Chip Special: Strategic Simulations/Chip-Special_Strategische-Simulationen.bin/share/dos/modconq/mod_conq.doc

Text File | 1992-08-30 | 29.9 KB | 557 lines

                                         Modern Conquest

Programmers Notes

    Welcome to Modern Conquest.  I started MC back in January of 1990 as
a project to learn a new language.  It took the first three months to write
the map editor and learn 'C' to some basic level.  After that, well, contrary
to my normal after work experiences, I actually found the motivation to
continue the project through to this Beta release of the game in September.
I would say the most enjoyable part has been when I started getting friends
to play test it.  It is incredibly comforting after many months of work to
have friends who actually wanted to play this game above comercially
available stuff.  It was then that I realized that this game was destined to
be cleaned up enough for the rest of the public.  I sincerely hope you will
enjoy the game as much as I have.

NOTE: There are NO page breaks in this whole manual.  This is done because
every similiar manual I have ever read had them in the wrong place.  It
should be no problem for you to load this in your favorite word processor and
print it the way YOU like.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.    About Modern Conquest, Basic Features

        A. Production System
        B. The Quadrant System
        C. Allowances Made for Modem Play

II.   Features of the Game, How to Play

        A. Step by Step example
        B. Production
        C. Movement
        D. Range, and Repairs
        E. Loading and Unloading
        F. The Reports
        G. The Map
        H. Combat, Shore Bombardment

III.  About the Units

        A. Table of Units Statistics
        B. The Ground Units
        C. The Air Units
        D. The Escort Ships
        E. The Capital Ships

IV.   The Map Editor

V.    The Future of Modern Conquest

VI.   Registration Information



I. About Modern Conquest, Basic Features

        A. Production System

    The basis of MC is production ability.  Each player starts with one
city which begins to produce military or economic units for them.  These
military units go out and capture other cities which themselves in turn begin
to produce other units for that player.  The object is to capture somewhat
over half the cities in the world and hold them for a few turns.  At this
point, ideally that player should be unbeatable, since he is producing more
units than anyone else.  This game does not check for any sort of victory
conditions since the map, the combat values, and individual tastes pertaining
to game length will vary to much to dictate any absolute victory condition
other than total obliteration of all opponents.  Playing to this point is
usually a great waste of time and very unenjoyable for all but one player.

        B. The Quadrant System

    One of the main inovations of this game is the stacking system.
Each square of land is made up of four quadrants, and each unit has a certain
quadrant to occupy as it moves about.  Air units, for example, never stack
with infantry because they never occupy the same space on the map.

        Land Squares:              Sea Squares:

        Land   |  Air              Escort |  Air
        Units  |  Units            Ships  |  Units
        -------+-------            -------+-------
        Not    |  Cities            Capital Ships
        Used   |

Land units always appear in the top left corner, air units in the top right
corner, cities are marked in the bottom right, Escort ships in the top left,
and capital ships take up both bottom quadrants.  Remember that in cities,
escorts and land units stack in the same area.  Each quadrant is allowed ten
stacking points also, so each quadrant may contain multiple units.  For
example, infantry only uses two stacking points, so five may stack in a
square.  Other units vary in how many stacking points they use.  Capital
ships may not stack with other capital ships.  The only exception is cities.
Since stacking is not checked when units are built, unlimited numbers of
units may occupy a city, but no new units may move in once the stacking
points are exceeded.  See Unit Statistics Table for stacking points of each
unit.  The bottom left square on land is left unused so that it can always be
told what terrain is below.

        C. Allowances Made for Modem Play

    Although it was felt that this was not an appropriate game to play
online, some allowances have been made to play it over modems.  The
opportunity to save is strategically placed at the end of each turn, so that
saved games can be passed between players.  In order to further facilitate
this, password protection was added to each player's turn.  What can happen
therefore, is that a group of players can get together and start a game, play
through the shorter turns, and then leave saved games posted on a local BBS.
Each player would then in turn download the saved game, play out his turn,
save the game, and upload the new saved game back onto the BBS for the next
player.

