View manual text
-'f-:-~- ----"---. j
iI
Interstel Corporation
presents
STAR FLEET
PLANETARY·
- COMMAND
TASK FORCE
MANUAL
Instructions For
(
EMPIRE'TM
/ (
Wargame of the Century.,
II
.;/
Version 2.05
.1
!
,I
for the IBM PC@
and
Compatibles
,,;)
by
.,
'......-.
-r--{
/
Walter Bright
and
Mark Baldwin
I
-~-
-
---~-.---~---~
WARNING
The purchaser is authorized to duplicate this program for his/her
own use only. Any other copying and distribution without permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.
This software and documentation
are both protected by
U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 United States Code). Unauthorized reproduction
and/or sales may result in imprisonment of up to one year and fines of up to $10,000 (17 USC
506). Copyright infringers may be subject to civil liability.
Empire is not copy protected, but it is copyrighted. We ask that
you treat Empire as you would a book; that is, you may loan (or
give) it to other individuals - so long as there is No Possibility of
it being played at one location while it is being played at another.
Failure to observe the Copyright Law will result in the above
severe legal penalty and may cause irreparable damage to your
conscience.
This program was written by Walter Bright of Northwest
Software and Mark Baldwin of Beacon Technical Services. It is
published by Interstel under exclusive license.
Comments about this program or documentation should be sent to:
Interstel Corporation
P.O. Box 57825
Webster, TX 77598
Tel: (713) 486-4163
Printed in the United States of America, Earth, Sol System.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Empire - Wargame of the Century
e Copyright 1978,1982,1984,1987 Walter Bright and Northwest Software
Star Fleet Planetary Task Force Command Manual
© Copyright 1987, 1988 Interstel Corporation
All rights reserved
First Edition
Second Printing, August 1988
I.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
.
The Right Computer Hardware
Keystroke Notation
Backing Up Your Playing Disk
Installation on Hard Disks
Additional Documentation
Starting EMPIRE
Starting EMPIRE from a Floppy Disk
Starting EMPIRE from a Hard Disk or RAM Disk
EMPIRE Optional Switches
Controlling the Game
Dialog Boxes
Drop Down Menus
Scroll Bars
EMPIRE Security System
Starting/Resuming
the Game
File Selection
The File Requester
Player Selection
Computer Opponents
Multiple Human Players
Play By Mail
Setting the Efficiency Ratings
Production Efficiency
Combat Efficiency
World Map Selection
Signing On
Initial Production Demands
_.............
The Playing Screen
PLA YING THE GAME
Symbols.........
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
6
7
8
8
9
10
11
11
12
12
12
14
15
15
16
19
.........................................
.
.
The Combat Units
.
Production
.
Movement
Combat
Combat Between Units
Repairing Ships
Attacking
Cities
Bombardment
The Game Modes
Move Mode
····················
.
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
.
20
20
25
25
26
26
27 '
27 I
28/
8/
PAGE
Survey Mode
.
Group Survey
::::::::::::::::::
Direction
..............................................
Move To ...............................................
Escort
. ............................
Patrol To
Mark FIPth
Production
.::::::::::::::::::::
........................
View ......................
Computer
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Commands and Orders
Activate
:
:
:
:
.
.
: ..: ..:'.
Center Cursor
Center Screen
Clear Orders
Combat Report
Commanders
..
Delete
:: .. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Display
.
Escort Ship
:::::::::::::::::::
Exit Game .............................................
Flight Paths
Go Direction
. ............................
GoHome
.
g~o~~n;~~e;
:::::::::::::::::::::::
.
.'
:::::::::::::::::::::::
.
.
. .....................
. .........................
.
..
::::::::
'
.
.......................
.
.
.
.
r2~t~~~e·······.·.:·:··:·:·:.:.::.·::··::·
•• ·:::::
47
47
48
48
48
49
50
50
5]
51
52
~. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
CREATING YOUR OWN WORLDS
All Land
All Sea
Blotch Land/Sea
Build a World
Center Cursor
Center Screen
City
Delete
Exit Editor
Grow Land/Sea Mass
Land
Load Map
Save Map
Save Map As
Sea
Sprinkle Cities
Validate Cities
Watch Build
World View
·
·······
········
········
Credits
Background Information
Autobiographies
Interstel Product Warranty.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . ..
Product Replacement
Product Upgrade/Update Plan
Product Registration
.......................................................
58
59
59
60
60
60
60
60
FINAL WORD
INDEX
53
53
54
58
Building a World
39
40
40
41
41
42
42
42
43
44
44
44
45
02
·52
Strategy, Tactics, and Other Hints
37
37
38
38
46
46
.
Save As
Sentry
Set Production
.
.
.. ~. . . . . .. .. . .
31
31
36
36
36
36
Unload Ship
View
Wait
World Map
39
. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : .. : : . : ... : . : : : : . : . : : . : : : : : :
Info on Empire
Infotrrnation)
Load
Load Ship.......................
Map Editor
Move Mode
MoveTo
New Game
Patrol To
Production Map
Quit
Save
.
.
.
.
29
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
3]
61
61
61
61
61
62
62
62
62
63
63
64
65
65
66
67
68
68
68
68
69
-ll
TABLES
'-.
TABLE
TITLE
PAGE
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
Colors Used in EMPIRE
Transport's' Carrying Capacity
Summary of All Combat Units
Maximum Damage Points Per Unit
Commands and Orders Used in EMPIRE
Commands Versus Game Modes
Combat Unit Production Times.
..................
EMPIRE
World Building Commands
20
22
24
27
33
34
49
59
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
TITLE
Security Verification
Screen
File Selection Box
Today's Opponents Screen
New Game Options Display for Two Players
New Game Options Display for Three Players
City Production Selection Menu
Sample Playing Screen
Numeric Keypad Direction Keys
Commanders
Report
Game Display Controls
Direction Cursor
Sample Information
Display
Sample Production Map
Sample Ship Report
Sample War Report
Survey Cursor
Sample World Map
World View in Map Editor
From: Grand Admiral Trevor
Commander-In-Chief
Star Fleet Command
To:
C. Sorensen
Captain William P. Brown
Captain, U.G.A.S. Britannia
Re: OPERATION
BIG BROTHER
Security Classification:
TOP SECRET
J<'IGURES
FIGURE
STAR FLEET HEADQUARTERS
UNITED GALACTIC ALLIANCE
PAGE
7
8
10
13
14
16
17
29
37
38
41
43
47
50
51
52
53
64
The Krellan Empire is invading Alliance space at an alarming
rate and
ravaging all the helpless planets in their path. Due to the vastness of the
territory invaded, even the mighty Krellan Empire does not have enough
warriors for full planetary
assaults on each and every planet.
Thus, the
Krellans have developed OPERATION
BIG BROTHER.
Its purpose is to
subdue and conquer the low to medium technology
planets, which the
Krellans can accomplish with minimum forces. A Krellan battle cruiser
or troop transport
teleports down one or two strategy
and production
teamts) to the largest and strongest
city on the planet, and installs one of
their generals as emperor.
With the introduction
of some advanced technology, but using the planet's own resources and manpower,
they begin
their conquest of the planet. After this planetary empire has been established, they hand the planet over to the Kre llan Empire.
The United Galactic Alliance is even more sorely pressed than the Krellans for manpower and resources.
It will be a great struggle to counter
this new Krellan threat.
Therefore,
you, Captain William P. Brown, and your crew of the U .G.A.S.
are hereby assigned to patrol the region of Alliance space as
outlined
in Attachment
1, and intercept
as many K rellan vessels as
possible in an attempt to stop Operation Big Brother.
You are to avoid
detection by any Krellan forces. Your ship will contain a number of Alliance advisory teams, each with its own General Officer in command.
You
are to send one team to each Krellan invaded planet to try to unite the
fractionalized
cities. Your team will form a counter empire to stop and
defeat the growing Krellan planetary
empire.
Once the Krellan threat
has been eliminated,
the Alliance will convert the planet to a democratic
govern merit.
Britannia,
/
"Orbit achieved
kilometers ."
about
planet
Arabella,
Captain,
"Thank you, Lieutenant.
Standard sensor scan."
trying to stop Operation Big Brother while avoiding
{orces.
altitude
14500
This was getting tough,
detection {rom Krellan.
"What a task," mumbled Captain Brown. "One good phaser barrage would
lay waste to the major cities and stop the Krellans.
Instead we go to battle hand
to hand." My {ellow captains said it was an honor {or us to be selected [or this
task, he remembered.
Only time will tell. Captain Brown waited (or the sensor
report, to see i{ one o{ the Alliance teams he was carrying would be transported
to the planet below. Arabella is a pretty world-abundant
water, plenty o{ land
mass, and a good spread o{ cities. He hoped this world could be left behind.
"Sensor report, sir. A K rellan scout team has already arrived.
we begin our conquest immediately."
"Ok, noti{y General
down."
"Yes sir," responded
Marks,
tell him he and the 5th team can transport
the young Lieutenant.
Suddenly
the quiet was shattered
ships detected."
"Tactical
display,"
Recommend
shouted
by an alert klaxon.
Captain Brown,
"Red Alert.
Enemy
"I want to see those ships!"
"Shields to maximum,"
reported the weapons officer, "All weapons are
ready." The view screen filled with a graphical picture o{ the planet, their orbit,
and that o{the Krellan ships.
"Sir, a Krellan troop transport and destroyer have entered orbit at 12400
kilometers.
I do not think they know we are here." Captain Brown studied the
tactical display. "Confirmed sir, they have activated their teleporters and sent
down what appears to be a large landing party. They are somewhere on the
other side o{the world, I cannot determine their exact position."
"lnform. General Marks that a large K rellan landing party is on the planet's
surface ... somewhere.
Tell him he is on his own, as we must leave orbit to avoid
detection. "
"Yes sir," acknowledged
the communications
officer
INTRODUCTION
EMPIRE - 'Wargame of the Century' by Interstel is a strategic simulation of global conflict, conquest, and empire building between two or three
opposing forces. You start with one city in a large unexplored world.• Your
armies must capture cities to produce your war materials. As part of your
overall strategy you must decide what each of your cities should produce to
best aid your war effort. As your production capacity grows, you will soon
command armies, fighters, destroyers, troop transports, submarines, aircraft
carriers, cruisers, and battleships. You will maneuver your armies, fighters,
and ships to try and smash your opponentts). There are no compromises - each
player must strive to annihilate the other until all opponents are wiped out or
surrender. Your goal is total domination of the world. There can only be one
winner!
EMPIRE is NOT an arcade game. You must use strategy and tactics instead
of hand-eye coordination to defeat your enemies. EMPIRE will allow up to
three players per game on the same computer.
EMPIRE is part of the STAR FLEET family of strategic simulations. It elaborates on one method of planetary conquest that is used in STAR FLEET II~
and STAR FLEET III ". However, the Star Fleet series games do not provide
you with the actual command of the teams that use the planets' own resources. This is the role of EMPIRE. Although it is not necessary to play any
of the Star Fleet series in order to play EMPIRE (or vice versa), it does help
enrich your playing experience by immersing you in the total Star Fleet
universe.
NOTE
EMPIRE is constantly being updated. It is possible that
your game has features that are not documented in this
manual. To learn about additional features, if any, please
look at the README file on this disk.
Captain Brown wanted those Krellan ships. Destroying them would be no
problem.
"Not today," he thought to himsel{, "They must not know we are
here." This battle is up to the Arabella Commander.
General Marks would
have to conquer this world on his own.
"Take us out o{ orbit, ahead
C-ft'actor 5."
_____
VIlI
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
\
THE RIGHT COMPUTER HARDWARE
EMPIRE requires an IBM Personal Computer or compatible with an optional
mouse. The game will run with either CGA or EGA display capability, and a
color or monochrome monitor. Other modes may be supported as indicated on
the box. In addition, the game can be played using either a floppy disk drive, a
hard disk, or a RAM disk.
KEYSTROKE
The following
keyboard:
[A)
INSTALLATION
ON HARD DISKS
The EMPIRE disk supplied by Interstel is NOT copy-protected; therefore it
can easily be copied to a hard disk.
NOTATION
technique
EMPIRE keeps track of players by writing a special file to your pl.aying disk.
If your playing disk is write protected, the program will be unable to save, the
player information.
will be used when referring
[ShiftJ
to a key on your
[H]
i.e., the name of the key enclosed in square brackets.
refers to the computer's space bar.
For example, [Space]
All support EMPIRE
files except "EMPIRE.EXE" should be in a subdirectory (or sub-folder) named "\EMPDAT". If you ~eep "EMPIRE.~XE" in
another directory, then "\EMPDAT" should be a sub-directory to the dIr~ctory
where "EMPIRE.EXE"is
stored. The program will save any games In the
same directory as your program file, or any other directory you specify in the
file selection box.
A batch script file is included on the disk to assist in the installation of the
game on hard drives. With the EMPIRE disk in the default drive, type:
Some of EMPIRE's commands can be executed by pressing two keys in combination. The notation:
I NSTALL"
path"
where "path" is the full directory and path name (ending in a "V' or ":") oflhe
target directory.
IControlllH]
is used to denote that the keys IControl I and [H] are pressed at the same time.
ADDITIONAL
BACKING UP YOUR PLA YING DISK
For your convenience, the EM PI RE disk you purchased is not copy-protected.
It is recommended that you copy the purchased disk onto a blank disk or hard
disk for playing, and save your purchased disk as a backup. Before making a
backup disk, set the write protect tab on your original EMPIRE disk.
DOCUMENTATION
On your EMPIRE disk there is a file called README. DOC which contains
any updates or changes to the documentation since its printing. To read the
file, type:
README
[ENTER]
If you wish to stop the display from scrolling while reading the file, press
[ControI][S). Press any key to continue scrolling.
To make a backup copy, take a blank disk and follow these steps:
1. Format the blank disk per your computer's operating manual.
2.
Follow your computer's operating instructions
original disk.
to make a disk copy of the
When the backup is complete, store your purchased EMPIRE
place and use your new backup copy as your playing disk.
DO NOT WRITE PROTECT
2
disk in a safe
STARTING EMPIRE
NOTE: You can play EMPIRE using the keyboard or a mouse. If you
plan to use a mouse, be sure the mouse driver is installed before you
start EMPIRE (refer to the user's manual for your mouse).
YOUR PLA YING DISK!
EMPmE - Wargame of the Century
EMPmE - Wargame of the Century
3
Starting
EMPIRE
from a Floppy
Disk
For example,
to set CGA graphics
B.oot.your. computer with an MS-DOS disk, then place your backup EMPIRE
disk In drive A:. At the A> prompt, type EMPIRE and then press [ENTER].
Starting
EMPIRE
from a Hard
Boot your computer
normally.
If you want to use a RAM disk, use the
INSTAL.L.EAT file on your EMPIRE
disk to move the required files. Switch
to the directory
where EMPIRE.EXE
is resident, type EMPIRE and press
[ENTER].
,
EMPIRE
Optional
Several switches are available
upon executing EMPIRE
to control some of
the initial features of the game. Although the switches are available, they are
by no means necessary, and may be completely ignored. The syntax for using
the switches is:
-/I
I/CI -1J [/In] UKf -lJ [/MI - ]]
Note that EMPIRE
memorizes
the switches from game to game in a file
called .EMPIRE.~FG .. These switches may be returned to the default value by
following the switch with a" -". Below is a description of each switch.
