Evochron Mercenary Technical Guide

[Marcellus]

Thank you Dave, your awesome contributions help this community tremendously!:)

[Alaric]

thank you! finally i have something to read that has what I wanted to know.

[DaveK]

With the Expansion being released it was inevitable that there would need to be an update to the Technical Guide!

Fuller details plus the download link is included in the first post of this thread.

The greatly expanded new Guide (over 170 pages, 50K+ words and hundreds and hundreds of lavish illustrations) has been rearranged to make it easy to navigate. As well as a comprehensive Contents, the pdf file is fully bookmarked - you can now hop around the Guide without having to revisit the Contents page

Major additions are the Weapon Lab and all the different types of cannon and missiles you can make (with lots of detail about how they work), the Terrain Walker, the history of AI in the Evoverse and extra detail about how your favourite equipment functions . . . . and I'll bet you never realised the (recently declassified) truth behind how you can conjour up a trade station in a couple of minutes anywhere in the core Evoverse!

Welcome to science nerd paradise!

Enjoy

[sapperhedge]

Great work as always DaveK, the PDF's have helped me out in many situations.

[DaveK]

My thanks to SeeJay - once again!

The Guide is now available from his new site. The link is in the first post of this thread

[DaveK]

At the same time as updating the Expansion Edition: A Hints&Tips Guide to Evochron to revise the Authorised Technical Guide as well.

The main change is that several sections have been rewritten to be somewhat leaner and meaner, with errors corrected and hopefully with increased clarity.

There is also an addition to the AI section about ANNA - the 'Advanced Neural Network Artificial intelligence' which is an interactive voice controlled AI system - you can add to your ship! ANNA can recognise a couple of hundred commands to help you fly, trade, explore and survive combat - all credit and thanks to Galaxian!

As always, thanks to SeeJay for hosting stuff on his excellent site!

[Space Cowboy]

This doc is a triumph. I absolutely love it! It reminds me of fluff text from my old Battletech sourcebooks, well the technical fluff. Very well written and adds to my experience of the universe immensely, thanks for posting!

x

[picommander]

[ANNA]

[...]
There is also an addition to the AI section about ANNA - the 'Advanced Neural Network Artificial intelligence' which is an interactive voice controlled AI system - you can add to your ship! ANNA can recognise a couple of hundred commands to help you fly, trade, explore and survive combat - all credit and thanks to Galaxian!

Wow, ANNA!
Could this probably be the same voice that called out "terrible" after a truly humped up docking attempt (about 5 meters below the docking gate)? I could swear I heard exactly this word which made so much sense in this situation!

Seriously, I guess no since it sounds like I need to install something to get ANNA...

[DaveK]

[ANNA]

[...]
There is also an addition to the AI section about ANNA - the 'Advanced Neural Network Artificial intelligence' which is an interactive voice controlled AI system - you can add to your ship! ANNA can recognise a couple of hundred commands to help you fly, trade, explore and survive combat - all credit and thanks to Galaxian!

Wow, ANNA!
Could this probably be the same voice that called out "terrible" after a truly humped up docking attempt (about 5 meters below the docking gate)? I could swear I heard exactly this word which made so much sense in this situation!

Seriously, I guess no since it sounds like I need to install something to get ANNA...

Get hold of the Mercenary Hints&Tips Guide and there are full details from SeeJay's site;

How to obtain and install ANNA on your PC is explained in detail (from it's author/creator Galaxian) There are step by step details of how to set ANNA up as well as a list of all the (>200) commands she is programmed for (you can edit to suit your own talk style and add more!) Each command has several phrases ANNA will recognise (for example there are eleven ways you can tell ANNA to accept a contract) - she will also talk back to you!

You will need to buy and install VAC software. VAC stands for 'Voice Activated Commands' and does the core work of
translating your commands into the key presses that do the business! (Cost = USD $18 / GBP £11.16 / €13.22 / SEK kr114.41 / AUD $19.07 / RUB руб577.69 for a lifetime licence including upgrades - there is a 14 day free trial)

You need a microphone!

You need to obtain and install a couple of pieces of freeware - *AutoHotKey and
*Microsoft Speech (this comes built into Vista, W7 and W8 and can be downloaded and installed for XP)

The command flow sequence is: your voice -> VAC -> AutoHotKey -> EM

So . . . for a few USD / GBP / € / SEK kr / AUD / Rubles you can add one of the coolest mods in the Evoverse to your ship!

[picommander]

Yes thanks, just read about it and got the idea. Awesome! Maybe this will be the next thing on my to do list after the X52 has arrived and I got used to it.

[DaveK]

Yes thanks, just read about it and got the idea. Awesome! Maybe this will be the next thing on my to do list after the X52 has arrived and I got used to it.

I use an X52Pro - I think you'll love it!

[Rooster]

Just bookmarked this. Good stuff.

[Bear42]

Has anyone got a hold of and is using the new Saitek X-55. I/m wondering if that might not make the extra money well spent?

Thanks, Grizz(Bear42)

[XB7]

The manual is really a work of art, isn't it?

Thanks Dave!

[DaveK]

Major Announcement!

Coming very soon: the first major new edition of the Technical Guide for over a year! Seven major new sections adding more technology/engineering information and introducing geology and cosmology and social sciences

New Sections:

1: History of the Evoverse and Jump Drive Technology - there are a couple of inconsistencies in the official history timeline. After much research in Grammatically Organised Online General Language Expert AI system and some genuine old real libraries (with real paper books!) the timeline inconsistencies have been ironed out

2: Why the Evoverse is as it is - ever wondered why the Evoverse is full of virtually life free planets with shallow seas and low hills? Ever wondered why we have to live in cities and can only roam the surface of our planets in terrain walkers? The Earth might not be unique but Earth-like planets are very very rare! Here's the story of why!

