                              Command : DROPOFF

 SYNTAX:
   [##:##] Command: dropoff <TRANSPORTS> <ESCORTS> <SECT> <COMMODITY> route

The dropoff command is used to resupply beleaguered friendly troops with food,
shells, reinforcements, and other necessities of battle.

<TRANSPORTS> represents a list of planes which are to  travel  to  the  target
sector.  Only planes which are provided with gas, and have sufficient mobility
will be successfully selected for the mission.

<ESCORTS> represent a list of fighter planes which are  capable  of  escorting
the  transports  all the way to the target.  To be selected, escorts must have
fuel and mobility.

<SECT> represents an assembly point, where all of the planes  in  the  mission
meet  before  proceeding  on to the target sector.  The assembly point must be
owned by you, and must not be more than four sectors  away  from  any  of  the
planes selected for the mission.

                              Command : DROPOFF

<COMMODITY> is the name of a commodity which is to be carried along on all  of
the planes which have a transport capacity.

Route is a normal empire  flightpath  specification  (see  `flightpath').  The
flight  begins  at altitude 1, and the routing string can contain `^' altitude
changes.  Once at the target, the dropoff can be made from any altitude.

At 100% efficiency, fighters consume 12 mobility per  flight;  other  aircraft
consume  20  mobility  per  flight.  As efficiency drops toward zero, mobility
usage linearly increases to three times those values (i.e., 36 mob/flight  for
a 0% efficient fighter, 60 mob/flight for a 0% efficient anything else).

The target sector must be owned by you.  Planes which  arrive  safely  at  the
target sector will drop the goodies off to the waiting people below.

See also : plane-types, bomb, fly, para, recon, flightpath

