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  Welcome to basic flight, systems, and weapon training.  
This series of training sessions will provide you with 
detailed instructions on how to control your spacecraft, 
manage ship systems, navigate, trade, and use weapons.
You can skip any training stage by pressing enter.
You can also return to a previous training stage by
pressing ALT-enter.

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  For this first session, we'll cover flight basics.  
The default flight control will be set to the mouse, if 
no joystick or gamepad is detected.  You can change the
control setup as desired in the Options menu.  For mouse
control, you can select either a pointer mode or a
direction mode.  The pointer mode will let you control
your ship with a visual marker on the screen.  The
direction mode will let you control your ship based on
how much you move the mouse.

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  Let's start with velocity control.  If you're using the
mouse for flight control, you can use the wheel to adjust
the velocity setting or the 1 to 0 keys to set it by 
percentage.  + and - or W and S can also be used to trim
the velocity setting.  You'll notice the 'Vel' indicator 
will reflect whatever level of velocity you select.  
Increase your velocity setting to maximum now.  

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  Good, now reduce your velocity to 0.  If you're using 
mouse or keyboard flight control, you can hit the 
backspace key to immediately set velocity to 0.

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  In addition to your main engine, your ship also has
a series of thrusters at various points on the hull.
These thrusters are automatically controlled by your
on-board computer to help keep your ship moving in the
direction it is facing.  But you also manually control
the thrusters to rotate your ship and perform maneuvers.
Use the flight control device to turn left and right now.

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  Next, pitch up and down.

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  Good.  The last rotation control is roll.  For keyboard 
and mouse flight control, use the default Q and E keys for 
rolling left and right.  Roll left and right now.  

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  In addition to rotation and velocity control, you can 
also move your ship directly up, down, left, or right by 
activating the horizontal or vertical movement thrusters.  
On/off control for these thrusters is available using the 
default A and D keys for left/right horizontal movement, 
while the Z and X keys are used for up/down vertical 
movement.  You can also add variable horizontal and vertical 
thruster control, if the flight control device you're 
using supports enough axis channels.  Try moving 
horizontally left and right now.

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  Now try moving up and down.

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  Well done.  Flying in space involves mastering the 
effects of inertia.  The inertial dampening system (or IDS) 
will help keep flight control simple by constantly using 
your thrusters automatically to keep your ship moving in 
the direction it's facing.  The more momentum your ship 
has in a particular direction, the longer it will take for 
the IDS to alter your ship's movement toward a new heading.  
When you want to bypass the system and allow your ship to 
continue moving in a certain direction, press the IDS 
on/off key, default space bar.  The 'INERTIAL' label will 
be visible on your ship's status display when the IDS is 
off.  Practice by building up speed in the direction you're 
facing, then turn off the IDS and rotate around a bit to 
see how inertia will let you continue moving in the 
original direction.

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  Turn the IDS back on to resume automatic thruster control.

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  Your ship is also equipped with an afterburner, which 
provides a high level of thrust from the main engine.
Use it sparingly as it consumes a much greater amount of
fuel, but it can be very useful in combat when you need
to escape or change direction quickly.  To engage the
afterburner press and hold the default tab key.  Practice
using the afterburner now by accelerating to twice your
ship's maximum cruise speed, then release the key to disable
the afterburner.

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  That completes the flight training section.  We'll cover 
ship systems next.  Combat, environment, and status 
information is projected onto your helmet's visor as a 
Heads-Up-Display (or HUD) and on the three cockpit displays.
The HUD includes optional readouts for gravity, altitude,
energy, damage, and speed.  Motion spears also help you
gauge your velocity while a pitch ladder indicates the
orientation of your ship.  The HUD has 3 modes, you can
turn it off entirely or use a reduced display mode that
removes the numerical indicators along with the motion
spears and pitch ladder.  Try cycling through the HUD
modes now using the default H key.

