--------------------------------------------------------------------------------t ANCIENT ART OF WAR AT SEA DOCS brought to you by the Gauntlet of C0Dfish a Circle of Dickz file ware cracked by Coast to Coast C0Dfish is in no way affiliated with Coast to Coast, or with it's releases. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyone who d/l'ed this ware should know how to boot it up, so I'll skip that. NOTE: This is the main section of the documentation. All the specific definitions for terms found throughout are contained in the glossary, a separate file being sent out with the doc file #1 (this). --------------------- : JOYSTICK CONTROLS : --------------------- Button 1 - same as the Enter Key Up and Down with button 1 pressed - scrolls the map Button 2 - moves between Screen and Command Line Button 1 - selects a command Button 2 - same as the space bar . The keyboard can still be used when the joystick is activated / ---------------- : MAP FEATURES : Repair Port: looks like a fort. Increases the condition ---------------- of a ships sails and hull. Supply Port: looks like a town. Provides supplies to ships. Crown: A crown provides both supllies and repairs to ships of the same color and represents the heart of a sides homeland. When either side's crown is captured the game ends. Rough Water: represented by dark water areas. Dangerous for Frigates, Safe for Ships-of-the-line, Flagships and Merchantships. Shallow Water: represented by light water areas. Dangerous for Ships-of-the- line and Flagships. Safe for Frigates and Merchantships. SHIPS: Squadrons: a group of between 1 and 3 ships Fleet: all of the squadrons of the same color form a fleet. Flagship: This is a ship-of-the-line with an Admiral aboard. It is the most powerful ship on the high seas. Ship-of-the-line: a mighty warship, nearly as strong as a flagship. Frigate: a small and fast warship. Merchantship: brings supplies to ports. HINTS: x To receive supplies or repairs from a port or a crown, you must anchor where there is a flat shore across the entire length of the port. Check a squadron's "Info" to see if it is "in port". x The cannons can only fire out of the sides of the ship and the crew can only be on one side of the ship at a time. HOW THE CAMPAIGN ENDS: [1] When the last ship on either side is captured or sunk, or [2] When the last flagship on either side is captured or sunk, or [3] When one side captures the other side's crown or, [4] When either side surrenders. :-------------------------------: : TO LEAVE THE GAME :---------------------------------------------: :-------------------------------: : : : : From the TITLE PAGE: Press + or - until "Quit" appears on the banner, : : then press Enter. : : : : During a CAMPAIGN: If you want to continue a game later, you can save : : it by pressing Alt S (be sure to have a blank : : disk or data disk handy). If you don't want to : : continue later, press S to Surrender. : : : : Quick EXIT: At any point in the game, press Ctrl, Alt and Del : : keys all at the same time. This will : : immediately exit the program and leave you with : : the A> prompt. : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRAINING SESSION : Prepare for WAR ! ----------------------- : CHOOSING A CAMPAIGN : Campaign: A series of military operations that form ----------------------- a war. Start at the title page. "GO TO WAR" should be displayed on the sail. If not, press + or - until it is. Press ENTER. The sea scroll will open, revealing the titles of a variety of campaigns. Most of the scrolls in the game are about two screens long, so use the + or - keys to see all of the information. From this point, until you press ENTER after choosing your opponnent, you can go back (all the way to the title screen, if you wish) by pressing ESC. Following the directions at the bottom of the screen, make sure the sabre is pointing to "The Bane of Oldain" and ENTER. The sea scroll will close, and when it reopens, will reveal the story behind this campaign. After you read through the story, press ENTER. The scroll will close and reopen again, this time showing you the rules. The rules have been individually preset for each campaign, but you can adjust them. However, it's a good idea not to make any changes until you are more familiar with the game. After you have read the rules, press ENTER. Now you will meet your opponent. CHOOSING AN OPPONENT You can fight any of the enemy leaders portrayed on the screen. Each has a different fighting style, as well as different strengths and weaknesses. At the top of the screen, you will see the enemy's name and a brief description of his fighting style. Use the + or - keys to move the cursor box through the opponents. (HINT: the easiest opponent is Thor Foote.) When the