PC & Mediji 1997 January/PCM_9701.iso/igre/ws/wsimdemo.shr/WSIMDEMO.TXT

Text File | 1996-07-23 | 16.1 KB | 261 lines

Notes for Wooden Ships and Iron Men


1.0    System Requirements

Current requirements for Wooden Ships and Iron Men (WSIM) are a 486 25Mhz IBM PC
compatible 8 megabytes of RAM and at least 8 megabytes of available disk space.  A
SuperVGA VESA compatible graphics card and Microsoft compatible mouse are also
required.

WSIM may be run in a full-screen window under Windows 95.  The following paragraph
only pertains if you are using previous versions of Windows or DOS.

WSIM utilizes a DOS extender and is compatible with EMM386 and QEMM.  Ensure you
configure your memory to leave the maximum amount of extended memory available.  For
instance, if you have an 8 megabyte RAM computer with the line EMM386.EXE RAM
2048 in your CONFIG.SYS file and also load Smart Drive in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
then you probably have only 5 megabytes of RAM available to WSIM.  This is because 2
megabytes of RAM are set aside for EMS, and Smart Drive will take 1 megabyte by
default (even more if you specify more).  We suggest you use EMM386.EXE NOEMS.
WSIM should not be run under Windows 3.X

2.0    Game Overview

To start the game, change to the directory containing WSIM and type "WSIM".  After the
opening credits, the game will start in the main game screen, referred to as the "Captain's
Cabin"

Each figure in the cabin represents one of the game functions.  Moving the mouse pointer
over each figure will cause a one-line description of its function to be displayed toward the
top of the screen.

2.1    Exit to DOS

Click on the Marine sentry on the far left to exit to DOS.

2.2    Start a Scenario

Click on the standing figure in the center of the screen to start a scenario.  The Scenario
screen is displayed.

2.2.1    Playing an Existing Scenario

Select a scenario from the list of scenarios.  A complete description of the scenario can be
reviewed by clicking on the Description button.  Only one scenario is available in the demo
version.

Select the side you wish to play by clicking on one of the two flags shown.  The
highlighted flag shows the side you will play.

Select your opponent (computer, human, E-mail).  E-Mail is disable in the demo version

Click on Start Scenario.  The Battle screen will appear.

3.0    Playing a Scenario

Scenarios are played on the Battle screen.  Game functions are controlled by selections on
the right hand side (the control area), while gameplay occurs on the larger area (the view
area) on the left hand side of the screen.

Orders are issued by clicking on a friendly ship to select it.  Blue marker rings will appear
under currently selected friendly ships, while red marker rings will appear under currently
selected enemy ships.  Information concerning the name of the ship, its current speed,
ammunition loaded etc., appear on the control area. You can view the ship's current status
by clicking on the large painting of the ship in the control area.  This will display the status
screen showing current crew assignments and damage.  Click the right mouse button to
return to the Battle screen.  The current wind direction is indicated by a pointer on the
compass displayed in the game area as well as the selected ship's attitude with respect to
the wind.

You can zoom in or out of the Game area by clicking on the small telescope under the
compass.  Click on the left (large) end of the telescope to zoom in, click on the right
(small) end of the telescope to zoom out.  Right-click on the telescope to toggle to/from
"birds-eye" view which will zoom out as necessary to include all of the ships in play.

You can scroll the view in the Game area by moving the mouse pointer off the edge of the
screen in the direction you wish to scroll.  Alternatively, you can click on one of the
compass points to scroll the view.  Holding down the right mouse button while scrolling
will increase the scrolling speed.

The icons at the bottom of the orders area control various game functions.  Depending on
the function, some icons will flash brightly momentarily when selected, others will stay
bright to indicate current state.  From left-to-right, starting on the top row the functions
are:

  Select next ship:  Represented by a ship icon.  You can select the next ship on a side
by left clicking on this icon.  Right clicking selects the opposing side.
  Game view:  Represented by a grid.  Clicking on this icon toggles between a 3-D
isometric view (the default) to a 2D overhead view.
  Computer controls gunnery:  Represented by a cannon.  When this icon is bright, the
gunnery for the selected ship will be controlled by the computer.
  Computer controls movement:  Represented by a ship's wheel.  When this icon is
bright, the movement for the selected ship will be controlled by the computer.
  Options:  Represented by a scroll.  Clicking on this icon will cause a scroll listing game
functions such as grid on/off to appear.
  End turn:  Represented by a saluting sailor.  Clicking on this icon will end your turn.
  Grapple:  Represented by a grappling iron.  Clicking on this icon will allow you to
select an enemy ship to grapple.  It will remain bright to indicate your intention to
grapple this turn.
  Attempt to Rake:  Represented by a top view of one ship crossing the tee of another
ship.  Clicking on this icon will cause the ship to hold fire until a raking position is
achieved.  If a raking position does not present itself, the ship will not fire that turn.
The icon remains bright to indicate your intention to attempt a rake.
  Save game:  Represented by a disk.  Clicking this icon will allow you to save the
game.  Not available in demo version.
  Quit game:  Represented by an octagonal stop sign.  Clicking this icon will end the
battle.