IB:
Blanks map between map updates.
better on slow machines.
IC:
For~es EMPIRE
to use
avaIlable.
CGA graphics
EMPIRE
in EGA mode.
Iln:
Thi.s op.tion allows you to select alternate colors for game play. This
option IS. used by entering EMPIRE IIn, where "n" is a number.
For
those who do not like the colors used in EMPIRE,
additional
icon
sets are included
in the EMPDAT
directory
labelled
EMPICON#.CGA
for CGA graphics,
and EMPICON#.EGA
for EGA
graphics. The default icon set value is '1'.
IK:
Forces the game to be played
mouse driver loaded.
1M:
U~es the mouse driver loaded in the system. Note that if you boot up
USIng DOS 2.x and are using a mouse, you must use this option.
Otherwise,
EMPIRE
will look for and use an available
mouse
driver.
This may make the screen
look
CGA graphics,
even though
EGA is
use about 40K of memory less than
THE GAME
EMPIRE
uses dialog boxes, drop down menus, and scroll bars to allow you to
communicate
with the game. The following is a brief description of how to use
each.
Dialog
Switches
EMPIRE IIBI
EMPIRE IC 112 fENTERI
CONTROLLING
Disk or RAM Disk
and icon set 2, type:
Boxes
Dialog boxes appear on the screen to give you information,
and request a
response from you. Normally, there will be several boxes on the dialog for you
to select. If you are using a mouse, just move the mouse arrow to the desired
box and click with the left mouse button.
If you are using a keyboard, press
the key which corresponds
to the highlighted
letter associated with each box.
In addition, one box will normally be the default box <the box outline will be
heavier).
Pressing [ENTER] selects the default box.
Drop
Down
Menus
Drop down menus allow you to select commands during the game. Each item
on the menus has a keystroke sequence associated with it. One way to select a
command is to use the appropriate
keystroke
sequence.
If using a mouse,
move the mouse arrow to the top bar, click on the desired menu title to drop
down the menu, then click on the desired menu item. If using a keyboard,
press [Con troll plus the first letter in the name of the desired menu to drop
down that menu. The [ENTER] key will drop down the last used menu. Then
use the [i) and [ ~] keys to select the appropriate
menu item and press
fENTERJ.
Note that not all menu items are active all the time; inactive
menu items will be a different color and you will not be able to select them.
Once the menu has been dropped, the [-] and [-+ J keys may be used to change
menus. The rESC] key may be used to close a menu.
"\
4
by keyboard
EMPIRE
only, even if there
- Wargame
is a
of the Century
Scroll
Bars
Scroll bars appear in the main map and in various dialog boxes. If using a
mouse, the scroll bars may be used in three ways. First, clicking in the small
box at either end of a scroll bar changes the value by one. If you click within a
scroll bar, the value will make large jumps in the corresponding
direction.
Lastly, if you hold down the left mouse button while the mouse arrow is over
the scroll bar, you can drag it to where you wish.
If you are using the
T<~MPTRE - W>lr~>lmf>
of Lhe Centurv
5
keyboard, function keys 1 through 4 or the arrow keys will cont.rol the scroll
bar. There is a number on each end of the scroll bars which corresponds to the
function key used to move the scroll bar in that. direction.
Hitting the key will
change the value by one. If you hold down [Shift] while pressing the key, the
scroll bar will make a large jump.
In o!lde~ to uel'ify yoU!'authol'ization to land
on the planet below~ you MUStentel' a mification
code liON f!'OM yoU!'I.Ownd Manual me-TN- 2775 m,
EMPIRE SECURITY SYSTEM
Please entel' the FIRSTword f!'OM line
3 on page 2~,
After starting
the game, the Interstel logo will appear on your monit.or.
Press any key Dr the left mouse button to stop the music during the screen.
You will automatically
be passed to the security system after the music stops.
Code Nord
I directiorl
To protect your EMPIRE
game against unauthorized
use, a security system
has been installed.
This appears after the title and credit screens have been
shown, and requires you to enter a certain word obtained from this manual
per the instructions
given on your screen.
The security screen is shown in
Figure 1. The following rules apply when looking up the security words.
1.
Page # is as printed
2.
A line is any row with typing on it, including titles. Lines in figures do not
count, but lines in tables do count (i.e., this is line 17).
3.
4.
A word is any unbroken string of characters
with a blank at either end;
i.e., bexampleb,
where b denotes a blank. However, punctuation
marks
do not count.
The security words are taken from this EMPIRE
manual.
The changes
contained in any supplement or change sheets are not counted.
EXAMPLES:
a)
b)
Figure
at the bottom of the page (e.g., this is page 6).
Find word 1 in line 7 on page 15 - the correct word is "records".
Find word 5 in line 6 on page 44 - the correct word is "move".
After entering
the security word, press rENTER]
or click the left mouse
button. You can use the backspace key to correct spelling errors. If you only
want to run a demonstration
game, select the "Run Demo" box. You do not
need to enter a security
word to run the demonstration
game.
The
demonstrat.ion
game will run until one of the computer opponents wins. You
can stop the demonstration
game by pressing any key. After the current
player's turn is finished, you will be placed in View mode where you can look
at the world, check each player's status, or quit. To continue the demonstration game.just
enter Move mode (see p. 44).
1: Security
Verification
Screen
Once past the security screen, you will be asked to proceed with your planetary landing. Click the left mouse button or press [ENTER].
The simulation
startup
continues
with Starting/Resuming
The Game.
STARTING/RESUMING THE GAME
All EMPIRE
commands can be executed from pull-down menus, or from the
keyboard. The keys are shown to the right of the command in it~ ~enu. These
keystrokes are described later in the individual command descriptions.
After passing the security
check, the screen will clear and the opening
EMPIRE
Desktop will appear.
There are five top level pull-down command
menus on this screen. They are:
File
New Game
Load
Map Editor
Delete
Quit
Reports
Only those commands
Orders
you can execute
Commands
from the EMPIRE
Misc
Sound
Display
Commanders
Info on Empire
Desktop
are shown
above.
6
EMPllm
- Warga me of the Century
EMPIRE
- Wargame
of the Century
7
File Selection
Section 2: File Box - The files in the specified directory will be listed in this
box. If you change the default directory, a new list will appear. To select afiie
name, move the cursor arrow to it.and click the left mouse button, or highlight
it using the arrow keys and press [ENTER). The selected file will eitherbe
loaded into memory from the directory path, saved in the directory, or deleted,
depending on the command using the File Requester.
Several commands require that you enter or select a file name. These commands include: Delete, Save As, Load, selecting a particular map during game
startup, Load Map, and Save Map As. The file selection box is shown in
Figure 2.
You can move the file list up or down by using the scroll bar on the right of the
file box, or the up or down cursor control keys. Simply drag the scroll bar with
the cursor arrow, click on the up- or down-pointing arrows at the end of the
scroll bar, or use the cursor control keys to move the list.
To start a new game, select. New Game. To continue a previously saved game,
select Load. More on starting saved games is found in the Load command
description on p. 43.
File
He o~ts O~dm'COMMands Mise
Directories contained within the current directory will be displayed in the file
box. You can make any of these directories the current. directory by selecting
it as you would select a file name. To exit a directory, move the cursor arrow
to the Parent Box and click the left mouse button, or press [P).
Section 3: Selection Line - You can create anew file by ent.ering a file name
in the selection line. To select the selection line, place the cursor arrow on the
select.ion line and click the left mouse button, or press [F). You can ent.er or
edit the file name in the same manner in which you entered the directory
path. Pressing [ENTER] or clicking the left mouse button will select the file
as described in the File Box section. If the directory path includes a file
extension, one does not need to be provided in the selection line. Pressing
[ESC] removes the cursor from the selection line.
Section 4: OK/Cancel Boxes - The "OK" box is provided as an alternative
means of selecting a file. To cancel a command, select the "CANCEL" box. To
select these boxes you can either place the cursor arrow on the desired option
and click the left mouse button, or press [ESC] to remove the cursor from the
directory path or selection line then press [0] or [C] to select the desired
option.
Figure 2: File Selection Box
The File Requester
Section 5: Parent Directory Box - Selecting this box changes the current
directory to the directory one level up. You can select this box with the mouse
or by pressing [P). If there is a cursor in the directory path or selection line,
you will have to press rESCJ before rp).
The file selection box has the following sections:
PLAYER SELECTION
Section 1: Dir-ector-y Path - This line allows you to specify a disk drive
and/or directory path other than the default. The default path is the one you
used to start EMPIRE. To change the path, select. the Direct.ory Line with
the mouse or [0] key. A cursor will appear. The left and right cursor control
keys can be used to move the cursor. The [Backspace] key will delete the
character to the left. of the cursor. Type in the new directory path, press
[ENTER], and the cont.ents of the directory will be displayed in the File Box.
Pressing [ESC] will remove the cursor from the directory path.
You will now be asked to select the number of players and whether they will
be human or computer controlled. This is done in the Today's Opponents
Screen shown in Figure 3. To select the players, move the cursor arrow to
either the "Human" or the computer C'Standard" or "Expert") opponents
butt.ons and click the left.mouse button once, or use the r 11, r2], and r3] keys to
toggle the boxes.
8
EMPIRE
EMPIRE - Wargame oft.he Cent.ury
- Wargame of the Century
9
File Re D~ts O~de1'5 COMMands Hise
HODE:
COHPtrrER OPPOHENTS
If you specified all the players to be run by your compui,e.r (i.e ...; a
demonstration game), EMPIRE will run until one of the players w,.nsor you
stop the game. If you press any key, at the end of the current player s turr~ the
game will stop. You will then be placed in View mode where you can.l~ok. at
the world, check each player's status, or quit. To restart the demonstratIOn
game,just enter Move mode (described on p. 44).
PLAYER 12 [ l
mTIIilll 1 EXPERT I
The computer operated playerts) play by the same rules and under the sa~e
conditions that you do. Your computer has no special advantages, though It
may appear otherwise at times.
PLAYER 13 [ l
!sTANDARD I 1 EXPERT I ••
I TODAY S OPPONENTS
I
PLAYER 11 [l
IIIllllI
I
ISTANDARD I I·EXPERT I
Multiple Human Players
Figure 3: Today's Opponents
Screen
Selected players will be highlighted. If you want to battle only one opponent,
then player 3 should be "NONE". Otherwise, select whether you want
another human or computer opponent. If you will be playing against any
human opponents, you can select the "PBM" box to play-by-mail or modem
(see p. 11). When you have completed your selections, select the "OK" button.
To cancel your selections, select the "CANCEL" box. Cancelling this
command will return you to the EMPIRE Desktop and you will have to
execute the New Game command again.
Computer Opponents
Computer players selected as "Standard" will have a slightly higher overall
rating, whereas an "Expert" computer opponent has the same rating as a
human opponent. An "Expert" computer opponent is much smarter, and thus
harder to defeat.
If you decide to battle two computer opponents, they will not know of each
other. The two computer opponents will battle each other just as they would
fight you. If you are fortunate, they will fight and weaken each other, or one
will be eliminated, and you can (easily") defeat the remaining computer
opponent. However, they may just as easily involve you in a deadly "twofront" war. Remember what that did to Nazi Germany?? It is thus recommended you select only one computer opponent until you have played the
game a few times.
10
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
Two or more human players can play the game on one computer or via mail. If
playing on the same computer, after player 1 completes. his~er turnts), the
screen will blank and a message box will appear asking If player 1 has
completed hislher turn. Select the "Yes" box if you are finished: If you select
the box labelled "No", you will be placed in Survey mode (described on p. 29),
where you can then go around that portion of the world you have explored
changing orders, production demands, etc. To complete your turn, enter Move
mode. Player 2 will then be asked to report. After selecting the "OK" box, the
map for player 2 will appear. Each player will have to "turn his/her ?ack"
while their opponent completes their turnts). After player 2 completes his/her
turnts), the process will repeat again and the map for player 1 (or player 3)
will appear. And so it goes until one player defeats the other'(s).
At the beginning of a multiple human player game, before any enemies are
found, the turns are very short. Up to about turn 100 the com~uter all?ws
each player several turns in a row, avoiding a lot of rapid chair sw~ppmg.
However, as soon as a player encounters an opponent, the computer WIll stop
allowing multiple turns. You will then have to change places after each turn.
Play-By-Mail
(PBM)
If you select to play one or more human opponents by mail (i.e. selecting the
"PBM" box on the Today's Opponents Screen), you will be asked a password
after each turn, and the program will automatically save the ~ame at the end
of every turn. This file, named by you the first time the game IS saved, should
then be sent to your opponent(s) by mail or modem. The next player starts the
same game using the Load command, completes his/her turn, t~en sends the
file back or to the next player (if three). Files can be transmitted to each
player via the postal service, or modem. YOU CANNOT INT~RACTIVEL Y
PLA Y THIS GAME OVER A MODEM. Note that Amiga, Atari ST, and IBM
PBM files are entirely compatible, so opponents may play on different
machines.
EMPIRE - Waraa me OoftheCenturv
11
A~ter selecting your opponentts) you will proceed to the New Game Options
Display to set the combat and production efficiencies for each player.
SETTING THE EFFICIENCY RATINGS
Production Efficiency
IIIlI GMi O/IJIlIS
-,
PLAYEllI! III
PlAYER 12 [21
--------------- boduction Efficiency [FH'21 -------------1(1 •
1>1
1(1.
1>1
[][]
~ity production is proportional to the set production efficiency. That is, a setting of 100 percent produces units at twice the normal rate (50 percent)·
whereas 25 percent produces units at half the normal rate. For example'
~ghter~ normally require 10 turns to manufacture. If your production effi~
ciency 1S 25, 50 (normal), or 100 percent, it will take 20, 10, or 5 turns to comp~ete ea~h fighter, res~ectively. Remember, increasing the production efficL~ncy wL.llproduce ututs faster, whereas decreasing the production efficiency
uiill require more turns to produce each unit.
Combat Efficiency
----------------1<1 •
[j]
CoMbatErriciency IFH41 ---------------1>1
1(1.
1>1
[J[J
[j]
Rating
Rating
II]
[J[]
Figure 4: New Game Options Display for Two Players
Your combat efficiency is the probability of hitting your opponent. If both opponents have 50 percent combat ratings, then each has an even chance to
cause damage to or destroy his opponent (i.e. your 50% -i- their 50% = I). The
player w~th the highe~ combat efficiency has a better chance of inflicting damage on his opponent (i.e, your 75% -;- their 50% = 1J times your opponent's
chances). The stren.gth of.the hi~s does not change with the combat efficiency.
The New Game Options Display 1S shown in Figure 4 for two players.
In this Figure, player 2 is your computer set to "Standard". If you select the
computer o~ponent as "Expert", then both overall ratings will start at 50
pe:cent. To mcrease or decrease the efficiencies, select the player to change by
using t~e [1] or [2] key. Then use [FI], rF2], [F3], and [F4] to change the
production and combat efficiencies. Alternately, you may move the cursor
arrow t~ the scroll bar of the item you want to change, and drag the scroll box
to the right or ~eft t~ increase or decrease the efficiency, respectively. To
change the efficiency m one percent increments, click the left or right arrows
next to the drag bars with the left mouse button to decrease or increase the
effic~ency, respectively. Holding down the left mouse button will cause the
efficiency to continuously increase or decrease by one percent (to 100 or 0
~ercent) until you release the button. To change the efficiency in ten percent
increments, use rShift][Fl] - fF4] or click the cursor arrow in the grey shaded
areas to the left or right of the drag bars. Higher efficiencies make the player
stronger. Be care~ul: as you increase your combat and production.efficiencies,
your overall rating goes down, and as you decrease your combat and
production efficiencies, your overall rating goes up. As your overall rating
changes, so does your opponent's, so that the total is approximately 100
percent.
