The World of Computer Software/The World of Computer Software.iso/cas2dox.zip/CAS2DOX.TXT

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        Introduction

Welcome to the world of CASTLES II: Siege and Conquest. This game
is intended to test your skills as an administrator, a military
leader, and a politician. During the course of play, you must
maintain the delicate balance between the administrative, military,
and political functions of your dominion. The names of the Lords
and the territories in CASTLES II are based on 14th century France,
a tumultuous period in European history, which was marked by the
prolonged conflict of The Hundred Years War. This century was
marked by chaos, as the struggle for land in France had a high cost
in human life. The blood of English and French soldiers saturated
the soil and the peasants of these lands were forcefully removed
from their homes, raped, or killed. The Lords of territories
battled each other in an attempt to expand their realms. When a
Lord conquered new lands, he would build castles there to
substantiate his power over the newly acquired territory.  Your
mission is to unite the territories of the mythical land of
Bretagne in the midst of this bloody turmoil and eventually become
King. It is a formidable task, one that requires intestinal
fortitude, cunning, and risk taking. If you possess these qualities
then you are ready to accept the challenge of CASTLES II: Siege and
Conquest!


Object

    The ultimate goal of CASTLES II is to be crowned King. This is
accomplished by petitioning the Pope to back your claim to the
throne once you have expanded your empire to a point of
considerable wealth and power. All the while, you must keep your
people happy and maintain good relations with the Pope. If you are
named King, the game is over and you have won. If, at some point
during the game, one of the other players petitions the Pope and is
named King, then you have lost the game and quite possibly, your
life. You may choose to play as one of five feuding lords from the
families of Albion, Burgundy, Anjou, Aragon, and Valois. You select
one of these, and the computer plays the other four as well as the
Pope. A game of CASTLES II will commence on January 1, 1312, and
will usually last between three and ten years. The date is
displayed at the bottom right of the main game screen.

     Once you have begun to capture territories and establish your
empire, it becomes necessary to build castles. There are many
obstacles and challenges that arise throughout the game that often
hinder your quest to become King If you manage your land with
efficiency, the effects of these diversions can be minimized and
the throne will be within your grasp.

Getting Started

When CASTLES II is loaded, there will be several introductory
screens that set up the premise of the game. Once the introduction
is complete, the Set-up Screen appears offering several options for
game play. Here you will choose the Player whose role you wish to
assume, the Difficulty level (Easy, Average, Hard, and Impossible),
whether you want Plots on or off, if you want the Music on or off,
how you want the Commodities distributed (Balanced, Geographical,
or Random), and if you want tactical Battles on or off(see Tactical
Combat). The Geographical option for Commodities will place them
where they logically should be found (i.e., gold and iron in the
mountains, timber in the forests, etc.). Balanced Commodities means
that each player will be able to access a balanced mix of
commodities during the course of play. When you have made your
choices, click on Play, and the game will begin, or Load to load a
saved game. The next screen that will appear is the Main Game
Screen, where most of the game play will occur.  The center of the
screen is a map of the entire kingdom, divided into 36 territories.
Each territory has its own commodity. At the top of the screen your
Ratings Point Pool will be displayed. The size of your Army and the
amount of your Commodities are located to the right of the Point
Pool. The Task Bars are located on the upper right of the screen
(at the beginning of the game there will be three of these bars).
At the bottom of the screen is the Message Window, which will
display virtually everything that occurs during the course of play.
Just above the message window are four buttons-Stock, Army, Relat
(Relations), Opts (Options). Clicking on one of these buttons will
access that particular area.

Tutorial

Often times the best way to learn is by doing. For those who want
to start playing the game immediately, this section will get your
realm established with a couple of territories. You can play and
experiment from that point. If you get stuck, you can easily refer
to a specific section of the manual for assistance.

Using the Left Mouse Button, click on the Play as Albion arrow,
Easy as the Difficulty Level and turn the Plots and Battles off.
Click on the Play button and you will be given one Territory and
one Commodity assigned to that area.

At this point you have the capability to perform three Tasks (one
Administrative, one Military, and one Political). Begin by building
your economy. As mentioned above, your territory has a particular
commodity that can be processed. Click on Stock and select the
commodity that is available to you at this point (click on the
word Gather next to the Commodity). Click OK and you are now
performing one administrative task by gathering a commodity.

Next, you should build your army, which is a Military task. Click
on Army and select whichever aspect of your military that can be
recruited (click on Recr next to a division of the army) and then
click on the OK button.

Now click on one of the territories adjacent to your starting
province and click on the Scout button, followed by OK.  At this
point (since scouting is a political function) you are now
performing one Administrative, one Military, and one Political
function-you are running at maximum efficiency. It is always
recommended that you keep your task performing potential at its
maximum.

Once these three tasks are completed, you are most likely in a
position to Attack the territory that you have just scouted.
However, if this particular territory is occupied by the Pope, you
DO NOT want to attack it (see section called The Pope). When you
have finished Scouting the territory you chose (signified by the
Task Bar flipping over with the message Scout Complete), Scout
another territory. Do the same with the Gathering task you chose
earlier. (A shorthand way to redo a task is by clicking on the Task
Bar that Just completed. This will relaunch the same task.)

When the Recruiting task you had running completes, you may want to
Attack the territory you previously scouted (assuming it isn't
owned by the Pope). To Attack, click on the province you wish to
capture, and click on the Attack button, followed by the OK button.
This will launch an Attack Task (the one Military Task you have
available to you). If you successfully attack and capture a
province you will add it to your domain and the commodity in that
territory will now be available for you to mine or harvest. You can
also now scout territories adjacent to it and launch further attack
tasks on adjacent provinces.

Once you have captured two or three territories you may want to
consider building a castle. Every territory that you hold must
include or be adjacent to a territory in which you have built a
castle or you risk the possibility of revolt from the people in
this conquered land.

To build a castle, click on the territory in which you wish to
build it. Click on the Visit option and a map of the territory
itself will appear. Choose a grassy (dark-green) area upon which to
build your castle (you can scroll the map by clicking on the
directional arrows located at the bottom right of the screen
holding down the left mouse button will scroll continuously).

Next, click on Design to begin designing your castle. Every castle
needs a flag (or Keep), walls, a door, and some towers. First,
place a Keep by clicking on the flag icon and then clicking a
second time on the map where the Keep should go. This is how you
lay out the floorplans of your castle, clicking on the piece you
want to place, and then clicking the spot on the map where you want
the piece placed.

Now you need to enclose the Keep with walls, doors, and towers.
Click on the round tower icon at the bottom of the screen and place
it on the map a few spaces away from the Keep.

Now click on the tall wall icon on the lower right of the screen
and attach it to the tower you previously placed. You can continue
to place wall segments without clicking on the lower icons, but you
must click on a new icon to place a new piece on the map. Continue
placing walls and towers (don't forget a door) until you're happy
with the castle. If you want to erase a piece already placed, just
click on the erase icon (the X) and click on the piece you want to
remove. (Shortcut: If you have towers and walls placed on the map
and you want to change from placing walls to towers (or vice versa)
just click on the hype of piece already on the map you want to
change to and the cursor will default to that piece. This saves you
from having to move the mouse down to the icon list every time you
want to place a different piece on the map.)

