Grok Trek: command reference

Every command the Grokship understands, with its short forms.

How commands work

You play with the buttons under the scans, taps on the sector scan and galaxy map, and a few keys. The Choices (n) ▾ button opens a short menu with the options of the moment: jobs to accept, contracts to drop, shipyard upgrades, market trades, a donation to a colony, or RESCUE and RETIRE when your ship is lost. The names below are the orders those buttons send, so you can follow along in the ship's log. Every command goes to the server, which runs it and sends back what happened. Time passes when you move, fight, wait or dock. Scans, reports and the computer cost no time.

Courses work like a clock face turned on its side: 1 is east, 3 north, 5 west and 7 south. Values in between, like 2.5, aim between those directions. Rows and columns run from 1 to 8 inside a quadrant, and from 1 to 16 across the galaxy.

Moving

Command	What it does
`NAV course warp`	Fly on a course. Warp 1 moves one quadrant, and warp 0.1 to 0.9 moves inside the quadrant. Also `MOVE` `M` `N`.
`IMP row col`	Impulse to a sector in this quadrant. Tapping an empty sector does the same. Also `IMPULSE` `I` `GO`.
`WARP row col`	Warp toward a quadrant. Tapping the galaxy map does the same. If energy runs short, the jump is shortened. Also `W` `JUMP`.
`WAIT stardates`	Hold position while repairs run (0.1 to 10). Not possible with Glitchers in the quadrant. Also `REST`.

Scans and the computer

Command	What it does
`SRS`	Short-range scan of this quadrant. Also `S` `SCAN`.
`LRS`	Long-range scan of the 3 × 3 quadrants around you. The digits are Glitchers, Waystations and stars, with $ for a Free Port and @ for a colony. Also `L`.
`COM 1` or `MAP`	Galactic record: what you last scanned in each quadrant.
`COM 2` or `STATUS`	Status report: the stardate, the current wave and when the next one is due, colonies held, under siege and lost, Waystations online, and Glitchers on record. Also `ST`.
`COM 3`	Torpedo data: the course and distance to every Glitcher here.
`COM 4`, `COM 5`	The nearest Waystation that is online, or the nearest Free Port that hasn't banned you.
`COM 6 row col`	Course calculator to a quadrant.
`COM 7`	Colony list: held, under siege, or fallen.
`DAM`	Damage report for all eight systems. Also `D` `DAMAGE`.

Fighting

Command	What it does
`PHA energy`	Fire lasers. The energy is split across every Glitcher in the quadrant, and hits get weaker with distance. Also `P` `LASER` `FIRE`.
`TOR course` or `TOR row col`	Fire a plasma torpedo along a course or at a sector. In torpedo tap mode, tapping a sector fires at it. Stars block torpedoes. Also `T` `TORP`.
`SHE level`	Set the shields. Energy moves between the shields and the main banks. Also `SH` `SHIELDS`.

Glitchers fire back after each of your actions in their quadrant. Torpedoing a Free Port gets you fined 200 cr, costs 40 reputation and bans you from that port for good. Hitting a Waystation or a colony also costs reputation and score.

Docking, ports and contracts

Command	What it does
`DOCK`	Dock next to a Waystation (free refill, torpedoes and repairs), a Free Port, or a colony (deliveries, and retaking a fallen colony). Also `ORBIT`.
`JOBS`	Show the Free Port's contract board: 3 to 5 jobs, refreshed every 4 stardates. Also `J` `BOARD`.
`ACCEPT n`	Take job n from the board. You can hold 3 at once. Also `TAKE`.
`CONTRACTS`	List your contracts with their rewards and deadlines. Also `CON`.
`ABANDON n`	Drop a contract (costs 5 reputation).
`BUY ENERGY`	At a Free Port: 500 energy for 60 cr.
`BUY REPAIR`	At a Free Port: repair every system for 150 cr.
`UPGRADE name`	At a Waystation shipyard: `HULL` `RACKS` `COILS` `DRONES`, 300, 600 and 1000 cr per level. `UPGRADE` on its own lists them. Also `SHIPYARD`.

Contract	How to complete it
Cargo	Carry goods to a colony or another Free Port, and DOCK there.
Courier	Bring sealed data to a Waystation, and DOCK there.
Bounty	Destroy the listed number of Glitchers in a quadrant.
Survey	Scan the listed quadrants with LRS, or visit them.
Rescue	Break the siege at a colony.

