Cream of the Crop 11

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Text File | 1995-08-23 | 13KB | 340 lines

LORDS OF THE REALM Additional Notes Floppy Disk Version 1.02 ------------------------------------------------------- The following game-changes and notes could not be included in this game's printed documentation. Installation Note ----------------- The installation routine for this game requires approximately 6 additional megabytes of drive space above the approximately 10 megabytes used for running the game. This extra space is only needed during installation, and will be freed up as soon as installation is complete. If your hard-drive uses some form of disk compression (like Stacker or Doublespace), then you will need additional disk space during installation. Once the patch has been installed, you need re-run the SETUP program before playing the game. Tutorial Correction ------------------- There is a minor error in the game's tutorial. Fields containing cows or sheep are NOT at their most productive when there are three animals displayed in their field pictures. In fact, the more fields you devote to a herd, the more productive they will become (up to a point). The strategy sections of the Techical Supplement describe this correctly. Command Restrictions -------------------- You can only control your kingdom during your own turn. Between turns, you can scroll around the map, switch to the overview map, and access game options. Playing this Game with the Aria Soundcard ----------------------------------------- This game supports the Aria card, although its sound drivers are extremely memory-intensive. If sound or music do not play when you configure for Aria, you may be out of available CONVENTIONAL memory. You can try to free up more memory (with a boot disk), or configure for the Sound Blaster card. An Explanation of Stewardship ----------------------------- As explained in the technical supplement, your steward will offer to manage the labor allocations for your fields once you control three counties. At the start of each season, he will reallocate the workers you have assigned to grain, sheep, cattle, fields and idle to complete the farming tasks as best as he can. He provides a report which indicates which counties require more farmers, and which have too many. (In addition to this, he now also indicates when the ration allocations in a county have changed. This warns you of food shortages so that you can respond to them.) It's important to remember that the steward's purpose is NOT to let you ignore your counties while you conquer the enemy -- he will not reclaim fields for you, and you will still need to manage your castle-building and production. And he does not act on the warnings he gives you; you must decide on a course of action whenever you have labor excesses, labor shortages, or ration changes. The best way to let the steward do his job is to leave enough idle workers to cover your grain needs in the harvest season. Multiplayer Notes ----------------- Some elements of multiplayer play were not mentioned in the Technical Supplement: 1) In multiplayer mode, players can play full battles between two human players, or between a human and the computer. In human-vs.-human battles, both armies are controlled using the mouse. 2) In a multiplayer game, the annual summary report consists solely of the Status Flags screen. 3) All messages sent between players will appear at the end of a season; all the players should therefore watch the screen at that time to see if they have received any messages. 4) Stewardship is not an option in multiplayer games. Starting Location ----------------- Players always start in one of six locations on the map; the county you start with will have a strong effect on how your kingdom will progress. For example, starting in a central county provides more borders through which you may receive immigrants (or invaders). Alternatively, the southwestern- most county gets harsher weather overall than others, and has only one county for immigrants. Ale Limitations --------------- Ale can only be purchased once per county per season. Its benefit is also limited to +3 happiness per purchase. The Buy Ale panel displays the expected happiness boost for whatever amount you select. Ale is consumed immediately upon purchase; as such, it cannot be transported like other goods. Merchant Delays --------------- At harder levels, the appearance of mercenaries may be delayed. Expect at least one new merchant to enter the game each season (until all twelve are present). Castle-Building / Deducting Resources ------------------------------------- Stone and wood are allocated to castles at the end of a season (not immediately). Therefore, if you buy stone or wood, don't expect to see it deducted (and placed in your castle) right away. Army Discontent --------------- The likelihood of an army to mutiny (i.e. turn into outlaws) is indicated by a descriptive phrase showing their discontent. This phrase appears on the Army panel (when you click on an army), and on the first screen you see when starting a siege. Discontent is based on the army's morale, health, and the types of units in it. Indicating Army Movement ------------------------ The computer uses two methods to indicate whether or not an army on the Kingdom map has moved. Armies that have already moved in a turn will be displayed on the Kingdom map with a still flag instead of a waving one. Similarly, Armies that have NOT moved will flash on the Overview map. Army Movement Limitations ------------------------- You are not allowed to stand on top of an army or castle while attacking another army or castle. Therefore, if you move to attack an item, and your movement path passes through another obstacle just before reaching that item, the attack will be disallowed. Mercenary armies ---------------- Unlike other armies, an army made up only of mercenaries can disband in any county. Aiming Ladders, Towers and Fighters ----------------------------------- When sieging, you should always aim a ladder or siege tower at its target BEFORE you aim infantry at it. Secondly, you can only aim one fighter-unit at each ladder or siege tower. Finally, you can aim ladders and siege towers at structures of any height; however, they are only effective against the heights stated in the manual (i.e. any other attacks are considered "long shots"). Picking up Siege Weapons and Fighters ------------------------------------- If you can't pick up fighters or weapons from the "holding