Before you start a game, you'll need to schedule it with a friend so they know when to connect. It helps if you have a live chat program such as AOL Instant Messenger. First you should decide who will be the host, and who will be the guest. The host goes first, and gets to choose if any of the optional tournament rules are on.
Hosting a game:
To begin hosting a game, choose "Host Game…" from the "File" menu. You will be prompted with this window:
Choose which color army you wish to play with the radio buttons on the left. Your opponent will play the other army. Check Silent Defense or Aggressor Advantage if you want this game to have those rules added (choose "Rules for Stratega" from the Apple menu for more information on these rules). When you have made your choices, click OK. After the main window with the board and pieces appears, the guest can connect and the game may begin.
Joining a game:
To join a game hosted by another player, choose "Join Game…" from the "File" menu. You will be prompted with this window:
You will need to have the IP address of the host in order to connect (choose "Rules for Stratega" from the Apple menu for more information). Since many Internet Service Providers do not offer static IP addresses, this may change every time the host signs on, so be sure you know the host's current IP address before attempting to connect. Click the "Add…" button to enter the name and IP address of the player you wish to connect to. When you enter it, it will still be there next time you choose to join a game, so you don't have to reenter names every time you join. After you have chosen a user to connect to, click the "OK" button, and you will see a progress bar indicating that it is opening a connection with the host. When the connection has been established, the progress window will close and the main window with the board and pieces will be shown. Now you can set up your pieces and begin the game.
Setting up your army:
To set up your pieces, simply drag them from the right side of the window onto the bottom 4 rows of the board. When you have set up all your pieces, and another player is connected, you can click the "Done" button to send your setup to your opponent. When your opponent is done setting up, you will see his or her pieces filling the top 4 rows of the board. When both players have sent their setups, the game begins and the host can now move a piece by dragging it to where he or she wants to move it. Players take turns moving pieces until one player wins (choose "Rules for Stratega" from the Apple menu for information on how to win, and how to move).
Other features:
Now that you've started a game, you can try some of the other features in Stratega. Choose "Show Chat" from the "File" menu, and you can chat with your opponent right from Stratega.
Choose "Game Stats" from the "File" menu to see how many pieces you've lost, and what they are.
If your opponent just took a turn and you missed it, choose "Replay Last Move" from the "File" menu to replay your opponent's move.
If you are sure you cannot win the game, and wish to surrender, choose "Submit Defeat" from the "File" menu. Your opponent will be declared the winner and the game will end.
Preferences:
Like most programs, Stratega lets you choose your own setting for some things. Choose "Preferences…" from the "Edit" menu, and you will see the preferences window:
In this window you can define various settings for Stratega. Here is a list of the settings, and what they do.
Simple Board: If on, the game board will be simpler and less confusing to look at.
Reversed rank numbers: If on, the piece numbers will be reversed. By default, the Marshal (the highest ranking piece) is number 1 (the lowest number). Some people find this ranking system confusing and would rather have the higher ranking pieces be higher numbers.
Hosting Defaults:
These simply set what options will automatically be checked when you choose to host a game. You can still turn them on or off from there, but this makes it easier if you almost always have additional rules on, or you prefer to play blue rather than red.
User name: The name that will appear in the chat next to everything you say.
Stratega is email-ware
If you like Stratega, send me some email at mhershberger@mac-addict.com. If you have any suggestions for new features, I'd love to hear them.
System Requirements:
Mac OS version 7.1 or greater
4 MB free RAM
Open Transport version 1.1 or greater
QuickTime 2.5 or later (only necessary to view the three additional boards)
Note: Stratega may not work properly behind a firewall.
Contact information:
Please send any feedback regarding this product to mhershberger@mac-addict.com.
Special thanks to Dustin Mierau and Alex Hershberger for extensive testing and support, and to the team at REAL Software (www.realsoftware.com) for making REALbasic.
Beta information:
This version of Stratega is beta software. This means there may still be bugs that I have not found. If you encounter any problems, please send them to mhershberger@mac-addict.com. Please include a detailed description of the problem and when it occured, which version of the Mac OS you are using, your computer model, Internet connection speed, and which version of Open Transport you are using.
You can find new releases of Stratega, along with other software I've made, at www.macsoftware.net/users/mjh.
Disclaimer:
In no event will the author of this software be liable for any special, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from possession, use, or malfunction of this product.