When you're done designing your castle, click on the View button
and then click on the Leave button to return to the Main Game
Screen. You'll now see a small tower icon on the province shield,
showing you've designed a castle there. When you are ready to build
the castle, click on that territory, and choose the Build Castle
option which will now appear in the message window (for the
specifics on castle building see the section entitled The Castle).
If Build Castle does not appear, you either do not have sufficient
resources to build the castle or are busy with another
Administrative task.

This should provide you with the basics to get started. Just
remember to keep performing tasks in all three areas
(Administrative, Military, and Political) simultaneously.

Performing Tasks

To fully comprehend the essence of CASTLES II, it must be
understood that it is a task based game. Anything that you want to
do is done by way of accomplishing a task. There are three
different types of tasks: Administrative, Military, and Political.
These tasks are color coded: Green for Administrative, Red for
Military, and Blue for Political.

For each type of task, you have a certain number of ability points.
There are three sets of two numbers displayed at the upper lefthand
corner of the Main Game Screen. The bottom number of each set is
the overall rating in that category and the top number represents
the available points from that category that you can apply towards
performing tasks.

Your rating will increase as you successfully complete tasks. For
example, as you successfully complete administrative tasks, your
administrative rating will improve and you will have more points to
distribute among your tasks in the future. If, in addition, you
applied ratings points to a task from different areas, (such as
adding 2 military and 2 diplomatic points to the 3 administrative
points used to build a castle), you would gain partial credit
towards advancing your military and diplomatic ratings.

At the beginning of the game, there are three task bars in the
upper right hand corner of the Main Game Screen that can be used to
accomplish the three types of tasks (Administrative, Military, and
Diplomatic). Three more bars can be added as the game progresses.
The top bar is for Administrative tasks, the middle bar is for
Military tasks, and the bottom bar is for Political tasks. Each bar
can only perform one task at any given time.

While a task is being performed, three numbers will appear on the
left side of the Task Bar. These numbers indicate how many points
from the point pool were applied toward a task. The far left number
is the amount of Administrative points, the middle one is the
amount of Military points, and the number on the right represents
the amount of Political points. When a task is being performed, the
task bar will fill up from left to right. The task is complete when
the bar is completely full. If you wish to repeat the exact same
task, assuming it is available to you, click on the task bar
itself; this is quicker than proceeding into the message window to
set up the task. If you click on the task bar while a task is being
performed, the message window will open up and inform you of how
close you are to completing the task. It will also give you the
option to cancel the task at this point or to continue it by
clicking OK.

The speed with which a task can be accomplished is determined by
how many total points are applied to it. The more points applied to
the task, the faster it is accomplished. Also, when performing a
task in any given area, you must use more points from that
particular area of the point pool than either of the other two. For
example, suppose you have 4 administrative points, 7 military
points, 3 political points, and you want to perform an
administrative task. If you choose to use all 4 of your
administrative points, you may use up to 3 of your military points
and up to 3 of your political points. In this scenario, the
addition of the military and political points is intended to give
you more total points to apply toward the administrative task and
thus speed it up.

Once you achieve a rating of 5 in any of the task categories, a
second Task Bar in that category will be added to the Main Game
Screen. As long as your rating is at least 5, you will be able to
use the additional task bar. If your rating drops below 5, you will
lose the second task bar. Ideally, you will reach the maximum
number of six task bars (two administrative tasks, two military
tasks, and two political tasks).

Administrative Functions

The administrative functions of your domain are those which help
you to build a solid infrastructure. These functions include:
harvesting food, cutting timber, mining iron, refining gold, and
building castles. It is important to establish a strong economy
early in game play, because so many of the other tasks depend upon
the availability of certain commodities. For example, the military
task of recruiting archers requires gold and timber!

Each territory contains a particular commodity. Once you have
captured a territory, you can then begin to gather that commodity.
For example, if you capture a territory whose commodity is iron,
you can perform the administrative task of mining iron. As soon as
you have completed any gathering task, your stockpile of that
commodity will increase.

If you choose to gather a commodity that you hold in multiple
territories, you will receive units of that commodity equal to the
number of territories in which you hold it (you will also need to
apply at least the same amount of administration points to the
task). In other words, if you have three territories in which gold
is your commodity, when you refine gold you will add three units of
gold to your economy-as long as you apply at least three
administrative points.

Also, once you build a large enough castle (see the section on The
Castle) on a territory, the production of that territory's
commodity is doubled when gathered. One shortcut to implementing
the gathering task is to click on one of the commodity icons
displayed at the top of the Main Game Screen. If it is possible to
gather that item, a task will begin.

The Black Market

If you need to add goods  quickly to your  economy, it is sometimes
beneficial to trade on the  Black Market (The Black Market option
can be accessed the same way that the commodities are accessed --
under the Stock bar). You can immediately  trade a good that is
plentiful for one that is lacking,  at a cost of three for one. Be
careful though -- sometimes the black market is an unreliable
medium and you can be  cheated by those with  whom you attempt to
trade. Policing the realm can  lessen your chance of  being cheated
on the black  market.

The Castle

The best way to solidify your realm and eliminate the possibility
of revolt by your people is to build a castle. Building a castle in
a territory also makes it more difficult for an attacker to capture
that territory, as it is easier to defend a castled territory than
one without a castle.

To prepare for designing a castle, click on the territory in which
you want to build it. The message window will open and you will be
given the option to Visit or Cede (see the section entitled The
Pope for information on ceding) that territory. Click on Vis* and
a map of the territory will appear on the screen. You need to
select an area that is suitable for construction. You cannot build
a castle on water or in a swamp, and you cannot build directly on
top of a tree or a rock. Clicking on the directional arrows on the
bottom right of the screen allows you to scroll over the map. You
may also scroll the map by clicking on the edge of the screen.
Clicking on the center of the arrows enables you to rotate the view
clockwise by 90 degrees.

Once you have decided on a proper location for the castle, click on
Design and begin designing your castle. All of the functions
available to you during the designing process are located in the
boxes at the bottom of the screen. First you will need to place the
flag or Keep on the map-the Keep represents you and the
administrative control of the castle. Once it is captured by an
opponent, the castle is lost so it is a good idea to put rings of
walls and towers around your Keep. To place the Keep on the map,
click on the flag box at the bottom of the screen and click again
on the spot on the map where you wish to place it. There are two
types of towers that can be used-Square or Round. The square towers
are not quite as effective as the round towers for defense, as they
tend to have blind spots. The round towers, although they are
better for defense, take a longer time to build than the square
towers. To place a tower, click on the box at the bottom of the
screen and click again to place it on the map. You also have the
option for thick or thin walls. As you might expect, the thick
walls are better for defense but they take longer to build than the
thin walls. For both the towers and walls, you also possess the
option of Tall vs. Small. Keep in mind that when you are
constructing walls and towers around the keep, you must assure that
the keep is accessible. You cannot build walls and towers on all
sides of the keep to make it impenetrable, you must place a door in
the perimeter.

If you make a mistake in placing a piece on the map, use the X icon
to erase the piece. Also, holding down the right mouse button and
clicking the left mouse button will cause the cursor to act as an
eraser.

(Shortcut: If you have towers and walls placed on the map and you
want to change from placing walls to towers (or vice versa), just
click on the type of piece already on the map you want to change to
and the cursor will default to that piece. This saves you from
having to move the mouse down to the icon list every time you want
to place a different piece on the map.)

Your castle's size determines whether or not you can double
production of that territory's commodity as well as preventing the
people from revolting The castle's size is measured on a point
system dependent upon the choice of pieces (tall or small). A tall
piece is worth 3 points and a small piece is worth 2 points. In
order to double the production of a commodity, a castle must be
worth at least 50 points. To keep the people from revolting a
castle must be worth at least 100 points.

