PC Gamer 2.6/1996-07_Disc_2.6.bin/patches/gempol1.zip/MANUAL.TXT

Text File | 1996-04-07 | 14KB | 308 lines

                                 GEM POLISH

                             by Peter Donnelly
                            and Stuart Gillespie

                    Copyright (c) 1996 by Peter Donnelly

OVERVIEW

GEM POLISH is an unofficial, unauthorized saved-game editor and general
utility for Strategic Simulations, Inc.'s wargame Fantasy General(TM).

The program lets you change many game variables including the current
abilities of all units, friendly and enemy. You can change the
player-characters' advantages in the middle of a game, adjust the state of
research, and increase your reserves of gold. You can also sort and browse
the list of unit types, see full specifications for any unit type, print
out a complete table of type specs sorted and selected as you like, and
print a game summary including a complete list of units.

The program does not permit the editing of unit type specifications -- you
can change individual units, but not basic characteristics of a type. Nor
does it allow you to alter PBM files.

Only limited range-checking is performed, and there is no guarantee that
the numbers you put in won't blow up the game. Please, back up your save
files before experimenting, and read the DISCLAIMER below.

It's best to edit saved games where you have already selected a
battlefield. If you edit a between-battles file, the enemy units in the
file will not be those you encounter in your next battle.


BENEFITS OF REGISTRATION

This program is being distributed as shareware. If you continue to use it
beyond a reasonable evaluation period, you are expected to pay for it. The
price is $12 U.S.

The shareware version of the program has the following limitations:

1. Does not allow viewing of type specifications. (A sample screen is
shown.)

2. Does not print tables of type specifications, or game and unit
summaries. (Sample printouts are produced.)

3. Allows substitution of unit type only for the first unit in the list.

See the ordering instructions given when you quit the program. If by any
chance you are using an illicit registered version and don't see this
notice, please send a check for $12 to:

     Skookum Software
     1301 Ryan Street
     Victoria BC Canada
     V8T 4Y8


INSTALLATION

We recommend copying the EXE file to the SAVES subdirectory of your Fantasy
General directory. This makes it easy to load a saved game on the command
line (see below). If you do a lot of switching between FG and GP, you might
want to put GP.BAT in the main FG directory. See the remarks in that file
for usage.

The first time you run the program, you will be prompted for the drive and
name of the directory where FG's unit-type data file can be found. Normally
you will only have to ensure that the game CD is present, and that the
correct drive letter appears in the default prompt. However, if you prefer,
you can first copy MAGEQUP.DAT from the \FG\DAT directory of the CD to your
hard drive, and enter this new path at the prompt. If you do this, the CD
does not have to be present in order for Gem Polish to run, and the program
will load more quickly.


LOAD A SAVED GAME

There are two ways to load a saved-game file for editing.

1. If the current DOS directory is the saved-game directory (the SAVES
subdirectory of the game directory), you can put a game number on the
command line, e.g. "GEMPOL 2" to load the game in the second slot of FG's
saved-game menu (GAME2.SAV). A zero on the command line loads the
fast-save file, QUICKSAV.SAV.

2. If no game number is entered on the command line, or the game is not
found in the current directory, you are presented with a file dialog. You
can also call up this dialog anytime from the File menu, or by pressing
Ctrl-O. Note that the game description for any highlighted file in the list
is given in the blue pane.

The Open File and Save File dialogs always default to the current DOS
directory. To change the current directory, select File/Change Directory
from the menu.


EDIT GAME VARIABLES

For edit boxes that require numbers, you can get a hint about the allowable
range by right-clicking on the edit box.

The game description, amount of gold held by each player, and difficulty
can be edited on the main screen. Click the Characters and Research buttons
for further game options.

Difficulty

Difficulty can be edited for campaign games only. See page 30 of the game
manual for an explanation of the settings. The numbers by the option
buttons are equivalent to those for "custom" settings in the game, with
higher numbers meaning greater difficulty.

Characters

You can change the name and advantages of either player-character, but not
the innate abilities of the character chosen by you or the computer at the
beginning of the game. (Innate abilities are described on page 23 of the
game manual.) In other words, changing the name of your character from Lord
Marcas to Archmage Krell doesn't actually put the Archmage in the game.

Research

Since Gem Polish lets you upgrade to any unit type at any time, there's not
a lot of point in manipulating research. However, we've included this
feature in case you want to check or adjust the actual figures for your
research funding, or see how far advanced the enemy is. This feature is
available only for campaign games.

The Research Funding dialog allows you to change the accumulated gold (not
percentages) currently dedicated to your research in each category. At the
end of a battle, if there is enough gold in a category to develop the next
available grade of unit, that amount is deducted from the funds in the
category. Research in a category never proceeds at more than one available
grade per battle, regardless of how much gold you put into it. (We say
"available grade" because your research may in fact jump two or three
grades if there are no intermediate types in that category -- e.g.
mechanized heavy infantry which has no type in grade 1 or 2.)

Shown below each input box is the current grade of unit in that category
that can be purchased by each of the players.


EDIT UNIT VARIABLES

To edit a unit, select the appropriate list of units with the Side option
buttons. The list shows all units in the file, whether they are dead,
disbanded, deployed, or in reserve (i.e. active but not deployed). You may
even see some dead units in the list that never existed in the game. Dead
units are shown in blue text.

