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__ __ ___ ___ /\ __ |__|____|__|_ ___________ _____\ \ / / / \| \ \ _ _ /| \ ____ \ __ \\ \/ / / \ \|\ // \\ /_| |\/___/ // \ \\ / __ / /\ \ \// \\/ _ | _ _// DW \ \ \ / \__/__\ \|\ | \ | | | / \ \ \____/ / /\ \_ \___________/| \__|______\| |__|/ \__\_______/ / \__/ /__/ |__| |__| /__/ /__/ Presents:- The Docs Factory? -*- REALMS From GRAFTGOLD Documentation -*- -*- Cracked By: Fairlight Docs Typed By: /X\arvin -*- WELCOME ------- Welcome to Realms. Realms is more than a mere `god simulation' or `wargame'. Realms is a fully functioning fantasy world awaiting your interaction. This manual was produced to ensure that you get the very best out of this premium product. If you find the program or the documentation unsatisfactory in any way, drop us a line detailing in full the reasons of your dissatisfaction. We welcome your opions and your complaints. Send them to Customer Services, Realms, Virgin Games Software, 338A Ladbroke Grove, London W10 5AH. "In a moment that lasted forever, a bolt of living energy shot from the heavens, spanning the great divide of eternity." As the king's funeral ship sailed to the west, the young heir reflected on the sad events that had recently overtaken his father's - and now his - people. `Once again famine, poverty and war thrive in a world that is now divided. Once again, each realm vies to become the ultimate power...' he mused. In a fit of rage, the heir raised his fist to the skies, swearing vengeance. His mind in turmoil, he appealled to the Nordic gods for justice. As if in answer to his cry, the growing clouds replied with a deafening clash of thunder. Blinded by grief, the heir failed to notice the clouds billow and gradually change their shape to the form of the great god Wotan. In a moment that lasted forever, a bolt of living energy shot from the heavens, spanning the great divide of eternity. All sound was lost as the divine messenger cut an electric path towards oblivion. The heir stood in awe as the pure force, silenced by it's speed, hurtled towards him. A billion volts burned into his wrist and flowed over and through his body. Yet he felt no pain - only the unprecedented power of the heavenly serpent. For an instant he stood between two worlds, overwhelmed by visions of ages past and every possible future, the reality superimposed on the image of the present... Then it faded like a dream leaving only what was and what shall be. With a final burst of cosmic force, the symbol of the serpent materialised and the heir understood. His divine mandate to rule firmly in his grasp, the high King turned to face his cowering people... "There can only be one." CREDITS ------- Storyline, Design & Coding -------------------------- Steve Turner Visuals ------- Michael Field Additional Visuals ------------------ John Lilley Music & Sound FX ---------------- Jason Page PC Programming -------------- David O'Conner & Steve Turner Amiga & Atari ST Programming ---------------------------- Jason Page, Gary J Foreman & Steve Turner Executive Producer ------------------ Andrew Wright Producers --------- Andy Green & Lyle J Hall II Assistant Producer ------------------ Alex Martin Software Manager ---------------- Ian Mathias Playtester ---------- Johnny "Psycho" Martin Artwork ------- Dermot Power Artwork & Design Managers ------------------------- Andrew Wright & Nige Webb Artwork Layout Design FX Manufacturing Co-ordinator -------------------------- Rose Dalton This Manual Copy ---------------- G John Penn & Steve Turner EQUIPMENT NEEDED ---------------- Amiga ----- Compatible with: A500, A1000, A2000, B2000, A2500, A3000, A5000. Runs in 512k RAM (Enhanced features with 1MB RAM) Atari ST -------- Compatible with: 520ST, 520STe, 1040ST, 1040STe. Runs in 512k RAM (Enhanced features with 1MB RAM) PC -- Compatible with: All IBM PC Clones Supports Display Modes: EGA, VGA, TGA, MCGA Runs in 640k RAM Opitional Recommendation ------------------------ Compatible colour monitor Backing Up Realms ----------------- Try X-Copy!.. LOADING REALMS -------------- LOADING ------- Amiga ----- If your computer is turned on, turn it off. After at least 30 seconds, turn on your computer. This will remove any virus which may be present and so minimise the risk of infecting and possibly destroying your Realms disk. Insert the Realms PROGRAM disk into the internal disk drive (DF0:). The program will load and run automatically. When prompted on screen, remove the Realms Program Disk from the internal drive and insert the Realms DATA disk. Press a mousebutton, the joystick fire button or the SPACE BAR to continue. Atari ST -------- If your computer is turned on, turn it off. After at least 30 seconds, turn on your computer. This will remove any virus which may be present and so minimise the risk of infecting and possibly destroying your Realms disk. Insert the Realms PROGRAM disk into the internal disk drive (DF0:). The program will load and run automatically. When prompted on screen, remove the Realms Program Disk from the internal drive and insert the Realms DATA disk. Press a mousebutton, the joystick fire button or the SPACE BAR to continue. IBM PC & Compatibles -------------------- Turn on your computer. When the `C>' prompt is displayed, insert the Realms PROGRAM Disk into the disk drive. Type `A:' then press the `RETURN' key. When the `A>' prompt is given, type `REALMS' and press the `RETURN' key. The program will load and run automatically. When prompted on screen, remove the Realms Program Disk from the disk drive and insert the Realms DATA Disk. Press a mousebutton, the joystick firebutton or the SPACE BAR to continue. PC Hard Disk Installation ------------------------- To install Realms onto a hard disk drive, type `INSTALL' instead of `REALMS' and press the `RETURN' key at the `A>' prompt. Now follow the on-screen instructions. LOADING PROBLEMS ---------------- In the unlikely event that Realms fails to load, turn off your machine and remove and extraneuos external peripherals such as printers (leave the monitor or television connected) before repeating the loading procedure. If Realms still refuses to load then pop the faulty disk (not the packaging) into a suitablty-sized jiffy bag or padded envelope, along with your name and address. To aid the trouble-shooting department, please provide in as much detail as possible your equipment configuration (not forgetting any RAM expansion devices). Send the package to: REALMS Replacements, Virgin Games Ltd, 338 Ladbroke Grove, London W10 5AH. Virgin Games Ltd will endeavour to replace the faulty disk within 28 days of its receipt. SUMMARY OF OBJECTIVES --------------------- RUNNING REALMS -------------- Realms is a simulation of a mythical land where cities strive for dominance at any cost. The player controls an empire - a realm - with the immediate goal of surival and ultimate objective of ruling the known world and its multi-racial population of elves, dwarves, orcs, amazons and humans. The means to domination may be fair or foul. Just make sure that the only realm remaining to rule supreme is yours... GAMEPLAY FLOW ------------- Realms is presented through six types of display from which key functions are activated. The following diagram shows how the displays interact.. ___________ | | | Battle | | Screen | |___________| ___________ _____|_____ ___________ | | | | | | | Inside |_| Playfield |_| Army | | Fortress | | | | Screen | |___________| |___________| |___________| _____|_____ _____|_____ | | | | | Disk | | City | | Operation | | Screens | |___________| |___________| THE EIGHT WORLDS OF REALMS -------------------------- Realms offers eight wildly different scenarios to play. When Realms is first loaded, an introductory Scenario is automatically included. Only two races are present here: Elves and Orcs. To access the seven, increasingly difficult scenarios, simply make use of the load facility found on the Disk Operations screen (see DISK OPERATIONS). The Three Known Kingdoms ------------------------ There's only one thing Orcs hate more than Dwarves - and that's Elves. All three races are found in this scenario. Island Realms ------------- This introduces the essential use of ships. Amazons, Humans, Vikings are the races found here. The Great Divide ---------------- An inland sea divides two continents populated by Barbarians, Orcs, Dwarves and Elves. The Isle Of Chaos ----------------- The Isle Of Choas is a seafaring realm. Dwarves, Barbarians, Orcs and Elves fight it out in this land. The Northlands -------------- Scandinavia is revisited with Amazons, Dwarves, Barbarians and Vikings. The Eastern Isles ----------------- A string of islands inhabited by Vikings, Amazons, Orcs, Elves and Dwarves. Realms Of The West ------------------ Mind your back - some cities are a little too close for comfort! Make the most of the Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, Barbarians and Amazons. CONTROLS -------- Mouse ----- Ensure that a compaible mouse is plugged into it's usual hole, ie, the Amiga port marked `1 Joystick', the Atari ST port marked `0', or the PC-compatible's relevant interface. Joystick -------- A compatible joystick can be used to mimic the mouse's behaviour. Note that this means of input is NOT availible for the Amiga and Atari ST versions or Realms. MOVE POINTER - Cursor Keys Cluster FIREBUTTON - Space Bar PLACE POINTER ON NEXT FUNCTION - Tab PLACE POINTER ON LAST FUNCTION - SHIFT + Tab Convenience Keys ---------------- PAUSE ACTION - F1 QUIT CURRENT SCENARIO TO DISK OPERATIONS - F10 QUIT TO DOS - Esc Activating Functions -------------------- There are two means of activating Realms, both of them via a pointer. The Select Pointer ------------------ The Select Pointer is for selecting functions. (Note that the pointer changes changes shape when certain functions are active - see POINTERS for further details. The first method of activating a function is the most `traditional', and that's the use of icons, or small pictures representing the functions in question. The action is performed by touching its respective icon with the pointer then pressing a mouse button (or a joystick firebutton or the space bar). The other method of activating a function is more direct. Simply point to a character or object on the playfield (see THE PLAYFIELD) and press a mouse button (or a joystick firebutton or the space bar). Pointers -------- 1 The Select Pointer. Select Function. 2 The Focus Circle Pointer. View in more detail an area or the map, a unit and so on. 3 The Target Pointer. Select a target. 1) <- 2) O 3) X INSIDE THE FORTRESS ------------------- Develop the overall stratagy and monitor it's progress from here. Scales ______________________________________|___________ | __________ | | Dwarf Realm / ______ \ | _| ___________________________ / _|_ || _|_ \ | | || | | || | | | || | |_____|__|_____| | | || | | | || | | | || | | _| || | | | | || | | | | || | | | | || | | | | || | | | |_||___________________________| | | | ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ _ _ _ | The World | | || || || || | = _=__=__=__=_ | Map | |___||___||___||___||___| |_| |____________| | |____|____|____|____|____|____|____|________|______| | | | | | | |________| Disk | | | | | | Access | | | | | Treasury Armies | | | Tax Rate | | | Tax Routes | Tax Rate Alteration | Focus The World Map ------------- The known world is shown in relief form. Any realms in existence are also shown here but as circular markers. The largest marker represents the realm's capital city. The cities comprising the player's realm are yellow and are always shown on this map, as are the capital citys of other realms. Friendly capital cities of other realms. Friendly captial cities are shown as blue markers, while enemy cities are red. The cities in a realm are displayed on the map by pointing the arrow at a captial city and pressing either mouse button. The landscape area last viewed by the player is shown by a white marker. Disk Operations --------------- Access the disk operations (See DISK OPERATIONS below) Armies ------ Displays on the World Map the whereabout's of each realm's armies. Only the armier of the chosen realm will be shown. Simply select the captial city of a realm to see the postion of it's armies. (Note that the chosen realms cities are automactically shown when a capital city is selected). A second press of the mouse button while pointing to this icon turns of the display. Tax Routes ---------- A realm comprises at least one city and has a capital, to which flows all tax acquired from other cities within the realm. Selecting this icon will show on the map the tax flow from city to city and ultimately the capital city for the realm currently selected. An animated line reveals the flow of taxes. Taxes from the cities not connected to the capital do not reach it and cannot be spent. If a tax route is severed, the cities will attempt to divert the tax, but may not take the best route. The empire can be streamlined by changing the tax flow routes. With the tax route indicator active, point to the player's capital city and press a mouse button. Point to any city within the player's realm and press a mouse button - the tax route will change to the next availible route but only if an alternative is availible. No change means that no alternative route is possible. A city may be completely cut off and so be incapable of forming any routes at all, in which case the player should conquer adjacent cities to relink the stranded one. Focus ----- The player is not a diety and so lacks omniscience. The player does however have the gift of far sight - the ability to view anywhere within the known world. Press a mouse button while the arrow points to this icon - the arrow will change into a Focus Circle Pointer... The Focus Circle Pointer ------------------------ O - Move the Focus Circle Pointer to any position on the map and press a mouse button to view in greater detail the desired area (see THE PLAYFIELD). To turn off the Focus Circle Pointer, simply click on the focus icon. Tax Rate Alteration ------------------- Increase and decrease the tax rate. The pile of coins to the immediate right of this icon will grow or shrink by one coin for every alteration. The scales to the top right of this display will alter too, to show the predicted tax effect achieved. Tax Rate -------- Shows the current rate of tax. The greater the quanity of coins, the higher the tax rate. Each coin represents ten percent of a city's total produce. Treasury -------- These four piles of coins represent the treasury of the player's realm. This comprises the balance of all taxes and other money and grain which have reached the capital city. A single coin represents the pay of one thousand men for a year on the lowest possible pay, or it could feed four thousand people for a year, depending on grain prices. Treasury (Scales) -------- These show whether the tax accured from the player's realm can support its armies. The tax is represented by the coins in the left-hand scale. When the scale holding the soldier is lower than that holding the coins, the realm's total income is not sizeable enough to support the armies and money is lost each season. When the scale holding the coins is lower then the realm's income is large enough to support the armies and so the treasury will grow. The predicted tax change which determines the status of these scales is based on the ammount collected in the previous season. Note that if cities are won or lost or their links are severed from the tax route then this may not be the amount of tax actually collected. THE PLAYFIELD ------------- Time runs and events occur only when this view is employed. Activity in the world is halted when any other view is in use. __________________________________________________ _| ________________ | | || | | | || | | | || | | ___| || | | | | || | | | | || | | | |_||________________| | | | ___ ___ __ | | ___| | | | |_ / \______ | | | | |___| |___| | \__/ | | | | | ___ ___ | || | | | | _| | | | | | /__\ | | | | | | |___| |___| ||____| | | | | | | ________|___|___________|_______________________ |_ | | | || | | | || |_ | | | ||________|___|___________|_______________________||_| | | | | |_________|___|___________|________________________| | | | | | | | | | | Focus | | | Message | | | Select Unit Message Scroll | Exit To Map | Last Used Crystal Ball | | World Map View Units When the arrow is pointed at an object on the map, a brief description of it is shown in the information panal below. A brief description of each of these playfield objects and the way they are represented on the playfield screen appears further down... (It shows pictures of the graphics that make up the land/army symbols etc.. Believe it or not i can't draw a cavalry unit in ansi, but most of em are obvious anyways!) A city. (castle) A single man represents an army of up to 1,000 men. A cavalry unit of upto 1,000 men. (Bandy legged guy) An army camping out in the open. (Pass) An army sieging a city. (Siege Tower) An army unit is barracked inside the walls of a city. Such an army cannot be attacked directly without the city being sieged first, but it can be selected by the player. A fleet of troops travelling on water. If there are no sails showing, then the ship is anchored. A Port. (Anchor) Viewing The Landscape --------------------- There are two means to this end. To move the landscape over short distances, point to one of the four surrounding edges of the display. The second method is best used to move greater distances at speed. Simply point to the desired location then press a mouse button. The main landscape in the small map. Press and hold down a mouse button then move the mouse to `pull' the white square around the small map and continually affect the main landscape display accordingly. The Land Types -------------- Six distinctive types of land comprise the Playfield. Grassland is smooth and green. Forest is more contoured than the Grassland. Desert is barren and brown. Rock is barren and brown. Cultivated Land is brown with visible plough furrow marks. Snow