- CRIMSON WARS -


In the beginning was CHAOS...

	One hundred sixty-six years have passed since the events described Chaos Control and Solar Crusade. On Mars, the human colonists have cleared the desert for cultivation. Numerous oases have arisen out of the burning sands.  Each Oasis, called a Territory, is, by origin, the property of the Mega-corporation which built it.
	There are 6 Mega-corporations:
- The Cyber Trek Mega-corporation.
- The Merchants' Cartel (Euro Carbonis).
- The Martian Mining Corporation.
- The Oxyd Weapons Mega-corporation.
- The Terra-Prime Mega-corporation.
- The Ring Corporation

	The colonization was barely completed when 4 of the Mega-corporations banded together to secede from Earth (only Cyber Trek remained faithful to Earth, the Merchants' Cartel remained neutral). But the alliance of the 4 Mega-corporations lasted only as long as the victory on the mother planet.  A bloody and brutal battle raged for several months.  It is at that time that, in order to spare human lives, robotic and cybertech weapons began to be used more and more.
	When the Earth Federation recognized the Territories' independence in the hands of the 4 Mega-corporations, they resumed their old disputes and became independent states.
The vast territory of Olympia is the last enclave of Earth's empire on Mars. It is also a territory whose substratum abounds in extraordinary riches not yet exploited.  Of all the Martian territories, it holds the most promise for the future.  And, most importantly, this enclave was built around the Martian "Sphinx" in the valley of Cydonia. 
	What are the "powers" of the Sphinx? Only the future will tell us...

	Earth is trying to defend against the plans of the 4 Mega-corporations (who possess all the surrounding territories) to control Olympia.  Taking advantage of the dissension between the Mega-corporations, Earth is managing to re-establish strong military bases on its last colony.  As long as the terrestrials keep to themselves and pose no direct threat to them, the Mega-corporations leave them pretty much alone.

	But a new element is about to disrupt this delicate balance: several Kesh Rhan fleets have arrived in the solar system. The Lord Commanders have stationed their respective fleets in geostationary orbit in our system.  Contrary to their customary hostile rivalry, the Aliens of the different fleets are not attacking each other for now.  But they are also not showing any desire to reunite...
	There are 4 Kesh Rhan fleets, which are named after their Lord Commander:
- The Siir-Karîs fleet.
- The Zaaer fleet.
- The Karn-Zarion fleet.
- The Kiiryn-Lyr fleet.

	The Aliens' presence and attitude can be explained as follows:
		- You may recall that the Kesh Rhan race was born out of genetic engineering and an accelerated evolutionary process.  The Kesh Rhans have no knowledge of their original homeland, from which they were exiled.  They wander around in space, searching for this lost world.
	- Since the expedition of Lord Commander Arakh Kreen (Chaos Control), the techno-probes of the different Kesh Rhan fleets are concentrating on the solar system. According to the techno-probes, Mars may well be the native planet of the Kesh Rhans... Once the Kesh Rhans are certain that Mars is their original home, they will no doubt do everything in their power to reclaim the red planet, and one of the fleets will attempt to take control of it...
	- Basically, even if the Kesh Rhans are a warrior race, they do not especially hate Humans (should they find that Mars is not their home planet, they would leave and resume their quest in space).  It was only the fanatical paranoia of Lord Commander Arakh Kreen which led to the confrontation between the Kesh Rhans and the Humans in Chaos Control. Nevertheless, fear and mistrust continue to grow among the Humans.

	A triangle of hate now prevails on Mars.  Mistrust among the Terrestrials, the Kesh Rhans and the rival Mega-corporations is such that the most insane alliances are beginning to form.  Each human faction (people from Earth or members of the Mega-corporations), is attempting to ally with one of the Kesh Rhan fleets. Embassies are secretly being sent from the different sides... It is in this way that the Kesh-Rhans finally gain control of several Martian Territories.  They even create actual states and play an active role in the vast military-economic chessboard that the red planet has become.

	A second event will bring about a surge in violence on Mars: up to now, Olympia has been held under the iron-fist of Governor Xicander. But his disappearance has plunged the planet into chaos.  Was this a murder backed by the Mega-corporations? By the Kesh Rhans? Has he been kidnapped? Numerous theories are spread and a war of succession has left a blood-bath in the Territory of Olympia.  Some provinces have gone so far as to reclaim their independence, even resorting to weapons.  Automatic defense weapons have been stationed all over the place (in this way, if a province were to be abandoned, the weapons would continue to make life difficult for the invaders...).

	Four powerful former colonies surround the Territory of Olympia geographically. Now that Xicander is gone, the rush for the spoils is on.  Each faction wants its slice of the cake. The final objective of this intense victory campaign is control of the Capital of Olympia.