Click on the unit you want to change. Type the desired values in
the input boxes and set the buttons and check box as you like. If any of
the numerical values are not within the allowed range, you will be warned
when you attempt to either tab out of the input box, select a different
unit, or save the game. (Again, you can see the allowed range by
right-clicking.)

Type

The unit type is shown with a symbol representing the class to which it
belongs. For a key to these symbols, see the option buttons in the Unit
Types dialog.

To change a unit's basic type, select the unit in the list and click the
Type button, or double-click on the unit name in the list. The Unit Types
dialog opens. Find the desired type and click the Insert button or press
the Ins key. Note that the name of the selected unit is displayed under the
Insert button, so that you can be sure of which unit you are changing.

When you change a unit's type, the name changes to reflect the change,
unless you have given the unit a custom name either in the game or by
making a change in the Name field within Gem Polish.

The designation "Regular", "Hero", or "Volunteer" indicates what kind of
unit FG expects to find in this position in the list. This designation
cannot be changed. If you assign a hero to a slot occupied by a regular
unit, or vice versa, FG may exhibit some odd behaviour, such as incorrectly
allowing or not allowing upgrades. Also, volunteers remain volunteers no
matter what unit types you assign to them: they are still unable to use
magical items, and they will leave your army at the end of a continental
campaign.

Morale

The value shown in the morale edit box may not agree with the value shown
for the unit within the game. This is because the basic morale may be
adjusted at runtime by factors such as an adjacent hero or a character's
charisma advantage (or disadvantage -- Krell's units deduct 20, though this
is not documented).

Status

If you change a unit's status to "Deployed" or "Reserve", the unit's wounds
and dead are automatically set to zero, and its morale to 100. (You can
quickly bring any unit back to full strength just by clicking on
"Deployed", even if the unit is already deployed.)

If you revive a dead unit, you may want to place it into the reserve, and
then deploy it in the game, rather than directly deploying it in Gem
Polish. The program does not check to see whether a unit is being
deployed on a vacant hex.


UNIT TYPES DIALOG

You can open the Unit Types dialog from the main menu or by pressing Ctrl-B,
whether or not a saved-game file is open. The dialog also appears when you
click the Type button on the main editing screen.

This dialog shows a list of all available unit types within the selected
class or all classes. If you open the dialog from the main menu
(File/Browse Unit Types) or with Ctrl-B, all classes are shown. If you open
the dialog with the Type button or by double-clicking on the unit list,
only types of the same class as the selected unit are shown. You can change
the class shown, or reset to all classes, as well as changing the sort
order, by selecting different option buttons.

The Specs button brings up another dialog showing specifications for the
selected unit type. Double-clicking on a type in the list also brings up
this dialog. In the Specifications dialog, attack values are shown with (*)
if magical and (#) if mechanical; otherwise they are physical.

The Search button allows you to search the list for any string of
characters (not necessarily a whole word). The search is not
case-sensitive. The next match after the selected item is found, and the
selection highlight is moved to that item. If no match is found, the search
continues at the beginning of the list.

The Insert button changes the type of the unit selected on the editing
screen. If no file is loaded, this button is not available.

The Print button prints out a table of specifications for all the unit
types currently displayed in the list, and in the same sort order. See
Selecting Printer Output, below, for instructions on how to change the
default output.

The printout is in much the same format as the "Unit Class Tables" starting
on p. 64 of the Fantasy General manual. In order to keep the tables within
the width allowed by most printers, five columns are not included: special
abilities, spells, and ownership. A two-letter code identifies the unit
class, and as on screen, (*) and (#) signify magical and mechanical attack
values respectively. See p. 63 of the FG manual for a key to other
abbreviations.


ASSIGN MAGIC ITEM

To assign an item to a unit, select the unit and then click Item. Highlight
the desired item in the list, and click Assign. Note that the name of the
currently selected unit appears beside the Assign button.

To take an item away from a unit, select "(None)" from the list.

The same restrictions apply as in the game: you cannot assign a magic item
to a siege engine or a volunteer.


PRINT GAME

The File/Print... menu item prints out a summary of the game and a complete
list of active units (i.e. those deployed or in reserve, but not dead ones)
with information about each one.


SELECTING PRINTER OUTPUT

When you print a game or unit type table, a dialog appears asking you to
set the output device or file. By default the output device is PRN, i.e.
the standard printer. If you prefer to print to a file, type in a valid DOS
filename. Files can be imported into a word processor for custom printing;
use a fixed-width font such as Courier so that the columns line up.


TURBO VISION INTERFACE

All operations can be performed without the mouse. You can navigate quickly
in dialog boxes by pressing Alt plus the highlighted key in the various
labels and buttons; if there's no cursor in an input box, the Alt is not
necessary. Tab and Shift-Tab also take you from field to field. Cancel
dialogs with Esc.

When using the mouse, you can highlight existing text for "first-
keystroke-deletes" mode by either double-clicking on the field itself or
single-clicking on its label.


DISCLAIMER

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS
TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PRODUCT IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE
PRODUCT PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING,
REPAIR OR CORRECTION.

IN NO EVENT WILL PETER DONNELLY, STUART GILLESPIE, OR SKOOKUM SOFTWARE BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE
PRODUCT (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED
INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE
PRODUCT TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER
PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.