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            MECHFORCE - FULL DOCUMENTATION


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                       Copyright and Disclamier notice
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                              MECHFORCE  ©1989

                              By Ralph H. Reed

This software is very similar to the BattleTech system which is copyright
1985-1989 © FASA Corporation.  However it not exactly the same.  Some ideas
have been used without permission of FASA Corporation.  Some areas and ideas
have been changed to protect the rights of FASA Corporation and others.  The
Mechforce program, its code, ideas, pictures and documentation within are
Copyright © 1989 by Ralph H. Reed.

MechForce is a utility system which allows people to test "mechs" in a "game
arena" for the purpose of seeing how they would do against other mechs.
Previous version of BattleFort and BattleForce are no longer supported.

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                       MechForce - Heavy Metal Combat

     What is MechForce?  It is a game that simulates combat between two or
more giant, robot-like machines.  Simple words can't begin to give you the
feel of piloting a 30 - 40 foot tall, fire breathing, earth shaking colossus
that obeys your every whim.  To enjoy the game you must put yourself in the
cockpit of a Combat Mech.  Live the experience!

     You are the elite of the elite - a Mech Warrior.  Your Combat Mech
thunders under you as you pace across the land, searching for a reported
enemy mech.  You view the land around you, searching for the enemy.  To your
left the plain climbs gradually from low hills up to high mountains.  To your
right is a lake, the calm waters shading from light to cobalt blue as the
water deepens in the center, with patches of treacherous swamp at the edges.
Ahead of you the hills meet a mixture of light and heavy woods.  You are
debating whether to climb the hills or fight your way through the trees when
the enemy mech steps over the crest of the hill.

     Your heart leaps as you recognize a heavy Archer, just as he fires one
of his massive 20 racks of Long Range Missiles.  Your Marauder is staggered
by the multiple impacts as you frantically pit your piloting skill against 75
tons of overbalanced mech.  You swivel your torso and call up your weapons
display.  The reassuring green lights indicate that all weapons are ready to
fire.  You select your Auto Cannon 5 and one of your Particle Projection
Cannons.  A moment later your combat display shows you your field of fire and
weapon range.  The targeting pipper is blinking on the Archer as you fire
your weapons up the mountain.

     The crash of your cannon tears chunks of armor from the Archer, but the
scintillating beam of the Plasma Cannon slashes to the left of the Archer.
"Too quick" you curse under your breath.  The temperature in your cockpit
jumps as the heat from firing the Plasma Cannon soaks into your mech.  No
problem so far, the heat sinks can handle it.  You drive your mech into a
pounding run.  You've got to get close, his LRMs have a minimum effective
range, if you can just get inside it...

     The Archer is shrouded in smoke as another salvo of missiles blast their
way toward you.  Missiles clang off your armor, tearing chunks away.  Your
cockpit rings as one hits the head of your mech.  You fight for consciousness
and keep going, his racks are empty now, he has to reload.

     Motion, behind you.  Another Combat Mech breaks from the forest and
races across the plains toward you.  You quickly identify it as a light
weight Stinger, ordinarily no threat to a Marauder, but it AND an Archer?
What to do?  Run?  Fight?  Fight which one?

     There's no real choice, if you turn your back on the Archer he'll nail
you.  Ignore the Stinger.  You quickly check your status.  Your heat is
dropping as the heat sinks suck away the excess heat.  Your armor indicators
are still all green although those missiles have chewed away about half of
you left leg armor.  Your Auto Cannon is still recycling, but your Plasma
Cannons are ready.  Time to Rock an' Roll.

     Weapons select.  You arm both of your Plasma Cannons.  The targeting
computer comes up and you select the Archer again.  Your mech is rocked by a
laser blast in its vulnerable back, but you ignore it, triggering your Plasma
Cannons.  The warbling shreik of your Plasma Cannons echos across the plains.
Blazing energy lances from each arm of your mech to impale your enemy.  The
first strikes the Archer dead center where his armor is the strongest, but
the second beam scores a lucky hit on his vulnerable head.  The Archer is
staggered as armor vaporizes from his chest and head.  You watch the Mech
fight for balance and fail, tumbling backward off the mountain.

     One down.  Another laser digs into your back, as red lights flash on
your status display.  Your back armor is breached, the laser got through to
your Auto Cannon and its out of the action.  You begin to turn your ponderous
steed.  As you turn to face the charging Stinger it suddenly jumps into the
air on jets of flame.

     "Damn!!!" you yell as you frantically bring up your weapons.  The Auto
Cannon in your Left Torso is disabled, your Plasma Cannons are still
recycling.  You're still hot, but there's no choice as you arm the two medium
lasers in your chest.  You try to target the fast moving Stinger, but before
you can fire 20 tons of armor and fire power land on top of you.

     Your mech shutters under the impact.  You scramble to control it, but
you're falling.  "The next time I'm in the Factory I'm putting jump jets in
this thing" you vow.  The ground shakes as 75 tons of Mech falls flat on its
back.  Lights are flashing all over.  You bring up your status display.  The
Stinger landed on your right shoulder, its out along with all the weapons in
your right arm.  The fall did more damage to your weak left leg.  You'll
survive, now where is that little Stinger.  You look around.  The Stinger is
racing for the forest.

     "Oh no you don't" you mutter as you wait for your remaining Plasma
Cannon to recycle.  You target the Plasma Cannon at the racing Stinger's
back.  The warbling blast echoes across the plain as your man-made lightning
bolt hits the Stinger dead center.

     The Stinger stumbles, starts to fall...  a blinding flash lights the sky
as its fusion reactor explodes.  Metal peppers your mech as the concussion
threatens to knock you unconscious.  Your temperature gauges peg as the mech
shuts down from too much heat.  With time your mech will recover.  Lets just
hope the Archer has had enough.

     This is MechForce.  It can be played with one person against the
computer or up to 32 people fighting in teams.  You can train in the
simulator, fight in the arena, or try to complete combat missions.


                          MechForce Documentation

WARNING:  All of the MechForce programs use a config file located in the
'S:' directory.  The config file named "MechForce.cfg" will preset several
variables for the game and all of the paths for the many files that the
programs use.  If the config file can not be found the program will default
to directories on the boot disk.  IT WILL ALSO DEFAULT TO SAVE TURNED OFF.

     The first thing you will see when the game starts is a requestor asking
you to select the Type of Game.  The first option allows you to Continue a
Saved Game.  The second option is a Simulation mode and is used for training.
This mode allows all combinations of teams and mech types, but damage and
experience are not saved at the end of the game.  At the start of the game
you will be shown a list of available orders and you can pick the set of
orders to follow.  If you hit CANCEL you will be training for the Roving
Patrol mode.  Arena Challenge is a One on One combat playing against another
person or the computer.  If the computer is the opponent it will pick its own
mech.  Arena mode will also let you Bet on the outcome of the combat.  One of
Major Houses may offer to Sponsor you in the Arena.  This may offer a little
protection from other friendly houses, but it will make you a target of enemy
houses.  Not having a sponsor won't keep some houses from picking on you.
This takes the form of Sabatage to your mech.  The computer will check and
see if your pilot can detect any sabatage.  If he does he will be given the
option to try to repair the sabatage.  Sabatage may make a critical part fail
during combat.  Trying to repair the sabatage may destroy it completely.  The
chance of sabatage gets higher as you win more Arena Combats.  Roving Patrol
is a general purpose combat option.  There is no goal other than to kill the
enemy and survive.  It is real combat and you do earn a few Combat Points.
Combat Orders is like the Simulation mode, all combinations of teams and mech
types are allowed, the difference is that damage and experience are saved at
the end of the game.  The main difference is that the computer will pick the
orders randomly for your team to follow.

     A word about Orders.  There are nine basic types of goals.  These can be
used in various combinations to create orders.  At the end of the game your
experience money and Combat Points will be determined on how well you
completed the goal for your side.  The criteria for each goal are:
    Kill Everything: You get 100% if all mechs are dead or disabled.  You get
         0% if any mechs survive or escaped.
    Scout/Patrol: At least one mech must survive/escape to answer ALL
         questions for the report at the end.  If your side escapes leaving
         enemy mechs in control of the field your success is the ratio of the
         number of surviving mech divided into the number that went at LEAST
         half across the screen (to the dividing line).
    Recover, Find/Recover or Convoy Object:  You fail if the object is
         destroyed or captured by the other side.  If you get the object you
         a percentage based on how badly the object is damaged.
    Destroy or Find/Destroy Object:  You get 100% if the object is destroyed.
    Convoy Across: Your success is measured by the number of mechs that
         successfully reach the opposite side.
    Hold Position: If at least half you all operational mechs have stayed in
         position (inside the circle) for the required time you are 100%
         successful (even if everyone dies after that).

     MechForce is played in Teams.  Once you have selected the type of game
you want to play you will get a Team Selector.  The Team Selector window
contains four rows of selector boxes.  The center box contains the Team
number.  If you are playing Arena or Patrol mode, only the first two rows
will be active.  The Left and Right boxes in each row represent the two sides
of a combat.  To put a Team on a side just click in the box.  The word "Team"
and the team number will appear in the box.  To change sides, click on the
other side.  To remove a team, click on the same side a second time.  Once a
team is placed on a side the central box becomes the selector for the teams
control device.  An "M" will appear indicating that the default control
device is the Mouse.  By clicking on the center box you can also select "J"
for Joystick, "K" for Keyboard and "C" for Computer controlled.  If computer
control is selected, ALL teams on that side will be computer controlled.

     The next thing you need for combat is a place to fight.  If you are in
any of the combat modes the computer will randomly select one of seven
special maps.  In Training or Orders mode the map will be generated based on
the type of map called for in the orders.  If "Create" is called for in the
orders you will get the Random Map Control Panel.

     The Random Map Control Panel is a little complicated.  It contains six
slider gadgets.  The top three control the percentage of Forest, Mountains
and Water in your map.  The bottom gadget controls the density of the top
three.  A cluster is one group of woods or mountains or water.  It can be one
hex or many hexes.  The more clusters you have the more details you will have
in your map.  The Sand and Snow requestors control the amount of sand and
snow in you map.  Sand and snow are added by replacing whatever plain hexes
are left after the forest, mountains and water hexes are added.  The gadget
controls the percentage of plain hexes that will be replaced.  Sand replaces
hexes in the bottom half of the map and snow replaces hexes in the top half.
Once you have everything set the way you want it, click the "Create" gadget
and your world will be drawn.  A small window will then appear asking you to
comfirm your world, "OK", or try again, "ReDo".

