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-
- Chris Crawford's
- PATTON STRIKES BACK: The Battle of the Bulge
-
- User's Manual
-
- (C) Copiright 1991 Cris Crawford
- Patton Strikes Back is a trademark and Broderbund is a registered
- trademark of Broderbund Software, Inc.
-
- .
- -1-
-
- At 5:30 am on saturday,Desember 16th,1944, a tremendous artillery
- barrage descended on 80mile section o the american front in Belgiu
- The German armies in retreat sinse August were counterattacking.Hitler
- had selected the Ardennes, a forested and hilly section of Belgium and
- Luxembourg, to make his last gumble. The area was thinly defended by a few
- American divisions.The Americans, flushed with the victories of the last few
- months, were caught off guard and hurled back. The German panzer divi-
- sions rased for the Meuse River; once across, they could drive to the sea
- and cut off an entire Allied army group. But American resistanse stiffened
- after a few days, and the Germans did not break through. The penetration
- became a huge bulge in the front line. Within a week, Patton's Third Army
- was attacking the bulge, and Allied airpower hammered the panzers.
- Together, they defeated the last major German offensive of the war and won
- the Battle of the Bulge.
- .
- -4-
-
- INSTALLATION AND STARTUP
-
- Please refer to the"Installation Card"for hard disk installation instructions specific to your
- computer. After it is property installed, start up the game. It will take a moment to initialise,
- then the title sequence will begin. When you're ready to play, simply click the mouse.
- A dialog box will appear, allowing you to declare which side you want to play and the desired
- difficulty setting. There is also an option to play with historical weather and reinforcements or
- with random variations. Let's keep it simple for now: use the historical setting. If you want,
- there's also a demo game available; the computer will play against itself and you can watch.
- To start the game, click on "Let's start!" or press the Return key.
-
- ORIENTATION
- When the game begins,you will see a map of the battlefield German units are on the right,
- pointed toward the left.American units are lined up against them. Each unit represent a divi-
- sion of troops and equipment.
- The Germans are all arrows, while the Americans are circles with shields.This is because the
- German units are initially in mobile mode,while the Americans start in defense mode.There
- are two other modes,attack mode and shattered mode.
- Divisions in mobile mode move faster but are weaker.Divisions in defense mode cannot
- move,but are strong on defense.Divisions in attack mode move slowly but hit hard.Shattered
-
- .
-
- - 5 -
-
- divisions can t do anything but wander around until they recover.Here are what the various
- modes look like:
-
- ATTACK MODE
- DEFENSE MODE
- MOBILE MODE
- SHATTERED MODE
-
- There are two other elements to the display:a meny bar across the top of the screen and a
- text area at the bottom.Whenever the game needs to tell you something it will often use the
- text area,so remember:when this manual talksabout the text area,refer to that space at the
- bottom of the screen.
- The menu bar is used to access the various game options and commands.
-
- DIVISION SELECTION
-
- To select a division, move the cursor over it and click. The selected division blinks, and the
- text area tells you the division s name, its strenght, and its readiness.A division with 100
- readiness fight with full strenght.A division with 50 readiness fight with half its strenght.If
- you click anywhere else on the map,or press the Return or Enter key,the selected division will
- become unselected.
-
- .
- - 6 -
-
- GIVING ORDERS
-
- Once a unit has been selected,you can give it orders in several different ways:
-
- Menu Bar:The Orders menu on the menu bar lists all of the orders you can give to a division.
- To issue an order, simply select the desired item from the menu.
- Keyboard:All of the order listed in the Orders menu have command-key equivalents,which
- means you can issue orders from the keyboard if you desire.To go north, for example,press
- Command-N (Alt-N on the IBM).For cnveniens,simply pressing the N key will work too.
- You can also use the cursor keys to give movement orders to a unit.The up-arrow is the same
- as north, right-arrow means east,and so on.
-
- Mouse:The mouse can be used to issue movement orders simply by clicking on a unit and
- dragging the cursor to the destination point. Release the mouse button and you re done.
- The division will follow the exact path you traced with the mouse.
-
- While you drag the mouse,a shimmering trail marks the path you trace.If you move the mouse
- too fast, you ll get too far ahead of the shining path and will lose contact with it.In this case,
- the cursor will change to indicate the problem.To resume giving orders,,move the cursor back
- to pick up the path,while still holding down the mouse button.You can also clip out orders by
- backtracking or closing the loop on the path.
-
- .
