The Star Ship has one photon torpedo launch tube at every side of the ship: fore, aft, top, bottom, port and starboard.
When a launch tube is loaded with a photon torpedo, this torpedo can be "fired" at the specified coordinates or identified target. When the torpedo hits or detonates in the vicinity of the target the object is damaged. The amount of damage depends on the operational status and reliability of the photon torpedo, the distance to the target when the torpedo detonated, and the protective measures the target had when the torpedo detonated.
There are distinct differences between the firing of a phaser bank and the deployment of a photon torpedo.

• Fire a phaser bank
  • Phaser bank energy travels with the speed of light.
    The simulation can register the damage on the target immediately.
  • Phaser bank energy follows a straight line.
    You must select the proper phaser bank that faces the target.
  • Phaser bank energy is essentially (focussed) energy.
    As the distance between the Star Ship and the target gets bigger, the effect of the phaser blast diminishes.
  
  
  
• Fire a photon torpedo
  • A photon torpedo is an object, so it has a certain mass and velocity.
    This means that it takes time to reach the target. The following observations can be made.
    The target has the possibility to escape the photon torpedo. To escape a photon torpedo the target must travel at a higher velocity than the torpedo. Note that when the target merely changes the course this will not suffice because the photon torpedo is guided from the Missile Guidance computer onboard the Star Ship. Short range sensors track the movements of the target and this information is passed on to the Missile Guidance computer.
  • The use of a photon torpedo is only possible while the Star Ship travels at sub-light speed.
    When a photon torpedo command is invoked while the Star Ship is at Warp speed the Tactical Computer issues the message "photon torpedo launch tubes disabled at warp speed".
    The "Fire photon torpedo" command is rejected.
  • A photon torpedo "tracks" the target.
    As a direct consequence, it does not matter from which launch tube you fire a photon torpedo. However, a torpedo launched from a tube that faces the target will hit the target sooner than a torpedo launched from the opposite side of the Star Ship. This small amount of time could be all you needed ....
    The Tactical Computer is capable of determining which launch tube must be loaded so that, when fired, the torpedo heads straight towards the target. The penalty is that the Tactical Computer draws more energy from the Star Ship reserves when it must determine the correct launch tube.

1. Load/fire a specified photon torpedo launch tube at a specified coordinate.
2. Load/fire a specified photon torpedo launch tube at a specified object.
3. Load/fire a photon torpedo launch tube (Tactical Computer determined) at a specified coordinate.
4. Load/fire a photon torpedo launch tube (Tactical Computer determined) at a specified object.
5. Detonate a launched photon torpedo prematurely.     not yet implemented

Fire photon torpedo at coordinates

TFR        Function code           Location code         EXEC	torpedo launch subsystem command
	fire TAC Computer determined torpedo launch tube
	fire manually specified torpedo launch tube        * see port table for specific locations

When you have selected the photon torpedo subsystem command, press the "TFR" button to proceed to the next step.
The lamp in the "TFR" button is turned off.
The Star Ship systems perform some checks first. If a check fails you are informed in the report line of the console CRT.

1. The Star Ship must be travelling at sub-light speed :   "photon torpedo launch stations disengaged at warp speed"
2. A launch tube is manually selected, but that station is dead :   "torpedo launch station #x exhausted"
3. A torpedo or an anti-matter probe is still hurtling towards a target :   "missile guidance systems already active"
   The Missile Guidance computer is capable of tracking only one deployed weapon. This means that when the weapon is fired, the Tactical Computer terminates the command automatically. If a new Fire Photon Torpedo or a new Fire Anti-matter Probe command is issued while the Missile Guidance computer is still on-line, a message appears in the report line.

If one of these checks fail the command is aborted, else the Tactical Entry Display with keypad is activated.

When the Fire Photon Torpedo at coordinates command is selected, the display shows the letter "t".
A square in the left-most corner of the display is lit to indicate that the Tactical Computer expects the entry of the X coordinate of the target. With the keypad you enter the X coordinate. When the X coordinate is set you press the key under the lit square, in this case the "diamond" key. The X coordinate is stored.
The next square in the display is lit to indicate that the Tactical Computer expects the entry of the Y coordinate of the target.
When the Y coordinate is set you press the key under the lit square, in this case the "#" key. The Y coordinate is stored.
The next square in the display is lit to indicate that the Tactical Computer expects the entry of the Z coordinate of the target.
When the Z coordinate is set you press the key under the lit square, in this case the "X" key. The Z coordinate is stored.

entry of X coordinate	entry of Y coordinate	entry of Z coordinate

Press the "." key to toggle the sign of the coordinate entry.
To correct an entry, press the red "*" key. This key backs up to the entry of the previous entered digit.
When the entry is at the first digit, the "*" key backs up to the previous coordinate when the entry is at the Z or the Y coordinate. The lit square indicator always shows which coordinate is expected. When the entry of the first digit of the X coordinate is expected and you press the "*" key, the "Fire photon torpedo" command is cancelled.
A message "fire photon torpedo at coordinates command cancelled" is shown on the console CRT.

When the Z coordinate is entered and confirmed with the "X" key, the target coordinate entry is completed.
The Tactical Computer calculates the distance to the target. If the distance between the target coordinates and the Star Ship is too big, the message "target coordinates out of torpedo action radius" and the command is aborted.
When the command specified that the Tactical Computer should determine the launch station, the station that faces the target coordinates is selected. When this station is dead, the Tactical Computer selects an other tube to launch a torpedo from.
You have a problem when the message "all photon torpedo launch stations exhausted" appears ....
What you want to see is that the Tactical Entry Display shows the selected launch station and that the fourth square underneath the "*" Cancel button is lit. When you press this Cancel key the Fire Photon Torpedo at coordinates command is aborted.

The message "photon torpedo tube #x locked on target coordinates" appears on the report line and the light in the "EXEC" button shines bright red. This is the red button at the right-hand side of the Tactical Function/Location buttons.

When you press the "EXEC" button the photon torpedo is launched. The Missile Guidance System comes on-line to steer the torpedo towards the target coordinates. The "EXEC" button light is turned off because it is not possible to launch an other torpedo.
When the fired torpedo was the last from this station you are notified by the message "attention: last photon torpedo fired from launch station #x".

Eventually one of the following messages will appear on the report line.

"torpedo detonated at specified coordinates" "torpedo absorbed in anti-matter galaxy"

 

Fire photon torpedo at object

TFR        Function code           Location code         EXEC	torpedo launch subsystem command
	fire TAC Computer determined torpedo launch tube
	fire manually specified torpedo launch tube    * see port table for specific locations

After you selected the Fire Photon Torpedo subsystem command, press the "TFR" button to proceed to the next step.
The lamp in the "TFR" button is turned off. The Tactical Entry Display shows the letters "tor" to indicate that you selected the "Fire Photon Torpedo at object" command  if   the initial conditions are met. (see:

...............................................................

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 >> TAC - target identification : > _......... <

All the actions that follow are the same as for the "Fire Photon Torpedo at coordinates" command.
However, a coordinate is always 'where it is'. A target name that you specify must somehow be determined by the Tactical Computer. The Tactical Computer accesses the data banks of the Sciences Computer system to find the current position of the target.
If the target is not known by the Sciences Computer system (does it exist?) the following message appears in the report line (between the two dotted lines) on the console CRT:

Eventually one of the following messages will appear on the report line.