     The next thing you need are mechs to fight.  Two windows will open.  The
first one shows the Team you will be working with in the central box on the
bottom.  The second window is a file requestor for loading mechs.  There are
three flavors of mechs.  Generic "Mechs" are the type you create in the
Factory program.  The pilot for these mechs will be randomly created by the
computer.  "Warrior" files are created in the Warrior program and contain a
mech and a pilot.  "Unit" files are collections of warriors, mechs and
technicians all in one common file.  Only Simulation mode will allow a player
to fight with a plain mech, all other modes require you to use a Warrior file
or a warrior from a Unit file.  All members of a team MUST be of the same
mech type.  Warriors are marked when they are loaded and can not be loaded
twice.  If you save a game in progress those warriors can not be used in
another game until the first game is completed.  To load a file, click on the
file you want and then click on "Load".  If the file is a plain mech you will
get a requestor asking you to name the pilot.  To load warriors from a Unit,
Load the Unit and then select the warrior from the list of warriors in the
unit.  The mechs and pilots you selected will appear in the Team window.
When your team is complete, click on the "Done" gadget in the file requestor
window and it will disappear.  At this point you can use the small selector
boxes to the right of each name to customize the control device for each
player.  You can not change the device for a computer mech.  To change teams,
click the "Team" gadget.  The "Load Mechs" gadget will bring the file
requestor back.  When you are done with all teams, click the "Done" gadget in
the team window.  You will also notice a small gadget in the upper right
corner with an "R" in it.  If you make a mistake loading mechs you can click
on the Reset gadget and it will clear ALL mechs.  Then you can start over in
your selection.

    All of the windows leading up to and including the Team window have an
ESCAPE option.  If you hit the ESCAPE key you will be asked if you want to
quit the game.  If you say YES it will exit back to WorkBench.

     A word or two about memory.  MechForce is a huge program.  If your
system has only 512K of memory you will be limited in the number of mechs you
can load.  Computer mechs take a lot more memory than player mechs.  You will
probably be able to load 24 to 32 player mechs, but if you are playing
against the computer 8 player and 8 computer will probably be the limit.  If
your load too many mechs there will not be enough memory left to load the
sound files.

     From this point on everything is controlled from a control menu at the
bottom of the screen.  These menus consist of a prompt and two or more
options.  The selected option will be highlighted.  Control depends on the
device you are using.  The Keyboard uses the Left and Right arrows to change
and the Space Bar to select.  The Joystick uses Left and Right stick command
to change and the Fire Button to select.  The Mouse changes by moving the
mouse over the desired option and selects with the Left Button.  The mouse
will only work when it is positioned in the menu line.

     The menus are pretty much self explanitory.  There are two main menus
associated with two timers.  One for Movement and one for Weapons.
Everything is based on TIME.  Since there are TWO timers you can move and
fire weapons at the same time.  The Wait options are especially powerful if
used properly because you can wait in weapons and still move.

                               MOVEMENT Menu:
  Walk: Walk forward or backward one hex.  Takes base time + heat penalty +
        damage penalty.  The base movement time and penalty times can be
        found in the status display.  Walking generates 1 pt of heat/second.
        You can Crawl (Walk) while you are down at double the normal time.
   Run: Run forward.  Takes 2/3 the time of Walk and generates 2 pts of
        heat/second.
  Jump: Use jump jets to jump in any direction.  When you select Jump you
        will be asked for the direction.  "E" is to the right and "W" is to
        the left.  Once you have started jumping you can only continue
        jumping in the same direction or one hex face to either side.  If you
        are already jumping you will get a different menu that allows you to
        pick the next direction, turn, stop or check options.  You can jump
        approximately the same number of hexes you can walk in 100 seconds.
        This is a jump time of about 67 seconds.  This may be less if you
        have fewer jump ports than the maximum allowed.  Every time you
        damage a jump port you loose one hex of range.  Remember that you
        jump slower if you are hot so you may not get your max range.  If you
        are still jumping when you run out of jump time you will CRASH!!!  Once
        you land you can not jump again for 100 seconds from the time you
        STARTED jumping.  The main menu will say "Jump (OK)" if you are ready
        to jump.  It will say "Jump (No)" if your mech can not jump.  It will
        say "Jump (xx)" with the number of seconds until your jump jets are
        ready again, if you are recycling.
  Turn: Change direction 60 degrees (one hex side).  Time is based on
        whether you are standing, walking or running.  Turning while jumping
        is handled in the jump menu and takes no time.  You can turn while
        you are down at double the normal time.
 Stand: Stand up after your mech has fallen down.  Standing takes the same
        time as moving one normal hex.
  Wait: Wait is used to control the timing of events in the Move timer.  You
        can wait On Time, wait until you Call Move, wait until all of your
        weapons are recycled or the next weapon is recycled or your arms&legs
        are recycled, wait until your heat drops to a certain point (color),
        wait on your weapon    selection, or wait on your enemies move.  If no
        enemies are visible you will be given the option to wait on the next
        mech to become visible.  You can chose to wait on the next Visible
        mech with the 'Visible' option.  Beware, if all mechs are visible
        this acts the same as a Wait On Call.
Call Attack: This option will call the attack menu if it is waiting.  You
        can also 'Call Attack' from the Options menu and interrupt any attack
        WAIT command.  'Call Attack' sets a flag, but leaves you in the move
        menu.
Options:  This option brings up another menu of special options.  "Status"
        will bring up your status display window.  The "Identify" option will
        allow you to click individual mech images to identify their type and
        weight.  You have to option for a full Status Display.  The "Break
        Attack" will interrupt an attack in progress.  The "Break Move" option
        will interrupt a move in progress.  The "Special" option call another
        menu with five more options.  The "Drop Ammo" option will ask you if
        you want to drop each ammo rack in your mech.  "Eject" is used to leave
        a badly damaged mech.  There is a skill roll for Ejecting from a mech.
        If you fail your pilot takes damage.  You eject into the hex in front
        of your mech.  DON'T eject into a forest fire.  You will also have to
        make a Survival roll to keep from being captured.  "Surrender" means
        that you stay with your mech, but you have quit fighting.  If your
        side loses captured mechs and pilots belong to the winning side.  The
        "Self-Destruct" option makes the thermonuclear engine of your mech
        explode.  This option can only be used by Player characters (not NPC)
        that have advanced beyond the "Green" rank.  You can not Surrender or
        Eject of you are Unconscious or your mech is Shutdown due to heat.
        The "Orders" option will give you you a brief review of your Orders.
        Options do not take any time.

                                WEAPON Menu:
Weapon: Brings up the weapon select display.  This display shows all
        weapons, including arms and legs, where they are located ( LT=Left
        Torso, etc), and their condition.  If the status indicator is green
        they are ready to use.  Red indicates damaged or out of ammo.  Yellow
        means they are recycling and is a bar graph of how long until ready
        to use again.
  Wait: Use this to control the timing of events in the Weapons timer.  You
        can wait On Time, wait On Call, wait on your current move, wait until
        all your weapons are recycled or your first weapon to recycle or your
        arms&legs are recycled, wait until your heat drops to a certain, or
        color, or wait On Enemy move.
Call Move:  This option will call the movement menu if it is waiting.  You
        can also 'Call Move' from the Options menu and interrupt any movement
        WAIT command.
Options: This is the same as the Move Options except the time comes off the
        weapons timer.

     The movement and weapons timers are separate so you can move and fire
weapons simultaneously.  The wait conditions allow rapid movement without
bothersome weapons messages, or standing still and firing, without bothersome
move messages.  For even more accurate timing you can use the Break feature
and then Break Move or Break Attack from Options menu item.  The Options
items are also available as pulldown menus at the top of the screen.  There
is a small experience penalty for using the Break Attack and Break Move
options from the pulldown menus.  You can still shoot at Surrendered, Ejected
and Dead mech.  You can not shoot at Escaped or Destroyed mechs.

                               Pulldown Menus
     Game Menu:  This menu has six items on it.  "About" tells you a little
about the Author, me.  "Save" gives you two submenus, "Game" and "Map".  Save
Game will save the game at the end of the current second.  Save Map will save
the game map only to a file that can be used in another game.  "Sound"
toggles the sound on and off.  If you didn't have enought memory to load the
sound files this will start as "Silent".  "Setup" brings up a window that
lets you change the speed of missiles and the delay for messages.  It will
also display the name of the first player and his Input Device.  By Clicking
on the Name you can flip through each player.  By Clicking on the Device you
can flip through the devices.  This allows you to change player Input Devices
during the game.  "Color" changes the color of Mechs from Red to White.  This
if for some people that have trouble telling the difference between red and
green.  "Quit" allows you to quit a game in progress.  For most real combats
this option is disabled.

     Team Menus:  Each player team has a pulldown menu with all of the
members of that team as items.  If the team is computer controlled you must
use the "Identify" option to find out about enemy mechs.  If the computer
mech is not visible on the screen you will not be able to identify its status
display.  There is a small experience penalty for using the "Break Attack"
and "Break Move" items from the pulldown menus.

                                Skill Rolls:
     While moving or in combat you will occassionally be asked to make a
skill roll.  This means that something has made your mech off balance
(slipping in water, heavy weapons hit) and you as a pilot must roll to see if
your skill is sufficient to keep from falling down.  Falling in heavy mech is
not trivial.  The mech will take damage equal to its weight divided by 10.
If you roll down a mountain this is multiplied by the number of levels you
fall.  Landing in water cuts your damage in half.  All damage is applied in
groups of 5 points all over your body.  Landing on your head can ruin your
day.  Crashing is the same as falling only from three levels up (triple
damage).  When you are asked to make a skill roll there will be an option to
"Modify" your skill roll.  If you select this option you can trade experience
points for an improved skill roll.  This is expensive, but in critical
situations it could save your life.  If you use it too much you will not have
any experience to improve your character.  The computer can also modify its
rolls and you may see a "modified+2" occasionally.

     Firing weapons requires a skill roll vs your Gunnery skill to hit your
target.  You can modify this roll also.  If you miss a shot there is a chance
that you might hit someone else in an adjacent hex.  There are also skill
rolls for being knocked unconscious, shutting down due to heat and ammo
explosions due to heat.