- - 7 -
-
-
- CANCELLING ORDERS
-
- If you don t like the orders given to a division,you can edit them several ways:
- To erase all of a division s orders press Command-K, or just plain K. Or you can supply use
- the mouse to click and drag a path to a new location.This will eliminate any previously issued
- orders.
- To erase only the last order given to a division,press Command-L,or just L.
- Mac users can undo their latest entry with Command-Z or the Undo Entry menu item in the
- Game menu.
- When you are satisfied with a division s orders,just click anywhere else on the map,or press
- the Return key.You can now select another division to give orders to.
-
- ORDERS RECEIVED
-
- As you give orders to a division,it will move on the screen accordingly.It is not actually execut-
- ing the orders,only showing you what it will do when you finish issuing all of your orders and
- begin play.An ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) for each order will appear in the text area.
- However,if enemy units are encountered while the orders are actually being executed,the divi-
- sion may not live up to the estimate;combat tends to ruin a general s best laid plans.
-
- .
- - 8 -
-
- AVAILABLE ORDERS
-
- Lat s examine some of the different orders you can give to a division.
- The first broad class of orders are directional orders such as north south east and west.
- When you give one of these orders the division will turn to face the indicated direction.If it's
- already facing in that direction,it will take one step forward in that direction.There's also a
- Go Forward command that will step the division forward in whatever direction it is facing.
- The next class of orders changes a division's mode.You can tell the division to go into any
- of the modes,Mobile,Defense,and Attack exept shattered mode-you don't ever want
- to be in shattered mode.
- When a unit receives any of the directional orders,it will automatically go into mobile mode.
- When a unit encounters an enemy division,it will automatically go into attack mode.
- A special type of order is Road Movement.It is available only in the special case that the divi-
- sion is on a road,in mobile mode,and is facing down the road.In this case,if you select Road
- Movement,the division will automatically march down the road to the next road junction.
-
- YOUR BASIC STRATEGY
-
- If you are playing as the American,you want to avoid getting clobbered by the attacking
- German divisions while still holding onto as much territory as possible until reinforcements
- (Patton's men) arrive.Basically,that means that each division should stand firm until the
- Germans are about to clobber it,then it should quickly run to a safer place.Germans can
-
- .
- - 9 -
-
- clobber a division by hitting it with a big powerful division, or by surrounding it with several divi-
- sions. Don't get surrounded, and if a big mean Panzer division approaches, turn tail and run.
- But wait until the last possible moment so that you delay them as mutch as possible.
-
- If you're playing as German, you want to give your divisions order to attack and destroy
- American units and seize vital objectives such as towns, bridges, and road junctions. Your ulti-
- mate goal is to destroy the Americans and capture the bridges across the Meuse River.
-
- MOVING AROUND
-
- Your divisions can march anywhere on the map,but some terran is easier to move across
- than others.Roads are always the feastest way to get around.Stay on the roads and your divi-
- sions will move fastest.Rough terrain (indicated by darkened spaces)makes for slow going.
- Any attempt to enter a river square (unless you are crossing a bridge) is a very slow endeavor.
- Clear terrain (indicated by a clear spot on the map ) is slower than a road but faster than any-
- thing else.
- If you're not sure what the terrain in square is,just hold down the option key (Control key on
- the IBM ) and click and hold the cursor over that square.The terrain in that square will be ex-
- plained in the text area.It will also give details about zones of control (ZOC's),which will be
- explained later.
- "Squares?" you say."What squares?" Oops-i forgot to mention the map is divided into in-
- visible squares,just like a chessboard.All divisions in the game move from square to square.
- The lines that mark the squares are invisible,because thay aren't really necessary.
-
-
- .
- - 10 -
-
- Your divisions can't move through each other.If one gets in the way of another,the other divi-
- sion will just have to wait politely until the first moves on.
-
- COMBAT
-
- If one of your divisions attempts to move into a square occupied by an enemy division,that's what
- we military experts refer to as an "attack".There are there outcomes to any attack:win,lose,or
- draw.Each outcome is represented in the game by its own distinctive sound and animation.
- If you win, you will push the defender out of his square (unless he's trapped and has no place
- to run ).If you win really big,you may kill the enemy division completely.
- What factors affect whether you win,lose,or draw?
- Your strenghth:The stronger you are,the more likely a victory.
- Your readiness:This determines what percentage of your strenght is used.
- His strengh:The stronger the enemy is,the less likely a victory.
- His readiness:This determines what percentage of the enemy's strenght is used.
- Your mode:Attack mode is twice as good as mobile mode.
