The Arsenal Files 8/The Arsenal Files Collection #8 (Arsenal Computer) (1996).ISO/g_games/aor101.zip/README11.TXT

Text File | 1996-09-18 | 26KB | 635 lines

                 WARGAME CONSTRUCTION SET III:

                        AGE OF RIFLES
                         1846 - 1905


v. 1.01 PATCH RELEASE NOTES
------------------------------

Welcome to the Age of Rifles v.1.01.

The patched version of AOR addresses those bugs found immediately
prior to shipping as well at those (unfortunately) found in the
field.  Special thanks to all those involved with reporting and
finding bugs in the field, as well as those who have been *patiently*
awaiting the patch.

This patch fixes all of the known bugs and outstanding issues:

GAMEPLAY
---------
     * All issues surrounding PBEM games have been corrected.
     * The game no longer looks for a sound init file, enabling a
       true "no sound" option.
     * When playing campaigns, sides will no longer switch through
       the course of a campaign - once Union, always Union (etc.).
     * Notification is now given at the end of a scenario within a
       campaign to pull down the continue option from the File menu.
     * A palette related bug in command displays has been corrected.
     * A bug in commander assignments during reinforcements has been
       corrected.
     * Commander replacement logic has been improved, eliminating a
       bug that could have left formations without commanders in long
       battles.
     * Melee problems have been corrected.
     * Replaying a scenario in the VCR with ships no longer causes
       the game to crash.
     * Selecting UNDO will now remove any graphic casualties from
       the game field.
     * Problems associated with viewing the battlefield at the end
       of a scenario has been corrected.

EDITOR
-------
     * When "show field of view" is on (set in the game), the editor
       no longer displays a gray overlay over the entire map.
     * Selecting "move unit" in the oob editor no longer crashes
       the editor when fewer than 2 units are defined.
     * The title bar at the top of the screen is now updated when
       a map file is loaded in the editor.

MISC.
------
     * This patch contains the MSCDEX.EXE version 2.23, necessary
       to identify the WGCSIII disc in your CD-ROM drive.
     * A problem with the Crimea text file has been corrected.


Enjoy the Age of Rifles v.1.01!


John Eberhardt
9/18/96

-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------

TECHNICAL SUPPORT
------------------

Remember that Age of Rifles is a DOS product.  Using the task
switch feature available through Microsoft Windows 95 to
transfer in and out of a DOS box while the game is in play
may cause bugs to be introduced to the program.  Any such
problem can be remedied by quitting Rifles and relaunching in
an un-interrupted DOS session.

This also applies to any screen savers that may be active. It
is recommended that when playing Rifles under any Windows
environment that all screen savers are disabled.


CD-ROM PROBLEMS
----------------
Compatibility problems with CD-ROM drivers associated with
Windows 95 may stop your Age of Rifles disc from being
accessed.  An up-to-date version of the MSCDEX.EXE program
can be found in the root of your Rifles directory. If you experience
any problems running your game, follow the below information
to remedy the problem(s).

***REMEMBER TO MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR ORIGINAL FILES BEFORE MODIFYING
YOUR AUTOEXEC.BAT OR CONFIG.SYS!!!***


CAN'T ACCESS DRIVE:
--------------------

When you try to access your CD-ROM drive in Windows 95, you may
experience one of the following symptoms:

     - You cannot run executable (.exe) files.
     - You cannot view complete directory listings.
     - You receive the error message "Device not found."

These problems can occur if you are using an older version of
Mscdex.exe that is not compatible with Windows 95.

When you install certain real-mode CD-ROM drivers, an older version
of Mscdex.exe is copied to the hard disk and a reference to the older
version of Mscdex.exe is placed in the Autoexec.bat file.

SOLUTION
---------------
Modify the Autoexec.bat file to reference the correct
version of Mscdex.exe. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Make a backup copy of the Autoexec.bat file.

2. Use any text editor (such as Notepad) to open the
Autoexec.bat file.

3. Modify the line containing Mscdex.exe to read:

<drive>:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE<parameter>

    where <drive> is the drive containing Windows 95 and
        <parameters> are the parameters from the original line
        containing Mscdex.exe.

       NOTE: To maintain compatibility with the installed
       CD-ROM driver, make sure to use all the parameters
       exactly as they are used in the original line.

