sector it will dispappear completely from view to those of lower level than the cloaker. Higher level pilots can always see through the cloak. The cloak deactivates when the cloaker initiates an attack or hits a mine.

Combat Accessories CA - The shop that sells mines, combat drones, and scout drones.

Combat Drones CDs - Combat drones can be carried onboard ships and placed in sectors. They increase a ship's rating, and can both attack and defend in battle. When placed in a sector with other forces, they protect the stack by returning fire when the stack is attacked.

Credits - The currency used in SMR to buy items. Cash is most often earned by trading at ports or destroying other players' ships and keeping the cash it had onboard at the time. Keeping cash in the bank is a wise idea. Credits, however, are not to be confused with SMR Credits

Current Sector CS - The sector a ship is currently in, information accessed by the current sector link. The current sector can contain other ships, locations, ports, and planets. With a scanner installed, it is possible to view the ships and forces in adjacent sectors.

Current HoF - Hall of Fame statistics for the current game on a variety of activities.

Death - When a player's ship is reduced to zero shields and armor, it is destroyed and recorded as a death. The "killed" pilot is transported in an escape pod to his racial head quarters, where he can buy a new ship and start again.

Defense Rating - The strength of a ship's defense against attack in terms of shields, armor, and combat drones. The more shields, armor, and combat drones a ship has, the higher the defense rating.

Demand - The supply of goods available at a port goes down as traders buy and sell it and is restored over time or by the trade of lower classed goods. A low supply number means a higher buy/sell price for the trader.

Deputy - Becoming a deputy at racial head quarters raises a pilot's alignment to 150 points. This is the opposite of becoming a gang member at the Underground.

Drone Scrambler DS - Hardware installed on a ship that scrambles the targeting system of enemy combat drones and reduces the amount of damage done to the ship.

Experience - Points earned or lost during the game. Experience is gained for trading and destroying forces and killing other pilots. Players lose experience points when the ship they are flying is destroyed. Players start with zero experience and can reach 500,000 points. A list of all levels can be found at: Experience Levels

Evil - An alignment lower than -99 means that a player is Evil. Evil players are allowed to use special weapons, trade in illegal goods, and collect Underground bounties. If a random search by the Federal Government finds illegal goods on a ship, the goods are confiscated and the pilot gets a cash fine and an alignment increase of 5 points. Warning: Evil players are are not allowed to have federal protection if they have illegal goods on their ship.

Federal Government - The Federation still has power in some things. It conducts random searches at ports for illegal goods. Areas of space are protected by the Federal government and are safe to park as long as a ship rating is at an acceptable level. Generally a player with an attack rating of 3 or less can park safely under Federal protection. The Trader screen (accessed by the Trader link) will show whether your ship is under protection or not.

Forces - A general term for the different types of combat accessories used in the game: Mines, Combat Drones, and Scout Drones. Forces can be carried on ships and dropped in a sector for different purposes. Once dropped in a sector, they automatically expire after a set time unless refreshed.

Galactic Post GP - The in-game journal provides entertaining and informative reports of events in the game. The reports are submitted by players for players. If you would like be a writer for the Galactic Post, sign up today in game.

Gang Member - Becoming a gang member at the Underground lowers alignment to -150 points. This is the opposite of becoming a deputy at a Federal head quarters.

Generator gens - The building on a planet that provides the shields for planet defense. Each generator supports 100 shields, and a planet can have a maximum of 100 generators.

Global Relations - The good, bad, or neutral relationship that one race has with another based on Ruling Council actions.

Good - An alignment higher than 99 makes a player Good. Good players are allowed to use special weapons and ships.

Goods - The items that can be bought and sold at a port. There are twelve kinds of goods, 9 are available to all traders ( food, wood, ore, precious metals, textiles, machinery, circuits, computers, and luxury items) and three are illegal goods ( slaves, weapons, narcotics) that can be bought/sold only by evil traders. Goods are grouped by level. Level one goods are food, wood, ore, precious metals, and slaves. Level two goods are textiles, machinery, circuits, and weapons. Level three goods are computers, and luxury items, and narcotics.

Hangar - The building on a planet that houses and launches combat drones for planet defense. Each hangar stores 20 combat drones, and a planet can have a maximum of 100 hangars.