- His mode:Defence mode is best for the enemy,mobile mode is worst.
- His facing:Are you attacking the enemy head-on?That's not as good as hitting him from the
- side.Even better is to hit him from the rear.
- Terrain:If the enemy is defending in rough terrain or in a town,that's an advantage for him.If
- you're on a river and he isn't,then he defends better because he's behing the river.
-
-
- .
- - 11 -
- SHATTERING
-
- If you beat a division badly, it may shatter. A shattered unit will try to run away from danger, but
- is not very organized. It will move faster than any other unit on the battlefiled, so there is no
- point in trying to chase it. It has no zone of control and cannot capture towns,bridges,or
- crossroads.If anybody attacks a shattered division,it will be destroyed.
- Shattered divisions will recover after their readiness level has climbed above 25%.A shattered
- division that remains shattered for more than two days(a situation which usually occurs when
- the division is cut off behing enemy lines) will simply give up and surrender.
- Divisios can shatter in five ways.The most common way is as the immediate consequence of
- defeat in battle. A division can also shatter shortly after losing a battle.It can even shatter
- shortly after winning a battle.This shouldn't surprise you-sometimes losses sustained in
- achieving a victory can temporarily cripple a division.Artillery barrages (explained later) can also
- shatter a division.Finnaly,a division can shatter spontaneously if it is out of supply for too long.
-
- READINESS
-
- Readiness has been mentioned several times,and it should be obvius that you always want
- your divisions to be at 100% readiness.Three factors affect readiness:
-
- Combat.Whenever a division fight,it suffers a loss of readiness.
-
- Time.Divisions slowly recover readiness over time.
- (This means that,if you are attacking an enemy unit,it is best to attack with several units
- simultaneously.While the first attack may not do much damage,it will lower the readiness
- of the victim,so that the second attack will be more successful.)
-
- .
- - 12 -
-
- Supplies.Divisions that are in supply behave normally,but divisions that have been cut off
- from supply lines do not recover readiness and,worse,they slowly lose readiness with
- each passing hour.
-
- SUPPLIES
-
- Supply lines flow along roads to the divisions.American supplies come from the north,west,
- and south edges of the map;German supplies come from the east edge of the map.From the
- road,supplies move overland to each division,a maximum of the six squares distance.
- Of course,this only works if the supply line isn't cut.Enemy ZOC's and enemy-held landmarks
- will cut off supplies.
-
- ZOC's
-
- ZOC stands for zone of control.Think of a ZOC as a force field that extends out two squares
- from each unit.The strenght of the force field depends on the strengh and mode of the unit.
- Units in defense mode have the strongest ZOC's;units in mobile mode have the weakest
- ZOC's.A division exerrts its full strength into the square it occupies and the four adjacent
- squares.It exerts half of its strength into the eight squares that are two squares away,like so:
-
- 1/2
- 1/2 1 1/2
- 1/2 1 <-- 1 1/2
- 1/2 1 1/2
- 1/2
-
- .
- - 13 -
-
- ZOC's add up.If all the German ZOC's exerted into a square by all the nearby German divisions
- are stronger than all the American ZOC's exerted into that square by all the nearby American
- divisions,then the Germans can move supplies through that square and the Americans can-
- not.There is an exception:you can always move supplies through a square that is occupied by
- one of your divisions.
-
- LANDMARKS
-
- These are towns,bridges,and road junctions.They play a special role in the game.First,they
- are worth victory points;whichever side holds a landmark receives its value in points.You can
- find out how many points a landmark is worth by holding down the option key (IBM Control key)
- and clicking on the landmark.You capture a landmark just by passing a division through it.
- Whoever owns a landmark cannot pass supplies through it,and more importantly,the side that
- doesn't own a landmark cannot pass supplies through it.The bridges over the Meusure River are
- worth the most points, so holding them is important to both sides.
-
- USEFUL DISPLAYS
-
- Whenever you select a unit,the information in the text area will tell you if it is out of supply.
- Also,if you hold down the option key (IBM Control key) and click on any square,it will tell you
- how strong the ZOC's are in that square.
-
- .
- - 14 -
-
- There are several displays analysis menu that also provide you with helpful information:
-
- Show German ZOC's and Show American ZOC's will show you just how strong the ZOC's are
- in each square on the map.
-
- Show Unsupplied Units will show you who is out of supply on both sides.
- Show German Supply Lines and Show American Supply Lines will show you the roads down
- which supplies are tavelling,so you can immediatelly see where the supplies are cut.
