PC Player 2000 April/PCP_4_2000C.iso/demos/risings/data1.cab/Battle_Files/Readme.txt

Text File | 2000-01-12 | 12.5 KB | 265 lines

TALONSOFT'S RISING SUN Demo Readme


INSTALLING THE DEMO
-------------------

    1. Double-clicking on "Rising Sun Demo.exe" will extract the demo's
       setup files to C:\Temp. (This directory will be created automat-
       ically if it does not already exist.)

    2. From Windows, select the Win 95 Start button and the Run menu item.

    3. Browse to the folder where you extracted the setup files (C:\Temp
       unless you changed it), select "setup.exe", and click OK.

    4. The demo will install about 60 MB of files to your hard drive.

    5. After installing the demo, you may delete C:\Temp and the setup
       files. You might also want to print a copy of this readme for
       easy reference during play.


GETTING STARTED
---------------
    To launch the demo, click on the Start button in the Windows
    Taskbar, then in turn select "Programs", "TalonSoft", "TalonSoft's
    Rising Sun Demo", and "Rising Sun Demo". In this Demo you play the
    U.S. side against the computer-controlled Japanese. These settings
    cannot be changed.

    To pause play being conducted by the A/I, click on the A/I button
    in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen while the A/I is moving
    units. (This button has a picture of a computer on it.) If the A/I
    is firing, press the Esc key.

        You may wish to display the hex grid to make it easier to visualize
    the concept of hexes for the purposes of fire and movement. To do
    so, press the "M" key on your keyboard to display the Menu Bar, then
    select the Hex Outlines item in the Options menu.


EXITING THE DEMO
----------------
    To exit, simply press the "X" key on your keyboard (after pausing
    play if necessary).


UNINSTALLING
------------
    To uninstall the demo, use Add/Remove Programs in the Windows
    Control Panel.


THE BASICS OF PLAY
------------------
SELECTING A UNIT: Double-click on a hex to select all units in that hex,
or left-click once on the 3D unit icon to select just that unit. (A
selected 3D icon has a green outline.) On both the 2D and 3D maps, a
unit can also be selected by clicking in its Infobox (the data box that
appears in the upper righthand corner of the screen when you click on a
unit on the map). Right-clicking on the infobox will scroll through the
units in the hex, allowing you to view/select them individually.

INFOBOX: The Infobox appears on the screen automatically whenever a
unit is selected, and shows a 3D icon and important data in a circular
fashion around the icon. Starting at 12 o'clock and going clockwise,
the data are:

    Strength: the unit's current Strength Points (SPs - in individual
    vehicles, guns or "half-squads");

    Action: the unit's current number of Action Points (APs) - all
    units start each turn with 100 APs, and each action executed
    during a turn costs a given amount of APs (as long as a unit
    retains sufficient APs, it can perform any combination of
    actions during a single turn);

    Assault: the unit's strength when it Assaults (multiplied by the
    number of SPs);

    Defense: the unit's defensive value when it is attacked (a 'hard'
    target is signified by its Defense strength being printed in red);

    Fire Cost: how many APs the unit must have to fire;

    Morale/Leadership: the unit's current morale (the number it
    must roll less than or equal to on a 10-sided die when taking
    a morale check) - unless it is a commander, in which case this
    number is its Leadership value (which increases the morale of
    friendly units under his command in his hex).

'FIXED' UNITS: Many Japanese units are 'fixed' in place at the start of
the scenario. This is shown by the letter "F" in a red circle in the
upper left-hand corner of the unit's Infobox. A fixed unit cannot move
until it has been attacked (or released by the A/I).

MOVING A UNIT: Select (as above) the unit you want to move, then right-
click in any hex to move the unit toward that hex. You can also Select
the unit, then "drag and drop" it in the direction you wish it to move.
When in "Move Mode" your cursor is a "plus sign" (+). Move Mode is
automatically invoked for a side each time its turn begins.

'COLUMN' MOVE: To move all the units in the same company toward the
same location with a single move command, select any unit in that
company, then click on the "Next Unit" toolbar button (at which time
all that company's units will become highlighted). Then move the unit
while holding down the "Alt" key. The other highlighted units that have
not yet been moved will move toward the clicked-on location.

'ECHELON' MOVE: To move all the units in the same company in the same
general direction with a single move command, select any unit in that
company, then click on the "Next Unit" toolbar button (at which time
all that company's units will become highlighted). Then move the unit
while holding down the "Shift" key. The other highlighted units that
have not yet been moved will move in that same general direction.

ASSAULTING: To assault an adjacent enemy unit, the attacker(s) must be
non-disrupted, in "Move Mode", and must have enough APs (Action Points)
to assault (20 plus terrain cost). Select that unit, then right-click on
an adjacent enemy-occupied hex. If the assault is "legal" you'll see a
dialog box stating the odds. More units can be added to the assault in
the same manner as the first. When ready to resolve the assault, click
on the "Assault" toolbar button (which shows units firing).

FIRING A UNIT: The unit you wish to fire must be selected, and you must
be in "Fire Mode". To enter Fire Mode, click on the leftmost ("Move/Fire
Mode") toolbar button to toggle it to Fire Mode. Alternatively, holding
down the Ctrl key toggles this button temporarily. In Fire Mode your
cursor changes to "crosshairs". You can then move this Crosshairs cursor
around the map; if it goes over a valid target (an enemy target will be
outlined in red on the 3D map), a small target-info box will appear,
listing the valid hard and soft target numbers (respectively) for the
firing unit vs. that hex.
    An easy way to use indirect fire (i.e., fire mortars or artillery)
is to click on the "Artillery Dialog" toolbar button (which shows an
artillery piece). This will display a dialog that lists all of the side's
indirect-fire units. Click on the Help button in the dialog for further
details. Note that indirect-fire attacks have a one-turn delay before
being resolved.