II.   Features of the Game, How to Play

        A. Step by Step example

    This section is included as it seems to be a popular method of
gaining an initial familiarity with a new game.  The first step is to prepare
the DOS environment for play.  You must have a VGA monitor and card (basic
VGA is fine).  Next place all the unzipped files in a directory together.
You should have atleast the following files:
        MOD_CONQ.EXE  (The actual game)
        THEGAME.EXE   (More of the game)
        HELVB.FON     (Microsoft Helvitica font file)
and atleast one of the .map files (which should be exactly 10000 bytes), also
any of your saved games should be here.  Ideally the .zip file should also
have contained the following file:
        MOD_CONQ.DOC  (This file)
plus many other .map files.
    To begin the game type MOD_CONQ and <enter> at the DOS prompt.
Modern Conquest will only run from its own directory.  You will be asked for
a new or saved game at this point, and since I assume you have never played
before, type <n> (no return).  MC will then request a planet name (map file).
The original map files were named as single letters, as of this date there is
an "a" map, a "b" map, and a "c" map.  Other maps included were contributed
by playtesters (or anyone else for that matter) and were named by the
designers.  To chose a map, type its name (WITHOUT an extension) and return.
For example, <a> <return> would bring up the "a.map" map file.
    At this point MC should display a portion of the map and prompt for
the number of players who wish to play.  Type <2> plus <enter>.  Next, MC
will ask for combat levels, names, and passwords for each player in turn.
Use the <up> and <down> cursor keys to set the combat level (or <pg up> and
<pg down>), press return when it is at the desired level.  For this example
use 100% to avoid complications.  The combat level represents the percentage
chance of taking an undefended city.  The relative difference in combat
levels between players is also taken into account in combat.  This is the
appropriate place to set handicaps for experienced players.  Names must be
typed in, as well as passwords.  For both of these, <return> alone is
acceptable.  MC will now begin the game!  At the beginning of a player turn,
the current player will be asked to type in his password.  If <return> alone
had been entered at the beginning, then simply strike return here.  The first
turn is somewhat special.  It will continue until player one has a unit to
move, and then all the other players will get to move that number of turns.
Once the password has been correctly entered, MC will review all your units
to see if any were killed or attacked in previous turns.  If any were, MC
will show you where, what, and by whom and what.  Once finished with the
combat report, MC scans all the cities the current player owns to see if any
either just finished a new unit or were just captured by that player the
last turn.  For each one it finds, it will display a production menu.  If
that city had just finished producing a new unit, then that unit type would
be listed in grey.  For the example, use the cursor keys to position the
cursor on the Air Transport and press return.  Since the first turn is
extended, MC will continue through the turns until the turn in which the Air
Transport was finished.  On this turn the first thing displayed is, of
course, the production menu.  For now select infantry.  MC now goes to the
final part of the turn, movement.  MC will cycle thru all the units owned by
the current player giving them the chance to move each piece.  Other reports
are also available here.  Hit <w> to bring up the world map.  MC will display
a map of the world with player cities and spotted player units drawn in.  The
map is 100 by 100 and wraps around all directions.  Units moving off the left
come back on the right and vice versa.  The same applies to the top and
bottom.  In fact, other than the world map, the edges of the map will be
quite invisible to the players.  From this map, pick a near by unoccupied
city (they are in purple).  Hit space to return to movement.  At this point
the Air Transport has nothing to carry, so just hit space to skip its
movement for the turn.
    After movement for each player, MC will prompt for a key stroke to
end your turn or an <s> to save the game.  Just hit space for now.  Player
two's turn will come up now.  For him, select a Small Transport for
construction.  Since not enough turns will pass by to complete the Small
Transport, player two will not have the opportunity to move anything and the
end of turn prompt will come up over their production menu.  Once again, just
hit space.  Now player one is still constructing an infantry so they will not
see a production menu, but they will get the opportunity to move their Air
Transport.  Notice that at the top of the screen, the number before the "R"
has dropped by eight.  This number represents the range of the Aircraft.  It
dropped by eight because Air Transports moves eight per turn.  This turn fly
the Air Transport out three spaces in any direction using the cursor keys or
the number pad with <Num Lock> off (There by allowing diagonal movement).
Notice that the number preceding the "M" also drops each time.  This
represents the number of movement points remaining.  Fly back over the city
and hit <r> to refuel the Aircraft.  This will end the turn, since less than
three movement points remained.
    Player two's Small Transport will not be finished, so skip through
their turn.  On player one's next turn the infantry will be completed.
Notice that although this infantry took two turns to build, the production
menu shows a one as the time to build another.  This is because there is a
bonus in production time for building the same unit as was previously built.
Select another infantry to build.  Now in the movement portion notice that
the infantry that was just built is a different color than the Air Transport.
This color is the highlight color and shows which unit you are moving.  Above
the map it should say "Infantry /2 M/2 D."  There will be no "R" number
because land units have an unlimited range.  There is also no "L" number
because land units can not transport other units.  The "D" number represents
the relative amount of damage the infantry can still take.  If this number
ever goes below the maximum for that unit, it should be taken to a city and
repaired with the "Fix" command.  The plan is to load the infantry onto the
Air Transport so hit space to skip its movement.  The highlight should move
to the Air Transport.  Hit <l> to load.  When finished, the "L" number
should now read one.  Move the Air Transport next to a nearby city (this may
take more than one turn), and hit <u> to unload.  Note that unloading may not
take place in the final square of the Air Transport's movement.  Now move the
infantry onto the unoccupied city.  An explosion should occur and a report of
victory or defeat.  On defeat, the infantry is destroyed.  On victory, the
infantry occupies the city (it is removed from the game), and next turn the
production for the captured city can be set.  It will then begin to produce
units for the capturing player.
    Thus completes the example.  If it sounds complicated, it might be, I
wrote the game and I can't remember everything about it.  However, I don't
need to remember anything but what is on the help screen to play.  That's
what makes it fun.  There is a wealth of detail, but it's easy to play.
Still, I recommend printing out this documentation for reference during play.
The unit statistics chart will be indispensable for the serious player.