                         TERRAIN Types and Features
 Plain: This is basic ground level, open plain, and is what all movement
        times are based on.  The base movement time for a Plain hex is given
        in the status display.
  Sand: It takes three times as long to move thru sand and it adds 2 pts of
        heat per second.
  Snow: It takes twice as long to move thru snow, and there is a chance that
        you will slip on the ice.  Snow will remove 2 pts of heat per second.
Light Forest:  It takes twice as long to move through light forest as across
        plains, and makes you one point harder to hit.
Heavy Forest:  It takes three times as long to move through heavy forest and
        you are two points harder to hit.
Jungle: You can not move thru this hex.  It is possible to jump over it, but
        if you land in a Jungle hex the only way out is to jump.  Jungle
        hexes can be burned.
 Swamp: It takes twice as long to move, you are one point easier to hit, and
        there is a good chance of slipping and falling.
Shallow Water:  This type hex takes twice as long to move through and makes
        it easier for you to be hit and harder for you to hit others, but
        helps you to cool down.  The water will remove 3 points of heat per
        second in addition to your heat sinks.  There is a chance you will
        slip and fall.
Medium Water:  This type water is up to the mechs waist.  Weapons below the
        waist can not be fired.  You get 6 points of cooling per second, but
        you are easier to hit and it is harder for you to aim.  You can't
        kick in medium water.  Move at 1/3 normal rate.
Deep Water:  This type water provides 9 points of cooling/second.  Weapons
        below the neck can not be fired and you are very hard to hit.  You
        can't kick or punch in deep water.  Move at 1/4 normal rate.
Bottomless Water:  This type water is beyond your mechs capability.  It will
        crush your mech, destroying it and killing you.  The only way past
        this type of hex is to jump over.
Low Hills:  Hills provide cover.  You can't shoot over them.  Low hills make
        it one point easier to hit mechs below you.  Move at 1/3 normal rate
        uphill or half normal rate on the same level.
Medium Hills:  You get two extra points to hit mechs below you due to height.
        Move at 2 + 1/level going uphill.
High Hills:  You get three extra points to hit mechs below you due to height.
        Hills have a tactical advantage, but beware of skill rolls.  If you
        fall you can roll all the down, doing multiple damage.
Barrier Peak: This hex type is impassible.  You can not jump over it.  It is
        used for obstacles.  All Arena maps have a border of Barrier Peaks.
  Fire: Energy and Missile weapons can start forest fires.  Moving or
        stopping in a forest fire adds a 6 points of heat per second to your
        mech, and the smoke adds three points on all hit rolls.  Move at half
        normal rate.
Cleared:  Cannons and Missiles can clear trees from forest hexes.  This is
        rough terrain, move at half normal rate.  Cannons and Missiles can
        also be used to 'blow out' forest fires.
Burned: Once a forest fire has burned out the hex becomes rough terrain.
        Move at half normal rate.

     Terrain plays an important part in combat strategy.  A good position can
mean the difference between winning and loosing.  Use the terrain to your
advantage.  If you try to leave the map area you will be asked if your wish
to ESCAPE from the combat.  If you say Yes, your mech will be removed at the
end of the move and you are out of the game.

                             Combat HEAT Affects
     Almost everything you do in a Combat Mech creates heat.  It is your
worse enemy.  Heat can slow down your mech, throw off your targeting
computers, cause your mech to shutdown unexpectedly (that right, you're a
sitting duck), and even cause ammo to explode.  Watch your heat.  The Status
display gives the amount of heat generated by each weapon in hundreds.  Ten
heat means it generates 1000 points of heat.  The actual temperature is in
the Status display.  In addition, there is a small status light in the upper
right corner of the weapons selection window.  Green=OK, Blue=reduced
movement/aim, Yellow=danger of shutdown, Red=danger of ammo exploding.  Your
Combat Mech will automatically shutdown if your heat goes over 3000.  In
addition, a damaged engine generates 5 points of heat per second for each
hit.  The only thing that protects a pilot from the heat is the life support
system.  If that is destroyed you are in big trouble.

                                   COMBAT:
     There are two forms of combat, weapons combat and melee combat.  Melee
combat is hand to hand, punching, kicking and charging.  Melee combat doesn't
generate any heat, but you may do damage to yourself and you have to be in
the same hex or in the adjacent hex.  When used to fight, your arms and legs
have recycle times just like your other weapons.  Legs take 25 seconds and
arms take 10 seconds.  Both legs must be ready in order to kick so you can
only kick with one leg, however a kick does twice as much damage as a punch.
If you miss a kick you have to make a Piloting Skill roll to keep from
falling.  On the other hand if you connect with a kick the kickee has to make
a Piloting Skill roll.  If you are jumping when you kick you will have to
make a skill roll.  If you fail your skill roll you will crash.

     Damage is based on the weight of the attacking mech.  A 50 ton mech can
do 10 points of damage kicking and 5 points punching.  To punch or kick
simply select the arm or leg you want from the weapons selection window.  The
arm or leg must be ready and in working condition.  If the status light to
the right is RED it means that that limb is too damaged to be used in melee.
The numbers after arm/leg status in the status display give an indication of
that limbs condition.  The first number is the modifier on 'to hit' for
weapons in the limb.  The second number is a damage indicator.  If it is over
6 the limb can't be used.  You can select multiple weapons so you could punch
with both arms and kick with one leg in the same attack.  You can not kick
and fire any weapons in the same attack.  You can not punch and fire any
weapon located in that arm in the same attack.

     When one mech attempts to move into the hex occupied by another mech,
that is a charge.  You must have both arms and both legs recycled and in good
condition to walk or run charge.  You must have both legs in good condition
to jump charge.  If your limbs aren't ready or damaged you won't be allowed
to move into the other hex for the charge.

     Charging can do massive damage.  The damage is based on speed for
walking and running charges.  Your speed is the TIME it takes to walk or run
one normal hex, divided into 100.  This is modified by terrain and can be a
fraction.  The time is modified by heat and the damage to your legs.  The
damage is spread out in groups of 5 points.  The charging mech takes damage
equal to the weight of the mech charged divided by 10.  A charge that hits
requires both mechs to make a Skill roll at +2 or fall.  You can NOT walk or
run charge a mech that is down.

     A jumping charge is called "Death from Above".  Damage is the attacking
mechs weight divided by 10, times three.  An 80 ton mech jumping on you can
do 24 points of damage.  Damage is divided in half and each half applied to a
random point in the upper torso, as though he kicked twice.  The charging
mech takes damage equal to his weight divided by 10, equally applied to his
two legs.

     To do a jumping charge, jump into the opponents hex and stop.  All
charges that hit require both mechs to make a Piloting Skill roll, the
attacker at +2 and the defender at +2.  Only the attacker makes a skill roll
if the charge misses, but it is at +6.  You CAN jump on a mech that is down.

     If both mechs are jumping in the same hex there is a chance of a
collision.  This is not an attack and the computer rolls for whether a
collision took place based on both pilots skill.  If the mechs collide, both
mechs must make a skill roll or fall and crash.

     Melee is also dependant on the terrain.  If you are too high above or
too low below a mech you can't melee.  If you are one level above you can
only kick him.  If you are one level below you can only punch him.

     Weapon combat is fairly selfexplanitory.  Pick the weapons you want from
the weapons selection window.  That arms the weapons.  You can select
multiple weapons.  When you select a weapon a pink number will appear beside
the status indicator.  This number is the order in which the weapons will be
fired.  Two seconds later the targeting computer will display a firing fan
for that weapon.  The firing fan will show your field of fire and the weapons
maximum range, and for some weapons the minimum range.  You can fire inside
the minimum range, but at a penalty to hit.  The menu bar will list the last
mech you fired at and several options.  The left and right arrow scrolls
through ALL enemy mechs.  The "OK" option picks the current mechs as the
target.  The "Side" option allows you to select a mech on your side as the
target.  "Cancel" cancels the attack.  "Hex" allows you to shoot at hexes.
The mech name might be colored.  This is a status indicator for the mech.
"Red" indicates that the mech is dead.  "Blue" is destroyed.  "Pink" is
shutdown or the pilot is unconscious.  "Yellow" is surrendered and "Green"
means the mech has escaped off the screen.  Select your target to activate
the firing sequence.  Two seconds later the weapons will fire.
While carrying an object any stagger roll will also require a roll for
dropping the object.  Dropping an object will cause damage to the object.
     Terrain is important in weapon combat.  You can't shoot through
mountains so being on top of a mountain is a strategic advantage.  Forests
provide cover, but they can be set on fire or cleared of trees by
concentrated fire.  Water provide a good barrier from a charging mech.  You
can sometimes start fires by aiming at a forest hex.  You can also blow away
a structure, which when reduced to zero that area
is Destroyed and ALL components in it cease to function.  If it is the head
or limbs, the area is ripped off.  If it is the center torso there is a 50/50
chance the engine will explode.  Whether the engine explodes or not it stops
working and the game is over for that mech.  If a mechs engine explodes or
its head is shot off the pilot will get a chance for an emergency eject.
Don't expect to survive, but you will have a chance.


                      BattleForce - Heavy Metal Combat

     What is BattleForce?  It is a game that simulates combat between two or
more giant, robot-like machines.  Simple words can't begin to give you the
feel of piloting a 30 - 40 foot tall, fire breathing, earth shaking colossus
that obeys your every whim.  To enjoy the game you must put yourself in the
cockpit of a Battle Mech.  Live the experience!

     You are the elite of the elite - a Mech Warrior.  Your Battle Mech
thunders under you as you pace across the land, searching for a reported
enemy mech.  You view the land around you, searching for the enemy.  To your
left the plain climbs gradually from low hills up to high mountains.  To your
right is a lake, the calm waters shading from light to cobalt blue as the
water deepens in the center, with patches of treacherous swamp at the edges.
Ahead of you the hills meet a mixture of light and heavy woods.  You are
debating whether to climb the hills or fight your way through the trees when
the enemy mech steps over the crest of the hill.

     Your heart leaps as you recognize a heavy Archer, just as he fires one
of his massive 20 racks of Long Range Missiles.  Your Marauder is staggered
by the multiple impacts as you frantically pit your piloting skill against 75
tons of overbalanced mech.  You swivel your torso and call up your weapons
display.  The reassuring green lights indicate that all weapons are ready to
fire.  You select your Auto Cannon 5 and one of your Particle Projection
Cannons.  A moment later your combat display shows you your field of fire and
weapon range.  The targeting pipper is blinking on the Archer as you fire
your weapons up the mountain.

     The crash of your cannon tears chunks of armor from the Archer, but the
scintillating beam of the PPC slashes to the left of the Archer.  "Too quick"
you curse under your breath.  The temperature in your cockpit jumps as the
heat from firing the PPC soaks into your mech.  No problem so far, the heat
sinks can handle it.  You drive your mech into a pounding run.  You've got to
get close, his LRMs have a minimum effective range, if you can just get
inside it...

     The Archer is shrouded in smoke as another salvo of missiles blast their
way toward you.  Missiles clang off your armor, tearing chunks away.  Your
cockpit rings as one hits the head of your mech.  You fight for consciousness
and keep going, his racks are empty now, he has to reload.

     Motion, behind you.  Another Battle Mech breaks from the forest and
races across the plains toward you.  You quickly identify it as a light
weight Stinger, ordinarily no threat to a Marauder, but it AND an Archer?
What to do?  Run?  Fight?  Fight which one?

     There's no real choice, if you turn your back on the Archer he'll nail
you.  Ignore the Stinger.  You quickly check your status.  Your heat is
dropping as the heat sinks suck away the excess heat.  Your armor indicators
are still all green although those missiles have chewed away about half of
you left leg armor.  Your Auto Cannon is still recycling, but your PPCs
are ready.  Time to Rock an' Roll.

     Weapons select.  You arm both of your P.P.C.s.  The targeting computer
comes up and you select the Archer again.  Your mech is rocked by a laser blast
in its vulnerable back, but you ignore it, triggering your PPCs.  The
warbling shreik of your PPCs echos across the plains.  Blazing energy lances
from each arm of your mech to impale your enemy.  The first strikes the
Archer dead center where his armor is the strongest, but the second beam
scores a lucky hit on his vulnerable head.  The Archer is staggered as armor
vaporizes from his chest and head.  You watch the Battle Mech fight for
balance and fail, tumbling backward off the mountain.

