1. Introduction (A brief summary of this FAQ and Update information.
2. The Species ("I like my species the way it is!")
The Federation
The Klingon Empire
The Ferengi Alliance
The Romulan Star Empire
The Cardassian Union
2.1 What side to pick
3. Colonization Tactics, Hints and Tips.
4. Diplomacy
5. Battle Tactics
5.1 How to steal a plannet.
6. What to build....and why!
7. Winning!
8. Losing
9. Cheats
10. A final Word
1. Introduction
============
If your reading this FAQ your either, rubbish at BOTF (Birth of the Federation)
or your an experienced/intermediate player looking to pick up some tips. Either
way hopefully this FAQ will help you. The reason I decided to make this was
because of the lack of good BOTF FAQs out there. (there was only one I could
find and it didn't cover everything)
This is the first Version 1.00, and hopefully I will be making additions
and so on and so fourth. If you want to contibute to this FAQ please e-mail me
at Gazza.Nemesis86@Virgin.Net and give me the hint tip or the mistake that
you've spotted and I haven't after proof reading it many times. I will be sure
to add your name in my acknowledgements.
If you are going to distrubute this in any way please e-mail me and tell
me. It would be nice to know that all my hard work was actually usefull to
someone.
Anyway enough of this babbling. Lets get down to buisness....
2. The Species
===========
Here is a list of the races that you can pick to go in BOTF and there
attributes, and there weaknesses.
The Federation
==============
Attitude: Peacefull/Diplomatic
Diplomacy: Very Good. Minor races favour The Federation
Ships: Good all rounders. No weak points in shields or
hull
Vendettas: Romulans and the Cardassians
Notes:
The Federations biggest attribute is there natural flair for Diplomacy, which
can always be used to there advantage. Minor races favour The Federation and you
can usually secure an alliance or if your lucky, make them members of the
Federation. There ships are fast and manuverable, there shields and hulls and
very resiliant and there weapons are enough to defend them selves in a fight.
The Federation get many bonuses for liberating an occupied planet which has been
taken over. The Federation only attack as a last resort and even then people are
not happy when you go to war. You may even have to declare Martial Law because
of the unrest. The Federations weakest point is espionage but can defend them
selves from it through Internal Security. The Federation Is a good all rounder,
for beginners or the experienced.
The Klingon Empire
==================
Attitude: Warlike/Honorable
Diplomacy: Reasonable. Many trust, but dislike the Klingons
Ships: Very manueverable and Fast, Weapons very strong,
Aft Shields and Hulls weak/Clocking ability
Vendettas: Carrdassians and the Ferengi
Notes:
The Klingons are a warlike race and prefer war to peace, but that said the
Klingons are very trustworthy and when they make an Alliance or Freindship
treaty or non-agression Pact it will last un-less you do some 'unhonorable'and
or show that you are weak. This is why relations between the Federation and
Klingons are so bumpy. The Klingons ships are extremely fast and manuverable,
and there weapons are very good. A wing of Klingon Scouts can cause quite a bit
of damage. The Klingons people like war, but only when there winning! remember
this if your playing the Klingons. The Klingons think that espionage is a
dishonerable thing to be doing but are prepared to protect them selves from it
through internal security. The Klingons are a very specialised side. There
attributes will be better used if you are an experienced player.
The Ferengi Alliance
====================
Attitude: Greedy/Neutral
Diplomacy: Decent/Bribary
Ships: Reasonably good. Fast and Manueverable
Vendettas: Klingons and the Cardassians
Notes:
The Ferengi care about to things, Money and there lives(not neccesseraly in that
order, depends on the situation!). A major advantage of the Ferengi is that they
can establish trade routes without freindship treaties. This way they can gain
alot of extra income. The Ferengi will only make treaties or alliances if it
looks like they will make money out of it. There ships are good all rounders,
but not as good as Federation Ships. But with the economic backing they can
replace ships easily. The Ferengi will go to war if they will make money out of
it. They will also make peace if they will make money out of it. Basically, the
Ferengi will back the winning side. The Ferengi strong point in espionage is
stealing money, but there Internal Security could be stronger. Although the
Ferengi will be good for beginners I recommend that you get a little experience
before using them.
The Romulan Star Empire
=======================
Attitude: Xenaphobic/Secretive
Diplomacy: Terrible/Militiristic
Ships: Not very manuverable yet fast/Strong
weapons/Clocking ability
Vendettas: Federation and the Ferengi
Notes:
The Romulans are the most secretive race in the game, with the Cardassians
coming a close second. There espionage abilitys are second to none. They can
bring a Race to its knees just through espionage....if used properly. Not many
people like the Romulans but because of them being so powerfull many people
suck-up to them. There ships are fast but not very manuverable, but they make up
for it in fire power. there plasma torpedos are deadly. The Romulan people
aren't really fussy, as long as they are winning. Its not hard to keep them
happy. The Romulans a very specialised in espionage.
