PC Player: Unknown Issue/Pcplayer.iso/ACWDEMO/PROGRAMS/README.TXT

Text File | 1996-08-12 | 8.5 KB | 183 lines

Getting Started

American Civil War opens with a brief introduction
to the War. To ensure best performance, make certain
that your graphical device interface (GDI)
resources are above 80% when you load the game.
To do so, stop loading the game, then exit other
programs still active in Windows. Restart
The American Civil War Demo. If you still have
problems, exit and  restart Windows, then restart
The American Civil War Demo. In the demo you
will only be able to play (for a limited time) the
1861 campaign starting point.

DEMO WALK THROUGH
Follow these steps to become familiar with the game
quickly. NOTE: The term click means to press and
release the left mouse button. Right-click means to
press and release the right mouse
button. Drag means to press and hold the left mouse
button  while moving the mouse. Once the mouse
pointer is at the  desired location, release the mouse
button. Generally, right-clicking an icon displays a
menu for that icon. Right-clicking
a stack of unit icons displays a pop-up menu that lists
the individual units.  You can then select the unit you
want. There are some settings in the demo version that
 have been pre-set  for you. Only in the full version of
the game will you be able to change all of the settings
and choose another starting point besides  the 1861
startingscenario.
ò After the introduction has played,  the 1861 campaign
will be selected for you. You will play the Union side.
ò Click In View under Leadership Ratings so you can
see the leaders' characteristics.
ò The Computer under Confederate  will be selected so
that you will play against the computer.
Note: There are other settings that you can change such
as the starting  capital, leadership,  and slavery status.
ò Click Done to begin the game.
The first screen displayed is an information box that
informs you about the fall of Missouri.
ò After reading the screen, click Done. Then a small
screen indicating that this is just the demo version will
appear. Just click it away. The game map is centered
on Missouri, and you want to focus on a small area
on the seaboard.
ò Move the mouse to the lower right corner of the
game map, and click on the word Map to display
the Overview map. The overview map shows the
entire area that the game encompasses. States
bordered in gray are controlled by the Confederacy,
and states bordered in blue are controlled by the
Union. States bordered in white are neutral.
ò Click on the first blue border in the upper right
corner. This is a fast way to change what you see
on the main map. You can see your capital,
Washington, D.C., and the troops around it.
ò Right-click on the stack of units located at
 Washington to display a pop-up menu listing the
names of the units.
ò Right-click again on Washington to display the City
Orders menu. In this window you can see which troops
 you have on garrison duty, and you
can increase the level of fortifications.
ò Increase the fortification to 5. Then click
Done to return to the map.
ò Right-click the stack at Washington again, and
then right-click on the flag icon (which is the symbol
 for Army Headquarters). The Army Orders
 window is displayed. In this window you can
issue orders to be carried out by  the units attached
to the army. Examine the information in the
window and note that three units are attached to
this army.  The army has a red bar at the top of
its icon, and units attached to this army have
the same color bar. (If a unit has a black bar, it is
not attached to an armyand is operating independently.)
ò Set the supply priority to High.
Note that the current army objective is Richmond.
Since the army must pass near Fredericksburg, make
 that city the objective.
ò Click on Fredericksburg in the Army objective box to make it
your newobjective.
ò Set the march mode to Normal so that the unit moves
 at a faster  pace, but not fast enough to tire quickly.
You do not want to arrive  with fatigued troops,
 because that will hurt you in combat.
ò Click Advance under Combat stance.
ò Click Done.
Now increase your production of weapons and the number of
soldiers in your units.
ò Click National, then City Production. In the City
 Production window you set the number of weapons
 produced in your on-map cities, and you can
increase their  shipbuilding capacity.
ò Click the up button next to Springfields to increase the
quantity  to 1000. Then click the up button next to
Parrott guns to increase  the quantity to 32. When new
manpower and supplies become
available, your units will  get the new weapons.
Examine the  window and note that you see  some of
the same information that was displayed in the City
Orders window.
ò Click Done to return to the main map.
ò From the Settings menu, select Hidden Enemy to
view the enemy  units. One unit near Washington
has three dots in its  upper bar and has the  roman
numeral I, which indicates that the unit is the
South's First Corps division. The black bar indicates
 that it is operating  independently  of an army.
ò Right-click on the stack of units at Washington,
and then left-click on Hunter to select his unit.
 Hunter's name appears at the bottom of the
screen in the blue bar.
ò Click on the stack of units at Washington and then
slowly drag the units toward the enemy unit. When you
see an arrow on top of that unit, release the mouse
button. You just set the tactical movement for Hunter's
unit.  The objective you set in the Army Orders was
a strategic  movement.
ò Right-click on the stack of units at Washington again,
and then left-click on Tyler.
ò Left-click on Tyler's stack and drag it to the enemy
unit again. You just sent two units after the enemy.
ò Click on the Overview menu, then on Army Overview.
The resulting window shows your active land unitsùthat
is, units that have leaders to whom you can issue
orders. You have more troops than are shown in
the window, but they are on garrison duty.
ò Click Done to exit this window.
ò From the National menu, select General Force Status
to see a list of all active troops (under a leader) and
inactive troops (on garrison duty). The window shows
how many troops you have in each theater, and you
can tell at a glance that you are weakest in the
Mississippi area. You can also see how many ships
you have, and you can view your weapon distribution,
availability, and production, as well as your current
shipbuilding capacity and the current capitals of
the North and South.
ò Click Done to return to the main map.
ò Right-click the unit that is slightly southwest of
Washington. You know it is a Union unit because
it has a blue background. The red bar at the top
 indicates that it is part of the Army of the Potomac
, and the roman numeral I and three dots in the red
 bar tell you it is Union Corps Division 1. Because
the unit is not in a stack, you can right-click on it to
 go directlyto the orders window for that unit. In the
window you view the rating for the unit, along with
 statistics such as number of men  and artillery. You
also view the leader's statistics. Even though
Heintzelman's statistics are somewhat low, he has
an average combat score, so he is an appropriate
blockfor enemy units headed toward Washington.
ò Click View Brigades to examine his attached brigades.
In this window you can equip active troops with new
weapons and reinforce them when reinforcements
are available.
ò Return to the Corps Orders window, then click OK.
ò In the main game window, go to the Game menu and
select Execute. In this phase the troops move and battles
are fought. New  manpower and supplies are available.
ò Click OK to let the turn continue.
Because you turned off the hidden enemy, you can see what
reinforcements they are getting, as well as their movements
by rail, and their munitions at various ports.
ò Examine a battle at Fort Monroe in Virginia(NOTE: The
battles vary from game to game, so keep executing  until
you find one you can examine.) You can select the battle
intensity, but your choices depend on your leader's
combat rating. Butler has an average combat rating,
 so your battle intensity choices are Low and Skirmish.
ò Click Execute and hope for the best.
After the battle takes place, you learn whether you won or lost.
ò Click Analysis to see which factors determined the battle's
outcome. Now that you've been introduced to the main
elements of the game, you can restart the demo , and plan
your own strategy.