4. Save and then close the Autoexec.bat file.

5. Shut down and restart your computer.


PROBLEMS WITH MULTIPLE CD-ROM SYSTEMS
--------------------------------------

Microsoft CD-ROM Extensions (MSCDEX) can control multiple CD-ROM
drives, but must be configured to do so.

SOLUTION
---------------
To configure your system, you must make some adjustments
to the parameters on your CD-ROM driver in the CONFIG.SYS
file and to the MSCDEX command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

MSCDEX uses the /D:MSCDxxx parameter to differentiate
between the drives. For example, the following commands
assign the Creative Labs CD-ROM driver (SBPCD.SYS) to
drive m and the external CD-ROM (TSLCDR.SYS) to drive n:

       CONFIG.SYS File
       ---------------
       device=c:\sbpro\sbpcd.sys /d:mscd001 /p:220
       device=c:\scsi\tslcdr.sys /d:mscd000

       AUTOEXEC.BAT File
       ---------------------
       mscdex /d:mscd001 /l:m /d:mscd000 /l:n


    NOTE: Because MS-DOS treats CD-ROM drives like network
    drives, they are assigned sequentially to available
    drive letters (for example, three CD-ROM drives could
    be assigned to G:, H:, and I:).

==================================================================

TACTICAL NOTES
---------------

The name is no mistake!  This is a period where defense
steadily gained the edge over offense.  Few units can stand
up long to steady fire.  If you are on the attack,  be aware
of your time limit.  Within the bounds of the turns allowed
be patient.  It is a rare scenario where pre-assault
bombardment with your artillery does not pay off.  When
approaching enemy,  remember to use line formation and
deploy skirmishers.  Skirmishers dramatically reduce the
number of casualties you take from small arms fire,  while
line formation provides some protection from artillery fire.
Outflank your opponents and use cover as much as possible.

When attacking artillery,  try to assault it from the flank
or rear.  Cavalry are very vulnerable to fire,  so don't
waste them on frontal assaults.  If you are overmatched by
heavier or more numerous guns,  don't shoot it out with them -
withdraw to cover or a position where you can assist other
units' attacks.  If you must play counter battery games with
enemy artillery,  try to get off the first shot.  This will
give you an edge in the wearing of morale and firepower that
can be decisive.

When defending,  don't forget to set up overlapping lanes of
fire.  Vary the responses of your units to enemy approach and
fire - the Free Fire and Counter Fire options can be mixed
with good effect with Wait fire,  so that enemy assaults meet
a rising crescendo of fire as they close,  with one big bang
at the end.  Remember that artillery gets half as many
defensive shots as infantry,  so make them count.  Do not
let 'out of sight' be 'out of mind'.  Enemy units can rally
and recover quickly,  offering a new threat where you thought
victory was sealed.

Assault by fire is often a good tactic,  as the follow-up
moves of close assault can expose your units to new fire.  To
deliver the most firepower,  use line or supported line formation,
but turn the skirmishers off - they protect you but limit your
firepower.  Note that although artillery cannot be moved adjacent
to enemy units by prolong (pushed by hand) they can get adjacent
when limbered.  This is an attack that has a built in delay of a
turn,  but is usually worth it!  When using artillery close to
enemy keep an infantry unit stacked with the artillery - gunners
respond poorly to assaults and will often leave suddenly...

Check all the objectives,  they have different values.


MOVE COSTS & TERRAIN EFFECTS
-----------------------------

Road movement

Road movement costs take precedence if allowed. Units must be
disordered or in march column, and movement must be along the
road from one road hex to another. Road movement is not allowed
if abatis are present in the hex.

March column....................................................1
Disorder........................................................2

Road movement cost modifiers

Other unit in hex..............................................+1
Soft ground condition (road)...................................+1
Soft ground condition (improved or sunken road).................0
Dismounted unit under fire or taking cover.....................+1

Off road movement

Standard cost (by formation)

March column....................................................1
Disorder........................................................2
Attack column...................................................2
Supported line..................................................3
Line............................................................3
Square..........................................................5

Off road movement cost modifiers:

Town or village - always use the standard cost, following will not
apply.

Each line of modifiers is cumulative with all other modifiers. The
modifier for each line is only charged once, thus (example) a unit
which is under fire and skirmishing will only pay +1 to move.

