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Precision Software Appli…tions Silver Collection 1
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HOWITZER.TXT
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HOWITZER
Version 0.90beta
by Randall Spangler (rspangle@micro.caltech.edu)
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Shareware Concept and Registration 1
1.2 Distributing Howitzer 2
1.3 Contacting the Author (please do!) 3
1.4 Disclaimer and Warranty: 3
1.5 About the Code 4
2. How to play 4
2.1 Flow of Play 5
2.2 The System Screen 6
2.3 The Aiming Screen 7
2.4 The Marketplace 9
2.5 The Popup System Menu 10
3. Equipment Reference 11
3.1 Ammunition 11
3.2 Fuses 13
3.3 Guidance Systems 14
3.4 Fall Protection 14
3.5 Shields 15
3.6 Tank Modifications 15
4. System Settings and Command Line Options 16
4.1 Beginner Settings Menu Options 16
4.2 Expert Settings Menu Options 17
4.2 Command Line Options 24
5. Computer Opponents 25
6. Game Mechanics 26
6.1 Bullets: 26
6.2 Damage: 26
6.3 Scoring and Money: 27
7. Howitzer and Memory 27
7.1 Memory Basics: 28
7.2 Conventional Memory Consumption 28
7.3 Expanded Memory Consumption 29
7.4 Examples 29
8. Howitzer and Microsoft Windows 30
9. Troubleshooting Howitzer 30
1. Introduction
Howitzer is one of a style of games known as "artillery" or "tank war"
games. Tanks on a 2-D landscape lob shells at each other; the goal is to
be the last tank alive. Tanks can be controlled by humans or the computer.
Howitzer has many exciting features, including:
* Higher resolution - Howitzer runs in 800x600x256 Super-VGA graphics on
most common video cards.
* Support for Adlib and Soundblaster compatible sound cards.
* Pop-up help - Alt+H from any screen brings up a help window.
* More realistic terrain and background, which generate in advance while
the program waits for input
* Over 60 types of ammunition, shields, guidance, etc. - including tank
modifications such as armor, different bodies, and improved barrels
and turrets.
* All bullets and explosions are resolved simultaneously, instead of one
bullet at a time. (Yes, this means that bullets actually move AT THE
SAME TIME explosions are happening.)
* 32-bit fixed point math, for quick and accurate modeling without a
math coprocessor.
* Six types of computer opponents
* A beginner mode which removes some of the more complicated controls
and equipment
In order to provide this, Howitzer requires the following hardware:
* At least a 386-based machine
* A video card capable of displaying 800x600x256
* 432 KB of free memory (though you can get by with less if you have
enough expanded memory- see Howitzer and Memory, section 7)
Howitzer will run better with the following:
* A two or three button mouse, with its driver already installed
* A 486-based or Pentium-based machine
* 540 KB or more free conventional memory
* 2048 KB or more of expanded memory
1.1 Shareware Concept and Registration
Howitzer is shareware, and has never been "public domain" or "free"
software. The Howitzer source, executable, and documentation are
Copyrighted 1993 by Randall Spangler. You are allowed a two-week trial
period to determine if Howitzer is worth the registration fee. At the end
of those two weeks, you must either register Howitzer or stop using it.
Registering Howitzer entitles you to the following benefits:
* A personalized copy of the game, without the shareware screen
* A more detailed manual, with information on how to access several
"cheat" features, including infinite ammunition and the ability to set
your own prices for equipment (manual available in PostScript or ASCII
text)
* Notification of updates via E-mail
* Automatic registration of all (not just beta) future versions of
Howitzer - you will be supplied a datafile which will remove the
shareware screen and enable the cheat features of all future versions
of Howitzer.
* Support direct from the author via E-mail
* A clean conscience
Depending on your status, you can register Howitzer in one of three
ways:
STANDARD REGISTRATION:
I believe that the shareware concept works most effectively when
the registration fee is reasonable. To support this idea, the
registration fee for Howitzer is only ten dollars ($10). This
entitles you to the above benefits, and I will mail your copy of the
game to you on a 5.25" DS/DD disk via US mail (to addresses in the US
only).
STUDENT REGISTRATION:
If you are a full-time student, you can register Howitzer for
only five dollars ($5). I'm a starving graduate student too; I
understand the financial difficulties many students face. This
entitles you to the above benefits, and I will E-mail your copy of the
game to you instead of mailing you a disk.
FOREIGN REGISTRATION:
If you live outside of the US and do not have a US mailing
address, you are eligible for foreign registration. This is mostly
because I have no idea how much it costs to mail to addresses outside
of the US. Instead of money, send me a postcard from your country,
and I'll E-mail your copy of the game to you. (If you want me to mail
you a disk, contact me and we'll work out a reasonable registration
fee which will cover my postage costs.) Please send me a filled out
register.frm via e-mail if you don't enclose it with the postcard.
All registration fees should be in the form of a check or money order
in US currency. Do not send me cash; I cannot be responsible if it is lost
or stolen in the mail. Please print out and fill in the supplied
registration form (register.frm). Mail it and your registration fee, or
(for foreign registration only) a postcard to me at:
Randall Spangler
Caltech 116-81
Pasadena, CA 91125
These registration offers will remain in effect until September 1st,
1993. After that date, I reserve the right to change the registration
offers and costs. If you want to register Howitzer after that date, please
contact me for updated prices.
1.2 Distributing Howitzer
You may copy and distribute this shareware version of Howitzer via any
means, electronic or disk, subject to the following conditions:
* The shareware version of Howitzer may not be rented or sold, nor
bundled with a product that is sold or offered as an incentive to buy
a product that is sold, without the prior written permission of the
author. Such permission is usually granted.
* Howitzer must be distributed with all files intact with no
modifications. You may repack the archive into a different format
(ZIP, ZOO, ARJ, etc.) so long as all the original files contained in
the archive are intact.
If you maintain a BBS or ftp site and wish to offer Howitzer for
downloading, please contact me. This allows you to be informed of updates
to Howitzer as they are released. It also allows me to let other people
know where to find updated versions.
If you are unable to find Howitzer on an ftp site or BBS, you may
obtain the most recent shareware version by sending me a check for five
dollars ($5). I will then mail the program to any US address on a DS/DD
5.25" disk. If you live outside the US, it may cost more to mail a disk to
you - contact me for information.
1.3 Contacting the Author (please do!)
Please contact me if you have any comments about Howitzer, suggestions
for features I could add, bug reports (bugs? what bugs?), etc. I can be
reached via E-mail (the fastest) or snail mail (the slowest).
E-mail: rspangle@micro.caltech.edu
US mail: Randy Spangler
Caltech 116-81
Pasadena, CA 91125
If you find a bug or undocumented feature, the following information
will aid me in tracking down and squashing it (or at least documenting it):
* What version of Howitzer you are using
* A description of what happened.
* The howitzer.log file
* What type of system, video card, and mouse you have
* What operating system you were running (DOS, OS/2, Windows) and what
version
1.4 Disclaimer and Warranty:
Howitzer is currently in beta-test. On my machine, it rarely crashes.
However, that doesn't mean that it won't crash and melt down your computer
and hard drive and everything else of value within ten meters of it when it
goes. In particular, I don't recommend that you run Howitzer with anything
of value (such as unsaved 100-page documents in a word processor) running
in the background Microsoft Windows. In any case, I take no responsibility
for any damages of any kind resulting in any way (indirect, consequential,
special, whatever) from your use of this software.
Howitzer makes a reasonable attempt to make sure its executable has
not been modified or contaminated by a virus. However, I make no
guarantees that the copy of Howitzer you are running has not been modified
or virused in a way which Howitzer cannot detect. If you think you may
have received a modified or 'hacked' version of Howitzer, please contact me
immediately.
LIMITED WARRANTY:
Howitzer is provided on an "as is" basis without warranty of any kind,
expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties
of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Use this program
at your own risk.
