Star Trek Armada II - GAMING

Armada II Manual 10/19/01 10:21 AM Page 10INTERFACEINTERFACEINTERFACERESOURCESAlong the top left of the interface, you’ll find the resources. From left to right,the resources are: Dilithium, Metal, Latinum, Crew, and Officers.DilithiumDilithium is a crystalline substance used in warppropulsion systems aboard starships, and is mined from moons. Dilithiumregulates the matter/anti-matter reactions that provide the energy necessaryto warp space and travel faster than the speed of light.The size and maximum speed of a ship typically reflects the amount of dilithiumrequired for its development—larger starships require increased quantities ofthis resource. While stationary structures (such as a Shipyard) typically havelower energy requirements, their construction still demands a quantity ofdilithium.When an order to build a unit is given, the dilithium required for that object istaken from your dilithium account. Cancelling construction of a unit replacesthe dilithium for that unit back into your account. Decommissioning a ship orstation replaces dilithium back into your account.To collect dilithium, a mining station needs to be built—preferably near adilithium moon. Once built, a freighter will mine dilithium from the nearestdilithium moon. More freighters can be built to increase the rate at which ateam acquires dilithium. Only one freighter can mine a moon at one time,although one can be mining a moon while another is returning its load to amining station.Certain moons contain an infinite supply of dilithium. These moons have anoticeably purple tint to them, and their quantity will not alter as they aremined for resources.Note: Species 8472 have no use for dilithium, and this resource will notappear on the screen when playing as Species 8472, but it can beconverted to bio-matter which Species 8472 uses for embryo evolution.MetalThis resource represents the variety of metals andmaterials needed for the construction of starships andmilitary installations. Metal is extracted from planets.Metals are used primarily in the construction of stations. The size of the unittypically reflects the amount of metals needed—larger structures require moremetal. Decommissioning a ship or station replaces metal back into your account.To collect metal, you must build an Orbital Processing Facility near a planet.Once finished, the facility will begin mining metal from the planet.LatinumThese valuable metal ingots are used as a medium ofexchange, primarily outside of the Federation. Liquid at room temperature,latinum is typically suspended in ingots of gold, which come in standard sizesfor ease of trade.Latinum is used primarily for trade and during the development and research ofnew technologies.Latinum is extracted from Latinum nebulae by mining ships. Harvesting latinumfrom nebulas is possible by sending a mining ship into a latinum-rich nebula andinstructing it to harvest. Once it has completely filled its storage bays, it willhead toward a starbase to drop off its load before returning to the nebula. Fulllatinum freighters are very vulnerable when carrying these volatile metals andcan be spotted by the gaseous trail they leave behind.Note: The Borg have no use for latinum, and this resource will not appear onthe screen when playing as this race.Bio-matterA unique breakdown of matter employed solely bySpecies 8472 yields Bio-matter, the only resource that they need as a race.Using their Collector and Transmuter (see Species 8472 Organisms on page 70),Species 8472 are able to derive Bio-matter by converting standard resources(such as dilithium or metal) or taking it directly from other races's ships andstations.10 11