REACH.CFG in the game folder holds the settings for new games. It is plain text, Key = Value, one per line; lines starting with ; are notes. A game already running keeps the settings it began with; change those with reachcfg option 9 (below).
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
GameName | Ember Reach | The game's name, shown to players (up to 39 letters) |
Days | 60 | Game length in days; 0 = no last day |
JoinDays | 10 | The last day new houses may join; 0 = any day |
MaxHouses | 12 | Most houses in a game, computer houses included (2 to 25) |
SystemsPerHouse | 8 | Map size: star systems per house (5 to 12) |
Hollow | 2 | The Hollow: 0 off, 1 low, 2 normal, 3 high |
DominionVictory | Yes | Win early with 60% of the worlds for 3 days |
RelicVictory | Yes | Win early by holding every relic |
LastHouseVictory | Yes | Win early by being the last house left |
AutopilotAfter | 7 | Days a player can be away before their house goes on autopilot |
DissolveAfter | 21 | Days away before the house leaves the game |
ComputerHouses | Varro, Ostrel | Computer houses that join each new game (names, comma separated; blank = none) |
PeaceDays | 10 | Days the computer houses leave a new player alone; 0 = no peace |
Difficulty | Normal | How the computer houses play: Easy, Normal or Hard |
AutoRestart | Yes | Start a new game the night after one ends |
DailyReset | No | Start a brand-new game every night (for testing only) |
NewsFile | Yes | Write NEWS.TXT each night |
If the file is missing, ermaint new writes one with the defaults.
Run reachcfg in the game folder (or give the folder: reachcfg /sbbs/xtrn/reach/). It locks the game while it changes anything, so it is safe to use while players are on.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| 1 | Settings for new games: everything in REACH.CFG, with S to save |
| 2 | Houses (player editor): name, player, ore/fuel/influence, autopilot, remove a house |
| 3 | Add a computer house to the running game |
| 4 | Send a notice to the players |
| 5 | News and standings |
| 6 | Hall of Fame |
| 7 | Start a new game now (the old one is kept as OLDGAME.DAT) |
| 8 | End the running game now |
| 9 | Change the running game: name, last day, joining, the Hollow, victories, autopilot and dissolve days, peace days and difficulty |
| Q | Quit |
Every change to the running game is written to MAINT.LOG.