     One down.  Another laser digs into your back, as red lights flash on
your status display.  Your back armor is breached, the laser got through to
your Auto Cannon and its out of the action.  You begin to turn your ponderous
steed.  As you turn to face the charging Stinger it suddenly jumps into the
air on jets of flame.

     "Damn!!!" you yell as you frantically bring up your weapons.  The Auto
Cannon in your Left Torso is disabled, your PPCs are still recycling.  You're
still hot, but there's no choice as you arm the two medium lasers in your
chest.  You try to target the fast moving Stinger, but before you can fire 20
tons of armor and fire power land on top of you.

     Your mech shutters under the impact.  You scramble to control it, but
you're falling.  "The next time I'm in the Factory I'm putting jump jets in
this thing" you vow.  The ground shakes as 75 tons of Battle Mech falls flat
on its back.  Lights are flashing all over.  You bring up your status
display.  The Stinger landed on your right shoulder, its out along with all
the weapons in your right arm.  The fall did more damage to your weak left
leg.  You'll survive, now where is that little Stinger.  You look around.
The Stinger is racing for the forest.

     "Oh no you don't" you mutter as you wait for your remaining PPC to
recycle.  You target the PPC at the racing Stinger's back.  The warbling
blast echoes across the plain as your man-made lightning bolt hits the
Stinger dead center.

     The Stinger stumbles, starts to fall...  a blinding flash lights the sky
as its fusion reactor explodes.  Metal peppers your mech as the concussion
threatens to knock you unconscious.  Your temperature gauges peg as the mech
shuts down from too much heat.  With time your mech will recover.  Lets just
hope the Archer has had enough.

     This is BattleForce.  It can be played with one person against the
computer or up to 32 people fighting in teams.  You can train in the
simulator, fight in the arena, or try to complete combat missions.


                          BattleForce Documentation

WARNING:  All of the BattleForce programs use a config file located in the
'S:' directory.  The config file named "BattleForce.cfg" will preset several
variables for the game and all of the paths for the many files that the
programs use.  If the config file can not be found the program will default
to directories on the boot disk.  IT WILL ALSO DEFAULT TO SAVE TURNED OFF.

     The first thing you will see when the game starts is a requestor asking
you to select the Type of Game.  The first option allows you to Continue a
Saved Game.  The second option is a Simulation mode and is used for training.
This mode allows all combinations of teams and mech types, but damage and
experience are not saved at the end of the game.  At the start of the game
you will be shown a list of available orders and you can pick the set of
orders to follow.  If you hit CANCEL you will be training for the Roving
Patrol mode.  Arena Challenge is a One on One combat playing against another
person or the computer.  If the computer is the opponent it will pick its own
mech.  Arena mode will also let you Bet on the outcome of the combat.  One of
Major Houses may offer to Sponsor you in the Arena.  This may offer a little
protection from other friendly houses, but it will make you a target of enemy
houses.  Not having a sponsor won't keep some houses from picking on you.
This takes the form of Sabatage to your mech.  The computer will check and
see if your pilot can detect any sabatage.  If he does he will be given the
option to try to repair the sabatage.  Sabatage may make a critical part fail
during combat.  Trying to repair the sabatage may destroy it completely.  The
chance of sabatage gets higher as you win more Arena Combats.  Roving Patrol
is a general purpose combat option.  There is no goal other than to kill the
enemy and survive.  It is real combat and you do earn a few Combat Points.
Combat Orders is like the Simulation mode, all combinations of teams and mech
types are allowed, the difference is that damage and experience are saved at
the end of the game.  The main difference is that the computer will pick the
orders randomly for your team to follow.

     A word about Orders.  There are nine basic types of goals.  These can be
used in various combinations to create orders.  At the end of the game your
experience money and Combat Points will be determined on how well you
completed the goal for your side.  The criteria for each goal are:
    Kill Everything: You get 100% if all mechs are dead or disabled.  You get
         0% if any mechs survive or escaped.
    Scout/Patrol: At least one mech must survive/escape to answer ALL
         questions for the report at the end.  If your side escapes leaving
         enemy mechs in control of the field your success is the ratio of the
         number of surviving mech divided into the number that went at LEAST
         half across the screen (to the dividing line).
    Recover, Find/Recover or Convoy Object:  You fail if the object is
         destroyed or captured by the other side.  If you get the object you
         a percentage based on how badly the object is damaged.
    Destroy or Find/Destroy Object:  You get 100% if the object is destroyed.
    Convoy Across: Your success is measured by the number of mechs that
         successfully reach the opposite side.
    Hold Position: If at least half you all operational mechs have stayed in
         position (inside the circle) for the required time you are 100%
         successful (even if everyone dies after that).

     BattleForce is played in Teams.  Once you have selected the type of game
you want to play you will get a Team Selector.  The Team Selector window
contains four rows of selector boxes.  The center box contains the Team
number.  If you are playing Arena or Patrol mode, only the first two rows
will be active.  The Left and Right boxes in each row represent the two sides
of a combat.  To put a Team on a side just click in the box.  The word "Team"
and the team number will appear in the box.  To change sides, click on the
other side.  To remove a team, click on the same side a second time.  Once a
team is placed on a side the central box becomes the selector for the teams
control device.  An "M" will appear indicating that the default control
device is the Mouse.  By clicking on the center box you can also select "J"
for Joystick, "K" for Keyboard and "C" for Computer controlled.  If computer
control is selected, ALL teams on that side will be computer controlled.

     The next thing you need for combat is a place to fight.  If you are in
any of the combat modes the computer will randomly select one of seven
special maps.  In Training or Orders mode the map will be generated based on
the type of map called for in the orders.  If "Create" is called for in the
orders you will get the Random Map Control Panel.

     The Random Map Control Panel is a little complicated.  It contains six
slider gadgets.  The top three control the percentage of Forest, Mountains
and Water in your map.  The bottom gadget controls the density of the top
three.  A cluster is one group of woods or mountains or water.  It can be one
hex or many hexes.  The more clusters you have the more details you will have
in your map.  The Sand and Snow requestors control the amount of sand and
snow in you map.  Sand and snow are added by replacing whatever plain hexes
are left after the forest, mountains and water hexes are added.  The gadget
controls the percentage of plain hexes that will be replaced.  Sand replaces
hexes in the bottom half of the map and snow replaces hexes in the top half.
Once you have everything set the way you want it, click the "Create" gadget
and your world will be drawn.  A small window will then appear asking you to
comfirm your world, "OK", or try again, "ReDo".

     The next thing you need are mechs to fight.  Two windows will open.  The
first one shows the Team you will be working with in the central box on the
bottom.  The second window is a file requestor for loading mechs.  There are
three flavors of mechs.  Generic "Mechs" are the type you create in the
Factory program.  The pilot for these mechs will be randomly created by the
computer.  "Warrior" files are created in the Warrior program and contain a
mech and a pilot.  "Unit" files are collections of warriors, mechs and
technicians all in one common file.  Only Simulation mode will allow a player
to fight with a plain mech, all other modes require you to use a Warrior file
or a warrior from a Unit file.  All members of a team MUST be of the same
mech type.  Warriors are marked when they are loaded and can not be loaded
twice.  If you save a game in progress those warriors can not be used in
another game until the first game is completed.  To load a file, click on the
file you want and then click on "Load".  If the file is a plain mech you will
get a requestor asking you to name the pilot.  To load warriors from a Unit,
Load the Unit and then select the warrior from the list of warriors in the
unit.  The mechs and pilots you selected will appear in the Team window.
When your team is complete, click on the "Done" gadget in the file requestor
window and it will disappear.  At this point you can use the small selector
boxes to the right of each name to customize the control device for each
player.  You can not change the device for a computer mech.  To change teams,
click the "Team" gadget.  The "Load Mechs" gadget will bring the file
requestor back.  When you are done with all teams, click the "Done" gadget in
the team window.  You will also notice a small gadget in the upper right
corner with an "R" in it.  If you make a mistake loading mechs you can click
on the Reset gadget and it will clear ALL mechs.  Then you can start over in
your selection.

    All of the windows leading up to and including the Team window have an
ESCAPE option.  If you hit the ESCAPE key you will be asked if you want to
quit the game.  If you say YES it will exit back to WorkBench.

     A word or two about memory.  BattleForce is a huge program.  If your
system has only 512K of memory you will be limited in the number of mechs you
can load.  Computer mechs take a lot more memory than player mechs.  You will
probably be able to load 24 to 32 player mechs, but if you are playing
against the computer 8 player and 8 computer will probably be the limit.  If
your load too many mechs there will not be enough memory left to load the
sound files.

     From this point on everything is controlled from a control menu at the
bottom of the screen.  These menus consist of a prompt and two or more
options.  The selected option will be highlighted.  Control depends on the
device you are using.  The Keyboard uses the Left and Right arrows to change
and the Space Bar to select.  The Joystick uses Left and Right stick command
to change and the Fire Button to select.  The Mouse changes by moving the
mouse over the desired option and selects with the Left Button.  The mouse
will only work when it is positioned in the menu line.

     The menus are pretty much self explanitory.  There are two main menus
associated with two timers.  One for Movement and one for Weapons.
Everything is based on TIME.  Since there are TWO timers you can move and
fire weapons at the same time.  The Wait options are especially powerful if
used properly because you can wait in weapons and still move.

                               MOVEMENT Menu:
  Walk: Walk forward or backward one hex.  Takes base time + heat penalty +
        damage penalty.  The base movement time and penalty times can be
        found in the status display.  Walking generates 1 pt of heat/second.
        You can Crawl (Walk) while you are down at double the normal time.
   Run: Run forward.  Takes 2/3 the time of Walk and generates 2 pts of
        heat/second.
  Jump: Use jump jets to jump forward, backward or turn.  You must have jump
        jets and fuel to jump.  Your remaining fuel is shown in the status
        display.  Don't run out of fuel in mid-air.  When you jump, the image
        of your mech will change color from red to pink.  Jumping generates a
        fair amount of heat, but there are no terrain modifiers.  Base time
        is the same as running.  You must make a Piloting Skill roll on
        landing or fall.
  Turn: Change direction 60 degrees (one hex side).  Time is based on
        whether you are standing, walking, running or jumping.  Turning while
        jumping is very quick.  You can turn while you are down at double the
        normal time.
  Stop: Stop is used to stop jumping.  You must make a piloting skill roll
        when you land or fall.
 Stand: Stand up after your mech has fallen down.  Standing takes the same
        time as moving one normal hex.
  Wait: Wait is used to control the timing of events in the Move timer.  You
        can wait On Time, wait until you Call Move, wait until all of your
        weapons are recycled or the next weapon is recycled or your arms&legs
        are recycled, wait until your heat drops to a certain point (color),
        wait on your weapon    selection, or wait on your enemies move.  If no
        enemies are visible you will be given the option to wait on the next
        mech to become visible.  You can chose to wait on the next Visible
        mech with the 'Visible' option.  Beware, if all mechs are visible
        this acts the same as a Wait On Call.
Call Attack: This option will call the attack menu if it is waiting.  You
        can also 'Call Attack' from the Options menu and interrupt any attack
        WAIT command.
Options:  This option brings up another menu of special options.  "Status"
        will bring up your status display window.  The "Identify" option will
        allow you to click individual mech images to identify their type and
        weight.  You have to option for a full Status Display.  The "Break
        Attack" will interrupt an attack in progress.  The "Break Move" option
        will interrupt a move in progress.  The "Special" option call another
        menu with five more options.  The "Drop Ammo" option will ask you if
        you want to drop each ammo rack in your mech.  "Eject" is used to leave
        a badly damaged mech.  There is a skill roll for Ejecting from a mech.
        If you fail your pilot takes damage.  You eject into the hex in front
        of your mech.  DON'T eject into a forest fire.  You will also have to
        make a Survival roll to keep from being captured.  "Surrender" means
        that you stay with your mech, but you have quit fighting.  If your
        side loses captured mechs and pilots belong to the winning side.  The
        "Self-Destruct" option makes the thermonuclear engine of your mech
        explode.  This option can only be used by Player characters (not NPC)
        that have advanced beyond the "Green" rank.  You can not Surrender or
        Eject of you are Unconscious or your mech is Shutdown due to heat.
        The "Orders" option will give you you a brief review of your Orders.