cursor frame is on the enemy you want, press Enter. VIEWING THE WAR MAP As the campaign begins, you have a sea gull's eye view of the war map. At the bottom of the map are two ports. The port on the left side of the screen is a Repair Port. To improve the condition of a squadron's sails and hulls, anchor it at a Repair Port. The port at the right side is a Supply Port. To increase a squdron's supplies, anchor it at a Supply Port. Between your ports are two white crowns. If an enemy ship reaches a white crown and defeats any white squadrons at that crown, you will have lost the campaign (the enemy's crown is at the top of the map). Crowns will also repair and supply ships. Dark ocean areas represent rough water, and are dangerous for frigates to sail through. Light colored ocean areas represent shallow water, and are dangerous for ships-of-the-line and flagships to sail through. The Wind Cherubs at the top center and bottom center of the map indicate which direction the wind is blowing only if the wind is set to "realistic" in YeOlde Options Shoppe. The wind direction will occasionally change during a campaign. The white cross-shaped object near the center of the screen is the marker which lets you scout out the enemy squadrons and command your own. The ship and anchor symbols represent squadrons of ships. You control the white squadrons, and the enemy controls the black ones. Asquadron symbol with a flag on it means there is a flagship in that squadron. To scroll the map, use the - key to scroll up (+ key to scroll back down). You can jump quickly to the top or bottom of the map by pressing the Shift key and the + or - key at the same time. You can use Ctrl in place of +,and Tab in place of -. This is especially helpful if you are left handed. If you are using the joystick, hold down button #1 and move the joystick to scroll the map. You will recieve messages during the campagin indicating enemy ship sightings, imminent encounters and other events. These messages will appear at the bottom of the screen, just above the command line. YOUR MISSION Win by capturing or sinking all of the enemy's flagships while protecting your own. You can also win by capturing a black crown. In the Ancient Art of War at Sea, the most skillful player does what it takes to win the campaign with a minimum of fighting. COMMAND OPTIONS At the bottom of the current screen are several command options. Throughout the AAoWaS, command options will appear, usually at the bottom of the screen. To select an option, pess the letter key that corresponds to the first letter of the command. In this example, the commands are as follows: (T)ime -- You can alter the speed of the campaign at any point when Time appears on the command line by pressing T. Four different settings are possible. (You may want to use a slower time when you're making your plans, then speed up time when you've got everything set.) (F)leet -- Press F and the size of both fleets will be displayed. You will see the types and total number of ships on both sides. The game will freeze while you are doing this. Press End(or any other key) when you are done. (C)lear -- Use Clear to remove old messages from the bottom of the screen. Clear will not appear when there are no messages displayed. (P)ause -- Use Pause to freeze the game. To get things going again, press any key. Clear will sometimes take the place of Pause on the command line, but pause will still work. (S)urrender -- You can surrender at any time during the game when Surrender appears on the command line by pressing S. Saving the Game -- Press Alt S if you want to save the game so you can resume playing where you left off at a later time. The computer will prompt you to insert a data (or blank) disk -- just follow the instructions on the screen; the program takes care of the rest. There are command options available when you have the marker positioned over one of your own squadrons. (M)ove -- To "move" a squadron, press M(notice that the marker changes its shape to an open box). Move the marker,using the keyboard or joystick, to trace the path you want the squadron to follow, and press M again to mark the destination ( a small white mark will appear here). The squadron will follow the exact same route that the marker took. Collisions between squadrons will not occur. Occasionally, while you are tracing a squadron's path, the computer will mark a destination before you press M. This means the computer's memory for keeping track of squadron paths is temporarily full. Once the squadron reaches the marked destination, you will usually be able to move it ahead to the final destination. This shouldn't happen very often though. (I)nfo -- Press I to see what ships are in a squadron. It will show you their names, type, the