Soft ground or heavy rain.......................................+1
Dismounted unit under fire,
        taking cover,or skirmishing.............................+1
Night...........................................................+1
Heavy equipment in unit.........................................+1
Marsh...........................................................+2
Berm............................................................+1
Hex on fire............................................not allowed
Fence, wall, or trench (mounted)..........................1/3 full
Fence, wall, or trench (not mounted)............................+1
Crewed weapons in unit..........................................+1
Escarpment (no elevation change).........................no effect
Escarpment (elevation change)..........................not allowed
Bridged stream..................................................+2
Unbridged fordable stream or gully (no heavy equipment).........+2
Unbridged fordable stream or gully (heavy equipment)...not allowed
Unbridged Non fordable stream..........................not allowed
Woods...........................................................+1
Abatis, redoubt, or walled compound (mounted)...................+2
Abatis, redoubt, or walled compound (not mounted)...............+1
Rocks, mud, sand, any field (mounted)...........................+2
Rocks, mud, sand, any field (not mounted).......................+1
Change in elevation (mounted)...................................+2
Change in elevation (not mounted)...............................+1

Note: "Heavy equipment" is a characteristic of some types of crewed
weapons. See weapons database to determine whether any particular
weapon is considered "heavy equipment".

Naval Movement / Naval Units

River or lake (deep water).....................1
River or lake (small vessels, shallow water)...2 (may run aground)
Otherwise......................................not allowed

Note: A river lake hex which shows even the smallest amount of
land is considered shallow.

Water Movement / Non-Naval Units

River or lake (non frozen).....................Not allowed
River or lake (frozen).........................Normal movement costs



SPECIAL CASES:

Artillery may not be pushed (moved while unlimbered) into any hex
adjacent to an enemy unit.

Units may always move one hex per turn regardless of cost, as long as
the movement would not otherwise be prohibited.

Depending upon unit's level of training, the following formations may
be allowed:

Tactical        Fire            Melee
Formation       Efficacy        Efficacy       Mobility
----------      --------        --------       --------
Disordered       Poor           Poor           Good
March Column     Poor           Very Poor      Excellent
Attack Column    Poor           Good           Fair
Supported Line   Fair           Fair           Fair
Line             Good           Poor           Poor
Defensive        Excellent      Excellent      Zero
Square           Poor           Excellent      Poor
Engineering*     Poor           Poor           Good

Note on Engineering: Units can stop to create breastworks or remove
abatis if this button is available. Abatis are improvised barricades
with little defensive value, but slow movement across them.

Left-clicking this button causes a unit ending its movement in a hex
with an abatis and movement points left to destroy the abatis as soon
as it passes a capability check.

This process uses all remaining movement. Breastworks are hasty
defensive works constructed from any available material. Left-clicking
this button causes a unit ending its movement in an appropriate hex
with movement points left to throw up a breastwork as soon as it
passes a capability check.

====================================================================

SCENARIO CONSTRUCTION
----------------------

As anyone who has designed historical scenarios can tell you, a
battle sometimes isn't as interesting when you finish a scenario as
when you conceptualized it. Just because a situation has already
been modeled in an existing scenario doesn't mean someone else
can't tackle it again. You might be able to do a better job than
the other fellow.

Orders and Objectives

Definition: All objectives except for the final (highest numbered)
assigned to any particular command are referred to as intermediate
objectives. Intermediate objectives are useful for refining the
action of the programmed opponent, but have no direct effect upon play.

Units assigned to "attacking" commands will attempt to pass
through lowest  numbered to highest numbered objectives while
advancing on their final objective. In many cases it is not
necessary to specify a particular path for an attacking command,
since the programmed opponent does a pretty good job of  "channelling"
the command. There are two exceptions though: 1) If there is a
significant obstacle, such as a river, it can be helpful to place
intermediate objectives in such a way as to create a "path" for advance.
2) If many commands will be advancing on the same objective it can
be helpful to use intermediate objectives for each command to avoid
traffic jams. Otherwise, since the programmed opponent will tend to
take the easiest path when moving its units, you may find your
commands bunching up near roads or passing through dense terrain.

Defending commands will stay in place unless an enemy unit
occupies one of their objectives. In many cases this is what you want.
But you can also use intermediate objectives to set up "tripwires." For
example, a cavalry command can be placed behind a hill out of enemy
view. Its final objective might be in a village located behind the
it. This ensures that the village will be defended if approached
by the enemy. But you could also set an intermediate objective on one
side of a bridge in front of the hill. When the enemy advances across
the bridge your cavalry would ride out to attack, but if other enemy
forces threatened your command's final objective they would return to
defend the village. By clever use of intermediate objectives you can set
up a very active defense.