12
~
~MPIRE - Wargame of the Century
Because in Figure 4 the computer opponent is "Standard", the only way I
play with equal overall ratings is to lower your production and/or combat eft
ciency. Doing this will raise your overall rating, and reduce the overall ratir
of the "Standard" opponent. You should not change the efficiency ratinj
until you are familiar with the game. Otherwise, you could put yourself;
such a disadvantage that you will not enjoy the challenge of EMPIRE.
I
The New Game Options Display is shown in Figure 5 for three players.
I
I
In this figure, player 1 is human (you), player 2 is a "Standard" comput
opponent, and player 3 is an "Expert" computer opponent. You change tl
combat and production efficiencies on this screen the same way as on the OJ
with only two players. As before, higher efficiencies make a player strongs
and as you increase your combat and production efficiencies, your oven,
rating goes down. Likewise, as you decrease your combat and productii
efficiencies, your overall rating goes up. As your overall rating changes'J:
does each of your opponent's. A player's rating is based on his/her 0
production and combat efficiencies, and the production and com
efficiencies of the stronger of his/her opponents. For example, if you adj
your (player I) combat and production efficiencies such that your over
rating is 40 percent, BOTH of your opponents will have overall ratings
approximately 60 percent (if "Expert" computer or "Human" opponents).
addition, if you change the efficiencies of player 2 such that its overall rat!
is 40 percent, the overall ratings of player 1 (you) and player 3 will
approximately 60 percent. Again, you should not change the efficiencies u
you are familiar with the game.
l
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
File Re Ol'ts Ol'dm COllllands Misc
HODE:
After selecting a map, you will be told how many cities there are iri the entire
world. The number of cities usually varies between 60 and 70, depending on
the layout of the continents.
DO
PlAYER11 [1J
PLAYER12 [21
PLAYEI!13 [31
_--------------hoduction Efficiency [Fl-F21 -------------1<1 •
III 1(1 •
!}I 1(1 •
!}I
OCJ
[J]U
[]O
-----------------
COMbat Err iciency [F3-F41 ----------------
1<1 ~
III 1<1 ~
~ting
OK]
SIGNING ON
I~ 1(1 ~
You wi II now be asked to enter your last name.
Your name will be used to
keep a service record of your success at playing EMPIRE.
In addition, the
records of all other players using your disk will be stored. Players' names are
used to create a Commanders
Report.
This report is described in the Commanders command on p. 37.
!}I
Rating
Rating
[]U
[]O
After typing your name, press [ENTER] or the left mouse button. Names can
be up to 16 characters
long. You can use the [Backspace]
key to correct any
typing errors.
Figure
5: New Game
Options
Display
for Three
Players
fter you finish making changes (if any), select the "OK" box in the upper left
irner. To cancel your changes, select the "CANCEL" box. Cancelling this
rmmand will return you to the Desktop.
ou can now select the world map.
VORLD MAP SELECTION
fter you leave the New Game Options Display, you will be asked if you wish
, select a particular
world map, or have one chosen at random. If you wish to
elect a map, choose the "Select" box. The file selector (described on p. 8) will
ppear and allow you to choose the appropriate
".MAP" file. Also in the
MPDA:.directory
is a subdirectory
labelled XTRAMAPS, in which you will
nd additional
maps. These maps were a little too strange to include in the
.andard set, but you may enjoy using them.
Choosing the box labelled
Random" ,:ill cause the program to randomly select a ".MAP" file from your
MPDAT directory.
Randomly selecting a world is more fun because you will
ot know what it looks like (unless you have played on it several times before
nd recognize it).
If, after typing your name, EMPIRE
cannot find it in the commanders
file,
you wi II be asked if you are a new player.
If so, select the box labelled "Yes
Sir." If you are not a new player, select the box labe lIed "No Sir," and you will
be asked to type your name again.
After passing the name check, you will be told to report to your command
Select the box labelled "OK" to continue with the game.
INITIAL PRODUCTION
post.
.
DEMANDS
After entering your name, you will be asked for your initial city production
demands (you start with one city). This is done through the City Production
Selection Menu-shown
in Fi.g.ure-6 .._-----To select your production
demands, use the arrow keys or move the cursor
arrow onto the line with the symbol and name of the unit you want (the
column where the asterisk
is located in Figure 6) and click the left mouse
button.
The combat units are described on pp. 20-24. After making your
selection, select the box labelled "OK" or press fENTERJ.
City production
is
described in detail on p. 25 and p. 49. It is recommended
you start with armies
until you are familiar with the game.
After
selecting
planetary
your
initial
city production
demands,
you can begin
your
conquest.
If)
File He orts Ol'del's
COMMands
Mise
MODE:
TURN: 0
. * ARMIE~
IC~tERS
EmOYER~
~ RANSPORT~
SUBMARINES
CRUISERS
CARRIERS
64 66 68 79
Figure
n 74 76 78 89 82 84 86 88 99 n 94 96 98
6: City Production
Selection
4
~
Menu
he world is shown on your screen as a map of 60 rows by 100 columns. The
iws are numbered 0 to 59, the columns 0 to 99. However, the outer rows and
)l~mns are not accessible to the combat units for movement, so to avoid conISlOn they have been shaded grey. All coordinates are given as row,column;
.g. 32,78 means row 32, column 78. Location 0,0 is the upper left corner of the
lap.
Jte:- completing your initial production selection, your screen will show a
ortlOn. of the world map that is 20 rows by 36 columns.
A sample playing
creen IS shown in Figure 7.
screen consists
of the following sections:
ection
1: Command
Menus - This row shows the command pull-down
~pnll"
"'0
execute a co mman, d you may use t he k eystro k e associated
.
••• --.
~,~~vv
with
he command, select the menu and item with the mouse, or use [Control] plus
he first letter of the menu to drop the menu and arrow keys and [ENTER] to
elect the command.
More on executing commands is in the Commands
and
>rders Section.
)eclion 2: Mod~ Indicator
- This indicator tells you which mode you arc in.
/lodes are described in the Playing The Game section.
6
Figure
7: Sample
Playing
66
N
Screen
Section 3: Turn Counter - This counter is increased by one each time a turn
is completed.
One turn is completed after all the combat units have had a
chance to move. As seen in Figure 7, turn 31 is in progress.
'HE PLAYING SCREEN
'he playing
U 39 32 34 36 38 40 42 44' '46 48 50 52 54 56 58 69 6264
•
~
EMPIRE - Waraarne
of the Centurv
Section 4: Message
Line - This line is where you will receive messages and
command acknowledgements
from EMPIRE.
For example, in Figure 7, the
cursor is currently over the troop transport named Grief. As you are prompted
to give each unit a command or order, the unit name, location, and any
current orders will be displayed on this line. An example message is "Your
5th Army at 32,17 Moving to 28,16".
~--~--------------------------
Section 5: Map Display - This is the map area of your screen. Because of the
resolution and size limitations of your monitor, only 20 rows and 36 columns
can be displayed at a time during moves. You can move the map display to see
more of the world. The screen moves automatically
to the unit to be moved.
Section 6: Row Numbers
- This far left column gives the map row numbers.
These row numbers will scroll and change with the map .
Section 7: Row Scroll Bars - To move the map up or down, use [F3] and [F4],
or move the cursor arrow to the scroll bar in the far left column and drag it up
or down, respectively.
If you wish to move the map one row at a time, use [F3J,
[F4], or click the "3" or "4" at the top and bottom of the column with the left
mouse button.
To move the map a half screen at a time, use [Shift][F31,
[Shift][F4),
or click the cursor arrow in the grey shaded area above or below
the drag bars to move the map up or down, respectively.
EMPIRE - Wargarne
of the Century
I
ection 8: Column Numbers - This bottom row gives the map column numers. These column numbers will scroll and change with the map.
~ction 9: Column Scroll Bars - To move the map left or right, use [F'I] and
'21, or move the cursor arrow to the scroll bar below the column numbers and
-ag it left or right, respectively.
If you wish to move the map one column at a
me, use IFl], [F2], or click the "1" or "2" at the left or right ends of the row
ith the left mouse button. To move the map a half screen at a time use
;h~ft][F3], [ShiftJ[F4], or click the cursor arrow in the grey shaded are~ left
. right of the drag bars to move the map left or right, respectively.
PLAYING THE GAME
Except for the spaces adjacent to your initial city, the entire world map is unknown (blank) until you start to explore it. You cannot detect enemy units
unless one of yours is next to them. The actual map you see on your screen is a
summary of all the most recent information that you have about the world.
BE CAREFUL!!
The enemy unit symbols shown on the map are their last known
locations. These locations may not be accurate, as they have
probably moved since you detected them! Remember that the map
displays only the most recent information you have.
The basic time unit of EMPIRE
is the turn. Each turn consists of the
following phases: 1) production, and 2) movement/combat.
These phases are
repeated for each player in turn. Normally, player 1 goes first, player 2 goes
second, and player 3 goes third. The player order may differ in multiple
human-player
games.
When a new game is started, it may take as many as 100 to 200 turns of play
before you .discover the other playerts), or they discover you. Be patient, the
enemy is out there. You are playing on a large world. The first part of the
game should be spent exploring and expanding your production base.
EMPIRE will prompt you to move each unit which does not have any active
orders or cannot move. The prompt consists of a short message in the message
line of-your screen (see Section 4 of-Figure--"l-)-;-and-a-blinking cursor w-i-H-be-positioned over the piece to be moved on the map. Completion of one turn
occurs when each combat unit has either executed its orders or had a chance to
move. You will receive a message with the results of each combat involving
any of your units.
The last computer opponent will attempt to surrender when you have beaten
it to the point where it can no longer win. You do ha ve the option of refusing
their surrender and continuing until you have completely wiped them out.
SYMBOLS
Each combat-unit has its own attack and defense factor. These factors are
multipliers to the combat efficiency set during the start of a game', The attack
.and defense factors are normally both equal to one, which means the unit will
attack and defend with the combat efficiency set during the game startup. An
attack factor of t means the unit attacks with one-half the set combat efficiency. Likewise, a defense factor of t means the unit defends with 'one-half
the set combat efficiency.
The unit symbols used on your display are:
m
~
~
~
~
City*
Destroyer
~
bJ
Army
Army on Sentry Duty
Battleship
~
Troop Transport (empty)
Troop Transport (armies
Each of the playing pieces will now be described.
Cruiser
~
Fighter
Submarine
Aircraft Carrier (empty)
~
Aircraft Carrier (fighters on board)
~
* NOTE: Cities with units in them will be shaded.
~
on board)
The default colors used in EMPIRE are given in Table 1.
Item
EGA
CGA
Land
Green
Dark Green
Sea
Blue
Cyan
Black
Black
Area
Neutral
Cities
Black on White
Black on White
Player
1 Units'
White
White on Black
Player 2 Units
Red
Magenta.on.Black.Lc;
Player 3 Units
Yellow
Cyan on Black
*NOTE: Player's
units include conquered
Armies will be destroyed after receiving one damage point from an enemy
unit. Armies attack enemy units with one damage point per hit. Armies have
normal attack and defense factors, which are one and one, respectively. However, armies have a defense factor of t when bombarded by a cruiser or
battleship.
To produce your first army in any city normally requires six turns. After that
only five turns are required to produce an army.
TABLE I
COLORS USED IN EMPIRE
Unexplored
Armies: Armies are of primary importance. Only armies can capture cities
and conquer continents. Armies move on land at a rate of one space per turn.
Movement across water is done by boarding a troop transport. To board a
troop transport, simply move the army onto it.
cities as well as armies, fighters and
ships.
THE COMBAT UNITS
Fighters: Fighters are fighter-bomber aircraft which are suited for multiple
roles, including reconnaissance, attacking armies and ships, and air-to-air
combat against enemy fighters. Fighters can move over land and sea at a rate
of five spaces per turn. They have a maximum range of 20 spaces before they
must be refueled. Fighters are refueled by landing in any of your cities or on
one of your aircraft carriers. Attempting to land in a city which is not yours is
futile. If a fighter runs out offuel while in flight, it will crash.
Pighterswrll be destroyed-after re'cciving-on-e-dmnage-point-from-an-enemy-.
unit. Fighters attack with one damage point for each hit on enemy units.
Fighters have attack and defense factors of one and one, respectively.
Fighters cannot detect enemy submarines when located in an adjacent square,
• but will attack one if the fighter tries to move onto the square where an enemy
submarine is located.
To produce your first fighter in any city normally requires 12 turns; after that
only 10 turns are required to produce a fighter.
There are eight different combat units (or pieces) in EMPIRE: armies, fighters, troo~ transp~rts, submarines, destroyers, cruisers, aircraft carriers, and
battleships. Armies can only move on land. Fighters can move over land and
water. Ships can moveat sea, or dockin occupiedcities.
Troop Transports: Troop transports are used to carry armies from one continent or island to another. They can carry a maximum of six armies, less if
they are damaged. Troop transports move two spaces per turn.
Troop transports will be destroyed after receiving three damage points from
enemy units. Each damage point suffered by a transport reduces the number
20
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
21
armies it can carry by two. Thus a transport with one damage point can
ly carry four armies (refer to Table Il). Any excess armies over the ship's
pacity when it is hit will be destroyed once you try to move the transport. If
u are next to land, your excess armies can be moved off before you move the
msport. Your transports attack the enemy with one damage point per hit.
ansports have attack and defense factors of t and t, respectively.
an sports cannot attack armies, and cannot see submarines in an adjacent
uare.
. produce your first troop transport in any city normally requires
.er that only 25 turns are required to produce one.
30 turns;
Destroyers make excellent scout ships, especially early in the game. Simply
move one or more destroyers in different directions away from your horne
island or continent.
Destroyers are fast moving, and can quickly scout an
island or continent shoreline, showing the coastal cities. In addition, you may
find the enemy's location before they find yours.
Destroyers can withstand three damage points from enemy units before being
destroyed. They attack the enemy with one damage point per hit. Destroyers
have attack and defense factors of one and one, respectively.
Destroyers can
see all combat units, including submarines, but cannot attack armies.
To produce your first destroyer in any city normally requires
that only 20 turns are required to produce each destroyer.
TRANSPORT'S
Damage Points
TABLE II
CARRYING
CAPACITY
Cruisers;
Cruisers are fast and powerful warships of medium size but with
less firepower and armor than a battleship.
Cruisers move at a rate of two
spaces per turn. These ships are typically used to protect your shipping lanes,
attack enemy ships, and bombard enemy armies on land.
Maximwn Number
of Armies
0
1
6
2
2
3
Destroyed
4
Cruisers will be destroyed after receiving eight damage points from enemy
units. They attack the enemy with two damage points per hit. Cruisers have
attack and defense factors of one and one, respectively.
Cruisers can see and
attack all combat units, including submarines and armies.
rbmartnesr
Submarines are underwater craft armed with torpedoes. They
e undetectible by armies, fighters, troop transports, aircraft carriers, and
ttleships when located in an adjacent square. Besides being hard to detect,
ey are particularly
strong in attack, but weaker in defense.
