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Panzer General 3D Assault
DEMO Version
Readme 6/21/99
<<<Demo Overview>>>
The Panzer General 3 Assault demo pits you as commander of elements of the German army, against British forces in
a hypothetical battle. After forcing your way through the Ardennes Forest, your forces are ready to break into
the French countryside in order to cut off vital Allied lines of communication in preparation for a major
offensive by the main German force.
Timing is critical, as you must capture and hold the primary objective within 5 turns to guarantee the success
of this operation.
Capturing secondary objectives will gain you additional reinforcements, leadership bonuses, and points.
<<System Requirements>>
Pentium2 233 or greater
Windows 95/98
8MB 3D Card (You must be in 16-bit color for the demo)
DirectX 6.0 or higher
64 MB or RAM
8X CDROM
Video Cards Tested: Diamond Viper V550 (updated drivers supplied by Nvidia may remove some graphics problems),
Diamond Viper 550 TNT(updated drivers supplied by Nvidia may remove some graphics problems), 3dfx Voodoo3,
Riva TNT(updated drivers supplied by Nvidia may remove some graphics problems), Matrox G-200 AGP,
StarFighter Fox Pro AGP, S3 Inc. Savage 4, Nvidia Riva TNT2, Banshee, Matrox Milennium2, Matrox Milennium G200 AGP,
Diamond Monster 3D II.
Note: If you are experiencing graphic glitches, please make sure you have updated your drivers from the
manufacturer of your video card.
<<Quick Start>>
The purpose of the quick start is to get you into the demo and having fun immediately. After left clicking the
checkmark (Begin Scenario) and the New Turn button, you begin the Demo on the tactical map playing the German
side against the British. You have five turns to capture and hold the major victory hexes represented by a house,
two tents, and a communication tower. Scroll the screen around and locate the (orange/tan) enemy's major victory
location. Once you have found the Major Victory hex you should build a unit. Move your mouse pointer to the
button with the flag located in the lower right of the screen. Clicking this button will take you to the
Headquarters screen where you manage your forces.
<<Selecting a Unit>>
Because Panzer General Assault is now in 3D choosing a unit or a destination is different. You MUST click
on the actual vehicle model to select either a friendly unit or an enemy unit (not the area it occupies).
To choose a destination you must click on the area. This means if you wish to move an air unit over
another unit (friendly or enemy) you must click on the highlighted area (green or red) underneath the vehicle
that occupies the destination you want.
<<Headquarters Screen>>
The headquarters screen is separated into five areas:
Motor Pool - Top Left
Office Tent - Top Right
Command Tent - Middle Left
Parade Ground - Middle Right
Roster Bar (active units) - Bottom
<Motor Pool> is where you acquire equipment to build your force. Move your mouse over the tent to reveal the icons
representing the equipment classes used in the game. Equipment is broken into eight classes including Tank,
Recon, Infantry, Artillery, Anti-Tank, Anti-Air, Fighter, and Bomber. Left-clicking on a class icon will
place any available units of that class in front of the motor pool. These units are available to be built.
Right click on one of the available equipment pieces to show more information on it. Left click on one of
the available pieces to put that piece in a roster slot (if there are available roster slots).
In front of the <Officer Tent> you will find all the available unassigned leaders. Right click on one of the
available leaders to show more information on it. Left click on one of the available leaders to put that
leader in a roster slot (if there are enough available roster slots).
The <Command Tent> is not active in the demo. In the final game it will be used for Loading and Saving the game,
changing Game Options, reviewing the battlefield, and other army management tools.
The <Parade Ground> is available to show more detailed information on leaders, equipment and units.
Right click on any leader, equipment or unit to access the information. The unit icons under the graphs represent
the following (left to right):
Attack rating
Close Combat rating
Defense rating
Air Attack rating
Air Defense rating
Sighting range
Move
Attack range
Ammo
The <Roster Bar> shows you all the units in your force. When you build a new unit it will appear in the roster bar on a
green background. Units on a black background are committed to battle and cannot be decommissioned. You can
change the sort order of the units on the roster by toggling the button with the arrows going in a circle
on the right side of the roster. The sorting order is by: Class (tank icon above sorting button),
Leader (flag icon), Damage (cross icon), and Actions left (arrows icon).