Hall of Fame HoF - Career totals of statistics on a variety of activities. These totals span multiple games.

Hard Points HP - The number of weapons that can be installed on a ship. Example: the Destroyer has six hard points so it can have six weapons.

Head Quarters HQ - Each of the eight races has a racial head quarters where players can get deputized, claim and place bounties on other players, and collect military payments for their kills.

Hunter - The general term for players in the game who fly hunter class or capital ships and attack traders as they work in the trade routes.

Illusion Generator IG - Hardware installed on a ship that can create the illusion that it is a different kind of ship. The IG is configurable for most any ship type and rating. For example, a 23/14 hunter class ship could disguise itself as a 3/6 trade ship, or vice versa.

In Sector IS - Referring to a ship being in a sector. Example: That Fury was IS with the fleet at 3428.

IRC Chat - Players use the irc chat program (accessed by the menu link which opens a chat interface) or programs like it to communicate more quickly while playing. IRC chat helps in coordinating alliance actions and it's a great way to meet and make friends in the game. You can download IRC program, or use the chat applet

Jump Drive JD - Hardware installed on a ship to jump long distances in a single move. The cost to jump is 15 turns, only one warp can be jumped through at a time (you can only jump as far as the next galaxy in one jump), and the accuracy of the jump depends on both the distance and the pilot's experience level.

Kill - When one player destroys another player's ship it is called a kill. Kills are shown in the news and are tallied in the rankings and the Hall of Fame. When you kill another player you may be entitled to collect military payments or bounties.

Level - Experience points gained in the game are grouped into tiered levels. Players start at level 1 and can get up to level 50. A list of all levels can be found at: Experience Levels

Local Map - A high-level view of the current sector and the surrounding 24 sectors. The local map shows ports, locations, and warps. With a scanner installed on a ship, it is possible to see ships and forces in adjacent sectors.

Location - A shop in a sector that sells something other than trade goods. Banks, Combat Accessories, and UNOs are examples of locations.

Messages - Players can send each other messages through the in-game mail system. There are player-to-player, alliance, ruling council, global messages, scout messages, and admin messages. All received messages are saved in a player's message center for a week. The message system is somewhat slow however, so many players use IRC Chat to communicate instantly with other players.

Merchants Guide to the Universe MGU - MGU is a downloadable program that can help players find the most profitable trade routes and the locations to buy items. It has many of the same features as SMC (Space Merchant Companion) and some unique features as well.

Military Payments - When a player kills another player and their races are at war, the winner of the fight is eligible for military payment. This can be claimed at any friendly racial head quarters.

Mines - Mines can be carried on some ships. They can be dropped in a sector to do damage to enemy ships who pass through that sector. Mines are typically used by traders for protection from hunters, or by alliances to defend their planets and other territory.

Negotiation - Making an offer that is higher or lower than what the port is offering for goods. Buy low and sell high! Bartering with the port master will often mean better cash and experience in the trade, so always make a counter offer unless your relations with the race are at 1000.

Neutral - An alignment inbetween -99 and 99 makes a player Neutral. Neutral players can collect both Federal and Underground bounties and they have the option to become a federal deputy or joining the Underground.

News - News reports show activity going on in the game. When players are killed, ports and planets are attacked, or one race declares WAR or PEACE with another, it is reported in the news. Reading the news is also a good way for traders to know where the hunters are working.

Peace - When the ruling councils of two races have both voted for peace with each other, they can trade at each other's ports and use each other's weapons.

Personal Relations - The relationship that a trader has with other races based on trading or raiding ports. Successful trading raises relations with the port's race. Port raids lower a player's personal relations with the port owner's race. The maximum personal relations score is 500. When combined with a global relations of 500 (total of 1000), it means that negotiation at the port is not necessary -- the price offered for the goods is always the best for profit and experience.

Planet - Planets are scattered throughout the universe, usually in non-racial galaxies, and can be used as a landing area. Players build generators, hangars, and turrets as defenses against attack. Planets begin at a construction level of 0.00. As constuction develops, the level increases to a maximum of level 70.00. When players attack and breach a planet's defenses, it is called a planet bust (PB).

