<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Merchant Empires Manual: Quickstart</TITLE> <META HTTP-EQUIV="content-type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="Merchant Empires Manual"> <META NAME="description" CONTENT="Merchant Empires Manual"> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff" LINK="#aa0000" TEXT="#000000" > <FONT FACE="Helvetica"> <HR WIDTH="100%" SIZE=2 ALIGN="CENTER" NOSHADE> <P ALIGN="RIGHT"> <A HREF="index-2.html">Next</A> Previous<A HREF="index.html#toc1">Table of Contents</A> </P> <H3><A NAME="s1">1. Quickstart</A></H3> <img src='quickstart.png'><br><br> <b>Local Map</b><br><br> The image above shows a portion of the local map display. Each numbered square region on the map is a sector. The sector highlighted in red is your merchant's current location. Sectors that your merchant can move to are yellow highlighted. It is not possible to move diagonally. If it is not possible to move to an immediately neighboring sector, the sector will not be yellow highlighted. The small blue arrows denote the existence of an exit from one sector to another. If a sector has not been explored, you will not be able to see its contents. The sector number of an unexplored sector is grayed out. Click on the number of a neighboring sector to move to it.<br><br> The local map displays a portion of a galaxy. The Merchant Empires universe is divided into separate <A HREF="index-2.html#ss2.7">galaxies</a>.<br><br> <b>Locations</b><br><br> Sectors contain <A HREF="index-2.html#ss2.6">locations</a>. To enter a location in the current sector, click on it. Sector 1125 in the image above contains three locations: (1) a ship dealer, (2) a governmental capitol, and (3) an Imperial Beacon.<br><br> <b>Trading</b><br><br> Sector's that contain ports display the goods for sale at the port on the local map. To enter a port, click on the goods icon in the current sector. There are many <A HREF="index-4.html#ss4.1">factors</a> that affect the buying and selling of goods. Trading goods is the chief mechanism for gaining experience in Merchant Empires.<br><br> Your merchant begins the game with a limited amount of credits and a small trading vessel. Before purchasing additional technology for your ship, you should conduct a few trades to increase your merchant's spending ability. Increasing your ship's cargo capacity, through the purchase of additional cargo holds, is usually the first step to building your financial empire.<br><br> <b>Protection</b><br><br> You have 900 newbie turns. These turns provide complete <A HREF="index-5.html#ss5.4">protection</a> for your merchant from attack by hostile merchants. <P ALIGN="RIGHT"> <A HREF="index-2.html">Next</A> Previous<A HREF="index.html#toc1">Table of Contents</A> </P> <CENTER> <HR WIDTH="100%" SIZE=3 ALIGN=CENTER NOSHADE> </CENTER> </FONT> </BODY> </HTML>