CD-ROM Today (BR) Volume 3 #9

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Text File | 1997-06-07 | 11.3 KB | 251 lines

PACIFIC GENERAL ------------------ Demo 1.0 Release 6/6/97 Background ---------- The Japanese war machine began in direct response to Western influences in the Asian theater. Seeing the Europeans and Americans loot their backyard generated a fear that their own island would face a similar fate. Thus was born the goal of a greater "Asian Unity" and the death of isolationism. The Russians were first dealt a humiliating loss before the Great War; then, Manchuko fell under Japan's thumb. China, disorganized and wracked by internal conflict, lie open and waiting for leadership. The United States entered the 20th century with a great deal of zeal, but not much foresight. The American role in WWI solidified their position as one of the worldÆs great powers. Isolationism and a lack of planning followed this new position, shrinking US vision over the next two decades. The British influence continued to decline throughout the region, as the Germany's aggression in Europe diverted attention and resources from the Orient. This left Hong Kong, Australia, and India with little protection in the face of an expansive enemy. America, fat on its laurels, has been attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. The US has taken the lead in the war to fight the Japanese and push them back to their island once and for all. Pacific General is a simulation game set in the Pacific theater of conflict in World War II, pitting the Japanese Empire against the combined might of the Allied forces. In this game, it is possible to take either side in the conflict, which can be played from the dawn of combat in 1937 to the historical or hypothetical outcome(s) of the war. Land, air, and naval operations play a key role in the battles to be fought. Pacific General is based on the 5-Star General engine first seen in Panzer General. PacG creates a unique naval combat system and AI to handle the all important sea war, secondary to games such as Panzer and Allied General. This unique system, coupled with other enhancements as outlined below, makes PacG an interesting addition to the 5-Star Line. Pacific General Demo -------------------- Welcome to the Pacific General Demo. The Pacific General Demo has a single scenario, pitting the American forces against Japanese forces in a fight for Rabaul. This demo was created to provide you with an opportunity to experience the general look and feel of Pacific General. To Start the demo, click on the "Start" button in Win 95, click on Programs, and select the "Pacific General Demo" icon. What can I do in this demo? --------------------------- On the Main Menu, you will see 8 buttons. When you move your cursor over any of the buttons, hot text describing the button's functions will appear in the box below the buttons. In this demo, there are only two active buttons, "Play Scenario" and "Quit". To start the demo scenario, just click on the "Play Scenario" button. The scenario that is provided for you is an island scenario. You play the Americans against the Japanese forces in an attempt to take the city hexes of Rabaul. There are two groups of forces that you control, one on the land and the other in the ocean. Features not provided in the demonstration version but will be included in the release version of Pacific General: ╖ Head-to-Head play (TCP/IP, IPX, Modem) ╖ Unique gameplay when playing as either the Japanese or Allies, two separate campaigns ╖ Campaigns based on the side of the conflict you opt to play, campaigns have a user-directed path ╖ Combat handled traditionally for land scenarios, but modified and enhanced from the current model used for naval situations (including the addition of new unit types) and island scenarios ╖ Each scenario has a victory condition based on a final point tally: these points are based on any objective hexes, losses to your own forces, and casualties inflicted on the enemy ╖ Additional enhancements seen in other 5-Star products such as a unit glossary feature further enhance the game experience ╖ Enhanced gameplay screens and interface representing the campaign/ scenario side the player has chosen to play ╖ Naval units are oversized, overlapping the sides of the hex they reside to represent their immense size ╖ Some scenarios have night turns incorporated to reflect the tendency of the Japanese to surprise attack at night ╖ Battle Generator lets the player create their own scenarios with maps provided in the game. The maps will include areas in Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia ╖ Complete Music Score ╖ Cinematic Sequences Menu System ----------- When you first start the demo, you will notice that there are no menus active. The default setup is with the menus "up". You can pull "down" the menus in one of two ways. If you press the Space Bar, the menus will lock down on both sides of the screen. If you prefer to leave the menus "up", you can pull down the menus as you need them by moving the cursor to the bottom of the information menu (at the top of the screen), along the bottom bar, on the left or right edge. The menu for the side you are on will pull down. To select a button on a menu, just move your cursor over the button and left click on it. All of the buttons in the game are accompanied by hot text to describe its function. The menu on the left side of the screen is the Main Menu and has functions such as saving and loading a game, the audio