When a
bmarine scores a hit against an enemy ship, three damage points worth of
mage is done instead of the usual one point. This is enough to sink the
taller ships (such as troop transports) with a single hit. Only the battleship
as powerful in attack as the submarine. Submarines move at the rate of two
"-----aces per turn.
Ibmarines will be destroyed after receiving two damage points from enemy
tits. They have .attack and defense factors of one and t, respectively.
ibmarines cannot see or attack armies, and cannot see adjacent fighters.
ate that cities ~ detect submarines.
) produce your first submarine in any city normally requires 24 turns; after
at only 20 turns are required to produce a submarine.
estroyers:
Destroyers are small, fast, and highly maneuverable warships
·med with guns, torpedoes, and depth charges. Because of their speed and
aneuverability,
they move at a rate of three spaces per turn. These ships are
ten used to protect your own troop transports, menace the enemy's ships,
id find submarines.
r~~MPIT~li'_ \,\/.••...
tT.lrnn
24 turns; after
roor. hn. f'n"" ••••.•"
To produce your first cruiser in any city normally requires
only 30 turns are required to produce each cruiser.
35 turns; after that
,
Aircraft Carriers:
These are extremely large vessels designed as mobile air
bases at sea. Aircraft carriers can carry and refuel fighters. They can carry a
maximum of eight fighters, less if they are damaged. Each damage point suffered by a carrier reduces the number of fighters it can carry by one. Thus a
carrier with tnree oamage points can only carry lve fi-ghters (~-==-5-}:--AllY
excess fighters over the ship's capacity when it is hit will be destroyed.
Aircraft carriers move two spaces per turn.
Aircraft carriers will be destroyed after receiving eight damage points from
enemy units. They attack the enemy with one damage point per hit. Carriers
have attack and defense factors of t and one, respectively.
Aircraft carriers
cannot see adjacent submarines, and cannot attack armies.
To produce your first aircraft carrier in any city normally
after that only 40 turns are required to produce each one.
I
requires
i
!
I
48 turns;
Battleships:
Battleships are large, heavily armored warships of destruction.
They possess the largest guns and most firepower of any sea vessel. They
move at a rate of two spaces per turn. These ships are best used to attack
enemy shipping and to bombard enemy armies on land. Battleships are especially effective in attacking enemy cruisers and aircraft carriers.
Ii'M PI rH.' _ We> rm;un •• nf t h ••
r.•.nt rr-v
i
23 )
attleships will be destroyed after recervmg twelve damage points from
nemy units. They attack the enemy with three damage points per hit.
attleships have attack and defense efficiencies of one and one, respectively.
attleships cannot see submarines in an adjacent square.
o produce your first battleship in any city normally requires 60 turns; after
rat only 50 turns are required to produce each battleship. Table III provides
brief summary of each combat unit.
TABLE III
SUMMARY OF ALL COMBAT UNITS
Army
Fighter
Troop
Transport
Sub·
marine
Destroyer
Cruiser
Aircraft
Carrier
Battleship
Speed
1
5
2
2
3
2
2
2
Hits to
destroy
1
1
3
2
3
8
8
12
Damage
per hit
1
1
1
3
1
2
1
3
Attack
Factor
1
1
~
1
1
1
t
1
Defense
Factor
.1.*
1
"2
"2
1
1
1
1
1
Bombardment
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
1
•
Cargo
Capacity
1
1
Eight
fighters
Six
armies
Cannot
See
Subs
(1)
Subs
Subs
Armies
Fighters
initial
Prod (2)
6
12
30
24
24
20_
20
Cont
ProoT2jNotes:
-5
-10
-25
• Against bombardment
only.
lAbbreviation
for "Submarines."
2The production turns given are for a production
PRODUCTION
All your combat units are produced by your cities. The initial production
turns are longer because time is required to build the factories and set up the
production line. Each city will continue to produce the same type of unit until
you change it (refer to the Set Production command). Inland cities can only
produce armies or fighters. Coastal cities (ports) can produce armies, fighters,
and ships. The computer will not allow your inland cities to produce ships.
At the beginning of each turn, you will be informed by a pop-up window of
each unit whose production was just completed during that turn. The screen
will show the section of the world map and the city in which the unit was
produced. The window will have two selections available. Select "Production"
to change the production of the city that just produced the unit, or "Continue"
if you want the city to continue producing the same type of units.
All army and fighter units will be given a unit designation (e.g., 5th army,
143rd fighter) by your computer. As each of your ships is produced, you will
be given the chance to name it. Simply press [S] and then the name in the box
provided, and press [ENTER). Names can be up to 16 characters long and
consist of more than one word (e.g. "Sea Vixen"). If you do not wish to name
the ship, select the "Continue" box or press [ENTER]; your computer will
name the ship for you.
MOVEMENT
Subs
Subs
35
48
60
30
40
50
Each of the combat units can be moved in any of eight directions according to
the diagram below:
efficiency of 50 percent.
Each combat unit is moved by issuing commands (or orders) through the pulldown menus, keyboard, or clicking the unit on the screen with the mouse
During a turn each combat unit will try to execute its current orders. Yom
combat units will attempt to move around obstacles, but if the unit cannoi
easily do so, it will stop and wait for you to give it a single move cornrnanc
(movement is described in detail on p. 28 and 44). If the unit has orders anc
cannot move or it is not sure if it should continue moving (as when next to ar
enemy unit or city), your computer will flash the unit's symbol quicker thar
normal and wait for you to give the unit a move command or new orders. Thi:
24
EMPIRE· Wargame of the Century
EMPIRE· Wargame of the Century
21
called "waking up", and it allows you to command an attack, move around
(e.g. water), or continue with its current orders. Each combat' unit
ill wake up if it encounters an enemy unit.
1 obstacle
he computer will not allow you to run your ships aground, or drown your
rmies. If you try to make an illegal move, your computer will "ping" or
olink", and wait for a valid response.
here can only be one combat unit in a square
rllowing:
at a time,
except
traded until one of them receives three damage points. That dastroyer is
sunk, but if your ship took two "hits", then one more from any other enemy
combat unit (including an army!) will sink your destroyer. Damage sustained
by a unit is cumulative until it is either destroyed or repaired. The number of
damage points that each unit can take is given in Table IV. Once the. number
in Table IV is reached, the unit is destroyed.
for the
MAXIMUM
Any number of units may be in a city, such as several fighters, armies,
and/or ships under repair. However, these units DO NOT help the city's
defense factor and will be destroyed if the ci ty is captured by the enemy.
Up to six armies may board a troop transport (less if the transport
is
damaged). If the transport is destroyed while carrying armies, they will
be lost along with the ship.
Up to eight fighters may board an aircraft carrier (less if the carrier is
damaged). If the carrier is sunk while carrying fighters, they will be lost
along with the ship.
TABLE IV
DAMAGE POINTS
PER UNIT
Unit
Maximum Damage Points
Army
1
Fighter
1
Destroyer
3
Troop Transport
3
Submarine
2
Cruiser
8
Aircraft Carrier
8
Battleship
12
"ighters, troop transports,
aircraft carriers, and battleships cannot detect
.nerny submarines when located in an adjacent square, but can attack one if
hey try to move onto the square where the enemy submarine is located. Armes also cannot detect submarines, but unlike the units mentioned previously,
rrrnies can never attack enemy submarines.
Armies can, however, attack all
rther enemy ships. Submarines cannot detect armies and fighters, but will
lefend themselves from fighter attacks.
The probability of a combat unit receiving a hit is based on the owning
player's combat efficiency rating. The higher a player's combat efficiency, the
greater the chance that player will survive the conflict. A 50 percent combat
efficiency is normal.
Ship's movement is reduced to one space per turn ifit is damaged 50 percent or
nore (e.g., a cruiser with four damage points out of a possible eight will nave --Its movement reduced to one space per turn).
Your ships can be repaired by docking them in one of your ports (i.e. moving
them onto one of your cities nextto the-sea)-:-9ne
damage-point-wil
be-l'e·
stored for each turn the ship remains docked. Ships carrying armies or fighters will automatically
unload when they dock.
COMBAT
Combat
Between
Attacking
Units
You attack an enemy unit by attempting to move one of your units onto it.
Damage points are traded off for each hit until one unit is totally destroyed.
Only one of the units will survive the conflict. Each unit can withstand only
so many "damage points" before it is destroyed. Damage points are registered
whenever a unit suffers a hit. For example, three damage points are required
to sink a destroyer. These damage points could be three hits from a fighter or
fighters, or one hit from a submarine (submarines give three damage points
per hit). If you attack an enemy destroyer with one of yours, "hits" will be
26
Repairing
EMPIRE - Warzarne of the Century
Ships
Cities
A city is attacked by attempting to move one of your armies onto it. Your
army's chances of conquering a city is a function of your combat efficiency.
Capturing cities is crucial to building up your production base and destroying
your opponentls).
ONLY ARMIES CAN CAPTURE CITIES. The army itself
is dispersed as a garrison to control and defend the city once it is captured.
£<:MPIRE- Waraarne
of the Century
Bombardment
Your battleships and cruisers can bombard enemy armies on land. To be bombarded, the enemy army must be in an adjacent square on a coast. To start the
bombardment, click the adjacent army symbol as if you wanted to move the
ship onto it. Do not worry, your ship will NOT run aground. The bombardment is like a normal unit attack, except that after the army is destroyed,
your ship will not move onto its space. The bombardment takes the place of
moving one space, so you can either move two spaces, bombard two armies, or
move one space and bombard one army. Cruisers and battleships docked in a
city can still bombard enemy armies that corne next to the city.
I
i
I
I
mouse button. If you do not want the unit to move, press the [Space) bar or
select the Wait order. Combat units can only attack by giving a Move
command. Orders will never cause one unit to attack an enemy unit.
Move mode can be entered through the "Commands" menu, key stroke , or
pressing the right mouse button when in surveyor group survey mode.
1
EMPIRE has eleven different modes. The screen shows which game mode
you are in. The modes are:
The mode indicator is located to the left of the turn counter in the upper right
corner of your screen (see section 2 of Figure 7).
Move Mode
Most of the game will be spent in move mode. In fact, the entire game can be
played without ever leaving it. In this mode, a blinking cursor will be positioned over the combat unit, and the message line of the display will show the
unit identification, its grid location, and any orders previously received. You
can either enter a move or give an order (such as Load Ship or Sentry).
t
/
/
~
~
000
-000-000
THE GAME MODES
Move
Survey
Group Survey
Direction
Move To
Escort
Patrol To
Mark FIPth
Production
View
Computer
"
Figure 8: Numeric Keypad Direction Keys
Survey Mode
This mode allows you to travel around and look at the current map of the
world, alter the orders assigned to your units, change the production demands
of your cities, etc. It is entered by pressing [V] from move mode, executing the
S-urvey command in the "Commands" pu!.l-down-menu,o.r:..pr.essing_the...cig.h
mouse button while in move mode. A special cursor shows you are in survey
mode (see Figure 16 on p. 52).
You move the cursor around the map by using the direction keys, or by simply
placing the cursor arrow over the desired location and pressing the left mouse
button. The shift key in conjunction with the direction key will move the
cursor in steps offive. Each time you move the cursor onto one of your units or
cities, information about that unit or city will be displayed. Note that orders
in Survey mode operate only on the unit under the cursor. For instance, you
cannot operate on any armies aboard a troop transport from the Survey mode,
except to wake them up to move ofTthe transport (see the Unload command).
There are two ways to move a combat unit. The first method is to use the
numeric key pad on the keyboard. This method allows you to move in all eight
directions according to Figure 8. The second method is to place the cursor
arrow on one of the eight squares surrounding the unit, and click the left
28
EMPIRE - Warzame of the Centurv
29
Group
Survey
This is the same as Survey mode except that you can assign the same command to many units at once. A detailed description
of this mode is found
under the Group Survey command on p. 42.
Be careful of whether you are in MOVE mode or (GROUP) SURVEY mode.
Entering any commands in move mode when you thought you were in Survey
mode can send units in the wrong direction, cancel wanted commands, and
may cause you to waste that unit's turn.
View
This mode is entered when the computer is playing itself or in a demonstration game, and you stop the game. It is also entered at the end of a game.
View mode allows you to view the current world map, examine the computer
player's units, or quit the game. The View command is described on p. 52.
Computer
This mode is entered
when the computer
is executing
a move.
Direction
~irec~ion
direction,
mode is entered whenever you request a unit to move in a particular
such as up or down. Direction mode is described in detail in the Go
Direction command on p. 40.
Move To
Mov~ To mode is entered whenever you request a unit to move to a particular
location. Move To mode is described in the Move To command on p. 45.
COMMANDS AND ORDERS
All EMPIRE
commands
and unit orders can be executed from pull-down
menus.
Commands apply to game functions, like save, center screen, survey
mode, etc. Orders apply to combat units, e.g. sentry, move, unload ship, etc.
To execute a command or give an order, use the key sequence associated with
the command/order
or select it using the drop down menus. Commands/orders
you cannot execute will be light grey, and will not change to reverse video
when selected. All command menus are shown below.
Escort
Escort mode .is ente~ed ~henev~r you request a ship to escort another
Escort mode IS described 10 detail in the Escort Ship command on p. 39.
Patrol
ship.
To
Patrol To mode is entered whenever you request a unit to patrol between two
selected locations. Patrol To mode is described in detail in the Patrol To command on p. 46.
Mark
Reports
World Map
Status
Combat Report
Info
Ship Report
Set Production
Production Map
FIPth
This is short for "Mark Flight Path".
are described in detail on p. 40.
Flight
paths apply only to fighters,
This mode is entered whenever you view the Production
Map (described on
p.47). To change a city's production, place the cursor over the city and use the
Set Production command. The production menu will appear, allowing you to
change the product.ion demands (city production is described on p. 49).
EMPI RE - Wargame
Orders
Go Home
Go Direction
Go Random
Move To
Patrol To
Escort Ship
Sentry
Clear Orders
Load Ship
Unload Ship
Skip Move
Commands
Move Mode
Survey Mode
Group Survey
Wait
Flight Paths
Activate
Center Screen
Center Cursor
and
Production
30
File
New Game
Load
Save
Save As
Exit Game
Map Editor
Delete
Quit
of the Century
Misc
Sound
Display
Commanders
View
Info on Empire
EM PIH.E - Wargame
of the Century
3
;>
Commands and orders can be executed from the keyboard.
The keys are
shown to the right of the command/order
in its menu. These keystrokes are
given in the individual command descriptions, and are summarized in Table
V along with the command's menu. Some commands also have alternate keys
on the keyboard number pad as indicated.
Not all commands and orders are available in all game modes. Table VI lists
all the commands and orders, and indicates which commands/orders
can be
executed in each game mode. Commands and orders which can be executed
without exception (i.e., can be given to all your combat units), are indicated by
"e". Some commands have exceptions, and these are listed as notes at the end
of the table.
~.--.---
..•..
-
(\
-V
---=---~-~.--.