is, understandably, white. World Map --------- This half-size map of the known world shows only the cities. (Remember that tax routes and armies are viewed via the main map inside the castle - see INSIDE THE CASTLE.) The small white square indicates the area of land shown in isometric form to the right. Message Crystal Ball -------------------- The player's realm and subjects communicate via this crystal ball. The player will be informed of the outbreak of plague, famine and so on. These messages are ignored at the player's peril. When a message is waiting to be read, the crystal ball will sparkle. To view the message in the scroll at the bottem of the screen, point to the sparkling crystal ball and press a mouse button. The landscape view is immediatly positioned to the sender so immediate action can be taken. Beware messages are queued but may be lost if left unread for too long. Messages regarding battles are shown inside the crystal ball as a pair of swords. Note that battle related messages take priority over all others. Simply point to the swords and press a mouse button to go straight to the battle (see THE BATTLE SCREEN). The player may wish to avoid the battle with the penalty of not recieing any other messages until the fight is over. Message Scroll -------------- Information displayed here concerns the state of play and items on the playfield. Point the arrow to an object on the playfield and a description is given on this scroll. Any messages from units or cities are displayed in preference. A message read from the ball disappears from the scroll after approximatly five seconds. Alternatively, point the arrow to the scroll and press a mouse button to remove a message from the scroll. Exit To Map ----------- Point here and press a mouse button to return to inside the castle. Select Last Unit Used --------------------- Point here and press a mouse button to view the last commanded. This is useful for checking on the progress of one unit or to see if it has obeyed its orders, especially when its target is situated on another part of the world. Focus ----- The player's far sight extends further. Point here and press a mouse button to change the arrow into a Focus Circle Pointer. Now touch any unit or city on the main playfield and press a mouse button to view it in greater detail. View Units ---------- Point to either arrow and press a mouse button to view in turn each lead unit (the one followed by other units). The arrow pointing up searches in one direction through the units, the arrow pointing down in the other. UNIT FUNCTIONS -------------- A unit can be ordered and thus moved when the pointer is an arrow. Point to the unit to be moved and press mouse button. The arrow will change to target pointer. To show that the unit has been selected it will be highlighted. Point to the target, be it a map location, city or another unit, and press a mouse button. The pointer will change back to an arrow to show that the order has been successfully executed. (The target will not be selected until the mouse button is pressed, so movement around the landscape can be achieved as previously detailed. The other screens are also accessible). To cancel the operation simply point to the chosen unit and press a mouse button. Note that when a unit is targetted, all followers also obey new orders unless they are loyal. Ships ----- A man can be targetted on anything but sea. A ship on the other hand can only be targetted on the sea, beach or a port. If a man is ordered to move a travelling ship or an impossible target he will try his best to reach it before giving up and attempting to return home. Any unit of men can travel by sea if it first enters a port. Ports are represented by a castle and a anchor. Point to the flag outside the port and press a mouse button then select a destination in the same manner. The men will walk to the sea where they are `replaced' by a ship. The ship will then sail to its destination. Note that navigation is poor and the ships will follow the coastline. If ships are required to sail large distances or awkward routes they may get lost and further guidance will be needed. When a ship reaches a port it is `replaced' by a unit of men. Note that you can target these men on the port from which they came, but any other sea operation requires the possession of and entry to a port city. Note also, that fleets which meet other fleets on their journey may fight independently of the player. Armies ------ Large armies can be built by ordering troops to follow each other. It's favourable to build up large armies to invade enemy territory, especially as it's easier to control a few armies instead of dozens of individual units. The positioning of large armies will be strategic. The easiest way to build an army is to target units or cities. All units in the city will form a single army which can be ordered out of the city by selecting any flag. By targeting the leader onto an opposing army the train of troops will close for battle. When enemy units collide and only a few units are involed a skirmish results. Casualties are immediatly calcualted and one side may retreat. If many units are involved in battle then the battle scene is presented so the player can act as general and order the individual units (see THE BATTLE SCREEN). Targets ------- OWN UNIT The men will form a larger army. From then on, only the leader has to be targetted. The army will split and units are forced to retreat by the enemy. ENEMY UNIT The men will intercept the enemy, laying siege if they are inside a city. SIEGERS The men will attack the siegers. CITY The men will enter their own city, merging with any units already present. During its stay, the army recoups morale and recuits. If the city belongs to another realm, the men will ley siege. If the men were already sieging a city they will storm its walls. This can prove costly if the city is well defended but it is a quick means of winning a city. Selecting a man and selecting a target will cause that man to become a leader