3.1    Movement orders

Movement orders are issued by clicking on the "Ahead" spoke of the ship's wheel in the
Orders area.  The Orders area is automatically resized to a small icon to maximize the
view of the playing area.  The selected ship will start to move ahead.  A dashed leader line
will appear to indicate the projected movement of the ship.  In addition, concentric circles
will appear underneath the ship.  Each ship rate has an allowable maneuvering distance
which must be traveled before it can perform another maneuver.  In other words, a ship
that has just turned to port must travel ahead in a straight line until it has traveled the
maneuvering distance for that rate of ship.  The concentric circles indicate the size of the
maneuvering distance and shrink as you approach the end of the minimum distance.  Once
they disappear, you can perform a maneuver.  You can click on the ahead spoke at any
time to instantly carry out movement to the end of the maneuvering distance.  You can
click the center of the wheel or press the Escape key at any time to cancel the movement
order.  Any ships not given a movement order will automatically sail ahead in a straight
line to the limit of their speed in relation to the wind.  Certain maneuvers, such as tacking,
cannot be carried out unless there is a minimum percentage of the crew assigned to the
rigging.

Sails can be changed between battle, plain, and full sail by clicking on the sails of the large
ship in the Orders area.  The sails in the artwork as well as the actual ship models in the
Game area indicate the current state of sails.  If three sails on each mast are shown, the
ship is at full sail.  Two sails indicate plain sail, and one sail indicates battle sail.  To
change to battle sail, click on the top sail area of the large ship in the Orders area.  Click
on the middle sail area for plain sail, and bottom sail area for full sail.  The graphic will
show sails being furled/unfurled to indicate the transition.  Changing sails takes one full
turn to take effect.  A minimum of 20% of the crew must be assigned to the rigging to
change sails.  The more sail deployed, the faster the ship will move.  However, the effect
of hits to the rigging will be increased accordingly.

During the course of movement ships may collide and become fouled.  They will
automatically attempt to unfoul on subsequent turns.  Ships which are fouled may not
receive movement orders and will automatically drift.

3.2    Gunnery Orders

Gunnery orders are given by clicking on the cutaway hull directly above the icons in the
Orders area.  Clicking on the cannons on the right side of the cutaway gives orders to the
cannons on the right (starboard) side of the ship.  Cannons on the left (port) side of the
ship are given by clicking on the left side of the cutaway.

In its simplest form, a gunnery order is given by clicking on the load box directly
underneath the cannon.  At the beginning of the game, both the port and starboard load
boxes will say "No load" indicating that they are awaiting a decision on type of shot to
load.  You may load both sides simultaneously only at the beginning of the game.
Thereafter, you may only load one side per turn.  Clicking the load box will cause the
default cannon shot (roundshot) to be loaded into the cannon.  The cannon will be run out
indicating it is loaded.  The computer will automatically select the closest enemy ship as its
target and target the hull if it is within 1200 yards, otherwise it will select the rigging.  The
selected enemy target is indicated by a red crosshairs positioned over the target ship.  The
computer will automatically open fire as long as the target ship is within the maximum
range of the type of shot (2000 yards for roundshot, 600 for chainshot, and 200 for
doubleshot and grapeshot).  You can override all of the automatic settings.  The type of
shot is overridden by left/right clicking the mouse over the load box.  You can choose
roundshot (the default, standard shot), grapeshot (inflicts casualties on the crew-range 200
yards), chainshot (devastates rigging-range 600 yards), or doubleshot(twice as nice as
roundshot-range 200 yards, takes two turns to load).  The target is overridden by right-
clicking on any enemy ship.  The aim point (hull/rigging) is overridden by clicking on the
hull or rigging of the enemy target representation in the Orders area.  The open fire range
is overridden by moving the mouse pointer near the cannons on the friendly ship in the
Orders area.  The pointer will change to a cannon ball.  Click and drag the pointer left or
right to adjust the open fire range.  You can also direct that fire be held until a raking
position on the target is gained by clicking on the Attempt to Rake icon.

3.3    Melee

Melee may occur whenever two ships are fouled or grappled.  Ships may become fouled
whenever they collide during movement.  Fouling is normally unintentional.  Grappling is
used when you intend to send boarding parties on the enemy ship.