        B. Production

    The difficult part about the production menu is choosing the units to
build.  Once decided, it's easy to make a selection.  Both the up and down
arrow keys or the left and right arrow keys will move the cursor.  Once the
cursor is on the desired unit, simply hit return.  The number appearing next
to each unit is the number of turns before that unit will be produced if it
is selected.  The greyed unit, if any, is the unit just built.  Production
times vary according to two things.  The first is the industrial level of the
city.  This can be increased by having the city produce an industrial level.
The highest level is six, but many things can be built just as quickly at as
low as four (if built in sequence).  The other thing affecting build time is
whether or not a unit is built in sequence.  Another words, if an infantry
was built last, that city is geared to building infantry.  The reduction in
build times is about twenty percent, but since the numbers are rounded it may
be more or less at times.  If a unit appears in grey, it qualifies for the
built in sequence bonus.

        C. Movement

    There is also nothing complicated about how to move.  The
complication lies in deciding where to move.  Help is available during
movement by hitting either <h> or the <F1> key.  The easiest way to move is
to use the number pad with the Num Lock off.  Units may move in any of eight
directions. Exceptions are as follows:
        Land units may not move on the Sea,
        Sea units may not move on Land, and
        Armor units may not move through swamp or moutains.
    To center the map on the active unit, simply press <c>.  To skip
moving a unit, press <space>.  If you can't immediately find which unit is
highlighted, press <c> to center on the active unit.  Once again, the message
at the top left tells what type of unit is active, how much movement it has
left, how much range it has left (if it has range), how much more damage it
can take, and how many units are loaded (if it can load units).

        D. Range, and Repairs

    All sea and air units have a range.  Refer to the unit table
later on in the rules to see just how much range each unit has.  Units burn
one range for each square they move into.  They burn their movement rate in
range if you skip them (<space>).  They also burn one point of range whenever
they attack an enemy stack of units.  In another words, moving into a square
with enemy units burns two range.  A unit which uses up it's last point of
range is destroyed, even if it would have reached a city on that move.
(Aircraft crash, Ships mutiny from lack of food.)  Therefore, if the range of
a fighter is forty eight (which it is), that plane can not fly out from its
base twenty four and then fly back twenty four as it would run out of fuel
over the city.  There are three ways to refuel.  The first is to fly or sail
into a friendly city (all friendly cities have airbases) and with atleast one
range point left, press <r> to refuel.  This action costs three movement
points or however many points that unit has left that turn.  Alternatively,
<f> could be pressed to fix and refuel the aircraft or ship.  This action
costs all remaining movement points, but also repairs up to five damage
points per turn on that unit.  Units will never repair damage that never
occurred.  Refer to the unit chart to see maximum damage levels for each
unit.  However, it never hurts to do a "fix" if there is nothing else for a
unit to do that turn.  Note this action, like refueling, can only take place
in a city.  Also note that land units may occasionally have need of a "fix"
command.  The last way one can refuel applies only to aircraft.  Yes,
aircraft can execute a refuel order over an Aircraft Carrier.  Escort
Carriers can refuel four fighters per turn, and Heavy Carriers can refuel
eight.  Bombers and Air Transports can also refuel at carriers for the
equivalent of refueling two fighters.