of the troops following him in the chain. THE ARMY SCREEN --------------- Unit Description | | __________________________________________________ | _| | | | | ORC HEAVY CAVALRY FROM NAKUZZ | Adjust |_| | /|\ | | Units | | 1000 WARRIORS EXPERT WITH MISSLES. A | _ \|/ | Pay |_| VERY LOYAL UNIT. THEY FEEL UNBEATABLE = |__| | ___ ___ | | _________________| | | | |___ | | |___| |___| | | | | ___ ___ | | | | _______________| | | | |_ | | | | |___| |___| | | | | | | ___ ___ | | | | _ _ | | _ | | | | | | | | _=__=__=_ | | _=__=_ |___| |___| | | | ||_________|_________|_|______|______|_____________| | Buy Weapon | | | | | | | Treasury | | Equipments | | Buy Armour | | Price | | | | | Exit Screen | Buy Missle | | Disband Unit Buy Armour This screen is shown when an army is formed or selected. The text accompanying the picture of the warrior type details the unit's size, capability and morale. Equipment is bought from the stores to the far right, and the pay and recruitment details are adjusted. It is down to the player to decide whether or unit is to be highly paid elite or rough and ready but cheap and disposible. Or somewhere inbetween. Note that with enemy forces can be viewed but not tampered with. The different races have different skills with different weapons. Note that some weapons conflict, for example a bowman is emcumbered by a shield. When it comes to equipping troops it's not merely a matter of buying the most equipment. The best armies have specilised units, some fast and light, others slow but deadly and so on. Treasury -------- Reveals the quanity of cash currently availible to the player. Equipment Price --------------- The current price of new equipment is bought, the picture of the warrior is altered accordingly. Buy Armour ---------- Helmets and body armour are availible. Point here and press a mouse button to view the possible combinations: helmet, body armour, helmet and body armour, and no armour. Note that armoured units move slower in battle but have better defence. Buy Weapon ---------- Point here and press mouse button to view the availible weapons: short sword, long sword, axe and warhammer. Short Sword: Standard light weapon, effective in close combat. Long Sword: Favourite hand weapon of the elves, heaier hitting power. Axe: Deadly weapon in the hands of a Dwarf - Has great effect against armoured opponent. War Hammer: Favoured by both the Dwarves and Orc races. Cumbersome but deadly against any armour. Buy Missle ---------- Point here and press mouse button to view the availible missles: bows and arrows, javelin and spear. Bows & Arrows: Ten shots, long range. Javelin: Two shots, destroy enemy shields, medium range. Spear: Single shot, destroy enemy shields, low range but cause the most damage. Buy Shield ---------- Point here and press mouse button to view the availible shield types: wicker, wooden and bronze. Wicker Shield: Light and effective against missles. Wooden Shield: Heavy, but provides reasonable defensive cover. Bronze Shield: Heavy, but provides best cover. Disband Unit ------------ Point here and press a mouse button to disband a unit. (Bear in mind that the men will join the city's population.) This operation is cancelled with a second press of a mouse button while pointing here. Exit Screen ----------- Point here and press a mouse button to return to the previous screen. At this point all purchases are made and the price deducted from the treasury. Note that this screen cannot be left if the treasury cannot support the purchases. Some items will have tto be discarded. Adjusts Units Pay ----------------- Point to either arrow and press a mouse button to raise or lower the unit's pay from between zero and five coins. The pay is shown in the palm of the hand between the two arrows. Note that low paid units have low morale and replacments are not easily recuited. A gem represents payment from looting cities instead of a wage. The unit will expect regular looting sessions, so beware. __________________________________________________ | | | YOUR CAPITAL OF NAKUZZ | | THE ORC POPULATION OF 65500 IS INCREASING | | THEY FEEL ABSOLUTLY UNBEATABLE | | THEIR LOYALTY IS ABSOLUTE. __ |_ | /\ | | | / | | | ___\ |_| | / | | | ELIDON | | | | | | |\ ___ ___ | | | _ _ | > BUILD CITY _ | | | || | | _=_=_=_=_ |/ _=_=_=_ |___| |___|| Big Arrows |_|_________|__________________|_______|___________| | | |_______| | | | | | | | | | Treasury | | | View | | | | Option | Select Current | Exit Option Option | | Option Cost There are two means of viewing a city in detail. Either use the gift of far sight (see THE MAIN DISPLAY) or simply point to a city on the main landscape and press a mouse button. Remember that a brief description of the city will be given in the panal at the bottem of the screen when the arrow points to it. The unique picture of the city shows its size, which changes accordingly as the city grows and declines. A small city may comprise more than a few mud huts. As it grows, walls and larger, more solid buildings will appear. Eventually the ciy will expand to encompass public buildings, temples and even palaces. The text at the top of the screen details the state of the city shown. Note that the text changes to reflect the option at the bottem of the screen. With a city viewed in detail there are many options availible. Treasury -------- Reveals the amount of cash currently availible to the player. Current Option -------------- Reveals the option currently selected by the player, and is complemented by the Option Cost display. View Option ----------- Point to either of the arrows and press a mouse button to view availible options. Not all options below will be availible - only those which can be used are shown, and this is not cost dependent. The options depend on whose city is being viewed and change according to the situation. Select Option ------------- This arrow head shows the direction of cash flow - either to or from the treasury. Simply point to this arrow head (the text option or cost display) and press a mouse button to