	All the forces present are aware of the real stake: Mars is 90% barren and efforts to entirely terraform the planet will be a disaster.  The Sphinx is doubtless the key for which everyone is searching:
	- According to the Kesh Rhans, the Sphinx holds the answer to their question (is Mars their planet of origin?). 
	- According to the Mega-corporations and the Terrestrials, it is no coincidence that the face of the Sphinx in the valley of Cydonia is an exact duplicate of the one from Kheops, which dates back to the time when Egypt was the most advanced civilization on Earth.  The Sphinx may hold the key to the red planet's energy problems and would enable humans to colonize it perfectly.  The Mega-corporation which held this key would no longer need to resort to the Merchants' Mega-corporation to solve all its logistical problems...


The war of the worlds is declared!

	 Game concept -

	“Crimson Wars” is the first on-line War game available on a commercial platform.  It is a Meeting game which allows several players (1 to 4) to confront each other on a tactical level in a futuristic universe midway between Space Opera and Cyberpunk.
	Each participant can choose to control terrestrial or extraterrestrial robotic units through numerous missions offering as many challenges for one's wits as for one's nerves.
	And, of course, you can chat with your challengers at any time.


	Game play -

	1) Interface:
	The game is played by using the keyboard and/or the mouse. There are two play methods:
	- Assisted.
	- Normal.

	- Assisted Mode - (enabled/disabled by clicking the left mouse button on the question mark)
	This method lets you use menus to access all the actions available for the object selected:
		- 1st click of the left button: selects a unit or a building.
		- 2nd click of the left button displays the menu.
		- 3rd click of the left button: chooses the command to run.
		- Click of the right button (on the destination): runs the command.
NOTE: by clicking on the ground with the left button and dragging the cursor (keeping the mouse button pressed), you can select several units. To issue commands, proceed as described above.

	- Normal Mode -
	The actions are automatic, which therefore depend on the unit's objective.
		- 1st click of the left button: selects the desired unit.
		- Click of the right button: performs the action.

	Actions available: the following table lists the actions performed by a player's pieces (Engineer's Armored Vehicle or Other) based on the objective that has been assigned to it (Destination / Source).

	Destination / Source					        Type of unit
					Engineer's Armored Vehicle			Other

	Friendly unit				Supply					Movement
	Enemy unit				Movement				Attack
	Friendly building			Repair					Movement
	Enemy building			Capture				Attack
	Ground				Movement				Movement

NOTE: you may select several units using the same method as for Assisted Mode.

	- Short-cut keys -

	F1: help screen.					A: Attack.
	F2: Unit.						C: Capture.
	F3: Com.						D: Set a mine.
	F4: Prod.						F: Supply.
	TAB: Strategic map.					M: Move toward.
	BACKSPC: Full screen / detail view.		P: Repair.
	1...9:	Construction of object 1 to 9			R: Add Short-cut.
		for the factory selected.			S: Stop action.
	SHIFT: Activates the Selection / De-selection	T: Cancel short-cut.
		of the pieces.

NOTE: You may Add (R) or Cancel (T) short-cuts for the units. These short-cuts let you find a piece on the game card very quickly.  To do this, select a piece, type R or T and the short-cut appears / disappears from the Unit screen automatically (small empty / full rectangles). 

	2) Game screen:

	There are two screens which can be accessed:
	- Full.
	- Normal.

	- Full Screen -
	Displays an enlarged game window.  When applicable, a symbol appears to indicate waiting messages.  A simple click on this symbol brings up the message screen.

	- Normal game screen -
	Consists of three windows:

		- View (in top-left corner of the screen). Active only if a piece is selected, it displays a full view of the unit and its features.

		- Multi-Usage (at bottom left). Information about the existing Units (Unit.), Communication (Com.) and current Productions (Prod.) appear here.

		- Surveillance (at right). Lets you follow the battle in progress.  This window contains several buttons: Exit (quit the game), Unit., Com., Prod., which can be accessed directly by using the mouse.

	

	3) Special notes:

	- Progression -
	“Crimson Wars” is a game which revolves around missions being fulfilled.  All these missions depend on an access level: they can only be played if the player has reached this level.  The levels are: Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel, General.
	When the game begins, everyone is a Sergeant. When a mission is completed, the level attained is saved with the player's alias, allowing access to new scenarios in future games.

	- Presentations -
	In Assisted mode, texts which present the game pieces in summary form appear when you select a unit for the first time.

	- Alliances -
	You can create Alliances with other people on line (or cancel them during the game).  From the communications screen (Com.), click on the “Alliance” icon to the right of the alias of the player with whom you wish to create an alliance.

	- Chat -
	You can chat with your challengers or allies at any time.  Just click on the alias of the desired recipient, type the message you wish to send him, then click on the appropriate icon to confirm.