_ __ ___ _ __ ___ I_ I_ I I_ I_ I I_. _I. _I_. ESI NY:516+794+1473 Sysop:The Head Librarian I_. _I. _I_. PROWLS PLACE:718+271+0478 Sysop:Prowl Up and running ESI since 1984! ---------------------------------------------------------------- Worlds at War docs.. 1.Introduction 'Worlds at War' is a model of naval combat. As such, the game captures the essential principals of naval warfare. The game is for one or two players and involves naval and amphibious combat, on a galactic scale. Pieces represent base planets, neutral planets, task forces of different types, bomber formation, missle barrages, scouts and marine landing craft. You'll start the game with a certain number of production points and build a fleet based on the strategic requirements of the randomly generated map. A small trickle of supplies will reach your base planet each turn, but the game is primarily one of tactical combat, not production. 2. Starting, saving and exiting the game When you first boot the program, you are asked to type in the name of a game. If the name is that of a previously saved game then that game is restored. If it's a new game, then a new game will be started. In addition, you can start a new or saved game at any point during the game through the function keys. - How to enter a valid game name: The following operations require you to enter a valid game name. A valid game name contains only the characters A-Z and 0-9. It must begin with a letter and can be up to 8 characters long. It should NOT contain any puncuation or blanks. Some valid names are: GAME1 MYGAME FRED3 XYZ123 Simply type the name into the lower text window. You can correct any mistakes with the backspace key. When ready, press the enter key. - Entering a game name after booting After you enter the password which ESI has taken care of, you will be asked to enter the name of a game. Exhibit 2.4.1 shows the text windows during this operation. (Exhibit 2.4.1) _________________________________________________________ |EVERY GAME HAS TO BE NAMED, ENTER A NAME NOW: | |ESI1 (example) | |_______________________________________________________| At this point you have two choices: 1. You can enter a new game name, or 2. Enter a saved game and that will be loaded. You will be able to play where you left off. - Starting or Re-Starting a game with the function keys During a game, you can start a new game, or restart a previously saved game by using the function keys. To view the Fkey-key menu, press F1. Exhibit 2.4.2 shows this.. _______________________________________________________ |FUNCTIONS: F2 F3 F4 F5 F7 F8 F9 | |Command: New Open Save Quit Up FM Confirm | |_____________________________________________________| F2=New Game F3=Restore Game 2.5 How to save a game - The game automatically saves after each turn. To turn the Auto-Save off, press F4. 2.6 How to exit the program - To exit, press F5 -- WARNING! -- Don't attempt to exit without saving first! ============================================================================ 3.1 A quick tour of the game displays _________________________________________________________________________ To help you get your bearings, follow this quick tour of the game. It introduces some of the game's main features. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The configuration screen You should be looking at the configuration screen. There are lots of options to try, but for now, just press and accept the default configuration. The main map display You are looking at the main map disply, now. Your base planet is blinking in the center of the map. The square boxes on the map are called Areas. The channels connecting them are called Hyperspace Paths. Let's look around the map a bit. Hold the shift key down and press the down arow key on the numeric key pad. This should scroll the map up one area. Make sure the num Lock key stays off. Press shift down arow key a few more times, then try the other arow keys. You can is the scroll feature to move anywhere on the map, but its awkward on a large map. The full map display Press the F8 key. You're now looking at the full map display. The blinking rectangles (colored on a color display) represent areas which contain items of interest: a planet, a vehicle, or a cosmic gale. Notice the buttons in the sidebar window. All the buttons are now on. Press the 'G' key. 'G' is for Gale. All the other buttons and go off and now only the areas containing gales are blinking. Press the 'P' key. Now the areas only containing planets are blinking. Notice the pointing hand which is positioned somewhere near the top row. Use the arrow keys to move the hand to a blinking area. Then press the enter key. The map will now be redrawn with the selected are in the cneter. You can use the Full Map Display to zoom quickly from one region of the map to another. The Victory Point Display Press the F7 key. you're now looking at the Victory Point Display. There aren't any points charted yet, but these graphs help you keep a running tally of both Neutral Planet Points and total Victory Points. You'll find this to be very useful display. Press the enter key to return to the map display. The Side Bar Display Turn your attention to the side bar window on the left side of the screen. The top section of this bar contain six indicators, one for each game-turn phase. The Production indicator should be highlighted now, since we are in the production phase. Below that are two boaxes, both of which contain the number 0. These indicate the current victory points for each side. Your box is on the left, the computer's in on the right. Tie score, but not for long... Below this is a window used for various dispplay. Right now it contains your base planet's production box. A little while ago it contained the control buttons for the Full Map Display. The text windows At the very top of the screen are two text windows. These windows will send you a variety of messages, depending on the game state. Flight Operation Phase Secondary pieces are launched during the Flight Operations Phase. Secondary pieces include: FM - Bomber Formations BA - Missle Barrages SC - Scouts MLC - Marine Landing Craft To launch a formation of 15 bombers from your Base Planet, do the following: - Press the down arrow key once so that the cursor box is in the position shown in Ex. 3.1.. BOMBERS 0 0 20 0----20 Missles 0 20 Scouts 0 0 0 0----20 MLC 0 0 The Space-Ocean The vast Spcae-Ocean contains millions of galxies and uncounted civilized planets. But only those regions of the universe relatively close to hyperspace terminus are of interest to you. The reason for this is simple. Hyperspace paths are the only way to get form one distant part of the Space Ocean to another without travelling for many years. These space highways are the main routes for trade, travel, and conquest. Most regions of the universe are far from a hyperspace terminus and are this rarely visited by ships from the Great Powers! =============================================================================