- Show Strengths will replace the divisions with symbols that indicate how strong each division
- is-this is such an important display that we allow you to raise it just by holding down the
- SHIFT key.
-
- Show Landmarks will show which side owns each landmark.
-
- BARRAGES AND SIGHTING
-
- Whenever a division enters another division's ZOC,it is barraged by artillery fire.This inflicts
- some minor casualties.Also,you don't see enemy divisions on the map until they enter a ZOC
- of one of your divisions.Of course,he doesn't see your men,either-so be sneaky!
-
- .
- - 15 -
-
- OK, LET'S PLAY !
-
- You've given orders to your divisions. Now select Start Game from the File menu and watch
- the action.Your divisions will start executing the orders you gave them.The computer's divisions
- will start mowing,too.There will be barrages,combat,chaos,and confusion.Oh,what fun!
- You can intervene anytime simply by selecting any division.If you want to change its orders,go
- ahead.If you just need a chance to catch your breath,that's fine,too.Either way,when you're
- ready to resume,just unselect the division and the action will resume.(You can also pause
- and resume the game with the Pause and Resume menu item in the File menu).
- If you want to slow down the pace of the game,you can do that with the Game Speed menu
- item in the Preferences menu.
- While the game is in progress,you'll notice the clock running.You'll also notice it slow down or
- stop occasionally.This happens because the computer is doing a great deal of thinking during
- the game.Especially time-consuming are the artificial intelligence routines that guide the com-
- puter's units.Sometimes,when a unit gets in a bad jam,it will take a while to figure out how
- to solve the problem.When this happens,the clock might stop for several seconds.If several
- units get into a jam at once,the delay might be ten seconds long.
- Don't panic if the computer seems to freeze up for this amount of time.It won't happen often
- -unless you're really giving the computer a thrashing!One other consequence of this system
- is that sometimes,when you click the mouse,nothing happens for a second.Just remember
- to keep holding the mouse button down and the computer will eventually wake up and notice
- that you want to do something.
-
- .
- - 16 -
-
- ANECDOTES
-
- From time to time during the game,the action will suddenly stop and you will be presented with
- a completely new display.You will see a little story illustrated by a photograph.the story is
- closely based on a real event that actually happened during World War 2,altthough i have exer-
- cides some artistixc licence in adapting the stories to this game.
- If you are interested in learning more about the matter illustrated in the story,just click on the
- Tell Me More button and you will see another illustrated screen giving background information.
- This information will provide you with some context about how and why the battle was fought
- the way it was.When you are ready to resume playing the game,just click on Return to Game.
- You can also access all the anecdotes through the History Book menu.
-
- "ARE YOUR PAPERS IN ORDER ?"
-
- Once each game,the computer will pause and a kindly soul will gently inquire as to whether
- your papers are in order.He will ask you to provide some trivial bit of information from this
- manual.Please do give him what he wants;we assure you,he will not take no for an answer.
-
- AIR STRIKES
-
- The American side has a special advantage:the Allied air forces.When the weather is clear,
- the Allied fighter-bombers can pounce on German troops and shoot them up.Historically,bad
- weather prevented the Allied air forces from flying support missions for the first week of the
-
- .
- - 17 -
-
- battle,but the weather cleared on December 23rd and then the Allied fighter-bombers wrought
- havoc with the Germans.
- If you are playing as the American,the game will announce the availability of an air strike and
- ask you to designate your chosen target by clicking on it.You may designate either a German
- division or a German landmark.If you designate a German landmark,no German supplies will
- pass through that landmark for the rest of that day.If you designate a German division,it will
- suffer casualties in proportion to its strength.Division in mobile mode suffer the most dam-
- age;divisions in defense mode suffer the least.Divisions on clear terrain suffer higher casual-
- ties than divisions in rough terrain.
- The American airpower also confers another advantage on the American player:he gets to see
- the positions of all German divisions.
- When preparing to designate your airstrike target,you will not be able to select individual units
- to see their strength and level of readiness,but you are free to use other commands to gain in-
- formation before making your decision.
- If you don't want to manually execute airstrikes yourself,you can delegate this responsibility to
- the computer by selecting Delegate Airstrikes from the Preferences menu.If you change your
- mind later on in the game,just select Delegate Airstrikes again,and control of airstrikes will
- return to you.
-
- .
- - 18 -
-
- TACTICAL ADVICE
-
- If you would like some advice on where to direct your units,select the Tactical Advice menu
- item from the Analysis menu.One of your generals will give you good,but not brilliant,military
- advice.You may use this feature repeatedly to receive different advice.
