"There are times when fear drops below the threshold of the mind; never beyond recall, but far enough from the instant to become a background. Actions are less thought than done and only in hindsight do you realize the horrors you have witnessed and caused. A kilometer from our first DZ, I felt a bullet whiz past my chin and saw my comrade,whom I had known all through training, absorb the impact of an RPG as small arms fire cut through the men behind him. I knew suddenly and forever that this was war, and I was in it."
WWII: Recon is a map of modern warfare for Myth II: Soulblighter. It requires intricate micromanagement and offers stunning realism.
Situation:
There is enemy action in the neutral zone! We need intel. Grab your gear and get to the plane, you're going in!
Your Units:
Soldier - "Move it out maggot!" A well trained military man bearing a bayonet, automatic rifle and hand grenades. Never underestimate the damage a single man can do.
Field Cannon - Artillery support for your ground troops. Maybe having all our men hiding behind the same tree, was a 'bad' idea.
The Maps:
* S-2 - A two team map allowing Terries, Captures, CtF, BoP, KoH, LMotH, Assassin, StB, and Body Count.
* S-4 - A four team map offering the same game types.
* Elimination - twelve starts, one Soldier each. Just you against the big bad world. Watch your back, Jack. Play this blind, I dare ya. (Does not offer BoP or CtF)
* Patrol - twelve starts, a three man patrol at your disposal. Even with only three Soldiers you will have your hands full. (Does not offer CtF or BoP)
Difficulty:
There are MANY subtle changes on each map with changes in difficulty. In brief, Cannons and RPG's are limited or non-existant in Timid or Simple, and Legendary offers more weapons, objectives, and MedKits (Look for "Medical Supply Crates" in Elimination and Patrol).
New Features and Highlights:
* Two completely new units, the Soldier and Field Cannon.
* New Flag and Ball scenery.
* Multi-cultural units.
* New sampled sounds.
* New weapons (and the stains they leave).
* New explosions.
* Natural terrain with unlimited passability. Your tactics are only limited by your situation and imagination.
* Overhead Map view is limited to the area you have explored, allowing you to pick up grenades and customize troops in privacy.
* You can throw grenades and special weapons at anyone, even your friends, so make SURE you know what you are doing.
* Entirely new feel, this is not the Myth you are accustomed to.
Now move it OUT, Soldier!
The key points of this manual are also available as in-game hints.
Overhead Map Behavior:
The overhead map for WW2:Recon is like the map in single-player games, rather than in most multiplayer games. Territory is revealed only as your units "discover" it -- this is a recon, after all! -- which means that you cannot move your camera to untravelled territory. (The map itself is also slightly larger than its initial display area, which will enlarge as necessary.)
The main effects of this are 1) you can't shoot blind with your artillery into untravelled areas and 2) you can't send units directly into untravelled areas with the right-click-on-map.
Soldier Usage:
Soldier units have primary, secondary, and special attacks.
* The primary attack of the soldier is rifle fire. Clicking on an enemy will cause the soldier to fire his rifle at them in a series of 3-round bursts. Rifle fire is also used automatically by the soldier when enemies come within range. Rifle fire has a very long range (the longest of the various attacks except for the RPG) but can be easily obstructed by terrain. While using a rifle attack, watch to make sure you have a clear line of fire.
* The secondary attack is a close-range bayonet stab, which you can perform by double-clicking on the target. Bayonetting is not a very reliable attack, but when it does strike home, it does a lot of damage. Good for taking on cannon emplacements.
* The special attack of your soldier allows him to use an object that he is carrying. Press T to activate the special attack, then click on a target (enemy unit or ground). Special attacks can be used on friends or foes, so be careful!... most you definitely would not want to use on friendly units, and there's one that you would definitely not want to use on an enemy.
Special attacks description:
Soldiers start out with 1 frag grenade, and can carry up to 10. The frag grenade throw has a medium range, significantly less than that of rifle fire. A soldier's frag grenade count is displayed next to a grenade icon in the status bar. You can pick up frag grenades (not live ones though! :-) ) by clicking on them; they are the "plain" looking grenades. A soldier will only throw a frag grenade for his special attack if he is not holding anything else (for example another pickup item, or battlefield debris). If he is holding something else, he will use that instead.
There are three other pickup items: medkit, incendiary grenade, and RPG. A soldier can only possess one of these, of any type, at a time. If a soldier has one of these pickups, it will be used for the special attack instead of a frag grenade. Possession of one of these pickups is indicated by a grenade icon without a number next to it, in the status bar. To be sure of which soldier is holding what, you may want to make use of presets and/or unit naming.
* The medkit acts like a journeyman/heron healing. The soldier carrying the medkit can heal himself or others... just don't use it on enemy units, or waste it on the ground. The medkit can be used at a medium distance (its range is equal to grenade attacks).
* The incendiary grenade has a range like the frag grenade; unlike the frag grenade, it will always explode on impact instead of bouncing. It does less direct damage than a frag grenade but will set terrain on fire.
* The RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) is a long-range attack not quite like any other Myth attack; it requires a new level of aiming precision. When you fire an RPG, the projectile will fly a little over twice as far as you aim. When first learning to use the RPG, try this procedure: 1) Point your soldier at the target, and look over his shoulder. 2) Center your soldier in your screen, horizontally. 3) Use the special attack and click on the ground about 40% of the way toward your target. 4) Cross your fingers. :-) As you become more practiced with the RPG, you will become quicker and more accurate with it, and devlop your own firing procedure (or lack thereof) if you like.
Cannon Usage:
Cannons have primary and special attacks. The primary attack fires an explosive round powerful enough to kill a soldier with a graze or direct hit, although its damage radius is not very big. The secondary attack (press T, then click on enemy or ground) fires a scattering of mines, which can be activated by other explosions. Each cannon has only 1 secondary attack.
Cannons can fire every 12 seconds. They are not very accurate, but they have a maximum range of about a third of the map width or height, which is excellent. Get spotters out to assist in directing cannon fire. Cannons also have a minimum range of about 3/4 the width of your screen. Although they can take a lot of damage, they are in trouble if enemy units get inside this minimum range without any friendlies to oppose them.
They also have a somewhat slow rotation speed. Although this is not usually an issue, you may wish to gesture-click to make a cannon face in the desired direction (in expectation of approaching enemies).
Final note: cannons can move, although slowly. If you are accustomed to the cannon from the WWI map in development, you might not be expecting this. These cannons are a bit more technically advanced and can roam about the battlefield.
WWII: Recon is Copyright 1999 Craig Goodman.
No parts of this map of this map can be copied or used in other maps without express written permission from Craig Goodman.