The last thing that needs to be done in designing a castle is to
decide the manner in which it will be constructed. You will have
the options of Uniform, Outward (start construction from inside),
Inward (start construction from outside), and Towers First. Click
on one of these and your castle is now ready to be built.

If you wish to save your castle design, click on Save and you will
be able to use that design later, in another territory. If you want
to access a saved castle design, click on Load and you can choose
from any designs that you have created and saved (you must place
your Keep before loading, indicating where the castle is to be
placed).

To return to the Main Game Screen, click on Leave. Once you have
designed the castle, a tiny tower symbol will appear in the map of
that territory. As soon as you meet the requirements for building
a castle, you can click on the territory and the Build Castle
option will appear in the message window. The Build Castle task
requires one Grain, three Timber, one Iron, and two Gold. You must
have at least two Administrative Points allotted to the task

If you visit your territory while a castle is being built, you will
be able to see your partially completed castle. When the castle
becomes large enough to double production (50 points), the castle
symbol on the map will grow to half size. When it becomes large
enough to prevent revolts in neighboring territories, the castle
icon will grow again and fill the icon space.

Military Functions

Military tasks are those functions of your empire that focus on the
augmentation of your armed forces and their usage. You build your
army through the military tasks of recruiting infantry, archers,
and knights. Other military tasks are concerned with adding weapons
to your army which aid in attacking a castle. These include:
building a ballista, building a catapult, and building a siege
tower. The other two military tasks are: sending a saboteur to
another territory and, of course, attacking another territory.

The Army

The army is your fighting force and it consists of infantry,
archers, and knights. To keep your military strong, it is necessary
to recruit troops. Whenever you engage in an attack or are the
victim of sabotage, the numbers in your army may decrease. So, it
is important to keep recruiting and strengthening your army. To
recruit for your army, click on the Army button and then click on
Recr (Recruit) in the message window next to the branch of the army
that you want increased (a faster way to start this task is by
clicking on one of the military icons at the top of the screen).
 In order to maintain the size of your army and keep your troops
happy, you will need to feed and pay them. For every 5 infantry or
archers that you possess, you will need to feed them 1 food and pay
them 1 gold (rounded up) per year. Every 5 knights will cost you 2
food and 2 gold (also rounded up). The troops are paid in the
spring and fed in the fall. If you delay feeding and/or paying
them, increasing numbers of your troops will desert.

Attacking

Once you have built your economy and army to a certain point, you
will want to attack another territory to increase the size and
wealth of your domain. In order to attack a territory, you will
need two Military Points, a Happiness Rating of at least three (see
Happiness), and one Iron. When you have met these requirements and
want to attack, click on a neighboring territory (you can only
attack a territory that is directly adjacent to one of your own)
and the Attack option will become available. When the Attack Task
Bar is full, you will be given the option of proceeding with the
attack or recalling your troops. After you make this decision,
click OK and the task of preparing your army for battle will be
complete.
At the beginning of the game, you have the option to set Tactical
Battles off or on. If the battles are off, the computer plays out
the battle for you and determines the victor. If the battles are
on, you will have more control over the outcome as you will be able
to manipulate your forces individually (see the section entitled
Tactical Combat for a detailed description of this aspect of the
game).

Weapons

When you are attacking a territory that has a castle, there are
certain weapons that can improve your chances of victory. They can
be added to your arsenal at different times during the game if
specific conditions of your economy exist, and your ability points
are high enough.

The Ballista is, in essence, a giant crossbow that fires a large
arrow at a castle. In order to build a Ballista, you will need a
Military Rating of at least 5 and 4 of those points must be applied
to building the Ballista. In addition you must expend 1 unit of
timber, 1 unit of iron, and 1 unit of gold.

The Catapult requires the same amount of commodities, but you must
have a Military Rating of at least 6 and you must expend at least
5 of them on building the Catapult.

A Siege Tower also requires the same number of commodities, but a
7 Military Rating is necessary and 6 of those points are needed to
start this task.

When any of these three weapons become available, they will appear
in the message window after clicking on the Army button.

Saboteur

To hire a Saboteur, click on the territory to be sabotaged (the
territory must be owned by someone). This task will become
available as soon as you have a Military Rating of at least 3 and
use at least 2 of those points along with spending 1 gold to hire
the saboteur(s). A saboteur is sent to an opponent's territory with
the intent of destroying some aspect of that territory's economy or
disrupting the military-perhaps sabotaging the food supply or
demoralizing units of their military, causing them to desert.

Policing the Realm

Since your opponents have the same capabilities as you do, you must
be wary of opponents' saboteurs. The only way of accomplishing this
is to Police the Realm. This is another function of the military
that is generally successful in capturing saboteurs and spies. When
you police the realm, the overall efficiency of any ongoing tasks
improves as well. One negative byproduct of policing the realm,
however, is that it reduces the Happiness Level of your people by
one happiness point (see Happiness).

Tactical Combat

Once you have made  the decision to  proceed with an attack, or
are the victim of an attack, the main game screen will  be replaced
with the Tactical Combat Screen (assuming  that you have set the
battles on). This screen features a map of the territory  in which
the battle shall  occur (there is a different  map for each
territory),  and a scaled representation  of the two military
forces  that will clash.

The scale of the battle will be indicated at the bottom of the
screen. When the scale is 1, each figure on the battlefield
represents one unit of the army. When this value reads 2 or more,
it means that each unit of the army is represented by two or more
figures on the battlefield.

In this aspect of the game, where you fight is just as important as
how you fight. The territories consist of many terrain types, and
the effectiveness of the different branches of the military will be
influenced by the location of the battle. For example, knights
do very well on open grass or dirt, but are hindered greatly by
rocky terrain in which the horses will have difficulty galloping.
As one might expect, knights also have serious problems in swampy,
watery areas where their excessive weight can cause them to sink
Archers are most effective when firing from a covered area, such as
a forest, into an open area On the other hand, archers have
problems firing into a forest because their arrows are more likely
to strike a tree than the enemy. These are just a few of the
terrain effects of tactical combat. All of the effects are based on
the performance capability of a military unit in a specific
environment. If you are the defender in a field (non-castle)
battle, you will be given the opportunity to choose where in the
territory the battle will take place. Click on the spot on the map
where you want to fight, and the forces will appear.

The first thing that you want to do in preparing for battle is to
place your troops. To do this, click on a figure, or figures, and
then click on the spot where you want to place them. If you want to
move all members of a specific branch, click on one of the three
buttons located at the bottom right of the screen (Infantry,
Archers, Knights).

When you are attacking a castle, you can only place troops within
a certain range of that castle. You cannot put them too close to
the castle, nor can you place them in the castle. A castle's most
vulnerable positions to attack are the doors as well as any
breaches in the walls caused by a catapult or other machinery. The
Flat button gives you a better view of the inside of the castle
when you are a defender. As a result, you will be able to see where
you place your troops. Although the walls have seemingly collapsed
in the Flat mode, the castle is still very much intact for the
purposes of battle. It is purely a practical function that allows
you to manipulate your forces more easily.

When troops that are attacking a castle are commanded to Melee,
they will attempt to reach the Keep as long as there are no enemy
units to attack If the troops attacking a castle are not given
commands prior to battle, all units will default to Melee and all
engines will default to Destroy.