The Cardassian Union
====================
Attitude: Secritive/Militiristic Govermant
Diplomacy: Good/Just a front
Ships: Decent all rounders/Slow but manuverable. Can fire
in all directions!(Hint!)
Vendettas: Federation and the Klingons
Notes:
There govermant being run by the millitary, the Cardassians are intrested in one
thing and one thing only, conquest. There ships are specialy designed to be able
to fire in all directions, but the ships are slow. The only reason that the
Cardassians will make an alliance or treaty is if there backing the winning
side. As soon as there bgack is turned they will strike. They dont want a joined
victory. They want to do it alone, and become the rulers of the Galaxy. There
espioage is the best apart from the Romulans. The Cardassians are a cross
between the Romulans, Klingons, and the Federation.
2.1 What side to pick
=================
If your a beginner I strongly recommend that you start with the Federation. The
are the best to learn how to play the game. Once you've grasps the basics, just
pick a side. Read through the descriptions above and pick one you like. Remember
to way up the good sides and the bad. What side you pick makes a huge difference
as to how the game is played. But just remeber, You can take a horse to water,
but you can't make it drink. What Im saying is, Dont try and make the Klingons
Diplomats or the Federation warlike. Stick with whats best. My motto is 'if it
works stick with it'.
3. Colonisation Taticts, Hints and Tips
====================================
If your playing a Domination game this is the most important part. To win in
Domination you have to control 60% of the Galaxy. I know it doesn't sound hard
but when you start bumping up the difficulty levels you will find this
incredably hard. The other way to win is by erradicating all other major races.
Now there are three ways to extend your borders.
One: Colonize a System
Two: Build an Outpost or Starbase
Three: Attack a planet and take it over
Now unless you want to declare war, this leaves you with two main options, one
and two. Just remember one thing: You cant build ships and gain credits from
outposts or starbases. Think of Outposts and Starbases as temporys, to expand
your reach until you can colonize a planet or system. One thing Starbases are
good for though is defence. Also theres nothing more threatening than a few
Starbases sitting on the edge of your space. Before you can colonise a planet
you may have to terraform the plannet. This can take from one turn to about
three. Just remember, the more colony ships you put on the job, the faster it
will get done.
Now to take over a system is a completely different matter. Now the first
thing you have to to do if your taking over a system is to get a small, cheap
ship, say a scout, into that system. Now if you look at the info on the system
at the bottom of the screen it will tell you how many orbital batterys there are
in the system, and how many are powered up. Now if theres, say four powered up,
they can become easily overcome by normal ships, with decent enough weapons. Now
if your knocking on 20 and upwards, then your gonna have to break out the fine
china. You will need Planatery assualt ships and a dreadnought wouldn't go a
miss. After you've overcome the orbital batterys, a tip is too attack the system
for another two turns. This will make it easier to take over with ground troops
from a transport ship(s).
4. Diplomacy
=========
Diplomacy quite a hard area to cover, as it depends on what side you are using
and what type of game you want to play. If you just wanting a muck about and
want to get into a few dog fights, dont worry about diplomacy. But if your
wanting a proper game follow these guides for the different races:
The Federation: Always try and make friends, and never declare war unless
absolutly neccessary. Always be nice. This is what works best with the
Federation and it will keep your people happy.
The Klingon Empire: Try not to offer treatys too often. Declare war when needed,
or wanted. Act as if everyones against you, yet your playing along. If you do
this properly you will declare war quite a few times during a long game (700
turns and over) and make and break friends. This should keep your people happy.
The Ferengi Alliance: Remember the 34th rule of Aquisision: Peace is good for
buisness. Also remeber the 35th Rule of Aquisision: War is good for buisness.
But also remember that theese are just guidelines. Hey, do you think it would
have been as popular if they had named it the suggestions of aquisision!
The Romulan Star Empire: Be secritive. Dont talk unless you plan on
intemidating people by demanding money. Ask for treatys only if your getting
hammered. When your allied with people use espionage to find there weak spots,
and then exploit them. Remeber, If knowledge is power then to know everything is
to be unconquerable.
The Cardassian Union: Be plausable. Make them think that you dont have a hidden
agenda. Try and make treaties until you get powerfull, then whoop E.T.'s ass!
