TradeWars 2/QuixPlus
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| Notes | edit... |
TradeWars 2/QuixPlus represents a transitional phase of the TradeWars code as it passes from Sherrick/Morris to Gary Martin. It is called "TradeWars 2" because it is the second attempt at porting the original Sherrick/Morris code. It is actually a port of the TW200 version, which is also sometimes called TradeWars 3.
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Additions - Lord Darkseid, Omega Man, Alex and Droogs
- Planet creation: When attempting to land on a planet, if none exists, you are given the option to purchase a Genesis Torpedo and create one. This device is essentially identical to the Genesis Device from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
- Planet destruction: This command is accompanied by the text "The Imperial Command for Interstellar Trade has sent this message: Do that again and we will dispatch War Rocket Ajax to bring back your body!". This is a reference to the Flash Gordon (1980) film, when General Kala dispatches the war rocket Ajax to bring back Flash's body.
- Fighters in Sectors 2-7: In the original TradeWars 2, fighters could not be dropped in Sectors 1-7, which were Union territory, protected space. This version allowed fighters to be dropped in 2-7, but not Sector 1. Also, Clark Kent was introduced to defend Sector 1 from any encroaching fighters. The file KENTMAD.MSG has retained that name and is still present in the latest version of TradeWars 2002 v3, though the content of the file has changed significantly over the years.
Additions - Quixotic Software
- Ship armor: In TW2/QP, a ship's armor would absorb attack, with any remaining damage being applied to fighters. Unlike many of the changes introduced to TradeWars variants, ship armor was not later adopted by the original TradeWars codebase. It was, however, the precursor to the shields commodity of Martin's TradeWars series.
- Space mines: Space mines were introduced into TW2/QP, then added into TW 2 500 by John Morris, and also TradeWars 2002 as Armid Mines. In TW2/QP, mines are constructed as needed at the cost of 2 empty holds and five K3-A fighters. In Sherrick's TradeWars 2, mines are purchased at special ports, while in Martin's TradeWars 2002, mines are purchased in the Hardware Emporium at StarDock.
- Rogue Mercenaries: In the original TW2, fighters would be removed from the game when a player was deleted. The QP variant introduced the simple idea of allowing them to remain as computer-controlled units. TradeWars 2002 retained the Rogue Mercenaries name (along with the somewhat less menacing "Rouge Mercenaries" that showed up in some versions), while Morris introduced the same concept but used the name The Pirates.
- Ship to ship chat: This command is accompanied by the text "<Warming up the Chambers' coil>". Chambers coil was first referenced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), when Uhura reports the USS Reliant's "chambers coil is overloading their comm system."
This comm system allowed a player to post messages to a message file that would be displayed when the player logged in. It was not a realtime message relay system.
Thematic Changes
When Lord Darkseid's Apokolips BBS went offline in December of 1986, Omega Man opened Klingon Empire! BBS. This move motivated a number of changes, since, according to Omega Man, "the general theme of the game didn't exactly fit the motif of the board". The Cabal became the Romulans. Union space became Federation space (and later FedSpace in Martin's version). The new planet creation feature was given a Star Trek theme (Genesis Torpedo), as was most of the text in the game. Oddly, Clark Kent remained as the guardian of Sol sector and Earth.
Resources
TradeWars 2/QuixPlus Documentation Text
TradeWars 2/QuixPlus Message Files
