CU Amiga Super CD-ROM 6/CU Amiga Magazine's Super CD-ROM 06 (1996)(EMAP Images)(GB)(Track 1 of 4)[!][issue 1997-01].iso/cucd/games/intmercs/intermercs.txt

Text File | 1996-09-08 | 14KB | 301 lines

                      INTERGALACTIC MERCENARIES

v1.2 by D.O'Cuinn ©1995/1996

 *** THIS GAME IS SHAREWARE!! ***

    |-------------------------------------------------|
    |                                                 |
    |     The game                                    |
    |     The plot                                    |
    |     Hard drive installation                     |
    |     The main menu                               |
    |     Scenarios                                   |
    |     Control method                              |
    |     If you like this game                       |
    |     History and technical info                  |
    |                                                 |
    |-------------------------------------------------|


   ** THE GAME **

   This is a strategy game, modelled on the system used by the old Spectrum
game Rebelstar, by Julian Gollop, although it is scenario based rather than
based on a single mission.

   In it the player commands a squad of men who must carry out some mission.
Movement is turn based, and each unit has a specific number of `action points'
which dictates how much they can do in that particular turn.

   I was moved to do a game of this nature because I missed the straight
simplicity of these old games.  Modern Gollop games (such as UFO) are
excellent, far better than Rebelstar and its like, but I think they maybe lose
something with the increased complexity.

   This game really goes for simplicity - it has no line of sight or
opportunity fire. LOS is missing because it wasn't in the old Rebelstar games,
opportunity fire because I couldn't be bothered.  I may put it in in a later
version. If anyone thinks either of these would be a worthy addition, tell
me.

   I know there is a PD game, Act of War, which is based on these old games
too, and this isn't half bad either.  BUT - it doesn't have the old targeting
system, and Intergalactic Mercenaries does! Hurray!

   **  THE PLOT  **

   It was the year 2902, and you were one of the Federations top military
Strategists. Strategists are the people closest to actual combat, and yet the
people furtherest away. With complex satellite surveillance they oversee great
battles, ordering the ground units by remote communications like chess pieces.
While the generals plan overall war strategy, the fighting of individual
skirmishes within battles is the Strategists task. You were the absolute
best.

   Note the `were'. In September 2902, bloody revoloution flared on the planet
of ArrMon. The Federation forces were taken by surprise and decimated in the
initial attacks. All the rebels needed to do to ensure effective victory was
to take the main city on ArrMon. Conversely, for the military to win, they
needed to destroy the leading rebel unit - without this the rebellion would
collapse. There were only 70 federation troops left against a thousand rebels,
and there was no hope of reinforcements reaching the planet in time. And so, a
million light years away, you ordered these men through hyper-space
communications, with orders to `do whatever you have to win.' They needed a
miracle, but you were the man to deliver it.

   And so, day and night the battle raged, and slowly but surely your men were
killed one by one. Finally the inevitable happened and the rebels broke into
the federation base, thus taking the city. You knew despite the impossible
odds your reputation would never be the same. 48 hours without sleep, and the
bitter taste of defeat in your mouth, you snapped. You had lost touch with
reality, your addled mind seeing it all in a detached haze.You had one of your
few remaining men arm a nuclear device and set it off, killing your own men,
hundreds of rebels and millions of innocent citizens. You had won.

   You were always loathed among the rank and file soldiers, not being adverse
to sacrificing the odd `pawn' in your games. Rumours of your dubious mental
state were commonplace, but the incident on ArrMon brought you into the public
gaze, and the entire human civilised universe decried you as the most evil
being ever to live. The generals were not prepared to accept the blame, and so
ordered you executed in accordance with public opinion. But you still had
friends high up, (after all you did win the war.) So they staged your
execution and set you up with a false identity in the remotest corner of the
remotest planet in the universe. And thus ended your military career.