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  Your ship divides available power between your weapon
system and shield system.  The current power setting is
shown on the lower left cockpit display at the top right
corner next to the letter P.  The setting will range from
a value of -5 to +5.  The 'S' readout is for shields and
the 'W' readout is for weapons.  You can adjust power for
each system by using the default [ and ] keys.  Increasing
power to a system will improve its recharge rate and
effectiveness, providing more resistance for shields or
more shots for primary weapons.  Managing power between
these systems will become very important as you start
upgrading your weapons and shield systems.

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  Just to the left of the power setting indicator is
the number of remaining countermeasures you have (CM).
Below the power setting indicator is a blue bar next to
the letter W, which indicates the weapon system power level.
The bar will decrease in size as you fire your primary weapons.  
Once the bar reaches the middle, your weapon system will be
out of power and will need to recharge.  Observe this in
action now by firing your primary weapon until the bar
indicates a low power level.

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  Good.  Notice that a red energy light flashes on your HUD
to bring the low power level to your attention.  Below the
weapon power level, the green bar next to the letter H
indicates the status of your ship's hull.  It will decrease
in size as your ship sustains hull damage.  The armor of
your ship that comprises its hull is determined by the
frame you choose when you build it.  On the left side of
the ship status display are readouts for velocity (V), set
velocity (S), gravity (G), altitude (A), inertial status (I),
fuel, navigation damage (N), weapon system damage (W), engine
damage (E), shield array status (SHIELD), and primary weapon
firing mode (MODE).  Your secondary weapons are listed on the
lower right side of the display and the weapon next to the
number 1 is the weapon that's ready to fire.

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  The middle cockpit display is your 3D radar.  It 
provides direction information on objects in space.  Green 
dots indicate friendly ships, yellow dots indicate 
moderate ships, and red dots indicate hostile ships.  When 
red dots appear on the radar, a warning sound will help 
bring the threat to your attention.  Blue dots indicate 
stations, yellow dots with small brackets indicate inbound
missiles, white dots indicate cargo, and purple dots indicate
unknown or miscellaneous objects.  The dots include an 
attached line that points away from the center of the radar 
sphere, which helps you determine if an object is behind or
ahead of you.  The blue highlight brackets in the middle 
indicate the front of your ship, so you can fly toward an 
object by bringing its corresponding dot into the brackets.  
Directly above the 3D radar are the vertical and horizontal
speed gauges.

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  The display at the lower right of the cockpit shows
details about the ship you are currently targeting.  
To target a ship, simply use the mouse pointer to click
on it when it's in your visual range.  You can toggle
between ships in the area with the default T key, or use
the default R key to target the closest ship.  ALT-T will 
toggle between hostile ships in the area while ALT-R will 
target the nearest hostile ship.  Once you've targeted a 
ship, its class (ID), faction affiliation, threat level (T),
speed (V), range (R), shield levels, direction, and hull
damage will be shown on the display.  If you've installed
a cargo scanning device on your ship, you'll also see what's
in the targeted ship's cargo bay once you're in range.

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  The center of the HUD is your gunsight.  The outer rim 
of the gunsight indicates the limit of where you can 
obtain a missile lock and have your primary weapons 
automatically aim at a target.  Primary weapons use the 
Multi-Directional Tracking System (or MDTS) to 
automatically lead a target based on speed, distance and 
direction.  The target must be in range and within the 
outer rim of the gunsight for the weapons to hit 
successfully.  The farther away a target is, the more 
time it will have to evade the gunfire.  If you want to 
aim manually, you can press the default L key to turn 
the MDTS off.  A missile lock is obtained by keeping
a target ship inside the outer rim of the gunsight
for a certain period of time.  The range and time it
takes to obtain a lock will depend on which secondary
weapon is being used.  Some secondary weapon types,
such as Fulcrum Torpedoes, don't require a missile
lock and just fly in a straight line.  You can toggle 
between secondary weapons in-flight by pressing the 
default ; and ' keys.

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  Practice firing at this drone target (marked as a red 
threat level) until it's destroyed.