If you are defending a castle and do not select a command, Melee
will be assumed. The catapult and the ballista will be situated
outside the castle in locations that will help to create breaches
in the castle walls. These weapons will attack the nearest
unbreached wall until destroyed. They will then attack the one
behind it, moving forward if necessary. The siege tower will
assault a wall that is not already under attack from another
weapon. It moves up to a wall or tower and releases a few infantry
units on the top of that wall or tower.

After you have placed your army, you are ready to begin the battle.
The buttons located at the bottom left of the screen allow you to
control certain aspects of the battle.

Before clicking on one of these buttons, you will need to select
specific troops by clicking on them (or by clicking on one of the
shortcut buttons on the right of the screen). To attack a specific
enemy unit, first click on the units of your army that you want to
deploy, and then click on the enemy figure.

The Stand button commands your troops to stand their ground and
fight anyone who comes near them.

The Melee button commands the selected troops to engage in battle.
They will search and destroy the nearest enemy unit, or, if one is
not in range, destroy the Keep or a siege engine.

Destroy is similar to Melee, only the forces are commanded to
attack weapons, or castles, before people.

The Retreat function causes your remaining fighting force to leave
the battle site (it is not necessary to click on any figures on the
screen prior to retreating).

The Begin button starts the battle after your other commands have
been given.

Victory is achieved when certain conditions of battle have been
met. For a field battle, you must either kill all enemy forces or
cause the enemy to flee the battle site. A castle battle is won
when all enemy forces have been killed, the enemy flees, or a
sufficient number of your troops reach the Keep and remain there
for a long enough period of time (simulating the castle commander's
death or surrender). The amount of time needed to capture the Keep
depends on the number of your troops at the Keep and the initial
strength of the defender. The Keep cannot be destroyed by siege
weapons.

In tactical combat, each division of your army, along with the
siege weapons, has specific battle purposes.

The infantry is your ground force. They are most proficient at
hand-to-hand combat and are useful for capturing the Keep of a
castle. They can also attack doors and climb castle walls.

The archers are best at long range attacks and weakest at hand-to-
hand fighting. They are superb for castle battles when perched on
the walls, and they can also attack castle doors and climb walls.
The higher they are, the farther their effective range.

The knights are fast on open terrain, slow elsewhere, strong at
hand-to-hand, and they can attack castle doors but cannot climb
walls.

The catapult and the ballista are used to knock down castle walls
and create breaches. They have limited movement. The ballista is
the weaker of the two. The siege tower transports infantry to the
top of outer castle walls, avoiding the arrows of defending
archers. This weapon is slow but quite powerful. None of the siege
weapons are used in field battles.

Political Functions

Political tasks are those which allow you to learn about opponents'
territories and those which determine your relations with your
opponents. Both the Scout and Spy tasks are considered political
tasks. The other political functions are: dispatching a diplomat to
improve relations with foreign territories or the Pope, sending a
merchant to trade goods, improving your happiness level, and
summoning a council to inform you of any threats to your realm as
well as the Pope's relations with all the players.

The Relations Rating System

Your Relations with your opponents, the Pope, and the happiness
level of your people are measured on a nine point scale. Relations
of 8 or 9 represent a close alliance, and better trading
opportunities with that faction. Relations of 1 or 2 represents a
state of war, with much higher chances of being sabotaged or
attacked by that faction.

Relations can be improved by diplomatic (Political) tasks,
accepting the other faction's diplomatic missions, and performing
actions within the plot-lines that will make other leaders happy.
Relations will be reduced by attacking a faction, having your spies
and saboteurs caught by them, attacking their allies, and
performing actions within the plotlines that will not please them.
The levels of these ratings are displayed in the message window
after clicking on the Relat button.

The Pope

Since the Pope is the  only one who can  declare you King,
maintaining favorable relations  with him is extremely important.
Your relations  with the Pope can some times be improved if you
send a diplomat and offer  gold as a show of good  faith. If you
let your relations with the Pope slip to  2 or lower, you will be
ex communicated. When this  happens, you can no  longer trade with
anyone  or send further diplomatic  missions to the Pope. The  only
way to improve relations with the Pope after  being excommunicated
is  to cede one of your territories to him. When you  do this, your
relations will  improve by three points.

To cede a territory, click on that territory and click again on the
Cede option. If you cede a territory to the Pope that has a castle
built on it, your relations with the Pope will improve by four
points. You may cede a territory to the Pope even if you are not
excommunicated. In that case, however, you will only improve your
relations by one point with no castle, and two points if you cede
a territory with a castle.

You cannot cede a territory to the Pope if it is adjacent to one he
already owns.

Happiness

Your Happiness level represents the morale of both your people and
your army. If you let your Happiness level drop too low, you risk
the possibility of rebellion. To improve your Happiness, you can
employ the Happiness task, which requires 2 political points, 1
food, 1 timber, and 1 gold. Completion of this task boosts the
happiness of your people by one point.

If you attack someone and lose, your Happiness will decrease. If
you are attacked and lose, your Happiness may or may not decrease.
If you are attacked and win, however, your Happiness will increase.

Your Happiness will also decrease when you are Policing your realm.
When you police the realm, the people are placed under constant
scrutiny and they will not appreciate the burdens and accusations
that will be directed at them by a vigilant government. One way to
avoid the discontent of the people is to simultaneously improve
Happiness while you are Policing the realm.

Scouting

It is recommended that before you attack a territory or send a
saboteur, you should scout that territory to be sure you know who
owns it.  Scouting tells you who holds a territory, the commodity
present, and if there is a castle in that territory.

Scouting requires 1 political point To initiate it, click on the
territory that you wish to scout, and then click again on Scout
when it appears in the message window.

It's a good idea to Scout a territory more than once, especially
before attacking it, as territories can change ownership rapidly.

Spying

Where scouting provides you with information about one of your
opponent's territories, the Spy task can provide you with
information about his entire realm. This task requires a Political
Rating of at least 3, and an expenditure of at least 2 of those
points and 1 gold.

When you decide to use the Spy function, click on one of the
opponent's territories and then click again on the Spy button that
will appear in the message window. If a spy is successful, you will
learn the number of territories that a particular player holds, the
whereabouts of those territories, how big his army is, and the
Happiness of his people.

However, if that player happens to be Policing the realm at the
time that you send a spy, your chances for success are greatly
reduced. If that player captures your spy, relations with him will
drop.

Merchants

When you want to in crease the amount  of a commodity, but you  do
not have the capability  to gather it at that particular time or do
not want  to risk a transaction on the  Black Market, the Merchant
task can be quite useful.

You can send a Merchant to trade with an opponent or the Pope. Your
Merchant will have the best chance of success if you have good
relations with the territory with which you are trading. The
chances for a successful trade can also be improved if you apply a
high number of political points toward this task. To start the
Merchant task, click on the territory with which you want to trade.
A Merchant button will now appear in the message window. This task
requires that you have a Political Rating of at least 3 points and
expend at least 2 of them.

Diplomats

If you desire to improve relations with any other player or the
Pope, you can send them diplomats.

This function requires a Political Rating of at least 3, and an
expenditure of at least 2 of those points and 1 gold. Like the
Merchant task, the number of political points that are applied can
increase the chances for successful diplomacy. The Diplomat is
dispatched to a foreign territory with the intent of offering or
requesting gold to improve relations. If the Diplomat succeeds,
your relations with that player will improve by one point The
Diplomat can also be used to request gold from a territory with
which you hold favorable relations, thereby improving your economy.

