Welcome to Echoplane's Help Files. This page will, hopefully, answer any questions you have about the game and get you on your feet. Remember, if you have any other questions, you can ask them on the Game Help or Echoplane Message Boards. Admin Pdeq* (107) is in charge of Echoplane, so if you have a need to contact an admin, quickpost him or post on the Echoplane Board.

Under Development

Echoplane is currently being actively developed. That means that updates and changes to the game are not uncommon. If you find a bug or have a helpful suggestion that you think will improve the game, post on the Echoplane Board. Also, keep in mind that Echoplane is always changing, so it will be to your benifit to keep an eye on the message board.

General Gameplay

Echoplane is a turn-based strategy/war game where your goal is to help your guild have the highest networth. Currently, you cannot use any items or currency from A3 in Echoplane. Echoplane is a round based game, meaning that after a specified amount of time (usually about 7 days), the round will end and everything will be reset in the game. The guild who, at the end of each round, has the highest net worth will win a Mark of Hytheria, an item that will be exchangeable for in-game prizes in the future. The guild with the highest net worth will win a Mark of Hytheria. These items cannot be traded or sold to other players.

Turns are credited at the rate of 10 per minute, and you can have at most 3,500 turns saved up. That means if you have 3,500 turns, you won't gain anymore until you use some. At the beginning of each round, everyone starts off with 3,500 turns, but no additional turns are credited for the first six hours.

To make chits, which are used to buy weapons, ships, luxuries, and bounties, you can go to the Work page and put your workers to work by using your turns.

Units

There are several units used during gameplay, split into two groups, soldiers and workers.

Soldiers	Workers
Gunner	Engineer
Plunderer	Quartermaster
Mercenary	Cook
Pirates	Correspondent

Soldies are generally used for attacking other players, but each unit has its own unique specialty.

Gunner - best at killing other units, especially quartermasters and pirates.
Plunderer - steal luxuries, ships, chits.
Mercenary - defends your troops. They will also help you kill engineers and gunners.
Pirate - can kill other units and steal stuff, but isn't the best at either one. They are also slightly better at killing correspondents and mercenaries than they are at killing other units.

Workers perform tasks to make you money, usually done on the Work page. They can also make you Luxuries. Workers also help defend your stuff.

Engineer - protect ships.
Quartermaster - protect weapons.
Cook protect luxuries.
Correspondent - protect chits.

As you play the game, experiment with each unit to understand the pros and cons they bring to the game, and create a strategy around those strengths and weaknesses.

Plundering

Attacking other players not only lowers their net worth, but can also help you rise to the top. Depending on the plunder option you select, you can steal chits, ships, or luxuries, or try to kill some of the enemy's workers.

Morale

When your units are happy, they stay by your side. If your morale drops too low, your units will start leaving you as you perform certain tasks and attack other players. To keep your units' morale high, you'll need to provide them with what they need.

Soldiers units need Weapons and Luxuries.
Workers need Luxuries and enough soldiers to defend them.

Remember, as you make more units, it will take more to keep their morale high.

Net Worth

Your net worth is calculated based on the following forumla:

laser rifle*400+plasma rifle*800+deatomizer*2000+plasma launcher*4000 +800*(engineers + mercenaries + gunners )+ 1100*(pirates + correspondents)+440*cooks+880*plunderers+660*quartermasters +chits +command cruisers*40000+troop transports*240000 +cigarettes*4+alcohol*8;+rations*16

Your guild's net worth is the total of all the guild member's net worths, and is used to determine who wins a round. Networth also determines your plunder range. You cannot attack people who are too far above or below you in net worth, although the spydrone removes the former restriction.

Luxuries

Luxuries are needed to keep up your units' morale, and are used up every time you perform an action (working or attacking). To get luxuries, you can either make them with your passive units, or buy them from the black market. However, you can only buy luxuries if your guild has some in stock (you can see how many are in stock buy visiting the black market link). You can add more luxuries to your guild's stock for the round by selling them at the market.

Weapons

Weapons can be bought in the black market. The more expensive the weapon, the better your units are when they are equipped with it. To equip your units with weapons, click the "weapon allocation" link in the market.

Travel

You can only attack players that are orbiting the same planet as you, so to attack someone that is not on your planet you will have to travel. Each ship you have can transport a certain amount of units for free, but you'll need to pay 150 credits for every unit that doesn't fit.

Each planet's unique terrain offers an advantage to different kinds of units. Units receive bonuses based on the planet you are on. Plunderers receive their bonus when stealing, the rest get it when fighting. Kapalosh - Your plunderers steal more than usual.
Silencia - Your gunners are more effective killers.
Gosneth - Your pirates are more effective killers.
Osubti - Your mercenaries are more effective at killing gunners and engineers.
Hytheria - Your gunners, pirates, and mercenaries all receive bonuses to their attack, but they are smaller than the above bonuses.

Spydrone

The spydrone is a handy little tool that can be activated from the Main page of Echoplane. For the cost of 1,000 turns, you can activate your spydrone for the rest of the day. The spydrone allows you to retrain troops, find out which/how many troops an opponent has, and removes the upper limit on your plunder range.

Bounties

Bounties are rewards that players offer in exchange for another player's downfall. When you go to the Bounties page, you can view the credits that other players will give you to take down other players. The reward is automatically given when you complete the task, so you never need to worry about getting ripped off.

The bounty is considered fulfilled when you have destroyed every soldier of the player who's head the reward is on.