3: Practicalities of Colonisation including large scale mining - Most of us living in the Evoverse today take for granted a comfortable life and well established underground cities. Here's the story of how a new colony is started and the sacrifices made by the first generations of settlers. We owe them everything we take for granted. There are also details about how we manage to mine ores without mining!! Important because virtually every colony starts as a mining colony

4: Cargo ships and mass cargo transit; All the gen from the giant Capital Transport Ships (same cargo capacity as 59000 merc ships) through the mid size (and not often seen) '6-Pack' Cargo Haulers (same cargo capacity as 240 merc ships) down to the space cargo tugs that load and unload the bigger ships, the veetol's that transport cargo between space and the planet surface and the giant flat bed tracked ground haulers that handle cargo containers the size of a large accommodation unit

5: Development and Roles of Capital ships including primary weapons facts and stats - most of us never see the inside of a battleship or cruiser, but we've hear the stories - railguns over a kilometre long, city buster missiles and the rest. Just what firepower do they carry. And what do the battleships, cruisers and destroyers actually do? And why do they all look the same? Ever wonder why some navy vessels bounce you and others are green?

6: Species in the Evoverse – There are three intelligent species in the Evoverse plus evidence for a fourth that dwelt here millions of years ago! We're humans and we know about the Vonari. Find out more about the three aliens species!

7: Long Term Future of the Evoverse; Terraforming. We won't see it, our children's children's children probably won't see it, but our planets are slowly being tamed so one day citizens will be able to walk under the blue sky without protective suits. Read here how it's being done.

The final touches have been made - publication will be very very soon!

[DaveK]

I'm away for the weekend at a family get together. I hope to have the new version of the guide published on Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning (GMT)

[Marvin]

Grammatically Organised Online General Language Expert ... Google. (I didn't catch that acronym at first reading.)

[DaveK]

What about WIKI?

[DaveK]

Major Announcement!
Available now: the first major new edition of the Technical Guide for over a year! Seven major new sections adding more technology/engineering information and introducing geology and cosmology and social sciences

New Sections:

1: History of the Evoverse and Jump Drive Technology - there are a couple of inconsistencies in the official history timeline. After much research in Grammatically Organised Online General Language Expert AI system and some genuine old real libraries (with real paper books!) the timeline inconsistencies have been ironed out

2: Why the Evoverse is as it is - ever wondered why the Evoverse is full of virtually life free planets with shallow seas and low hills? Ever wondered why we have to live in cities and can only roam the surface of our planets in terrain walkers? The Earth might not be unique but Earth-like planets are very very rare! Here's the story of why!

3: Practicalities of Colonisation including large scale mining - Most of us living in the Evoverse today take for granted a comfortable life and well established underground cities. Here's the story of how a new colony is started and the sacrifices made by the first generations of settlers. We owe them everything we take for granted. There are also details about how we manage to mine ores without mining!! Important because virtually every colony starts as a mining colony

4: Cargo ships and mass cargo transit; All the gen from the giant Capital Transport Ships (same cargo capacity as 59000 merc ships) through the mid size (and not often seen) '6-Pack' Cargo Haulers (same cargo capacity as 240 merc ships) down to the space cargo tugs that load and unload the bigger ships, the veetol's that transport cargo between space and the planet surface and the giant flat bed tracked ground haulers that handle cargo containers the size of a large accommodation unit

5: Development and Roles of Capital ships including primary weapons facts and stats - most of us never see the inside of a battleship or cruiser, but we've hear the stories - railguns over a kilometre long, city buster missiles and the rest. Just what firepower do they carry. And what do the battleships, cruisers and destroyers actually do? And why do they all look the same? Ever wonder why some navy vessels bounce you and others are green?

6: Species in the Evoverse – There are three intelligent species in the Evoverse plus evidence for a fourth that dwelt here millions of years ago! We're humans and we know about the Vonari. Find out more about the three aliens species!

7: Long Term Future of the Evoverse; Terraforming. We won't see it, our children's children's children probably won't see it, but our planets are slowly being tamed so one day citizens will be able to walk under the blue sky without protective suits. Read here how it's being done.

The Guide can be obtained from SeeJay's Site and then click on the 'Guides' link

The following is a direct download link: MercenaryTechnicalGuide - April 2015

It's now 241 pages & 79K words plus hundreds of pictures!

See the first post in this thread for full details.



[Edited on 9-4-2015 by DaveK]

[Marvin]

Grammatically Organised Online General Language Expert ... I get a chuckle every time I see that.

[DaveK]

Latest News:

The Guide can be obtained from SeeJay's Site and then click on the 'Guides' link

The following is a direct download link: MercenaryTechnicalGuide - April 2015

Full details of the latest version are in the first post in this thread.

[Busch]

Thanks Dave! Your efforts are muchly appreciated!

[DaveK]

My apologies to those of you who have downloaded the newest version already - mea culpa . . .

After I asked SeeJay to post the new version I found a page of typo's error, changes etc that I hadn't done

The (final) revised version has a few more additions, several typo's corrections, some rearrangement of sections (like colony mining techniques moved into the mining section) and several edits that make paragraphs make (more) sense! The links now point to the final revised version . . . promise!

[SeeJay]

Are you sure this time mate!?!?!?!

Sorry, just had to! Excellent work buddy!

[DaveK]

Nope, but I'll wait a bit and pretend it's a new version! :P:P