On the left of the Roster Bar is a circle that displays the number of available slots. The level of a leader
is displayed by stars. Each star represents a level. Note that higher level leaders will take up more slots.
The slots taken by a leader are:
Level 1 - 4: 1 slot
Level 5 - 7: 2 slots
Level 8 -10: 3 slots
<<Building a Unit>>
To build a unit, first make sure that you have at least 1 available slot in your roster. Then go to the
motor pool and left-click on the class you wish to purchase from, and left click on the piece of equipment
you want. The piece of equipment will appear on a green background on the left side of the Roster Bar.
Once you have selected the equipment, left-click on the leader you want to command the unit (be sure that the
leader promotion level is not too high to fit in the available slot).
For example: Enter the Motor Pool and left click on the Anti-Air class to place the available equipment
in front of the Motor Pool. You can review each piece of equipment by right clicking on it. Left click on
the 88 mm Flak, placing it on the Roster Bar. You now need a leader. You can review any of the available
leaders, outside the officer's tent, by right clicking on them. To select the one I want, left click on
the leader Icon and he will be placed in the open space on the Roster Bar.
Note: Left clicking on the information page that is displayed on the Parade Area will clear it.
After reviewing your forces and building a unit, click the red button at the bottom
right of the screen. This will take you back to the Battle screen.
You can always return to the HQ screen from the main battle map by clicking on the button with a flag on it.
<<Deploying a Built Unit>>
Once back to the battle map, you will notice that the Deploy button (the one with the arrows on it)
is lit. This indicates the presence of a unit ready for deployment. Click on the Deploy button and the unit you
built appears in the Roster Bar. Click on the unit in the Roster Bar to highlight it (it will light up) and you
see areas on the map that are highlighted. These are the places the unit can be deployed.
To place the unit on the map, simply click on one of the highlighted areas. To cancel the placement, left click
on the newly placed unit and it will return to the Roster Bar. To exit deployment, click on the depressed
deployment button. Air units MUST be deployed next to an airbase (that is the area that will highlight).
<<Battle Map>>
Near the bottom of the Battle Map, there are two cards.
The left card displays the equipment. On the upper left
corner is displayed the Class of the equipment, followed by the name, side view of the equiment, and its strength.
The strength of the unit is displayed by green, yellow, and red dots. Green dots show how much of the unit is
available for combat. Yellow dots show suprression: unit strength not available forr combat that turn unless
rallied. Red dots show unit strength not available for the battle unless Refitted.
The right card has displayed a picture of your leader, his name, any specials (displayed by a medal), and
leader level.
<<Moving a Unit>>
To move a unit, simply left-click on the unit you wish to move. The area the unit is in will highlight
in yellow and the places it may move will highlight in green. Choose one of the green highlighted areas
and the unit will move there. Click again to quick move the unit to the destination. If the unit can move
again, you will find a new set of highlighted areas based on the new location.
<<Attacking an Enemy Unit>>
When you spot an enemy unit and it is within your range to attack, the area under the unit will light
up in red. The red area shows enemy units that are within range and available for attack. Like movement,
you can fire more than once a turn.
<<Capturing Major Victory Hex>>
A large building, two tents, and a command tower next to it represent Major Victory hexes. These are
located in the corners of cities. You must capture and hold all the major victory hex within five
turns. You must hold your major victory hex (colored blue) and capture the enemy Major Victory hex which is
colored tan.
<<Capturing Minor Victory Hex>>
While not as important as a Major Victory hex, the Minor Victory hex add to your total score and can give you
benefits, such as, prototype equipment, more experience leader, etc. Minor Victory hexes are represented by a
tent with a barrel outside of it. In this Demo, the enemy Minor Victory hexes are colored tan.
