Games Encyclopedia/gamesencyclopedia1995.iso/powers/bbm0030/army.doc

Text File | 1989-02-09 | 10KB | 183 lines

ARMY, Version 1.2  February, 1989
Copyright, 1989, by
Dwain Goforth, 1260 Sunset Ave., Arcata, California, 95521  [phone]

ARMY is a strategy board game for two players and requires a 640 x 480 VGA
adapter and a mouse.

The following files are required to run ARMY and must be together on the
default directory:
     ARMY.EXE  -  the program
     ARMY.BD1  -  four...
     ARMY.BD2  -  parts...
     ARMY.BD3  -  of...
     ARMY.BD4  -  board.
     ARMY.BLD  -  pieces, dice, etc...

The object of the game is to defeat the opposing captain while protecting your
captain from attack ("capture the flag".)  There are four kinds of pieces, a
board with various kinds of terrain and two rafts which can be used to cross
the lake.

Each turn consists of the play of four dice.  For each die, a piece can either
move or fight.  Movement is limited by the die value, the movement power of
the piece, and the terrain that will be crossed.  Fighting is limited by the
the die value and the fighting power of the attacker versus the defender's die
value and fight power.

If the players wish to end the game before a captain is defeated they may quit
via the <F9> key (which often must be followed by hitting any other key or
mouse button.)

It's pretty much that simple, move or fight for four pieces per turn, so the
novice can learn to play instantly.

The game does, however, have a lot of rules - which the computer sees to it
are enforced.  The following is a summary of the pieces, terrain and rules:

-----   GAME PIECES   -----

Captain   -    The piece shaped like a tent (either blue for the west team or
               red for the east team) is your captain which you must protect
               at the cost of the game.  It is limited to a move of 1 (for a
               move die of 1) or 2 (for a move die of 2 to 6).  It has a
               fighting power of 1.75 times the die making it the strongest
               piece.  The captain can fight with impunity against any other
               piece except the other captain; that is all fights INITIATED by
               a captain end in victory for the captain or a draw.  The
               captain's attack range is 2 spaces but unlike all the other
               pieces can only be attacked from an adjoining space.  Because
               of this, your captain is completely protected if it is
               surrounded by your men, water or walls (but see artillary and
               and walls).  Captains cannot cross water either to move or
               fight (they don't want to get their boots muddy) but they can
               use the bridges or ride the rafts.

Artillary -    The cannons are second in fighting power (1.5 times the die) and
               can attack from within four spaces.  There are five each to
               start with.  Artillary have the unique ability to destroy walls
               by using a six die to fight against a wall (only a six will
               work).  After the wall is destroyed the pieces are free to move
               or fight through it.  While powerful, they are the slowest of
               the main pieces, having a move ability of only .75 of the die
               value.  They cannot cross water (they would rust) but can use
               the bridges and rafts.  They can, however, fight across water
               (cannonballs fly through the air, right?)

Calvary   -    The horsemen have a move ability of 1.25 times the die value so
               they are the fastest pieces.  They can cross water (if the far
               shore is within range) but the water will slow them down to
               just reaching the far shore no matter if the die value is
               greater.  Their fighting power is 1.25 times the die and they
               can attack within three spaces.  Fighting across water will
               reduce their fight power by one.  Each player starts with ten.

Infantry  -    The foot soldiers take the brunt of the fighting and are often
               called on for suicide missions (just like real life.)  They
               have a fight power of one and a move ability of one times the
               die.  They only have an attack range of one so they cannot
               fight across water but can move across water with the same
               restrictions as calvary.  Each player starts with 15.


-----   TERRAIN   -----

Plains    -    These two areas allow moves at the regular one times the move
 and           value.  Roads are simply fast paths through the forest; where
Roads          there is no forest, there is no difference between roads and
               plains.  Do be aware of the subtle turns in the roads as you
               may not find out you landed in forest until it is too late.
               Bridges are the same as roads but be aware they were designed
               to slow down galloping horses.  (The hummocky areas next to the
               rivers are in fact plains, and the hummocks are used to show
               they are different from adjoining forest.)

Forest    -    Rate of movement in the forest areas is 1/2 times normal, but
               only when you STARTED on forest.  That means crossing forest
               from a start on road or plains still gives the move ability of
               road/plains.

Water     -    The rivers and lake on the board are barriers to captains and
               artillary (except for bridges and rafts).  No piece can land on
               water but calvary and infantry may be able to cross it.  Water
               slows down travel and weakens the fighting power of calvary.

Walls     -    Walls are barriers to all pieces, but can be broken down by
               artillary fighting them with a six die.  No piece can fight
               across a wall, no matter the normal range.

Rafts     -    The two rafts provide quick transport across the lake.  All you
               have to do is move to them and you will be on your merry way.
               Note that the raft will stay on the other side until you get
               off and you or your opponant again moves back on to them.
               Moving from a raft is 1/2 times normal (same as forest.)

--------------------
When you fight, the computer will role the opponents defense die, announce the
winner and display the score.  A little practice with the scoring will give
you a feel for fighting ability.

No piece can move past an enemy piece if the path (determined by the computer
of course) would land on the location of the enemy piece.

Also, captains and calvary cannot fight a piece if the path to that piece is
blocked by an enemy piece.  This is not true for artillary because cannonballs
fly through the air, remember?  Infantry can fight only one square away,
anyway.

You are usually given the option to back out of a move or fight by hitting the
"Q" key for quit.  The exception to this is that once you have chosen a die
you must use it.

Reinforcements - After the game has progressed you may occasionally receive
reinforcements arriving near where your pieces started (west or east roads.)

Well that's about it.  Don't forget that the <F9> key is the quit key and that
you may need to hit a mouse or other key after the <F9>.  And don't forget that
you must be right next to a captain to fight it.

In order to maximize speed, there is no error catching implemented. The
program runs clean (ha ha, famous last words) so the only errors you should
get are for not having a VGA and mouse installed or configured, or not having
one of the required files on the default directory.  I would very much like to
hear from anyone that finds bugs.  Please jot down and send to me any error
messages (especially addresses) and other pertinant details and I will do my
best to reward you.

* A Caveat *   Since the computer is calculating your route of travel across
the board you may find that some moves that look ok will be denied.  All I can
say is you can't argue with the umpire.  However, I can give the umpire a
lobotomy so forward your suggestions.

* Disclaimer *  This game was written by a pacifist.  Any references to real
armies, guns, bullets, and killing is purely coincidental to the goal of
producing a fun game.  While one person can play ARMY it is much more fun with
two real live humans.  My six-year old loves to ride the rafts and shoot
cannons at walls.  I think games should be social, most computer arcade games
leave me dry.

* Sales Pitch *  This game is not free, it has already cost me grey hairs and
probably future cataracts and brain damage.  As Shareware, ARMY is copyrighted
by myself, Dwain Goforth, 1989, and you are licensed to use and distribute it
(please, no modifications.)  No fee whatsoever may be charged for its distri-
bution (including copying, handling, postage, etc., etc...), without my
permission.

I am asking $20 for registration (I know it's alot for a game.)  Registrants
will receive the latest version of the program as well as free trials and
discounts when significant new versions are created.  If you can't afford $20
send what you can and I'll be happy anyway.

With your support I will pursue better sound, the computer as opponent, saving
games in the middle for later retrieval, and the ability to load different
boards and layouts.  I would especially appreciate comments and suggestions
concerning likes and dislikes about ARMY.

Have fun...
Sincerely,

Dwain Goforth
1260 Sunset Ave.
Arcata, California  95521
[phone]