select the option displayed. The cost of the option is deducted from the treasury. If the option costs too much a message to that effect is displayed in place of the option description. Once an option is brought, it may not be immediately availible again. Option Cost ----------- This varies depending on the nature of the option. Taking over a city, for example, costs nothing - initially, at least, as thereafter the player has an extra city to manage. Exit ---- Point here and press the left-mouse button to return the previous screen. Alternatively, point anywhere else on the screen and press the right-mouse button. Big Arrows ---------- Neighbouring cities are indicated by these silver and gold coloured arrows either side of the screen, with the name of the cities shown beneath the arrows. The silver arrows belong to cities that are not part of the player's realm. The gold arrows are for cities within the player's realm. This provides a useful shortcut to check on several cities without returning to the main display. Simply point to the relevant titled arrow and press a mouse button. THE BUY OPTION -------------- GRAIN The price of a year's worth of seeds for the current population is shown. Beware of the price fluctuations. Remember: if a population is increasing, the grain may not last as long as expected. LAND Allows growth to continue. Whenever this option is chosen an area of land is cleared and planted. Eventually a city will reach its maximum size and there will be no more land. Land automatically falls out of production and so will have to be recultivated. Cultivated land can be seen on main display. HEALTH The cost of cleaning up the city and caring for the sick is shown. This option may have to be used several times if a plague has stuck the city. Note that plague quickly affects crowded cities and spreads along trade routes. BUILD CITY A standard cost is shown for encouraging new citizens to the city. Wooden Walls: The full cost is shown but they take time to build. Stone Walls: These are expensive and take longer to complete than wooden walls but they do provide the best protection against looters. The erection of stone walls can be begun before wooden ones are complete. PAY TRIBUTE A seiging force may demand a tribute to leave. The size of the tribute depends on the relationship between their realm and the player's. A payment will relieve the siege but they may soon be back for more. RECRUIT ARMY The text at the top of the screen details the quality of the next 1,000 troops availible. The recruitment cost shown is the basic cost for basic training and the cheapest equipment. When the option is chosen the Army Screen is displayed (see THE ARMY SCREEN). RECRUIT CAVALRY This is similar to the army option except a horse regiment is formed. Note that some races make better horsemen than others. THE TAKE OPTIONS ---------------- CITIZEN LEVY The amount of tax that can be raised is shown. This is taken directly from the people and never proves popular, so only use the Citizen Levy for instant cash in emergencies. TAKE TRIBUTE When sieging an enemy city, the player may be offered to end the siege. Accepting this tribute automatically sends the player's troops home. SURRENDER OPTIONS ----------------- If a city surrenders following a siege, the following options are availible... LOOT CITY The city is left untouched but its wealth is taken in a civilised manner. RAVAGED CITY The army is given freedom to pillage the city. This works for the army's morale but enrages the enemy. RAZE CITY The ultimate sanction. The city's people are sold, the buildings are burned and all wealth is taken. The enemy will take time to recover and will more often that not desire vengence. ANNEXE CITY The best option of all for reducing the enemy's strength and improving the player's - provided the money and men are availible. This costly exercise enrages the enemy but the people may be more appreciative depending on how they have been treated in the past. BATTLE SCREEN ------------- Morale ____________|_____________ ___________|__________________________|___________ | __ | | |__| |__ | | | |__| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | / / / / / | Attack Factor | V | Defence Factor | | | | | | Missile Quantity | ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ O O O | Troop Quantity | | || || || || | | | |___||___||___||___||___| ELVISH | |__________________________________________________| | | |_____| | |_____| | | | | | Order | | Fire Troop Attack | Rotate Missile Type | Unit Change Formation Full-scale battle take place against a backdrop similar to that used for the main landscape display. Army units are shown as groups of men which move realistically over the contours. Before the fighting takes place, the units from both sides march one at a time onto the field and take up position. The units are positioned in either a centre of flank position depending on their strengths. The faster or missile- bearing troops will take the flanks and the heaviest troops the centre. The outcome of the battle depends on tatical elements and not just the size of the armies. Terrain postion is also a factor - units on high ground have an advantage. The battle proper will not begin until the command is issued. This gives the player time to view the troops on both sides and form a stratagy. Note that extra units may enter the battle after it has begun. A unit is selected by pointing to its flag-bearing leader and pressing a mouse button. Information about the enemy units is shown to the left of the screen, while information about the player's units is shown to the right. Morale ------ Flags represent the morale of each side and change as the battle progresses. The lower the flag, the lower the army's morale. Units will take the initiative of routing or retreating if thier morale is broken. Routing units may cause other units to route also. Order Attack ------------ Point here and press a mouse button to order the attack to begin. The order icon will change to a bugle: Point