   But then in January 2903, you received a phone call. `I know who you are.'
rasped the voice. For a second your skin crawled in terror. But the voice
continued `Want a job?' It was a man who you were only to know as The Boss,
and he told you of his plans for an Intergalatic mercenary service that would
act as a private army for any with cash to spend. He was the General - he
needed a Strategist. In this organisation, you would be second only to him,
and he promised riches beyond your wildest dreams - this army was to be the
elite of the elite.

   What could you say but `yes'? You missed your little chess games.

   **  Hard Drive Installation  **

   The game will work fine off a hard drive. Just drag the IntMercs
directory from the disk to wherever you want it on your hard drive.

   **  The Main Menu  **

   This is the screen that will greet you when you load the game. It contains
the following options.

      1: NUMBER OF PLAYERS

   Selecting this will toggle the number of players between 1 and 2.

      2: LOAD SCENARIO

   Selecting this will bring up a list of available scenarios  scenarios . You must
   have already selected a commander (option 4) for this to work.

      3: LOAD SAVED SCENARIO

   Selecting this allows you to load any previously saved games.

      4: LOAD / SAVE / NEW GAME STATUS

   This allows you to create a commander to play the scenarios with.
   If you have no commanders saved or wish to make a new one, you must
   choose the new game option of the submenu. This will allow you to
   choose the name of your commander - to adjust first name and surname
   just click on the name and enter a new one.

      5: PLAY SCENARIO

   Once you have loaded a commander and scenario, this option takes you
   to the game proper.

      6: RETURN TO WORKBENCH

   This option quits the game and returns to Workbench. You can also quit
   the game at any time by pressing Ctrl-C but it is best to quit this
   way as the program will remove any assigns it makes.

   **  Scenarios  **

   This game consists of many different scenarios, four of which are included
in this unregistered version. Each scenario has a difficulty rating, which
your commander's level must be equal to for you to attempt the mission. In a
two player game, you can play any mission of equal or lesser difficulty to
your commanders level. In two player mode your commanders will not gain any
points for successful missions. In one player mode you may only play missions
of equal difficulty to your commanders level. Usually there will only be one,
but on some levels you may have to make a choice. Once a scenario is completed
successfully, your commander will increase a level. It is advisable to save
your commander after every level increase as failure may mean the end of the
game. However, on some non-essential missions even failure will mean advancing
a level.

   How well your commander is doing is reflected in the `success ratio' given
after each mission. It does not reflect your success in the missions, but how
many men have died achieving them. To get 1% is nigh on impossible but >8%
is a good score to aim for. Success ratio includes EVERY mission played.

   Scenarios may be completed in a variety of different ways. How a particular
mission is to be completed is detailed in the briefing screen which is shown
while the scenario is loading.

   (NOTE FOR NTSC USERS: The briefing screen will be bigger than you can view
on your TV. To view the rest, wait until disk access stops and move the mouse
pointer to the bottom of the screen, and it will scroll upwards. Sorry about
this!)

   After each mission, the Boss will send you a memo saying how he thinks you
fared.

   **  Control Method  **

   The game itself is controlled by a combination of mouse and keyboard. The
mouse is used to move the cursor around the map. If the cursor is moved to the
very edge of any side, the map will scroll in that direction. The terrain type
of the square under the cursor is displayed on the right hand side of the
screen. Also, if the square is over a unit, that units name and statistics are
displayed. The `M' key displays a map of the entire area.

   If that unit is one of yours, it can be selected by pressing the left mouse
button while the cursor is over it. Deselection is done in the same way. To
move the unit, move the cursor to the desired destination and press the left
mouse button. Assuming there is a clear path to the destination and the unit
has enough action points, the unit will move to that square.
If the square contains some unpassable terrain or enemy unit(eg a rock or
door), your unit will attack it. For these attacks to have any real
effectiveness the unit should be carrying a close range weapon, such as a
knife.