To begin with, set all of your command orders to "normal" emphasis.
You can adjust up (all costs) or down (cautious) when you start
testing for historical accuracy and play balance.

Leaders have a very strong effect on game play. It is easy to forget
to set leaders away from national defaults, but the results can be
worth it. Private soldiers in many 19th century armies were quite
professional, but their officers were sometimes political appointees.
In some cases, the better leaders have become legendary figures. You
can reflect this by setting commander values as appropriate.

Unit names are limited to 16 characters, but you can get additional
mileage out of unit names in many game displays by using the
following abbreviations (spaces are significant). This also gets
around spelling problems:

          " Hsr" >>> " Hussar"
          " Fslr" >>> " Fusilier"
          " Drgn" >>> " Dragoon"
          " Gndr" >>> " Grenadier"
          " Jgrs" >>> " Jaegers"
          "Hlndr" >>> "Highlander"
          " Arty" >>> " Artillery"
          " Bn" >>> " Battalion"
          " dA" >>> " d'Afrique"
          "Hvy" >>> "Heavy"
          "Lt" >>> "Light"
          " Rgt" >>> " Regiment"
          " Bde" >>> " Brigade"
          "Mtd" >>> "Mounted"
          "Gren " >>> "Grenadier "
          "Gd" >>> "Guard"
          "Irsh" >>> "Irish"
          "Fld" >>> "Field"
          " Bodygd" >>> " Bodyguard"
          " Div " >>> " Division "
          "W'phln" >>> "Westphalian"
          "B'burg" >>> "Brandenburg"
          "Lwr " >>> "Lower "
          "E.Pru" >>> "East Pru"
          "Sfrth" >>> " Seaforth "
          "Camrn" >>> " Cameron "
          "Ryl" >>> "Royal"
          "Bty" >>> "Battery"
          " Tex." >>> " Texas"
          " Ark." >>> " Arkansas"
          " Lou." >>> " Louisiana"
          " Miss." >>> " Mississippi"
          " Tenn." >>> " Tennessee"
          " Ala." >>> " Alabama"
          " Fla." >>> " Florida"
          " Ga." >>> " Georgia"
          " S.C." >>> " South Carolina"
          " N.C." >>> " North Carolina"
          " Ky." >>> " Kentucky"
          " Va." >>> " Virginia"
          " Md." >>> " Maryland"
          " Penn." >>> " Pennsylvania"
          " Del." >>> " Delaware"
          " Ia." >>> " Indiana"
          " Ill." >>> " Illinois"
          " N.J." >>> " New Jersey"
          " N.Y." >>> " New York"
          " Conn." >>> " Connecticut"
          " Mass." >>> " Massachusetts"
          " Vt." >>> " Vermont"
          " N.H." >>> " New Hampshire"
          " Me." >>> " Maine"
          " W." >>> " West"
          " Vol." >>> " Volunteer"
          " Vols." >>> " Volunteers"
          " S.S." >>> " Sharpshooters"

        Example: If you name a unit "1st B'burg Jgrs", it will display
        in the game as "1st Brandenburg Jaegers" if space allows.

You can do interesting things with some unit and command parameters.
For example, if you look closely at Buena Vista you will find that
the Mexican army arrives on the map in an exhausted state. This
strongly encourages the Mexican player to do what Santa Anna did
historically - probe the pass then set up camp for the night. You
can also set the ammo levels of individual units very low while setting
their parent command supply ratings much higher. The units would
start off with very little ammo but would rapidly resupply. Or you can
do the reverse, if you want to recreate the legendary "quartermaster
effect" at Isandlwana.

If you are designing an historical scenario, try to get historical
results by selecting objectives and command orders. Don't worry
about play balance until you are satisfied with the feel of the
scenario. Once you have done this, you can manually modify the
values of the objectives to achieve play balance.

The best way to test for rough balance in your scenarios is to
launch them in a computer vs. computer play mode. You can speed
this up by using the "quick" command line parameter. The
"quick" parameter will cut all delays to a minimum, which will allow
for the most rapid possible test of the scenario. It comes with a cost
though: The game will play so rapidly that you won't easily be
able to follow the action.


