1. Introduction

On this page:
   Welcome to ConQuest Online!
   System Requirements
   Installing the Game
   Registering Star Trek ConQuest Online
   The Object of the Game
   Using this Manual
   The Screens in the Game

Go to:
   Help System Home Page
Next chapter:
   2. Pieces

This is the first screen you see after starting ConQuest Online. Select the character you wish to enter the game as by clicking the name in the Character window. Then press the Start Playing button.

If you want to create a new character for the game, press the Create New Character button. New characters are unregistered, which means you cannot trade pieces or play ranked games with one until you register the character. See below for more information on registering an account.

If you would like to play ConQuest Online without connecting to the Internet, click the Play Offline button. While offline, the only games you can play are against the computer trainer, and you cannot buy items in the Store, enter the Lobby, or edit your Character Info.

Once you log in, the Main Menu screen appears. From here you can access all the other screens in the game.

At the top of the screen is a menu bar with buttons for all the screen locations in the game. Click on a button to go to its screen.

The rankings appear on the right side of the screen: the top ranked players in the game, your current ranking, and the players closest in rank to you.

The News area contains current game news such as tournament announcements and results. Many items here have links to further information.

Use this screen to build new Control and Auction Groups and to do things like sending gifts and viewing your trade history.

The left side of the screen is a Piece Viewer. Whenever you click a piece on the screen, a large view of the piece appears in the piece viewer, along with the piece’s statistics and information.

Buttons beneath the Piece Viewer allow you to create new groups, delete groups, open and close existing groups, and view your trade history. To open or delete a group, select a group (which then appears in the Selected Group window) and then click the appropriate button. The Trade History button lists all trades you’ve made in the game with other players and displays what pieces were involved in the trades.

The Group window shows all your existing groups. Whenever you create a new group it appears here. Select a group and press the Open button to see what pieces are in the group. When you open a group or create a new group, the Group window changes to the Piece window, which displays all the pieces in the group and all the other pieces in your collection.

A newly created group has no pieces in it. Adding or removing pieces to and from a group is as simple as dragging and dropping the piece you want into or out of the group. Each Control Group must have exactly 40 pieces and one Q piece. (The total count will say 41.) Each Auction Group must have exactly ten pieces.

The menu bar is on the top of the screen. Click the Main Menu button there to return to the Main Menu screen.

Below the menu bar is another bar with a set of buttons: The Control and Auction buttons allow you to switch between creating Control and Auction Groups. The Storage button opens your Storage Box group where you can put pieces you don’t need in your regular collection. The Give To button allows you to give pieces to other players, even if they are not online at the moment.

Use this screen to change your Character information such as your Character name or password. You can also use this screen to join player-created factions.

The right of the screen displays your Character’s match history. This shows all the games you have played, who you played, and the game’s result (win, loss, or tie).

The bottom half of the screen shows any trophies you have won. You can gain trophies by winning official tournaments. These trophies show up in your Character Info when in the Chat Room, so other players can see how great a player you are!

The top half of the screen shows your Character information. You can change your info by entering text in the name or password sections and then clicking the Change button.

You can join, leave, or create a player-run faction by clicking the Join, Create, or Leave buttons. If you are joining a faction, enter the name of the faction you wish to join when prompted. The faction will either automatically allow you to join or will consider your application and let you know later if you can get in.

Press the Create button to go to a Web page where you can apply to form a new faction. Genetic Anomalies will then consider your application and let you know if your faction is acceptable. There are certain requirements to form a faction, and these requirements are listed on the Web page.

At the top of the screen is the menu bar. Click the Main Menu button to return to the Main Menu screen.

Use this screen to buy more pieces to add to your ConQuest Online collection. You must have a credit card to purchase anything from this screen.

The rows on the right side of the screen contain items that you can purchase. When you click on an item, its description appears in the Piece Viewer on the left. Each item is different; some contain random pieces, some are “starter groups” that give you a preconstructed group ready for immediate play. Be sure to read the description of an item before you purchase it to be sure it’s what you want.

To purchase an item, first drag it into your Purchase row. Then fill out all the information fields beneath the Purchase row. When you are ready to purchase all the items in your Purchase row and you have filled in all the information fields, click the Purchase button. Your credit card is then verified, and the items you have bought are added to your collection. Go to the My Pieces screen to view your purchases!

Use the Save Info button to save all the information you’ve entered (such as your credit card number and your name and address) on our server, so that you do not have to retype it the next time you wish to purchase something.

At the top of the screen is the menu bar. Click the Main Menu button to return to the Main Menu screen.

This screen appears when you press the Play Now button on the Main Menu. Use this screen to pick which game lobby on our servers you wish to enter to find opponents.

The right side of the screen lists all current game lobbies available for you to enter. Next to the lobby’s name are two numbers: the first is the number of people currently in the lobby and the second is the number of people in the lobby including those off playing games. To enter a lobby, select it in the list and press the Join button. This brings you to the Game Lobby screen, where you can challenge other players to games or trade sessions.

You can create your own lobby by pressing the Create button. You are then asked to enter a name for your lobby and if you wish to password your lobby. If you password your lobby, only those players who know the password can get in. Once you create the lobby, you enter the Game Lobby screen in your newly created lobby.

At the top of the screen is the menu bar. Click the Main Menu button to return to the Main Menu screen.