                                WEAPON Menu:
Weapon: Brings up the weapon select display.  This display shows all
        weapons, including arms and legs, where they are located ( LT=Left
        Torso, etc), and their condition.  If the status indicator is green
        they are ready to use.  Red indicates damaged or out of ammo.  Yellow
        means they are recycling and is a bar graph of how long until ready
        to use again.
  Wait: Use this to control the timing of events in the Weapons timer.  You
        can wait On Time, wait On Call, wait on your current move, wait until
        all your weapons are recycled or your first weapon to recycle or your
        arms&legs are recycled, wait until your heat drops to a certain, or
        color, or wait On Enemy move.
Call Move:  This option will call the movement menu if it is waiting.  You
        can also 'Call Move' from the Options menu and interrupt any movement
        WAIT command.
Options: This is the same as the Move Options except the time comes off the
        weapons timer.

     The movement and weapons timers are separate so you can move and fire
weapons simultaneously.  The wait conditions allow rapid movement without
bothersome weapons messages, or standing still and firing, without bothersome
move messages.  For even more accurate timing you can use the call feature
and then Call Move or Call Attack from Options menu item.  The Options items
are also available as pulldown menus at the top of the screen.  There is a
small experience penalty for using the Call Attack and Call Move options from
the pulldown menus.  You can still shoot at Surrendered, Ejected and Dead
mech.  You can not shoot at Escaped or Destroyed mechs.

                               Pulldown Menus
     Game Menu:  This menu has six items on it.  "About" tells you a little
about the Author, me.  "Save" gives you two submenus, "Game" and "Map".  Save
Game will save the game at the end of the current second.  Save Map will save
the game map only to a file that can be used in another game.  "Sound"
toggles the sound on and off.  If you didn't have enought memory to load the
sound files this will start as "Silent".  "Setup" brings up a window that
lets you change the speed of missiles and the delay for messages.  It will
also display the name of the first player and his Input Device.  By Clicking
on the Name you can flip through each player.  By Clicking on the Device you
can flip through the devices.  This allows you to change player Input Devices
during the game.  "Color" changes the color of Mechs from Red to White.  This
if for some people that have trouble telling the difference between red and
green.  "Quit" allows you to quit a game in progress.  For most real combats
this option is disabled.

     Team Menus:  Each player team has a pulldown menu with all of the
members of that team as items.  If the team is computer controlled you must
use the "Identify" option to find out about enemy mechs.  If the computer
mech is not visible on the screen you will not be able to identify its status
display.  There is a small experience penalty for using the "Break Attack"
and "Break Move" items from the pulldown menus.

                                Skill Rolls:
     While moving or in combat you will occassionally be asked to make a
skill roll.  This means that something has made your mech off balance
(slipping in water, heavy weapons hit) and you as a pilot must roll to see if
your skill is sufficient to keep from falling down.  Falling in heavy mech is
not trivial.  The mech will take damage equal to its weight divided by 10.
If you roll down a mountain this is multiplied by the number of levels you
fall.  Landing in water cuts your damage in half.  All damage is applied in
groups of 5 points all over your body.  Landing on your head can ruin your
day.  Crashing is the same as falling only from three levels up (triple
damage).  When you are asked to make a skill roll there will be an option to
"Modify" your skill roll.  If you select this option you can trade experience
points for an improved skill roll.  This is expensive, but in critical
situations it could save your life.  If you use it too much you will not have
any experience to improve your character.  The computer can also modify its
rolls and you may see a "modified+2" occasionally.

     Firing weapons requires a skill roll vs your Gunnery skill to hit your
target.  You can modify this roll also.  If you miss a shot there is a chance
that you might hit someone else in an adjacent hex.  There are also skill
rolls for being knocked unconscious, shutting down due to heat and ammo
explosions due to heat.

                         TERRAIN Types and Features
 Plain: This is basic ground level, open plain, and is what all movement
        times are based on.  The base movement time for a Plain hex is given
        in the status display.
  Sand: It takes three times as long to move thru sand and it add 2 pts of
        heat per second.
  Snow: It takes twice as long to move thru snow, and there is a chance that
        you will slip on the ice.  Snow will remove 2 pts of heat per second.
Light Forest:  It takes twice as long to move through light forest as across
        plains, and makes you one point harder to hit.
Heavy Forest:  It takes three times as long to move through heavy forest and
        you are two points harder to hit.
Jungle: You can not move thru this hex.  It is possible to jump over it, but
        if you land in a Jungle hex the only way out is to jump.  Jungle
        hexes can be burned.
 Swamp: It takes twice as long to move, you are one point easier to hit, and
        there is a good chance of slipping and falling.
Shallow Water:  This type hex takes twice as long to move through and makes
        it easier for you to be hit and harder for you to hit others, but
        helps you to cool down.  The water will remove 3 points of heat per
        second in addition to your heat sinks.  There is a chance you will
        slip and fall.
Medium Water:  This type water is up to the mechs waist.  Weapons below the
        waist can not be fired.  You get 6 points of cooling per second, but
        you are easier to hit and it is harder for you to aim.  You can't
        kick in medium water.  Move at 1/3 normal rate.
Deep Water:  This type water provides 9 points of cooling/second.  Weapons
        below the neck can not be fired and you are very hard to hit.  You
        can't kick or punch in deep water.  Move at 1/4 normal rate.
Bottomless Water:  This type water is beyond your mechs capability.  It will
        crush your mech, destroying it and killing you.  The only way past
        this type of hex is to jump over.
Low Hills:  Hills provide cover.  You can't shoot over them.  Low hills make
        it one point easier to hit mechs below you.  Move at 1/3 normal rate
        uphill or half normal rate on the same level.
Medium Hills:  You get two extra points to hit mechs below you due to height.
        Move at 2 + 1/level going uphill.
High Hills:  You get three extra points to hit mechs below you due to height.
        Hills have a tactical advantage, but beware of skill rolls.  If you
        fall you can roll all the down, doing multiple damage.
Barrier Peak: This hex type is impassible.  You can not jump over it.  It is
        used for obstacles.  All Arena maps have a border of Barrier Peaks.
  Fire: Energy and Missile weapons can start forest fires.  Moving or
        stopping in a forest fire adds a 6 points of heat per second to your
        mech, and the smoke adds three points on all hit rolls.  Move at half
        normal rate.
Cleared:  Cannons and Missiles can clear trees from forest hexes.  This is
        rough terrain, move at half normal rate.  Cannons and Missiles can
        also be used to 'blow out' forest fires.
Burned: Once a forest fire has burned out the hex becomes rough terrain.
        Move at half normal rate.

     Terrain plays an important part in combat strategy.  A good position can
mean the difference between winning and loosing.  Use the terrain to your
advantage.  If you try to leave the map area you will be asked if your wish
to ESCAPE from the combat.  If you say Yes, your mech will be removed at the
end of the move and you are out of the game.

                             Combat HEAT Affects
     Almost everything you do in a Battle Mech creates heat.  It is your
worse enemy.  Heat can slow down your mech, throw off your targeting
computers, cause your mech to shutdown unexpectedly (that right, you're a
sitting duck), and even cause ammo to explode.  Watch your heat.  The Status
display gives the amount of heat generated by each weapon in hundreds.  Ten
heat means it generates 1000 points of heat.  The actual temperature is in
the Status display.  In addition, there is a small status light in the upper
right corner of the weapons selection window.  Green=OK, Blue=reduced
movement/aim, Yellow=danger of shutdown, Red=danger of ammo exploding.  Your
Battle Mech will automatically shutdown if your heat goes over 3000.  In
addition, a damaged engine generates 5 points of heat per second for each
hit.  The only thing that protects a pilot from the heat is the life support
system.  If that is destroyed you are in big trouble.

                                   COMBAT:
     There are two forms of combat, weapons combat and melee combat.  Melee
combat is hand to hand, punching, kicking and charging.  Melee combat doesn't
generate any heat, but you may do damage to yourself and you have to be in
the same hex or in the adjacent hex.  When used to fight, your arms and legs
have recycle times just like your other weapons.  Legs take 25 seconds and
arms take 10 seconds.  Both legs must be ready in order to kick so you can
only kick with one leg, however a kick does twice as much damage as a punch.
If you miss a kick you have to make a Piloting Skill roll to keep from
falling.  On the other hand if you connect with a kick the kickee has to make
a Piloting Skill roll.  If you are jumping when you kick you will have to
make a skill roll.  If you fail your skill roll you will crash.

     Damage is based on the weight of the attacking mech.  A 50 ton mech can
do 10 points of damage kicking and 5 points punching.  To punch or kick
simply select the arm or leg you want from the weapons selection window.  The
arm or leg must be ready and in working condition.  If the status light to
the right is RED it means that that limb is too damaged to be used in melee.
The numbers after arm/leg status in the status display give an indication of
that limbs condition.  The first number is the modifier on 'to hit' for
weapons in the limb.  The second number is a damage indicator.  If it is over
6 the limb can't be used.  You can select multiple weapons so you could punch
with both arms and kick with one leg in the same attack.  You can not kick
and fire any weapons in the same attack.  You can not punch and fire any
weapon located in that arm in the same attack.

     When one mech attempts to move into the hex occupied by another mech,
that is a charge.  You must have both arms and both legs recycled and in good
condition to walk or run charge.  You must have both legs in good condition
to jump charge.  If your limbs aren't ready or damaged you won't be allowed
to move into the other hex for the charge.

     Charging can do massive damage.  The damage is based on speed for
walking and running charges.  Your speed is the TIME it takes to walk or run
one normal hex, divided into 100.  This is modified by terrain and can be a
fraction.  The time is modified by heat and the damage to your legs.  The
damage is spread out in groups of 5 points.  The charging mech takes damage
equal to the weight of the mech charged divided by 10.  A charge that hits
requires both mechs to make a Skill roll at +2 or fall.  You can NOT walk or
run charge a mech that is down.

