Cream of the Crop 20/Cream of the Crop 20 (Terry Blount) (1996).iso/games/capflag5.zip/HELP.TXT

Text File | 1996-03-12 | 26KB | 596 lines

The following is a copy of the online HELP menu.  It's included on
this disk for those who wnt to print it.


                        QUICK START

     Beginners should just read this QUICK START section
before playing the game.
     Capture the Flag is based on the popular out-door game
by the same name.  The goal of the game is to find and
grab the other side's flag before they grab yours.
     It is played on a large field divided into two equal zones,
one for each side.  The zones contain a variety of terrains
that impact the visibility and movement of the team
members.  At the start of each game your opponent's zone
is black, concealing his terrain, players, and flag.  The
details are revealed as your team explores his zone.
     Capture the Flag is a "turn based" game.  During each
turn you can move some or all of your team up to their
movement point allowances.  Unused movement points are
not carried over to the next turn.  You can end your turn
whenever you want by pressing the END TURN button.
Then your opponent begins his turn and moves his players.
When he is done, it becomes your turn again.
     A good starting strategy is to keep 50% of your (blue)
team on your side to defend your flag.  Send the rest to
explore your opponent's (red) side to find and grab his flag.
     To find your opponent's flag, explore his side of the
field.  When black squares are uncovered they will reveal
the terrain and whether or not the flag is there.  To capture
your opponent's flag, move your person onto it's square.
     Defend your flag by trying to find and capture your
opponent's persons that are on your side of the field before
they find and grab your flag.  To make a capture attempt,
move your person onto the opponent's person.  You can
capture your opponent only on your side of the field.
     You have now finished Quick Start.  We recommend
that you either start playing now (help screens will popup
during the game) or watch the demo (very helpful to learn
the game fast).  We recommend that you read the rest of
the instructions AFTER you have played for awhile.


                      MOVEMENT

     During each turn you may move as many of your people
as you desire.  At the beginning of each turn each member
of your team is allocated their MOVEMENT POINTS.  It
costs one movement point each time you change your
player's STANCE.  Whenever you move a player, you use
up movement points.  The movement cost per unit move
varies with the STANCE and the character of the local
terrain.

THE FOUR STANCES
     A person can either be standing, crawling, walking, or
running.  Each STANCE effects how far a person can move
in one turn (the movement point cost per square), how well
they can see, and how well they can be seen.  Here is how
the four STANCES rank by three categories.

                                      Stand   Crawl   Walk   Run
How far they can move       --      3rd     2nd    1st
How far they can see         1st      4th     2nd    3rd
How well they can hide       2nd     1st      3rd    4th


                     MOUSE COMMANDS

RIGHT BUTTON (anytime)
     Pressing the right button once will bring up the GLOBAL
MAP that represents the whole playing field.  Moving the
mouse causes the SELECTION FRAME to move, and
pressing the right mouse button again will cause that
portion of the map covered by the rectangle box to be
displayed in the PLAYING AREA, and the GLOBAL MAP to
be removed.  THIS IS THE MOST CONVENIENT WAY TO
NAVIGATE.

LEFT BUTTON:  ON THE PLAYING AREA
     SELECTING A PERSON:  Place the cursor over a person
and click it, and a white square will appear around the
person signifying this person is SELECTED.
     MOVING A PERSON:  Place the cursor at the desired
destination and hold down the left button until the selected
person arrives (or depletes movement points).  The person
and the desired destination have to both be on the
PLAYING AREA.
     SELECTING STANCE:  Press the left mouse button
when the cursor is on the selected person and the STANCE
bar will appear.  Then press the desired STANCE icon.

LEFT BUTTON:  ON CONTROL PANEL
     SELECTING A PERSON:  Place cursor over the person
you want to become the SELECTED person.  Then press
left mouse button.
     SELECTING STANCE:  Place cursor over desired
STANCE icon and press left mouse button.

LEFT BUTTON:  ON GLOBAL MAP
     DISPLAYING STATUS:  Toggles displaying the
remaining movement points with each person's first letter.
A background of grey signifies that person has no more
movement points.  Every other time this information is
displayed, the display order is reversed so that those that
are covered up are visible.  This is a quick way to check on
the status of your team members and plan your tactics.


                       MODEM

There are two ways of two people playing each other.

LOCAL - SAME COMPUTER
     The first way is for them to share the same computer.
While one is moving his team the other person is in another
room.  When the first person is done, he ends his turn and
then trades places with the other person.

MODEM/NETWORK - DIFFERENT COMPUTERS
     The first player starts playing the game as the BLUE
team.  At the end of his turn the game will be saved in a
special format.  The first player then sends this little saved
game file to his opponent.  The four most common ways
are:
     1) Call up the person with your modem and upload the
          saved game.
     2) Call up a BBS (computer bulletin board) and upload
         the saved game to it.  On most BBS's you can
         send an E-MAIL message to your opponent and
         include (attach) the saved game as a binary file.
         That way when he reads your message he gets your
         file also.
     3) If you are both on the same network, send him a
         E-MAIL message with the saved game included as a
         binary file.
     4) Give or mail, a disk, with your saved game to your
         opponent.

HOW TO START A MODEM GAME
     To start a modem game, you select NEW GAME from
the FILE menu.  At the first popup choose HUMAN VS
HUMAN.  At the second popup select MODEM/NETWORK
and then enter your name and password.
     Play your turn, and when finished, press the END TURN
button, then enter the filename that you wish to use for
this particular game.  Since there will be a number of game
turns occurring, and since both the blue and red players will
be saving files, you might use a logical way of naming the
saved files.  The program automatically adds the .md1
(.md2 for commercial version) extension and then stores it
in the directory where you have Capture the Flag.  The
player then can quit the game and then send this .md1 file
to his opponent.
     When the red player receives the file, he places it into
the FLAG directory, and then starts CTF.  He then chooses
LOAD PBEM GAME from the FILE menu and begins his
turn.  When he has finished his turn, he presses the END
TURN button, names his file, quits the game, and then
sends his turn file to the blue player.

ADVANTAGES OF PBEM
     Capture the Flag is a "turn based" game.  One person
moves and then the second person moves.  For "turn
based" games PBEM (Play by E-MAIL) has two main
advantages over the direct connect modem method.
     First, you can make your move whenever you want.
You don't have to wait until your opponent can play.  For
example, one person could move and upload his saved
game to a BBS by 7 PM.  His opponent, at his leisure, could
download it at any time and upload it by midnight.  That
way you can complete one turn per day without the hassle
of trying to match up your free time with his.
     Second, it frees up your phone.  Instead of tieing up
your phone for the duration of the game you use your
phone only to send and receive the saved games. By
keeping your phone bills to a minimum you can now play
your friends who live far away.
     I enjoy playing several games at the same time with a
friend.  This reduces the time I spend o