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- GodGame
-
- ©1989, by John Willoughby
-
-
-
- Ever want to be a god? Well now, in a small way, you can be.
-
- The GodGame allows 1 - 4 players to create a small planet and to
- populate it with their chosen peoples. Each player designs his own
- race, choosing its prowess, home terrain, and giving it special abilities
- (such as Magic, Technology, Flight, etc). The more powerful a race is,
- however, the more Mana (power) it drains from its creator and the
- slower it reproduces. Once the world is built and populated, the fun
- begins! Now, in the tradition of all the greatest legends, the gods
- assist their people towards world domination. Of course, a god may
- afflict the people of another god with plagues or other disasters as
- well as shielding his own people. Every action that a god takes,
- however, drains him or her of vital Mana. Without Mana, a god is
- helpless to influence events or other gods. Eventually, when all gods
- are out of Mana, the (surviving) races must compete, relying only on
- their innate abilities.
-
-
-
- Starting the Game: Double-click on the GodGame icon, or on any of
- the saved-game icons. When you are asked to select the number of
- players, you should bear in mind that the number of players is the
- number of races created as well. Each player will be asked to input
- the name of his deity. After this, each god may design his/her people.
-
-
-
- Designing a Race: First, the god must name his race. Next, he must
- select a prowess for the race. The prowess of a race is an indication
- of its strength in conflict with another race. As the prowess goes up,
- the Mana cost of the race goes up and the reproductive rate goes
- down. A Home Terrain for the race must be selected. This is the
- terrain that the race is most comfortable in, and in which its strength
- is maximized. There is no Mana cost for any choice of Home Terrain.
- Finally, Special Abilities may be purchased. These have the following
- effects:
-
- • Flight - The race is stronger in conflict. In addition, the race may
-
- move up to 3 spaces in a turn, rather than one. Cost: 25.
-
- • Rider - This represents either the habitual use of steeds, or a four
- legged race (e.g. Centaurs). The race is somewhat stronger in
- combat, and may move 2 spaces in a turn. Cost: 15.
-
- • Magical - The race receives a bonus to its prowess equal to a
- fraction of its god's power. Thus, as the god loses strength, the
-
- bonus that his people receive dwindles. Cost: 25.
-
- • Technological - The race starts with no bonus to its prowess. As
-
- time advances, however, the bonus increases, potentially without
-
- limit. Cost: 25.
-
- • Builder - The race is more likely to build cities. Cities increase the
-
- likelihood that a given population will reproduce. They also give
-
- bonuses in combat, but do not move and are more susceptable to
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- plague. Cost: 15.
-
- • Vicious - This is the ability that made Orcs so popular. A vicious
-
- race is more likely to engage in conflict, and receives a combat
-
- advantage. Vicious races do not build cities, however. This makes
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- Builder a particularly foolish feature to acquire with Vicious.
-
-
-
- Building a World: When the game opens the world is covered with
- ocean. Each player may, in turn, select from the palette and click on
- the world. The palette choices are: Raise Land, Lower Land, Heat, Cold,
- Forest, Swamp, Desert and Plague. Plague is pointless to use before
- the world is populated. The choices are reasonably self-explanatory,
- except for the notes below. A god may pass his turn by clicking on the
- message box at the bottom of the screen.
-
- As land is raised above the sea, it becomes Plains, then Hills, and
- finally Mountains. If the Mountains are high enough, they are covered
- with Ice (this is more likely in the North). Heat raises world
- temperatures (You may notice trees turning into palms). It also melts
- some polar ice and raises sea level. You may drown coastal areas, and
- cause Hills to drop to sea level and become Plains, or cause Mountains
- to become Hills. Conversely, Cold locks water up in the polar ice and
- lowers the sea level. Glaciers may well extend towards the equator
- from the poles, and come down from high mountains. Swamp will not
- appear in areas that are too cold.
-
-
-
- Populating the World: The world may not be populated until a
- certain amount of Mana has been spent. The Game menu "Place Life"
- will not allow you to place your mortals before then. When they are
- placed, you must click the mouse on the square you want your people
- in. Then regular turns begin. On his turn a god may either use a
- palette tool on the world or pass (by clicking on the message box).
- Divine powers are much more costly in Mana to use after peoples are
- placed. If another god uses a power close to your people, your people
- will cry out to you for mercy. If you grant it, you will lose as much
- Mana as the power cost to use (as will the user) and nothing will
- happen. Of course, you can always decline to intervene.
-
- When the last player has taken his turn, the mortals on the map
- move (perhaps by sea), fight, and breed. Forests may expand, or
- decline. Then the first player (if he has any Mana) may start another
- round.
-
- The "Do Life" option on the game menu is the most interesting
- feature of the game. If selected, the mortals will continue to move
- and struggle without the intervention of the gods until stopped by the
- "Stop Life" option (you may have to hold down the mouse button for a
- while to get the menu). This gives a kind of animation effect.
-
- Play will continue until all of the gods are without Mana. The
- mortals will then enter into the "Do Life" animation until the game is
- quit. The gods are dead.
-
-
-
- Some hints: Do not place Technological races in a central location.
- They need time before they can compete.
-
- You can still use any power as long as you have any Mana left. This
- allows a "dying blow" by a god with only a few points left.
-
- Use Plague in densely populated regions, but beware! Plague can
- spread over the entire map, and could kill members of your race.
-
-
-
- Finally: This Game is shareware. If you keep it, please send $2.00 to
-
- John Willoughby
-
- 2001 Columbia Pike, #508
-
- Arlington, Virginia, 22204
-
-
-
- If you do not keep it, pass it along to a friend or erase it. Remember,
-
- the True Gods are watching you and the Mana is not all gone yet.
-
-