<<<General Game Mechanics>>>
<<Leaders and Actions>>
Panzer General 3D Assault is now leader based. Every unit requires a piece of equipment and a leader.
The leader has a promotion level (from 1-10) indicated on the leader card by the symbols next to picture
(crosses for Germany). Each promotion level counts as an action the leader can take in each turn.
For example, a 2 star leader (2 levels of experience) can perform two actions.
Actions represent the potential for a leader to issue a command to his unit. Potential actions a leader
can order include:
Fire Order: Attack an enemy that is within range.
Move Order: Move the unit within the movement range of the equipment.
Regular or Veteran Command: Perform an action related to commanding the unit the leader is associated
with. For example the leader might resupply his unit with ammunition or repair and refit his unit.
Each of these commands takes an action. Additional Command orders are noted below.
Only two things limit how many times a unit can move or fire in one turn. One is the promotion level of
the leader and the other is the actual piece of equipment. The limits of the equipment are shown to
the left of the equipment card and are called attributes. The top row represents the number of times
that particular piece of equipment can FIRE (the fire attributes represented by an icon of an artillery
piece). The bottom row represents the number of times a unit can MOVE. When a unit is selected the dots
light up with information about the unit. Green dots represent the number of available attributes, yellow
dots are used or unavailable attributes, and red are destroyed attributes.
As an example: The tank unit the Demo has highlighted to begin the game is a Pz IVH. It has 6 fire
attributes (four of which are green and two are yellow) and 5 move attributes (four of which are green
and 1 is yellow). The leader only has four actions (promotion level of 4) and therefore the unit can
only move or fire 4 times or any combination that adds up to 4. If the leader had been a level 5, then
all the moves would have been green and 5 of the fires attributes would be green instead of yellow. If
you move the unit (click on one of the highlighted areas), you will notice that one of the actions is used
(grayed out on the leader card) and the attributes change from 4 green move and fire to 3 green move and
fire.
When building your force, it is up to you to determine the right mix of attributes and unit strength to
suit your army.
<<<ORDERS>>>
In addition to moving and shooting, the leader can issue orders to his unit. The orders are displayed
to the right of the leader card. Each button represents an order and generally cost 1 action to perform.
Normally, the order enhances the attack or defense or performs some necessary function like resupply or entrench.
In the final product, there will be a right click help system that describes what each order does. This is
not yet implemented in the Demo but the orders are listed below.
<<Regular Orders>>
These are standard orders available to all units. They cost 1 action (except refit, which takes all a leader's
actions) and usually occur instantly. The list below gives a cost, life (how long the effect lasts) and
a description of the order.
Dismount
Cost: 1 action, life - effects are immediate. Dismount allows any towed units (artillery and anti-air)
to be set up for combat. A unit that remains mounted (represented as the towing vehicle) is susceptible
to large amounts of damage when attacked. This order can be used repeatedly in one turn.
Rally
Cost: 1 action, life - effects are immediate. Rally improves the morale of the troops. This command
removes the effects of long term suppression and makes all of a unit's strength available for attack
and defense. This order can be used repeatedly in one turn.
Entrench
Cost: 1 action, life - effects are immediate. Entrench allows the unit to dig in. Infantry and
anti-tank units can entrench to level 3 (one level per turn) if they don't move, all other ground units
can entrench to level 1. Entrenched units will not retreat and are much harder to kill. A unit can move
and then entrench. This order can only be issued once in a turn and the effects will disappear if the
unit moves after the order is issued.
Refit
Cost: All actions available, life - effects are immediate. Refit can only be performed if a unit has
not done any thing else in the turn and is not adjacent to any enemy units. A refit will repair
1 destroyed equipment attribute (move or fire), and the first refit brings a unit up to full strength.
Any further refits diminish the current total strength of the unit by 1 for the remainder of the
battle. This order can only be issued once in a turn and will end the unit's turn.
Resupply
Cost: 1 action, life - effects immediate. Resupply refills the ammo of a unit to maximum.
