Fun & Games 1/FUNGAMES1.cdr/fungames/conquest/conquest.hlp

Text File | 1992-09-01 | 16KB | 372 lines

Instructions
   Conquest has much in common with other
'Conquer the World' games.  Up to 8 players can
play, any or all of whom can be computer
controlled.  The goal is to defeat all of the
opposing armies, and occupy every territory on
the Map.  The game objective can be different
depending on selections made in the game set-up
menu.  Conquest is different from other games in
this genre because of its point & click user
interface and the strength of the rule-based
algorithm used by the computer opponents.
   Winning a game of Conquest requires good
placement of armies, outnumbering your opponent
in critical battles, and luck.  Each player's
turn is divided into 3 phases:  Placement,
Attack, and Freemove.
   The Placement phase consists of selecting a
territory owned by you and putting some or all
of your new armies for that turn on it.  The
number of new armies is determined by the
number of territories owned by the player and
the number of bonus armies received from the
occupation of whole continents.  This phase
continues until all of armies have been placed.
   During the Attack phase, you can attack a
bordering territory owned by another player as
long as you have 2 or more armies on your
territory (NOTE:  If you are using the Even
Chances attack scoring, then your armies must be
greater than or equal to your opponent's).  If
you defeat all of the armies on the Defending
territory, you can then move some of your armies
on to your new territory (NOTE:  Each territory
must have at least one army at the end of your
move). To end this phase, select the 'EXIT' box.
   After the Attack phase, a player is allowed
to move armies from a territory to an adjacent
territory, provided he owns both of them.  The
purpose of this Freemove is to reinforce your
current position until your next turn.
   Conquest has a variety of options.  Options
selected in the game set-up menu are discussed
in the 'Opening Menu' HELP section and options
that are selectable during the game are
discussed in the 'In game Options' section.
Opening Menu
    To change the game set-up, just place the
arrow on the button marked 'Options Menu' in
the opening menu. This will bring up a menu
screen with the following options.  To change
an option, just click on the button next to it.
>>  Objective.  This is the criteria for
winning a game.  The 10 game objectives fall
in to 3 categories:
   First player to occupy a set % of the Map.
   Player with most armies after # rounds.
   Player with most territories after # rounds.
>>  There are 6 types of Attack Scoring used to
determine the losses in an attack:
   Even Chances - even odds for the attacker and
     defender.  To attack, an attacker must have
     the same or more armies than the defender.
   Weighted by # of Armies - odds for each
     battle favor the player with the most
     armies on his territory (but independent
     of armies he owns elsewhere).
   Wildly Random - unpredictable.
   Cyclic (Short or Long) - your odds of winning
     depend on a 'biorhythm' cycle.
   Simulated Dice Toss - uses dice (see guide)
   Unknown - randomly chooses one of the above.
>>  Territory Selection determines the method
used for picking each player's territories:
   Random - Territories are automatically picked
     for each player on a random basis.
   Partioned - Similiar to the first method,
     however territories are clustered for each
     player, so the starting position is better.
   Manual - All territories and number of armies
     are determined by the Human players.
   Player's choice - Each player picks his own.
>>  Bonus Armies For Each Opponent Eliminated
gives new armies to a player if he removes
another player from the game.
>>  Free move determines when a player can
redistribute his armies at the end of his turn.
A player's freemove can be dependent on if he
conquered a territory during his turn.
>>  If Show Continent Set Values is ON, then the
set values (the armies awarded for owning an
entire continent) will be displayed on the map.
>>  If Hide Non-Adjacent Opponent's Territories
is 'ON,' then all of the territories not next to
a human player will be covered.
>>  If Penalty for attacking a new continent
is on, an attacker has a %33 less chance of
winning a battle if the defender is part of
different continent.  The rational for this
is that after an attacker sails across an
ocean, his troops are less effective in
combat than the defender who is fighting on
his own turf.
>>  For information on Team Play, select the
team play help selection.
>>  SPEED sets the pace at which the computer
displays the game.
>>  Mouse will set the mouse sensitivity (the
distance the mouse cursor moves when you move
the mouse).
>>  Sound turns the sound on and off.
>>  The Maximum # of starting armies is used to
determine the highest number of armies on each
territory at the start of the game.
>>  Save Setup will save the current
configuration to disk, so it will be loaded at
start of each game.
>>  During the game, press the ESCAPE key to
bring up the options menu, or the first six
functions keys to go directly to the first
six entries on the options menu.