1.5 About the Code
Howitzer is over 23,000 lines of C code (watch it grow!), and has
taken me eight months and hundreds of hours to write. Howitzer uses a 32-
bit fixed point math library written by the author to calculate bullet
trajectories; this alleviates the need for a math coprocessor. In addition
to my code, Howitzer makes use of code and/or object modules from the
following authors:
EMSIF expanded memory interface by James W. Birdsall (support@picarefy.com)
256-color SVGA BGI module by Jordan Hargrave (jh5y@andrew.cmu.edu)
CRCSET routines by Kevin Dean (Compu$erve ID 76336,3114)
All of these modules are used under the terms of their license
agreements, and those portions of code are copyrighted by their respective
authors.
2. How to play
Type howitzer from the DOS prompt. The program will check itself to
make sure it has not been modified or corrupted, and then it will display a
shareware reminder message. If you agree to the terms of the message,
press 'U'. Howitzer will display a nifty animated title screen. If you
haven't run Howitzer before, it will display some message boxes as it
configures itself for your system. You will then be placed in the System
Screen (see section 2.2). Howitzer accepts a number of command-line
options which modify its memory usage and the types of information stored
to its logfile (see section 4.2).
Howitzer utilizes a menuing system written by the author, consisting
of buttons and menus. A button is a single line of text with a box around
it. To activate the function of a button, click on the button with the
mouse or press the letter which is a different color than the rest of the
button text. To select a menu item, click on the item with the mouse. You
can press the Escape key or click somewhere other than on the menu if you
didn't really want to select anything on the menu. Throughout this manual,
"clicking" means moving the mouse cursor on top of something and pushing
the mouse button. "Pressing" refers to a key on your keyboard.
Several keyboard commands work from almost anywhere in the game.
Alt+H or F1 brings up Popup Help for the current screen. Alt+Z brings up
the Popup System Menu (see section 2.5). Alt+W saves the screen, so you
can switch to another application if you are running Microsoft Windows.
Alt+R redraws the screen. Alt+X or Alt+F4 exits immediately to DOS.
(However, you will be asked to confirm that you really want to exit - this
way you don't lose your game if you accidentally hit Alt+X during play. If
you really want to exit, press 'Y' or the space bar - anything else will
return you to the game.)
Howitzer's user interface is designed to be easy and intuitive to use
with a mouse. However, this means that Howitzer is a little painful to use
without a mouse. If you don't have a mouse, Howitzer simulates the mouse
using the numeric keypad and the Ctrl (control) key. Note that for this
purpose the numbers on the numeric keypad are NOT the same as the numbers
above the top row of letters on your keyboard.
_______________
| |
| 7 8 9 | Ctrl + 7,8,9,4,6,1,2,3 move cursor
| \ | / |
| \|/ | Ctrl + 5 toggles fast/slow cursor speed
| 4--+--6 |
| /|\ | Ctrl + 0 clicks left button
| / | \ |
| 1 2 3 | Ctrl + . clicks right button
|_______________|
| | |
| L='0' |R='.'|
| | |
|_________|_____|
2.1 Flow of Play
The following flowchart shows the order of events in a game of
Howitzer:
You type HOWITZER from the DOS prompt
|
Howitzer checks itself for viruses and prints a shareware message
|
Animated title screen
|
System Screen - set options for a game
^ |
| (start of a round)
| Allow tanks with money to buy equipment at the Marketplace
| ^ |
| | If next screen hasn't generated in advance, do it now
| | |
| | (start of a turn)
| | Allow all tanks to aim at targets (Aiming Screen)
| | ^ |
| | | Fire all bullets simultaneously (Resolve combat...)
| | | |
| | | Landslide dirt, drop tanks (Update landscape...)
| | | |
| | -- If more than one tank is alive
| | If not, pop up current scores
| | |
| -------- If game has rounds left to play
-------------- If game is finished
Each game consists of up to 100 rounds (you can set the exact number
at the system screen). Each round can have up to 200 turns (you can also
set this number); this is limited so that computer players won't tie up the
game if they finish off the humans and then can't seem to kill each other.
Rounds that run out of turns are declared stalemates, meaning that no tank
wins them. Of course, you can always pop up the system menu with Alt+Z and
end the round or game (see section 2.5).
2.2 The System Screen
This is the first screen you see when you start the game. It allows
you to set various parameters before game play. The "Save settings" button
writes all the currently visible settings to howitzer.ini. Settings stored
in howitzer.ini are automatically loaded on startup unless Howitzer is
started with the -N option. Settings can be reloaded from howitzer.ini
with the "Load settings" button. If you delete howitzer.ini, Howitzer will
run with its built-in default settings, and create another howitzer.ini
using these default settings.
To start playing a new game, click on the "Start game" button, or
press 'G' or the spacebar. Clicking on the "Exit to DOS" button or
pressing 'X' exits Howitzer and returns you to the DOS prompt.
If Beginner mode is ON, some of the more complicated settings and
equipment will not appear. This is a good setting if you've never played
Howitzer before. However, after a few games you'll probably want to turn
beginner mode OFF and play with the more advanced features.
The menu to the left side of the screen is the System Settings Menu.
This controls many of the game's options. Clicking on a line with the left
or right buttons of the mouse increments or decrements a value,
respectively. If you decrement past the minimum allowed value, it will
wrap around to the maximum allowed value. All these settings are saved in
the howitzer.ini file if you click on the "Save settings" button. This
menu is different for beginner and expert modes (see sections 4.1 and 4.2).
The expert menu has sub-menus, which are indicated by an arrow on the right
side of a menu entry. Clicking on that entry pops up the SUB-MENU. To
dismiss the SUB-MENU, click somewhere other than on the SUB-MENU.
The menu on the right side of the screen is the Tank Menu. This
displays the names of the tanks and what type of opponent they are (see
Computer Opponents, section 5). Clicking on the name of a tank brings up
an input box where you can type a new name for the tank. Right or left
clicking on the opponent type toggles the type of opponent controlling the
tank.
If you change the environment you run under (for example, if you run
Howitzer on a friend's 486/66 instead of your 386/20) you should click on
"Calculate Delays." This allows Howitzer to determine appropriate delays
for your computer so that bullets move at an even speed. What you will see
is two sets of bullets dropping from the top of the screen. After the
calculation finishes, you will be returned to the System Screen. At this
point, click the "Save Settings" button to save the delay values to
howitzer.ini. (If you don't, the settings will be lost when you exit
Howitzer.) You should also recalculate the delays if you change the values
for Bullet Shapes or Bullet Traces (see section 9).
Keyboard commands for System Screen:
S Save current settings to howitzer.ini
L Load stored settings from howitzer.ini
G, Spacebar Start new game with current settings
D Recalculate delays
X, Alt+X Exit to DOS
H, Alt+H Pop up help on the Marketplace
Alt+W Save the screen before switching to Windows
Alt+Z Pop up the system menu (see section 2.5)
2.3 The Aiming Screen
This screen allows you to aim your tank and select what equipment it
will use for the next turn. At the top of the screen is a status bar
showing the name of the tank which is currently being aimed, the current
equipment systems it is using, and how many of each system it has
remaining. This text will change color to that of the current tank. The
status bar also shows the round and turn numbers, current wind speed, and
border type.
There are several ways to change the angle and power settings for the
tank. Clicking the right mouse button on the current power or pressing the
Up Arrow or '8' key will raise the power by one unit. Clicking the left
mouse button on the current power or pressing the Down Arrow or '2' key
will lower the power by one unit. Pressing PageUp or PageDown will change
the power by 10 up or down. Pressing Home will set the tank's power to
maximum, and pressing End will set the power to minimum. The angle can be
changed in one degree increments by clicking on the current angle or by
pressing the '4', '6', Left Arrow, or Right Arrow. Note that the angle can
go down to -10 degrees, so you can fire a little bit downward.