Infantry have unlimited ammo and will never use this action. This order can only be issued once
in a turn and the unit must not be adjacent to any enemy units or this order will not be available.
<<Veteran Orders>>
There are 5 veteran orders per class. As the leader is promoted (only in a campaign game) the leader will
gain more powerful orders. For completeness, all the orders are listed below (note that they are subject to
change).
<<INFANTRY CLASS>>
Infiltrate
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. The infantry unit ignores reserve fire. The order cannot
be taken back if the unit has been in combat. Best used to attack an entrenched enemy or enemy in a
population center.
Patrol
Cost: 1 action, life - until the end of your turn. Moderate increase in sighting range. Cannot be taken
back and the effects are seen immediately.
Camouflage
Cost: 1 action, life - until the start of your next turn. The unit becomes much harder for enemy units to
spot. The order cannot be taken back. The effects will be removed if the unit moves after the order is
given. Useful for setting up ambushes or hiding in woods.
Surprise Attack
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. The unit has a large bonus to hand to hand fighting
(close assaults) and will ignore reserve fire. The order cannot be taken back after the unit attacks.
Best used against enemy units in populated areas and entrenchments.
All Out Attack
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. The unit has an enormous bonus to close combat attacks
but its defense is decreased to a large degree. The unit will ignore any morale factors (it cannot be
suppressed). The order cannot be taken back after the unit attacks.
<<ARMOR CLASS>>
Aimed Fire
Cost: 1 action, life - effects are immediate. Normally the effectiveness of shots taken by a unit
diminishes with each successive shot. Activating aimed fire resets the effectiveness of the shots to 100%.
Best used after multiple shots to finish off an enemy. This order cannot be taken back.
Patrol
Cost: 1 action, life - effects are immediate, lasts to the end of your turn. Increases the unit's
spotting range. This order cannot be taken back.
Hull Down
Cost: 1 action, life - lasts until the start of your next turn. This order provides a moderate increase
to the defenses of your unit. It cannot be taken back if the unit has been involved in combat. Best used
prior to attacking the enemy (it can be used in conjunction with Entrench).
Wedge Attack
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. The Wedge Attack gives a large bonus to the unit's attack.
The order cannot be taken back if the unit has been in combat. This can be very effective when used in
conjunction with aimed fire.
Blitz Attack
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. This is basically a wedge attack (large bonus to the
unit's attack) with the added benefit that the unit can ignore the presence of the enemy for post combat
movement.
<<ANTI-TANK CLASS>>
Quick Setup
Cost: 1 action, life - until the end of your turn. The unit dismounts after moving. However, the unit
will suffer a small decrease in its attack effectiveness.
Camouflage
Cost: 1 action, life - until the start of your next turn. The unit becomes much harder for enemy units
to spot. The order cannot be taken back. The effects will be removed if the unit moves after the order
is given. Useful for setting up ambushes or hiding in woods.
Ambush
Cost: 1 action, life - until the end of the enemy turn. This gives the AT unit an additional reserved
fire. It will fire first in two combats and then the order is exhausted. The effect will be removed if
the unit moves after the order has been given.
Preparation
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. This command allows the AT unit to fire first in the
next combat and get an enormous bonus to its attack. This cannot be taken back if the unit is involved
in a combat.
Fire Brigade
Cost: 1 action, life - 1 enemy attack. This command allows the AT unit to provide support fire (if the
enemy is within range) or simple support (large bonus to the defending unit) to an adjacent friendly unit
that is attacked during the enemy turn. This can be an unexpected and nasty surprise.
<<RECON CLASS>>
Camouflage
Cost: 1 action, life - the rest of your turn. This command cancels the ability of enemy recon units to
screen adjacent units from being seen. It cannot be taken back and the effects disappear if you move
after issuing the order.
Patrol
Cost: 1 action, life - the rest of your turn. This command extends the sighting range of your unit. It
cannot be taken back and is very useful at finding enemy units.
