Shareware Overload/ShartewareOverload.cdr/games/conq13a.zip/GUIDE.DOC

Text File | 1991-08-20 | 18KB | 468 lines

                            Player's Guide for

                                CONQUEST

                               Version 1.3












                            10 August, 1991


















                           by David Burns





















OVERVIEW

     Conquest has much in common with other 'Conquer the World' games.
Up to 8 players can play, any or all of whom can be computer controlled.
The goal is to defeat all of the opposing armies, and occupy every
territory on the Map.  The game objective can be different depending on
selections made in the game set-up menu.  Conquest is different from other
games in this genre because of its point & click user interface and the
strength of the rule-based algorithm used by the computer opponents.

     Winning a game of Conquest requires good placement of armies, the
ability to outnumber your opponent armies in critical battles, and luck.
Each player's turn is divided into 3 phases:  Placement, Attack, and
Free move.

     The Placement phase consists of selecting a territory owned by you and
putting some or all of your new armies for that turn on it.  The number of
new armies is determined by the number of territories owned by the player
and the number of bonus armies received from the occupation of whole
continents.  This phase continues until all of armies have been placed.

     During the Attack phase, you can attack a bordering territory owned by
another player as long as you have 2 or more armies on your territory (NOTE:
If you are using the Even Chances attack scoring, then your armies must be
greater than or equal to your opponent's).  If you defeat all of the armies
on the Defending territory, you can then move some of your armies on to your
new territory (NOTE:  Each territory must have at least one army at the end
of your move). To end this phase, select the 'EXIT' box.

     After the Attack phase, a player is allowed to move armies from a
territory to an adjacent territory, provided he owns both of them.  The
purpose of this Freemove is to reinforce your current position until your
next turn.

     Conquest has a variety of options.  Options set in the game set-up menu
are discussed in the 'Opening Menu' HELP selection and options that are
selectable during the game are discussed in the 'Options' HELP selection.


Using the Opening Menu

     The current game set-up is the options as they are listed in the
Opening Menu (the menu screen which you start the game from).  Practically
everything on this screen can be changed by placing the mouse arrow in the
box, and clicking the LEFT mouse button.  Some options such as player color
and Map selection will bring up a separate menu, while others such as mouse
sensitivity will cycle through all possible alternatives.  The current game
setup can be saved as the default set-up (loaded at the start of each game)
if the 'Save Current Set-up' selection is used.

     The popup menus can be controlled by either the mouse or the arrow
keys and the Enter or Return key.  The Escape key functions the same as
clicking on the Exit box.  Player names can be changed, and it is important
to change them to give a more accurate description of their playing ability.
For example, you could name an aggressive computer opponent "Ghengis" or
"Napolean," and name a defensive computer opponent "Wimp."  Each game
requires at least 3 players, so if you have less than 3, the game will
prompt you to add additional players.  The number of players is determined
by the number of boxes on the left side of the screen that have an 'x.'
It is O.K. to have the first, third, and last boxes checked for example.


Player Type

     Conquest can support any combination of computer and human opponents.
There are five type of players:

              Human - the role you will play.  The game does not require one
                      of these, but it makes it more interesting.

Computer Aggressive - This type of player attacks more frequently than the
                      other types, so as a result, it has fewer armies to
                      defend its position.

 Computer Defensive - This player collects armies, and does not attack as
                      often as the other computer opponents.

  Computer Balanced - This player is a mixture of the preceding two types.
                      It is not necessarily better than they are, but it
                      plays a more consistent game.

    Computer Random - This type of player takes on the characteristics of
                      one of the other computer opponent types.  It changes
                      these characteristics each turn.

     I recommend using a combination of opponents in each game.  Conquest
gets more challenging when you increase the number of computer opponents,
because it decreases the probability of the human opponent(s) starting
with a good position, and it increases the probability that someone else
(or something else) will be luckier than you.

     The computer opponents are controlled by a set of rules.  Each move
they make is based on a score from these rules.  For example, a new rule
for version 1.3 makes the computer opponents more likely to attack a
player with more territories than a player with less, all other things
considered.  The rationale for this rule is that usually the players
with more territories are your biggest threats.  This rule, as all of
the others, do not treat human players differently.  The amount of
score that this rule contributes to the total score for each decision
is based on the computer opponent type.

      Change the player color to assist you in determining what the
player types are if you want, by clicking on the individual player
color boxes.