The two bar graphs underneath the status bar show the current power
and angle. The power bar has tick marks every 100 power. If your tank is
damaged, the power bar will have a shaded section at the right above your
new maximum power. Clicking on the power bar will set your power to the
level you clicked. However, the power bar does not have enough resolution
to make fine adjustments in your power setting; for fine adjustments you
may need to use the keyboard commands. The angle bar has tick marks every
15 degrees, and allows you to select your angle by clicking on it.
You can return your tank's angle and power to the way they were when
you started aiming by pressing the 'D' key. This is helpful if you lose
track of where you were aiming.
To fire your tank, click on the "Fire!" button or press the space bar
or Enter key. If you have selected a guidance, fuse, or ammunition type
that requires you to designate a target, a message will appear in the
status bar asking you to click on the target, and the mouse cursor will
change to cross hairs. Then click on the desired target.
Depending on the background type, it may be hard to see your tank
against the sky. If you have problems figuring out where your tank is
aiming, pressing the 'V' key temporarily toggles your tank's color to all
white or all black. Your tank will return to its normal colors when you
finish aiming.
Equipment can be selected in a number of ways. The procedure is the
same for ammo, fuse, and guidance systems, and except where noted is the
same for shield and fall protection. Clicking on the current type (e.g.
High Explosive, Proximity, Homing) will move up or down through the
available types; this is not available for shields or fall protection,
since there isn't enough room on the status line to display their current
types. Pressing the highlighted letter will move down through the list.
Clicking on the equipment system (e.g. Ammo:, Fuse:, Guide:, (Shield),
(FallP) or pressing Alt+(the highlighted letter) will pop up a menu of all
your choices for that system. You can click on the new type that you want
to select; clicking somewhere besides the menu or pressing Escape allows
you to retain the current type.
If you have selected a shield type, you must click on the [E] button
or press 'E' to energize the shield; it will then become visible around
your tank. If you have selected a fall protection, it will automatically
be used when necessary (whenever you fall).
You can click on any tank to see information on it, including who is
controlling it, what its maximum power is, and how much of its shields
remain.
Pressing Alt+R will refresh the screen, clearing all traces from the
sky. This will also fix minor screen glitches.
Keyboard commands for Aiming screen:
8, Up Increase power by one unit
2, Down Decrease power by one unit
PageUp Increase power by 10 units
PageDown Decrease power by 10 units
Home Increase power to maximum
End Decrease power to minimum
4, Left Rotate barrel one degree counter-clockwise
6, Right Rotate barrel one degree clockwise
Spacebar Fire gun
D Return power and elevation to previous settings
V Adjust tank visibility by toggling its color
A Scroll through available ammo types
F Scroll through available fuse types
G Scroll through available guidance types
S Scroll through available shield types
P Scroll through available fall protection types
Alt+A Pop up menu of available ammo types
Alt+F Pop up menu of available fuse types
Alt+G Pop up menu of available guidance types
Alt+S Pop up menu of available shield types
Alt+P Pop up menu of available fall protection types
E Energize current shields
Alt+R Refresh the screen
Alt+W Save the screen before switching to Windows
Alt+H Pop up help on the Aiming Screen
Alt+Z Pop up the system menu (see below)
Alt+X Exit to DOS immediately
2.4 The Marketplace
Before each round, each tank with money is given a chance to buy
equipment at the marketplace. The left side of the screen shows the
current inventory of the tank, divided into a column for ammunition and a
column for everything else. If you have an infinity symbol next to an item
in your inventory, it means that you have more than 99 of that item.
The menu on the right size of the screen displays all the available
items, with a price for a given number of each item. Items must be bought
in groups of the specified size (for example, High Explosive ammo must be
bought 10 at a time, at a cost of $50 per 10 shots). If an item on the
menu is grayed out, you can't afford it.
At the bottom of the screen is a legend, showing the text backgrounds
that correspond to item categories:
Blue Ammunition
Cyan Fuses
Magenta Guidance
Brown Fall Protection
Green Shields
Black Tank Modification
To buy one group of an item, either click on the item, or press the
letter next to the item. Your tank's inventory will then be updated and
its funds reduced. To scroll up or down through the list, press the PageUp
or PageDown key, or click on the UP or DOWN button. Press the spacebar or
click on "Done Buying" when you are finished purchasing supplies for your
tank.
If you buy fall protection, it will automatically be selected for you,
so that the next time you fall it will take effect.
Tank modifications last for the rest of the current game. Buying more
than one of a tank modification gives no additional benefit.
Keyboard commands for Marketplace:
A-Z Buy one lot of the item, if your tank can afford it
PageUp Scroll up through the list of available items
PageDown Scroll down through the list of available items
Spacebar Done buying
Alt+R Refresh the screen
Alt+W Save the screen before switching to Windows
Alt+H Pop up help on the Marketplace
Alt+Z Pop up the system menu (see section 2.5)
Alt+X Exit to DOS immediately
2.5 The Popup System Menu
The system menu can be popped up from any screen by pressing Alt+Z.
Some of the following options may not appear if they wouldn't make sense
(for example, the End [R]ound option doesn't appear if the menu is popped
up from the System Screen, since no round is in progress). An option may
be selected by clicking on it or pressing the letter in brackets.
System [I]nformation
Shows the following information:
* Which version of Howitzer you are running
* The types of data being written to the logfile
* Whether end-of-round scores require a keypress to dismiss
* How much of the ground for next round has been calculated in
advance
* How much of the sky for next round has been calculated in advance
* The amount of event compensation per event and the number of
compensated events
* Whether explosion and flight sounds are on or off
[M]emory Usage
Shows the amount of memory Howitzer found, and how much of it has been
used. If the total free for conventional memory is less than zero, it
means that Howitzer is running low on memory, and could behave
strangely.
[C]urrent Scores
Shows the current wins, kills, and total money earned for each tank.
If you select this option after a game has finished, it will display
the scores from the last game.
Info on a [T]ank
Will ask you to click on a tank. Howitzer will then show you the
tank's name, type, maximum power, and current shields and fall
protection.
Switch to [W]indows
Enables task switching for Microsoft Windows. If you have enough EMS,
Howitzer's screen will be preserved perfectly during the task switch.
This duplicates the Alt+W command. (see section 8)
Refresh [S]creen
Clears all traces from the sky. Also clears up minor screen glitches.
This duplicates the Alt+R command.
End [R]ound
Ends the round in progress. This option only shows up in the Aiming
Screen. No tank will be given credit for winning the round, but all
kills and damage will be credited as usual.
End [G]ame
Ends the current game, and returns to the System Screen.
E[x]it Immediately
Exits to DOS immediately, quitting anything in progress. This
duplicates the Alt+X command.
3. Equipment Reference
This section details all equipment available in the Marketplace.
Equipment types are preceded by a letter, which is the complexity of the
item: [B]eginner, [I]ntermediate, [A]dvanced, or [E]xpert.
3.1 Ammunition
[B] Steel Shot
The cheapest bullet available. Does damage based on its speed at
impact. Usually won't kill a tank in one shot, unless it's fired at
full power.
[B] Tracer
Leaves a visible trail. Does no damage to anything it hits. Not
really useful unless Bullet Traces is set to TRACER ONLY.
[A] DU Penetrator
Does damage based on its speed at impact, but four times more damaging
than steel shot at the same velocity. Since this bullet is so dense,
it can penetrate through much more dirt than other rounds, and can
even shoot through earthen shields.
[B] High Explosive
The default bullet. Creates a small explosion which does moderate
damage to tanks.
[B] Improved HE
An improved high explosive bullet, with a larger explosion.
[B] Fuel-Air
The largest non-nuclear explosive available.
[I] Fission Warhead
Creates a large explosion and subsequent nuclear fireball and/or
mushroom cloud.
[A] Fusion Warhead
The big brother of the fission warhead. Don't use this one near your
own tank.
[A] Flechette
This bullet explodes and releases many small fragments, each
equivalent to a steel shot. Does a good job of draining shields,
since so many bullets hit the shield.
