                                Command : DROP

NAME
   drop - Use planes to drop commodities in your own sectors

Level: Expert

SYNTAX
   [##:##]  Command : dropoff <TRANSPORTS> <ESCORTS> <SECT> <PATH|DESTINATION>
<COMMODITY>

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 to transport commodities to the tar-
get sector.  Only planes with capability cargo and sufficient mobility,  based
in a sector stocked with petrol and the commodities to transport, will be suc-
cessfully 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  or an ally, or you or an ally must have a ship there.  It must
not be more than four sectors away from any of the  planes  selected  for  the
mission.

<COMMODITY> is the name of the commodity which is to be dropped.

Route  is  a normal empire path specification. You may also give a destination
sector on the command line, or at any time while giving the route, and  empire
will use the best path from the current sector to the desired destination sec-
tor.

When  getting  a  path interactively, empire will show you the information you
have (from your bmap) concerning the current  area,  to  help  you  plot  your
course.

Air  drop  missions  can be intercepted just like any other mission.  See info
"Intercept".

Planes which arrive safely at the target sector will drop the goodies  off  to
the waiting people below.

Any  plane  with  the "mine" ability can mine a sector by dropping shells in a
sea sector.

Note that a plane must be at least 40%  efficient  before  it  can  leave  the
ground.

SEE ALSO
   Plane-types, bomb, fly, paradrop, recon, Mobility, Planes, Commodities