OPPORTUNITY FIRE: As the units of one side move, you will see the other
side fire at them. This "Opportunity Fire" is conducted automatically -
and solely - by the computer. A unit cannot "Op Fire" if it lacks
sufficient Action Points, so you might want to turn on "Save APs for
Firing" for the unit before you move it. Do this by selecting the unit,
then clicking on the toolbar button that has a picture of crosshairs and
a tank gun on it. Doing this will keep the unit from expending all its
Action Points in movement, thereby ensuring that it retains sufficient
APs to Op Fire once during enemy movement.
    Opportunity Fire can be set "globally" (i.e., for all units on
your side), or individually on a per-unit basis. To set "OpFire" for an
individual unit, select the unit, then press the "D" key to display the
OpFire dialog. The OpFire dialog that appears applies to the selected
unit(s) only. Other settings are grayed out. If more than one unit is
selected, the options that are not grayed-out will affect all units
selected.
    NOTE: The most restrictive OpFire option set for a unit takes
precedence; e.g., a globally-set option for a unit type to fire at
"short" range will take precedence over an individually-set option for
an individual unit of that type to fire at "medium" range.

CAVES: TalonSoft's Rising Sun introduces the Cave as a new fortification
type. Only Japanese units that use "foot" movement may use Caves. Such
a Japanese unit "in" a Cave receives a substantial protective modifier,
is not subject to retreat (it takes an additional SP loss instead), and
may move (at a cost of 100 AP) to any other Cave within three hexes.
A Cave remains hidden from Allied units until a Japanese unit in the
Cave fires or its location is entered by an Allied unit.

AIR STRIKES: To conduct an air strike, select the enemy unit you want
the aircraft to attack, then click on the "Air Attack" toolbar button
(which shows the side view of an aircraft). Note that each air strike
has a minimum one-turn delay before being resolved - and in some cases
may attack the wrong target, or may even fail to appear at all!

DAMAGE RESULTS: To display the results of combat, press the "M" key if
the Menu bar is not present at the top of the screen, then select
"Options", "Details" and "Medium Details".

3D ROAM MODE: When in Roam Mode (only available in the 3D view), unit
icons on the map are automatically highlighted when your cursor passes
over them. A yellow highlight indicates a friendly unit, and red
indicates an enemy unit. The selected unit is always shown with a green
highlight. When you "roam over" a unit, its Infobox will be displayed.

OBJECTIVES: Each side gains victory points for casualties inflicted on
the enemy. in addition, there are objectives on the map which grant
victory points to the side that last occupied them. To see the objectives,
press the "O" (oh) key. Pressing it again turns them off.

UNIT BASES: To make units easier to spot in the 3D view, you can toggle
the unit bases on/off by clicking on the toolbar button that shows a
soldier standing on an oval base.

UNIT HANDBOOK: When a single unit is currently selected, pressing the
"F2" key displays certain information about it, such as a picture of
the unit and some historical background, its organization, its AP costs
for different actions, etc.

CHANGING THE MAP VIEW: Any of five map views, plus a jump map, can be
displayed; see the list of hotkeys below.


HOT KEYS
--------
These hot keys can be used in the main program (many of the actions
listed are also available via the menus):

F1 - Open Main program help file
F2 - Open Unit Handbook (a unit must be currently selected)
F3 - Open Scenario Parameter Data help file
F4 - Open Miscellaneous (platoon) Data file
F5 - Open Weapon Data file
Keyboard 1 - Display map in 3D Normal mode
Keyboard 2 - Display map in 3D Zoom-Out mode
Keyboard 3 - Display map in 3D Extreme Zoom-Out mode
Keyboard 4 - Display map in 2D Normal mode
Keyboard 5 - Display map in 2D Zoom-Out mode
Number Pad 0 - Load/unload units
Number Pad 1 - Move selected unit down and left
Number Pad 2 - Move selected unit down
Number Pad 3 - Move selected unit down and right
Number Pad 4 - Turn selected unit counter-clockwise
Number Pad 5 - Initiate air attack on currently selected hex
Number Pad 6 - Turn selected unit clockwise
Number Pad 7 - Move selected unit up and left
Number Pad 8 - Move selected unit up
Number Pad 9 - Move selected unit up and right
Delete - Turn selected units counter-clockwise
Page Down - Turn selected unit clockwise
Home - Move selected unit forward in hex
End - Move selected unit backward in hex
A - Display reinforcements' Arrived Dialog
C - Toggle display of map's elevation-contour lines
D - Display Opportunity Fire dialog
F - Display fixed units' Release Schedule
H - Toggle display of hexes selected unit can reach during current turn
I - Display scenario information
M - Toggle display of program menu
N - Advance to next unit to move or fire
O - Toggle display of objectives
P - Return to previous unit to move or fire
R - Rotate map 180 degrees
S - Display reinforcements' Scheduled Dialog
T - Toggle display of on-map thermometers
U - Toggle display of Unit List
V - Toggle display of hexes visible from selected hex/unit
X - Exit main program
Z - Toggle display of selected unit's range vs. hard and soft targets (red
    and blue lines respectively)
Up Arrow - Scroll map up
Down Arrow - Scroll map down
Left Arrow - Scroll map left
Right Arrow - Scroll map right
Space Bar - Re-center map on selected hex/unit
Ctrl - Toggle between Move mode and Fire mode
Alt - Used (with indirect-fire unit) to fire smoke; also used for 'Column'
      Movement ("Show Organization" button must be "on")
Shift - Display map labels; also used for 'Echelon' Movement ("Show
        Organization" button must be "on")

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For more information, contact TalonSoft at 410-933-9191 or visit our Web
site at http://www.talonsoft.com