To grapple an enemy ship, click on the Attempt to Grapple icon.  It will brighten, and the
mouse pointer will change to a grappling iron and position itself over the nearest enemy
ship.  If this is the desired target, click the left mouse button.  If not, merely move the
pointer over the desired target and click the left mouse button.  The pointer will remain as
a grappling iron until a target is selected or you click on the Attempt to Grapple icon again
to cancel the grapple order.  When the target is selected, a grappling iron will be placed
over the target and the pointer will return to normal.  The Attempt to Grapple icon will
remain bright to indicate that a grappling order for that ship has been given.  If your ship
comes within 50 yards of the selected enemy ship during this turn, it will attempt to
grapple.  If the grapple is successful, the two ships will be joined together and melee will
occur.  The Attempt to Grapple icon will remain bright as long as the ships remain
grappled.  In addition, a grapple icon will be placed over the grappled ships indicating
their status.  You may attempt to disengage from a grapple on subsequent turns by
clicking on the Attempt to Grapple icon.  It will turn dark, indicating your desire to
ungrapple.  If successful on the following turn, the grapple icon will be removed from the
grappled ships and they will separate.  If not, the grapple icon will remain, and the
Attempt to Grapple icon will turn bright.

Once you are fouled or grappled, you may form a boarding party in an attempt to capture
the enemy ship through melee.  Follow the instructions given in section 3.4.2 to assign
crew from the rigging or guns to the boarding party.  If neither ship forms a boarding
party, melee does not occur.  Once melee is initiated, the melee will continue over
consecutive turns until one side is victorious, or the ships become unfouled or ungrappled.

3.4    Crew Orders/Status Screen

The status screen is displayed when you click anywhere on the hull of the large ship in the
Orders area.  This is where you get information on damage as well as allocate your crew.
You can view the status of other friendly ships by left/right clicking on the ship nameplate
on the bottom of the screen.  Return to the Battle display by pressing the clicking on
"exit" or pressing the Escape key.

3.4.1    Damage/Casualties

Damage occurs to one of 3 areas; hull, rigging, and guns.  Grids on the status screen
indicate the current status of each of these three areas.  An icon is placed in each grid
square showing the amount of damage that can be absorbed in each area.  Only the largest
ships will have icons filling every available grid box.

Damage to rigging:  As hits are taken in the rigging, the undamaged sail icon will be
replaced by a tattered sail icon.  Hits are taken in the fore, main, or mizzen masts.  If all
the sail icons are damaged, the mast is considered to have been destroyed.  Damaged
rigging will affect the movement capabilities of the ship.

Damage to guns:  As hits are taken in the guns, the undamaged gun icon will be replaced
by a destroyed gun icon.  There are two types of guns; cannons and carronades.
Carronades are identical to guns in all respects except they have a maximum range of 600
yards.

Damage to the hull:  As hits are taken in the hull, the undamaged hull icon will be replaced
by a damaged hull icon.  When all of the hull icons are damaged, the ship will surrender
and strike its colors.

Casualties to the crew may also be caused by combat.  As this occurs, the number
displayed under "Crew Casualties" will increase.

3.4.2    Assigning Crew

Crew is assigned by clicking on the area from which you wish to move crew, then clicking
on the area to which you wish the crew to move.  For example; to move crew from the
guns to rigging, you would click on the text area that says "Gun Crew".  The lettering will
turn red to indicate that crew will be moved from the guns.  Next click on the "Crew
Aloft" text area.  Each time you click, crew will be removed from the guns, and added to
the rigging.  Left-clicking moves crew in 1% increments, right-clicking moves crew in
10% increments.  You can also specify an exact percentage by typing the percent you wish
to move.  To end the crew reassignment mode, click on the "Gun Crew" text again.  The
lettering will revert back to white.  The default crew assignment is 90% to the guns, 10%
to the rigging.  Moving crew to the boarding party is advisable if you intend to grapple
with an enemy ship or if you are grappled.  Certain movement orders require a minimum
crew on the rigging, and will prevent you from removing crew from the rigging below the
required minimum until you cancel the movement order.

3.5    Turn Resolution

Turns are resolved simultaneously once both sides have completed giving orders.  The
screen will shift to a full-screen mode and the movement and combat will be animated.
During resolution you can click on any of the compass points to scroll the view to keep
the best view of combat.  You can also click on the telescope to zoom in or out.  If ships
move out of the field of view, an arrowhead will be drawn on the outside of the compass
indicating the direction of the nearest ship in that direction.  You can then scroll the screen
or click on the arrow to bring the ship into view.