        E. Loading and Unloading

    Many of the maps are mostly water, much like Earth, and this makes
being able to transporting land units across the sea a key element to the
game.  Air Transports, Small Transports, Large Transports, and Armor
Transports are all capable of getting land units to the action.  Only Armor
Transports can carry armor units (that's all they can carry).  Refer to the
unit chart to see how many units each can carry.
    Loading takes place only in friendly cities.  Simply move the
transport unit into the city and press <l> for load.  All units in the city
of the correct type, up to the capacity of the transport, will be loaded
aboard.  Transported units begin "fix" orders and may not nove again that
turn except to unload.
    Unloading occurs in one of two ways.  For Air Transports, simply hit
<u> for unload when the aircraft is over the desired square.  The probability
of hitting the desired square is equal to that players combat rating.  If it
fails to land on target the infantry unit will drift one square in a random
direction.  Upon landing, if the unit is in water or overstacked, it will be
eliminated.  If it lands on enemy units, it will attack them.  It will also
attack undefended cities.  Ships are much easier.  Simply move up next to the
desired shore line and move the ship onto the shoreline.  Instead of the ship
moving, MC will prompt whether or not to unload a unit.  Press <y> to unload.
Any other key assumes no.  Ships may not unload onto swamp, mountains, or
cities in swamp, or mountain terrain.  Unloaded units will be eliminated if
they are overstacked.  Unloaded units from ships will, like their airborne
counterparts, attack enemy units and undefended cities in their landing
square.  To unload units from ships into friendly cities, use the <u>
command.

        F. The Reports

    There are two reports available in MC besides the help screen.  The
first is the world map.  It can be obtained by pressing <w> while in movement
mode.  The world is displayed as small rectangles of the following colors:
        Red      - Player one cities and spotted units
        Yellow   - Player two cities and spotted units
        White    - Player three cities and spotted units
        Black    - Player four cities and spotted units
        Purple   - Neutral cities
        Blue     - Water
        Green    - Grass lands and Hills
        Grey     - Moutains
        Brown    - Swamp
Press space to return to movement mode.
    The second report is the logistics report.  It tells how many units a
player has, how many are being built, and how long till the next of a given
unit type is completed.  It also reports the number of cities that player has
at each industrial level and the total number of cities each player controls.
This can be used as a rough approximation of who is winning.  If one player
remains in control of more than half the cities for more that ten turns, they
will usually win, especially if the remaining cities are divided amoungst two
or three other players.  The wise player would resign in the face of such
odds.  This report can be obtained during movement mode by pressing <i> for
information.

        G. The Map

    The map is one hundred squares by one hundred squares.  A thirty five
by twenty five square window into is visible during movement.  The edges wrap
around in all directions.  Only the world map report is capable of showing
the whole map, but it does so at the cost of accuracy.  There are six
different terrain types; Grass, Hills, Swamps, Mountains, Forests, and Water.
It should be easy to tell which is which.  However, just in case:
    Grass    - black v's on green
    Hills    - black crests on green
    Swamps   - green with blue dots
    Moutains - brown and black triangles on green
    Forests  - dark green and black trees on green
    Water    - blue with white waves.