condition of their hulls, supplies on board and sailing speed. While you are in Info, you can change the squadron's sailing speed by pressing S. A frigate at half sails will move at the same speed as the larger ships will full sails. Press E when you are done. You can gather limited information about an enemy squadron by placing the marker over it, and pressing I for info. (D)etach -- To detach part of a squadron, press D. Use the + or - keys to select a ship and then press S to switch it to the new squadron. When you are done, press E. (J)oin -- If two squadrons are close enough, you can Join them (up to a max of 3 ships in a squad). Press J and then join them in the same way you detached a squadron. If Join is not shown at the bottom of the screen, you can use the Move to bring the squadrons closer together. (Z)oom -- This option appears on the command line when you place the marker over a squadron that has encountered an enemy squadron and changed into the battle symbol of crossed sabres. Zomm gives you an exciting, animated close- up view of the battle where you can give tactical commands to your ships. (P)ractice -- Use this option to familiarize yourself with tactical operations. Practice is the same as Zoom except it is used when the enemy is not present. When you are done practicing press E. TACTICAL OPERATIONS Tactical operations begin after choosing either Zoom or Practice. During this phase, movement on the war map will stop. You can choose between two views, a long view of the entire tactical battle area, or a closer view of a portion of the battle area. The white ships on the screen are yours and if the enemy ships are present, they will be black. The long view lets you see the relative positions of all the ships involved. This is useful for setting up your tactical plan and watching the enemy's plan of attack. Time will move faster when using close view. During a long view, you will see the view fram over the water. The ship in the center of the frame is the selected ship and info about it is displayed at the top of the screen. You are "on board" the selected ship and can give it orders. If there is more than one ship in your squadron, use + or - to select another ship. The selected ship will blink and be centered in the view frame. (S)peed: Adjust the sails to control the speed of the ship. (G)un : Change broadsides to fire from the other side of the ship. (A)im : Change the barrel eleveation to adjust the range. (F)ire : Shoot the cannon. (O)rders:Change the ship's orders (T)ime : Adjust the speed of the game. (V)iew : Switch between close-view and long-view of the battle (P)ause: Freeze the action temporarily. (L)eave: Lave the battle, return to the battle map. The view frame will follow that ship until you use the keypad to move the view frame around the battle area. When you press the Space bar, the view frame will center on the selected ship and begin following it again. The view frame can also be used like a magnifying glass by pressing View. This gives you a close view, causing the area inside the view frame to fill the whole screen. You can also move within this close view by using the keypad. For example, press 7 to move Northwest, 6 to move East, etc. The close view is usefull for precision maneuvering and combat. Holes in damaged sails and hulls can also be seen during a close view. In long view, a disabled ship will show damage marks. To return to a long view, press View. If enemy ships are present, try moving the view frame so that enemy ships are within it's boundaries and press View to see the condition of their sails and hull. If two ships are close enough where part of one is being covered by the other, the nearest ship will become partially transparent so you can see the hidden ship. If a ship goes far enough off the edge of the battle area, it has retreated and you can no longer use it during this battle. If a ship is stopped, it will drift in the direction of the wind. If the battle takes place near a shore, avoid the hidden coral reefs and shoals that occur near land. Time moves a little slower when you are using close view than during long view. But even the slowest time setting in the game is considerably faster than the pace real sailing ships moved at during actual battles. Time, View and Pause can be used almost always in tactical battle mode, even if they are not displayed on the screen. If you decide you want to leave a tactical battle before it is over, press Leave. You will return to the strategy level and the battle will continue and resolve on it's own. COMMANDING A SHIP When you have selected a ship in a tactical battle, you are responsible for the ship's speed, course, orders and cannons. When using a command, it will be highlighted. When