Follow these steps to become familiar with the game quickly.
NOTE: The term click means to press and release the left mouse button. Right-click means to press and release the right mouse button. Drag means to press and hold the left mouse button while moving the mouse. Once the mouse pointer is at the desired location, release the mouse button. Generally, right-clicking an icon displays a menu for that icon. Right-clicking a stack of unit icons displays a pop-up menu that lists the individual units. You can then select the unit you want.
This demo (as well as the game) is playable through both Windows 3.1, and Windows 95. IF YOU ARE PLAYING THROUGH WINDOWS 95, you will need to put your "Start" bar on auto-hide. Do this by right clicking on the bar, select properties, and select auto-hide. The "Start" bar will disappear - however it is still accessible simply by moving the cursor over the area along the bottom of the screen.
To begin the demo, double click on the file called Acw_demo. The demo will load, and the map screen will come up, with a dialog box over it, indicating that you will be playing from an 1861 starting point. Click DONE.
The set-up screen will then come up. You will be playing as the Union for this demo.
Click IN VIEW under Leadership Ratings so you can see the leaders' characteristics.
Click HISTORICAL under Leadership Ratings (if you know anything about the leaders, this will make it easier).
Click HISTORICAL under Slave Status.
Click DONE.
The first screen displayed is an information box that informs you about the fall of Missouri. After reading the screen, click DONE.
The game map is centered on Missouri, and you want to focus on a small area on the seaboard.
Move the cursor to the lower right corner of the game map, and click on the word MAP to display the overview map. (Note: if you cannot see this "Map" button, you did not auto-hide your "Start" bar in Windows 95.)
The overview map shows the entire area that the game encompasses. States bordered in gray are controlled by the Confederacy, and states bordered in blue are controlled by the Union. States bordered in white are neutral.
Click on the first blue border in the upper right corner. This is a fast way to change what you see on the main map.
You can see your capital, Washington, DC, and the troops around it.
Right-click on the stack of units located at Washington to display a pop-up menu listing the names of the units.
Right-click again on Washington to display the CITY ORDERS menu.
In this window you can see which troops you have on garrison duty, and you can increase the level of fortifications.
Increase the fortification to 5. Then click OK to return to the map.
Right-click the stack at Washington again, and then right-click on the flag icon (which is the symbol for Army Headquarters).
The Army Orders window is displayed. In this window you can issue orders to be carried out by the units attached to the army. Examine the information in the window and note that three units are attached to this army. The army has a red bar at the top of its icon, and units attached to this army have the same color bar. (If a unit has a black bar, it is not attached to an army and is operating independently.)
Set the supply priority to HIGH.
Note that the current army objective is Richmond. Since the army must pass near Fredericksburg, make that city the objective.
Click on Fredericksburg in the Army objective box to make it your new objective.
Set the march mode to NORMAL so that the unit moves at a faster pace, but not fast enough to tire quickly. You do not want to arrive with fatigued troops, because that will hurt you in combat.
Click ADVANCE under COMBAT stance.
Click OK.
Now increase your production of weapons and the number of soldiers in your units.
Click NATIONAL, then CITY PRODUCTION.
In the City Production window you set the number of weapons produced in your on-map cities, and you can increase their shipbuilding capacity.
Click the up button next to Springfields to increase the quantity to 1000. Then click the up button next to Parrott guns to increase the quantity to 32.
When new manpower and supplies become available, your units will get the new weapons. Examine the window and note that you see some of the same information that was displayed in the CITY ORDERS window.
Click DONE to return to the main map.
From the SETTINGS menu, select HIDDEN ENEMY to view the enemy units.
One unit near Washington has three dots in its upper bar and has the roman numeral I, which indicates that the unit is the South's First Corps division. The black bar indicates that it is operating independently of an army.
Right-click on the stack of units at Washington, and then left-click on Hunter to select his unit. Hunter's name appears at the bottom of the screen in the blue bar.
Left -click on the stack of units at Washington and then slowly drag the units toward the enemy unit. When you see an arrow on top of that unit, release the mouse button.
You just set the tactical movement for Hunter's unit. The objective you set in the Army Orders was a strategic movement.
Right-click on the stack of units at Washington again, and then left-click on Tyler.
Left-click on Tyler's stack and drag it to the enemy unit again.
You just sent two units after the enemy.
Click on the OVERVIEW menu, then on ARMY OVERVIEW.
The resulting window shows your active land units - that is, units that have leaders to whom you can issue orders. You have more troops than are shown in the window, but they are on garrison duty.
Click DONE to exit this window.
From the NATIONAL menu, select GENERAL FORCE STATUS to see a list of all active troops (under a leader) and inactive troops (on garrison duty).
The window shows how many troops you have in each theater, and you can tell at a glance that you are weakest in the Mississippi area. You can also see how many ships you have, and you can view your weapon distribution, availability, and production, as well as your current shipbuilding capacity and the current capitals of the North and South.
Click DONE to return to the main map.
Right-click the unit that is slightly southwest of Washington.
You know it is a Union unit because it has a blue background. The red bar at the top indicates that it is part of the Army of the Potomac, and the roman numeral I and three dots in the red bar tell you it is Union Corps Division 1.
Because the unit is not in a stack, you can right-click on it to go directly to the orders window for that unit. In the window you view the rating for the unit, along with statistics such as number of men and artillery. You also view the leader's statistics. Even though Heintzelman's statistics are somewhat low, he has an average combat score, so he is an appropriate block for enemy units headed toward Washington.
Click VIEW BRIGADES to examine his attached brigades.
In this window you can equip active troops with new weapons and reinforce them when reinforcements are available.
Return to the Corps Orders window, then click DONE.
In the main game window, go to the GAME menu and select EXECUTE.
In this phase the troops move and battles are fought. New manpower and supplies are available.
Click OK to let the turn continue.
Because you turned off the hidden enemy, you can see what reinforcements they are getting, as well as their movements by rail, and their munitions at various ports.
Examine a battle at Fort Monroe, Virginia. (Note: The battles vary from game to game, so keep executing until you find one you can examine.)
You can select the battle intensity, but your choices depend on your leader's combat rating. Butler has an average combat rating, so your battle intensity choices are LOW and SKIRMISH.
Select either one, then click READY.
Click EXECUTE and hope for the best.
As the battle is executed, your screen will flash, strobe style. If it is flashing very fast, this means your time delay setting is on very fast. For the next battle this can be changed if you wish to see the troops moving more slowly. Change the time delay by going into the SETTINGS menu, and selecting TIME DELAY. Then click on a lower setting if you wish.
After the battle takes place, you learn whether you won or lost.
Click ANALYSIS to see which factors determined the battle's outcome.
This basically introduces you to the main elements of the game. You can restart the demo, and vary the leadership ratings, Confederate Capital location, slavery status, etc. to vary the outcome.
