Cosmos
Cosmos is an experimental remake of the classical ZX Spectrum game which was written by Costa Panayi. A Space Game Of Skill And Strategy and Cosmos.
It’s a fairly freeform remake, more like a hommage to the original, which happens to be one of the first games I ever played. In addition, it is also a demonstration of geeny engine, which is the reason why the source code is included with the project.
If you get any weird messages when trying to run the Windows version of the game, download the Visual C++ 2005 SP1 redistributable files.
To play the game in window mode, edit the Cosmos.gei file and change
“FullScreen = 1” to “FullScreen = 0”. In full screen, you may only terminate the game using Alt+F4 shortcut.
About
Cosmos tries to be a combination of arcade action and very light-weight strategy game. The player controls the construction and defense of the gargantuan intergalactic starbase, named Kyplos, invented by the diplomatic race of Kalaktians to serve as the policing force in their pirate-ridden sector of Cosmos.
A political decision was made, however, as it often is the case in such circumstances, the funding was then later cut down by the bureaocrats, before the construction was finished. Many components of the Kyplos are therefore still missing, and, most importantly, its hull integrity is unable to withstand hyperspace ejection.
To raise additional funds, the construction yard has been selected as a hyperspace node. Defending the convoys en-route through the node, the Kyplos collects insurance fees, thus gaining resources for project completion. The player’s final goal is to seal the Forecity with a dome and make the colossus stable enough for interstellar travel.
In exchange for the credits, other components of the Kyplos may also be upgraded, such as: Photonics, the rear turbine with 11 beam coils, which serves both as the station’s drive and cannon, the Core, which powers everything from laser batteries to shields and production, and the Factory where Kyplos support fighters are built and then stationed inside the three Docking bays.
Instructions
Only mouse is used to control the game. In tactical (zoom in) view, it serves as a joystick, allowing the player to aim and fire the beam cannon (left button), in other views, it moves the cursor or haircross on the map. In strategical view (zoom out), right button is used to zoom in the map (switch to tactical).
In tactical view, the right (or middle) button is used to zoom out, or, if left button is already pressed (firing), to release the energy stored in blast cannon coils. The blast cannon coils are only available when Photonics are upgraded, and may only be released when the coils are fully charged.
Left clicking outside the map in strategical view, when the triangular cursor is flashing, activates the gui control underneath. The blue triangle control in the left bottom corner of the screen brings up the Mainframe Interface. Clicking the triangle again, or right clicking anywhere else in the screen, shuts down the Interface.
Left clicking a triangle on the right side of the screen launches a support squad from the dock. Clicking it again will cause the squad to start with docking procedures. Right clicking it opens the Mainframe Interface on the squad dock. Left clicking and holding it for one second, however, switches into control mode, allowing you to manually navigate the squad. This will automatically launch the squad if docked.
When a convoy is ready to jump in, the bars on the left side of the screen light up, listing all the important ship types and counts in the convoy. To allow the convoy to pass, left click the red-and-yellow bar beneath the list. The convoy has to be cleared in five seconds, otherwise the reward will start to decrease at a rate of 1% per second, down to the minimum of 50%.
After the convoy has jumped out, the remaining net value of the convoy is added to the funds account, minus the defense cost (any repairs on your squad ships, shield loss and weapon consumption) or any collateral damage penalties (in short, do not damage the /listed/ ships of the convoy. Escort ships are not protected by insurance.) If the account drops beneath 0, negative interest strikes in. As long as the sum exceeds 100000 credits, however, those extra credits may be used to build additional support ships, and to upgrade the Kyplos, including its Forecity Dome.
The production is automatic. In the Mainframe Interface, select a module to be upgraded. Click on the ‘Upgrade’ button to toggle upgrade on or off. Modules being upgraded are listed on top of the main screen of Mainframe Interface. No more than two modules may be listed at any time.
Also with the use of the Mainframe Interface, docking bays may be configured to build a certain ship type (Factory allowing). Building is disabled by default, and may be toggled on or off with the ‘Build’ switch. The number of ship slots depends on the upgrade level of the docking bay. Also, when upgraded, each of the docking bays offers a certain bonus for the ships that are built there. For Alpha dock, this bonus is laser power, for Beta dock, shields, and for Gamma dock, stardrive power.
To pause/unpause the game, press space key. While holding the fire button, the game can not be paused. During pause in tactical view, a detailed info about any ship on the screen may be summoned when moving the cursor around. The accuracy and completeness of the scan depends on Kyplos scanners, enemy (or convoy) ship level, and on the sampled data of ships that have already been destroyed (enemy ships only). The report about Kyplos support ships is always complete.
Kyplos needs energy to run. Energy is generated by the Core, and the output depends on its level. When the shields are down, all energy is rerouted to recharge them. Otherwise, part of the energy is used for upgrading, building and repairing the ships, and the rest is used to charge up the weapons. The faster the Factory’s building rate is selected, the less energy goes to weapons.
Certain modules are equipped with an additional battery that may improve the efficiency of energy consumption on certain operations. The Factory battery thus improves building and upgrading, the Dome battery improves lasers and shields recharge, and the Docking Bay batteries improves ship repairing. Upgrading a module raises the capacity of its battery.
Keyboard shortcuts
TAB: Hold to reroute power from secondary and terciary to primary laser batteries.
Enter: Convoy passage clearance.
F10 - F12: Control squad A - C. The squad will launch automatically if docked.
Home: Initiate docking sequence for the squad that you control, return to map view.
1 - 5: Change formation for the squad that you control. Unless it’s changed again, the squad will maintain the selected formation throughout the game.
Escape, Middle Mouse Button: Return to map view.
F1 - F9: Bring up Kyplos Mainframe Interface: Kyplos, Photonics, Sensors, Factory, Dock_A, Dock_B, Dock_C, Dome, Core.
S, N, F: Set Factory speed to slow, normal or fast.