[I] Submunition
Explodes, releasing five small submunitions. Each of these is capable
of destroying a tank.
[A] Thermite
Releases several chunks of burning thermite, which can melt their way
down through ground, concrete, and some shields.
[I] Autocannon
Fires five explosive shells in rapid succession. Each is slightly
less powerful than a high explosive bullet. Autocannon shells can't
be guided.
[A] Autocannon-2
Like the autocannon, but each shell is equal in power to a high
explosive round.
[A] Napalm
When this bullet hits, it releases a stream of flaming liquid, which
flows downhill and is capable of damaging both tanks and shields.
Napalm is not very effective against deflector or earthen shields, but
can cause major damage to other shield types.
[E] Napalm-2
Releases a larger amount of liquid, which burns longer and hotter than
normal napalm.
[E] HEAT
(High Explosive Anti-Tank) This shell contains a shaped explosive
charge which squeezes a copper shell into a super-hot liquid jet
capable of penetrating significant distances into armor or ground.
The effectiveness of the jet decreases as it gets farther from the
initial explosion.
[I] MIRV
(Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles) At the peak of its
trajectory, this bullet releases five warheads. The warheads will not
be guided, even if the bullet is launched with guidance. (Compare to
MARV, below.)
[A] MARV
(MAneuverable Reentry Vehicles) Similar to the MIRV, this bullet
releases three warheads at the peak of its trajectory. These warheads
retain the same guidance type as their "parent" bullet. This is
particularly effective when combined with auto-homing guidance (see
below).
[E] Cruise Missile
This weapon contains its own targeting computer, and is capable of
homing in on its target. This computer is programmed with the terrain
that was present at the time the round was launched, making it capable
of avoiding most obstacles while flying close to the ground. If it
cannot reach its target, it will eventually run out of fuel and cause
no damage. You will be asked to designate a target for the missile.
The missile will not explode in mid-air unless you use some sort of
fuse (see below). Cruise missiles may be confused by dirt hanging in
mid-air (which can happen if the dirt fall percent is set to less than
100 - see section 4.1).
[B] Disruptor
Explodes and destroys all dirt in a moderate radius. The explosion
does no damage to tanks.
[B] Disruptor-2
Same as a disruptor, but removes a larger disc of dirt.
[E] Water Ball
Explodes in a burst of water, which de-stabilizes the surrounding
terrain. This usually causes landslides.
[A] Seismic Blast
Does very little damage, but its loud explosion shakes down any
airborne dirt or unstable slopes.
[I] Termites
Releases several sub-warheads which tunnel through the ground and
destroy dirt.
[A] Termites-2
Same as termites, but there are more warheads and they last longer.
[B] Snowball
Generates a ball of snow where it hits.
[B] Snowball-2
Same as snowball, but bigger.
[I] Snowball-3
Same as snowball, but much bigger.
[A] AutoSnowCannon
Like the autocannon, but fires five small snowballs in rapid
succession. More cute than effective.
[I] Earth Burst
Releases a spray of dirt on impact.
[E] Aerogel
The explosion of this bullet creates a cube of aerogel. This is a
lightweight substance, much less dense than ordinary ground or snow.
Because of this, it slows rounds down less than dirt, but more than
air (see section 6.1).
[A] Slurry
Releases a stream of very runny concrete, which quickly solidifies.
[I] Concrete
Similar to slurry, but much less runny. Tends to generate a nice flat
plateau.
[E] Wall of Glass
Creates a tall, thin wall of glass dense enough to stop most bullets.
However, the wall is quite fragile, and will shatter the first time it
drops or is touched by an explosion. Can be used as a temporary
defense to block incoming shots. (Try stacking walls of glass!)
[E] Liquid Rubber
Similar to slurry, this releases a stream of rubber. Bullets hitting
rubber tend to bounce (although sometimes they will become stuck in
the rubber and explode).
3.2 Fuses
[B] Normal
Normally, a bullet explodes when it hits a tank, or when it slows to a
stop after penetrating some distance into the ground.
[A] Contact
Causes a bullet to explode as soon as it hits the ground. Also causes
it to explode against reflective shields (see below).
[I] Proximity
Causes a bullet to explode when it comes within a fixed distance of a
tank. This is a good way to explode submunition rounds (or nukes)
near targets.
[E] Bounce
The first time a bounce-fused bullet hits the ground, it will reflect
off the ground. Sometimes a round will bounce downhill directly into
an obstacle, so don't always expect to see the bullet fly up into the
air (see Physics, below). Also allows bullets to bounce off of the
SOLID border type.
[E] Altitude
Causes a bullet to explode when it drops below a certain altitude.
The fuse will not detonate the bullet unless it is heading down
(though the bullet will explode against obstacles as normal). You
will be asked to click on a target altitude.
3.3 Guidance Systems
[I] Homing
When the shell gets within a certain range of a target you designate,
it will try and adjust its velocity to bring it closer to the target.
This is most effective when the shell passes close to the target and
is traveling slow enough to allow it time to maneuver. Very effective
when combined with MARV ammunition.
[I] Homing-2
Similar to homing guidance, but with a longer range and more
maneuvering power.
[A] Retard
When the bullet gets above the specified target, it stops. It then
falls, and can be blown by wind. (So if there's significant wind, you
may want to aim upwind of your real target.)
[E] Retard-2
Similar to retard guidance, but compensates for wind so that the
bullet drops straight down.
[A] Auto-Homing
This is similar to homing guidance, but the shell will automatically
home in on the closest tank instead of requiring a specific target to
be selected.
3.4 Fall Protection
[B] None
Normally, if your tank doesn't have enough support underneath it, it
falls and takes damage.
[I] Rocket Brakes
These slow your tank, allowing it to take half damage from falling.
[B] Parachute
Better than rocket brakes, a parachute prevents your tank from taking
any damage when it falls.
[A] Balloon
A balloon will inflate as your tank starts to fall, and allow it to
hang in midair. However, if the balloon is hit by any bullet, it will
pop and drop your tank.
[E] Anti-Grav
The ultimate defense against falling, this allows your tank to hover
in mid-air. The anti-gravity field may affect the landsliding of dirt
beneath the tank (this is a minor effect).
3.5 Shields
All shields must be energized before they do anything (press 'E'
during the aiming phase). You can click on a tank during the aiming phase
to see how much of its shields are left. Shields act only against inbound
rounds (those heading towards the shielded tank). As shields are damaged,
their colors fade.
[B] Deflector
This shield pushes inbound bullets away from your tank. It isn't very
effective against bullets which are traveling very fast.
[A] Phase
Creates a pair of vertical fields. Bullets entering one field pass
out the other without touching anything between the fields.
[I] Earthen
Creates a dome of dense dirt, which acts to slow bullets enough that
they explode. The dirt is regenerated at the beginning of every turn,
until the shields are depleted.
[B] Solid
Creates a dome which explodes all bullets which come into contact with
it. This and all other more expensive shields are redrawn as soon as
they are damaged, so no holes are left for subsequent bullets to fly
through.
[A] Reflect
Any bullets which hit reflective shields bounce off. However, bullets
armed with contact fuses will explode when they hit the shield.
[E] Absorb
Absorbs all bullets which hit the shield, before they can explode.
3.6 Tank Modifications
Buying these allows you to improve your tank. When you buy a
modification, your tank is changed for the rest of the rounds left in the
current game. Buying more than one of a modification does not do anything
(other than waste money) - for example, buying two Armor modifications will
not give you 400 points of armor.
[E] Improved Turret
Allows you to depress your tank's barrel to 20 degrees below
horizontal (instead of just 10).
[E] Improved Barrel
A more efficient design, this gives your shots 25% higher velocity at
the same power. This allows them to cut through more dirt. DU and
steel ammo will do more damage, since the bullets can go faster.
[E] Smaller Body
Makes you harder to hit.
[E] Better Traction
Builds better support under your tank, so that it is less likely to
fall if some of the dirt underneath it is removed.