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  Good.  You can install two different types of primary
weapons on your ship.  Particle cannons fire projectiles
at high speed and are usually moderately effective against
shields and most effective against hull armor.  Each type
of particle cannon can have unique range, yield, and firing
rate attributes.  Some particle cannons are also optimized
to deplete shields, drain energy, or inflict kinetic effects
on a target.  So review the specifications of each cannon
you install so you understand how to best use it.  Beam
cannons are the other type of primary weapon.  They are 
generally a shield depletion weapon and higher class models
that use more power are more effective.  You can selectively
fire each type of weapon individually or simultaneously 
by changing the firing mode, default N key.

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  When a missile is fired at you, you can choose to evade
or attempt to shoot it down.  Missile evasion is an
important skill to master.  Most missiles track your heat
signature and in the cold void of space, your ship's engine
and thruster exhaust stand out.  You can significantly
reduce your ship's heat signature by turning off the IDS
and avoid using the afterburner or manually controlling
the maneuvering thrusters.  While drifting in space this
way, your countermeasures can be more effective.  Wait to
launch countermeasures until the missile is close enough
to set off the proximity alarm.

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  One of the most important aspects of handling your
ship in combat is shield management.  Your shield system
projects a defensive field of energy in 4 directions.
Each direction is referred to as an array.  If one or
more arrays becomes weak, enemy fire can hit the hull of
your ship directly, causing damage.  As mentioned earlier,
the status of each array is indicated on the SHIELD section
of your ship status display.  Notice the green bars, one
for each direction with your ship in the middle.  Watch
as I drop your front shield array to critical.

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  The green bar changes color to red and decreases in
size.  As it recharges, the color will change to yellow,
then green again.  Your goal is to avoid letting any array
reach critical.  To do that, you can transfer power from
the other arrays.  Lets practice that now.  I will again
drop your front shield to critical.  When that happens,
use the augment front shield key, default Numpad 8, to
transfer power from the left, right, and rear arrays to
the front array.

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  Good.  In addition to transferring power to a specific
array, you can also balance power between all 4, using
the default Numpad 5 key.  Also remember that you can
improve the recharge rate of all shield arrays by
transferring power to your shield system.

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  The top part of the HUD includes the compass and several
menu options.  To select a menu option, simply use the mouse
pointer and click on the desired button.  If you're using
the Mouse for flight control, you can hold down the ALT
key to suspend flight control so you can move the pointer
to select one of the menu options.  The Target menu lets you
select a target or change the clan link status of a player
controlled ship in multiplayer.  The Order menu lets you
send an order to other ships in your fleet.  In single
player, the order is given to computer controlled ships
that you have recruited to be part of your fleet.  In
multiplayer, the order is sent to players who have
matching clan ID tags in their callsign.

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  On the right side of the menu options at the top of the
HUD are the Deploy and Build menus.  The Deploy menu lets
you place temporary devices that can recharge or refuel
your ship, detect ships and other objects at long distance, 
or provide shield cover.  The Build menu lets you
construct long term stations in new locations, allowing
you to expand the game's universe by introducing new
trade options, AI ships, and markets.  You must have the
proper equipment and be at a valid location to deploy
or build such objects and stations.

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  The middle of the top of the HUD gives you access to
the consoles, autopilot, formation option, and jump drive.
Click on AUTO to engage the autopilot.  The autopilot will
control your ship and take it to the current destination
point selected.  The destination point is displayed on your
HUD as a yellow NAV marker and a yellow direction marker
is also displayed on the 3D radar.  The distance to the
destination is displayed below the NAV marker.  Activate
the autopilot now.

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  Notice how your ship changes course and travels directly
toward the NAV marker.  The autopilot will also control
your jump drive if you select a destination that is outside
of your current sector.  Now disengage the autopilot.

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  The FORM button on the right side of the compass works
the same way and will keep your ship in close formation
with any friendly or moderate ship you have targeted.