--
TABLE V
COMMANDS AND ORDERS USED IN EMPIRE
COMMAND/ORDER
Activate
Center Cursor
Center Screen
Clear Orders
Combat Report
Commanders
Delete
Display
Escort Ship
Exit Game
Flight Paths
Go Direction
Go Home
Go Random
Group Survey Command
Info on Empire
Information
Load
Load Ship
Map Editor
Move Mode Command
Move To
New Game
Patrol To
Production Map
Quit
Save
Save As
Sentry
Set Production
Ship Report
Skip Move
Sound
Status
Survey Mode Command
Unload Ship
View
Wait
World Map
Notes:
MENU
KEYSTROKE(S)
Commands
Commands
Commands
Orders
Reports
Misc
File
Misc
Orders
File
Commands
Orders
Orders
Orders
Commands
Mise
Reports
File
Orders
File
Commands
Orders
File
Orders
Reports
File
File
File
Orders
Reports
Reports
Orders
Misc
Reports
Commands
Orders
Mise
Commands
Reports
IA)
IAltIlC]
[C] or[5] 1,2
IO)orf*JI
[F6)
IAltllL)
[ControJl[D)
[AltllD)
IE]
IControlllG]
IF]
ID]
IH]orl-JI
IR]
[G]
IAltllIJ
III
IControl)[L)
IL)
(Control][E]
1M)
IT)or\ + Jl
[ControlllN]
[P)
IFIO]
IControl][Q)
(Control][S)
IControl]fA]
IS]
[F9]
(F8]
[Space)or[O) 1
IAltllS)
IF5)
IV]
IU]
IAlt][V]
[W]orl.]l
[F7]
I These alternate keys work on the number pad only.
2 NUM LOCK must be on for this key to work.
12
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
EMPIRE - Wargame
ofthe Century
33 j
TABLE VI
COMMANDS VERSUS GAME MODES
GAME MODES
COMMAND/
ORDER
D
e
s
k
t
0
M
0
v
e
p
S
u
r
v
e
y
D
i
r
e
c
M
0
v
e
Center
Center
i
T
0
0
7
Cursor
Screen
•
Clear Orders
Combat
Report
•
•
•
Commanders
Delete
Display
Escort
Ship
Exit Game
Flight
•
•
•
•
•
•
1,2,3
•
•
•
•
•
2
2
5
•
1,2,3
1,2
Go Random
2,3
2,3
Cmd
Info on Empire
...
Information
•
Load
Load Ship
Map Editor
Move Mode Cmd
Move To
To
Production
•
•
New Game
Patrol
•
Map
Quit
Save
•
Save As
Sentry
Set Production
Skip Move
Sound
Status
Survey
Mode Cmd
Unload
Ship
View
Wait
World Map
34
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
4
4
•
1,2,3
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
5
5
F
I
P
t
h
0
•
•
•
r
t
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
4
4
•
•
•
•
S
u
r
v
e
y
•
•
•
P
r
0
d
u
c
t
i
V
i
e
w
0
n
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Each of the individual commands will now be described.
orders are listed in alphabetical order for easy reference.
The commands and
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
5
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
C
•
6
•
•
E
s
G
r
p
•
1,2,3
6
•
Ship Report
•
•
1,2
Group Survey
•
M
a
r
k
•
•
Go Home
Go Direction
•
T
0
•
•
5
Paths
•
0
I
t
n
Activate
P
a
t
r
Notes for TABLE VI:
1. Active only when the cursor is on a fighter.
2. .Active only when the cursor is on a ship.
3. Active only when the cursor is on an army.
4. Active only when the cursor is on a troop transport or aircraft carrier.
5. Active only when the cursor is on a friendly city.
6. Active only when the cursor is on an army, ship, or fighter aboard ar
aircraft carrier.
7. Active only when the cursor is on a friendly unit which has movemen1
a vailable this turn.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
35
;~ommand:
Activate
Menu:
Commands
Keystroke: [A]
This command allows you to make any friendly unit the active move unit. It.
is available only in SURVEY MODE. If the command is given while the
survey cursor is over a unit WHICH STILL HAS MOVES FOR THE
CURRENT TURN, its orders will immediately be cleared, and the game will
revert to MOVE MODE with that unit the current active move unit. The
purpose ofthe command is to allow you to move a specific unit without having
co cycle through all the other units.
Command:
Center Cursor
.\1enu:
Commands
Keystroke: LAlt][C]
This command centers the cursor in the center of the current screen.
;~xecuting this command does not affect moving a unit, nor any other com.nand or order you can give a combat unit.
:::ommand:
Center Screen
'\'Ienu:
Commands
Keystroke: [C], or [5] on
numeric keypad*
I'his command centers the screen about the current cursor position as much as
»ossible. To center the screen about a combat unit, press [C] when prompted to
.nove the unit. You can also enter survey mode, place the cursor arrow over
.my square, click the left mouse button, and press [e] to center the map.
Sxecuting this command does not affect moving the unit, nor any other command or order you can give the combat unit.
Command:
Combat Report
Menu:
Reports
Keystroke: [F6]
This command will replay all attacks which occurred on your units in the last
turn. This "instant replay" is especially important when there is more than
one human player, since you may not know about battles which happened
during your opponent's turn. A message will be displayed if you were not
attacked on the last turn.
Command:
Commanders
Menu:
Other
Keystroke: [Alt][L]
This command lists the service record of all the current players, showing how
well they have done playing EMPIRE.
A sample commanders report is
shown in Figure 9. This report presents the number of wars (or games
played), wins, losses, and average game difficulty for each player. Note that if
a player has been defeated or has captured more cities than the number of
neutral cities remaining, the computer will assess a win or a loss. This means
that giving up a losing game before completion will still show on your record
as a loss. To remove the list from your screen, select the box labelled "OK".
File
He Ol'ts O~dm
COMMands Hisc
Colllande~
"Note: For the number pad [5] key to work, NUM LOCK must be on.
Order:
Clear Orders
Menu:
Orders
11m
Wins Losses
2
3
3
3
2
9
9
1
1
1
1
9
59
49
9
9
59
59
1
65
Keystroke: [0], or [*] on
numeric keypad
This order cancels any orders given previously to the unit. This order is
especially useful in changing orders, or removing a unit from sentry duty.
After executing this command, "Orders Cleared" will appear in the message
line of the screen. If given while in SURVEY MODE with the cursor on a city,
.all units in the city will ha ve their orders cleared.
36
HODE:
EMPIRE· Wargame of the Century
Figure 9: Commanders
EMPIRE - Waraarne of the Centurv
Report
3
the list is longer than what can be shown on your screen at one time, you
_n move the list up and down by moving the scroll bar on the right up and
,>wn, or by using the up or down cursor control keys.
.ornmand:
Delete
lenu:
File
Keystroke:
[Control][D]
his command allows you to delete a file. After executing, the file selector box
..ill appear. Once a file is selected, you will be given the opportunity to cancel
:le command by selecting the "Cancel" box with the mouse or pressing [C].
) delete the file, select the "Delete" box with the mouse or press [0],
ommand:
Display
·lenu:
Other
Keystroke:
[Alt][D]
his command allows you to modify the message and battle time delays. The
isplay screen is shown in Figure 10. You can increase or decrease the time
atween messages or battles by moving the scrol1 bars. Move the scroll bars to
ie right to increase the delay time; move them to the left to decrease the
elay time. When finished, select the box labelled "OK". Select the box
ibelled "CANCEL" to cancel the command.
File He o~ts O~de~s COMMands Hise
HODE:
MESSAGE DEW
1(1 •
GROW DISPLAY BOXES
Figure
10: Game Display
Depending on the speed of your computer, EMPIRE
automatical1y
deciaes
whether to draw the dialog boxes directly or "Grow" them. If you wish to
change this, select the "OFF" or "ON" box on the line "Grow Display Boxes" .
Order:
Escort Ship
Menu:
Orders
Keystroke:
[E]
This order can be given to ships only, and allows you to assign a ship to escort
another (target) ship. The escort ship will follow the target ship as the target
ship moves. With the cursor on the escorting ship, execute the Escort Ship
order, then move the cursor to the ship to be escorted and select [E] or
[ENTER].
After selecting Escort Ship, the screen will change to Escort mode,
and any current escort assignments in the screen area will show as bold white
lines going from the escorting ship to the ship being escorted.
For example, suppose you want your destroyer Destructor to escort your troop
transport Salvation.
When prompted to give a command to the Destructor,
press [E]. The move cursor will disappear as the screen goes into Escort mode.
Place the cursor arrow over the Salvation and click the left mouse button or
use the cursor keys to move the line to the Salvation and select [E] again. A
line will be drawn from the Destructor to the Salvation. Until its orders are
changed, the destroyer will move towards the troop transport and stay within
two spaces BEHIND it. If you want the Destructor to LEAD the Salvation (e.g.
to clear a path for it), you must assign the troop transport
to escort the
destroyer.
However, beware of having a destroyer lead another type of ship.
Destroyers can move three spaces per turn, whereas all the other ships move
only two spaces per turn. If you are not careful, the destroyer will soon leave
the following ship far behind.
.
III
~
DISPLA~ ARMYIFI GHTER CONSTRUCTION
If you do not want the completion of each new army and figh ter reported. to
you, select the box label1ed "OFF" at the bottom of the display window.
.
Command:
Exit Game
Menu:
File
Keystroke:
[Control][G]
00
m
Controls
EM£lRE - Warna me of the Centurv
This command allows you to exit the current game without leaving EMPIRE.
You will be returned to the main EMPIRE
Desktop where you can start a
new game, get information, or quit.
If the current game has developed far enough, the results will be recorded in
the commanders log. If you resume the game later (i.e., you saved it first), the
new results will overwrite the old results in the commanders log. If you wish
to surrender.just Exit the game without saving it.
EMPIRE - Wargame
of the Century
39
-
-- -~---
Icommand'
Menu:
Flight Paths
Commands
Keystroke: [F)
This command sets a flight path from one city to another. Once designated,
any fighter landing or created in a city with a flight path will automatically
accept orders to fly to the destination city of the flight path. You can only
assign flight paths between your cities.
Flight paths appear as bold white lines with an arrowhead pointing to the destination city of the path. Upon executing this command, you will enter Mark
Flight Path mode and all existing flight paths will appear on your screen.
When the blinking cursor is on the city which you want the flight path to start
from (either when the fighter is at the city or you are in survey mode), press
[F) or use the menu to execute this command. Then designate the target city
using the cursor keys or the mouse by clicking on the city. If you use the
keyboard direction keys to select the target city, execute this command again
to accept the target. To remove or cancel a flight path, target any non-city
square after selecting the Flight Paths command on the city where the flightpath starts, or use the [ESe] key.
Flight paths are very useful when cities are producing fighters far from the
battle front; the fighters can be "chained" from city to city to the front without
having to give them orders every turn. You cannot set a flight path that will
exceed a fighter's fuel supply (20 spaces).
Order:
Go Direction
Menu:
Orders
When a fighter is ten spaces out, it will temporarily wake up to give you a
chance to return it to a city or aircraft carrier for refueling. The Go Home
command comes in handy here.
The Go Direction command is especially useful for sending a destroyer
another ship in a set direction to see if it encounters land, or the enemy.
~o
Order:
Go Home
Menu:
Orders
Keystroke: [H], or [ - ] on
numeric keypad
This order applies to fighters and ships only. In move mode, this order applies
only to the unit currently under the blinking cursor, whereas in survey mode
it applies to the unit currently under the survey cursor (see Survey Mode on p.
52). In group survey mode, it applies to all units in that group.
Executing this order gives the fighter or ship orders to automatically find the
nearest friendly city or aircraft carrier (for fighters) and move to it. Fighters
will not move to a city that is out of fuel range, and will follow aircraft carriers
as they move.
Be careful in sending a fighter to an aircraft carrier!! It is possible that the
carrier could move out of the fighter's fuel range between the time the fighter
starts moving towards the carrier and when it should arrive. In such a case,
the fighter pilot will be most unappreciative of the carrier's actions as his
fighter crashes into the sea.
Keystroke: [0]
. This order gives the unit orders to move in a specified direction. After executing this order, a direction cursor will appear over the unit. This symbol is
shown in Figure 11. Press one of the cursor keys on your keyboard, click one
of the eight squares surrounding the unit in the direction you want it to go, or
use the numeric keypad to specify the direction. Once moving, the unit will
temporarily wake up if its route is blocked or it moves next to an enemy unit
or city.
l
Figure 11: Direction Cursor
or
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
Order:
Go Random
Menu:
Orders
Keystroke: [R]
This order commands the unit currently under the blinking cursor to move in
a random pattern. The unit will temporarily wake up if it moves next .to an
enemy combat unit or city. You cannot give this order to a fighter (lest It run
out offuel).
The unit will move at random subject to the following conditions:
1. The unit will not do anything that may cause it to be destroyed.
2. If the-unit is an army, it will board a partially or unloaded troop transport.
EMPIRE - Wargame of Lhe Century
41
Command:
Group Survey
Menu:
Commands
File Re orts Ordm COMMands Hise
HODE: Surue
TURN: 31'
LOC: 3355 - Trans ort GRIEr II 6 ArMies, Hits: 0/3 Orders: Houe To 33 63 ~
Keystroke:
[G)
This command allows you to select a block of combat units to give a single
order or command to at the same time. You designate the units by forming a
box around them. Then select the ONE command or order to give to ALL the
units in the box.
When you execute this command, the box will appear around the unit currently under the cursor. To enlarge the square, put the cursor arrow on the
box, press and hold the left mouse button, drag the cursor arrow such that the
enlarged box encloses all the units you wish, then release the mouse button.
You can also enlarge the box with the cursor keys. You can change the fixed
corner of the box by clicking elsewhere
and dragging
the box again, or
reexecuting
Group Survey. When you have the box around the combat units,
you can execute a SINGLE order (like Clear Orders, Go Random), and that
order will affect ALL combat units in the box to which the order could apply.
Be careful that you do not change orders on a unit you did not want to change.
One excellent use of this command is loading a troop transport.
After selecting a group of armies, you can issue a single Move To order to all of the armies
in the group, sending them to a troop transport.
Command:
Info on Empire ...
Menu:
Mise
Keystroke:
r Alt]fl]
Executing this command displays the EMPIRE copyright notice and version
number. To return to the game, select the box labelled "OK".
Command:
Info(rmation)
Menu:
Reports
This command gives information
or use the pull-down menu when
(including the enemy'sl) in either
tion display is shown in Figure
double-clicking
the square during
Keystroke:
Tmspo~t GRIEF
33,55 HITS: 9/3
Houe To 33,63
6 APMies
Figure
12: Sample
Information
Display
When executed over a combat unit, you will be given the unit name, map location, and current orders (if any). Pressing [I] over a city (or double-clicking
the city icon with the left mouse button) gives the city name and status of
production.
You can change a city's production while the production selection
menu is present (see p. 15). You can also select any non-unit or city square,1
and be given its map coordinates and whether it is land or sea.
I
If you move one of your fighters next to an enemy city, it will perform a photo
reconnaissance.
You will then know the production of that enemy city. After
that, you can always view the information again by executing this command
over the same enemy city. Be aware that this information is like a snapshot
and is valid only at the time your fighter flew past. The enemy could change
the city's production without you knowing it. To get a production update, you
must send a fighter back to the same city and execute this command again.
I II
on the designated unit or square. Press £I]
the blinking cursor is over the unit or city
move or survey modes. A sample informa12. You can also obtain information
by
move and survey modes.
Command:
Load
Menu:
File
Keystroke:
[Control][L]
This allows you to resume a previously saved game. Select the file when the
file selector box (described on p. 8) appears.
No file extension
is needed
because EMPIRE requires ".EMP" as an extension for all saved games and
your computer will automatically
include the extension.