controls, end turn, etc. If you have a unit active (see below), the left menu changes to the Unit Menu. The unit menu contains all the commands for the units in the game. The menu on the right side of the screen is the Options Menu. Functions such as turning hidden units on or off, viewing the strategic map, or turning the hexsides on or off are on this menu. Controls -------- To scroll the map, just move the mouse cursor to the edges of the map. To select a unit, left click on the unit to activate it. The area that the unit can move is highlighted. To move the unit, just left click on the hex where you want the unit to move. To attack an enemy unit, activate a unit, and move the mouse cursor over the enemy unit. The cursor will change to a cross-hair, if you can attack the unit. To attack the unit, just left click on the enemy unit. On the cross-hair are a set of flags, each with a number below it. The flag represents the side of each unit (your units have the American flag). The numbers below the flags represent the expected results of the combat. To deactivate a unit, just right click. To view the statistics of the enemy units, right click on the unit. You can view the statistics of your units in one of two ways. You can click on the Go To Unit button on the Options menu, and scroll to the unit. Or, you can just right click on a unit, but make sure that you do not have a unit active ... otherwise the active unit will be deactivated (see previous paragraph). You can also bring up the Unit Menu by activating a unit, and left clicking on the unit a second time. Hints & Strategies ------------------ In the demo, there is a carrier in the gulf in the middle of the map. To open the carrier's hanger, activate the carrier, left click on the carrier to bring up the Unit Menu, and select the Special button. Aircraft carriers can carry up to 8 planes. The carrier hangar bay window can be viewed using the Special button from the Unit Controls. The hangar window displays the carrier's hangar capacity as slots for the number of planes that the carrier can hold. Planes are launched by selecting them and left-clicking on the Launch Plane button. Aircraft carriers with planes stored in hangar bays are indicated by a blue dot symbol next the unit's strength indicator. If a plane ends movement over a carrier, the plane lands and is placed in the carrier's hangar. Planes can land on a carrier at night, but have a chance to crash into the sea or into the carrier (automatic critical hit). The percentage chance to land safely is influenced by the plane's experience. Aircraft carriers with planes stored in hangar bays have a blue dot symbol to the right of their strength indicator. Clicking on the Special button while an aircraft carrier is selected opens the Hangar display which shows any aircraft on board the carrier. Left-clicking on an aircraft displays its status and makes it available for launch by clicking on the Launch button. After launch, the aircraft is deployed over the carrier it can be moved normally this turn and must be moved if more aircraft are to be launched. Fighters in a naval scenario may be assigned to a Combat Air Patrol (CAP). A CAP of up to seven fighters may be assigned to any aircraft carrier, or battleship. A fighter on CAP moves with the assigned ship, and is removed off CAP only after intercepting an enemy unit. All of the units on CAP move as fast as the slowest moving unit, in most all cases, the naval unit. The CAP fighters move along with the naval unit it escorts at the same time that the naval unit moves. CAP is represented on the plane by a small blue dot. Fighters on CAP are refueled automatically. Fighters can be assigned to act as combat air patrol for aircraft carriers they are adjacent to using the Special button. When a fighter is on CAP, there is a blue dot next to the right side of its strength indicator. Up to seven fighters can be placed on CAP for any carrier, one in each hex surrounding the carrier and one over the carrier. If a fighter is on CAP over a carrier, no planes may land or launch from the carrier. Each fighter on CAP attacks the first enemy plane that tries to attack the carrier, if it has not already attacked during that turn. Once it has attacked, the fighter is removed from CAP status, but can be placed back on CAP the following turn. ----------------- We hope you have as much playing the Pacific General demo as much as we have had making the game. There has been a lot of "extra polish" to this game, and we know it shows. The full product will ship in early July, 1997. Enjoy playing PacGen. - John Eberhardt "...it's looking better than it should." - Chuck Kroegel, President, SSI ----------------- Credits ------- Producer John Eberhardt Associate Producer Glen Cureton Game Design SSI Special Projects Group Lead Programmer Mike Coustier Game Programmers Paul Murray, Reggie Seagraves, Ben Cooley Audio Programming Ralph Thomas Lead Artist Mike Filippoff Artists Ryan Paul, Grisha Grigoriev Scripting James Young, Dave Merrick, Richard Wagenet Audio Design Steven Lam, Lance Page Multimedia Design Lee Crawford, Maurice Jackson Main Title Theme, Japanese Music Danny Pelfry and Rick Rhodes American Music Steve Lucky and the Rumba Bums Data Manager Caron White Lead Product Tester Bill White SSI Test Team Garrett Graham, Kelly Calabro, Dion Burgoyne, Daniel Rivera, Jason Bredice, Dave Wallick, Jeremy Dang, George Chastain, Chris Lanka, Mark Schmidt, Forrest Elam, Nile Sabbagh, Chris Smith Executive Producer Dan Cermak