Go to this screen to play game with live opponents, to trade pieces with other players, or just to hang and chat. You’ll spend more time on this screen than anywhere else (except maybe the Game screen!), so you should become familiar with how it works.

On the bottom right of the screen is the Who’s Here window, which lists all players in the lobby. Click a player to view his or her information in the Player Info window. You can see how many games the player has played, how many games the player has won, lost or tied, and the player’s current rank in our global ranking system. Most importantly, you can see how many times the player has won or lost against you. It might be wise to not play someone who’s handed you your keester too many times to count!

The Chat window is on the bottom left of the screen. You can chat with the other players in the lobby: enter your text in the entry field below the Chat window. Challenge other players to play, ask people if they have pieces to trade, find out people’s opinions of Internet stocks. It’s up to you what to do while you hang out in the lobby; use the power wisely!

When you want to challenge someone to a game or start a trading session, click the player’s name in the Who’s Here window and then press the Request Game or Request Trade button. If the other person accepts your request, both of you move on to the Game Settings screen (if you requested a game) or the Trade screen (if you requested a trade).

On the top left of the screen is the Lobby window, which lists all available game lobbies and how many players are in each lobby. You can switch to a different lobby by selecting a lobby’s name and clicking the Join Lobby button. You can also create a new lobby by pressing the Create Lobby button.

At the top of the screen is the menu bar. Click the Main Menu button to return to the Main Menu screen.

When you and another player in the Game Lobby screen agree to a trading session, you both go to the Trade screen. Here, you can trade pieces with the other player to increase the size or quality of your collection.

In the middle of the screen is a row containing your play groups. To see the pieces in a group, double-click it. Switch between Control and Auction Groups by clicking the Control/Auction button.

Above the group row are two Trade rows. The top row displays pieces the other player puts up as trade offers. Drag your pieces you wish to trade to the bottom row. Use the Chat window to talk with the other player and come to a trade agreement. When you and the other player are satisfied with the terms of the trade, both of you must press the Trade button. You are then asked to confirm the trade, which you do by clicking the Confirm button. When both of you have confirmed, the trade takes place and the pieces exchange hands. Once the exchange is made the trade is irreversible, so make sure the trade is acceptable to you.

A Piece Viewer is on the left of the screen. Whenever you click a piece in your own or the other player’s collection, the viewer displays the piece’s stats and info.

At the top of the screen is the menu bar. Click the Leave button to end your trade session and return to the Game Lobby screen.

When you and another player in the Game Lobby screen agree to play a game, both of you go to the Game Settings screen. You use this screen to set up the game you are about to play.

At the top of the screen are two rows containing all your Control and Auction Groups. Before you can start a game, you must pick which groups you will use in the game. Pick a group by opening it: double-click on the group you wish to use. If you are going to play an Advanced Game you must open both a Control Group and an Auction Group.

The player who made the original challenge (the challenging player) makes the following settings on this screen, while the other player (the challengee) gets to agree to the settings:

• The challenging player chooses between playing a Basic or Advanced Game by clicking the toggle.

• The challenging player chooses the map for the game. Click the arrow button next to the map name to pull down the list of maps.

• The challenging player decides if the game will be ranked or unranked, by clicking on the button. Ranked games count towards both players’ rankings in the ConQuest Online global ranking system. Unranked games do not count towards ranking. Players who have not registered their character can only play unranked games.

Once the settings are made, the challenging player must click the Begin Game button, while the challengee player must click the I Agree to These Settings button. Once both players have clicked their buttons, the game begins!

Once you start a game (either with a live opponent or against the computer) you ultimately end up on the Game screen. This is where all the action happens!

The large Game Map window displays the game map on which you and your opponent place game pieces. The map has various levels of viewing, from Planet view all the way up to System view. Clicking on the map navigates the various levels. You can also jump directly to a location by clicking its name in the list of map locations on the left of the Game Map window.

Your opponent’s Control Points and Q Points are displayed at the top of the screen, and your own Control Points and Q Points appear at the bottom of the screen. These numbers are always visible to both players.

The Piece Viewer is on the left of the Game Map window. Like all the Piece Viewers in ConQuest Online, whenever you click on a piece (in the Game Map or in your Control Group) a large picture of it together with its statistics and information appears in the viewer.

The Game Reports window is below the Piece Viewer. Throughout the game this window displays text about important events that happen in the game.

The Chat Sector is to the right of the Game Reports window. Use it to chat with your opponent. Be polite!

Between the Chat Sector and the Game Reports window is the Expand Control Group button. Click it to open the Control Group window, which displays all your Control Group pieces. You can scroll through your Control Group, examining your pieces and plotting strategy. Click the Collapse Control Group button to close the window.

The Phase Indicator bar is directly above the Game Map window. The bar lists all the phases; the current phase is backlit.

The Game Menu bar is above the Phase Indicator bar. All the important buttons needed for playing the game are here, such as End Phase and Options.

You can reach this screen by pressing the ESC key from anywhere in the game (or by clicking the X button in the menu bar and then clicking the Options button). Use this screen to turn various options on or off, allowing you to customize your ConQuest Online experience.

All options are listed on the left of the screen. You turn an option on or off by clicking the box on the right of the option. A lit box means the option is on. You can reset all options to their default settings by clicking the Default button.

When you are done setting or changing your options, click the OK button to accept the changes and leave the screen. Clicking the Cancel button to leave the screen without accepting any changes you made.