Best of the Best 4/shareware.iso/games/disk020/blitz.doc

Text File | 1995-05-11 | 15KB | 320 lines

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            HORROR BLITZ ver. 1.0

            By Dave & Terry Teare
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BACKGROUND...
     Horror Blitz is a war strategy game that assesses your
ability to vanquish your opponents. You have been given the honour to
be one of the greatest generals in history; and peace settlements
are out of the question! Attempt domination alone, or ally yourself
with other power hungry generals who share your beliefs.

CONTENTS
    Selecting Your Players.
    Choosing The Battle Field.
    Alternatives.
    Basic Game Play.
    In-Game Options.
    Miscellaneous.
    High Score List.
    Credits.
    Registration.


SELECTING YOUR PLAYERS
      To choose your players, click on the desired general's name.
    Doing this will bring up the change player information screen.
    On this screen you can turn the player on or off, make them a
    computer or human opponent, plus the various ways that the
    computer plays can also be modified. To change any of these
    characteristics simply click on what you want; i.e. click on
    the word human and the player will become human. Also, you can
    use the keyboard by pressing the highlighted letter of the
    attribute you wish to change. You can also change the players
    to human/computer/off on the main screen by clicking the brain
    attribute.
      In the bottom centre of the screen you can pick the computers
    intelligence. When all computers are set on ingenious, my game
    testers and I can only win about 50% of the games we play. I was
    forced to add this option because a new player would not enjoy the
    game if him or her never won.


PICKING THE BATTLE FIELD
      Click on the Battle Field button to reveal a list and
    a miniature picture of the map you wish to play on. Most of
    these maps are teasers that can only be used in the registered
    version of Horror Blitz; but more on that later. Start by
    clicking on the name of the map you want to view, the window in
    the lower right-hand corner will display the map. If this map
    is satisfactory, click on the name again to choose the map, or
    click on the Select Map button. If you do not like the map,
    choose another, or cancel by clicking on the Return To Main
    button. The maps available in the ShareWare version start
    with a '#', all the others require registration.


ALTERNATIVES
      These affect how the game plays. To change any of the
    following, click on the option you wish to change, or use
    the arrow keys to highlight the right option, then press
    enter. You can then cycle through the available settings.

    - Objective: This option allows you to set the game victory
    condition. Eliminate everybody forces you to conquer the
    entire map before you can be victorious. Alternatively,
    seize 80 percent of the countries allows you to win a
    little faster. This prevents the boredom of killing off the
    last 20 percent, since it is obvious that you are going to win.

    - Attack Scoring: This allows you to select how the computer
     calculates the casualties for each battle. 'Each army attacks at
     2 and defends at 2' gives each army for the defender and attacker
     one six sided die for each army, and if it rolls a 2 or less, then
     their opponent loses one army. This algorithm speeds up game play,
     allowing big armies to fight a lot faster, and it is more
     realistic since the larger army has a greater chance of
     victory. 'Each army attacks at 2 and defends at 3' is similar to
     the first one, but attacking armies have a tougher time sweeping
     through countries and sets. The extra defense represents the idea
     that the defenders are 'dug in'. 'Random' is a little more fun since
     the largest army doesn't always win. This makes the game more
     frustrating since a small army can defeat a large army, but this
     makes the game a lot more fun - especially with multiple human
     players.

    - Penalty For Attacking New Continent: This makes defending your
     continent easier by giving the defender an advantage. This option
     represents the fact that establishing a beach head is very
     difficult, due to amphibious landings and entrenched defenders.
     'Mild' gives the defender an extra 10 - 17% defense ( depending on
     what Attack Scoring is set to), 'Harsh' is 20-33%, and 'Severe' is
     30-50% more deadly to the attacker.

    - Troop Movements: This determines how each player will be allowed
     to move his or her troops during their free move stage. This option
     allows you to transfer troops out of a sticky situation, like
     being surrounded and out numbered. When set on unlimited, simply
     click on the country you want to move from, directly to the place
     you want them.