[E] Backup Generator
If your tank is damaged, this repairs you by 25 power per round. This
will not allow your tank to go above 1000 power, nor will it repair
damaged armor.
[E] Armor
The first 200 damage your tank takes each round will be absorbed by
thicker armor. After that, your tank takes damage normally. You can
click on a tank in the Aiming Screen to see how much armor it has
left. Armor sometimes allows a tank to survive a direct hit.
4. System Settings and Command Line Options
The behavior of Howitzer is controlled through two means: command line
options and the System Settings menu. Command line options take effect as
soon as Howitzer is run, and remain in effect until it is exited. Options
in the System Settings Menu may be changed between games.
There are actually two system settings menus, although only one is
visible at a time. The "Beginner Settings" menu is shown if beginner mode
is turned on; it has only a few options. The "Expert Settings" menu is
shown if beginner mode is turned off, allowing greater customization of
Howitzer.
4.1 Beginner Settings Menu Options
This presents a reduced set of options, so new users of Howitzer won't
get overwhelmed. Options not shown on this menu are set to reasonable
defaults.
Game Length
The number of rounds the next game will last. (Games can be aborted
at any time using the "End [G]ame command of the popup system menu -
see section 2.5.)
Players
The number of players, human or computer, that will participate in
this game. Their names and player type can be set in the tank menu on
the settings screen. Howitzer can handle up to 10 players.
Starting Money
The amount of money each player begins the game with. This allows
stocking up on weapons before the first round of combat.
Background Type
Selects the type of background that will appear behind the terrain.
If you are low on memory, you may want to choose SIMPLE - it isn't as
pretty, but doesn't use any expanded memory. More detailed
descriptions of the other backgrounds are listed in the Expert
Settings Menu Options section.
Ground Type
Selects the type of terrain. In beginner mode, the only difference
between terrain types is that they look different.
Border Type
Determines what happens when a bullet hits one of the playfield
borders. Normally, bullets that go off the top of the screen will
come back down, unless they go too far off one side of the playfield.
Other border types can block bullets or cause them to bounce back onto
the playfield.
Explosion Sounds
Toggles whether explosions make noise or not. This only makes a
difference if you have a sound card installed.
Flight Sounds
Turns sound on for bullets in flight. This can be based on height
(the higher up a bullet, the higher the pitch) or velocity (the faster
the bullet, the higher the pitch).
Bullet Traces
Normally, bullet traces gradually fade into the background. If you
are running low on memory, you may want to set this to TRACER ONLY (in
which case only Tracer ammo leaves traces) or PERMANENT (where all
ammo leaves traces, but the traces don't fade).
4.2 Expert Settings Menu Options
Game Length
The number of rounds the next game will last. (Games can be aborted
at any time using the "End [G]ame command of the popup system menu -
see section 2.5.)
Players
The number of players, human or computer, that will participate in
this game. Their names and player type can be set in the tank menu on
the settings screen. Howitzer can handle up to 10 players.
Auto-Name Tanks
If this is on and you change the opponent type of a tank, the tank's
name will be automatically changed to the opponent type and tank
number ("Human 2", "Chooser 7", etc.) This makes it easier to tell
who's shooting at whom. Of course, you can always click on a tank in
the aiming screen to see what type of opponent is controlling it.
Aiming Order
The order in which tanks aim. Aiming last can be an advantage, since
you know where everyone else is going to fire, and can plan what
you're going to do based on that information. However, if firing
order is SEQUENTIAL, aiming first means that you have a chance to
destroy an enemy tank before it can fire back. Choices are:
FIXED
Tanks always aim in the same order they appear in the Tank Menu
in the System Screen.
RANDOM
Each turn, tanks aim in a random order.
ROTATE
The tank that aimed first the previous turn aims last this turn;
everyone else aims one position sooner.
RICH LAST
Tanks aim in order of money on hand, so poorer tanks will aim
before richer tanks. This makes spending every last penny on
better weapons a slight disadvantage.
WINNER FIRST
Tanks aim in descending order of number of games won. This gives
a slight advantage to the tanks that are losing.
Firing Order
The order in which tanks actually fire their bullets:
SIMULTANEOUS
All tanks aim and select their weapons. They then all fire their
bullets at the same time
IRREGULAR
All tanks aim and select their weapons. Some tanks fire their
bullets a bit before the other tanks, some a bit after, randomly.
SEQUENTIAL
One tank aims and fires. Then the next tank aims and fires.
Firing first is an advantage, since you may be able to destroy an
opponent before he/she even gets a chance to fire back or raise
shields.
Order Scores By
The tank scores list can be ordered in several different ways,
depending on what you think is most important:
NAME
Tank scores are given in the same order the tanks appear in the
Tank Menu in the System Screen.
WINS
Tanks with the most wins are listed first.
KILLS
Tanks with the most kills are listed first.
MONEY
Tanks which have earned the most total money are listed first.
Max. Round Length
The maximum number of turns in a round. If two or more tanks are
alive after this many turns, the round is declared a stalemate and no
one wins it. Although humans don't usually run into this limit,
computer players sometimes seem to take forever to kill each other.
Fast Endgame
Controls what happens when the computer players kill off all the
humans. During a fast endgame (or any other time only computer
players are left), pressing 'X' will end the round.
OFF
Play proceeds normally, until the computer players kill each
other off.
ON
Howitzer will temporarily turn off traces, reduce all delays, and
use point bullets in an attempt to finish the round as soon as
possible. This reduces the waiting between rounds for the
humans.
VERY
The same as ON, but Howitzer makes the bullets invisible too
(since this is slightly faster than displaying them).
Pause at Scores
After every round, the current scores are displayed. If this option
is turned on, Howitzer waits for a keypress or mouse click to
continue. If off, Howitzer will pause for one second and then go on
to the Marketplace or the next round. Howitzer always pauses at the
final scores for a game.
LANDSCAPE OPTIONS SUBMENU:
Background Type
This is the same as the Background Type option in the Beginner
Settings menu.
The type of background that will be displayed. Using any setting
but SIMPLE requires 464 KB of expanded memory. Possibilities for
the background are:
SUNSET
Fades from one color at the top of the screen to another at
the bottom. Colors depend on the ground type (see Ground
Type, below).
GRID
Faint yellow grid over a plain background. Nice for
estimating distances and angles.
STARS
Black background with lots of stars. They don't twinkle
(yet!)
GALAXY
Same as stars, but with the Milky Way in the background.
Added to please my astronomer and astrophysicist friends.
CLOUDS
On Earth or Venus, displays a cloudy sky. On Mars or the
Moon, displays plasma discharges (since we can't have clouds
there, can we?)
RANDOM
Picks a new background type each round - SIMPLE will not be
chosen, since it's not as pretty.
SIMPLE
All one color. Mushroom clouds are not permanent, and will be
obscured by other explosions or bullet traces. If speed is a
problem on your system, simple sky will make things move a
little faster. This is also your only choice if you don't
have any expanded memory.
Ground Type
This is the same as the Ground Type option in the Beginner Settings
menu.
Selects the type of ground for the game. SIMPLE ground is faster
to calculate. If Use Real Gravity (see below) is turned on,
gravity is different for each choice. Choices are:
SIMPLE
Earth-like terrain, with snow, bare rock, and tree-covered
slopes. Not as pretty as EARTH, but faster to calculate.
Gravity is 9.80 m/s.
EARTH
Snow-topped mountains with tree-covered slopes. Gravity is
9.80 m/s.
MARS
Red mountains. Gravity is 3.72 m/s.
MOON
Gray mountains. Gravity is 1.67 m/s. (which is still high
enough that tank bullets can't reach escape velocity)
VENUS
Yellowish-brown mountains. Gravity is 8.62 m/s.
RANDOM
Picks a new ground type each round - SIMPLE will not be
chosen, since it's not as pretty.
Advance Generation
If you have enough expanded memory, Howitzer can generate the
screen for the next round while you're playing the current one.