You will be returned
to where you saved the game.
42
EMPIRE - Wargame
of the Century
EMPIRE
- Wargame
of the Century
43
Command:
Load Ship
Menu:
Orders
Keystroke: [L]
This order commands the designated troop transport or aircraft carrier to go
on sentry duty until fully loaded with armies or fighters, respectively. Whenever an army moves next to a loading troop transport, it will automatically be
taken aboard.
If you move a troop transport
next to armies on sentry,
executing this command will cause the transport to load those armies adjacent
to the transport, even though the armies are on sentry. When the ship is fully
loaded, it will automatically
wake up and wait for your next command.
Armies boarding a ship will automatically go on sentry.
Important:
on carriers)
The only way to wake armies on board ships (or fighters
is with the Unload Ship command.
)
When a troop transport has any armies aboard, a small lighted bar will
appear on the ship symbol. Aircraft carriers have "tick marks" on the deck
when fighters are aboard. These indicators disappear when the last army or
fighter leaves the ship. When a transport or carrier leaves a city, it will
automatically board any available units in the city up to its load limit.
As mentioned in the Group Survey command description, you can issue a single Moue To order to send several armies in a group to a troop transport.
Command:
Map Editor
Menu:
File
Keystroke: rControlJlEJ
This command allows you to build a world of your own, edit an existing world,
or let the computer generate a new world in addition to those on your original
purchased disk. Building worlds is described in detail in the Creating Your
Own Worlds section starting on p. 58.
Command:
Move Mode
Menu:
Orders
Keystroke: 1M]
This command will remove you from the current mode, aborting any commands you are in the process of entering, and set you in move mode for the
next combat unit to be moved. If the combat unit is not on the current screen,
the display will recenter about the unit. Commands executed in move mode
only apply to the current unit under the blinking cursor'.
44
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
Pressing the right mouse button will also change you to move mode, unless
you are already in move mode. If you are already in move mode, then pressing
the right mouse button takes you to survey mode.
Order:
Move To
Menu:
Orders
Keystroke: [1'], or [ + ] on
numeric keypad
This order commands the current unit to move to a designated target square.
The unit will temporarily wake up if it moves next to an enemy unit or city, or
is blocked from reaching its target. If this order is given to a fighter and the
target is an aircraft carrier, the fighter will chase down the carrier.
There are three methods by which you can give a unit orders to move to a specific location. The reason for the different methods is that this is one of the
most used orders in EMPIRE, and so the order was made as convenient as
possible. The three methods are:
Method 1: This can be done in surveyor move mode. Place the cursor
arrow over the unit to which you wish to give the Moue To order to, press
(not click!) the left mouse button, and drag the cursor arrow to the target
square. A thin line will follow from the unit to the target square. Then
release the left mouse button. The map will scroll if you select a target
location off the current screen. Note that in move mode, the unit you give
the order to does not have to be the unit which is flashing.
Method 2: In move mode ONLY, press the left mouse button while the
cursor arrow is NOT over another friendly unit. Your computer will auto- ,
matically assume you want to give the current flashing unit a Moue To'
order and will draw a thin line from the flashing unit to the cursor arrow
location. Drag the cursor arrow to the target square (if not already there)
and release the mouse button.
Method 3: In move or survey mode, with the flashing cursor over the unit I
to be moved, execute Moue To from the pull-down menu or keyboard.
Then, using the keyboard direction keys, move the thin line to the target
square. Select Moue To again or press [ENTER] to execute the order.
For all three methods, as the thin line follows the cursor arrow, the distance to
the current arrow location will be displayed in the message line of your
screen.
The combat unit will continue to move until it reaches its target location. You'
will not be prompted to give the unit another order until it reaches its
destination or comes in contact with an enemy unit or obstacle. If you change
your mind, you will have to enter survey mode to cancel the order.
EM f>I1{E - Wargame of the Century
45
You can abort this order before execution by designating the current combat
unit location to be the target square (i.e. a distance of zero), or using the [ESC]
key.
If something is in the way of a unit that it cannot easily move around, the unit
will flash quicker than normal and wait for you to give the unit a move
command or new orders. Once around the obstacle, the unit will continue to
its target location. When the combat unit arrives at its target location, you
will be asked to give it a new order.
If you are giving this order to a fighter, the new location's distance from the
fighter cannot exceed the fighter's existing fuel supply.
Command:
New Game
Menu:
File
Command:
Production
Menu:
Reports
Map
Keystroke: [FIO]
This command changes the current map to show the production of each of your
cities. All combat units will disappear from the screen, and only cities will be
shown. Each of your city symbols will be replaced by the icon of the combat
unit it is producing.
A sample map is shown in Figure 13. Cities can be
selected and have their production changed while the production
map is
displayed by double clicking the left mouse button over the city, or using the
Set Production command. The city production selection menu will then
appear.
Changing production of a city is described in the Set Production
command on p. 47.
You must return to move mode to continue the game.
File Re o~ts O~dm COllllands Hise
Keystroke: [Control][N]
HODE:P~oduetion
This command allows you to start a new game. You will be asked to select the
number" of players and whether they will be human or computer controlled.
You can select your computer opponent(s) to be "Standard" or "Expert". A
display will then be presented where the combat and production efficiencies of
each player can be individually selected. The game will then start, asking
each human player his/her name, then initial production.
For more information on starting a new game, refer to the Starting/Resuming
The Game
section on p. 7.
Order:
Patrol To
Menu:
Orders
TURN:114
:''''''~'::'''''''''''''''::
',:::',:::: ',,:::'.::
':: . ',,:'.::::::
~. .
.' : : .' :
'
' .' "
.' "
"
Keystroke: [P]
This order commands the unit to repeatedly patrol between its current
location and a designated target square, for as long as the order is in effect.
When this orde~ is executed, all current patrol routes will be drawn on the
map. Select the target square by moving the cursor to the target square and
executing Patrol To again, or hold down the left mouse button and drag the
cursor arrow to the target square, then release the mouse button. To cancel a
patrol route, enter survey mode over the unit and execute Clear Orders.
When this order is given to a fighter, it must be in a city or on an aircraft carrier. Fighters are restricted to a range of ten squares. Fighters on patrol from
an aircraft carrier are restricted to a range of six squares. This is so they can
always return to the carrier.
In addition, the target square is always kept
relative to the carrier's ·position. For example, a patrol route straight up
(north) will always remain straight up as the carrier moves.
46
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
Figure
Command:
Quit
Menu:
File
13: Sample
Production
Map
Keystroke: [ControI)IQ]
This command allows you to quit your current game and leave EMPIRE.
If
you are currently playing a game, the game results will be recorded in the
commanders file.
EMPIIU': - Wargame of the Centurv
A7
Command:
Save
Menu:
File
Keystroke: [ControIUS]
This command allows you to save the current game. If you have previously
saved or loaded the current game, the last file name you entered will be used.
If no file name is available, you will be taken directly to the Save As
command. After saving the game, you will be returned to the game in progress.
The file size of a saved game will vary. If your disk has insufficient space for
the file, you will get an error message. If so, replace this disk with another
emptier disk and try again. Remember, the disk you use must already be
formatted!
Command:
Save As
Menu:
File
Keystroke: (Control][A]
This command is identical to Save except you will always be asked for a file
name using the file selection box described on p. 8. DO NOT ADD AN
EXTENSION
TO THE FILE NAME! EMPIRE will add the extension
".EMP" to the file for you. This extension is required to start the game later.
Order:
Sentry
Menu:
Orders
Keystroke: [S]
This order commands the designated unit to go on sentry duty. The unit will
not move, nor will you be asked to give it an order until the unit is ordered off
sentry duty or wakes up. Units will wake up whenever an enemy combat unit
moves next to them. Your armies on sentry duty will appear as tents, but ship
symbols do not change when they are put on sentry duty. Armies boarding a
ship will automatically go on sentry duty. Fighters cannot be placed on sentry
duty unless they are on an aircraft carrier or in a city.
Command:
Set Prod uction
Menu:
Reports
Keystroke: [1"91
This command displays the current assigned production for a city and allows
you to change the production demands. The city production selection menu is
shown in Figure 6 on p. 16.
You can select a city during move mode by placing the cursor over it and
pressing [F9] or double-clicking the left mouse button. The production times
for a production efficiency of 50 percent are given in Table VII.
COMBAT
Combat Unit
Army
Fighter
Destroyer
Troop Transport
Submarine
Cruiser
Aircraft. Carrier
Battleship
TABLE VII
UNIT PRODUCTION
TIMES
Start Production
Continue Production
6
12
24
30
24
35
48
60
10
20
25
20
30
40
50
5
The start time is the number of turns required to produce a unit for the first
time. The continuing time is the number of turns required to produce subsequent units. If you change production demands of a city before it has completed its current unit, the partially completed unit will be discarded.
----"Po-select-yonr-prodnctinn-de-man-d-s,
move ne cursor f()fnetme
wlttlT e
symbol and name of the unit you want and click the left mouse button, or use
the arrow keys. After making your selection, select the box labelled "OK" or
press [ENTER].
If the message "Over Population" appears in an alert window on your screen,
the game is saturated with too many units. All city production will stop until
some existing units are destroyed.
To remove a unit from sentry duty, you must enter surveyor group survey
mode and execute Clear Orders over the unit. Armies in troop transports and
fighters on aircraft carriers require the Unload Ship order to wake up.
48
EMPIRE - Wargame of Lhe Century
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
49
,
Command:
Ship Report
Menu:
Reports
Keystroke:
[F8]
This command will give a list of all your ships, their names, current positions,
and damage. If you have more than ten ships, use the scroll bar on the right to
move the list up and down. A sample ship report is shown in Figure 14. To
remove the report from your screen, select the box labelled "OK" or press
[ENTER].
File He O~t5 O~de~s COMMands Hise
HODE:Uiew
Command:
Sound
Menu:
Other
LAltllSl
This command is a toggle switch used to turn the game sounds on and off.
Executing this command the first time will turn the game sounds off, while
executing it a second time will turn the sounds on. When sound is on, an
asterisk will appear to the left of the command. No asterisk means the sound
is off.
TURN: 114
LOC: C 4 - Unex lo~ed
Keystroke:
Command:
Status
Menu:
Reports
. ',',,"'" ',',.'.','.',:1,':
[J[]
Ship
I SHIP REPORT ~
CLEMENCEAU
CARLTON
HEIDRAMP
HOWE
LEDA,
BRHTOL
ESPERIA
COHiE ROSSO
SAGINAlI
'.',WWii'· .
_______
Type
Cmie~
Tmspo~t
Dest~oye~
l~ansport
Tinsport
D" t~yer
T nspo~t
Transport
T~ansport
,Skip Move
Menu:
Other
:tr·:·:·:
fF5]
This command opens a status window presenting you with a War Report. A
sample window is shown in Figure 15. This report gives you the number of
cities you have captured and their production status.
It also tells you how
many enemy units you have destroyed, and how many units you have lost.
Note that the number of armies lost includes the armies lost in unsuccessfully
attacking cities, but not those armies that capture and occupy the cities.
These latter armies become the garrisons that defend the cities. They never
take to the field again as a mobile army. To leave this display and return to
the game, select the box marked "OK", or press [ENTER].
w.•.....," . ,'Iii:~.'
, , , :1
F_i,gure 14: Sample
Command:
DaMageLocation
Keystroke:
Ship Rep-ort
Keystroke:
[Space], or [0] on
numeric keypad
Pressing the [Spacel bar tells the unit not to move this turn.
asked to give the unit another command unt.il the next turn.
You will not be
.
~I 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
50
EMPIRE - Wargame
of the Century
~
Figure
15: Sample
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Cent.ury
War Report
51
Command:
Survey Mode
Menu:
Commands
Keystroke: [V]
This command takes you out of your current mode and allows you to move
about the world giving orders to any of your units or cities. Upon entering
survey mode, the blinking cursor will change to the survey cursor (shown in
Figure 16). To select a unit to give an order.just move the cursor arrow to the
unit and click the left mouse button, or press [ENTERl More on survey mode
is found on p. 29.
If you are in move mode, you can enter survey mode by pressing the right
mouse button or [Vl Pressing [M] or the right mouse button again will return
you to move mode.
Figure
Order:
Unload Ship
Menu:
Orders
16: Survey
Cursor
Upon completion of a game, you will automatically
be placed in, view mode.
This is the ONLY time YOU as a player can execute this command. However,
you can stop demonstration
games and games between computer opponents
and execute this command to check on the status of those players.
Command:
Wait
Menu:
Commands
Keystroke:
[W]. or I . ] on
numeric keypad
This command tells your computer that you want to wait before giving the
combat unit an order this turn. After all other units have asked for an order,
your computer will return to this unit for its orders.
Command:
World Map
Menu:
Reports
Keystroke:
[F7]
This command will open a window showing you the entire world as you currently know it. This is a smaller display which will appear in the center of
your screen, as shown in Figure 17. Your cities and combat units, and enemy
units and cities, will appear as small colored dots. You close the map by
selecting the "OK" box, or pressing [ENTER].
Keystroke: [U]
This order wakes up (i.e., clears orders) all the armies or fighters aboard the
designated troop transport or aircraft carrier. You will then be asked to give
eacf army or 19nter an or er.-Tne army7fighter will blink over the current
ship location. Be careful, do not mistake this for moving the ship!
Whenever a transport is next to land, press [U J when asked to give the transport a move command. You will receive a message telling you the armies are
preparing to unload. You may have to press [Space] or [W] to stop moving the
transport ifit is where you want to unload.
Command:
View
Menu:
Other
Keystroke: [AltlfVI
Using this command, you can change your "view" of the world. View allows
you to see the whole world or see the world as one of your opponents.
52
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
r-::===B::1::0
•....
Figure
::12Ji1.4.16.1.8.20.,.2 .,4.,.6 .,8•• 30.3.2 ••34 36
t~
17: Sample
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
World Map
53
STRATEGY, TACTICS, AND OTHER HINTS
armies nearby to board it. You can then send the loaded troop transport
nearest land mass (usually discovered by your fighter).
This section includes some tips on strategy and tactics to help you in playing
EMPIRE.
The flow was purposely written to follow a typical game profile.
These tips are no substitute for playing the game - we encourage you to develop techniques of your own. After all, with the map builder, the world possibilities are virtually endless. However, if you wish to play EMPIRE without
any help, then skip this section.
Troop transports should be the first ship type you prod.uce. They are .the most
valuable ship. There is no way you can win the game unthout troop transports.
The Demonstration
Game
Running a demonstration game will go a long way in showing you how to play
EMPIRE.
As a bonus, you will learn something about how the computer
opponents play. You need not watch a demonstration game until it ends;
watching about 50 - 100 turns will be enough to help you get started.
Initial
Production
For the first couple of games, you should use armies as your very first city production. But let's face it, moving at one space per turn, armies are terribly
slow. It can take many turns for them tojust move the length of a land mass.
And searching for additional cities can take what seems like an eternity.
To speed up your search for more cities, set your first city's production demands to fighters. Then, after you produce one or two fighters, change the city
production to armies.
Now you have a fast moving unit to do your initial
exploration, followed by armies to capture the cities you find. To be effective,
you should send the fighter(s) out in all directions, like spokes on a wheel.
This way you will get a general layout of your home continent, plus discover
--a<inttionalctties
Eo conquer (wftJi armles)-:-You may even aiscover another
land mass nearby.
