Quine 4000

Quine 4000

A Quine 4000 is a type of Personal Computer used by spacecraft pilots. The Quine 4000 allows users to view their missions, cargo manifests, finances and kill breakdown. Grayson Burrows owned a Quine 4000 which he registered just after he first landed on Achilles in 2669. He continued to use the device to manage his missions and manifests through at least the next year.

Images

Screenshots

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Sprite Sheets

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Interface

Registration

Please register your
new Quine 4000

Enter Name:
_

Enter Callsign:
_

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Righteous Fire

Load an old
Privateer ship?

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Startup

LOCATION:
{Base Name}
{Base Type}

SYSTEM:
{System}


READY!

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Base Types

• Pleasure Planet
• Refinery Base
• Mining Base
• Agricultural Planet
• Pirate Base
• Derelict
• University Planet
• Government Base
• Industrial Base
• Military Starbase

SAVE

Save game as:


{list of games}

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LOAD

Load game:
Save game not found.


{list of games}

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MISSIONS

No missions. or Mission {#} of {#}

{mission description}

{mission payment}







Missions to date: {#}
Kills to date: {#}

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FIN

Original Version

Current cash:
{credit balance}

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Righteous Fire Version

Cash: {credit balance}


Kill breakdown:

Merchant: {#} {N/H/F}
Hunter: {#} {N/H/F}
Confed: {#} {N/H/F}
Kilrathi: {#} {N/H/F}
Militia: {#} {N/H/F}
Pirate: {#} {N/H/F}
Retro: {#} {N/H/F}

Total:

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MAN

Space left: {X}
Hidden left: {X} if installed
No cargo loaded. or Cargo page {#} of {#}
{Cargo} {#} repeat

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PWR

The PWR button shuts off the Quine 4000.

Wing Commander Privateer Player's Guide

PERSONAL COMPUTER

The Personal Computer is as important to you as to your character. Your character uses it to keep track of business obligations and finances. You use it to save and load games. Effective and quick use of the Personal Computer is crucial to both of you.

The Personal Computer answers questions like, “How much money do I have?” and “Which missions have I not finished?” and “Just what do I have in my cargo hold, anyway?” It is only available while you are at a base. All the information it provides is available through your MFDs and nav map during space-flight. To pull up your Personal Computer, type Alt-C or simultaneously click both buttons of your mouse or joystick. To exit the Personal Computer, click on the PWR (power) button at the bottom of the unit.

The Personal Computer cannot be accessed while you are interacting with another computer. Therefore, you cannot access it while at the screens for the Commodities Exchange, Mission Computer, Ship Modification, Software Dealer’s or guilds’ computers.

SAVE. The Personal Computer is the only place to save a game, so you can only save while docked at a base. When you click on the save button, the screen says SAVE GAME as: and offers you a box eight characters wide in which to name your game. If you have other saved games, they are listed below the box.

To save your game, name it and press Enter or click on SAVE. To save over an existing game, click on the name of the old one — it appears in the box. The only limit to the number of saved games you may have is the amount of available space on your harddrive. To exit the Personal Computer, press the PWR button at the bottom of the unit. If the names of your saved games overflow this screen, use Up or Down to scroll through further pages.

LOAD. You can only load a game from your Personal Computer, which is available only during your stay at a base. When you elect to load a game, the screen reads LOAD GAME: and offers you a box in which to type the name of the previously saved game you are loading. You may select the game you wish to load by again clicking on its name and the LOAD button, instead. If the names of your saved games overflow this screen, use Up or Down to scroll through further pages. Once the name of the game you wish to resume is typed in, hit Enter or LOAD. You automatically exit to the saved game.

MISSIONS. This selection allows you to review the missions that are currently awaiting your attention. If you have fulfilled all your missions or haven’t taken any, the screen says NO MISSIONS. When you still have active missions, they will be summarized on your Personal Computer mission screen. The top line tells you how many missions you have active. The rest of the description tells you where you must go to complete the mission, who has contracted you to carry it out and how much they’re paying. To scroll to the next mission in the list use Up or Down. At the bottom of the screen is the total missions to date.

Finance. Clicking on FIN brings up a statement of your current cash in credits. This is a cash-only sector. People don’t tend to live long enough to be a good risk for loan sharks and banks. This is all the financial statement you’ll need.

Manifest. Clicking on MAN brings up your ship’s manifest, telling you what’s in your cargo hold. At the top of the screen you are informed how much space in cargo units — roughly a cubic meter — are available in your cargo hold. Below that is a list of the items you have and the units of each. If your manifest goes beyond this screen, use Up or Down to scroll through the list.

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Wing Commander Privateer Reference Guide

Personal Computer

Your Personal Computer is only available at a base. All information it provides is available through your MFDs and nav map during space-flight. It cannot be accessed while you are interacting with another computer (at the screens for the Commodities Exchange, Mission Computer, Ship Modification, Software Dealer’s or Guilds’ computers). To access your Personal Computer, type C or simultaneously click both buttons of your mouse or joystick.

To exit, click on PWR at bottom of unit, or Escape.

SAVE. (S or SAVE.) Type a name for your game, and press Enter. Once you’ve named a save game you cannot amend or delete its name, but there is no limit to the number of saved games you may have. If you have more than one screen of saved games, click on Up and Down to scroll through available screens.

To save over an existing game, click on the name of the previous saved game — it will appear in the box — then click on SAVE again. You cannot save over an old saved game unless you use the same name. Using the same name will automatically over-write the previous saved game.

LOAD. (L or LOAD.) Type the name of the game, then press e(or click on the name and then on LOAD again). If you have more than one screen of saved games, click on Up and Down to scroll through screens.

MISSIONS. (M or MISSIONS.) Click on Up and Down to scroll through all currently active missions. For each mission, the display will inform you of its type, where it is, its requirements and its compensation. If a mission you have accepted does not appear, you have either fulfilled its requirements or failed it by landing before the objectives had been fulfilled.

FIN. (F or FIN.) This is your current balance of credits.

MAN. (C or MAN.) This lists all items in your cargo hold, the quantity of each and the space remaining in your hold.

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Appearances

• Wing Commander Privateer Player's Guide
• Wing Commander Privateer Reference Guide
• Wing Commander Privateer
• Privateer Righteous Fire

Behind the Screens

The artwork for the Quine 4000 stored in Privateer's OPTIONS file includes a sixth button labeled RJCT. The wider MISSIONS button which replaces it is stored elsewhere in the game. It is not clear what the RJCT option would've meant.

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The internal script for the Quine text includes a startup line which reads "Linking to GPS.". It does not display in the game.

The kill breakdown was added to the FIN menu for Privateer Righteous Fire. The CD-ROM release ports it back to the original campaign. The original 3.5" release of the game has a different screen which only displays your credit balance (with slightly different phrasing).

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A pre-release build seen in a screenshot in the Wing Commander Privateer Player's Guide shows an earlier mission description.

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