This setting controls which parts of the next screen are generated
in advance. SIMPLE ground and sky don't need to be generated in
advance, so will ignore this setting.
NOTHING
The screen for the next round will be generated after you
finish this one. This is your only choice if you don't have
any expanded memory.
GROUND ONLY
The ground will be generated in advance. This setting
requires 368 KB of expanded memory.
SKY ONLY
The sky will be generated in advance. This setting requires
464 KB of expanded memory. (This is in addition to the 464 KB
of expanded memory required for detailed skies in the first
place.)
GROUND+SKY
Both the ground and sky will be generated in advance. This
setting requires 832 KB of expanded memory.
Border
This is the same as the Border option in the Beginner Settings
menu.
The type of border that exists at the edges of the playfield.
Possibilities are:
NORMAL
Bullets that go off the top of the screen will come back down,
unless they go too far off the sides of the playfield (see
Border Extends setting, below).
PHASE
Bullets that hit the left side of the screen reappear on the
right side, and vice versa. Bullets that go off the top of
the screen will continue to wrap side-to-side, and will
eventually come back down.
SOLID
Bullets that hit any edge of the screen explode.
REFLECT
Bullets that hit any edge of the screen bounce off, losing no
speed in the process.
ABSORB
Bullets that hit any edge of the screen are absorbed without
exploding.
DECEL
Similar to REFLECT, except that bullets hitting a border lose
speed when they bounce.
ACCEL
Similar to REFLECT, except that bullets hitting a border gain
speed when they bounce. However, if the bullet is moving too
quickly when it hits the border, it will explode rather than
bounce.
RANDOM
At the beginning of a new round, the border type is randomly
picked from the above types.
Playfield Extends
For NORMAL border type, the number of pixels past the sides of the
screen that bullets are allowed to exist. In high winds, this
allows a "hook shot," where the bullet is fired into the wind and
goes off-screen to one side, then is blown back on screen to hit a
target.
Max. Wind
The maximum wind velocity. Bullets are blown downwind more by
higher winds.
Use Real Gravity
If turned on, gravity is different depending on the ground type
(see above). If turned off, gravity is Earth-like (9.80 m/s) for
all ground types.
Air Viscosity
This controls how thick the atmosphere is. A thicker atmosphere
slows down bullets, so they don't go as far. If viscosity is zero,
bullets travel in parabolic paths (this is what you're used to).
Bumpiness
How bumpy the terrain is. Higher numbers make steeper, more
irregular mountains. Lower numbers make gentle slopes.
Max. Stable Slope
The maximum stable slope of ground. If at the end of a turn the
ground has too steep a slope in an area, the dirt will landslide
until the slope reduces to below the maximum value. No matter what
the Bumpiness setting, the initial terrain for any round will be
entirely below maximum slope. (Setting maximum slope to 1 doesn't
make very interesting terrain.)
Dirt Fall Percent
The fraction of time that dirt will fall. If this is set to a low
number, dirt may hang in midair for several turns before finally
falling. Hanging dirt can be shaken down with Seismic Blast ammo
(see section 3.1). Computer players and cruise missiles don't
deal very well with hanging dirt.
EQUIPMENT OPTIONS SUBMENU:
Starting Money
The amount of money each player begins the game with. This allows
stocking up on weapons before the first round of combat.
Unlimited HE Ammo
If turned on, all players have an infinite supply of High Explosive
ammunition. Otherwise, only Steel Shot ammo is unlimited. When
turned off, it can make for more conservative games. Computer
players don't deal well with running out of HE ammo, though.
Marketplace Shows
Selects which items appear on the Available Items menu in the
Marketplace. Choices are:
ALL
Shows every piece of equipment, whether the tank can afford it
or not.
AFFORDABLE
Only shows equipment the tank can afford.
TICKLER
Shows equipment the tank can afford, plus items the tank could
afford if it had another $300. Useful for determining whether
there's something you want to save up for.
Technology
Selects the complexity of items that will be available in the
Marketplace. I suggest setting this to BEGINNER if you've never
played before, and gradually working your way up to EXPERT.
Choices are:
BEGINNER
The easiest setting. No guidance or fuses to worry about.
Tank modifications are also unavailable. Ammo is restricted
to the least complicated items (basically things that just
explode).
INTERMEDIATE
Adds in some fuses and guidance, and a lot of ammo. Nuclear
weapons become available.
ADVANCED
Even more items available, including Napalm and Phase Shields.
EXPERT
Everything available, including tank modifications.
DELAYS SUBMENU:
Tank Fall Delay
Larger numbers make tanks appear to fall slower. Falling damage is
unaffected - this just makes the game more enjoyable on fast
machines.
Compensated Events
If there are fewer than this many bullets and explosions on-screen,
Howitzer will add a delay so things continue to happen at the same
speed. (Otherwise, if you just had one bullet on the screen, it
would move five times faster than five bullets on the screen.)
Lowering this value will speed up the game, but the apparent speed
of bullets may change. This is best set using the Calculate Delays
button in the System Screen. (see section 2.2)
Event Compensation
This is the delay Howitzer adds in for each event less than the
number of Compensated Events that is on-screen. For example, if
Compensated Events is 5, Event Compensation is 150, and there are
currently 2 bullets on-screen, Howitzer would delay for (5-2)*150 =
450 MTU (meaningless time units). Lower this number if things
actually speed up if there are more bullets on-screen (for example,
when a MIRV splits). This is best set using the Calculate Delays
button in the System Screen. (see section 2.2)
Plot Frequency
Howitzer calculates the position of the bullet several times for
each time it's plotted on the screen. This setting affects how
often the bullet is drawn to the screen. Larger numbers will plot
the bullet more frequently, making it appear to move more smoothly.
Smaller numbers will speed the game up without reducing accuracy -
each bullet's position is still calculated the same number of
times; it's just plotted to the screen less.
Explosion Sizes
Affects the sizes of all explosions. ITTY-BITTY, TINY, and SMALLISH
will make all explosions smaller than normal. LARGISH, HUGE,
MUNCHKIN, and WHAT WAS THAT? will make explosions larger than normal.
Little brothers seem to be especially fond of MUNCHKIN-sized fusion
warhead explosions.
Animate Nukes
Controls the appearance of Fission and Fusion Warhead explosions.
Using a setting other than NO is slightly slower, but a heck of a lot
more attractive.
NO
Nuclear explosions flash the screen white, but don't do any
special animation.
FIREBALL
After the flash, a fireball rises into the sky, then fades away.
MUSHROOM CLOUD
As the fireball fades, it leaves a mushroom cloud behind. This
is the setting used for the intro screen. Mushroom clouds will
last until the end of the current round.
Explosions Sounds
Toggles whether explosions make noise if you have an Adlib-compatible
sound card.
Bullet Shapes
Controls the appearance of bullets:
NORMAL
Bullets will have different shapes depending on their type (nukes
and cruise missiles are particularly cute).
POINT
All bullets will look like little dots. This can make them
harder to see (since single pixels are pretty tiny on an 800x600
display) but will also speed up the game on slow machines.
INVISIBLE
Bullets are not visible at all. This does not affect the
appearance of traces, which is set via the Bullet Traces option.
Using INVISIBLE bullets and PERMANENT traces is even faster than
using POINT bullets if you have a really slow machine.
Bullet Traces
Determines the nature of traces:
TRACER ONLY
Tracer bullets leave traces, which are permanent. Traces may be
erased by selecting Refresh [S]creen from the system menu.
Ordinary ammunition leaves no traces. This setting can be a real
challenge when combined with INVISIBLE bullets.
FADING
All bullets leave traces, which fade from the sky (see Trace
Duration, below). This setting requires 128 KB of conventional
memory, so you may not be able to use fading traces under low
memory conditions. It is also slightly slower than the other two
settings.
PERMANENT
All bullets leave traces, which are permanent unless the screen
is refreshed.
Trace Thickness
Larger numbers make traces more dense. Smaller numbers make traces
thinner, and speed up the game slightly.