5. Battle Tactics
==============
If you want to kick some alien butt your going to have to learn what to build
and when. Also your going to have to learn about research. Researching isn't the
most important part of the game but it is nice when you get to the defiant stage
when playing the Federation. A few of these you'll never have to worry again. If
you want this ship or in the other races case there best ship, research weapons
and propulsion. Thats it.
Now when in a fight you've got to wiegh up the chances, that is the chaces
of you winning or you getting your butt whipped. I mean if you've got five
scouts and you go and attack a starbase dont expect them to back for supper.
Same goes if you've got two dreadnoughts and you go and fight five. It aint
gonna happen and the quicker you figure that out the quiker your gonna start
winning a few games.
When in a battle you get a choice of manuevers that the ship(s) can do.
You can find out what the other ships are doing and then figure out whats the
best (it tells you). But its not always wise to pick what the computer
recommends (as computer technicians would know!), Try and think about the ships
you fighting and there weak points. For example if your carrdassians (which
ships can fire in all directions) and your fighting Klingons (who have weak aft
shields and hulls) who are circling, dont do what the computer recomends. Strafe
them, that way you hit them from the front and more importantly the back. When
in a big battle try and send small useless ships in to ram or swarm around the
big ships to distract them.
Starbases have one option...shoot, need I explain?
5.1 How to steal a Plannet
======================
Stealing a plannet is a very common thing in BOTF if your the Cardassians or the
Romulans. For the best tips, check above at chapter 3. Colonisation Tactics,
Hints and Tips. If your playing the Federation or The Klingon Empire I recommend
that you dont do this, as it will cause unrest and diplomatic negotions may be
damaged.
6. What to build and Why!
======================
In my opion, the most importantant thing in the game is industry. With it, you
can build faster, more things to build will become available, and without you
will most certainly loose. At the beginning of the game, this is the best thing
to build, along with, Farms (or that species equivalant) and colony or transport
ships. As you get on in the game start to build special structures, like wind
turbines, ect. (Note: if your the Federation, Never build the Genesis Research
Lab unless you want to go to war with the Klingons)
Another important building is your Databanks, which give you more room for
intelligence and espionage. If your the Romulans or the Cardassians, this is a
very usefull thing to build alot of. If your any other race, it is still a good
idea to build a few of these as to defend your self from espionage. Upgrading
can be a very long and tedious operation but in the long run it is worth it. It
is very costly to upgrade so your better to just bite the bullet and let it do
it itself. (unless your loaded!)
Research centres help you to research faster, which is good. Its really up to
you and what type of game you are playing, as when to place them. But just
remember the earlier you build the more research your going to get done. But
just remember, energy is important. Without it your unique and special
structures like, Wind Turbines, Ship Yards and Dilithium Refinarys will not
function.
Ships have there purposes like Planatary assualt, Escourt, Border Patrol and
defence. But just remember, ships with weapons can fire at other ships with
weapons. There multi-purpose. Just because it says, "Planatary Assault" it
doesn't mean that it cant fire at other ships. Command ships help your other
ships in the same group fire more accurratley and they also have big guns! Which
is nice.
7. Winning!
========
So you won! Well Done! You've learned well. But dont get too cockey. Theres
other difficulty levels. And if you've won on all of them, why not trying
playing someone on the net?
8. Losing
======
So you lost. Stop sulking and try again, after all practice makes perfect.
(supposeadly!)
9. Cheats
======
Well just incase your completely hopeless at the game and need some help, why
not try these. But I strongly recommend that you use these only as a last
resort.
To activate the cheats:
Start the game from a command line with "-Mudd" ("M" is capitalized) as and
additional parameter.(e.g C:\BOTF\Trek.exe -Mudd)
To do this, Right click the Shorcut in the Star Menu and click on proerties and
then amend the line in the target window.
Then you may use the following codes:
F9 - Adds 100% to Overall Research
F10 - Gives 10,000 Credits
F11 - Reveal Map on/off
10. A final Word
============
I hope that this FAQ has helped you, and please if you have any comments or
corrections, dont hessitate to contact me at:
Gazza.Nemesis86@Virgin.Net
Alot of hardwork has went to this FAQ, so please, if your going to distribute it
in anyway, plaese contactb me first and ask for my permission. This is versiobn
1.00. No doubt I will probably be making updates so look out for it. You will be
able to find the most up-to-date version at GameFAQs and Gamesdomain.
Star Trek is a trademark of Paramount Studios, which is a Subsidary of Viacom.
No Copyright infringment intended.
