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Tripe
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The Three Suns
Southern Sector
Red Sky City
Canopus West
Moons of Kaarp
Dreadlar
Apollo Sector
81103
Outer Ring Sectors
Acrador
C.T.6
Mattas Head
Perosis
Star City
The Tibran Mining Colony
Dragor
Durius Highlands
Other Sectors
The Asteroid Field
New Sector Alpha
The Uncharted Sector

What is TVS

The Violet Sector is a FREE multi-player turn based game. Join a legion and battle against other players all around the world for domination of the galaxy! Strategise and team up with friendly pilots to dominate sectors and hyper to new areas to beat the enemy.

What do I need to play TVS?

• A connection to the Internet.
• Supported operating systems: Windows 98/ME, Mac OS 9.
• Supported Web Browsers: Internet Explorer 5 and above, Netscape Navigator 6 (on Windows). Netscape Navigator 6 (on Mac).
• Support WAP phones: Ericsson R380, Nokia 7110, Nokia 6210.
• Optional: Macromedia Flash 5 plugin for web browsers.
• Other browsers and operating systems may work - but we cannot guarantee that they will display the site as we intended.

Why was it created

The Vision Studios were asked to come up with a concept for an online game for a client. We came up with a number of ideas, but Wingees idea would apparently 'not work' according to other members of the team. To prove them wrong, he decided to actually create the game. And yes, they are all playing the game non stop....

What is a 'Beta Test'?

The game is not completely finished and we're adding more to it all the time. For this purpose the game is in testing until we're happy that there are no more bugs and we're happy with the way the game system works.

What is the difference between a frantic and a beta

Betas have turns that are 3 hours long. This allows time for planning and moving your side in one large group. Good beta strategy involves using the 'deadzone'; the period of time each tick when the hypergates are closed. In betas the deadzone spans the last 15 minutes and the first 5 minutes of every tick.

Frantics have turns that are just 15 minutes long. They are a lot more fluid and random; in these games individual players can have a much larger impact. The deadzone for frantics is the first and last minute of each tick.

Betas are for people who like to play a game without it taking up too much of their time. Frantic games are a lot more fun to play if you have time to spare and want action now!

How do I change my password?

You can change your password once you have logged into the game, using the 'Edit Account' page from the main menu.

How can I play the game when I'm away from my computer?

You can access the game using your WAP phone by visiting http://www.tvsonline.co.uk using your phone.

Can I bookmark the WAP site so I don't have to login every time?

Yes, once you have logged in, bookmark the Statistics page and use the bookmark instead. If you can't bookmark that page on your phone, then use this address: http://www.tvsgames.com/tvs/wap/main.asp?username=YourPilotName&password=YourPassword

How does the game assign me to a particular side?

The system works out which side has the least active players on it, and assigns you to that one.

I can see two ships in my sector with exactly the same name. Are they using multiple accounts?

o, the chances are, one of them is a Decoy created by getting the Decoy pickup.

How do decoys work?

If you get a Decoy pickup - a clone of your ship will appear in the sector you're in. The clone will appear to enemies as an exact copy of the ship that you're in. The decoy will stay in that sector even when you have hypered out, until it has been hit by an enemy ship once. This will destroy the decoy straight away. Obviously it will be apparent to enemies which ships is the decoy if they attack you, as the decoys hitpoints will appear the same as yours were when you created it. A decoy WILL lose hitpoints in the Asteroid fields just like any other ship.

How do I know if I've killed a decoy?

If you make an attack on a decoy you will destroy it no matter what your level or the decoys level is. You will do it's current hitpoint damage +1 and will recieve no points for destroying it. For example if the decoy has 1984/4000 hitpoints, then when you attack it you will automatically do 1985 damage and destroy it.

What does the Legion Commander do?

Each side has a Legion Commander. This pilot has the added ability to be able to see all of the ships in every sector, and which ones are hypering in and out. When there is no LC then one needs to be voted in by the other players. Voting lasts for two days (or 16 turns) before the votes are counted. If a LC resigns, then voting will begin again for a new LC - they will still be LC whilst voting is in progress. If a LC has not made any moves for two days (or 16 turns) then voting for a new LC will begin automatically.

Do I have to do what my Legion Commander tells me to?

No, you can use their advice however you wish. They cannot do anything to you or your ship if you don't!

Why do some people have a * by their name when there's lists of pilots?

This indicates that the Pilot is currently logged in to the game.

What are INACTIVE and ACTIVE pilots?

A player who has not logged on for 5 days is counted as Inactive. This means that they will not appear in the game at all, unless they log back into it. Pilots who have not made their first move in the game are also counted as Inactive. The system merely ignores them.

Why do some people have a {V} by their name when there's lists of pilots?

The {V} tag means the pilot is a Veteran. Pilots are awarded this tag for achieving certain feats in the game. The exact requirements for obtaining a {V} tag a secret.

What is Combat/Repair skill?

Each time you gain a level of experience, you are awarded 10 skill points to allocate as you choose. Combat skill points increase your attack power, i.e. the damage you do to other ships. Likewise, Repair skill points (available only to repairships), allow repairsihps to repair other ships by larger amounts.