     A jumping charge is called "Death from Above".  Damage is the attacking
mechs weight divided by 10, times three.  An 80 ton mech jumping on you can
do 24 points of damage.  Damage is divided in half and each half applied to a
random point in the upper torso, as though he kicked twice.  The charging
mech takes damage equal to his weight divided by 10, equally applied to his
two legs.

     To do a jumping charge, jump into the opponents hex and stop.  All
charges that hit require both mechs to make a Piloting Skill roll, the
attacker at +2 and the defender at +2.  Only the attacker makes a skill roll
if the charge misses, but it is at +6.  You CAN jump on a mech that is down.

     If both mechs are jumping in the same hex there is a chance of a
collision.  This is not an attack and the computer rolls for whether a
collision took place based on both pilots skill.  If the mechs collide, both
mechs must make a skill roll or fall and crash.

     Melee is also dependant on the terrain.  If you are too high above or
too low below a mech you can't melee.  If you are one level above you can
only kick him.  If you are one level below you can only punch him.

     Weapon combat is fairly selfexplanitory.  Pick the weapons you want from
the weapons selection window.  That arms the weapons.  You can select
multiple weapons.  When you select a weapon a pink number will appear beside
the status indicator.  This number is the order in which the weapons will be
fired.  Two seconds later the targeting computer will display a firing fan
for that weapon.  The firing fan will show your field of fire and the weapons
maximum range, and for some weapons the minimum range.  You can fire inside
the minimum range, but at a penalty to hit.  The menu bar will list the last
mech you fired at and several options.  The left and right arrow scrolls
through ALL enemy mechs.  The "OK" option picks the current mechs as the
target.  The "Side" option allows you to select a mech on your side as the
target.  "Cancel" cancels the attack.  "Hex" allows you to shoot at hexes.
The mech name might be colored.  This is a status indicator for the mech.
"Red" indicates that the mech is dead.  "Blue" is destroyed.  "Pink" is
shutdown or the pilot is unconscious.  "Yellow" is surrendered and "Green"
means the mech has escaped off the screen.  Select your target to activate
the firing sequence.  Two seconds later the weapons will fire.  As each
weapon comes up you will have the option to "Fire" the weapon, "Pass" on that
one weapon, or "Modify" your gunnery skill roll.  Hit locations will be
flashed in the menu bar.  If you miss a shot there is a chance that you could
hit a mech next to your target by mistake.

     Various objects are part of some scenarios.  If your goal is to destroy
the object you must be in the same hex with the object.  You can then fire at
it with weapons or kick and punch it.  If your goal is to recover an object
you will notice that all mechs with hands have an "H" in the status display
next to the arm status.  When you bring up the weapons menu those arms with
hands will be listed as "Punch/Grab".  If you select an arm with a hand the
targeting menu will list the name of the object as an option.  If you select
the object your attack will give you a roll to pick up the object.  If you
are carrying an object your weapons menu will say "Punch/Drop".  You can use
the same procedure to drop an object with one or both hands.  While carrying
an object any stagger roll will also require a roll for dropping the object.
Dropping an object will cause damage to the object.

     Terrain is important in weapon combat.  You can't shoot through
mountains so being on top of a mountain is a strategic advantage.  Forests
provide cover, but they can be set on fire or cleared of trees by
concentrated fire.  Water provide a good barrier from a charging mech.  You
can sometimes start fires by aiming at a forest hex.  You can also blow out
fires by shooting a fire hex with missiles or cannons.  To shoot at a hex
select HEX as the target of any weapon attack.  You will then be asked to
select the hex with the mouse.  Click in the menu line to cancel the attack.

     The main objective of combat is to eliminate the opponents armor so that
your weapons can damage delicate internal components, like the pilot.  Once
the armor in a particular location is destroyed any further damage in that
area hits something inside.  The computer rolls a 2d6.  If it is less than 8
the damage is applied to the Internal Structure of the mech.  If it is 8 or
higher one of the internal locations is hit.  The internal locations contain
such things as weapons, ammo, arm and leg joints, heat sinks, engines, gyros,
PILOTS, etc.  One or more hits will destroy an internal component.

     The internal structure has points like the armor.  These points are
shown in the Status Display right after the area name and before the list of
internal components.  If the internal structure is reduced to zero that area
is Destroyed and ALL components in it cease to function.  If it is the head
or limbs, the area is ripped off.  If it is the center torso there is a 50/50
chance the engine will explode.  Whether the engine explodes or not it stops
working and the game is over for that mech.  If a mechs engine explodes or
its head is shot off the pilot will get a chance for an emergency eject.
Don't expect to survive, but you will have a chance.

                             Internal Components
                  ========================================
   Weapons (W): Destroyed with any hit.
   Ammo (A):  Destroyed with any hit.  The ammo will blow up doing internal
        damage to the mech.
   Arm and Leg Actuators (x):  Destroyed with any hit.  Leg hits will require
        a Pilot Skill roll to keep from falling.  The status of your arms and
        legs is given in the status display.  The first number is the
        modifier to hit for weapons in the limb.  The second number is a
        weighted actuator damage.  If it is over 6 the limb is unusable.
   Engine (E):  Each hit causes the engine to generate 5 points per second of
        extra heat.  There is a chance on ANY hit that the fusion engine will
        blow up.  The odds are very good by three hits and 100% by four hits.
   Gyro (G): A gyro hit adds 3 points to all Pilot Skill rolls.
   Jump Jets (J): Destroyed with any hit.  If you are jumping you will CRASH.
   Jump Fuel (F):  Each hit destroyes 50 seconds of jump time.  If you run
        out of fuel while jumping you will CRASH !!!.
   Life Support (L):  Any hit destroys the life support system for the mechs
        cockpit.  The mech pilot will take one point of damage every 50
        seconds that the heat is over 1500.  If the heat is over 2500 he will
        take two points of damage.
   Sensors (S):  The first hit on sensors add 2 points to all Gunnery Skill
        rolls to hit targets.  A second hit destroys your sensors and you can
        not hit anything with your weapons.  It is still possible to melee.
   Cockpit (C): Any hit in the cockpit kills the pilot.  End of Game.

                              Hidden Commands

     There are several hidden commands in the "Setup" window.  With the
"Setup" window active the following keys act as toggles:

        "a" - Toggles Aimed Shots On/Off for ALL mechs.

        "r" - Toggles ALL Recycle Times to ZERO.

        "q" - Will Quit the game without saving mechs.  This will leave you
              pilots "Out on Patrol".  They can be brought back with the
              Warrior program, but it will cost you some money and will be
              counted as a loss on your combat record.



                          Map_Editor Documentation


    The Map Editor is very easy to use if you are familiar with a
wordprocessor or drawing program.  Everything is menu driven and mouse
controlled.  The program will come up with a title bar and an array of 30 x
21 Plain hexes.  It will display the current draw mode in the upper right
hand corner, Insert, and the current draw function and hex type in the upper
left corner, Draw (Light Forest).  There are three main menus, "Project",
"Function" and "Hexes".

    The "Project" menu takes care of all of your file handling.  The "Clear"
function will clear the screen.  You will be asked if you want to clear to
the current hex type or to Plain hexes.  The "Load" option allows you to load
a previous map file and edit it.  The "Save option lets you save your current
map to disk for use in the BattleForce game.  I'll talk about the
"Parameters" option a little later.  The "Delete option lets you
delete map files on your disk.  "About" brings up a small window a tells you
about the author, me.  "Quit" lets you exit from the Map Editor and back to
WorkBench.

    The "Functions" menu is the heart of the program.  There are two modes of
drawing hexes, Insert and Overwrite.  Insert mode will only draw hexes onto a
Plain Hex.  It will not draw over any other type of hex.  Overwrite mode does
just as the name implies, it will overwrite, or draw on top of, any hex type.
Using these modes you can draw in your mountains and lakes and the Insert the
forests around them.  These modes apply to ALL draw functions, including the
fills.  You can toggle between Insert and Overwrite mode with the
"Insert/Overwrite" option.  The current mode is listed in the upper right
hand corner of the title bar.

    The "Draw" function uses the current hex type and fills in hexes as you
move the mouse across the screen with the left button down.  The "Seed Area"
function will draw a random group of the current hex type, starting at the
hex you select by clicking with the left button.

    The "Grow Cluster" function is a little difficult to understand.  It
takes the current hex and seed a small area starting at the hex you select
with the mouse.  Then it check to see if there is a lesser hex of the same
type, Light Forest down from Heavy Forest.  If there is, it will surround the
starting seed with that hex and look for the next smaller hex type.  The net
affect to to grow mountain ranges, lakes and forests.  You need to try it to
really appreciate it.  Remember you draw modes.

    The "Fill" option has four sub-items, "Area", "Percent", "Gradient-Top
Down" and "Gradient-Bottom Up".  The "Area" fill will start at the select hex
and change all connected hexes of the same type to the current hex type.
Remember that you can only change Plain hex types in Insert mode.  The
"Percent" fill mode works on the screen as a whole.  It will check ALL
remaining Plain hexes and change the specified percentage of them to the
current hex type.  "Gradient" mode does the same thing as "Percent" fill, but
not evenly.  "Top Down" starts at the top and 100% and works down the screen
until it is 0% about half way down.  "Bottom Up" is just the reverse.  This
allows you to have Snow fields in the north and Sand deserts in the south.
The UnDo will restore the last draw command you executed.  It works on all
draw modes and functions.

    The "Parameters" option in the "Project" menu (remember, I told you I'd
talk about it later) allows you to change the way some of the draw functions
work.  It will bring up a window with five slider gadgets.  The first gadget
allows you to set the maximum size of the "Seed Area" function.  The next
gadget allows you to set the maximum size of the first seed in a cluster.
The next gadget sets the percent fill in the "Percent Fill" function.  The
last two set how far down or how far up the screen the "Gradient Fill"
function will go.

    The last menu is the "Hexes" menu.  The five menu items in this menu all
work the same.  The bring up a small window under your mouse and display
various types of hexes.  To change the current hex type just click on the new
type with the mouse.  There is a selection of "Open Hexes", "Woods Hexes",
"Hill Hexes" and "Water Hexes".  There is nothing in the "Other Hexes".  This
is for future expansion.


                         Orders Editor Documentation


    The Orders program is a simple editor designed to allow the user to make
instruction files for the BattleForce combat program.  Each file contains
codes instruction BattleForce how to set up a game, and a description of the
goals for each side.  The code are general in nature to allow for a degree of
randomness.  That way, even if the same orders are followed, the combat will
be different.  Keep that idea in mind when writing Orders Descriptions.  You
should be as general as possible.  Use words like "Unit", "Side", "Team",
instead of specific names.  Avoid using specific house names.  Avoid putting
in details of terrain that might not show up randomly.

    All files are kept in the "Orders" subdirectory.  When called, the combat
program will randomly select one of the Orders in the subdirectory.