Plot - Each ship can plot a course to a particular destination and move there quickly using its onboard course plotter. The plotter is accessed in the Plot a Course link and will accept both a starting and ending sector number. The plotted course will be interrupted and need to be re-plotted if a ship hits mines along the way.

Port - The place where traders can buy and sell goods for credits and experience. Ports are controlled by one of the eight races or they can be neutral. Neutral ports sell goods to all races regardless of the politics of war or peace. Ports are ranked by level from 1 to 9. Level 1 ports sell few goods and have weak defenses against attack. Level 9 ports sell the topmost goods and are protected from attack by heavy shields, multiple laser turrets, and thousands of combat drones. When one or more traders attack a port, it is called a port raid (PR). Successful ports raids can be profitable for the attackers, but most ports are heavily defended so don't do this alone.

Race - There are eight different races to choose from in the game. Each race has it's strong points and weaknesses in terms of the ships and weapons it is able to use.

Rating - Two numbers indicating the strength of a ship's attack and defense. Example: A Dark Mirage has a rating of 27/18. The first number is the attack rating and the second is the defense rating of the ship.

Rankings - Player activity is ranked in terms of experience, kills, and deaths.

Relations - A trader's status with another races can influence his ability to trade goods and buy weapons with that race. This can be influenced by the Global Relations that his race has and also his Personal Relations.

Ruling Council RC - Each race has a ruling political council made up of the top 20 players of that race. Council members vote on war and peace with other races.

Scanner - Hardware installed on a ship that can scan adjacent sectors for ships and forces. Scanners can be used at both local map and current sector. The current sector scan gives more detailed information on the number and type of ships and forces.

Scout Drones - Scouts can be carried on some ships and dropped in a sector. It signals its owner when an enemy ship enters and exits the sector where the scout is placed.

Sector - A single unit of space which can contain ports, locations, and planets. Galaxies are made up of sectors.

Shields - Shields surround and protect a ship and add to it's defense rating. When in battle with another ship or when hitting mines, a ship's shields are reduced first. When all shields are gone, the armor of a ship is exposed to attack. Shields are purchased at the UNO shop.

Ships - Ships are used for trading and fighting and a variety of other purposes. They fall into three main categories: trade class, hunter class, and capital. Trade ships have lots of cargo holds but few weapons. Hunter class ship are well armed and fast. Capital ships are heavily armed and defended but are usually slow and are used for major attacks on planets and ports. Here is a complete list of ships.

Space Merchant Companion SMC - SMC is a downloadable program that can help players find the most profitable trade routes and the locations to buy items. It has many of the same features as MGU (Merchants Guide to the Universe) and some unique features as well.

SMR Credits - SMC is a downloadable program that can help players find the most profitable trade routes and the locations to buy items. It has many of the same features as MGU (Merchants Guide to the Universe) and some unique features as well.

SMR Credits - 1 SMR Credit is awarded for every US Dollar you donate. SMR Credits can be used to purchase maps, name your ship, and many more useful feautures. Also, some special games may require credits to play.

Stack - The common name for forces placed in a sector.

Trade - The buying and selling of goods at ports. Negotiating with the port master can improve the cash and experience you make on a trade. Buy low, sell high!

Trader - The general term for players in the game who trade.

Turns - The number of actions or moves you can make in the game. Turns are earned each hour based on the speed factor of the ship and the current game speed. A ship's speed is noted in turns-per-hour or TPH. Turns are used to move a ship, make purchases at ports and locations, and do other things in the game.

Turret - A heavy laser cannon used for planet and port defense. Planets have a maximum of 10 turrets and ports have 15 turrets.

UNO - The shop that sells shields, armor, and cargo holds.

Underground UG - This fortress of evil is the location to place and claim UG bounties and become a gang member to lower your alignment quickly.

War - The ruling council of a race may vote to go to war with another race. When two races are at war, they are prevented from using each other's ports and weapons. Military payments are also paid for killing enemy pilots.

Warp - Warps connect galaxies and are used to travel across the universe. Warps are viewed and accessed in both the local map and current sector. Traveling through a warp uses 5 turns.

Weapons - Weapons are used to battle with other ships and can be bought at the numerous weapon shops located around the universe. Most ships carry at least one weapon. Weapons are ranked by power level 1-5, and there are limits to how many high power weapons a ship can carry. Here is a complete list of weapons.