   If your selected unit is holding an object, it can be thrown by pressing
`T'. This changes the cursor shape. The player then selects the square that
the object is to be thrown to. Unlike firing weapons, it does not matter about
intervening objects. To cancel throw mode, either click on the unit itself or
press the right-hand mouse button. The distance an object can be thrown
depends on a units strength.

   Use mode is selected by pressing `U'. This operates similar to throw mode,
and is disabled in the same way. However, the unit need not be holding an
object - if not (or the held object is inappropriate), bare hands are used.
The player selects the square to operate on. It must be adjacent to the unit
concerned. Also, if the unit is holding a timed explosive device, this will
set the timer. The timer will not start to run down until the bomb is
dropped.

   Although only one object at a time is being `held', up to ten objects can
be carried by your units. To change the active object, go to the inventory
screen by pressing `I'. To drop an object, press `D' and to pick one up, press
`P' (your unit must have hands for these options.)

   If the unit is holding a projectile weapon, targeting mode is toggled by
pressing the right-hand mouse button or `F'. These changes the display into
one that shows only objects that will obstruct the path of a shot, and the
cursor changes to a cross-hair. To fire a shot, select your target and press
the left mouse button. There are two types of shot - aimed and quick. Aimed is
more accurate, but takes up more action points. The relevant probablities of
accuracy (and ammunition state) are shown on the screen. Shot type is changed
by pressing the space bar. Note that the chance of the shot hitting the target
depends a great deal on the firing units' skill.

   The `N' key centres on and selects the next unused unit for any turn.

   After you have made all your moves, the `X' key ends your turn.

   **  Weaponry  **

   The weapons in I.M. fall into general types:

PROJECTILE WEAPONS:
   Examples of these are any sort of gun, rocket launcher or crossbow.
   These are fired via targetting mode.

GRENADES:
   These are thrown and explode when they hit the ground.

PRIMED EXPLOSIVES:
   These are primed to explode after a certain number of turns. The timer
   only begins to run down after the explosive is dropped, so they can be
   primed first then carried to the destination. Once dropped they cannot
   be picked up again.

CLOSE RANGE WEAPONS:
   Examples of these are swords and knives. They are used by moving into
   the enemy unit or terrain you want destroyed.




 This game is shareware. The unregistered version is not disabled in any way,
however it only contains four scenarios. If you like this game and play it a
lot, register by sending £5 (sterling UKP) or equivalent and blank disk to:

            D. O'Cuinn
            2 Knockamell Park,
            Armagh,
            N.Ireland.
            BT61 7HJ.

and I will send you the rest of the scenarios in the story of the
Intergalactic Mercenaries, as well as the latest version of the game. Coming
up in the rest of the scenarios:

   * Robbery!
   * Hijacking!
   * Assassination!
   * New weapons!
   * Police shoot outs!
   * NUCLEAR BOMBS!!
   * The destruction of entire planets!
   * Treachery!
   * What The Boss is really up to...
                      ------

Also, if you have any comments, suggestions or bug reports send them to the
above or alternatively e-mail me at [e-mail]

DISCLAIMER
This software is provided "as-is" and I take no responsibility for any
data/equipment loss it causes.

   **  History and technical info  **

   This program was written with AMOS professional, and compiled with the AMOS
Professional Compiler. The original program was 2152 lines long. Additional
programs used were DPaintIV, Imagine and SceneGenerator. Apologies for the
graphics, I sure as hell ain't no artist! If anyone feels like submitting any
of theirs instead, why not send them to me? It could only be an improvement.

   I think I.M. will run on 1Mb machines. If someone could check
tell me, I'd be grateful. It may run a bit slow on base A500/600s, and also
blindingly fast on top-end systems. If it runs too fast to play, will
someone tell me and I'll write in slow-down routines.


   V1.0 :      Completed 17 June 1995
               First released version - file length 238648 bytes.

   V1.2 :      Compiled 27 June 1996
               Bugs fixed, AI improved.