As soon as the requirements are met for a Diplomat task, the option
will appear in the message window after the Relat button is
accessed. To engage the task, click on the Diplomat button next to
the ruler with whom you wish to interact Options for negotiation
will now appear in the message window. Click on the arrows until
you achieve the desired range of negotiations you want your
Diplomat to propose. You will have the option here to declare the
amount of gold that you are offering (or requesting). You can also
propose an ally treaty with the leader. When you finish your
proposal, click OK and the Diplomat will be sent.


Council

Summoning a Council provides you with information gathered by the
members of your executive council. It is basically a status report
of the entire realm.

Upon completion, this task informs you of each player's rank,
status with the Pope, and informs you if any of the territories
that you hold are near rebellion. This option will be found in the
message window after clicking on the Relat button as long as its
minimum requirements are satisfied. To summon a council you need to
expend 3 political points, 1 food, and 1 gold.

When this task is finished, the results will appear in the form of
a chart in the message window. This chart will display a list of
all the players, in order of strength.

If a player has a rating of 8 or 9 with the Pope he is considered
Blessed in the eyes of the Pope. Below the ratings, the status of
the territories of your realm will be indicated (if any of them
might be near rebellion in the near future).

Winning the Game

Your score is displayed on the Message Window door at the lower
right of the screen. When you have achieved a score of at least
7,000 points, you earn the opportunity to petition the Pope to name
you King.

To petition the Pope, you must click on the Claim button when it
appears in the Relations menu. After you have petitioned the Pope,
you must keep your point total above 7,000. If you maintain that
point total for approximately 4-5 computer months, you will be
named King and the game will be over.

Making a claim to the throne does not make you popular with the
other players, however. Claiming the throne will cause an immediate
drop in relations with other factions, and even those who were
friendly with you before your claim may choose to attack you rather
than risk losing the throne.


OTHER FEATURES OF CASTLES II

Messages/Plots

Periodically, during the course of play, you will be visited by
messengers who will appear in the message window with news and
information. Some of these plots will test your ability as a leader
and as a diplomat.

You will be asked to resolve a variety of situations and you will
be given several options with which to do so. The plots can
drastically affect your fortunes, both good and bad. You may make
new friends, or enemies, that can help, or hinder, your efforts to
claim the throne of Bretagne.

You may have to deal with problems from outside Bretagne. You may
also find treasures, deal with disasters, and be forced to make
crucial alliances.

Film Clips (VGA only)

One of the more novel features of CASTLES II will appear in the
message window at various moments during the game.

When, for example, you are preparing to attack, the main window
will sometimes feature a few seconds of digitized film image of
troops preparing for a battle.

There are several film clips which have been chosen for specific
situations that arise during game play.

This feature can be turned on or off at the beginning of the game.

Options

The Options button is located on the Main Game Screen just above
the message window. Here you will be able to turn tactical battles
on or off, turn plots on or off, turn the music on or off, or quit
the game. You will also be able to save a game and load a
previously played game.

To do this, click on one of these selections, enter a file name,
dick on OK and your game will be saved or a past game will be
retrieved, depending upon which function you have chosen. You may
also press the Pause button to pause the game.

Chronology

1302-Philip IV called together the first Estates General, the
ancestor of the French Parliament.

1309-1377-The Avignon Papacy (the Popes were a succession of
Frenchmen)

1328-1350-Reign of Philip VI (first of the Valois rulers)

1337-1453 - The Hundred Years' War between England and France

1378-1417 - "The Great Schism" in the church (two Popes were chosen
at the same time-one Roman and one French, causing great
controversy).


PLAYER PROFILES

CONTENDERS FOR THE THRONE

EDWARD
King of Albion

Albion has one of the strongest claims to the throne of Bretagne,
dating back many generations. Edward is the son of the castle-
building King in the original CASTLES. Edward is a strong ruler who
attempts to be noble, but his self-righteousness gets in the way.

Edward is married to Edna, but the marriage is a loveless one, and
the two people despise each other. Edward would love to have Edna
forcibly retired to a nunnery so he could remarry, but has not
figured a way that he could do it without upsetting the nobles and
putting Albion in turmoil. Edna looks to humiliate Edward any
chance she gets.

Edward's attitude to:

Charles of Valois: An arrogant monster, and Edward's chief rival.

Phillip of Burgundy: A friend, but only from a distance. They both
despise Charles of Valois. Not much personal integrity.

Ramiro of Aragon: Not to be trusted, but not an immediate threat.
Ramiro is a King, and is more worthy of respect than a Duke or a
Count.

Henri of Anjou: Pure contempt. Henri is an overgrown child with a
monstrous mother.

Pope Innocent Benedict: Indifference. Pope Innocent Benedict has
never been fond of Albion.

CHARLES
Count of Valois

Charles is the cousin of Charles of Clossau, the late King of
Bretagne.

By family ties, Charles has the most solid claim to the throne. Of
course, both Albion and Anjou would argue that the late Kings claim
to the throne was rather dubious.

Charles is known for his imperious manner and his arrogance. He
makes no secret of his contempt for the other claimants to the
throne; politics is not his forte, but he is a formidable general.
As a ruler, he tends towards oppressiveness and cruelty. His one
peculiar oddity is his fondness for his hunting hounds, which he
dotes on as if they were his grandchildren, and one in particular,
a husky named Sasha.

Charles's attitude to:

Edward of Albion: An insufferably self-righteous egotist. Mutual
emnity exists between the two.

Phillip of Burgundy: A fawning politician, and the chief thorn in
his flesh. Phillip is a lying, cheating swine.

Ramiro of Aragon: Charles doesn't know him well enough to hate him,
but won't trust him.

Henri of Anjou: Pure contempt. Henri is an overgrown child with a
monstrous mother.

Pope Innocent Benedict: Charles wants to cultivate a good
relationship with the Pope, and use the Church's support to turn
Bretagne into a European power that will rival the Empire of the
Teutons.

PHILLIP
Duke of Burgundy

Phillip is the pampered son of a foppish Duke, and acts like it He
prefers to present a good face wherever possible, letting his
retainers do his dirty work. His claim to the throne is extremely
weak; he simply intends to grab whatever power he can get. Phillip
is caught between the politics of Bretagne and the Holy Teuton
Empire, to which Burgundy owes its fealty. Phillip has only one
talent, and that is diplomacy. He knows what people want to hear,
and he will tell them that. People like him because he makes them
feel good. He does not, however, follow his words with deeds.

Phillip is also a habitual womanizer, a habit that has gotten him
in trouble on more than one occasion.

Phillips's attitude to:

Edward of Albion: An enemy of his enemy is his friend. If Edward
were to obtain the throne, it's likely that Burgundy's power would
increase.

Charles of Valois: An insufferably self-righteous egotist. Mutual
emnity exists between the two.

Ramiro of Aragon: Phillip doesn't know what to make of him.

Henri of Anjou: How can you respect a man who has not yet entered
puberty?

Pope Innocent Benedict: Phillip does not appreciate the Church's
teachings against womanizing, but can usually talk his way out of
trouble. The Church is an organization to exploit or to ignore,
whatever is most convenient.