-
- GAME END AND SCORING
-
- The game continues until December 28th.If your score is positive at that time,you win.If it is
- negative,you lose.
- You get points for damaging and destroying enemy divisions and for holding landmarks (towns,
- bridges,and road junctions).You lose points for your own casualties.Your score is based on
- your initial situation at the start of the game;you gain points for how well you improve your sit-
- uation during the game.If you can consistently score more than 500 points,consider it a job
- well done and try the next most difficult level.The toughest challenge is to win as the Germans
- at the Expert level.
-
- HINTS ON GOOD PLAY
-
- First,be sure to use the terrain.On defense,never fight on clear terrain.Get into a town,or be-
- hind a river,or in rough terrain.A town or rough terrain behind a river is the strongest position
- you can have,so don't give up such a position easily.
-
- .
- - 19 -
-
- On the attack,use the roads to move quickly.If you encounter a delaying defence,try to hit the
- retreating units while you're still in mobile mode-if you catch them at the right moment,you
- can send them reeling.
- Getting flanked (attacked from the sides) is bad news,so when the enemy starts to work peo-
- ple around your flanks,it's probably time to bug out.Getting attacked from the rear is very bad;
- don't let it happen.Conversely,the best way to clobber a unit is to surround it from all four
- sides.When this happens,you are guaranteed to be able to attack it from the rear.Also,it is
- cut off from supplies and has no place to retreat.A surrounded unit is as good as dead.
- Strategically,the most decisive move you can make is to cut off the enemy's supplies.Once
- that happens,he must either retreat his entire army to restore supplies,or try to restore sup-
- plies with a few divisions.Either way it's big trouble for him.
- The American air power is devasttating.As the American,use it to cut off German supplies,and
- them chop up German divisions in the open.The best possible target is a big German unit sit-
- ting in the open in mobile mode.As the German,you've got to keep your men tucked away in
- defence mode in the forests once the American airpower starts to arrive.You can attack with
- impunity for a few hours in the morning-the jabos(allied air forces) will be busy shooting up
- your supply lines.Once they turn to your divisions,though,suspend operations and hole up for
- the rest of the day.
- Timming is important in this game.On the defensive,you can buy time by forcing your opponent
- to deploy for attack,then popping into mobile mode and bugging out just before his attack hits.
- This trick requires exequisite timing:if you miscalculate,your men will be in mobile mode,pre-
- senting their rear to the enemy when his attack hits.That's the worst possible case.
-
-
- .
- - 20 -
-
- There's a built in feature that may confuse and frustrate some players.When you give orders to
- a division to move in mobile mode,and it suddenly finds an enemy division barring its way,it
- will automatically deploy into attack mode and attack the enemy.Conversely,if its orders call
- for it to attack,and there's nobody to attack,it will deploy to mobile mode and march forward.
- This feature eliminates much of the tedium of the game,but in a few rare cases it might sur-
- prise or frustrate you.For example.it's stupid for the Panzer Lehr Division to deploy to attack
- the putiful remnants of a clobbered American division-the Lehr can beat them in mobile
- mode.In such a case,watch for the Lehr to move adjacent to the weacking division,then se-
- lect the Lehr and order it ahead.It will attack in mobile mode.The basic rule is simple:the first
- order you give cannot be countermanded.Only later orders in a sequence of orders can be
- countermanded.
- The American side has the natural advantage in this game-after all,they won.If you find
- yourself ho-humming as you annihilate the Germans by Christmas,try playing the game from
- the German side.
-
- .
- - 22 -
-
- Quit is quitters and lackeys,the kind of people Georg Patton used to slap.You don't
- want to get slapped,do you?
-
- ANALYSIS
-
- 1Show German ZOC's 0will show you the zones of control of the German units that are visible.
- if there's a German hiding somewhere you can't see him,you won't see his ZOC either.
- if you are playing as the German,though,then you'll see all the ZOC's.
-
- Show American ZOC's does the same thing for the American side,with the same con-
- straints.
-
- Show Unsupplied Units will cause all units that are out of supply to blink plaintively.Imagine
- the exhausted men shivering in the snow with neither food nor ammunition nor medical
- supplies yet heroically carrying on the fight without complaint.This is a good time to
- have a snack while playing.
-
- Show German Supply Lines shows the roads the Germans are usinng to bring supplies to
- their frontline troops.