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  There are 3 main consoles that you will use to travel and
conduct business.  The first one is the navigation console,
which can be opened by clicking on the NAV button at the
left of the top middle display or by pressing the default
F1 key.  Again, if you are using the mouse for flight
control, you can temporarily suspend flight control by
holding the ALT key down.  Open the navigation console now.

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  This console lets you manage jump drive travel and 
system navigation in an easy-to-use interface.  Your 
current position is displayed on the map with a green 
arrow.  You can also see nearby objects, such as planets
and asteroids, on the map.  To select a new navigation
point, simply click on the location you want.  The X
and Z coordinates will automatically be set to the new
location and you can adjust the Y position (or height)
by either using the rear view map mode or by clicking
on the Y position field and manually typing in a value.
Practice using the navigation console by clicking on
a point located near X=40000 Z=40000.

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  Now click on the LAUNCH option or press the default 
F2 key to engage the Fulcrum Jump Drive.  If the console 
is closed, you can also click on the JUMP button at the 
top of the HUD.  You can close the console at any time.

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  You have arrived near the location you selected.  You 
can travel to another sector the same way.  Simply click 
on Zoom Out to view a wider area of space, then click on
a point in a surrounding sector box to jump to.  If you
want to zoom in on a nearby sector, simply right click
on the sector you want.  You can also use the mouse
wheel to zoom in and out on the map from your current
location.  If your jump drive can reach a distant
point you select in a different sector, you'll be able
to quickly jump there.  Upgrade your Fulcrum Drive
to travel to sectors that are farther away.  You can
save important locations in your map log and enter
a description for each log entry to help you remember
the locations you save.

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  The navigation console also provides important
information about the system you are in.  Your current
overall reputation is displayed on the right side along
with optional maps which give you information on economic
and territory conditions throughout the Evochron Quadrant.
Jump gates provide shortcuts to other regions of space
and are displayed on the map with purple icons.  Gate
destinations are displayed at the bottom of the map when
you hold the mouse pointer over their icons.  Planet
icons will include a name and economy type value, which
lets you know what items may be in high demand or high
supply for the area.  It's important to use this
information to help formulate optimal trade routes and
get an idea of what to expect as you travel.

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  In order to survive and succeed in the Evochron quadrant, 
you'll need to find a way to make a living.  You can 
perform a variety of services under contract or fly on 
your own terms and complete your own objectives.  You can 
mine for valuable resources, transport needed commodities 
to high paying locations, patrol for hostile ships, 
negotiate for quick trade deals with other pilots, 
explore for hidden benefits, or a variety of other 
activities.  To manage your resources and items, you will 
use the inventory console, which is accessed by either 
the default F3 key or the INV button at the top middle
section of the HUD.  Open the inventory console now.

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  The inventory console will let you monitor your account, 
fuel, loaded weapons, equipment upgrades, and cargo bay.  
When you are docked at a station, carrier, or city, you can 
use the console to refuel, reload, and repair your ship.
When you're docked, the console also gives you access to
items available for sale and contracts for jobs.  Hold the
mouse pointer over an item to view a description of it at
the top middle of the inventory console display.  To buy
or sell an item, simply left click on it.  Each type of
item is color coded for easier review.  Purple items are
commodities, yellow items are equipment, and green items
are weapons.

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  The inventory console also lets you transfer weapons
and equipment from your cargo bay and install them onto
your ship.  You can also uninstall weapons or equipment
from your ship and place them in your cargo bay.  To
transfer an item on your ship without selling it, right
click on the item.  You can also use right clicking to
buy equipment or weapons and place them in your cargo
bay rather than installing them on your ship.  Right
clicking also lets you buy or sell one unit of a commodity
at a time.  You can also consolidate commodities in
different cargo slots while you are docked by holding
the ALT key, then left or right clicking.  ALT left click
will consolidate the maximum number of units from the
cargo slot you click on to another slot with the same
commodity type.  ALT right click will transfer one unit
at a time.