RAMIRO
King of Aragon

King Ramiro of Aragon is not so much power-hungry as he is greedy.
He has no legitimate claim to the throne of Bretagne; he simply
wishes to get as much wealth as he can during Bretagne's civil war.
He is cool and controlled, and addicted to work He is a shadowy
figure who works behind the scenes, although he can be quite
extravagant when he wants to flaunt his wealth. At present,
Aragon's neighbour Castile is undergoing a civil war, and the Moors
are making their presence known in the South of Aragon. Ramiro
believes that by taking the gold-rich provinces of Bretagne during
their moments of weakness, he can fight the Moors, annex Castile
(regaining land that his father lost in the process), and make his
treasury wealthy beyond the dreams of men. He keeps his goals to
himself; not even his most trusted advisors are sure about his
plans.

Ramiro's attitude to:

Edward of Albion: As a fellow King, Edward demands more respect
than other claimants to the throne - until he gets in his way.

Charles of Valois: Charles has right temperment to be king, he just
flaunts himself too much. A king should be cruel and arrogant, but
they should have some capacity for subtlety.

Phillip of Burgundy: He's not close enough to really worry about.
As a political weasel, he might be easy to manipulate.

Henri of Anjou: He's a fool and a fool, handled properly, is the
best friend you could possibly have.

Pope Innocent Benedict: Aragon is a deeply religious land, but the
Pope is not much of a factor in Ramiro's plans, and the two men
dislike each other.

HENRI
Duke of Anjou

A relation of both Edward of Albion and Charles of Valois, Henri
despises them both. His claim to the throne is as good as Edward's.
Henri would rather not be king he would rather laugh and sing in
the garden, but his mother, Marie, wants him to become King. Marie
is the real power in Anjou. Long ago, Marie was in love with Edward
of Albion, and they were betrothed, but the late king Charles
forbid the marriage for political reasons. Marie was furious when
Edward married Queen Edna, and vowed revenge. All of her life has
been spent manipulating Anjou into grabbing control of Bretagne and
destroying Albion.

Henri's attitude to:

Edward of Albion: He's too self-important. Henri secretly admires
some of Edward's more noble qualities, but hides that admiration
behind jealousy and spite.

Charles of Valois: Charles insults Henri. Henri doesn't like to be
insulted. He doesn't like Charles.

Phillip of Burgundy: Henri likes what he says, doesn't trust what
he does. He's also jealous that Phillip is more popular than he is.

Ramiro of Aragon: Who knows what's really on his mind? Mother
doesn't trust him.

Pope Innocent Benedict: He's the Pope. God says you're supposed to
love the Pope, right, mother?

POPE INNOCENT BENEDICT

Driven from Rome and into exile in Bretagne, Innocent Benedict is
still the most respected figure in Christendom. The Pope wishes to
regain the Papal States from his adversary, Anti-Pope Christopher.
He wants to see a strong leader emerge from the Bretagnese civil
war and help him regain his lands, and restore the schism that has
affected Christianity. Although the Empire was in large part
responsible for his exile, he hopes to make amends with them and
destroy any support for the Anti-Pope.


FOREIGN POWERS

HOLY TEUTON EMPIRE ("The Empire")

Bordering on the east of Bretagne is the Empire of the Teutonic
Princes, also known as the Holy Teuton Empire. This Empire is an
alliance of dozens of quarreling dukes and princes, held together
by Emperor Louis, an aging Bavarian prince who is tiring of
interminable wars and politics. The Empire is currently engaged in
conflict against the Saracens in the East, and is allied with the
Hungarians and the Venetians. Their chief goal is to keep
Constantinople, which is governed by the Empire's puppet, from
falling to the Saracens, which would cut off the extremely
lucrative Eastern trade routes currently controlled by the Empire.
The Empire is always willing to help a friend - for a price.

THE DANES

East of Flanders, the Danes control the northern seas. Once home to
the fierce Vikings, the Danes are considered to be a civilized
land; they want control of the Channel and all shipping in the
North, in the hopes of becoming a major European power; this
ambition has set them in conflict with Albion, Valois, Flanders,
and the Empire.

ITALY

South of Bretagne are the great Italian city-states: Venice, Genoa,
Milan, and Rome. They have become formidable places of commerce,
home to many of Europe's most prosperous merchants and
moneylenders, and ruled by extravagant Dukes, Counts, and Princes.
They are almost always at war with each other, and bear little love
for either Bretagne or the Empire, except for alliances of
convenience, of course.

CASTILE

This neighbour of Aragon took a great deal of land from them in a
war thirty years ago, and King Ramiro has been trying to get it
back ever since he came to the throne. Ramiro engineered the civil
war that is currently wrecking Castile; what the King of Aragon did
not count on was the ruthlessness of the leaders and factions in
this war - he has been unable to get the land he had been hoping to
grab.


SOME BRETAGNESE PERSONALITIES

QUEEN CATHERINE

The widow of the late King Charles, Queen Catherine was considered
"the power behind the throne" for many years in Bretagne.
Undoubtedly she, and her doting brother Count Merose, will want
some say in who rules Bretagne, as well as guarantees of personal
security.

ARINSEAULT

This philosopher/demagogue is a hero of the Paris Mob, and
considered one of the most cunning philosophers in Europe. His
support would be an asset to anyone who obtains it, although his
eccentric nature can be irritating, and he does have many enemies.

BISHOP WINSLOW

 The most conservative cleric in Bretagne, it is sometimes said
that he still objects to the Bible being written in Latin instead
of Aramaic. Winslow is troublesome to deal with, even for the other
clergy in Bretagne.

SIR PERCY of NARBONNE

An old friend of many of the claimants to the throne, Percy is
something of a fop, although one with considerable brains and
determination. He is noted for his dislike of violence and his
protectiveness of the people of Narbonne.

DUKE FRANCIS of BOURBON

Although not a claimant for the throne, Duke Francis has one of the
largest armies in Bretagne, and an extremely independent attitude.
The Duke of Bourbon would rather die than offer fealty to another
man, and will do his best to demonstrate Bourbon's independence to
any would-be ruler of Bretagne.


The Armchair Strategists Guide

Becoming King in CASTLES II demands careful planning and resource
management. Here are a few hints from the experts to help you meet
these challenges.

Starting the Game

At the beginning of the game, your focus should be on grabbing
territory. This cannot be done in a haphazard manner, though. Your
most important goals should be:

 1. Build a solid, defensible perimeter.

 2. Possess all four types of resources.

 3. Crank your economy up to top speed as soon as possible.

Most of the players begin in one corner or another of the map. The
best strategy for these players is to aim for an initial size of
about six territories. Conquer a few immediately, preferably by
building a "wall" of territories that you own, behind which may be
a few that you do not yet own but are inaccessible to the other
players. Then, conquer these other territories when you have the
time.

Tough Choices

Once you have your initial territories under control you may choose
any one of several approaches to the game. The game can be won
through military conquest, administrative power, or political
expertise, although the obvious military approach is the easiest.
Make a decision now as to how you wish to proceed, and stick to it
as long as possible.

The game will place far more demands on your resources than they
can support.  You must decide whether to make your people happy, to
build alliances with your neighbors, to build castles, or to build
a dominant military force. Your basic strategic choice will
determine which of these will be emphasized.

There are a few general pointers that apply to any strategy. Keep
these in mind, and you will always be in control - as much as
possible, anyhow. And, lest you think that these pointers are not
important, just remember that the other players ARE using them.

 1. Use every ability point that you have. Even if you are not
running a Military Task, for example, apply the otherwise unused
Military Ability Points to another task, such as a Gather. This
will serve the dual purpose of increasing the speed of the Gather
task and giving you the extra push toward raising your ability
ratings. Your Military ability will not increase as quickly as if
you were running Military tasks, but any contribution in the right
direction is helpful.