As you capture more cities, you can send your fighter
outward to find even more neutral cities to conquer.
Be Careful!! DO NOT move your fighter more than ten spaces from any city,
and have them come straight home (using the Go flome order). Running your
fighter(s) out of fuel is not the best way to start your planetary conquest.
Troop Transports
You will start out on an island or continent. You MUST build troop transports to get your armies across the sea to other land masses in order to expand.
The sooner you start producing transports, the better. Usually you should
have the first coastal city captured produce transports.
Then start moving
armies towards the city so that when the transport is finished, you will have
54
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
to the
Initial Expansion
Your initial expansion is important, and is the backbone of your planetary
conquest. With your fighter(s) leading the way, you should start with a few
cities producing armies and at least one producing transports. The first o:~er
of business is to explore the land mass you start on and capture as many crties
as possible. Since armies are slow, but are necessary to conq~er citie~, newly
captured inland cities should produce more armies. As an inland CIty gets
further away from the front, its production can be changed to make the faster
fighters. As soon as you get a loaded transport, start shipping your armies to
nearby land masses. The first city you capture on any new land mass (unless
it is a small island) should produce armies. This will help strengthen your
hold on the land until reinforcements arrive by ship.
Exploration
One of the first ports captured should produce destroyers. These fast ships are
especially good for exploring the coastal outlines of land masses. You might
even send one destroyer on a long-range reconnaissance mission using Go
Direction until it finds something.
This "something" can be another land
mass, or even the enemy.
Building
Ships
After exploring your initial land mass and capturing several cities, you are
ready to begin production of the larger shi ps. One stra Legy sometimes used is
to start building a battleship as soon as possible, maybe with your second or
third port city. This will get a powerful warship into the battle sooner, but at
the cost of a city being nonproductive for many turns. After destroyers, you
should produce submarines, cruisers, battleships, and aircraft carriers.
Always try to have at least two cities producing transports since heavy transport
losses can leave your armies stranded where you do not want them, or prevent
an invasion from being reinforced at a critical time. However, keep in mind
that your primary fighting units are armies and fighters. Do not sacrifice these
units at the expense of heavy ships.
EMPIRE - Wargame of the Century
55
Large Scale Expansion
Other
As you expand, you will be moving outwards in all directions from your home
continent. As you do so, your army, fighter, and destroyer or submarine production should lead; change your rearward coastal cities to making the other
ships. The flight path command is perfect for getting fighters to the battle
front. Remember to leave a few armies behind on sentry duty near your cities
producing ships. They will provide immediate defense in case the enemy
sneaks a troop transport to your rear area.
Games are sometimes started with the enemy in a land mass next to yours.
These games are wild and usually end quickly (less than 150 turns) '. Other
games can last several hundred
turns.
Here are a few more h int s to
You can also have forward cities producing warships and transports.
But be
careful, cities close to the front are more likely to be attacked by the enemy.
remember.
1.
Submarines are powerful enough to destroy cruisers, battleships,
and aircraft carriers by themselves.
They attack with three damage points per
hit, but they are weak on defense.
2.
Armies can attack all ship types except submarines
when the enemy ship
is in an adjacent space. Attacking ships with armies is usually a losing
proposition--count
on losing the attacking army.
However, sometimes
the army will get lucky and destroy a small or heavily damaged ship.
3.
Never attack with a troop transport or aircraft carrier.
tors are halved, and transports are too valuable.
Invasions
You will eventually
come in contact with the enemy. Either you will find
them first, or one of their units will suddenly show up next to one of yours.
Taking and holding enemy land masses is not easy, especially since both of
you will contact each other on heavily populated battle fronts - lots of armies,
fighters, and supporting ships. When you invade the enemy's land, he will do
everything possible to push you back into the sea. His armies and fighters
will counterattack
your armies, and his ships will try to sink your transports
bringing over reinforcements.
Conducting a successful major invasion of an
enemy land mass is the most important and complex operation in EMPIRE.
A large invasion is a combined arms operation that requires careful planning
and coordination.
You need transports to land and reinforce your troops, warships to soften up the beaches and protect your transports, and fighters for
close-air support and attacking enemy reserves.
You will need fighters (and possibly aircraft carriers), destroyers, and submarines to clear a path and escort your transports.
Cruisers and battleshij:ls
shoold-ooml5ar
enemy beaches to clear the way for your armies to unload.
Fighters are great for attacking inland enemy armies that could be used to
counterattack
your invasion, and protecting
the beachead against enemy
fighters.
Troop transports can carry up to six armies, but six is usually not enough to
capture and hold an enemy land mass. You should plan on using at least two
or three transports
loaded with six armies each for a full scale invasion. Hold
back leading transports
so that all armies unload near the same turn (in other
words, swamp 'em). Unload the armies and get those transports away from
the battle and back to pick up reinforcements.
If you have enough transports,
try and have a second wave to quickly follow the first. On an enemy land
mass, you should always start producing armies first. Chain fighters to your
newly captured cities.
Be prepared for a fight - your invasion may be hotly
contested.
56
EMPllm
- Wargame of the Century
Hints
4.
Their attack
fac-
Fighters can destroy more than one enemy unit per turn, especially arm~eSJI.nd fighters.i.'I'his is.because the fighter can move Uf> to-five spaces per
turn, and can attack up to five units as it moves. Fighters are also great
for harassing enemy ships. You may lose a lot of fighters, but destroying
an enemy transport loaded with six armies near one of your land masses
or a large and expensive warship could make it a worthy expense. There
is always the chance that the ship is damaged to start with.
5.
You can hide your combat units in your own cities. This is a good way for
transports to escape enemy warships and fighters.
The big disadvantage
is that if your city is captured you will lose all of the units hiding in the
city.
6.
If you encounter the enemy on a different land mass fairly early in the
game, do not spend all your efforts on trying to invade him. Keep sending
some transports
and armies away from the enemy to capture neutral cities. This will enable you to increase your production
base and gather
enough strength to eventually attempt a full-scale invasion of the enemy.
7.
Keep the enemy off balance-in
other words, keep the initiative.
Do not
always attack the enemy at the front. Try sending a couple of escorted
troop transports around to attack the enemy in the flank or rear. He will
have to shuffie forces around to meet your threat. Your armies might also
capture enemy cities that were producing major warships.
8.
Use judgement,
world.
and be prepared
EMPIRE - Wargame
of the Century
for anything.
You are playing
on a large
57
CREATING YOUR OWN WORLDS
EMPIRE
One important additional feature of EMPIRE
is the ability of the player to
create his/her own worlds. This map generator can also be used to modify
worlds supplied with the purchased disk. The tools for building maps are
described shortly, but first some philosophy on map (world) creation. You can
create any type of map with the map generator, but in order to not confuse
your computer (who is a simple soul) during a game, some general rules
should be followed:
1.
Keep the number of pieces between 1,000 to 2,000 squares,
5,684 available squares on the map.
A large number
3.
Single square island cities and empty land masses are acceptable.
Otherwise, have at least two cities on all land masses, at least one of which
should be a port (i.e. next to the ocean).
4.
of smaller
MAPCOMMANll
out of the total
2.
(i.e. small
bodies
of water
with
no
MENU
KEYSTIWKE(Sl
Pieces
IAltIlL]
All Sea
Pieces
IAlt][S]
Blotch Land
Growths
(BI
Blotch Sea
Growths
IAltlfB]
Build a World
Growths
[WI
Center
Cursor
Other
(AltlfCl
Center
Screen
BUILDING A WOR~L~D~_
You enter the map editor by executing
the Map Editor command in the
EMPIRE desktop. The available map pull-down menus are shown below.
File
Load Map
Save Map
Save Map As
Delete
Exit Editor
Pieces
Sea
Land
City
All Sea
All Land
Growths
Grow Land/Sea Mass
Blotch Land/Sea
Sprinkle Cities
Build a World
Watch Build
Other
Validate Cities
Center Screen
Center Cursor
World View
Info on Empire
Map commands can be executed from the keyboard. The keys are shown to the
right of the command
in its menu.
These keystrokes
are gi ven in the
individual command descriptions, and are summarized
in 'fable VlII along
with the menu in which the command appears.
58
EMPlltE - Wargameofthe
Ccnt.ury
Other
rc:
Pieces
[X]
Delete
File
(Control
Exit Editor
File
[Contro lll E]
1101
Grow Land Mass
Growths
rGI
Grow Sea Mass
Growths
rAltllGl
Info on Empire
Other
IAlt][11
Land
Pieces
IL]
Load Map
File
lContro l] LI
Save Map
File
[Contro lll S]
Save Map As
File
IContrnl ll A J
Sea
These are general rules to creating a "standard" type EMPIRE
world (rules 3
and 4 are REQUIRED).
However, there is nothing wrong with experimenting. There are even some unusual maps supplied with your EMPIRE disk
(see the "README" file). As an example, you may design a world which is
mostly land with just a few rivers and lakes. In this type of world, aircraft
carriers are nearly useless, but battleships
and cruisers become mobile forts
bombarding the shorelines.
COMMANDS
All Land
City
land masses work better than a few large ones.
Do not put cities next to lakes
connection to the oceans).
TABLE VIII
WORLD BUILDING
Sprinkle
Cities
Validate
Cities
Pieces
IS1
Growths
IKJ
Other
IVI
Watch Build
Growths
IAI
World View
Other
[AltIlW(
Each command
in the map editor will now be described
Command:
All Land
Menu:
Pieces
Keystroke:
Executing this command will remove
replace the entire world with land.
Command:
All Sea
Menu:
Pieces
all water
on the current
Keystroke
Executing this command will remove all land masses
replace the entire world with sea.
EMP\]{E - Wargame
ofthe Century
[Altll L]
map
and
IAlt][SI
on the current
map and
59
Blotch Land
Blotch Sea
Command:
Menu:
Keystroke:
Growths
IB I
IAltlfBI
Pressing [B] will cause a land mass to be "blotched" (i.e. land mass is spotted
around) starting from the current cursor position. The land mass will stop
growing after a few moments; you need not stop it. Pressing [Alt1[B] will
blotch a sea mass.
Command:
Build a World
Menu:
Growths
Keystroke:
[WI
Your computer will try to build a world and then lay cities on it. The quality of
the world varies, so it is a good idea to go over it and modify it where you do
not like it. Of course doing this will spoil the surprise of a randomly created
new world. Perhaps you could trade worlds with your friends. This process
will take several minutes to complete. You can stop it at any time by pressing
any key. After the land masses have been built, you will be asked if you wish
to sprinkle cities or not.
Command:
Center Cursor
Menu:
Other
This command
centers
Menu:
Other
This command
centers
Command:
Menu:
Pressing
f)O
File
Keystroke:
[Con trol]] OJ
This command allows you to delete a file. After executing, the fi Ie selector box
will appear. Once a file is selected, you will be given the opportunity
to cancel
the command by selecting the "Cancel" box with the mouse or pressing ICI.
To delete the file, select the "Delete" box with the mouse or press [OJ
Command:
Exit Editor
Menu:
File
This command
first!
removes
Command:
Grow Land Mass
Grow Sea Mass
Menu:
Growths
Keystroke:
you from the map editor.
IControl]rE]
Be sure to save your world
Keystroke:
tGI
(Alt][G]
Command:
Keystroke:
the screen about the current
cursor position.
Keystroke:
Land
------l<Keystroke:
Menu:
--Pieces
Presaing
[L] will change the square under the cursor to land.
rL]I-------
IC I
City
Pieces
Menu:
IAltJICl
the cursor on the screen.
Center Screen
Delete
This command causes a land or sea mass to start growing from the current
cursor position. The land/sea will continue to grow until you press any key to
stop.
Keystroke:
Command:
Command:
IX I
Command:
Load Map
Menu:
File
Keystroke:
This command allows you to load an existing
executing,
the file selector box will appear.
named with the convention "nnnnnnnn.MAP".
[Conrrolf
LI
map into your computer.
You should only select
After
a file
IX I will change the square under the cursor to a city.
EMPIl{I~- Wargame
of the Century
61
Command:
Save Map
Menu:
File
Keystroke:
[Control
liS]
This command allows you to save the current map with the current map
name. The file selector box will only appear if there is no current map name.
Before saving the map to disk, the computer
has to process the city's
information (see Figure 12). This will take a few seconds.
Command:
Save Map As
Menu:
File
Keystroke:
rControlllAl
This command allows you to save the current map using the file selection box.
When naming a map, DO NOT USE AN EXTENSION.
EMPIRE will
automatically
add the file extension ".MAP".
Command:
Sea
Menu:
Pieces
Pressing
Keystroke:
ISI
Sprinkle
Menu:
Growths
Cities
Keystroke:
Validate Cities
Menu:
Other
Keystroke:
IVI
Your computer will cycle through each city trying to val idate that the city's
position is acceptable.
A message will be displayed if your computer does not
like a city's location. The rules your computer uses are:
1.
A city must either be a one square
land mass.
2.
There must be at least one port city on each land mass which has cities.
3.
Cities cannot be by lakes.
The process continues
island or have another
city on the same
until all cities have been checked, or you press any key.
Command:
Watch Build
Menu:
Growths
Keystroke:
LA]
Pressing I AJ will allow you to view the world as it is created. This command is
a toggle switch, pressing [A] will turn the command off, and pressing I A]
again will turn it on. If the switch is on, then the computer will put on screen
the section of the world on which it is working. If the switch is off, the current
screen position will not change, but any activity within the screen area will be
shown. When Watch Build is turned off, worlds are created faster.
rSl will change the square under the cursor to sea.
Command:
Command:
1K J
Pressing IKJ will cause cities to be randomly sprinkled on ALL currenL land
masses-until
6e to 7e cities have been assigned. Your-computer will then try-to validate each city, moving and removing cities it does not like. Pressing
any key will stop the process.
62
EMPlH.E· Wargame
of the Century
EMPlltE
- Wargame
of the Century
63
Command:
World View
Menu:
Growths
FINAL WORD
Keystroke:
W7\
This command will open a window showing you the world as it currently
exists.
This is a smaller display which will appear in the center of your
monitor. A sample world view is shown in Figure 18.
File Pieces Gpowths Othep
Ma : B:\EMPDAT\UAP COllnts- SEA: 4941 LAND: 1577 CITIES: 66
Interstel has gone to great strides to ensure the software product you purchased is as error free as possible. However, due to the extreme diversity and
complexity of the game, it is not possible to test every conceivable situation.
If
a bona-fide error is found, Interstel is not under obligation to notify any persons or organization;
nor is Interstel required to release an updated version
of EMPIRE, but may choose to do so. If you think you have found a program
error, we ask you write and tell us about it. Give as much information
as possible, i.e., what happened, what computer you are using, the command you
were executing, what you were trying to do, etc. Send us a printout of the
screen if possible.
DO NOT SEND US YOUR DISK(S).
Please enclose a
self-addressed
stamped envelope. After receiving your letter we will look at
the problem and send a reply.
To obtain information
of new game or version releases by Interstel,
must send us the registration
card included with this manual.