    - Hide Non-Adjacent Computer Territories: This makes Blitz display
     only the countries owned by a human, or the countries adjacent to
     a human owned territory. This allows the computer to hide what it
     is doing, making it more realistic since you should not be allowed
     to see everything your enemy is doing. The option 'Yes - No Flash'
     hides the non-adjacent countries, plus it will not flash the
     countries during the computer's attack sequence. This was added
     so you would not know when to invade a computer (after you saw
     the computer's fight it out, you could easily invade).

    - Sound: This is straight forward.

    - Team Play: This is a fun option that allows you to fight in teams,
     instead of by yourself. When you click on this option, a box
     appears, which allows you to place each player on a certain team.
     To put a player on a team, just put the ellipse next to their name
     in the appropriate team number column.  ( Registered )

    - Average Re-enforcements For Teams: When team play is enabled, and
     this option is turned on, then all of your team members will get
     the same number of re-enforcements. This is calculated by adding
     all of your teams countries, plus bonus armies, and dividing by
     the number of players in your team. ( Registered ) I like having
     this turned off in order to show who the best player on your team is.

    - Bonus Armies For Owning A Set: Some maps you might think give too
     many or not enough armies for owning a set. This option gives you
     more control over this. A set consists of a number of countries, and
     if you own these you get bonus armies, the amount of extra armies
     is displayed in the water next to the set.

    - Helpful/Irritating Messages: These are messages stating that you
     cannot attack that country because it is not adjacent, and other
     messages like this. I personally hate these messages because I know
     how the game plays. This is really just an option for beginners.

    - Starting Position Of Armies: This allows you to start the game with
     your armies spread out, or all on one country.

    - Number of Recruits Per Countries Owned: If you think you need more
     armies per turn, then you can set this to one for one, which gives
     you one new army per country you own. Other options include 'one for
     three' and 'one for five', which lengthen the game by giving out
     fewer new armies per turn.

    - Minimum Number Of New Armies: This is a tough decision. When you
     are really weak you want a reasonable number of new armies so you
     can make a come back, but that makes it harder to finish somebody
     off. This is why I gave you the option.

    - Player Attack Speed: Quite straight forward. The Blitz feature has
     no delays at all, and it doesn't flash the attacking and defending
     countries -> very very fast.

    - Starting Number Of New Armies: This was added because the player
     who goes first has a big advantage since he gets more new armies.
     You can set this to 5, 10, 15, or calculate, which has Blitz
     determine how many armies you deserve.

BASIC GAME PLAY
         I believe the rest of the options and game buttons are straight
    forward, and at worst you can use trial and error to find out what
    they do. Therefore I will now discuss the game play itself. The
    starting player is random, and then the players cycle in order. When
    your player's turn comes around, you are given new armies, the amount
    depending on how the options are set in the Battle Alternatives
    screen. You then place the armies on one of your territories,
    represented by the colour of the country ( Your player's colour is
    the colour of his/her name ). A slide bar then appears that allows
    you to choose how many armies you wish to place    on that country. this
    process continues until all the new armies have been placed.
         Now the attack sequence begins. Click on one of your countries
    that you wish to attack with, then click on who you want to attack.
    Blitz will calculate the losses for both sides, then you will be asked
    if you want to continue the attack. This process will continue until
    you cancel the attack, or one of the attacking or defending players
    is eliminated.
         This attacking continues until you run out of armies, or you
    wish to    save some armies for defence. When you wish to stop attacking
    for this turn click on exit and after your free moves, you turn will
    be done, and the next player in line will have a chance to do
    his/her attacks.
         The free move sequence allows you a chance to move your armies
    around, either to run or prepare for a fight. To do a free move, do
    the same steps as the attack sequence. The number and nature of free
    moves depends on the option settings. If the option FreeMove is set
    to unlimited, you can go straight from the provider to the receiver,
    even if they are not adjacent, a nice change from other games. In
    the registered version you can click the right mouse button on the
    country where you want your armies, and    Blitz will move all available
    armies to that country.
         After all the other players are done their turns, your turn
    comes around and you repeat the sequence, if you're still alive.
    This is the basic structure of the game, and I hope you enjoy it.