 2. Stay friendly with the Pope. Monitor your relations regularly.
Remember that attacking a friend of the Pope (noted by the word
"Blessed" next to that player's name in the Council display) will
cause your relations with the Pope to decrease by one point. It is
very easy, therefore, to become excommunicated through
carelessness.

 3. Stay friendly, or at least on neutral terms, with your
neighbors. The better your relations with them, the less likely
they are to attack or sabotage you. Also, your Merchants are likely
to get better deals if they are dealing with friendly parties.

 4. Maintain a reasonable army size. Make it too small, and your
neighbors may attack when their spies discover that you are a
weakling. Make it too large, and the maintenance costs will drag
down your economy.

 5. Send Diplomats to "buy off" enemies who are attacking you. They
remember friendly actions and are less likely to attack if they
have reached a diplomatic agreement recently. Unfortunately, they
cannot recall armies who are already in the process of attacking,
so your Diplomat may be too late to be effective. Also, enemies
remember your hostile acts even longer than they remember the nice
ones.

 6. Think in turns of small campaigns. Before launching attacks,
pick a small number of territories to capture, build up your army
and then go. Don't bite off more than you can chew! After grabbing
a couple of provinces, consolidate your gains, rebuild your army
and erect castles for defense. Never get greedy, as an
overextending empire crumbles very quickly!

 7. Always harvest your resources. You will use them up very
rapidly as everything you do costs money and/or goods. Try to
resist building a castle until your Administrative Rating hits 5,
allowing you a second task in that category. Then keep harvesting
as you build.

 8. If you don't have a good mix of commodities in the territories
you own, you can still have a good economy. Try to harvest the
commodity you have the most of and then trade them for what you
need. You'll need good relations with a trading partner to pull
this off, but it works well when you don't have access to iron and
gold. Always remember that the black market is risky, but it can
help bail you out of tight situations.

Long-Term Strategy

The goal of CASTLES II, ultimately, is to survive long enough to
become King. Once you have established your initial fiefdom, it is
time to put your overall strategy to the test. Focus on the
elements that you deem most important, as noted earlier. There are
many ways to win in CASTLES II, and part of the fun is in
discovering them for yourself.

 1. Build a buffer of extra points before you Claim. Once the other
players get wind of your pending coronation, they will become
increasingly aggressive toward you. Claiming reduces relations of
all other players with you. This can pull you very rapidly into
warfare. Make sure that the loss of points due to the drop in
relations with everyone, plus the potential territory losses due to
the attacks you will receive will not be so severe that the Pope
decides to reject your claim.

 2. Deciding when to Claim is a tricky decision. If you are the
first to try, everyone will take their shot at knocking you down.
Waiting for someone else to claim first is also a tricky path to
follow because you might not have enough time or power to knock him
down, and, if more players claim in the meantime, it'll turn into
a free-for-all.


Task Definitions

Administrative Tasks

Harvest Grain

Harvesting Grain requires an expenditure of at least one
Administrative Point per Grain territory harvested. If a castle is
present in a Grain territory, an additional Administrative Point
must be spent to gain the additional Grain.

Cut Timber


Cutting Timber requires an expenditure of at least one
Administrative Point per Timber territory harvested. If a castle is
present in a Timber territory, an additional Administrative Point
must be spent to gain the additional Timber.

Mine Iron

Mining Iron requires an expenditure of at least one Administrative
Point per Iron territory mined. If a castle is present in an Iron
territory, an additional Administrative Point must be spent to gain
the additional Iron.

Refine Gold

Refining Gold requires an expenditure of at least one
Administrative Point per Gold territory refined. If a castle is
present in a Gold territory, an additional Administrative Point
must be spent to gain the additional Gold.

Build Castle

Building a Castle requires a minimum Administrative Rating of 3. At
least 2 Administrative Points must be assigned to the task and, in
addition, 1 Grain, 3 Timber, 1 Iron, and 2 Gold must be spent.

Military Tasks

Policing the Realm

Policing the realm requires an expenditure of at least one Military
Point. While this task is running, all other tasks run at a higher
efficiency and the chances of catching spies and saboteurs goes up.
At the completion of this task the Happiness Level of the people
goes down one point.

Recruit Infantry

Recruiting Infantry requires an expenditure of at least one
Military Point and, in addition, one iron is spent to arm the
troops and one gold is spent as a recruitment bonus. Upon
completion of the task, one infantry unit is added to the army.

Recruit Archers

Recruiting Archers requires a minimum Military Rating of 2. At
least one of those Military Points must be spent on the task in
addition to a cost of one Timber to equip the archers with bows and
arrows and one Gold as a recruitment bonus. Upon completion of the
task, one archer unit is added to the army.

Recruit Knights


Recruiting Knights requires a minimum Military Rating of 6. At
least one of those Military Points must be spent on the task in
addition to the cost of one Grain for feeding the Knight, his
horse, and retinue. One Iron must also be spent to armor the Knight
and one Gold must be paid as a recruitment bonus. Upon completion
of the task, one Knight is added to the army.

Build Ballista

Building a Ballista requires a minimum Military Rating of 5. At
least 4 of those Military Points must be spent on the task In
addition, one Timber and one Iron must be used to construct the
ballista and one gold must be spent to pay for its construction.
Upon completion of the task, one Ballista is added to the army. An
army can only have one Ballista at a time.

Build Catapult

Building a Catapult requires a minimum Military Rating of 6. At
least 5 of those Military Points must be spent on the task. In
addition, one Timber and one Iron must be used to construct the
catapult and one gold must be spent to pay for its construction.
Upon completion of the task, one Catapult is added to the army. An
army can only have one Catapult at a time.

Build Siege Tower

Building a Siege Tower requires a minimum Military Rating of 7. At
least 6 of those Military Points must be spent on the task.  In
addition, one Timber and one Iron must be used to construct the
siege tower and one gold must be spent to pay for its construction.
Upon completion of the task, one Siege Tower is added to the army.
An army can only have one Siege Tower at a time.

Attack

Mounting an attack on a territory requires a minimum Military
Rating of 2, and a Happiness level of 3 or more. At least 2
Military Points must be spent on the task and one Iron must be used
to equip the army. This task represents forming the troops,
procuring necessary supplies, and marching the army to the
territory to be attacked. You can only attack a territory adjacent
to one of your own. Upon completion of this task, the army will be
in position to conduct an assault on the enemy.

Saboteur

Sending a Saboteur or band of saboteurs to attack an enemy-held
province requires a minimum Military Rating of 3. At least 2 of
those Military Points must be spent on the task in addition to
spending one Gold to pay the saboteur(s). Successful completion of
this task will cause the enemy's stocks to be depleted or some of
his units to be demoralized and disbanded. If the enemy is policing
the realm there is a good chance the saboteur(s) will be caught. If
a saboteur is caught the enemy's relations with you will go down.

Political Tasks

Scouting

Scouting a territory requires an expenditure of at least one
Political Point Upon completion of the task, information concerning
the province's commodity and ownership will become known. You can
only scout a territory adjacent to one that you already own.

Spy

Sending a Spy requires a minimum Political Rating of 3. At least 2
Political Points must be spent on the task and one Gold must be
paid to the Spy. Upon successful completion of this task, the
player will be shown which territories the enemy owns, how large an
army he has, and what level of Happiness he has achieved. If the
enemy is policing the realm there is a good chance the spy will be
caught. If a spy is caught, the enemy's relations with you will go
down.