-
- Show American Supply Lines does the same thing for the American side."Wait a minute!"I
- hear you saying,"How come i can see the supply lines for the enemy?"Because it's a
- game,silly! And if that's not a good enough answer for you,(you're a real wargaming ex-
- pert,you see) then i reming you of the elite Muskrat Korps of dedicated rodents who
- risked their lives to bring back vital information.If Mickey crossed the road and didn't
- make it back,the supply trucks were rolling...
-
- Tactical Advice will analyze your current situation and give you useful suggestions on how
- you might proceed.
-
- .
- - 23 -
-
- Show Idle Units will highlight those units that have no orders.You've overlocked them in the
- heat of combat and should give those slackers something to do.
-
- Show Strengths will replace all divisions with little icons indicating how strong the units are.
- It does not take into account their readiness-just their raw strength.You can also get
- this display by holding down the Shift key.(Macintosh version:the Shift key has no ef-
- fect when viewing the Tactical Display.)
-
- Show Landmarks will show which side owns each landmark in the game.
-
- PREFERENCES
-
- Sound will let you play in restful silence or frenzied cacophopy,as suits your taste.
-
- Game Speed permits you to adjust the game's pace.Beginners will probably want to keep
- things slow,but once you've got it down pat,go ahead and speed things up.
-
- Skip Anecdotes deprives you of exposure to those cleverly written,poignant,inspiring,or hi-
- larious little tales with which we occasionally regale you.
-
- Skip New sreels turns off all the little newsreels that pop up on the screen announcing
- events here and there.If you don't like seeing al those newsreels,select this item so
- that it is marked.
-
- Newsreel Length allows you to specify how long the newsreels stay on the screen.In all
- cases,a mouse click will always dismiss a newsreel.
-
- Delegate Airstrikes permits the computer to plan your airstrikes for you.
-
- .
- - 24 -
-
- ORDERS
-
- North orders the selected unit to turn and face north.If it's already facing north,it will take
- one giant step northward.
-
- East does the same thing towards the east.
-
- South does the same thing towards the south.
-
- West does the same thing towards- you guessed it! - the west.
-
- Road Movement orders the selected unit to march down the rosd to the next road junction.
- This function is only available if the unit is in mobile mode,is on a road,and is facing
- along the direction of the road.
-
- Go forward tells the unit to take one giant step in the direction in which it is facing.
-
- Attack Mode orders the division to go into attack mode.
-
- Defence Mode orders the division to go into defence mode.
-
- Mobile Mode orders the division to go into mobile mode.
-
- Kill Last Order cancels the last order given to a selected division.
-
- Kill All Orders cancels all orders given to a selected division.
-
-
- HISTORY BOOK
-
- This menu will bring up the reference material used in the game.You select a broad category
- and from there select an individual entry.Once that is done,it operates just like the anecdotes.
-
- .
- - 25 -
-
- DESIGNER'S NOTES
-
- My fundamental goal with this game was to create a "wargame for the rest of us",if you'll for-
- give the cliche.Wargames have always been hairy monstrosites,staggering under rulebooks
- that read like contracts for corporate merges,bristling with abstruse numeric information,ex-
- ploring strange new words of user hostility where no designer has gone before.
- I wanted to change that.I wanted to create a wargame that was first and foremost easy to
- play.So i designed it from the user interface out.First i estabilished what would be easy for the
- player,then i designed the game around those capabilities.
- This led naturally to the first great compromise in the design: realism.Early on,i made a con-
- scious decision that "realism be damned".Whenever i could fit it in without compromising the
- play of the game,i would.Whenever realism got in the way of the game,it got bumped.So all
- you grognards who can prove that the 276th VolksGrenadier Division had 36 105mm how-
- itzers with a range of 26.4 kilometers-good for you.
-
- PLATFORM COMPROMISES
-
- The second big compromise involved platform dependence.At one extreme,i can design for
- just one hardware configuration - say, my Mac lix with a 256-color monitor and 8 megs of
- RAM.Anything less is not supported.At the other extreme,i write a generic program that runs
- on all computers: pure text,no sound,no graphics,but you can run it on your old TRS-80.
- In the real world,i specify a "primary target configuration",design for that,and then try to
- make it work on machines that fall short.The primary target configuration is a Mac 2 with 16
-
- .
- - 26 -
-
- colors and 2 megs of RAM.Black and white Macs and the Mac LC are secondary target config-
- urations;this game just doesn't work as well on them.The MS DOS compatible with VGA and
- mouse comes close to the primary target configuration,but falls short because of its RAM limi-
- tation.And then there's the non-mouse version of the game ... what can i say?