        H. Combat, Shore Bombardment

    Combat is the fun part.  It is initiated by moving into a square
containing enemy units.  It is resolved by the computer as follows;

    I. Arrange enemy units into the order they will defend.
        This is as follows:
        1. Land units will attack other land units, aircraft,
            and then undefended cities.
        2. Air units over land will attack other air units, and then
            land units.
        3. Air units over sea will attack other air units, escort
            ships, and then capital ships.
        4. Escort ships will attack other escort ships, air units,
            and then capital ships.
        5. Capital ships will attack escort ships, air units, and
            then other capital ships.
        NOTE: an undefended city is one with no land units left to
            defend it.
    II. Determine the length of combat.
        Air units will only fight land units for five rounds per move
        Shore bombardment is executed for only three rounds
        All other combat is to the death
    III. Begin fighting
            Attacker's attack rating times combat rating is
        compared to defender's defense rating times combat rating to
        determine the odds of a hit.  If a hit is scored then the
        attackers attack strength is done in damage to the defender.
        Whenever either players damage goes to zero or below the
        combat is over for that unit.
            Next the defender's attack strength times combat
        rating is compared to the attacker's defense strength times
        combat rating with the same consequences.
            This step is repeated the indicated number of rounds
        or to the death.

The following things affect combat values:
    1. Bombers have a one attack strength versus fighters.
    2. Defending infantry in mountains, forest, or cities double their
        defense strength.
    3. Defending armor in hills multiply their defense strength by
        one and one half.
    4. Defending armor in cities halve their defense strength.
    5. Armor attacking cities halves its own attack strength.

None of the above affects the damage done upon a successful hit.
    Shore Bombardment is a special form of combat initiated by Cruisers
and Battleships.  It is executed by moving the ship onto a land square
containing enemy units.  It does not actually move but it attacks all enemy
units in the land square or enemy city including land units.  Ships will
attack each land unit for three rounds (assuming the ship isn't eliminated).
This is an effective and important part of the game since ships are so much
more powerful than the land units.  It may be used to clean out a city of
defending forces in preparation for land attacks.

III.  About the Units

        A. Table of Units Stats
    The following information is displayed in the unit statistics table:

        Unit Name -  Unit description
        Attk      -  Attack Strength
        Def       -  Defense Strength
        Spd       -  Number of moves per turn unit receives
        Dmg       -  Maximum number of damage points a unit can have
        Rng       -  Just refueled range of a unit
        Stk       -  Number of stacking points a unit uses
        Rdr       -  How far away a unit can spot enemy units
        Cap       -  Number of units a unit can transport
        Cns       -  Relative amount of time unit takes to build
        Sub       -  Can unit see submarines one square distant?

Unit Name        | Attk | Def | Spd | Dmg | Rng | Stk | Rdr | Cap | Cns | Sub
-----------------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----
Infantry         |   1  |  2  |  2  |  2  |  NA |  2  |  1  |  0  |  1  |  N
Armor            |   3  |  2  |  4  |  4  |  NA |  4  |  1  |  0  |  2  |  N
Fighter          |   1  |  2  | 12  |  2  |  48 |  2  |  2  |  0  |  2  |  Y
Bomber           |   5  |  1  |  8  |  3  |  48 |  3  |  2  |  0  |  3  |  Y
Air Trasnport    |   1  |  1  |  8  |  2  |  48 |  3  |  1  |  1  |  3  |  N
Patrol Boat      |   2  |  1  |  4  |  4  | 100 |  1  |  1  |  0  |  3  |  N
Hydro-Foil       |   2  |  1  |  6  |  3  |  60 |  2  |  1  |  0  |  3  |  N
Frigate          |   4  |  3  |  4  | 12  | 160 |  3  |  1  |  0  |  4  |  Y
Destroyer        |   6  |  4  |  3  | 18  | 150 |  4  |  2  |  0  |  5  |  Y
Submarine        |   6  |  4  |  3  |  8  | 240 |  5  |  1  |  0  |  4  |  Y
Armor Transport  |   1  |  2  |  3  | 12  | 240 | 10  |  2  |  3  |  5  |  N
Small Transport  |   1  |  2  |  4  | 12  | 240 | 10  |  1  |  6  |  5  |  N
Large Transport  |   1  |  2  |  3  | 20  | 240 | 10  |  2  | 12  | 10  |  N
Cruiser          |   8  |  8  |  3  | 25  | 240 | 10  |  3  |  0  |  8  |  N
Battleship       |  12  | 10  |  2  | 40  | 240 | 10  |  4  |  0  | 12  |  N
Escort Carrier   |   4  |  5  |  4  | 25  | 240 | 10  |  3  |  4  |  7  |  N
Heavy Carrier    |   6  |  7  |  3  | 40  | 240 | 10  |  4  |  8  | 10  |  N
-----------------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----

        B. The Ground Units
    The most relevant thing about the land units, is that they are the
only units allowed to capture cities.  Armor is faster and stronger than
infantry, but it has the same chance of taking an undefended city and takes
longer to build.