A completed contract pays its credits and gives +3 reputation. A missed deadline costs 8 reputation. Reputation runs from 0 to 100.

Trading and colonies

Command	What it does
`MARKET`	At a Free Port: today's prices for ORE, FOOD and TECH, and your cargo. Prices differ by port and change every 4 stardates. Also `MK` `PRICES`.
`BUY ORE n`, `BUY FOOD n`, `BUY TECH n`	Buy goods into your hold (8 units in all).
`SELL ORE n` (and FOOD, TECH)	Sell goods back. A port pays 90% of its own price, so the profit is in carrying goods from a cheap port to a dear one. Trading earns credits, not career score.
`LAND`	Next to a colony: its people, status, siege progress and defense grid. Also `BEAM` `VISIT`.
`FORTIFY`	Next to a colony you hold: +1 defense grid level for 150 cr (3 levels at most). Each level slows a siege. Not while Glitchers are in the quadrant. Also `FORT`.
`DONATE n`	Next to a colony: give credits in steps of 50 for +1 reputation each (250 cr at most per command).

Away team (on the surface)

Command	What it does
`AWAY`	Beam the away team down beside a colony, or while docked at a Free Port or Waystation. Not while Glitchers are in the quadrant. `AWAY ON` switches away teams on for a career that began before them.
`RETURN`	Beam back to the ship (not during a fight). While landed, ship commands wait; SCORE, STATUS, DAM, HELP, CONTRACTS, MARKET, COM and SUBMIT still work.
`TEAM`	Your team: rank, XP, HP, gear, purse, outings left, charm.
`TOWN`	Look around the town.
`WILDS`	An outing into the wilds (6 per stardate): a fight, or now and then a lucky find.
`ATTACK`, `BLAST`, `RUN`	In a fight. BLAST calls a laser strike from orbit: 100 ship energy, once per fight, not against a master. Only these work during a fight.
`GEAR`, `GEAR W n`, `GEAR A n`	The gear shop list, and buying weapon or armor n (your old piece is traded in).
`HEAL` or `HEAL n`	The healer: back to full HP, or n HP.
`INN`, `RUMOR`, `BARD`, `CHAT`	The inn. A rumor (5 cr) may reveal the cluster's lair. The bard's song gives an extra outing. A chat adds charm (1% off shops and healer per point, 20% at most). Once each per stardate.
`BANK`, `DEPOSIT n\|ALL`, `WITHDRAW n`	Move credits between the purse and the ship's account.
`MASTER`, `CHALLENGE`	The town's master, and a duel for your next rank once you have the XP.
`LAIR`	On the colony where a rumor placed the cluster's boss: fight it.
`ARENA`	Team-vs-team bouts, coming with multiplayer.

Career

Command	What it does
`SCORE`	Your career: score, rank, next rank, kills, contracts and colonies. Also `CAREER` `RANK`.
`SUBMIT`	Post your career score to the leaderboard. It only counts if it beats what you posted before.
`RESCUE`	Only after losing the ship. You are towed to a Waystation and lose all credits, your best upgrade level, 15 reputation and 250 score.
`RETIRE YES`	End the career and post its final score. After a loss, `RETIRE` on its own is enough.
`HELP`	A short command list. Also `H` `?`.

Fleet ranks

Rank	Career score
Cadet	0
Ensign	1,000
Pilot	3,000
Lieutenant	7,000
Commander	15,000
Captain	30,000
Commodore	60,000
Rear Admiral	100,000
Admiral	160,000
Grand Admiral	250,000
Fleet Commander	Reserved for the site owner. It can't be earned.

Fleet Commander is reserved for the site owner on the server. It can't be earned or claimed by choosing a name.

Keys, taps and buttons

S short-range scan, L long-range scan, D damage report, K dock, J jobs, ? help.
M opens or closes the full map (Esc closes it). T switches the sector scan between move and torpedo taps. P jumps to the laser energy box.
C opens or closes the Choices menu (Esc closes it).
Sector scan: tap an empty sector to fly there, or a Glitcher to fire a torpedo (in torpedo mode). Tap a Waystation, Free Port or colony next to you to dock.
Galaxy map: tap a quadrant to warp there. Dim squares haven't been scanned yet, and the shaded block is the Neutral Zone.