appropriate, additional instructions will be shown on the command line at the bottom of the screen. To leave a command and clear the command line, press Enter. If you are using a paticular command you can usually go directly to another command without having to formally leave the first command. Just type the first letter of the new command. SAILING SPEED The speed of the ship is determined by the condition and trim of the sails and the direction of the wind. The trim of the sails is represented at the top left corner by the Sail Indicator. Press S and then use + or - to adjust the trim. The more sail that is put to the wind, the faster the ship will move. If no sail is shown, the ship will come to a halt. Press Enter when you are done. To quickly go to full sails, press S twice. If the sails are already full when you do this, they will switch to no sails. As a ship's sails become damaged the Sail Indicator will start to turn blue, indicating decreased effectiveness of the sails. The wind direction Indicator is to the upper left of the Sail Indicator. The wind can blow from any of the 4 primary compass points. The Wind Direction Indicator will only appear if wind is set to "realistic" in the Options Shop. Momentum is a factor when moving a ship through the water. A stopped ship will take a few moments to get up to speed after giving it full sails, and a moving ship will take a few moments to stop after cutting the sails all the way back. A ship that loses momentum will drift in the direction of the wind. To the right of the Sail Indicator is the Speed Bar. It works like a speedometer. The Spped Bar will be full when a ship is in perfect condition, using full sails and on a course that takes full advantage of the wind. Trimming the sails, sail damage and beating into the wind contribute to reducing your speed and are reflected in the Speed Bar. If the wind is set to "not realistic" in the Options Shoppe, it will not affect the Speed Bar. CANNONS To the right of the Sail Indicator are the controls for the ship's cannons. You decide which side of the ship the men will be on and when to fire. If ship is not selected, it will automatically shoot at enemy ships. GUN Your crew can man only one side of the ship at a time. If the crew is at the cannon on the right, the ship will fire out of the right starboard side. To change broadsides, press G for Gun and your crew will move to the left cannon. To help you visualize which direction your cannons will fire, look at the gauge at the top right of the screen. Your ship is in the center and the red square shows the direction that your cannons will fire. AIM Aim is available to the player only when "Manual Aim" is selected in the Options Shoppe. If Manual Aim is not selected, the crew will automatically aim the cannons for you, and this option will no be available. You cannot aim or fire a cannon unless your crew is on that side of the ship and in firing position (standing behind the cannon with the firing punk ready) To aim your cannons, press A. Use + or - to raise or lower the aim. FIRE On the top of the cannon barrel is a small hole with a bit of gunpowder in it. When you order "Fire!", a slow burning punk is touched to this hole. The flame from this flash runs down to the base of the charge and the cannon fires. Your crew will quickly reload and you'll be ready to fire again. When realistic reload is selected in the Options Shoppe your crewman go through a longer procedure. The crew may skip some of the loading procedures depending on the reload time seeting in your Options Shoppe. You will see a flash on the target ship when a cannonball hits. Damage from sail hits is evident as the ship's sails become increasingly tattered. A hit on the hull will destory cannon and crew and leave holes. Damage to sails and hull can be seen most clearly when the side of the ship is facing you. ORDERS Battle orders are given to ships in your squadron individually. To change a ship's orders, press O, then use + or - to rotate through the available orders. You can also press O again if you prefer, since it works the same as +. Some of the orders are not always available. While Orders is selected, time stops. (Orders is selected ?? Shouldn't that be are selected ??) General Chase: Make your best speed and course to individually attack the enemy. Follow Ship in front: Try to maintain a single-file line if it is behind another ship. Mimic Ship in front: Copy the maneuvers of the ship ahead. Avoid Battle: Stay away from the action. Course: Player controls the heading of the ship. When you select this order, a box will appear on the perimeter of the gauge at the top right of the screen. Use + or - to move the box around the gauge, and the ship will turn to the heading