What is Piloting skill?

Each time you gain a level of experience, you are awarded 10 skill points to allocate as you choose. Piloting skill increases your defensive strength, the more you have the harder you are to kill.

What happens if our base gets destroyed?

Then you cannot jump into a new ship if your ship gets destroyed. New players will not be able to sign up on your side either. The top scoring pilots in the game will recieve prizes as well. When we work out what type of prizes to give!

What happens if my base is destroyed? Can I no longer play the game?

If your base is destroyed you no longer have the opportunity to jump back into a new ship. You will however be 'picked up' by an enemy side if your ship is destroyed. You will then play the game on their side. Which side you join is determined in the same way as when you signed up.

How do the bases repair themselves?

Each side needs more pilots and to hold as many sectors as possible to get repairs for their base when it becomes damaged by their opponents. The more pilots a side has and the more sectors they control, the more the base gets repairs after each turn.

What is scrap and what is it for?

Scrap is generated in two ways. The first is when ships are destroyed. The second occurs in some special sectors like The Asteroids Field which generate small amounts of scrap each turn. When dropped on a Home World by a repair ship, scrap increases that Home World's max health (or current health if it is damaged) by the amount of scrap dropped.

How do I pick up scrap?

To pick up scrap you first of all need to be in a Repair Ship or a Cruiser Carrier. If you are piloting this type of ship, the amount of scrap currently in your sector will be shown on your Ship Computer (along with the option to pick it up if there actually is some scrap in your sector). You can then go to your Home World and use the scrap to expand it's health. All repair ships and Cruiser Carriers have a 5000 unit cargo space for scrap. Once you are carrying this many units, you will need to go and drop the scrap at your Home World before you can pick up any more!

What happens when you install scrap on a base?

If the base is at full health, then the maximum and current hitpoints of the base will increase by the amount of scrap installed on the base. If the base is damaged, then only the current hitpoints of the base increases. However, if the base is only slightly damaged, the base will be fully healed, and any scrap leftover will add to both the current and max HP. For example:

installing 2000 scrap

Before	After
130000/130000	132000/132000
127000/130000	129000/130000
129000/130000	131000/131000

How do I get a Cruiser\Cruiser Carrier ship?

These ships will become available to you if you ascertain 75000 hitpoints without having your ship destroyed. To be able to jump into one of these cruiser ships you will have to return to your home sector. The ship will be brand new and will have 12500 hitpoints as soon as you jump into it regardless of your current ships status. You must have a base to return to to jump into a Cruiser. If your base has been destroyed, you will not be able to get a Cruiser.

Do cloaked ships count for sector domination?

No, cloaked ships do not count for sector domination.

Will you remain cloaked if you Hyper?

If you currently cloaked: hypering or picking up invulnerability will automatically decloak your ship.

I keep attacking somebody and get 0 every time?

You're either very unlucky, or they've picked up an Invulnerability pickup!

An enemy ship suddenly appeared in the sector I was in, and I didn't see them hypering in?

The enemy may have been cloaked. Cloaked ships can decloak at any time! Cloaking ships have the ability to cloak, and other ships can do pickups to find a cloaking device. Alternatively, the enemy could have picked up a random hyper gate that transferred him into your sector instantly.

I got attacked by a repairship! How could that be, I thought they could only repair?

If a repairship picks up an attacking pickup, such as Free Attack or Triple Damage - then they can actually use it on an enemy ship to attack them. They will be able to make an attack similar to the amount they would repair to a friendly ship, and recieve points accordingly.

All my messages are scrambled! Or I am recieving scrambled messages!

If a ship is in New Sector Alpha, all messages will appear scrambled. (Due to inteference from the Manezium gas in the sector). All transmissions sent out of the sector will also be scrambled so recipients will recieve an almost unreable message!

My communications have become disabled. How did it happen and how can I fix it?

All communications are sent via your base stations. If your base station becomes heavily damaged you will not be able to send any further messages. You will however still recieve messages from the enemy if their base is still intact. You will need to dominate more sectors or recruit more pilots to get your communications back.

My sector domination screen says "Domination info not available"?

All Domination info is sent via your base stations. If your base station becomes heavily damaged you will not be able to view the Sector Domination info. You will need to dominate more sectors or recruit more pilots to get your communications back.

I keep getting the message "An error has occured!!"

This error is likely to have been caused by your firewall. If you are using Norton Firewall (for example), please ensure that the 'Privacy Controls' are disabled. Other firewalls will have a similar setting.

Something doesn't appear right in the game, what should I do?

Use the Bugs forum. Please send as much info as possible about what you did to cause the problem, where and when did it happen, and what the error was if there was one.

I want to help with the development of the game in some way. Who do I speak to?

Send an email to wingee@thevisionstudios.com with how and in what way you'd like to help with the development of the game.

When I ask the Forum to remember my details, how come it doesn't remember it for the game?

That is by design. The game and the Forum although they share logins, are two seperate entities. It's safer that you can't save your login to the game so that nobody can get into do nasty stuff to your ship!