area" in the top-left corner of the screen, it is because you have another command currently selected. Right-click the mouse to cancel the command. Battering Rams -------------- Battering rams are only effective at attacking either gatehouses and keeps. Eviction and Castles -------------------- Neutral counties never maintain castles. Whenever you are evicted from a county, any castle you have built there will be demolished. Connecting Via Modem or Null-Modem ---------------------------------- Here are some tips that will make connecting to another player easier: * Decide on who will click on OK (to become the master that controls game setup) before getting into the game; conflicts may occur if both people hit OK at the same time. * If you are dialing another player via modem, you should wait until a few seconds AFTER the other player sets up to receive, before you dial. This gives his machine enough time to be prepared for your call. * If your mouse pointer freezes when you press the "Wait to Receive" or "Dial Up Number" buttons, you may have selected the comm-port that is used by your mouse. Make sure you have the right comm-port selected. * We have included an "Init String" command to the Communications panel, to allow you to alter the configuration string for your particular modem. We recommend you change this only if you are familiar with modem commands and the needs of your modem. If you change this string and want to reset it to its default, exit the game and run SETUP again. * If you have trouble connecting via modem, try turning off both machines, waiting five seconds, and turning them back on again. Special Rules for Modem-Play ---------------------------- When playing via a null-modem or modem connection, there are some special rules that you should be aware of: * When your human opponent battles the computer, you are shown the battle from the perspective of the computer opponent; as such, all messages pertaining to the battle are presented as if you are fighting, although you are only a spectator. * When you save a game during modem-play, a copy of the game is saved on BOTH machines with the MSV extension; both copies of the game must be available when the game is loaded later. These savegames cannot be loaded into a one-player game, and vice-versa. * Only the master can save and load games. When loading a modem-save, the machine who was the master when saving the game must ALSO be the master when loading it. * The master should only save the game when BOTH players are on the scrolling-map. * If you lose the game while your human opponent and at least one computer-player are still alive, you must hit the End Turn button one last time to let the game continue. (This also applies to multiplayer games played on one machine.) * Chat mode is only available from some game screens, and it is only accessible when both players are in one of those game screens. * Armies "jump" from square to square as they move on the scrolling map. This does not affect their actions in any way. * You can only create wagons during your own turn. Special Indicators for Modem-Play --------------------------------- In a modem-game, there are a couple of unique indicators to be aware of: * "Marching Lion" Pointer -- If you are in some screen other than the scrolling map when this pointer appears, it is an indication that the other player has ordered his army to move. This pointer will remain until you exit to the scrolling map, so that his army can complete its move. * "End Turn" Shield -- Sometimes when you click on the "End Turn" icon, its shield will change to the next player to act that sequence, but the name displayed next to it will NOT change. This indicates that you have ended your turn, but game-time is paused until your human opponent exits the screen or panel he has currently accessed. * Other, self-explanatory panels will appear to indicate when the game is waiting for your human opponent to complete an action. Problems with Modem-Play? ------------------------- If you are having problems using modem-play, here are some things that you can try: * When connected, it is normal for the game (and mouse pointer) to occasionally pause for a moment while information is passed between the two machines. The music will pause when this occurs. These do not indicate a problem. * If communications between the two machines are disrupted by line noise, the link between the two machines may become temporarily disabled. If this occurs, the mouse may disappear, or the game may become unresponsive; try pressing ALT-P to prompt the link to re-establish itself. (However, do not use ALT-P when on the Battle Summary panel; it will not work there.) * At the end of each turn, the current game is automatically saved as LASTTURN.MSV. If you lose connection in a game, reconnect and load this game to resume play. * Finally, if none of the above suggestions help, try reconnecting at a lower baud-rate. Additional Manual Credit ------------------------ Jeffrey Fiske was not listed in the manual as a Game Tester. --------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1994 Impressions Software, Inc. If you experience any problems, check out the Technical Support Frequently Asked Questions list, included with this archive. Simply type TECHFAQ <ENTER> at the prompt. Sierra Technical Support provides this documentation as a reference to Sierra customers using Sierra software products. Sierra Technical Support makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the information contained in this documentation is accurate. However, Sierra makes no warranty, either express or implied, as to the accuracy, effectiveness, or completeness of the information contained in this documentation. SIERRA ON-LINE, INC. DOES NOT WARRANTY OR PROMISE THAT THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL WORK WITH ANY OR ALL COMPUTER SYSTEMS. SIERRA DOES NOT ASSUME ANY LIABILITY, EITHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL, FOR THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN, INCLUDING ANY AND ALL DAMAGE TO OR LOST USE OF COMPUTER HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE PRODUCTS, LOSS OF WARRANTIES, OR LOST DATA BY THE CUSTOMER OR ANY THIRD PARTY. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY SIERRA, ITS EMPLOYEES, DISTRIBUTORS, DEALER OR AGENTS SHALL CHANGE THE RESTRICTION OF LIABILITY OR CREATE ANY NEW WARRANTIES. IN NO CASE SHALL SIERRA'S LIABILITY EXCEED THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE SIERRA SOFTWARE PRODUCT.