Game Objectives

     The default game objective is to conquer all of the territories
on the map.  However, after a player has beaten most of the other
opponents, and occupied most of the map, or has the most armies,
the outcome of the game is set.  Therefore, Conquest has a variety
of methods available to determine the winner.  There are ten
objectives in three categories:

   First player to occupy a set % of the Map.

   Player with most armies after # rounds.

   Player with most territories after # rounds.

The objective can not be changed after the game starts.


Attack Scoring

     This is used to determine how the computer will toss the dice
to determine which territory will lose armies in attack.

           Even Chances - even odds for the attacker and defender.
                          To attack, an attacker must have the same or more
                          armies than the defender.

Weighted by # of Armies - odds for each battle favor the player with the
                          most armies on his territory (but independent
                          of armies he owns elsewhere).

          Wildly Random - unpredictable.

                Unknown - randomly chooses one of the above
                          during each player's turn.


Maximum # of starting armies

     This setting determines how many armies will be placed on each
territory at the start of the game.


Territory selection

     This option determines the method used for picking each player's
territories:

          Random - Territories are automatically picked for each player
                   on a random basis.

       Partioned - Similar to the first method, however territories are
                   clustered for each player, so the starting position
                   is better.

         Manual - All territories and number of armies are determined by the
                  Human players.

Player's choice - Each player (including the computer opponent players)
                  selects their territories at the start of the game.
                  The number of starting armies is random.  This is a
                  new feature for version 1.3, and as a result, it doesn't
                  give the computer opponents the 'best' possible opening
                  position.  I recommend against using this option as
                  your only method of playing solo against the computer
                  opponents, until it matures.


Bonus armies for each opponent eliminated

     This option awards players that eliminate other opponents from the
game with new armies.  This armies are available immediately, and can be
placed anywhere.

     Fixed at 5 - The number of new armies is always 5.

    Fixed at 10 - The number of new armies is always 10.

     Escalating - The number of new armies starts at 5, and grows by
                  5 with each opponent eliminated.

           None - No armies.


Free move

     This option determines when (and if) a player can redistribute his
armies at the end of his turn.  A player's freemove can be dependent on
if he conquered a territory during his turn.


Hide non-adjacent opponent's territories

     If this is 'ON,' then all of the territories not next to a human
will be covered.  This gives a 'Stratego' like feel to the game, since
you will not be able to determine how good your opponent's position is.
This option does not prevent the computer opponents from determining
how good their positions are (or yours for that matter), but it does
add a little realism.  It is often difficult to get reliable intelligence
information on areas behind the battle lines.


Current map

     Selecting this box will bring up the map selection screen.  Only
registered users can use Maps other than the default Map ('Conquest').
This is the only feature reserved for register users, however anyone can
view a Map.  To select a map, just point to the name of the Map, and click.


Game Difficulty

     This changes the algorithm used by the computer opponents.  It does
not affect how human players play the game or the attack scoring.
NOTE:  The 'Very Hard' level does cheat in the sense that it has the ability
to determine if a territory is owned by a human, and it is more likely
to attack humans.


Game Phases

     There are three phases to each turn in the game:

     Placement

     At the start of each turn, a player is given new armies to place on
     any of his territories.  To place the armies, just point to the
     territory, and click the LEFT mouse button.  Then select the number
     of armies to place on that state.  The computer will not let you
     select a territory that does not belong to you.  The number of new
     armies is derived from the total number of territories owned by you
     divided by three, plus additional armies for each continent you own
     (the armies gained by owning a continent is displayed by selecting
     'Show Values').  At least two new armies will be awarded each turn.

     Attack

     To attack, just click on your territory (the Attacker), and then on
     the territory you wish to attack (the Defender).  If you can attack
     it, the attack will automatically take place.  If one of your
     territories does not border any of your opponents, or the attacker
     does not border the defender, you will not be able to select it.
     Attacks can only occur between bordering territories.  Territories
     that border each other are sometimes indicated by a white line
     representing a sea lane.  To exit this mode, select 'Exit.'

     Freemove

     At the end of each turn, a player may move armies from one territory
     to another, provided he owns both of them, and they border each
     other.  This allows each player to reinforce his position.  After the
     freemove, at least one army must remain on each territory.  Only one
     freemove is allowed per turn.  To make a freemove, just select the
     territory to move the armies from (the Donor), and then select the
     territory you wish to move to (the Receiver).  You will then be
     prompted for the number of armies to move.  If only one army can
     be moved, the move will be automatic.  If you wish to abort the
     freemove after you are prompted for the number of armies, select zero.