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  The inventory console also gives you access to
sub-consoles, which are available on the left side with
the buttons named 'Crew Management' and 'News Console'.
The Crew Management console lets you hire specialists
that can provide unique benefits and enhance the
capabilities of your ship.  You also use the Crew
Management console to dismiss crew members and manage
their pay.  The News Console provides useful information
about the system you are in, including a market profile
that displays current values of commodities in the area.

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  You can trade with other ships directly, if you have a 
good reputation with them.  You won't likely get the full 
market value for an item when trading like this, but it's 
faster and easier than travelling to a station or planet 
to sell something.  To send a trade request to the ship 
you have targeted, press the default F4 key or click on 
the TRADE button at the top of the HUD at the far right.  
If the other ship accepts your trade request, the trade 
console will open.  Since no ships are in the area at the 
moment, the trade console will be opened automatically 
for you.

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  If the other pilot wants to sell something to you, their 
offer will appear on the right side of the console screen 
under 'Items Being Offered:'.  The fair market value for 
the system you are in will be displayed after the item 
description.  If you add items you want to sell, the other 
pilot will usually indicate how much money they are 
willing to pay you for the exchange.  Click on submit to 
send your offer.  If the other pilot agrees, the 
transaction will be finalized.  You can send multiple 
trade requests as desired to negotiate.

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  How you interact with the ships around you effects your 
reputation.  You can turn friendly ships hostile by 
attacking them and bribe hostile ships into being friendly 
with money.  Your reputation in a particular system will 
determine how other ships will treat you and effect 
the fees, prices, and contracts you will encounter.  
Your reputation can also change as you complete contracts
for various factions.  Changes to your overall reputation
will be indicated in the message log, just like how this
training text appears now.  Your reputations with specific
local factions are available in the News Console.

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  For this stage, you'll be required to dock with a station.
This is done by simply flying to the docking area near the 
top of the station.  The docking area is protected by a blue 
atmosphere shield and provides flashing lights indicating 
the correct approach path you need to use to enter the station.
Your HUD will also display a pathway that will help guide you
to the docking area.  The pathway will be red if your approach 
is outside of the required docking angle and it will be green
when you are approaching correctly.  Once you reach the 
docking port, the station's tractor beam will engage and hold
you in place and the inventory console will open.  Turn off
the inventory console to disengage the tractor beam and 
depart.  Practice docking with this station now.

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  Close the inventory console to disengage the docking 
tractor beam.

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  For this next stage, you'll be required to descend into
a planet atmosphere and land at a city trading station.  
To land on a planet, slow to under 1200 MPS before you 
enter the atmosphere and watch for guide boxes to appear 
that will help you determine a safe descent path to the 
planet's city.  If you are far away from the city, the 
the guide boxes will remain red in color and will provide
you with a high descent path to reach the city.  Once in
a close proximity, the guide boxes will change to green
and will point directly to the docking station.  Fly to
the top of the docking station.  The station's tractor
beam will secure your ship and open the inventory console
automatically.  Reduce throttle to 0 to prevent wasting
fuel.  When you're ready to leave, press the default F3
key to close the inventory console and instruct the
tractor beam to disengage.  Add throttle to safely depart
the docking station and climb as desired back into space.
Practice landing at the city docking station on this
planet now.

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  Close the inventory console to disengage the docking 
tractor beam.

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  It can be a challenge to achieve success when you are first 
starting out, so here's a few quick tips on making money early
in the game.  With a few low cost upgrades, you can improve
your ship's speed and compete in timed solo races, which pay 
very well with very little risk.  If you fly a civilian ship
and have a mining beam, you can mine asteroids for quick
credits.  Cleaning solar arrays can also be profitable and
doesn't require much time once you've practiced with the
tractor beam.  Once you've earned enough to upgrade your
ship's weapons, equipment, and systems further, you'll be
ready for far more challenging objectives and higher pay.
You'll now be returned to the main menu, click Launch 
to continue.  

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Good luck!