Player Menu
   To reach the player menu, click on the button
next to the player you wish to change (in the
opening menu).  If a player is active (will
participate in the game), then the players name
and type are visable.  To play a game, at least
3 players must be active.
   There are three types of players: humans,
computer, and modem opponents.  The color and
name of human players can be changed by clicking
on the button next to these choices.  The button
labled 'Status' determines if the player will be
active.  However, if the player type is computer
a number of additional options are selectable:
>>  Strategy determines how the computer attacks
during the attack phase.
   -- Standard plays the opponent as in previous
   versions of Conquest (recommended setting)
   -- Blitzkrieg encourages the computer player
   to go around strongholds, and attack at the
   weakest points
   -- Maginot Line encourages the player to
   attack the enemy at his strongest points
   (to wear them down), and to concentrate
   his efforts on defending his continents
>>  Philosophy sets the basic principle the
computer opponent will use.
    Aggressive - attacks often.
    Defensive  - hordes armies.
    Balanced   - mixture of the above.
    Random     - changes each turn.
>>  Attack Priority determines who the computer
opponent is most likely to attack if all other
conditions are equal.  In other words, if a
player can attack two different territories
owned by two different players, and the
advantage gained from conquering each territory
is the same, the computer player will 'prefer'
attacking the one corresponding to the selection
here.  The recommended setting (for long games)
is 'Strong Players.'
>>  Intellegence goes from one to ten, and it
determines how a computer player plays.  'Dumb'
players (Intellegence less than three) can
still win, but they do not make as much of a
challenge as the smart players.
   I think the most challenging setting is: one
human, 3 or more smart computer opponents on a
large map (more than 75 territories).  Even
more difficult is teaming the computer opponents
against unteamed human players.
   If the attack scoring is set to 'Weighted by
number of armies,' the weak computer players
will do better because they tend to put all of
their armies in one or two territories.
    If you are having too much trouble beating
the computer opponents, set the 'Favors
Attacking' selection to 'Computer Opponents' so
they will give you more breathing room.  Also,
set the intelligence level above 7 so they do a
better job of beating up each other.
Team Play
   Team play allows groups of players to band
together and battle other teams.  In the Team
options menu, you assign a team number to each
player.  You can have as many or as few members
in each team.  Team members split the new armies
for each turn (no matter what their individual
territorial holdings are).  Human team members
can attack other team members - however, except
to make a path for your armies to get to the
front, there is no reason to attack a teammate.
The game's outcome is decided by the team's
standing, not the individual players.
   Each team member can only use his own
territories to play.  You can not place armies
on a teammate's territories, etc.
Modem Play
   This is the first version of Conquest to
allow modem to modem games.  Two computers
can be connected either through a phone line
or a direct physical link with a 'null modem'
cable.  Before you start a modem game, decide
with your opponent who the 'Host' and 'Guest'
will be.  The Host dials (or establishes the
connection), and sets up the game options and
map.  Computer opponents can also play, if the
Host has included them in the game.
   To start a modem game, the Host configures
the game (including atleast one modem player),
and selects 'Modem Game.'  The Guest selects
'Modem Game' and waits for the Host to call.
To cancel, press F10 several times.
Placement
   At the start of each turn, a player is given
new armies to place on any of his territories.
To place the armies, just point to the
territory, and click the LEFT mouse button.
Then select the number of armies to place on
that state.  The program will not let you
select a territory that does not belong to you.
   The number of new armies is derived from the
total number of territories owned by you divided
by three, plus additional armies for each
continent you own (the armies gained by owning
a continent are displayed by selecting 'Show
Values').  At least two new armies will be
awarded each turn.

Attack
   To attack, just click on your territory (the
Attacker), and then on the territory you wish
to attack (the Defender).  If you can attack
it, the attack will automatically take place.
If one of your territories does not border any
of your opponents, or the attacker does not
border the defender, you will not be able to
select it.
   Attacks can only occur between bordering
territories.  A white line representing a sea
lane also indicates which territories border
each other.
   To exit this mode, select 'Exit.'