,.-:::::2=:4
~b=8 ::10=1:]2.14.1.6.18.2.0 .22.24.2.6 i28.3.0 .32.3.4 36
'I..
tl
Figure
18: World View in Map Editor
CREDITS:
Game Author:
Game Development:
IBM version:
Game Documentation:
Cover Art:
IIIustrations:
Typesetting:
Printing:
64
EMPIRE - Wargame
of the Century
you
---
Walter Bright
Walter Bright and Mark Baldwin
Mark Baldwin
Robert L. Winkler
David Dorman
Richard Launius
Robert L. Winkler
Wetmore,
and Karen Smith
Inc. -Tl ouston, Texas
Box Manufacture:
Box Layouts:
Play testers
IBM version:
Carton Sales - Houston, Texas
Graficus - Houston, Texas
Project Managers:
Trevor C. Sorensen,
EMPIRE - Wargame
Colin Barnhorst,
Craig Brittain,
Michael Comen s
Brad Cotlingham,
Robert Jones, Jr.
Michael Kelly, John Mitchell
Lawrence Ohnheiser,
Gary Poole, Larry Renaud
Charles Rosen, Nick Volk ov, Robert Winkler
of the Century
Robert Jones, Jr.
65
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
For those of you who are interested,
here
information about the creation of EMPIRE.
is some
AUTOBIOGRAPHIES
history
..
and technical
EMPIRE was first written
in FORTRAN-I0
by Walter Bright while he
attended Caltech between the years of 1976 and 1979. In 1981, Walter wrote
an ASSEMBLY language version for the PDP-ll and a version for the LSI-ll
in 1983. In 1984, EMPIRE was translated to the C programming
language for
the IBM PC. This version (1.0) was marketed by Northwest Software between
1984 and 1987. A version of EMPIRE for the V AX computer
has been
distributed
by DECUS since 1980.
The original version 2.0 of EMPIRE was written for the Atari ST by Mark
Baldwin.
All other releases are based on the ST code. The Atari ST version
was written in C using the Megamax C compiler. Development was also done
using the Mark Williams
C Compiler,
the Micro EMACS editor, and
Beckemeyer
MICRO C-Shell and utilities.
The sounds were generated using
Synthetic Software's G.I.S.T. sound utilities. The title screens were prepared
on Batteries
Included
DEGAS Elite.
The program
source
code is
approximately
18,700 lines long (700 Kbytes), and overlaid in 22 files.
Walter Bright
Walter Bright was born at an early age in 1959 in Phoenix, Arizona. He went to Caltech in
1975, where he wrote the original version of EMPIRE. In 1979, he graduated with a degree in
Mechanical Engineering and went to work for Boeing designing gearboxes for the 757. In 1982, he
left to work for Data I/O. He rewrote EMPIRE in C for' the IBM PC. Deciding that he could write
a better C compiler, he wrote one which is now sold as the DatalightC compiler.
The Amiga version was written in C and 68000 assembler.
Tools employed
were Lattice C and assembler,
Innovatronics
Inc.'s Power Windows 2.0,
Metadigm's
MetaScope debugger, and Scotto's pizza. The program consists of
over one megabyte of source code.
The IBM version (2.0) was written with Microsoft C. Tools employed include
the Micro EMACS editor, MKS Toolkit, TLIB version control system, and
Essential Graphics. Gothic fonts were developed by PROSOFT. The program
source code is approximately
26,000 lines long (900K bytes) and overlaid in 40
files.
Mark Williams C is a registered trademark of Mark Williams Company.
MICRO C-Shell is a registered trademark of Beckemeyer Development Tools.
Lattice C is a registered trademark of Lattice, Inc.
I'owerwindows is a registered trademark oflnnovatrunics,
Inc.
MetaScope is a trademark licensed to Metadigm.
Atari ST is a registered trademark of the Atari Corporation.
Amigu is a registered trademark of Commodore Electronics, Ltd.
IBM is a registered trademark of the International
Business Machines Corporatiun.
PROSOFT fonts are copyrighted by PROSOF'T, a division of The Tesler Software.
TUB is a trademark of Burton Systems Software.
MKS Toolkit is a trademark of Mort ice Kern Systems, Inc.
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Micr osoft Corpora lion.
66
.>,
EMPIJ{E·
Wargume
of'Lhc Ccntury
Mark Lewis Baldwin
Rumor has it that Mark was born on the three hundred and twenty-second
planet of
Beteligeuse where in his second year he was SUllen away by space gypsies. Other stories say that
he was born right here on earth in Detroit. Michigan in 1952, but those stories are hard ill believe.
Anyway, Mark spent a semi-normal life growing up in Michigan, Indiana, Alabama, Japan,
Georgia, Germany, and Florida. It was during this time that he picked up an interest in strategy
games of which he claims that he now has over 500. College was next on the agenda, where Mark
received both Bachelors and Masters degrees in engineering in 1974 from Purdue University.
It
was also during this time that Mark picked up his interest in computers. This was due to the fad
that as a freshman, one could avoid taking drafting by taking a computer class.
Since Uncle Sam had paid for Mark's four years at Purdue, Mark had to return the favor at
SAC headquarters
in Omaha Nebraska for the next/our years doing various analyses on both U.S.
and Soviet ICBM's. However, seeing that a life in a blue suit was not for him, Mark left the Air
Force in 1979 to work on the Space Shuttle Program in Houston, Texas.
Mark spent the next seven years happily producing shuttle mission designs.
During this
lime, Mark also started a consulting firm mostly working with various software designs for the
petroleum industry.
It was here also that friends of his started a software publishing company
uriginally called Cygnus, but now known as Interstel.
Mark got his first computer, an Atari 800, in 1982 and published several articles about the
computer over the years. In late 1984, Mark's "friends" aL Cygnus prevailed on him to convert
STAR FLEET I- from the IBM to the Atari. A year later, it was published and Mark was bitten
by the publishing bug.
To finish a long but boring story, Mark left Houston and the space program in January,
1986,
to move to Colorado where today he is wasting away on the computer and spending his free time in
the mountains panning lor gold.
EMPIRE.
Wargame
of the Century
67
Interstel PRODUCT
INDEX
WARRANTY
The diskfs) on which your Interstel program is recorded is warranted to be
free of defects in materials and workmanship
under normal use for a period of
one year (365,25 Earth days) from the date of purchase.
This warranty applies only to the original purchaser and only to the purchased diskts), not to
the software or information encoded on it.
A
Activate
command
Aircraft carrier
31,33 - 34,36
1,20 - 24,26 -27,
44-46,48-49,52,55
A II Sea command
Armies
35, 40 -41,
-58
centering
31,36,58
direction
40; 41
survey
29,36,41,52
Damage
1,15,20-29,35,41
-42,44,48-49,
points 21-24,26-27,50,57
Delay time 3H
Backup disk 2
Battleshi ps I, 20 - 24, 26 - 28, 55 - 58
Dialog boxes 5,39
PRODUCTUPGRADEffiPDATEPLAN
Blotch Land command
Direction cursor 40,41
Attack factor 21 - 24,57
Delete command
Demonstration
B
Destroyers
58 - 60
58 - 60
Build a World command
rect any bugs found. You can return your original
free update to the latest release of your version.
version in order to cordiskis) at any time for a
Directories
Display
C
carrying
Product
registration
Center Cursor command
2.
3.
Interstel Product Replacement
allows you to replace any defective purchased diskis) during the warranty period only.
Interstel Product Upgrade Plan allows you to purchase new versions of
your product as they are released, at reduced prices.
As a registered product owner, you will be informed of new and updated
software releases by IntersteL
31,33 - 34,36,
combat
58-60
Cit.ies
- 23,25 - 29,35 -37,40
-49,
Combat
between units
31,33 - 34,36,42,46,48
4,20
26,56 - 57
12 -13,
Cum bat Report command
command
Commanders
report
see individual
mode 28,31
Computer
opponents
Cursllr
of the Century
58 - 59,61
Exit Game command
31,33 - 34, 39
ExpertopponenLS
31,33 - 34, 37
7,3 J, 33 - 34, 37
9-10,12-13,46
F
Fighters
15,37,39,47
Computer
Cruisers
Escort ship order 30, :11, 33 - 34,39
Exit Editor command
21, 27, 46
Cummanders
Creating
12-13,46,49
EMPIRE deskLop 7,10,14,39,58
Escort mode 28,30,34,39
12-13,19-21,27,37
Copy protection
12 - 13, 21, 27, 46, 49
EMPIRE files 3 - 4
21,27,55-57
efiiciency
\.
12-13,21,27,46
production
1,15,20
1,12,20-27,30,35,40-41,43-4
4H -49,
commands
9 - 13, 19,41;,53 - 54
2
52, 54 - 57
File requester
8- 9
File selection
box 8- 9,43
Flight paths
30,40,56
Flight Paths command
31,33 - 34,40
worlds 44,58
1,20 - 21,23,26
- 28, 49, 55 - 58
19, 2H - 30, 35 - 36, 39 -42,
44 - 46,
49,60-62
EMPlIU'; - Wargame
3H -3::"
\
Efficiency ratings
Commands
1.
-34,
E
31,33 - 34, 36,
5H-60
Clear Orders order
gives you the following benefits
7,31,33
22 - 24
Colors used in EMPIRE
To take advantage of Interstel's warranty and Product Upgrade Plan, you
must first register your product with IntersteL The product registration
card is included with this software.
We encourage you to complete the card
and mail it promptly.
3 - 4, H- 9
command
Drop down menus 5,7, 16,31
Capacity,
51-60,62-63
REGISTRATION
1,20,22 - 23,26 - 27,39 - 40,49
Docking 20, 27 - 28
Capturing
PRODUCT
- 59,61
- 54
Direction mode 28,30,34
58 - 60
Center Screen command
Interstel may also make new releases of the current
- 34,38,58
Direction keys 29,40,45
23,28,56,58
Building worlds 44,58
may periodically
release new versions of products, incorporating
new or improved features.
When a new version of a game becomes available,
registered product owners will be informed via a product upgrade notice. This
notice details the enhancements
available in the upgraded version, the product costs, and ordering information.
7,31,33
game 6, 11,31,53
55-56
Blotch Sea command
Bombardment
- 60
Defense factor 21,24,26
diskts) free of charge if it proves defective during the warranty period only. In order to receive warranty replacement, you must have registered your product with Interstel, or provide proof
of purchase or the registration
card with your claim. Photocopies or similiar
reproductions
of the registration
card will NOT be accepted.
Interstel
I)
n
58,59
58,59
51-52,54~57
Interstel will replace your purchased
This plan allows you to purchase any enhanced version of your Interstel
product at a special reduced price, or free updates of your current version.
.' .
,
r
All Land command
PRODUCT REPLACEMENT
••
EMPIRE - Wargame
G
Game display cont.rul s 38 - ;19
Game modes 2!l- 34
of the Century
69
Interstel PRODUCT WARRANTY
I'
The diskts) on which your Interstel program is recorded is warranted to be
free of defects in materials and workmanship
under normal use for a period of
one year (365.25 Earth days) from the date of purchase.
This warranty applies only to the original purchaser
and only to the purchased diskts), not to
the software or information
encoded on it.
INDEX
I
,
I
A
Activate command
Aircraft carrier
31,33 - 34,36
1,20 - 24, 26 - 27,35,40
44-46,48
-49,
All Sea command
Armies
Interstel will replace your purchased diskts) free of charge if it proves defective during the warranty
period only. In order to receive warranty replacement, you must have registered your product with Interstel, or provide proof
of purchase or the registration
card with your claim. Photocopies or similiar
reproductions
of the registration
card will NOT be accepted.
.
rect any bugs found. You can return your original
free update to the latest release of your version.
diskf s) at any time for a
B
55-56
1,20-24,26-20,55-58
REGISTRATION
registration
gives you the following benefits:
58 - 60
2.
3.
Dir ectiou cursor 40,41
Direction keys 29,40,45
23,28,56,58
Direction mode 28,30,34
58 - 60
Directories
Interstel Product Replacement
allows you to replace any defective purchased diskts) during the warranty period only.
Interstel Product Upgrade Plan allows you to purchase new versions of
your product as they are released, at reduced prices.
As a registered product owner, you will be informed of new and updated
software releases by Interstel.
3 - 4, /l- 9
Building worlds 44,58
Vtsplaycommand
c
Docking 20,27 - 28
7,31,33,-34,38--39
j
Drop down menus 5,7, 16, ;:1
Capacity,
carrying
22-24
Center Cursor command
31,33 - 34,36,
58-60
E
Efficiency
31,33 - 34,36,
Cities
1,15,20
- 23,25 - 29,35 -37, 40 - 49,
rut.ings 12-13'11,27,46,49
combat
58-60
12-13,21,27,40
production
12 - 13,46,49
EMPIREdesktup
7,10,14,39,58
EMPIRE tiles 3 - 4
21,27,55
- 57
Escort mode '28, 30, 34, 39
/
Clear Orders order 31,33 - 34, 36, 42, 46, 48
Escort ship crcer
Colors used in EMPIRE
Exit Editor command
5li - 5!?, 61
Exit Ga me command
:J I, 33 .134, 39
Combat
4,20
12-13,19-21.27,37
between units 26,56 - 57
efficiency
Combat Report command
command
Commanders
report
Computer
Expert opponents
30,31,33-34,39
I
9-10,12-13,46
12 - 13,21, 27,46
Commanders
Commands
1.
\
Dia lug boxes 5,39
58 - 60
Build a World command
- 34, 38, 58 -59, 6
g arne 6,11,31,53-54
1,20,22 - 23, 26 - 27, 39 - to. 49
Destroyers
Backup disk 2
51-60,62-63
To take advantage
of Interstel's warranty and Product Upgrade Plan, you
must first register your product with Interstel. The product registration
card is included with this software.
We encourage you to complete the card
and mail it promptly.
Product
Delete command 7,31,33
Dernonstration
Capturing
PRODUCT
Defense factor 21,24,26
Attack factor 21 - 24, 57
Bombardment
- 60
Delay time 38
Center Screen command
Interstel may also make new releases of the current version in order to cor-
40,41
Damage points 21-24,:26-27,50,57
1,15,20-29,35,41-42,44,48-49,
Blotch Land command
Interstel may periodically release new versions of products, incorporating
new or improved features.
When a new version of a game becomes available,
registered product owners will be informed via a product upgrade notice. This
notice details the enhancements
available in the upgraded version, the product costs, and ordering information.
31,36,58
direction
D
58,59
58,59
Blotch Sea command
This plan allows you to purchase any enhanced version of your Interstel
product at a special reduced price, or free updates of your current version.
centering
31,33 -34, 37
7,31,33-34,37
15,37,39,47
see indiuidual
Copy protection
com mands
9-13,19,46,53-54
worlds 44,58
Cruisers
1,20 - 21,23,26
CUrl;"r 19, 2M- 30,35 -36,
FilerequesterH-9
J
File selection box 8 - 9,43
(
Flight Paths command
- 28, 49, 55 - 5M
G
39 -42,44
Game displ'1
- 46,
49,6U-62
t '.~ , .•
n ".'r-,
I.~
I. r ~;.-.".r .•
EMPIRE - Wargarno
I
Flight paths 30,40,56
2
Creating
I
1,12,20-27,30,35!40-41,1
48-49,52,54-57
mode 2/l,31
Computer opponents
F
Fighters
contruls
31,33 -},
38 - :19
Game modes 211- 34
\.
\,\
'\.~
survey 29,36,41,52
- 41,
52, 55-58
51-52,54-57
Battleships
PRODUCTUPGRADEffiPDATEPLAN
,~~ ~
'\
I
All Land command
PRODUCT REPLACEMENT
(,;! _ •. ,.
.-. \1
of the Centurv
40
4J-4f~
I