home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- AGE OF SAIL Demo Readme
-
- Getting Started
- ---------------
- To see a fully automated demo, do the following. First launch the
- demo, using the Age of Sail program item. When prompted, select
- Automatic A/I for both sides. This will play the demo Computer vs.
- Computer.
-
- To try a battle against the computer, select Automatic A/I for one
- side and Manual for the side you wish to play. Choose Novice as the
- difficulty level and Normal for the ammo reload rate.
-
- Note: If you do not hear cannon-fire sound effects when a ship fires,
- open the Options Menu and select the Use Eight-Bit Sound Files item.
-
- To exit the game, select the Exit item from the File Menu.
-
-
- The Basics of Play
- ------------------
- * How to select a ship:
- Click on the ship with the left mouse button.
-
- * How to fire on another ship:
- Click on the target ship with the right mouse button. Note that the
- target must be on the left (port) or right (starboard) side of the
- firing ship and within range of the ammunition being fired (choose
- Gun Range in the Display Menu to show the selected ship's field of
- fire). To have the computer fire your ship for you, select Fire at
- Will in the Ship Menu.
-
- * How to turn a ship:
- After selecting the ship, click on the Right or Left Turn icon in the
- toolbar. Alternatively, select Turn to Port or Turn to Starboard in
- the Ship Menu. Note that turning does not occur immediately. An arrow
- will indicate the direction of turn until the turn is actually made.
-
- * How to change the gun load of a ship:
- After selecting the ship, left-click on the Round, Chain, Grape or
- Double Shot icon in the toolbar. Alternatively, you can select the
- new ammunition type from the Ship Menu. Note: the selected type will
- not be reloaded until the next time the ship fires. To have it apply
- immediately, left-click on one of the toolbar icons that show a
- left-facing cannon, a right-facing cannon, or two cannons facing in
- opposite directions, immediately after selecting the load; doing so
- will start the reloading procedure for the left (port) side, right
- (starboard) side or both sides of the ship respectively.
-
- * How to change the sails of a ship:
- After selecting the ship, click on the Full, Battle (i.e., partial)
- or Furled Sails icon in the toolbar. Alternatively, you can select
- the sail change order in the Ship Menu.
-
- * How to board an enemy ship and engage in melee:
- Select a friendly ship, left-click on the Grapple icon in the toolbar,
- then try to collide with an enemy ship. If grappling is successful
- (this may take a bit of time), a Melee Report will be displayed to
- report both ships' crew casualties.
-
- * How to scroll the map:
- Use the arrow keys to scroll the map. To scroll more rapidly, hold
- down the Ctrl key while pressing the arrow key.
-
-
- Squadron Orders
- ---------------
- Turn, Reload Ammo, Fire at Will, and Change Sail orders can be issued
- to an entire squadron by selecting a ship in the squadron and then
- issuing the order while holding down the Ctrl key. Ships flying the
- same color pennant are in the same squadron.
-
-
- The Toolbar
- -----------
- These are the toolbar buttons in order from left to right (those
- marked with an * do not appear if screen resolution is set to
- 640 x 480):
-
- New File* - open a new scenario file
- Open File* - open an existing battle file
- Save File* - save a battle file
-
- Pause - pause the game (click again to restart)
-
- Speed Up - increase speed of selected ship without changing sail setting
- Slow Down - decrease speed of selected ship without changing sail setting
- Sync Speeds - set all ships in squadron to same speed as selected ship
-
- Turn to Port - turn selected ship to port
- Turn to Starboard - turn selected ship to starboard
- Clear Squadron Turns - cancel Squadron Turn order for selected ship's squadron
- Full Sail - set full sails on selected ship
- Battle Sail - set battle (i.e., partial) sails on selected ship
- Furled Sail - set furled sails on selected ship
-
- Fire at Will - let the computer fire the selected ship's guns
- Round Shot - reload guns with Round Shot after next shot
- Chain Shot - reload guns with Chain Shot after next shot
- Grape Shot - reload guns with Grape Shot after next shot
- Double Shot - reload guns with Double Shot after next shot
- Reload Port (Left) Side - reload port side with preselected ammo type
- Reload Both Sides - reload both sides of selected ship with preselected ammo
- type
- Reload Starboard (Right) Side - reload starboard side with preselected ammo
- type
- Grapple - attempt to grapple with (or ungrapple from) another ship
-
- Next Ship - select the next ship on your side
- Grid* - display/hide map grid
- Can Fire - display/hide icon showing which side of ship is ready to fire
- Full Screen - display/hide full screen mode
- Magnify - zoom map view in
- Shrink - zoom map view out
- Turning Arrows* - display/hide turning arrows on map
- Gun Range - display/hide range indicator on map for selected ship
-
- Help* - invoke general Age-of-Sail help
-
-
- The Unit List
- -------------
- The Unit List at the bottom of the screen shows the ship data for
- the recently selected ships; e.g., current speed and heading, sail
- and hull integrity, number of functioning cannons on each side of
- the ship, etc. Right-clicking on a ship's data area will reveal even
- more information on the ship.
-
-
- What the Full Version of AGE OF SAIL Offers
- -------------------------------------------
- * Over 100 historical scenarios, ranging from single ship-vs.-ship
- encounters to great engagements like the Battle of Trafalgar.
- * Head-to-head modem and null-modem play.
- * A full-function scenario editor to let you design your own
- scenarios using any of 2000 different ships from eleven nations.
- * An easy-to-use front-end interface.
- * Full 16-bit sound effects and background music.
- * A complete hardcopy manual plus foldout quick-start instructions.
- * Four campaign games, covering:
- - The American Revolution (1775-1783)
- - The Rise of the British Navy (1784-1795)
- - The Napoleonic Wars (1796-1820)
- - The Age of Sail (1775-1820, encompassing the three other
- campaign games)
-
- For more information, contact TalonSoft at 410-933-9191 or visit our
- Web site at http://www.talonsoft.com.
-
- <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
-
-
- This demo incorporates the v1.02 upgrade to Age of Sail.
-