Freemove
   At the end of each turn, a player may move
armies from one territory to another, provided
he owns both of them, and they border each
other.  This allows each player to reinforce his
position.  After the freemove, at least one army
must remain on each territory.  Only one
freemove is allowed per turn.
   To make a freemove, just select the territory
to move the armies from (the Donor), and then
select the territory you wish to move to (the
Receiver).  You will then be prompted for the
number of armies to move.  If only one army can
be moved, the move will be automatic.  If you
wish to abort the freemove after you are
prompted for the number of armies, select zero.
In-game options
    Options may be selected by pointing and
clicking on the box marked 'Options' or by
pressing the 'Escape' key when the Options box
is visible (Note: if you press the 'Escape' key
during a computer player's move, there may be a
slight delay before the menu is displayed).
>>  Statistics - Shows the current standings of
all players.  This is useful for determining
which players you should watch out for.
>>  Settings - Shows the current game settings.
The settings can't be changed during the game.
>>  Player Info - Shows the characteristics and
standings of a particular player.  A player's
characteristics can be changed by selecting
'CHANGE' if it is not that player's turn.
>>  HELP! - Displays the help menu.
>>  Show/Hide Values - Shows or hides the new
army continent values awarded to the owner of
the entire continent.
>>  Speed - Changes the game's playing speed
from 0 (very slow) to 10 (very fast).
>>  Sound - Toggles the sound on and off.
>>  Mouse - Changes the mouse's tracking
sensitivity from LOW to HIGH.
>>  New Game - Abandons the current game, and
returns you to the Game Setup Menu.
>>  Save Game - Saves the current game under a
name you select (with the extension '.sav').
This does not end the current game.
>>  Quit Game - Exits Conquest.
Hints
>>  Most placement and attack decisions are a
trade off between conquering a continent (to
obtain the new armies awarded for owning that
continent), and defending your position.
>>  The algorithm for the computer opponents
balances a desire to occupy entire continents
with a paranoia of attacks from other players
(be they human or computer).
>>  The advantange of setting the 'Favors
Attacking' player selection to 'Strongest
player' is the computer opponents will keep
each other (and the humans) in check.  If a
computer opponent feels that another player
is getting too strong, he will shift his
focus slightly to weaken the adversary.
>>  To decide which continent is best for
placing armies in (and attacking in), consider
how many territories you own in it, and how
difficult it is to obtain and defend.  Usually
the higher value continents are more difficult
to get and keep.
>>  Try to place your armies in an area that
the other opponents are not trying to conquer.
Sometimes it is possible to win by collecting
armies and letting your opponents weaken
each other.
>>  Try not to attack each turn to the point
you can not attack anymore.  This keeps enemies
from taking your territories too easily.
>>  Sometimes you may need to sacrifice part
of your forces to keep your opponent(s) from
controlling a complete continent.  Consider
placing a few armies on one or two remote
territories even if you do not want to
acquire that continent in the near future.  This
makes the other opponents work harder to improve
their positions.
>>  Check the Statistics from the Options menu
to gauge how your opponents are doing.  If one
opponent is getting too strong, try to
concentrate your attacks on him.  Even though he
may help you in the short run by weakening the
other opponents, sooner or later he will come
after you.
>>  Use a variety of computer opponents,
including the 'Aggressive' type.  The computer
opponents do not recognize if the defender is
human (unless you set the 'favors attacking' to
human), instead they try to concentrate their
attacks on territories they want to occupy and
opponents they perceive are 'threatening' their
position.
>>  If you use the 'Weighted by # of Armies'
attack scoring option, then attack any time
you have more armies than an opponent, even
if you don't want that territory.  This allows
you to reduce your opponents armies when the
odds favor you.
>>  Use more than one type of Territory
placement to make a map more interesting.
>>  If you want to reset the game to its
original configuration, just delete the file
'CONQUEST.DFT' from your disk.  This file is
created by the game when you save the current
game setup.
>>  Menus can also be controlled by the cursor
and 'Enter' keys if desired.
>>  About Conquest Version 1.7:

       Code:  19,858 lines of Borland C++ 3.0
  Algorithm:  Adaptive Rule-based system
              for each computer opponent type.
  Dev Envir:  25 MHz 386 w/ 4 Megs of RAM.
   Released:  24 Feburary 1992

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