In Game Options

     After the game starts, additional options may be selected by pointing
and clicking on the box marked 'Options' or by pressing the 'Escape' key
when the Options box is visible (Note: if you press the 'Escape' key
during a computer player's move, there may be a slight delay before the
menu is displayed).

Statistics - Shows the current standings of all players.  This is useful
             for determining which players you should watch out for.

Settings - Shows the current game settings.  The settings can't be changed
           during the game (because the computer opponents use them to
           determine their strategies).

HELP! - Displays the help menu.

Show/Hide Values - Shows or hides the new army continent values awarded
                   to the owner of the entire continent.

Speed - Changes the game's playing speed from 0 (very slow) to 10
        (very fast).

Sound - Toggles the sound on and off.

Mouse - Changes the mouse's tracking sensitivity from LOW to HIGH.

New Game - Abandons the current game, and returns you to the Game Setup
           Menu.

Save Game - Saves the current game under a name you select (with the
            extension '.sav' automatically added).  This does not end
            the current game.

Quit Game - Exits Conquest.


Hints

1.  Most placement and attack decisions are a trade off between conquering
a continent (to obtain the new armies awarded for owning that continent),
and defending your position.

2.  The algorithm for the computer opponents balances a desire to occupy
entire continents with a paranoia of attacks from other players (be they
human or computer).  If a computer opponent feels that another player is
getting too strong, he will shift his focus slightly to weaken the
adversary.

3.  To decide which continent is best for placing armies in (and attacking
in), consider how many territories you own in it, and how difficult it is
to obtain and defend.  Usually the higher value continents are more
difficult to get and keep.

4.  Try to place your armies in an area that the other opponents are not
trying to conquer.  Sometimes it is possible to win by collecting
armies and letting your opponents weaken each other.

5.  Try not to attack each turn to the point you can not attack anymore.
This keeps enemies from taking your territories too easily.

6.  Sometimes you may need to sacrifice part of your forces to keep your
opponent(s) from controlling a complete continent.  Consider placing a few
armies on one or two remote territories even if you do not want to
acquire that continent in the near future.  This makes the other opponents
work harder to improve their positions.

7.  Check the Statistics from the Options menu to gauge how your opponents
are doing.  If one opponent is getting too strong, try to concentrate your
attacks on him.  Even though he may help you in the short run by weakening
the other opponents, sooner or later he will come after you.

8.  Use a variety of computer opponents, including the 'Aggressive' type.
The computer opponents do not recognize if the defender is human (unless
you are playing at the 'Very Hard' difficulty level), instead they try to
concentrate their attacks on territories they want to occupy and opponents
they perceive are 'threatening' their position.

9.  The 'Very Hard' difficulty level is different from the other levels in
the sense that it modifies the computer opponent's algorithms to make them
more aggressive toward Human players.  None of the other levels have the
ability to distinguish an opponent's type.

10.  If you use the 'Weighted by # of Armies' attack scoring option, then
attack any time you have more armies than an opponent, even if you don't
want that territory.  This allows you to reduce your opponents armies
when the odds favor you.

11.  Use more than one type of Territory placement to make a map more
interesting.

12.  If you want to reset the game to its original configuration, just
delete the file 'CONQUEST.DFT' from your disk.  This file is created by
the game when you save the current game setup.

13.  Menus can also be controlled by the cursor and 'Enter' keys if
desired.

Registration Information

     You will need to register this game with the
   author before you can use maps other than the
   default map ('Conquest') provided with the game.
   There are 3 different ways to register Conquest:

      $8 - will get you a password, enabling you
   to use any map created for Conquest.  If you
   register at this level, you will receive a
   postcard with the password (it is assumed you
   have a working copy of Conquest).

     $14 - will get you a password and a disk
   containing 12 new maps for Conquest.  The disk
   also includes the latest version of Conquest.

     $20 - will get you all of the above plus a Map
   Editor that will allow you to create your own
   maps for Conquest.

     To register, send $8, $14, or $20 (add $.75")
   for 3.5 inch disk) Check or Money Order in U.S.
   currency to:
                             David Burns
                             P.O. Box 693
                             Bedford, MA  01730

      If you do not live in North America, please
   add $1.00 to cover the extra shipping cost.
      I'm in the military, so I move from time to
   time.  The above address will remain valid until
   DEC 92.  By JUL 92, I will have released another
   version with an updated address.  All registered
   users will be notified of the new address.
      Free distribution of this program is allowed-
   provided the program is not modified.  The
   password for registered users may not be
   distributed by anyone other than the author!
   Your comments are welcome.