indicated by the box. A quick way to change a ships orders to Course is simply to press C (you don't need to press Orders first). Board: Grapple a disabled ship. At the upper right of the screen is the compass. At the center of the compass is the "heading Indicator" which shows the active ship's current heading. The red square is the "Gun Indicator." It shows which broadside will shoot when you press Fire. When a ship's orders are "Course", the white "Course Box" will appear showing the current course assigned to the active ship. The "Heading Indicator" will always point at the "Course Box" except when the active ship is turning to that course. BOARD If two ships come together, side by side, they will grapple. If neither ship is disabled or extremely overmatched, you will have the opportunity to command the battle yourself. When you receive the message that two ships have grappled, select Zomm to take command and meet the enemy man to man. There are two types of fighters, sailors and marines. Marines shoot rifles and their orders are to take their station and fire at will. Sailors fight with swords and will respond to your commands. Two ways to win when boarding. 1. Capture the enemys flag. 2. Defeat the enemy sailors and marines. The Four Zones: The raised deck at the stern of your ship is the Poopdeck. (don't look at me). The lower deck is the Quarterdeck, except for the area by the enemy ship, which is called the Railing. The foruth zone is the area around the flag. Commands: You command your sailors by assigning them to a new zone to fight in. To do this, press the first letter of the zone the sailor is in, followed by the first letter of the zone you want him to move to. For example, to move a sailor from the Poopdeck to the Flag, press P and then F. To repeat a command, press (A)gain. If you select a zone to move from and then change your mind, you can cancel it by pressing Backspace or Esc. From the Poopdeck to the Railing you can command a sailor to (C)ross. A sailor with this command will try to fight his way across the enemy ship and try to reach their flag. Once a sailor is told to Cross, he will be dedicated to that mission and you will not be able to recall him. To begin the battle, press (A)ttack. If you would rather leave and let them fight it out for themselves, press (L)eave. SAILING TO WAR Now you've learned how to command squadrons, gather information on a strategic level and command battleships on a tactical level ! Remember - the enemy squadrons are on the move while you're getting ready to meet them, so act quickly !! The campaign can end in any of four ways: [1] When the last ship on either side is captured or sunk. [2] When the last flagship on either side is captured or sunk. [3] When one side captures the other side's crown. [4] When either side surrenders. After the campaign is finished, you will see the results of the battle. A chart will show how many warships on each side were sunk or captured and the number of flagships that were sunk or captured. END OF TRAINING SESSION The purpose of this training session was to show you how to use the program. *** NOTE `O' FRIENDS OF SVEN *** There isn't anything you can do in this part of the program that will have a permanent effect, so feel free to "cut loose!". You can change any or all of the rules and choose a different opponent if you wish. Each campaign can be very different, depending on the rules and the enemy, but the next time you play the game, everything will return to the way it was before you started. SHIP DISCRIPTIONS The warships in The Ancient Art of War at Sea are of the late 18th century variety. You will encounter four types of ships in The Ancient Art of War at Sea. * MERCHANTSHIPS * Merchantships supply ports with food, provisions and various nautical equipment. They are lightly armed and built for carrying supplies, not fighting. Merchantships have their own orders and you have no control over them. You can intercept enemy merchantships to capture their supplies. * FRIGATE * Frigates are small warships. They usually had one gundeck in addition to cannons on the quarterdeck and forecastle. The classic frigates carried between 30 and 44 guns. Fast and maneuverable, they could escape a ship-of- the-line and were powerful enough to handle any other vessel. A frigate in the AAoWaS is a sleek, fast, two-decker with 44 guns and a crew of 250. * SHIP-OF-THE-LINE * A ship-of-the-line in the AAoWaS is of the classic type: a four deck, 74-gun warship, including 10 carronades, and a crew of more than 600. * FLAGSHIP * A flagship in the AAoWaS contains an Admiral and is of the classic type: a massive four deck, 130 gun warship, including 22 carronades and a crew of 875... the most fearsome sight on the high seas. ------------ : STRATEGY : ------------ Concentrate your Power. When facing an enemy fleet of equal or greater size, isolate small groups of enemy ships. Attack partial fleets with full fleets. Isolate one ship and fight it with two or three ships. This is the way to defeat an enemy both strategically and tactically. Usually try to keep squadrons full with three ships instead of splitting them into smaller squadrons. If you split them up, you'll end up with two or three weak squadrons instead of one powerfull squadron. Before deciding to battle, compare the strength of your squadron to the strength of the enemy squadron and determine your chances of victory. (Strength is determined by the number of ships on each side, the type of ships on each side and their condition.) Then, try to engage in battle only from a position of strength. The condition of the ships involved can have a major effect on the odds of winning. Focus your attention on enemy flagships (where their Admirals are). Since a fleet cannot function without any Admirals, eliminate their flagships and they will be defeated. Cut off the head and the body will die. Use your crown or supply ports to keep your ships stocked. A well fed crew is an efficient crew. Use your Crown or Repair ports to keep your ships in good condition. One fresh ship is better than two badly damaged ships. If a squadron's supplies decrease below 20%, the condition of the ships in the squadron will start to deteriorate. This is because the crew has to ration food and can't work as hard to keep the ship in good condition. Anchor near a food port to increase supplies. Anchor near a repair port to improve condition. To be sure your ship is receiving supplies or repairs from a port, check its Info after it is anchored. Instead of indicating speed, it should say "In Port". A Crown will increase both the supplies and the condition of any ship in its harbor. A ship cannot be repaired unless its supplies are above 20%. Another way to increase a squadron's supplies is to capture enemy merchantships or intercept friendly merchantships. Frigates are the fastest ships on the high seas. But a squadron can only sail as fast as its slowest ship. If you need speed, make sure your squadron is made up exclusively of frigates. Merchantships and Ports ----------------------- Ports supply or repair any squadrons that are anchored in their harbor as long as the port has supplies. When a port's supplies get low, it will send for a merchantship to replenish its depleted stock. If a merchantship is captured before reaching port, the port will send for another merchantship but may soon run out of supplies. When a port changes colors, it is out of supplies and closed to any squadrons in its harbor. To blockade a port, use a squadron to intercept merchantships enroute to that port. The enemy will lose supplies and your squadron will gain supplies. Frigates are effective interceptors since they are the fastest ships on the sea. You can also intercept your own merchantships at sea to increase a squadron's supplies. If the squad's supplies are below 50%, the white merchantship's supplies will be used up and it will disappear. You cannot capture a merchantship after it reaches a port's harbor. You may want to send warships to escort friendly merchantships if the enemy presents a threat to your supply line. Rough Water/ Shallow Water -------------------------- Larger ships (flagships and ships-of-the-line) can sail through rough water without fear or damage, but frigate will often sink, depending on how rough the water is. This factor can be adjusted in the Rules scroll just before starting a campaign. It is very dangerous to try to sail large ships through shallow water. When a flagship is lost in shallow water, the Admiral will board another ship- of-the-line that is in the same squadron. If there is none, the Admiral will go down with his ship. Frigates have no troulbe in shallow water. Merchantships can sail through rough or shallow water without fear or damage. Wind ---- A major factor in the speed of sailing ships. If wind is set to realistic in Ye Olde Options Shoppe, look for the Wind Cherub on the map to see which way the wind is blowing. Generally, the more you try to sail into the wind, the slower your squadron will move. The wind may change during a campaign. Wind speed varies from 5 to 15 knots. If you plan to attack an enemy squadron, try to gain the wind advantage by meeting him with the wind at your back. The position of the crossed sabre symbols in relation to the wind on the strategic level determines the two squadron's position in relation to the wind after you zoom to the tactical level. ----------- : TACTICS : Note: Due to difficulties and lack of time I've had to skip ----------- MOST parts of this chapter. ORDERS - Each ship in your squadron will be given individual orders. The orders that you can give will vary dependin on the situation. Course: This is used when you want to take charge of a ship's naviagation. General Chase: Make your best speed and course to attack the enemy. Follow Ship in Front: You can use this order to try to maintain a line. Mimic Ship in Front: A ship with this order will turn the same amount as the ship in front of it even if they are on different headings. Avoid Battle: If your ship gets hurt badly you may want to use this. Boarding: A ship with this command will sail to and board a disabled enemy ship. It can also board a friendly ship and make enough repairs to put it back into action. -------------------- : ENEMY COMMANDERS : If you know the enemy, and know yourself, you need -------------------- not fear the results of 100 battles. -- Sun Tzu THE PLAYER Strategy: Your strategy is up to you Tactics : Your coannon range is surpassed only by Jones and Nelson. The accuracy of your shots can be increased (or decreased) by taking charge of firing the cannons yourself. (manual) When grappling, 75% of your crew will be sailors, 25% marines. (Sailors are swordsmen, and maries are riflemen). Cannon Range ****** Reload Speed **** Accuracy ******* Seamanship ********* Crew Quality adjustable in rules (green= 1 *, average= 4 *'s, crack= 7 *'s) THOR FOOTE 871 Strategy: If Thor thinks too hard, it makes his head hurt. So, he will will not put alot of thought into his strategic plans. Tactics : His short-range cannons are manned by poorly trained crews. Neither his sailors, or marines are skillfull fighters. When grappling, 95% of his crew will be sailors and 5% marines. Cannon Range **** Reload Speed **** Accuracy *** Seamanship **** Crew Quality * DUKE OF MEDINA SIDONIA 1588 Strategy: Sidonia tends to pick an objective and then move towards it enmasse. Tactics : Sidonia's cannons can only shoot a short distance so his ships will try to fight at close range. His Spanish galleons are slow and bulky ships that were built to carry marines. His goul is to bound your ships where he can use his superior marksmen to defeat you. His sailors are not skilled in the art of fencing. When grappling, 25% of his crew will be sailors and 75% marines. Cannon Range **** Reload Speed *** Accuracy ***** Seamanship ******** Crew Quality **** BLACKBEARD 1718 Strategy: Blackbeard will fight anyone in sight, regardless of strength, and will never surrender. Tactics : Beware of Blackbeard's bloodthirsty pirate crew: they are the most deadly swordsmen on the high seas ! He will try to close with your ships where he can board and fight man to man. Motivated by greed, the pirates can reload their cannons faster than any other crew. When grappling, 95% of his crew will be sailors and 5% marines. Cannon Range **** Reload Speed ********** Accuracy ***** Seamanship *** Crew Quality ******* MARTEN TROMP 1639 Strategy: Tromp is a conservative strategist and will patiently wait for an opening or weakness in his enemy's forces. Tactics : His cannons are more accurate and will shoot farther than any enemy leader that came before him. The skill level of his marines and sailors are average. The maximum range of his cannons is equal to yours. When grappling, 80% of his crew will be sailors and 20% marines. Cannon Range ****** Reload Speed **** Accuracy ******* Seamanship ********* Crew Quality ***** JOHN PAUL JONES 1779 Strategy: The "Yankee Pirate" does not back out of a fight and will never give up. Tactics : His cannons shoot farther than any other leader's except Nelson's. The fighting skills of his sailors and marines are above average. When grappling, 80% of his crew will be sailors and 20% marines. Cannon Range ******** Reload Speed ****** Accuracy ***** Seamanship ******* Crew Quality ***** HORATIO NELSO 1805 Strategy: The finest strategic thinker in the age of the fighting sail, Nelson puts great emphasis on training. His crews are very efficient, and won't tire easily. Tactics : Nelson will try to fight your ships from a distance to take advantage of his destructive, long-range cannons. When grappling, 75% of his crew will be sailors and 25% marines. Cannon Range ********** Reload Speed ******** Accuracy ******* Seamanship ********** Crew Quality ******* [ CAMPAIGN DESCRIPTIONS ] The Ancient art of War at Sea contains eleven campaigns, each offering a unique challenge. A brief description of each campaign follows. Difficulty is rated on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most difficult. time is also on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the lengthiest. (Of course, if your opponent is much craftier than you, it might make a long game very