Trace Duration
The number of turns a trace will last, before fading into the
background. Ignored if Trace Type is not FADING.
Flight Sounds
If you have an Adlib-compatible sound card, bullets can make noise
while in flight. The type of noise generated is determined by this
setting:
NONE
Bullets don't make any noise while in flight. This is slightly
faster than the other settings.
HEIGHT
The pitch of a bullet's flight sound is based on how high up it
is. The higher the bullet, the higher the pitch
SPEED
Flight sounds are based on how fast bullets are moving. Faster
bullets make higher-pitched noises. (This is amusing to listen
to if you're using Deflector shields.)
4.2 Command Line Options
You can control much of Howitzer's behavior by specifying options on
the command line when you run it. For example,
howitzer -OX -L
will make Howitzer skip the opening screen, ignore expanded memory, and not
generate a logfile. Command line options may be connected (such as -ONX)
or separated (such as -O -N -X). The only exception is the -I option,
which must be by itself; if you specified -IFOOX, Howitzer wouldn't know
whether you wanted to read input from a file called "FOOX", or whether you
wanted to read input from a file called "FOO" (-IFOO) while ignoring
expanded memory (-X). Command line options may start with a dash (like -X
-N) or slash (like /X /N).
-? Print a list of all the command line options
This prints help on the command line options that you can use to
control Howitzer.
-O Skip opening screen
This allows you to skip the animated opening screen and go right to
the system settings screen.
-N Do not read howitzer.ini on startup
Ordinarily, Howitzer reads its system settings from howitzer.ini.
Using this option causes Howitzer to ignore the file and use its own
built-in defaults.
-X Do not search for expanded memory
On some computers which have no expanded memory, Howitzer can get
confused when it looks for expanded memory. If you have no expanded
memory and Howitzer won't run, try this option.
-W Don't warn that Windows is running
Normally, Howitzer will print a warning if it is run under Microsoft
Windows. This option suppresses the warning message.
-S Allow Windows task switching at all times
Howitzer ordinarily disables Windows task switching, except in special
cases (see section 8). This option allows switching at all times.
USE WITH CAUTION, since switching away from Howitzer in the middle of
a game can corrupt the screen.
The following options affect the types of information stored to the
logfile.
-L Don't generate a logfile
By default, Howitzer creates a file called howitzer.log in its
directory. Any errors that may occur will be logged to this file
(this is a BIG help if I'm trying to track down a bug you report).
This option disables creation of the log file.
-D Log damage taken by all tanks
If this option is enabled, any time a tank takes damage it will create
an entry in the logfile showing who damaged whom, and by how much.
-M Log money and purchases
Records tanks' earnings and expenditures to the logfile.
-C Log conventional memory allocations
Records allocation and freeing of conventional (<640 KB limit) memory
to the logfile.
-E Log expanded memory allocations
Records allocation and freeing of expanded (EMS) memory to the
logfile.
-T Log thinking of computer tanks
Records information on what the computer tanks are doing and where
they are aiming to the logfile.
-K Log keyboard and mouse input
Records all keypresses and mouse clicks to the logfile. This allows
you to save a game for later viewing, and also helps me track down
bugs (since I can duplicate exactly what you did).
The last option must be specified by itself. It allows you to playback a
previous game by reading input from that game's logfile. If you're going
to do this, you should rename the old logfile to something besides
howitzer.log, or Howitzer will overwrite the old logfile when it starts up.
-Ifile Read keyboard and mouse input from specified file
The counterpart to -K, this option specifies a logfile to playback
user input from. If Howitzer runs out of input from this file, it
will revert to using the real keyboard and mouse. Playback can also
be aborted by pressing the Escape key several times (though the game
may take several seconds to return control to the keyboard and mouse).
Note that Howitzer does NOT automatically set the same command-line
options that were used to record the playback file in the first place
- you must set these manually
5. Computer Opponents
Howitzer has several types of computer opponents. Computer-controlled
tanks have the same limitations as human-controlled tanks. For example,
the tank barrel's elevation must be an integer number of degrees; a
Rebounder (see below) can't fire at 57.3 degrees to kill you on the first
shot - it has to try 57 or 58 degrees and hope, just like a human. If they
have enough money, computer opponents will buy and use several types of
ammunition, shields, and fall protection.
Opponent types are:
Target Drone
Doesn't fire at all. Useful for target practice when you don't want
an opponent that shoots back.
Chancer
The simplest (and stupidest) computer opponent. Each turn, it picks a
random angle and power to fire at.
Linear
Looks for the best straight-line shot to an opponent. If it doesn't
have one, fires randomly.
Flinger
Tries to arc shots over intervening mountains to hit its target.
Although it's not very good at guessing the best power for its next
shot, it can eventually pin down and kill most targets.
Rebounder
If the border type is REFLECT, ACCEL, or DECEL, tries to bounce shots
off the top border to hit opponents. If a rebounder has a clear shot,
it usually hits on the first or second try.
Arcer
Similar to the Flinger, it tries to fire arcing shots over obstacles.
However, the Arcer is much more accurate, and usually can kill a
target in two or three shots.
Chooser
Can shoot as a Linear if it has a straight shot, or as an Arcer if it
doesn't. The chooser is an even match for an average human player.
6. Game Mechanics
6.1 Bullets:
Tanks launch bullets at a speed that is super-linear with respect to
power. What that means is that a 1000-power shot is more than twice as
fast as a 500-power shot. Once a bullet is in the air, gravity drags it
downward, and wind blows it downwind. Air viscosity also affects bullets
by slowing them down (in the same way a marble dropped into a pitcher of
syrup slowly sinks to the bottom).
Bullets slow down a lot when passing through ground or concrete, and
somewhat when passing through aerogel. If a bullet slows down too much,
and has a normal fuse, it explodes (see the equipment section on Fuses).
If a bullet hits a reflective border or shield, or the bullet has a
Bounce fuse and hits the ground, it will rebound from the surface at the
same angle it strikes it. Examples:
\ ^ # | \ ##
\ / ## | \ ##
\ / ### | \##
\ / ####+---> /##
\/ ##### / ##
########## ###### / ##
########## ####### V ##
6.2 Damage:
Most types of explosive ammo will kill outright any tank they directly
hit. If a bullet doesn't hit directly, but instead explodes nearby, the
tank may be caught in the explosion and still take damage. Explosions are
more damaging near the center than at the edges.
Tanks also take damage from falling. A tank will become unstable and
fall if less than half of it is touching the ground, and will continue
falling until it becomes stable again. The damage a tank takes is
proportional to the height it fell times the gravity. (Falling on the Moon
does virtually no damage. Falling on Jupiter HURTS.)
When a tank is damaged, it will not be able to use as much power to
fire shots. In the Aiming Screen, you can click on a tank to see what its
maximum power currently is.
Bullets hitting shields do damage based on how much the bullet weighs.
A Fission Warhead weighs more than a High Explosive round, which weighs
more than a Steel Shot. Tracers don't weigh enough to damage shields.
6.3 Scoring and Money:
A tank wins a round if it is the last tank alive. It is possible for
all the tanks to kill each other; in this case, the round is a tie and no
one wins. (How can you win when you're dead?) One kill is equivalent to
doing 1000 damage to a tank, which is the damage required to destroy a tank
that was at full power. Tanks get credit for partial kills, so doing 300
damage to a tank is worth 0.3 kills. If a tank makes an enemy fall (for
example, by using Termites to dig out the ground underneath it), it gets
credit for any falling damage the enemy takes.
Tanks can earn money in the following ways:
$25 for each 100 damage done to an enemy tank
$10 for each 10% damage done to an enemy's shield
$50 for firing the shot which kills an enemy tank
$250 for winning a round
Tanks are fined for the following actions:
$42 for each 100 damage done to yourself
$17 for each 10% damage done to your own shield
$84 for firing the shot which kills yourself
You can change how Howitzer ranks players by setting the Scoring Order
option in the System Screen.
