





                              The Bargain Hunter V2.0
                                        For
                               Trade Wars 2002 V1.00+
                                         by
                                     Dave Noel
                                          
                                          
                                    INTRODUCTION
                                          
                 Welcome to  The Bargain  Hunter!   If you  are an  avid
            Trade Wars  2002 player  I think  you will like this support
            program.   When I  played Trade  Wars 2002  I  very  quickly
            accumulated a  piece of  paper with pairs of sectors numbers
            that contained  ports selling  what the  other  was  buying.
            Soon I  had a  messy piece  of paper with tons of numbers on
            it.  To make it even worse I was playing the game on several
            different BBS's.   Wanting to rid myself of this mess and to
            optimize my trading I came up with The Bargain Hunter.
                 The purpose  of this  program is to find the best trade
            routes in  your Trade  Wars 2002  game.   What I mean by the
            best is  two ports that are located in adjacent sectors that
            are both  selling a product that the other is buying.  After
            the routes are found The Bargain Hunter will write them to a
            file which you can print out from DOS or an ASCII editor.
            
                                    DISTRIBUTION
            
                 You may  distribute The  Bargain Hunter  free of charge
            provided that no charge is levied.
                 You may  distribute The Bargain Hunter provided that no
            changes are made to the program or documentation.
            
                                     DISCLAIMER
            
                 Dave Noel  provides The Bargain Hunter software package
            as is.   I shall in no way be responsible for any damages to
            your computer system nor the data stored therein.
            
                                     OPERATION
            
                 To execute  this program  you must be playing a game on
            version 1.0  or higher.   First  run your  favorite Terminal
            software, log  onto the  BBS and  start playing  Trade  Wars
            2002. Type  C at  the main  prompt to  initiate the Crai XXV
            OnBoard Computer.   At  this point  shell to DOS and execute
            the batch  file I  have included  called TBH.BAT.   It looks
            like this :  @ECHO OFF
                         TBH2002.EXE
            
            NOTE! Do  not attempt  to execute  TBH2002.EXE directly   it
            has a  tendency to make your terminal program lockup and you
            will have  to reload  it.  I recommend that you install this
            batch file  as an  external protocol or as a hot-Key in your













            terminal software  for more  convenient use  and  to  retain
            starship appearance.
            
                 When TBH loads it will ask you a few simple setup
            questions.
                       What com port you are using
                        (only 1 and 2 are supported)
                       Current baud rate
                        (300,1200,2400,4800,9600,19200, or 38400),
                       Parity (none, even, or odd)
                       Stopbits(1 or 2)
                       Databits(5 through 8)
                       Name of file to store results in
                        I suggest naming it similar to the name of the
                        BBS the game is on.
                        NOTE! Data file must not contain a path. TBH
                        will also add the extension '.TBH'
                       Produce full port report. (Registered Ver. only)
                        If set to yes information about what is being
                        bought and sold is also recorded to the data
                        file along with some other information.
            
                 After these  questions are answered TBH will engage the
            Crai XXV  OnBoard Computer  of your  Starship  and  download
            information about  the ports  you have  seen and sectors you
            have  visited.     After   TBH  finishes   downloading  this
            information,  it   searches  the  data  and  links  together
            starports that  will produce the largest financial gain with
            the least  number of  turns.  TBH will then write the report
            of linked sectors to your specified data file and return you
            to the Computer menu of 2002.
            
            NOTE! TBH will only be able to create a report for your
                  known   universe.  It  will  not  create  a report for
                  unexplored space.
            
                                      SUPPORT
            
                 I have  only tested  this version at 1200/2400 8N1 I am
            not sure  how it  will operate at higher speeds (I am not as
            fortunate as  some to  own a 9600+ baud modem).  If you find
            any bugs  please let  me know.  I will do what I can to  fix
            them.   I can  be reached  via BITNET  DCN1@LEHIGH or at the
            addresses listed later in this file
            
            
                                    REGISTRATION
            
                 If you  register your  copy of  The Bargain  Hunter you
            will have other options available to you.
            
            They are :
            













                 1.  As I mentioned before registered users will be able
            to create  A full  Port report along with a quick one.  Look
            at the included SAMPLE.TBH file for an example.
                 2.  The StarDate is written to the header of all '.TBH'
            files.   This is very useful in determining when The Bargain
            Hunter was last executed.
                 3.  Another data file will be written to your disk with
            the extension  '.888'.   This file  will contain  the sector
            numbers of  all the  class 8  ports in  your known  universe
            sorted from  least warps out of that sector to the most.  If
            you ever  wanted to create the ultimate trading planet, this
            option will  solve your problems.  Look at SAMPLE.888 for an
            example.
                 4.  A new program has been added to TBH package.  It is
            called The  Space Walker  2002.   This program makes a giant
            leap forward  in the  game play  of Trade Wars 2002.  If you
            ever ran  out of  turns for the day and still wanted to roam
            the galaxy,  this program is for you.  It allows you to move
            through your  known universe while off-line.  You might want
            to use  this in  conjunction with the class 8 port report to
            find a  very secluded  part of  the galaxy  for a planet, or
            just  to   get  a   better  feel  of  how  the  sectors  are
            interconnected in your particular game.  To use this program
            just run  your registered  version of  TBH on  your favorite
            BBS.       TBH   will   then   write   a   datafile   called
            'File_name_entered_by_you.SPW'.   Then when off-line execute
            SPW2002 and  type in the file name you entered when prompted
            by TBH(Do  not enter the extension).  When in emulation mode
            SPW2002 will display the sector  number you are in, any port
            information in  that sector,  and  the  warps  out  of  that
            sector.   Sectors you  have not  visited are in red and ones
            you   have seen  are in  blue.   One important  thing  about
            SPW2002 is  that you  can jump  to any  sector you have been
            to(similar to  TransWarp.)   So for  example if  you are  in
            sector 45  which only has a warp to 78 you could type in 235
            and you would be there.
            
                 These are  the Registered options to TBH.  More options
            are being  created at  this very  moment, So if you register
            now you  will be  registered for  all new  options added  to
            future releases  of TBH.   To register your copy please fill
            out the inclosed order form and send to one of the following
            addresses along  with a  self addressed stamped envelope and
            $3 for the one key or $5 for two keys.
            
                 AUG 20-MAY 10 :
                                Dave Noel
                                Lehigh University
                                U.C. #29 BOX F18
                                Bethlehem, PA 18015
            or
                 MAY11-AUG 19  :
                                Dave Noel
                                14 Christine Drive












                                Atkinson, NH 03811
            
            
            NOTE! If you sent in a donation of $2 before AUG 15 1991
                  send in the enclosed order form with two names and I
                  will send you two keys free of charge.
            
                                        Good Luck Battling the Ferrengi
            
                                        Dave Noel
            
            
            
            
            Trade Wars 2002 is (C) Copyrighted 1990, 1991 under the
                               names of Gary & Mary Ann Martin
                               Martech Software, Inc (TM)











