to this and press a mouse button to sound the retreat. Note that if the troops' morale is significantly low they may well take the initiative to retreat before the fighting begins. The descision to retreat can be reversed by re-ordering an attack, however the units which have already left the battlefield will not return. Fire Missle ----------- First point to a unit armed with missles then press a mouse button. Point to this icon and press a mouse button. The icon will highlight. Now point to the target and press a mouse button. The chosen unit will unleash a missle attack in the target's direction. Note that is is possible to kill player's own troops. Rotate Unit ----------- First, point at a unit and press a mouse button. Now point to the required direction of turn and press a mouse button until the unit faces the correct way. Change Formation ---------------- First, point at a unit and press a mouse button. Now point here and press a mouse button to change the formation. Wedge: The best attack formation. Phalanx: A good all round formation. Line: Useful for pluggin gaps to hold the enemy. Square: The best defensive formation. ORDERING TROOPS --------------- Once initiated, the battle takes place in real time. Casualties are calculated to reflect the combat skills, armour and weapon types, and races of the troops. The direction the troops face and their relative heights are also taken into account. Troops are ordered to move in much the same way as they are on the main landscape display. Point to the unit leader and press a mouse button - the arrow will change to a movement pointer. Point this at the target, be it land or unit, and press a mouse button. The unit will than move. Note that frienly units pass through each other but move slower. DISK OPERATIONS --------------- Read Disk --------- Point here and press a mouse button to view a list (or directory) of all the saved situations on the disk in the computer's internal drive. Retrieving Saved Situations --------------------------- Call up the directory of the disk. If the title of the saved situation is not visible, use the arrows to the left of the display to view the other titles on the disk. Now point to the desired save situation and press a mouse button to retrieve it. As soon as the saved situation has been retrieved, play will automatically begin from scratch. Write To Disk ------------- Point here and press a mouse button to view a directory of save slots (a maximium of five are availible on the Amiga and Atari ST - PC owners have a near-unlimited number) on the disk in the computer's internal drive. Saving Situations ----------------- So there isn't enough time to finish the campaign in hand? Fear not. Simply save the situation to disk. Call up the directory of save slots. If the desired save slot is not visible, use the arrows to the left of the display to view the other slots on the disk. Now point to the desired save slot and press a mouse button. When prompted, use the keyboard to edit the title of the slot. Press `RETURN' key to save the current state of play to the disk in the computer's internal drive using the chosen title. Up Arrow -------- Point here and press a mouse button to step back one title at a time to the first saved situation on the disk. Down Arrow ---------- Point here and press a mouse button to advance one title at a time to the last situation on the disk. Exit ---- Point here and press a mouse button to return to the state of play prior to accessing this screen. HINTS ON PLAYING REALMS ----------------------- BEGINNER'S GUIDE ---------------- Once Realms has loaded and play has begun and the Inside Fortress is presented, select a capital city. Use the mouse to point the arrow to the red capital city marker then press the left-hand mouse button to view the alternate realm availible. The chosen realm will turn yellow. Once a realm has been chosen, press the right-hand mouse button or select the Focus icon using the left-hand mouse button. `Your Realm Of (Name)' will appear above the map. Play is ready to begin. Select the upwards arrow to adjust the taxes - set the coins to around five high. Select the Focus icon to turn the Select Pointer into a Focus Circle Pointer. Position this pointer over your capital city (the largest yellow marker) and press the left-hand mouse button to view the capital on the playfield. Around the capital city you will see the units of troops, represented by small flags. Select any flag to change the Select Pointer to a Target Pointer. Select any enemy city on the small worldmap in the top left-hand corner. That city will appear on the playfield. Select it on the playfield to target the troop unit. Select the Troop icon to return the playfield view to show your men beginning their march. Select your capital city from the playfield to enter the City Screen. Ensure that the city has enough food and that its overall health is good. Take a look at the outer cities too, by selecting the relevant marker on the small map then selecting the city on the playfield. Now either recruit troops or build a stone wall if the city is likely to be attacked and stock up on food if necessary. The enemy won't wait long to attack your outlying cities, so take a look at the opposition via the worldmap. If you can't find the cities, return to the Fortress Screen by selecting the exit icon. Now select the Troops icon and select the red enemy capital to reveal the position of its troops. The fate of the realm is in your hands... Decide which cities are likely to be attacked and either install troops or build brick walls and stock up on food. The enemy always pick off cities next to them. Once your house is in order, pick off the outlying enemy cities to weaken the realm's strength. Continually check the worldmap to see what the enemy is playing at. Form reasonably-sized armies of about six units - smaller armies are easily destroyed, while larger armies are more difficult to move and deplete other areas. Battles should be forced on your terms. Try to outnumber the