    The Orders program display is a working window with a series of gadget
buttons.  There are "Goal", "Position" and "Orders" gadgets for both side,
Side A and Side B.  There are also gadgets for "Difficulty Level", "Terrain",
"Enemy" and "Object Desc".  Each gadget will display the current selected
option.  There is also a pulldown menu with "About","New", "Load", "Save",
"Delete" and "Quit" options.  The program will automatically load the config
file when it runs.

    The "Goal" determines what that side must do to successfully complete its
orders.  There are seven different goals:

        1.  "Kill Everything"  This side MUST destroy or disable ALL enemy
            mechs to be successful.
        2.  "Scout/Patrol"  This side MUST start at one side of the screen,
            travel at least across the screen and return with a report on
            enemy size and strength.
        3.  "Recover Object"  This side MUST reach an object that is visible
            on the screen, pick it up, and escape with it to their lines.
            Both side can have this as a Goal.
        4.  "Find/Recover Object"  This is like Recover Object except that
            the object is not visible.  It will not become visible until a
            mech comes within range to see it.  Only Player teams will have
            a "Find" Goal.
        5.  "Destroy Object"  This is the opposite of "Recover Object".  The
            Goal is to prevent the other side from having the object.
        6.  "Find/Destroy Object"  This is the opposite of "Find/Recover
            Object".  Again, only Player teams will have a "Find" Goal.
        7.  "Convoy Object"  The team with this goal will start with an
            object and must carry it from one side of the screen to the
            other.
        8.  "Convoy Across"  The goal of this team is to get as many mechs as
            possible from one side of the screen to the other.
        9.  "Hold Position"  This side must hold it approximate starting
            position for a certain amount of time.  Once that time has
            expired they may retreat.  They will win if they have any
            functional mechs at the end of the time within their prescribed
            position, even if they are later destroyed.  Only player teams
            will have a "Hold" Goal.  If "Hold Position" is one of the Goals
            you will be asked for the length of time to hold.  Most combats
            do not last more than 10,000 seconds.  The maximum time allowed
            is 30,000 seconds.  On the other hand it may take the other side
            as long as 500 seconds to get in place.  Set your times
            accordingly.

    The "Position" gadgets allow you to define the starting position for each
side.  You can pick a starting position in the "Center", "Left" or "Right"
side of the screen.  You can also choose to let the computer pick a random
starting position or allow the players to pick their own position at the
start of the game.  If you force a particular starting position you should
put that in your description.

    The "Orders" gadgets will bring up a window with ten string gadgets.
This will let you type in a description of each teams goals.  Use your
imagination and anytime you force a particular option be sure and put it in
the description so the teams will know about it.

    The "Difficulty" gadget will let you select the difficulty level for this
set of orders.  The first option is to let the player choose his difficulty
level when he starts the game.  The next option is to let the computer choose
randomly at the start of the game.  You can also force the difficulty level
to one of four choices, Easy, Normal, Hard, Suicidal.

    The "Terrain" gadget will bring up a window to let you select the type of
Map for this set of orders.  The "Load" option will bring up a load requestor
for the Maps subdirectory and allow you to pick a specific map to be loaded
for this set of orders.  The "Create" option will bring up the World Creation
requestor at the start of the game and allow the player to make his own map
for the combat.  "Normal", "Plains", "Sand", "Snow", "Water", "Forest" and
"Mountains" will force the player to use a randomly generated map of the type
chosen.  "Random" will force the player to use a randomly generated map of a
type randomly chosen by the computer.

    It is assumed that Side A will always be player controlled.  Side B may
be player controlled or computer controlled.  The "Enemy" gadget allows you
to set this.  This will usually be the default "Player or Computer", but
there might be a scenario where you will only allow player or computer
control.  There is a fourth option.  That is to take Side B from a
pre-defined NPC unit.  This side will always be computer controlled.  This
can be very powerful, but if you use it you should provide a combat ready
unit with the correct name with the set of orders.  If you select this option
you will get a file requestor with the list of all available units.  The name
of the unit you select will be saved with the Orders file.

    For any Goal that calls for an "Object" you need select the "Object Desc"
gadget.  You will be asked to Name the Object for BattleForce to use in
messages.  You will also be asked to define the type of object, how many hit
points it has and how long a mech must delay in picking it up.

    This new system should provide a great deal of flexibility in playing
BattleForce.  A little bit of common sense should be used in making up the
Orders.  Some things the program will check for, such as having BOTH sides
hold position.  Other things it will allow even if they don't make any sense,
like both side trying to destroy an object.  The descriptions are just as
important as the setup because they give life to the Role you are trying to
play.  I encourage you to upload you Order files.



                              BattleForce Setup


     This is the Registered Owners version of BattleForce.  While the
ShareWare game by itself may be freely distributed in its original ARC file,
the Registered Owners disk is NOT ShareWare and should not be passed on to
others.  In particular, the Factory and Warrior programs and their support
files are copywrited.

     In order to have room for all of the game files on one disk all of the
doc files and all of the game files except BattleForce, have been packed with
PowerPacker.  The game files will automatically unpack when they run.  You
may notice the cursor blinking for a few seconds, this is normal.  The doc
files can be read with PPMore which is on the disk.  PPMore will also print
the files for you.  Normally you will not even notice the unpacking
procedure.  What it buys you is about 100k of space and the ability to have
all of you files and docs online in one disk, and still have room for
character files.

TWO DRIVE SETUP:

     For a two drive setup you will want to put all of you docs and doc.info
files onto the second drive to make room for more character files.  You might
also want to put all of the game files onto the second disk.  If you move
any of the data files be sure to change the config file with "ConfigEd".

SINGLE DRIVE SETUP:

     BattleForce comes set up for a one disk system.  To get a little more
room on the disk you can put all of the doc files onto a second disk.  If you
want to be able to read them make it a bootable disk and include "PPMore" in
the 'C' directory.

HARD DRIVE SETUP:

     BattleForce multi-tasks and works fine on a hard drive.  Copy all of the
program files over too your hard drive.  Make sure and keep the
sub-directories.  I put all my game file sub-directories in a directory
called "gamefiles", but you can do it any way you want.  When you are done,
run the ConfigEd program and tell the BattleForce system where each of the
important files is located.  Be sure to use a complete path.  When you save
from the ConfigEd program it will make (or modify) a file called
BattleForce.cfg on the 'S' directory of your boot disk.


     All BattleForce programs use a wide variety of support files.  It is
important that the programs be able to FIND these files.  The programs will
look for images files in a subdirectory called "Images" on the boot disk.  It
will look for sound files in "SND", map files in "Maps", saved games in
"Games", unit files in "Units", warrior and technician files in "Warriors"
and mech files in "Mechs".  In addition, it expects mechs to be subdivided
into four classes of mechs, "Light" 20-35 tons, "Medium" 40-55 tons, "Heavy"
60-75 tons, and "Assault" 80-100 tons.  If you create new mechs and put them
in the wrong subdirectory some parts of the programs will have trouble
finding your new mechs.  To help you set up your disk ALL programs try to
read a file called "BattleForce.cfg" in the S:  directory of your boot disk.
You can change the included config file by using the "ConfigEd" program.
Make sure the paths are valid paths and correct.  The subdirectory names can
not be changed, but where you put them is up to you.  THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
If the programs can not find the files they need they will not work.  If a
program can not find the config file it will default to just the subdirectory
name on the boot disk.  The ConfigEd program will also let you change some
game variable such as message delay and recycle time.

     If you have any questions, bug reports or just want to talk about
BattleForce, I can be reached on the Hobbit Hole BBS, one of the best in the
southeast.  Their number is [phone] and they support 1200/2400/9600
baud with 630 megs of Amiga files online.  The very latest version of
BattleForce will always be available on the board.




                               MechForce News

This file will be used to keep a running list of improvements and bug fixes
in the MechForce series of programs.

February 18, 1990
     Reworked the swivel and spin routines.  Changed jump routines to allow
computer mechs to jump up hill at you.

February 17, 1990
     Added a preview mode to the MechForce load requestor to give a brief
view of mech status before the mech is loaded.  Works by clicking on the
desired mech with the RIGHT mouse button.  Put same thing in Warrior for
picking your starting mech.  Now when you get the list of mechs you can see
what each one is before you pick.  Put in a message to display the total
amount of experience earned for a firing sequence.

February 11, 1990
     Added side firing arcs for arm mounted weapons.  Changed computer
routines to use side firing arcs.

February 10, 1990
     Changed line-of-sight routines so that woods are more effective in
blocking sight if both mechs are on level plains.  Basically the same as the
rule book.  Changed global experience so you don't get experience for damage
to a mech that is already dead.  Added experience bonus in Scout mission for
getting half way across screen.  Changed computer self-destruct to make it a
little more likely.  Changed maximum jump time so that it doesn't change with
weight.  That means you can jump further as you get lighter.  Added a
tiebreaker routine for those rare occasions when you take out the last mech
just as you go down.

February 3, 1990
     Fixed bug in MechForce that sometimes screwed up the movement if you
canceled a jump.

February 2, 1990
     Fixed bug in Factory that bombed the program if you tried to add jump
with a zero movement.

January 27, 1990
     Changed Factory to use the new jump for creation, repair, damage and
unit stores.  Added "Drop Ammo" for the computer.  Changed the sound loading
routines to allow them to load any sound file with the right name.  Put in
global damage so that you get experience for damage caused when a mech blows
up.  Changed all file requestors to linked list, UNLIMITED files.  Fixed a
few reported bugs.  Worked on autoload of an NPC unit.  Was working, but
would drop through if not enough mechs for an even fight.  Now it loads the
unit and then adds generic mechs to balance the fight.

January 21, 1990
     Fixed bug in Factory that didn't save Unit C-Bills after a purchase or
sale.  Fixed bug that let you ESCAPE between mountains on right side during
Arena mode.  Fixed but that kept characters with a survival less than 3 from
getting a capture roll.  Put checks on all memory allocations, file Opens and
Window opens to make sure there is enough memory.  Put check in the directory
read routine to check for maximum number of files.  Increased the maximum
number of files to 250.

December 10, 1989
     Changed "Aimed Shots" again to make it more proportional to how fast
each side was moving.  Changed game to make it independant of which side the
computer plays.  If the player is side B it now gets the goals of side B and
the computer plays side A.  Added config defaults to Save Game.  Changed the
computer self-destruct routine to reduce the chance of self-destruct.

November 20, 1989
     Changed "Aimed Shots" so that you can only get an aimed head shot if the
target mech is unconscious, or showdown.  Changed critical hits so that a
critical hit in an empty or destroyed area transfer inward.

November 18, 1989
     Fixed bug in MechForce that would allow a mech to blowup due to heat
even if the engines were already destroyed.  Fixed bug in Hold Position that
didn't check win criteria correctly of holding team died AFTER the time.

November 16, 1989
     Fixed bug in Warrior that kept you from saving a new character.  Fixed
bug in Factory Damage routines that lost track of the number of heat sinks.