        C. The Air Units

    Fighters make great scouts, and they rarely fail to shoot down enemy
air units which are not fighters.  They are cheap to build and fast.
    Bombers have the attack strength to make a difference.  They can be
used to attack infantry inside cities before the ground troops get there.
They can also be used against ships, although they would be lucky to damage a
Battleship.
    Air Transports are extremely important in the early game.  They can
get infantry anywhere nearby in a hurry, and are great for picking up the
neutral cities at the beginning of the game.

        D. The Escort Ships

    The main job of the escort ships is to defend capital ships.  They
are attacked before capital ships in combat.  They can also be useful as
patrols against enemy transport ships.  However, remember that patrol boats
and hydro-foils sacrifice combat strength for speed and quick construction
time.  It may take more than one hydro-foil to sink a large transport.  Subs
are useful for catching transport ships since only the units marked in the
unit statistics table can spot them before attacking them.  A strategy
developed around this, is to ring likely landing beaches with subs.  Enemy
Transports will be locked in mortal combat with them before they knew they
were there.
        E. The Capital Ships

    Transport ships are the main reason for having a navy, and should be
protected by escorts.  They get large enough numbers of infantry (and armor)
over to the enemy shores to actually make a difference.  However, be careful
not to unload to much in one square as unloaded units which overstack are
eliminated.
    The Cruiser and Battleship are the most dangerous units on the map
and as such take a long time to build.  Don't even think about building one
at a city of less than four industrial levels.  These ships can clear water
ways and shores of enemy units while taking little damage from anything but
their counterparts.
    Carriers unfortunately are only useful on maps with large expanses
of water.  They can serve as staging points to refuel air transports crossing
the sea.  They can also be stationed off an enemy coast in order to keep
fighters and bombers over the target longer without having to refuel.

IV.   The Map Editor

    A map editor for creating your own maps is available to those who
register the software.  It will be sent along with a the most recent release
of the game.

V.    The Future of Modern Conquest

    The following ideas have already been submitted for future releases:

1. The ability to bombard cities themselves, damaging units under
    construction or city's industrial level.
2. Fortress units to defend cities from Battleship bombardment.
3. A "Move to" command to allow players to direct units towards a given
    square.
4. A "Sleep" command which will keep units garrisoning cities from moving
    until alerted.
5. The ability to move units out of order by placing units at the end of the
    que during the player turn.

    If you have other ideas, feel free to send them in.  Don't expect
them to be incorporated though.  I probably will not work on this again until
atleast a few people register and I can convince myself and my wife that I'm
not wasting time and money on this.  If I do start a new version it will
probably take quite a while to finish.  I do not currently plan to do a
version with a computer opponent simply because I like to games purely for
social reasons.

VI.   Registration Information

    Registration costs $20.  This is a cheap as I felt I could make it
for three reasons.  The first reason is it costs me hundreds of dollars a
year to keep equipment and software around for me to develop on.  The second
reason is I have to pay to send each person who registers a copy of the map
editor.  And lastly because there were a number of people who helped
playtest this game who get to dip into whatever money is made.  I am asking
each person who registers to give the name of the map they liked best.  The
person who designed that map (initially playtesters) will receive 15% of the
registration fee off the top.  (Maps which I designed or have not been
recorded with me will be split between playtesters.)  Once a person has
registered I will send them the map editor along with any recent release.  If
anyone desires, they may register a map they have created with me, and then
they will begin to get the 15% from everyone who registers and selects their
map.  Registering maps is free, but please only one map per person (except
playtesters).  Feel free to include any maps you have made if and when you
upload this game to other boards.  Also, feel free to write even if you can't
afford to register.
    Send $20 along with your address, comments, and your favorite map
filename to:

    Kenneth Lightner
    1453 E Willow Lake Dr.
    Atlanta, GA 30329

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