Forward Observer
Cost: 1 action, life - the rest of your turn. The Recon unit acts as spotter for friendly artillery
units, giving them a small bonus to any attacks made within the Recon's sighting range. This effect
disappears if the unit moves after issuing the order.
Probe
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. The Probe attack provides the Recon unit with a small
bonus in combat and converts any kills taken to the unit into suppressions. This command cannot be taken
back if it is used in a combat.
Retrograde
Cost: 1 action, life - 1 enemy attack. The Recon unit will ignore any results from the first attack made
by an enemy unit, and will retreat one hex instead. Effectively, it will use up 1 of the enemy actions
with no damage to the Recon unit.
<<ARTILLERY CLASS>>
Plot Artillery
Cost: 1 action, life - end of enemy turn. This is a defensive command. It allows an additional
support fire to occur during the enemy turn. If you have the Accurate Plotting command you can
use both because it is cumulative.
Quick Setup
Cost: 1 action, life - until the end of your turn. The unit dismounts after moving. However,
the unit will suffer a small decrease in its attack effectiveness.
Accurate Plotting
Cost: 1 action, life - end of enemy turn. More powerful Plot Artillery command. Used in conjunction
with Plot Artillery, a unit will be able to fire 3 support fires in the enemy turn.
Saturation Fire
Cost: 1 action, 2 ammo, life - rest of the turn. All remaining attacks cost 2 ammo but cause twice
as many suppression results as normal. If you have the Bombard order you should do it first as it
cannot be done after this order has been given. This order cannot be taken back after combat.
Bombard
Cost: 1 action, 2 ammo, life - through your next attack. The unit will receive an enormous attack
bonus with the added effect of reducing the defender's entrenchment to zero. This is only effective
against infantry, towed artillery and towed anti-tank units. This order cannot be taken back after
combat.
<<ANTI-AIR CLASS>>
Careful Positioning
Cost: 1 action, life - until the end of the enemy turn. The anti-air unit gets an increased range.
This bonus will disappear if the unit moves after the order is given.
Quick Setup
Cost: 1 action, life - until the end of your turn. The unit dismounts after moving. However
the unit will suffer a small decrease in its attack effectiveness.
Concentrated Attack
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. The unit gets a large attack bonus against enemy
air. The order cannot be taken back after combat occurs.
Early Warning
Cost: 1 action, life - until the end of the enemy turn. The unit receives an increase in range,
a moderate attack bonus, and first strike when supporting friendly units under attack by enemy air units.
These bonuses disappear if an enemy ground unit attacks the anti-air unit.
Ground Attack
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. Allows the anti-air unit to attack enemy ground
units. The order cannot be taken back after combat.
<<FIGHTER CLASS>>
Eagle Eye
Cost: 1 action, life - effects are immediate. The fighter has a moderate increase in its
spotting range. This order cannot be taken back.
Careful Attack
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. This command makes the fighter immune to the
effects of reserve fire for the next attack. This command cannot be taken back after combat.
Barn Busting
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. Using low level flying forces enemy Anti-Air units
to use the line of fire rules (if the line of fire is blocked by a unit, populated area or other
obstacle, it cannot fire). However, there is a moderate decrease in defense against enemy ground
attacks that are successful.
Strafing
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. This order gives the fighter first strike during
the next combat against an enemy ground unit. This order cannot be taken back after combat occurs.
Out of the Sun
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. This order gives the fighter first strike, a large
bonus to the attack and makes it immune to reserve fire when attacking other air units. This order
cannot be taken back after combat occurs.
<<BOMBER CLASS>>
Cloud Cover
Cost: 1 action, life - until the start of your next turn. Enemy units will be unable to spot the
bomber unless they are adjacent.
Ground Support
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. The bomber gets a large attack bonus against enemy
ground units when this order is issued. The order cannot be taken back after combat.
Dive Bombing
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. Dive Bombing gives the bomber a moderate attack
and defense bonus against anti-air attack. It cannot be taken back after combat. If an enemy anti-air
unit is adjacent to your target, use Dive Bombing then Ground Strike to attack.