7. Howitzer and Memory
Howitzer likes having lots of memory. (ANY program which is doing
Super VGA graphics and animation likes having lots of memory.) Howitzer is
most happy with 512 KB or more free conventional memory and 2048 KB or more
free expanded (EMS) memory.
7.1 Memory Basics:
Memory on PC's comes in three flavors: conventional, exPANded (also
called EMS), and exTENded. The first is always available to you, but the
second and third require you to have device drivers loaded from your
config.sys file. Techniques to free up more memory are somewhat arcane,
and far more detailed than belong in a manual for a game. The simplest
way, if you've got DOS 6.0, is to type MEMMAKER from the DOS prompt.
If the suggestions below don't seem to work on your computer, ask a
friend for help.
To see how much free memory MS-DOS thinks you have, type MEM from the
DOS prompt. You should see a display similar to this:
C:\BCC\HOWITZER\EXE>mem
Memory Type Total = Used + Free
---------------- ------ ------ ------
Conventional 636K 103K 533K
Upper 0K 0K 0K
Adapter RAM/ROM 0K 0K 0K
Extended (XMS) 15360K 15360K 0K <---***
---------------- ------ ------ ------
Total memory 15996K 15463K 533K
Total under 1 MB 636K 103K 533K
Total Expanded (EMS) 1536K (1572864 bytes)
Free Expanded (EMS) 1472K (1507328 bytes) <---*
Largest executable program size 533K (545872 bytes) <---**
Largest free upper memory block 0K (0 bytes)
MS-DOS is resident in the high memory area.
The first number with an arrow pointing to it (<---*) is the amount of
free conventional memory you have. The second number (<---**) is the
amount of free expanded memory. The third number (<---***) is the amount
of free extended memory. Howitzer can't use extended memory, but the good
news is you CAN turn extended memory into expanded memory by adding the
following lines to your config.sys file:
device = c:\dos\himem.sys
device = c:\dos\emm386.exe 2048 RAM
That should turn your exTENded memory into exPANded memory. (Isn't MS-
DOS fun?)
7.2 Conventional Memory Consumption
At a bare minimum, Howitzer requires 432 KB of free conventional
memory. Options such as detailed skies, fading traces, and large
explosions require more memory on top of this number. If you have enough
expanded memory, Howitzer may be able to use less conventional memory. At
any point during the game, you can use Alt+Z to display the Popup System
Menu, then select [M]emory Usage to see how much memory Howitzer is using
and how much it has left.
Condition Memory required (KB)
Minimum to run Howitzer 432
Explosion Sizes set larger than NORMAL +10
Traces are set to FADING +128
Enough EMS for backing stores (see below) -128 KB
7.3 Expanded Memory Consumption
Howitzer will use expanded (EMS) memory for storing special effects
and graphics. It also needs expanded memory to save the screen so you can
switch to Windows from the Aiming Screen. You can control some of how
Howitzer uses expanded memory with the Background Type and Advance
Generation settings (see section 4). The following table summarizes the
amount of expanded memory required for each setting.
Condition EMS required (KB)
Background Type is SIMPLE 0
Background Type is anything else +464
Advance Generation is GROUND ONLY +368
Advance Generation is SKY ONLY +464
Advance Generation is GROUND+SKY +832
Backing stores (see below) +128
Screen save buffer for switching to Windows +464
Howitzer can use up to 128 KB of expanded memory for BACKING STORES.
These are the screen areas which are covered up when you pop up a menu
(such as the Popup System Menu, Popup Help, or an equipment menu in the
Aiming Screen). If you have 128 KB of free EMS after that used by the
Background Type and Advance Generation settings, Howitzer will only use
about 304 KB of conventional memory. (This is good news for those of you
using LAN's or lots of device drivers.)
7.4 Examples
Example 1: 360 KB of free conventional memory and 1024 KB of free EMS.
Since you have less than 432 KB of free conventional memory, you must
save 128 KB of free expanded memory for backing stores. This leaves you
(1024 - 128) = 896 KB of free EMS. So you could run Howitzer with a non-
SIMPLE Background Type and Advance Generation = GROUND ONLY. You couldn't
use a non-SIMPLE Background Type and Advance Generation = SKY ONLY, because
you wouldn't have enough free EMS for backing stores, since (464 + 464) =
928 KB is more EMS than you have left.
Example 2: 500 KB of free conventional memory and no EMS.
You have enough free conventional memory to run Howitzer. However,
you won't be able to use fading traces, since that would take (432 + 128) =
560 KB of free memory. Since you don't have any EMS, you also won't be
able to use detailed skies.
8. Howitzer and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows doesn't coexist very well with DOS applications that
use Super VGA (SVGA) graphics. The main reason is that many video drivers
for Windows can't handle saving and restoring SVGA screens. If you switch
away from a SVGA DOS application to Windows or another DOS application, the
screen of the SVGA application may be corrupted when you switch back into
it. To minimize these inadequacies, Howitzer incorporates several features
designed to reduce the damage caused by a corrupted screen.
Howitzer normally prevents Windows from trashing its screen by
disabling task swaps except in special circumstances (see below). This
means that Windows hot keys like Alt+Esc, Alt+Enter, and Ctrl+Esc will not
work from within Howitzer. Applications that are running in the background
(like a communications program that is downloading files) will continue to
get time slices, but you won't be able to switch to them.
If you have enough free expanded memory, you can use Alt+W (or the
"Switch to [W]indows" option in the popup system menu) to switch from
Howitzer to Windows or another DOS prompt. Howitzer will save its screen
and display a message, then enable task switching. When you switch back to
Howitzer, press the spacebar to restore the screen and continue playing.
Saving the screen costs no memory from the System Screen or
Marketplace, but requires 464 KB of free EMS in the Aiming Screen. If you
don't have enough free memory, Howitzer will suggest ways you can free up
more memory. If you are running Windows in 386 enhanced mode, you may be
able to use a swap file to fool Windows into thinking you have more memory.
(The information is in chapter 14 of my Windows 3.1 manual, under "Working
with Windows Swap Files" - your mileage may vary.)
If you still can't scrounge enough memory to allow Howitzer to save
its screen, you can take your chances and switch to Windows anyway. If
you're lucky, the damage will be minor and will be fixed by Alt+R (or the
Restore Screen option in the popup system menu).
Because of these potential problems, Howitzer will print a warning
message if it discovers that it has been run under Windows. You can
disable this warning by using the -W option when running Howitzer.
9. Troubleshooting Howitzer
Because Howitzer is still in beta-test, there is a chance you'll run
into a bug that isn't solved by any of these hints. If so, send me e-mail
and I'll try to fix it in the next release. If you're lucky, one or all of
the suggestions for a problem will fix it on your machine.
Anything out of the ordinary
Run Howitzer with the following options: -K -C -E. This won't fix
anything, but the logfile will contain much more helpful (well, to me
anyway) information. Please send me the logfile if you've got
problems.
Howitzer claims your card doesn't support 800x600x256, but other things
use that mode just fine.
Strange streaks appear on the screen during play, or the graphics are
squished to the bottom inch of the screen.
Try loading a VESA driver before running Howitzer. Some new VESA
drivers for all video cards were just uploaded to oak.oakland.edu
(141.210.10.117) in the directory pub/msdos/graphics as uvesa32.zip.
Howitzer runs too darn slow, even on your 33 MHz 386 machine
Buy a VESA local bus 66 MHz Pentium-based machine. While you're at
it, buy one for me too :-)
Set Compensated Events to 0 in the DELAYS SUB-MENU.
Increase the value for Plot Frequency in the DELAYS SUB-MENU.
Set Bullet Shapes to POINT or INVISIBLE.
Set Bullet Traces to TRACER ONLY or PERMANENT.
Set Background Type to SIMPLE.
THIS IS THE END OF HOWITZER.TXT - NOW GO PLAY THE GAME! DON'T FORGET TO
REGISTER HOWITZER!