The Freeciv Game User's Guide

Previous Next Contents

## 7.0 The Space Race

You may win the game of Freeciv by conquering all other civilizations, if you are of the domineering sort. For the peace-minded there is another option, one of winning the "space race." You can compete with your neighbors in the race to build a starship, launch it, and have it be the first to establish a colony of your loyal citizens in another star system.

Once a civilization has discovered Space Flight, it may construct the Apollo Program Wonder; like any other Wonder, other nations may compete to be the first to finish this achievement. The Apollo Program itself does not provide a very significant benefit, but the fact of its existence is required for any civilizations to begin to construct a spaceship.

A spaceship is composed of collections of three kinds of elements:

- Space Structural elements require Space Flight and 80 production points. These form the frame of your ship. All other elements need to be connected to structurals in order to function. You may build up to 32, one for each Component or Module.
- Space Component elements require Plastics and 160 production points. These provide either propulsion or fuel for the ship, and must be installed in pairs. Each propulsion/fuel pair reduces the spaceship travel time. You may build up to 8 pairs.
- Space Module elements require Superconductors and 320 production points. They are of three different types:
  - Habitation Module: provides living space for 10,000 colonists
  - Life Support Module: provides food and water for 10,000 colonists
  - Solar Panel: provides the energy needed for any two Modules
  You may build up to 4 of each kind of module.

Once you have the necessary advancements, you may produce any of the spaceship elements in any of your cities, in the same manner as any building or unit. (Once any civilization develops any of the advancements, the number of years per turn reduces, to allow other civilizations a better chance to catch up.) You may have as many of your cities producing as many elements at the same time as you wish. Once a city has completed an element, it is automatically placed in its proper place in the spaceship, with no further expense or supervision, and the city will begin work on another element of the same type.

The Spaceship window will show you the progress if you wish, as well as show you the spaceships of the other players. The window describes the physical characteristics of the spaceship, guiding you in your production of the necessary elements. The most important to you are Success Probability and Travel Time. The chance of success (assuming a complete ship, with all required elements) is based on how much energy there is per module, and how much life support there is per colonist. The travel time is derived from the mass of the elements and the amount of propulsion. Once these statistics reach a value palatable to you, launch it off.

Even after the spaceship is launched, the game has not been won. It takes time for the colony to be reached. If a serious space race is in progress, another civilization could quickly make a rival spaceship with more propulsion units, that could reach the goal earlier. In addition, while in flight the ship is considered a "building" of the civilization's capital. If the capital is captured by an enemy, the spaceship is destroyed.

Previous Next Contents