Bunker Killer
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. The bomber has a moderate attack bonus against forts
and its attacks are at double strength. This action cannot be taken back after combat.
Precision Bombing
Cost: 1 action, life - through your next attack. Gives the bombing unit a large attack bonus and the
first strike ability during the next combat. This order cannot be taken back after combat.
<<Other Tactical Notes>>
- Look carefully at the enemy units before you attack. You can either right click on the enemy unit or hold the
mouse over the unit to get a quick view of the enemy on the card. The presence of a shovel in the lower
left corner of the card represents a unit that is entrenched. They can be harder to kill. It is best to have
friendly infantry adjacent to the attack as support or to do the attack themselves.
- Fighters can escort bombers, just place the fighter next to the bomber and any enemy fighter that attacks
the bomber will have to dogfight your fighter first.
- Use the combat estimate cursor. Hold the mouse cursor over the target unit and in a short while you will
see an estimate of attacker and defender losses. It does not take into account any hidden artillery units
that might support the target but it is a fairly accurate and a good judgement of the final results.
- You can quickly access units by clicking on them on the Roster Bar. The map will center on the chosen
unit and give you the movement options.
- The level of smoke issuing from a unit reflects its damage. The states are:
- Light smoke 25-49% damage
- Dark smoke 50-75% damage
- Smoke and Fire 75+% damage
- Usually, combat is simultaneous unless a leader issues a special order or a leader does not use all of
his actions in the turn. Unused actions are automatically used in the following manner:
- Reserve fire: Allows the unit to fire first if it is attacked in the enemy player's turn.
You can only reserve 1 first fire.
- Resupply: This is a standard reammo. Remember, infantry units have unlimited ammo.
- Entrench: Takes the unit to the next level of entrenchment, if possible.
- Each equipment class has specials that you will see indicated on the bottom of the detailed equipment
information card. A definition of these specials is not included in the Demo but will be part of the
right click help system in the final product.
<<Rotating the Screen>>
Rotating the screen in a 3D environment is critical to finding your unit and the enemy units. Rotating the
3D environment will also allow you to take full advantage of the terrain and Line of Sight.
To rotate the screen, move the cursor close to the right or left edge of the map, hold down the right mouse
button and move the mouse closer to the edge. The screen should begin to rotate in a clockwise direction
when you are on the right edge and a counter clockwise direction when you are on the left edge.
<<Zooming in/out>>
To Zoom in, move the mouse pointer to the top of the screen, hold down the right mouse button and move
the mouse toward the top of the screen. The screen should zoom in if possible.
To Zoom out, move the mouse pointer to the bottom edge of the screen, hold down the right mouse button and
move the mouse toward the bottom of the screen. The map should zoom out.
<<Unit Information Pop-up>>
To get information about any unit just Right-Click on the unit and it will pop up an information page with
the same data shown on the headquarters screen (see above).
<<Help Text>>
If you move the mouse over a button for a short time, the name of button will appear at the mouse pointer.
This will be expanded to actual help text (via a right click) in the final game.
<<Features Not Implemented>>
<HQ> Portions of the Headquarters Screen are not implemented for the Demo.
<Strategic Map> The Strategic Map isn't fully implemented in the Demo. The Strategic Map will show you unit
locations, and victory locations.
<Promotion> When you finish a campaign scenario, you will be awarded promotion points to allocate to
your units. These can be assigned to any leader you choose (1 per leader per scenario) prior to the
next campaign scenario.
<Campaign> The final version will have eight campaigns and a large number of specifically built single
and multiplayer scenarios.
<Multiplayer> Panzer General 3D Assault will support up to 4 players with up to 2 players cooperating
on each side.
<Complete Sound Effects> A more complete set of sound effects will be provided in the final game.
<Music> The Final game will include Cinematics and a musical score.
For more information on Panzer General 3D Assault visit us at WWW.Panzer3.com