"NEBULA"
By Julian Gollop (1984)
Instructions taken from "The Rebelstar Collection" Players' Manual (1991) by
Julian Gollop. Typed up by Ian Coates (OKTUP@MONO.CITY.AC.UK)
COPYRIGHT
Julian Gollop has kindly agreed to this game being made Public Domain. Anyone
is freely allowed to duplicate and distribute this game for use in Spectrum
emulators. It is requested that the identification of Julian Gollop as the
author of this software is not removed and the code not altered. E-mail me
(OKTUP@MONO.CITY.AC.UK) for further details.
INTRODUCTION
Nebula is a game of strategic galactic conflict. Players take the role of
emperors attempting to expand and control star systems. The inhabitants of the
systems are forced to serve their emperor but imperial conquest has its risks.
War with other empires is inevitable. Unrest, revolution and plague beset the
struggling empires.
WHICH GALAXY ?
When the game has loaded you must choose a galaxy. Nebula offers a choice of
four galaxies in which to play. Press the number of the galaxy you want. The
Cloud Nebula is the best galaxy for beginners.
Two different maps of the same galaxy are printed out showing different
information.
THE LEFT HAND MAP shows the symbols of the six different races which inhabit
the galaxy. Each character square containing a symbol represents one star
system. Each emperor is represented by a different colour chosen at the start
of the game. As each emperor gains control of a system the race symbol of that
system will change to the emperors colour. A black race symbol denotes an
independent system.
THE RIGHT HAND MAP show the resource levels of the systems according to
colour:
COLOUR RESOURCE LEVEL
Cyan 3
Green 2
Magenta 1
The map also shows the number of force points occupying each system shown by a
number between 0 and 9. Force points represent military strength and technical
resources.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS
Nebula can be played by one to five players. Press the number of players
participating. The one player game is played against the computer.
PLAYER NAMES AND COLOUR
Each player types a name followed by <ENTER>. There is a maximum of eight
letters for each player name. Each player then selects a colour between 2 and
6.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
Type a number within the specified range and press <ENTER>. The first player
to obtain this number of victory points is the winner. The higher the number
chosen the longer the game will last.
CHOOSE SEAT PHASE
Each player must choose the seat of their empire. The seat is shown by a
flashing character on the left hand map. Your seat is the base of your
government and cannot be affect by any random event or enemy attack. In order
to select systems, the direction keys are used to move a cursor around the
map. Select the seat of your empire by positioning the cursor over the desired
system and press <S>. The display at the bottom of the screen shows
information about the map. Below the name of the current player there are
three important ratings:
GOVT: This is the government rating of the empire. It is calculated by
totalling the resource levels of each controlled system divided by the
distance to the seat.
TECH: This represents the space travel technology of the empire. The higher
the tech level the further force points can travel without losing power.
V.P.s: This is the number of victory points accumulated so far. It is the sum
of the resource levels of all controlled systems.
SAVING THE GAME
Every game turn you will be asked whether you want to save the game. Press <Y>
for yes or <N> for no. If you want to save the game you will need about five
minutes of tape. The whole game is saved and the screen display is saved. Make
sure you are ready to press a key after the main game has saved in order to
save the screen.
MILLENNIUMS
Every game turn of Nebula lasts a millennium. The number of the current
millennium is displayed briefly.
FORCE POINT INCREASE PHASE
In each system that is occupied with at least one force point, a number of
force points equal to the resource level of the system is added to those
already there. However, the maximum number of force points a system can
sustain is 9.
CHANGE SEAT PHASE
Except on the first game turn, each player is asked whether they want to
reposition their seat. Press <Y> for yes or <N> for no. When you reposition
your seat your government level is recalculated. You may only reposition your
seat on a system that you control which is not affected by plague or unrest.
EXPENDITURE PHASE
Each player is asked whether they want to spend force points to increase tech
level. To do this position the cursor over one of your systems and press the
number of force points you want to spend. The current cost of increasing your
tech level by one is displayed (the cost increases as the tech level rises).
You can spend force points from as many of your systems as you want, but you
cannot spend all the force points from one system - you have to leave at least
one. When you have finished press <K>.
COMMAND PHASE
During the command phase players take turns to command their force points to
move and attempt to cure unrest. The number of turns each player gets is equal
to their government ratings. However, there is a maximum of twenty commands to
move force points per command phase.
SELECT BASE: In order to select a system from which to move force points
(known as the base system) position the cursor and press <S>.
SELECT DESTINATION: Move the cursor to the destination and press the number of
force points you want to move
For every space that a number of force points travels, one force point is
deducted. This is due to the cost of moving military forces over interstellar
distances. For example, in order to move one force point to a destination one
space away you must press 2 when the cursor is positioned at the destination.
The higher your tech level the lower the cost of moving force points. When
tech level reaches 80 then there is no cost for moving force points.
ERROR REPORTS
There are two possible error reports during the command phase:
1. 'NOT ENOUGH FORCE TO TRAVEL': The cost of moving is too high. You must have
at least one force point arriving at the destination. When this error occurs
you must select the base for moving again.
2. 'TOO MANY': You have selected more force points than are available in your
base system. Press another number. You can evacuate any star system except you
seat, but you lose control of the system if you do so.
MISS A ROUND
Note that the command phase is divided into rounds. Each player has one
command per round, but once the round number exceeds a players government
rating then the player has no further rounds. It is sometimes advantageous to
miss a round (usually to let other players make their moves first). Press <K>
if you want to do nothing in the current round.
UNREST
Unrest is shown by a bright background on the right map. You can attempt to
get rid of it by positioning the cursor over the unrest and pressing <U>. The
closer the unrest to your seat the better chance you have of curing it.
Attempting to cure unrest uses up your command for the current round.
END COMMANDS
When you have finished all the commands you wish to do then press <0> (zero).
THE RESOLUTION PHASE
During the command phase, force points leave their bases but do not actually
arrive until the resolution phase. When all players have finished issuing
commands the resolution phase will show the arrival of all force points and
any conflicts that occur in systems. Conflicts occur when force points are
sent to an enemy occupied system. Either the defender will be wiped out and
the system occupied by the attacking force, or the attacker will be wiped out.
The success of an attack depends on the force points involved. For example, if
3 force points are attacking 1 force point then there is a 75% chance of
success. There is a modifier for racial domination.
RACIAL DOMINATION
If you conquer all the systems of one particular race then your empire gains
the benefits of racial domination. Your government and tech levels will rise
by a number equal to a quarter of the number of systems occupied by the
dominated race. If you attack from a dominated system you get a 10% bonus. If
you are defending a dominated system then the attacker gets a 10% penalty.
GALACTIC EVENTS
Random events may occur after the resolution phase. Some may not have any
effect (in which case you will have to wait a few seconds until the next
millennium).
UNREST
This event happens the most frequently of all events. Unrest is a state of
passive hostility to the emperor, but it can be 'cured' before a revolution
occurs.
REVOLUTION
When there is a revolution any system in unrest may revolt. Systems which are
a different race to your seat have a greater chance of rebelling. A system
which rebels becomes independent and any force points in the system become
hostile to all empires.
→