short.) Time and difficulty will vary if you change the rules or the enemy leader. THE BANE OF OLDAIN The massive enemy fleet is setting sail in the north. Your fleet is harbored in the sout. This may be the first campaign, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy ! A balanced offense and defense could be the key to victory. Difficulty: 3 Time: 5 THE RACE FOR THE CROWN You have 3 warships, the pirates have 26 warships. They are between you and your crown. What could be more fair !? The emphasis in this campaign is on strategy. Difficulty: 2 Time: 3 RUNNING THE GAUNTLET Again, you find yourself cut off from your crown by a huge enemy fleet. It will take an understanding of many aspects of the art of war to be standing victorious when this campaign is over! Difficulty: 4 Time: 4 THE LAST CROWN You've managed to corner your enemy at his crown. You've also managed to lose most of your once powerful fleet in the process. To clinch a victory will require a clever game of cat and mouse. Difficulty: 5 Time: 6 ATTACK OF THE SUPERPOWER Anticipate the enmey's strategy and strike where he is weakest (Aiken Drum) Difficulty: 5 Time: 5 1588 THE SPANISH ARMADA You command the British defense fleet that is standing between the Armada and its traget, London (the white crown). To stop their advance you will need to rapidly deploy your squadrons to where they will be most effective. During combat, take advantage of your technologically superior ships and cannons. Difficulty: 7 Time: 10 1676 SICILY, 1798 THE NILE You are thrust into the middle of a pair of famous battles that occurred a century apart. it will require strategic brilliance against the French on two fronts to avoid a visit to Davey Jone's Locker ! Difficulty: 6 Time: 5 1759 QUIBERON BAY This time, you are placed in command of a French fleet that is being hard pressed by a strong British presence. to take a bold, offensive position or a more cautious defensive position, that is the question. Difficulty: 4 Time: 4 1805 TRAFALGAR This battle was Admiral Horatio Nelson's most brilliant victory, But what if you were in charge of the British sea force instaed of Nelson ? Can you find the weak link in the French chain ? Difficulty: 8 Time: 8 1941 BISMARCK What if the battle of the Bismarck had taken place 200 years earlier ? You command the mighty Bismarck but the British are sending every available ship on a single mission: to sink you ! Difficulty: 8 Time: 4 YOU ONLY LIVE THRICE We saved this one for last. Some players swear that this one is impossible to beat. They're wrong. Difficulty: 10 Time: 9 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [[ DATA DISKS ]] A data disk is used when you want to make your own campaigns, play a campaign that you make, or resume a campaign that was previously saved. You can make as many data disks as you want. Each data disk can hold up to 11 new campaigns and 1 saved game. PREPARING A DATA DISK Before you start, you will need to have a blank or expendable disk to use as your Data Disk. The program will tell you when you need to insert your disk. If your disk is not formatted, the program will do this for you. Just follow the prompts to swap disks when necessary, and the computer will do the rest. Make sure the Data Disk option is set properly in the "Options Shoppe.". PLAYING A CAMPAIGN To play a campaign that you created and saved on a Data Disk, select "Go To War" at the title page and then choose the last selection on the titles scroll, "Data Disk" If you are using the Data Disk and you want to play a campaign on your War Disk, choose the first selection "(WAR DISK)", on the data disk titles scroll. SAVING A GAME IN PROGRESS A game can be saved only on a Data Disk. If there already is a saved game on the Data Disk, taht game will be ERASED when you save the new game. You can save a game in progress when the war map is on the screen and the pointer is not over a squad (any time "View" is on the command line). When you are ready to save the game, hold the Alt key down and press S. The program will tell you when to insert your Data Disk. You will automatically exit the game after it is saved. RESUMING A SAVED GAME Select "Go to War" at the title page. Select the last title on the first scroll, "(DATA DISK)". The program will tell you wehn to insert the Data Disk with the Saved Game. When the program asks if you want to continue with the saved game, press 'Y'. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------,OTE: These are not the full docs, but is a summary of all the important info.. Call this excellent system... Ethereal Dimension Exclusive...9600HST/104megs...................[301] 529-6418 the Gauntlet - C0Dfish text files (c) 1988 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------h