- To all my customers who have secondary target machines,i offer my condolences.I'd really
- like to give you a game that's just as good on your Mac Plus as on a Mac llfx it just can't
- be done.
-
- .
- - 27 -
- APPENDIX FOR GROGNARDS
-
- If you don't know what grognard means,you don't want to read this appendix. This is where
- we talk about the picky stuff.These are the dirty details.
-
- LOGISTICS
-
- The determination of which units are in supply is carried out in two seperate steps executed
- at different times.First we must calculate the supply roadnet,then we can figure out who's
- in supply.These are time-consumming calculations;you might have noticed the pause every
- hour on the hour.That's because we perform the first calculation once each hour and after
- every airstrike.We execute the latter calculation only when a unit executes an order and
- once every hour - but at different times for each unit.This system isn't perfect:occasion-
- ally a unit's supply reality won't catch up with it for up to one hour.It's also possible for a
- hunkered-down unit to remain in supply for a long time after it has obviously been cut off.
- You'll see units that are in supply that shouldn't be,or vice versia.Don't worry;this is a
- temporary condition.
-
- AMERICAN SIGHTING
-
- There's another little exeption to the sighting rules,created by American airpower.If the
- American player has any airstrikes during the day,he gets to see all the German units
- during that day.This is a little crude,I must admit.But a more precise set of rules would
- have gotten the game into complexities that nobody needs.Besides,it really doesn't
- mess up the game too much. By the time the Americans get their airpower,they have the
- initiative anyway.
-
-
- .
- - 28 -
-
- LANDMARK CAPTURE
-
- Another hidden rule asserts that every landmark has a little garrison,perhaps a hundred
- men,worth one strength point.When you capture a landmark,you lose one strength point
- killips the enemy garryson and another point leaving a garrison behind.You also suffer a
- four-point loss in readiness. Who'd i do this?See the next paragraph.
-
- GAS CONSUMPTION
-
- When a unit is out of supply,it loses readiness much faster if it is moving than if it is sta-
- tionary.In other words,if you,re moving,you run out of gas.The purpose of this rule and
- the previous one is to prevent the American player from sending a suicide unit deep into
- the German rear,ripping up the German supply net.These two rules together make it hard
- for that strategy to work.
-
- .
- - 29 -
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
-
- I have a reputation for being a lone wolf,but in fact a great many people contributed to this
- game.Dave Menconi is officially credited with programming the IBM version of the game,but in
- truth,Dave particupated in the design process,acting as a sounding board for my ideas,cri-
- tiquiting them,and suggesting his own.Aaron Urbina was officially responsible for most of the
- artwork and sound,but he also made sreative contributions in many other areas of the game.
- Peter Mitchel-Dayton created the maps and the endgame artwork,and helped playtest the
- game to boot. Ed Badasov produced the game,a job normally involving imperious criticisms,
- but he also rolled up his sleeves and created some sounds on his MIDI system.Dale yocum
- playtested the game extensivelly and deserves all the credit for the click-and-drag order entry
- scheme. I insisted that it would never work,right up to the moment i fired it. Eric Goldberg,a
- wargame designer of great renown,provided sound advice at several crucial points during the
- design process. Greg Williams,Dennis Hescox,and Mark Van Alstine helped playtest the
- game.And then there are all the other people who contributed to the process in less direct
- ways: Susan Lee-Merrow, Steve Axelrod, Sandy Scneider, and my wife Kathy.
- Lone wolf? Ha!
-
- .
- - 30 -
-
- BRDERBUND'S LIMITED NINETY-DAY WARRANTY
-
- Broderbund warrants for a period of ninety (90) days following the original retail purchase of this copy
- of Patton Strikes Back that the program as described in the enclosed user documentation.This poli-
- cy applies to the initial purchaser only.
- If you believe you have found any such error or defect in the program during the warranty period,call
- Broderbund's Technical Support Departament at 415/382-4700 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5
- p.m.(Pacific Time).Monday throught Friday.Broderbund technical personnel will attempt to help you
- correct or avoid the problem.If any such error or defect cannot be corrected or reasonably avoided.
- Broderbund will inform you how to obtain a corrected program disk(or,at Broderbund's option.
- Broderbund may authorize a refund of your purchase price).
- This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have rights which vary from state to state.