IN-GAME OPTIONS
     To access the In-Game Options simply mouse click on the box 'Options'
    under your player's name, or press 'ESC' on the keyboard. this will
    bring up a scroll bar, enabling you to select he desired option. To
    do this, slide the mouse up and down, or use the up and down arrow
    keys until the correct option is highlighted. Now simply press 'Enter'
    or press a mouse button.

     The In-Game Options are :

    - Save Game => This enables you to save your game under any valid DOS
    file name, allowing you to complete your quest later. A neat idea is
    to save your game when you are losing, then if you end up winning,
    test the skill of your friends to see if they can win.
     To save your game, type the name you wish to give this file with the
    keyboard, or use the mouse by clicking on the keys of the displayed
    keyboard.

    - Redraw Map => On some maps I have made the countries so small
    that when the number of armies is drawn, it destroys the countries
    borders    and the floodfill goes nuts and fills the wrong countries,
    sometimes even the water ( you'll know when this happens! ). To
    correct this simply use this option, and the entire map will be
    Redrawn, correcting the error.

    - Capitulate => When you know you cannot win, surrender to one of
    the other players. This is great for two human players who have a
    long time rivalry. If you are losing, and your friend is strong,
    simply surrender to the strongest computer player. This will make
    it very    hard for him/her to win. If you can't win, why should you
    let somebody else?   P.S. Don't leave it too late!

    - Line Graphs => This is great to determine who is currently the
    strongest player ( since you should usually attack the strongest ).
    Plus, this option shows you a history of the game, up to 20 rounds.

    - Player Standings => This is a quantitative replacement to the
    qualitative option 'Line Graphs'. This shows you exactly how many
    armies and states that each player has. It also shows you the
    statistics that will determine if you get on the highscore list.

    - Display Sets => On some maps it's hard to see what countries you
    need to get a set ( for the bonus armies ). This option will draw
    each set in a different colour and label which set number it is.

    - Quit To Main => Leave game and goto the Main Menu. This does not
    save the game, current game is simply ended.

    - Return To Game => Leave the In-Game Options and return to game.


HIGH SCORE LIST:
     To view this simply click on the 'High Score' button on the Main
    Menu. This list is sorted by casualties, the lowest number being
    first. I picked this as the order since if it was by the number
    recruited, people could cheat at the end of the game by not finishing
    off their opponent and just collecting lots of free men. The number
    liquidated ( the number you killed ) is also a bad option to sort
    the list by since this number will fluctuate greatly with different
    player styles like defensive and offensive.

CREDITS:
    MAIN PROGRAMMER     - DAVE S. TEARE

    GRAPHICS & HISTORY BUFF     - TERRY W. TEARE

    GAME TESTERS
        - MATTHEW T. SIMPSON
        - SCOTT D. ABDEY
        - TAMMY S. KOYLE


REGISTRATION: ( $15 )
    Benefits :
        - More Maps! Currently you can only use 2 maps; Registration
          will get you a disk with all 18 maps. But, we still play
          this game a lot, and if we get of our butts and do more,
          you will get these also.
        - Use of all eight players ( not just five )
        - Use of Team Play.
        - The latest version of Horror Blitz which will have many
        new features such as :
         > Cluster Movements - makes all available armies move to one
            location, so you are not forced to move each one individually.
         > Ability to call an 'unbreakable' truce between one other
            player. The truce is called for 1-5 rounds, making it
            impossible for the 2 allies to attack one another. This is
            great when there is a common threat, and the allies do not
            trust each other.
         > Cards - get bonus armies for a set of cards.
         > ???? Anything else my high quality game testers can think of.

        - When you register, send me your ideas. The more ideas
        and options in this game the better. If the idea is simple and I
        I like it, I will add it to the new version. If it is hard to
        implement, I will put it in Horror Blitz II. I believe the more
        options the better, so I will do my best to add yours.







    To Register:
     Send $15 ( no shipping and handling needed if mailing from the U.S.
      or Canada ) plus the completed register.doc document to:

        Dave Teare
        37 Elgin St.
        St. Thomas, Ontario
        N5R 3L9
        Canada

    Or -> Use CSERVE Go SWREG - Use SWREG Number 5769.

    Questions or Comments? Send E-Mail To:
    CSERVE - 70540,3126
    INET - [e-mail]