enemy and stay away from their large forces. Every now and then, nurse growing cities to generate cash and men. Try to keep your empire compact. Don't spread yourself too thin. And try not to attack more than a single enemy at once. FIGHTING BATTLES ---------------- Close-quarters combat formed the bulk of ancient battles, which is why they were more often than not bloody affairs. To the casual observer, it would seem that little if any stategy was involved. Many factors determined the outcome of battle. Each unit type has its own advantages and disadvantages which determine the best strategy. Armies were split into units of men. Each unit was split into ranks. A unit could only fight well to its front, with each rank supporting the one in front, the unit's attention had to be in one direction. Early strategies involved manoeuvres to outflank an enemy and attack from the sides or peferably the rear. Heavy infantry equipped with helmet armour and bodyshield was a formidable fighting force machine. Disciplined units could be locked in combat with similar forces without suffering many casualties until one side broke formation or was outmanoeuvred. Their role was to hold the centre of the line of battle in defence or in attack to grind away at the enemy unyil their resolve broke. A heavy infantryman could always beat a lightly armed infantryman if the units were locked in combat. The light infantryman's advantage was speed. He was able to deliver missle attacks then retreated unmolested, giving the light infantryman an advantage if combat could not be forced. Light infantrymen were also cheaper to train and equip and so were far more disposible. Horsemen had the advantage of speed, although before the spur was invented that were at a disadvantage against similarly equipped infantrymen. It was difficult for such horsemen to maintain a tight formation as they had to control horses as well as fight. If an infantry unit could withstand the initial shock of impact, it could almost always outfight a cavalry unit. A heavy cavalry unit with its weaponry and speed could beat a lightly armed infantry unit. The horsemen's main role was to turn the lighter flanks of an army before using their speed to get behind the heavier units where they could demolish them. Light horsemen armed with bows have defeated the best diciplined infantry units by staying out of reach and continually raining arrows on them. The mounted archer was at a disadvantage from grounded bowmen, but he was near-untouchable by heavy infantrymen. Before the battle try to equip some units with missles and the others with heavy armour and shields. Horsemen are useful as they are fast. Multi-racial armies are the best provided their appropriate skills are taken into consideration. Avoid full frontal assaults at all costs! Use missle attacks to soften up enemy units. Draw the enemy out and break their formations. Get behind the enemy or outflank them if at all possible. Use arrows early on in a battle. There's precious little time to order units when the enemy attacks. Avoid the more powerful enemy units. Smash the weaker ones and the whole army may route. SOME OBSERVATIONS ----------------- Remember that the known world only changes during the main display. Realms grow and decline and armies move from city to city. Beware: the player's own armies and cities may revolt and take other ciies with them. The larger a realm, the greater the internal problems. Large realms do not quickly become dominant. Bad harvests can effect any realm. Plague or disease can spread from city to city via the trade routes. A healthy city with pleanty of food will grow. Food depends on the quality and quantity of land and farmers. The more people recruited, the more land there is to farm. A city's loyaltyincreases every year if it's population is pleased. The citizens' loyalty falls rapidly if the city is looted or suffers another disaster. A discontent city may become independent or even join another realm. Aiding other realms by improving their cities' health or buying grain doesn't guarentee their friendliness. A realm will always put ambition before friendship. ADVANCED STRATAGIES: Stratagies for a multi realm enviroment. ------------------- Dont hang around in the realtime playfield. Get to the easy conquests before the enemy. Decide who to fight and who to help. Avoid fighting two realms. Leave them to fight each other. Consolidate your forces in a core of connecting cities before building them up and braching out. GRAFTGOLD - AND THE CREATION OF REALMS The Company ----------- Graftgold was formed in 1983 by designers and programmers Steve Turner and Andrew Braybrook, with the intent of "bringing professionalism into a market which was at the time very young and unprofessional." During its prolific growth period, the company has managed to remain as tight and efficient as when it was founded, and has to its name a string of award-winning successes with both original product and conversion work. Realms represents the culmination of over eight years of work based on a concept Steve Turner first envisaged in 1986. Only now has technology proved viable enough a platform on which to realise Steve's dream. For Graftgold's next project, the team is looking at four or five diverse ideas, ranging from arcade to sports to stratagy. ..!THE END!.. ..!If You Enjoy This Game Please Consider Buying The Original!.. /X\arv Sends Quick Greetz To- All the guys in Anthrox, Beast, Crap, Dan, Dave!, Dream Warrior, Ice, Lonestar, Manx, Megadrive, Rage, SabbatH, Scott, Sigma, Skavenger, Slayer, Splatt, Storm God, Tornado, Tekky, The Undertaker & Zigor. Not sure how many spelling mistakes r included in this file but it can't be more than were originally in the manual.. CALL THE ANTHROX ELITE ONLY.. >0< DAY OLD.. BOARDS -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- -*- CITY LIMITS - (UKHQ) +44-XXXX-XXXX -*- -*- C.A.L. - (UKHQ) +44-XXXX-XXXX -*- -*- HYPERSPACE - (GHQ!) +49-5916-4755 -*- -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-