CAMPAIGN CONSTRUCTION
----------------------

Building campaigns that allow units to carry over experience from
scenario to scenario is best accomplished by building your Order
Of Battle (OOB) for the first scenario listing all of the units
that will be used in a campaign and saving the OOB separately in
the Unit editor.  Any units that are not used in a particular
scenario should be given deployment orders to arrive after the
scenario is scheduled to end.  This keeps their modifications
from any previous scenarios for the campaign but prevents them
from appearing in a scenario in which you don't want them
available.  In addition, if you start with the same OOB, you
assure that the unit names are consistent.  When building the
next scenario in the campaign, use the OOB from the previous
scenario modifying the deployment orders.

When saving any scenario, you are presented with two options.
The first asks whether the scenario is part of a campaign; if
you answer yes, a second option allows you to save the file as
the first scenario in a campaign.  The former file is saved as
an ".SCI" (invisible) file, while the latter is saved as an
".SCC" (campaign) file.

".SCI" files are not seen from the Scenario Menu, and cannot
be played in any way outside of their campaign.  This allows
a scenario to be saved multiple times for use in multiple
campaigns, allowing the default, or stand-alone scenario to
remain intact.

".SCC" files denote the beginning file of a campaign.  These
files and their names appear on the Campaign Menu, and cannot
be played outside of their campaign.

Both ".SCI" and ".SCC" files can be viewed from the File
Manager screen.

When a standard scenario is saved, it is saved as an ".SCE"
file, available from the Scenario Menu.

It is important that when creating your campaigns you link to
the correct file, both in name and in its extension.

====================================================================

COMMAND PROMPTS
----------------
Command line prompts (commands entered on the same line as the game
start command before executing the program) can modify gameplay and
game setup.

Single Session Options
-----------------------
        These options must be toggled every time you start the
        game to be in effect.

        "quiet": play with no sound (this session only).

        "fastexit": Allows you to exit the game directly
          from the menu, without  having to pass through
          the "main" screen (this session only).

        "mono": Monaural sound (this session only).

Persistent Options
-------------------
        These options set a flag in a configuration file which
        can only be reset by running the reverse toggle, ie.
        "reactions+" can only be reset by starting a game
        using "reactions-."

        "reactions+": Allows longer ranges for automatic
          reaction orders.

        "reactions-": (Default) Sets the documented ranges
          for reaction orders.

        "reports+": Gives additional numerical information in
          some game report screens.

        "reports-": (Default) Replaces some numerical information
          in game report screens with verbal descriptions.

        "showmovecost+": When movement paths are shown, the
          projected cost to enter each hex along the path is shown
          in the hex.

        "showmovecost-": (Default) Do not show movement cost
          information in movement path displays.

====================================================================

CREDITS
--------

Developed by            Norm Koger, Jr. and
                        SSI Special Projects Group
Producer                John Eberhardt
Associate Producer      Brandon Chamberlain
Art Director            Steve Burke
Lead Artist             Gennady Krakovsky
Artists                 Maurie Manning, Ben Rush, Mike Filippoff,
                        Dave Jensen, John Xu, Donald Wang, Sean Tsai
Additional Art          Miki Morris, Strategy First, Inc.
Programming             Norm Koger, Jr.
Lead Scenario Designer  Mike Simpson
Additional Scenarios    James Young, Dick Wagenet, Dave Merrick,
                        Novastar, Inc.
Audio Director          Ralph Thomas
Audio Technician        Ron Calonje
Multimedia Production   Maurice Jackson
Music Composed &
        Performed by    Rick Rhodes and Danny Pelfrey
American Theme Music    Tom Carns
Manual Author           Mark Whisler
Manual Editor           Jonathan Kromrey
Data Manager            Caron White
Install Programmer      Ben Cooley
Test Manager            Glen Cureton
Test Supervisor         Jason Ray
Lead Tester             John Cloud
SSI Testers             Bill White, Lance Page, Osiris Roman,
                        Mike Hawkins, Kelly Calabro, Sean Wyman,
                        Jason Loney, Jeff Powell, Dan Rivera
Beta Testers            Paul Winner, Bill Lott, Lee Jordan, Greg
                        Doyle, Vince Alonso, Judith Weller, John
                        Taylor, Jim Fink
Executive Producer      Bret Berry

Special Thanks To       Kevin Klemme, Jan Lindner, Joel Billings,
                        Chuck Kroegel, Dan Cermak, Lee Crawford,
                        Carl Norman, John Hudson, John Ross,
                        Tom Wahl, Bob Burke, Al Revere and
                        Tony Preziosi