Diplomat

Sending a Diplomat to a player requires a minimum Political Rating
of 3. At least 2 of those Political Points must be spent on the
task as well as paying the Diplomat one Gold for expenses on his
travels. When sent, the Diplomat is given a range of options to
negotiate within. The more Political Points that are assigned to
the task, the better the Diplomat will perform.

Merchant

Sending a merchant to trade with another player requires a minimum
Political Rating of 3. At least 2 of those Political Points must be
spent on the task You cannot trade with the Pope. When the Merchant
is first sent, you decide what is offered and what is desired. The
more Political Points that are assigned to the task, the better the
chances of success. Good relations with the player you're
attempting to trade with also help get a better deal.

Happiness

Raising the Happiness Level of your people requires an expenditure
of at least 2 Political Points. In addition, one Grain must be
spent to feed the people, one Timber must be used to construct
public works, and one Gold must be distributed to the poor. Upon
completion of this task your Happiness Level will go up by one.

Council

Calling a Council requires an expenditure of 3 Political Points. In
addition, one Grain must be used to feed the council while in
session, and one Gold must be spent to pay their travelling
expenses. Successful completion of this task gives the player
information about the players' rankings in the game, who is Blessed
or Excommunicated, and which of your provinces are near revolt.

CASTLES II: Siege & Conquest
    MS-DOS Reference Card


Memory
Requirements

 CASTLES II requires 565K of free RAM to run in VGA with music.
Running without music, CASTLES II only requires 540K of free RAM.
Other video modes require less free RAM.   You can test your
available RAM with the DOS command MEM or CHKDSK.  Type MEM or
CHKDSK and press the <ENTER> key to see how much free RAM you have.

Disk-Cache

  If you have more than 1 MB of RAM, you may wish to use a disk
cache, using extended or expanded memory. You may wish to refer to
your DOS manual for details. This will enhance the speed of CASTLES
II.

Installation
Instructions

  To install CASTLES II, place DISK 1 into floppy drive A or B.
Type   A: or   B: (whichever drive the disk is in) and press the
<ENTER> key. Then type   INSTALL
press the <ENTER> key, and follow the instructions on the screen.

README.DOC File

 Important: After installation you should read the README.DOC file
for any last minute changes to the program. Simply type   TYPE
README.DOC and press the <ENTER> key at the DOS prompt.

Tutorial

 The manual has a tutorial which will quickly get you into the flow
of the game. Read the manual, pgs. 5-7.

Changing
Configuration

 If you want to change your game configuration, delete the
CASTLES2.CFG file from your CASTLES II directory. Then type
CASTLES2 and it'll reprompt you for the correct configuration.

Sound Card Settings

 The SCCI has to be put into the GS Standard Mode.  If the volume
for the Sound Blaster Pro is too soft, please adjust it with the
Setup Program that comes with your board.

Keyboard                               In the
Commands                               Strategic Game

                                       s       Stock Menu

J     Toggle and calibrate joystick    A       Army Menu
C     Saves VGA screen in DPaint       R       Relations menu
      format                           O       Options Menu
ESC   Skip this portion of the game    Tab     Select Territories
X or Acts like the left mouse button
space                                  In the
Z     Acts like the right mouse        Battle
      button                           F       Flatten castle
 The Numeric Keypad moves the          M       Melee
cursor when not using a mouse. To      D       Destroy walls/Attack Keep
click on buttons that have no key      R       Retreat
equivalent, move the cursor to the     B       Begin battle
proper button and press x or the       P       Pause
space bar.                             I       Select Infantry
                                       A       Select Archers
In the                                 K       Select Knights
Animation Window                       S       Stand

 To answer a question or respond to    In The
actions in the Animation Window        Castle Design Mode
(when the button is visible), use the
following:                             Enter   OK
Enter OK                               ESC     CANCEL
ESC CANCEL                             S       Save Castle
 The Numeric Keypad will scroll the    L       Load Castle
window up or down.
A-F Respond to Plots


                          Victory Points
  Victory Points are awarded for the following accomplishments:
  Each Rating Point 100pts.           Each Archer Unit        20pts.

  (Administrative, Military,          Each Knight Unit      50 pts.
   Political)
                                      Each Ballista         20 pts.

Each Territory Owned 100pts.          Each Catapult         30pts.

Each Castle Piece     2 pts.
                                      Each Siege Tower     40 pts.

Each Gold Unit        20 pts          Each Happiness Point  100 pts

Each Other Stock Unit   5pts          Each Papal Relation Point 75pts

Each Infantry Unit    20pts           Each Player Relation Point 50pts                    CASTLES II Task Chart
TASKS                       REQUIRED TO ACCOMPLISH TASK
                    Min Admin Lvl/  Min Military Lvl/  Min Polit Lvl/  Grain  Timber  Iron  Gold
                    Min Pts Appl     Min Pts Appl       Min Pts Appl
ADMINISTRATIVE
Harvest Grain           1
Cut Timber              1
Mine Iron               1
Refine Gold             1
Build Castle          3/2                                                 1      3      1     2
Military
Police Realm                               1
Recruit Infantry                           1                                            1     1
Recruit Archers                          2/1                                     1            1
Recruit Knights                          6/1                              1             1     1
Build Ballista                           5/4                                     1      1     1
Build Catapult                           6/5                                     1      1     1
Build Siege Tower                        7/6                                     1      1     1
Attack Territory                         2/2*                                           1
                                  (*Min. Happiness of 3)
Send Saboteur                            3/2                                                  1
POLITICAL
Send Scout                                                  1
Send Spy                                                  3/2                                 1
Send Diplomat                                             3/2                                 1
Send Merchant                                             3/2
Raise Happiness                                           2/2            1      1             1
Call Council                                              3/3            1                    1
Terrain Key

Shallow Water  Lt blue
Med. Water     Med. blue
Deep Water     Dark blue
Grass          Green
Marsh          Green/Brown
Dirt           Dark Brown
Forest         Dark Green
Agriculture    Yellow/Grey
Swamp          Cyan
Rocks          Grey

Terrain Effects

Moving

Infantry

Grass/Dirt        OK
Agriculture       Poor
Rock              Poor
Forest            Bad
Water             Bad
Swamp             Worst

Archers

Grass/Dirt        OK
Agriculture       Poor
Rock              Poor
Forest            Bad
Water             Bad
Swamp             Worst

Knights

Grass/Dirt         Good
Agriculture       Poor
Water             Bad
Forest            Worst
Rock              Worst
Swamp             Worst

Player Colors

Anjou        Blue
Aragon       Lt. Blue
Burgundy     Gold
Valois       Red
Albion       Purple

Terrain Effects

Battle

Infantry Hand-to-Hand

Grass/Dirt   OK
Forest       Poor
Agriculture  Bad
Rock         Bad
Water        Bad
Swamp        Worst

Archers Hand-to-Hand

Forest       Good
Rock         Good
Grass/Dirt   OK
Water        Bad
Swamp        Bad
Agriculture  Bad

Knights Hand-to-Hand

Grass        Good
Agriculture  Poor
Water        Poor
Forest       Worst
Rock         Worst
Swamp        Worst

Defense Against Arrows

Forest       Good
Rock         OK
Agriculture  OK
Swamp        Poor
Grass/Dirt   Poor
Water        Bad

Seasonal Effects

During winter months, certain tasks will run slower. Attacking Territories, Harvesting Grain and Cutting Timber will all take more time to complete.