November 11, 1989
     Changed all program references to BattleForce to the new name of
MechForce.  Changed the default names for all house affiliations.  Changed
Warrior and MechForce to load a player defined list of house names.  Removed
the University option from Warrior.  Made up a complete NEW set of mechs for
MechForce that does not include mechs with the FASA copyrighted names.  Fixed
bug in MechForce that recalculated the weight of ammo incorrectly.  Caused
mechs to slow down drastically when the got hit.  Fixed bug in save game that
didn't redraw the object on the screen when you loaded the old game.  Fixed
bug that had the player always start on the right side in Arena mode.

November 6, 1989
     Fixed bug in Warrior that I think is causing it to occasionally bomb
when you add a character to a unit.  Fixed bug in BattleForce that caused it
to bomb if it couldn't find the orders directory.

November 5, 1989
     Fixed bug in setup that set the wrong side for the computer if its
mission was move/carry across (convoy).  Fixed bug in weapons that kept you
from firing at a hex if you were carrying an object.

November 2, 1989
     Fixed bug in routine to place a hidden object that would sometimes cause
the program to lock up during the setup phase.  Changed Factory to allow you
to deliberately damage mechs.  This will be more useful for a possible
campaign addition.

October 22, 1989
     Fixed bug in new routine to have mechs hid in a scout mission.
Invisible mechs would wait 1000 seconds instead of activating when they
became visible.

October 20, 1989
     Fixed bug in escape routine for roll to be captured if you escape of top
or bottom of screen.  Fixed minor bug in shove routine.  Changed ALL file
requestors so you can now double click on a file to Load/Save/Delete.

October 19, 1989
     Changed charge damage.  If charge knocks a mech down more than one level
the mech takes additional damage to its legs.  Changed heat routines.  If a
mechs temperature reaches 5000 degrees it engine blows up, even if the pilot
ejected and its just salvage.  Changed fall damage.  The base damage is half
the old value, but it is multiplied by the mechs speed divided into 100, when
it fell.  That means a 60 ton mech standing still will only take 3 pts of
damage, but if it is running at 20 seconds/hex it will take 15 pts of damage.
This gets really bad for light fast mechs.  The chance of rolling is also
modified by the mechs speed.  Changed criticals so that destroying a side
torso causes the associated shoulder actuator to be destroyed.

October 18, 1989
     Fixed minor bug in end game evaluation that said you failed a hold
position mission if you escaped off screen after the set time.

October 17, 1989
     Fixed Factory so that it modified the cost of Unit Stores by the
percentage of repair paid by your affiliated house.

October 16, 1989
     Fixed bug in Crawl routine.  Fixed bug that caused object to disappear if
the hex it occupied was changed (cleared, set fire, etc).

October 14, 1989
     Changed all routines for calculating the cost of an engine so that they
are independant of the mech weight.  Now if you buy an engine for one mech
and sell the same engine for another mech the cost is the same.  Fixed mech
delete bug in Warrior.  Disabled Factory menus while it is recalculating.
Used PowerPacker on all programs except BattleForce.  This will cause you
pointer to blink for a second or so while the program is loading.  Actual
loading time is about the same, but it saves almost 100k on the distribution
disk.

October 12, 1989
     Fixed minor bugs in BattleForce, such as ejecting into water.  I also
worked on the computer melee routines.  I added routines to let computer
mechs try to stand with a missing leg if the pilot is good enough.  Changed
Arena mode to only allow one team per side.

October 9, 1989
     Corrected some logic errors in the Find_High_Ground routines.  This lets
the computer handle mountains better.

October 8, 1989
     I found the bug in BattleForce that causes it to lock up on the menu line
occasionally.  It was part of a clipping routine that I added when I was
having trouble with blitter.  Whenever the menu line went longer than 80
character it went into an infinite loop.
     Fixed unit acceptance rolls (were reversed).  Added code to clear unit
contract every time you change affiliation.  Changed Warrior to call file
requestor if it can't find the right file to delete.
     Fixed bug in BattleForce that wouldn't let you drop an object once you
picked it up.  Fixed several initial positioning bugs.  Fixed end game
evaluation for Hold Position.  Fixed several bugs that caused memory errors
when you changed paths.

October 3, 1989
     Fixed minor bug in the reset routine in BattleForce that left the unit
status flag for the mech marked "Out on Patrol".

October 1, 1989
     The big news is the BattleForce 3.60 is officially released.  This is the
new version with random scenarios, a new config editor and an orders
generating program, HQ.  The game itself has been considerably improved with
Indirect Fire for LRMs, kicking while jumping, improved computer combat
routines, difficulty levels, clear and reset option during the startup, etc.
Make sure to send in your disk with a couple dollars for the update.

September 7, 1989
     Changed damage for DFA.  Used to add damage if the charge knocked the
victim down to a lower level.  Change eliminated the extra damage, but I may
go back and add in some leg damage for mechs that get dropped more than one
level.  After all, if you drop kick him off a cliff he ought to take some
extra damage.  Changed the computer mech selection routine.  Under some
circumstances is was picking too much weight.  This didn't become obvious
until I started watching the selections with the new difficulty levels.  Also
added the remaining fuel to the "Jump" menu.

September 1, 1989
     Fixed bug in BattleForce that didn't set dispossessed flag if you got an
emergency ejection from a head hit and escaped.  Changed the line of sight
routine so that it checks in both directions.  No more "he can shoot me, but I
can't shoot him".  Fixed bug in Factory that decrimented the wrong engine when
you replaced an engine from unit stores.  Fixed minor bug in Warrior that
didn't reset a characters salary to zero when he left the unit.  Put some
more error checking in BattleForce to stop you from loading a mech with no
head or the center destroyed.  There were several other small bug that I
fixed that I don't remember now.

August 10, 1989
     Fixed bug induced by Factory by the new heal routines.  This kept you
from loading a character that needed healing.  It also triggered an old
bug that left the unit file open after finding an error.

August 4, 1989
     Corrected minor display error in Status Display.  Removed shove call if
you run into a hex with a downed enemy mech.

August 2, 1989
     Added menu item to all programs to let you put the working screen to the
back.  This lets you multi-task all three and still get the the screens.
Changed Factory healing routines.  It has always healed unit pilots, but
never charged.  Now it heals all pilots, just like Warrior, AND charges.
Changed the default path string length from 40 to 80 characters.  This gives
people with hard drives and buried paths room to play with.

July 30, 1989
     Improved the random names routine.

July 28, 1989
     Fixed bug that would sometimes cause a computer mech to jump backward
instead of forward on a DFA attack.  Fixed bug that would sometines cause a
mech no to start a DFA attack when it could.

July 26, 1989
     Fixed bug in BattleForce that cancelled "Wait on Visible" if a computer
mech was already visible.  Fixed load game so that it sets starting colors
for mechs.

July 22, 1989
     Fixed bug in Factory that didn't save repairs on spare mechs.  Fixed bug
in Factory that didn't keep track of free spaces properly.  Fixed bug that
wouldn't let you out of Heat Sink Manual Install if you didn't have enough
space left to install all heat sinks.

July 16, 1989
     Changed BattleForce to make the mechs of Side B, Black.  They are still
pink when they jump.  Fixed a bug induced in the last version that might
cause a mech to be saved with the dispossessed flag set true.  Worked on the
bug that lets your head get ripped off twice.

July 11, 1989
     Fixed minor bug that might cause the BattleForce program to bomb if you
passed on a "Wait on Enemy".  Fixed a minor bug that messed up the display in
Warrior while changing mechs.

July 9, 1989
     Fixed minor bug in BattleForce that allowed unconscious pilot to eject.
Changed pilot damage due to getting head blown off.  Now based on original
damage to head times 5.

July 7, 1989
     Fixed minor bugs in BattleForce.  Bug that allowed unconscious pilot to
make an Emergency Ejection roll.  Fixed bug that caused a combat with two
teams from the same unit to count double for wins, patrols, missions, etc.
Changed the weapon selector so that if there are no visible enemy mechs you
can still fire at hexes or friends.

July 4, 1989
     The BattleForce combat program was changed to add a "Wait On Next Visible
Mech" option.  This will act as a wait on call for weapons OR movement, with
an interrupt any time a computer mech becomes visible.  Also fixed a bug that
caused multiple crashes occasionally.
     The Factory program had a couple of bugs fixed pertaining to keeping
track of the 10 heat sinks in the engine and to automatically installing
them.  Also added the cost of modifying a mech to add hands.

July 2, 1989
     A number of new features were added to the BattleForce combat program.
The amount of heat generated by Flamers was reduced from 600 to 200.  This
was designed counter the overwhelming advantage of Flamers and bring the game
more inline with the board game.  At the same time, the restriction on the
number of Flamers was removed from the BattleForce and Factory programs.
     To keep player from having advanced knowledge of the number and size of
computer mechs the pulldown list of team mechs was removed for computer
teams.  It was replaced with an 'Identify' option in the move and weapons
menu.  This option allows you to click on any VISIBLE mech image and get a
readout of its type and weight.  You are also given an option to get a full
status display of the mech.  In the same vein, the mech list in the targeting
and Wait on Enemy options was also removed.  It was replaced with a scrolling
list of enemy mech.  This menu gives the name of the mech and pilot and
defaults to the last target mech.  In use it seems to be as fast, if not
faster than the old menu and gives you better control.  I also changed the
routine that names computer mech pilots.  The computer now generates true
random names (although some of them are pretty strange).  You will now have
no idea how many mechs you are fighting until they become visible.
     I also changed the 'Wait on Time' menu a little.  The amount of change
now changes dynamically.  If you increase/decrease more than 10 times in one
direction the program starts adding 10 seconds instead of 1.  Every 10 clicks
jumps it by a factor of 10.  If you change direction it drops back to 1.  It
sounds complicated, but it works quite well.
     In response to several requests I changed the Factory program to put 10
of the heat sinks in the engine.  The new Factory 'Heat Sink' menu item now
has two submenus, 'Change' and 'Install'.  'Change' is just like the old menu
item.  'Install' brings up a requestor that asks if you want to manually
install the heat sinks.  If you say no the computer will install all heat
sinks OVER the first 10.  If you say yes you will get a window with a display
of all internal areas.  You can click on any empty area, ".", to add a heat
sink.  Clicking on a heat sink, "H", will remove it.  The gadget at the
bottom keeps a running total of the remaining heat sinks left to install.
When all heat sinks are installed it changes to "Done" and you can exit.
     The Factory also has a new menu item, 'Hands'.  This is an optional item
that allows you to remove hand and wrist actuators from the arms.  This will
give you two extra spaces in the arms (enough for an AC 20).  However, arms
without hands will have a slightly higher chance of damaging weapons when
they punch, and of course, you can't pick up anything without a hand.  I
mention that, because the next major change will require the ability to pick
up stuff.
     I am currently working on updating ALL of the generic mech files to
remove the extra heat sinks, increase head armor to max, lower rediculous
amounts of ammo and remove hands where called for.  I will upload them as a
file when they are done.

End.