-
- DISK REPLACEMENT POLICY
-
- If any disk supplied with this product fails within ninety(90)days of purchase for any reason other than
- accident or misuse, please return the defective disk together with a dated proof of purchase to
- Broderbund Software Direct, P.O. Box 6125, Novato, CA 949486125, for a free replacement.This
- polycy applies to the original purchaser only.
- Broderbund will replace program disks damaged for any reason, whether during or after the ninety(90)
- day free replacement period, for $3 per disk plus a postage and handling charge of $2.50 per request,
- as long as the program is still being manufactured by Broderbund.
- .
- - 31 -
-
- LIMITATIONS ON WARRANTY
-
- Unauthorized representations: Broderbung warrants only that the program as desnibed in
- the user documentation. No other advertising,description or representation,whether made by a
- Broderbund dealer,distributer,agent or employee,shall be binding upon Brodenbund or shall change
- the terms of this warranty.
- Implied warranties limited: except as stated above,Broderbund makes no other warranty,
- Express or implied, regarding this product.Broderbund disclaims any warranty that the
- software is fit for a particular purpose,and any implied warranty of merchantability shall
- be limited to the ninety (90) day duration of this limited express warranty and is otherwise
- expressly and specifically disclimed. Some states do not allow limitations on how long an
- implied warranty lasts,so the above limitation may not apply to you.
- No consequential damages:Broderbund shall not be liable for special,incidental,conse-
- quential or other damages,even if Broderbund is advised of or aware of the possibility of
- such damages.This means that Broderbund shall not be responsible or liable for lost
- profits or revenues,or for damages or costs incurred as a result of loss of time,data or
- use of the software,or from any other cause except the actual cost of the product.In no
- event shall Broderbund's liability exceed the purchase price of this product. Some states
- do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages,so the
- above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.
- You are entitled to use this product for your own use,but may not sell or transfer reproductions of the
- software or manual to other parties in any way,nor rent or lease the product to other without the prior
- written permission of Broderbund.You may use one copy of the product on a single terminal connbected
- to a single computer. You may not network the product or otherwise use it on more than one computer
- or computer terminal at the same time.
- For technical support,on this or any other Broderbund product,call 415/382 4700
-
- .
- - 32 -
-
- SALES PITCH
-
- Lastly a simple and direct sales pitch.My company,Chris Crawford Games (catchy name,
- dontcha think?) sells several products directly to consummers.These are specially items that
- will not appeal to the mass market,so you just can't get them through regular channels.You
- can order them from Chris Crawford Games. Po Box 360872.Milpitas,CA 95036-0872.
- Telephone (408)946 4636.
-
- BALANCE OF THE PLANET
-
- This is an environmental policy game.You play in the fictious role of the "United Nations High
- Compromissioner of the Environment",with the power to do something about global environmen-
- tal problems.This is a complex and serious game that forces you to confront your own ethical
- standards.It does not have an iota of animation or sound, so if you want spectacle,buy Wing
- Commander instead.Mac version requires Mac Plus or newer and hard disk. IBM version re-
- quires 512K, EGA or better,and hard disk. $25.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling.We also
- have an educational version with a site license;contact us for details.
-
- SIBOOT
-
- This game was originally released in 1987 by Mindscape under the title Trust & Betrayal. This
- is a weird game: it's about interpersonal relationships.You converse with other characters in a
- telepathiic language.You don't get to shoot anybody-success depends on your ability to
- make friends and influence people,even as you're stabbing them in the back.We've touched
- up the Mac version so that it works on the newer models,and created a completely new IBM
- version.While supplies last,we'll sell you the original Mindscape manual and packaging with
-
- .
- - 33 -
-
- the new software. After they're gone, we'll send laser-printed stuff with no packaging. Mac ver-
- sion will work on Mac Plus or newer. IBM version requires VGA, mouse, hard disk, and 640K
- RAM. $25.00 plus $5.00 shipping.
-
- SIBOOT DESIGNER'S PACKAGE
-
- This is a complete package laying out the design of Siboot. Complete source code in Pascal,
- over 200 pages of text explaining the design process of the game. If you want to see the guts
- of game design, this is the closest you'll ever get to looking over the designer's shoulder. NO
- SUPPORT- you're on you own! Mac version requires THINK pascal, IBM version requires
- Borland Turbo Pascal. $100.00 plus $10.00 shipping.
-
- THE JOURNAL OF COMPUTER GAME DESIGN
-
- A must have for professional game designers. If you're thinking about getting into game de-
- sign, the Journal will set you straight. $30/year, six issues, 14 pages per issue.
-
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