- BATTLE ISLE DOCS - %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% INTRODUCTION ------------ BATTLE ISLE IS A STRATEGY GAME NOT UNLIKE CHESS,THE RULES OF BATTLE ISLE ARE FLEXIBLE,WHICH HELP THE BEGINNING STRATEGIST,WITHOUT SACRIFICING THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY OF THE GAME. AS IN CHESS YOU MUST MOVE A VARIETY OF PIECES(UNITS) WITH YOUR OBJECTIVE:TO DESTROY YOUR OPPONENT. TO DO SO YOU CAN EITHER INVADE THE ENEMY`S HEADQUARTERS OR DESTROY ALL THE ENEMY`S UNITS. YOU MUST TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH UNIT AS WELL AS THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE PLAYING FEILD. BATTLE ISLE IS A REALISTIC REPRESNTATION OF MODERN WARFARE WAR. ALL THE ELEMENTS OF A MODERN WAR,FROM THE CONSTRUCTION OF DEPOTS TO THE REPAIR AND PRODUCTION OF NEW UNITS,AND AS WELL AS THE SUPPLY OF RAW MATERIALS,PLAY IMPORTANT ROLESIN BATTLE ISLE. YOU CAN PLAY AGAINST A HUMAN OR COMPUTER OPPONENT. THERE ARE 32 UNIQUE MAPS TO CONQUER.ADD ON SCENARIO DISKS CONTAINING NEW MAPS AND ADDITIONAL UNITS ARE ALREADY UNDER DEVOLPMENT AND WILL BE AVAILABLE SOON. OVERVIEW -------- BATTLE ISLE CAN BE PLAYED BY 1 OR 2 PLAYERS,EACH PLAYER CAN TAKE AN ACTIVE PART IN THE MANOEUVRE AT ANY TIME IN THE GAME. THE GAME HAS 2 ALTERNATING PHASES: A MOVEment PHASE AND AN ACTION PHASE. THE FIRST PLAYER BEGINS THE GAME IN MOVEMENT PHASE,WHILE PLAYER 2 BEGINS THE GAME ININ ACTION PHASE(USUALLY THE ATTACK PHASE). IN THE NEXT TURN THE PHASES ARE SWAPPED,AND SO ON. EACH PLAYER REPRESENTS THE `CHIEF OF STAFF` MEANING THAT YOU GIVE THE ORDERS, ie DO THE STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR YOUR ARMIES. IN BATTLE ISLE, STRATEGY AND TACTICS,NOT BRUTAL FORCE,DETERMINE THE WINNER. THE MENU -------- THE BATTLE ISLE MAIN MENU APPEARS AFTER THE GAME HAS LOADED.USE THE J/STICK TO MOVE TO AND CLICK ON THE OPTION DESIRED.THE MAIN MENU OPTIONS ARE: START - TO START OR CONTINUE A GAME OPTIONS - SUB MENU (SEE BELOW) DISK - TO LOAD A PREVIOUSLY SAVED GAME EXIT - TO QUIT THE GAME THE OPTIONS MENU ---------------- MAPCODE - TO CHOOSE A MAP BY ENTERING THE CORRESPONDING CODE. COMFIRM YOUR ENTRY BY PRESSING [RETURN]. YOU WILL BE GIVEN A NEW MAP CODES EACH TIME YOU SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE A MAP MISSION. SETTING - SUB MENU TO SET GAME PARAMETERS PLAYER - TO CHOOSE YOUR OPPONENT (HUMAN OR COMPUTER)/NOTE: 2 PLAYER MAPS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE WHEN PLAYING HUMAN -TO- HUMAN. OK - TO RETURN TO THE MAIN MENU THE SETTING MENU ---------------- [ALL SHOPS/HIDE SHOPS] - ALL SHOPS GIVE BOTH PLAYERS ACCESS TO INFO ON ALL BUILDINGS. [HIDE SHOPS] PREVENT YOU AND YOUR OPPONENT FROM LOOKING IN EACH OTHERS BULDINGS. [NO LIMIT/4,8,16 TURNS] - TO CHOOSE THE NUMBER OF TURNS IN THE GAME. IF YOU CHOOSE A LIMITED NUMBER OF TURNS, THE PLAYER WHO HAS THE MOST UNITS IN THE LAST TURN WINS. [PALETTE] - TO CHANGE UNIT COLOURS FROM RED AND YELLOW TO GREEN AND BLUE. OK - RETURN TO MAIN MENU THE DISK MENU ------------- LOAD - TO LOAD A SAVED GAME.CHOOSE THE SAVED GAME USING KEYS 0 - 9 BATTLE - TO LOAD NEW MAPS FROM THE ADD ON SCENARIO DISK RATING - TO DISPLAY THE BEST 4 SCORES FOR A GIVEN MAP OK - TO RETURN TO THE `OPTIONS MENU` during the game these options are also available. D - SAVES THE CURRENT GAME. THIS OPTION CAN ONLY BE USED WHEN BOTH PLAYERS HAVE ASKED FOR A CHANGE IN PHASE. E - TOGGLES THE SOUND EFFECTS OFF/ON S - TOGGLES THE MUSIC ON/OFF ESC - TO QUIT THE CURRENT GAME.TO QUIT,CONFIRM THIS COMMAND BY PRESSING THE `Y` KEY. THE SCREEN DISPLAY ------------------ THE GAME SCREEN IS DIVIDED INTO 2 HALVES SO THAT EACH PLAYER CAN MOVE AND SCROLL THE MAP INDEPENDENTLY. ONLY PART OF ANY MAP IS DISPLAYED AT A TIME.(TO SEE THE THE ENTIRE MAP,USE THE GLOBAL VIEW FUNCTION) THE LEFT HALF OF THE SCREEN IS PLAYER `1` THE RIGHT HALF IS PLAYER `2`. WHEN BATTLES ARE ENGAGED,OR BUILDING TAKEN,ONE HALF OF THE SCREEN WILL SHOW THE LOCATION OF THE ACTION,WHILE THE OTHER HALF WILL DISPLAY THE ACTION TAKING PLACE. THE SCREEN STATUS LINE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN DISPLAYS VALUABLE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ACTIONS OF YOUR UNITS AS WELL AS THE NUMBER AND EXPERIENCE LEVEL OF YOUR UNITS. THIS STATUS LINE WILL ALSO INDICATE ANY ERRORS. BATTLE COMMANDS --------------- [HEXAGON ICON] -NORMAL CURSOR- BATTLE ISLE COMMANDS ARE EXECUTED WITH THE JOYSTICK.USING THE CURSOR COMMAND [HEXAGON ICON WITH X] -EXIT CURSOR- THE CURSOR APPEARS IN HAXAGON FORM ON THE MAP(HIGHLIGHTING ONE OF THE LAND HEXAGONS). WHEN YOU PRESS THE JOYSTICK FIRE BUTTON, THE EXIT SYMBOL `X` APPEARS IN THE CURSOR LIMITS. KEEP THE FIRE BUTTON PRESSED AND MOVE THE JOYSTICK IN ONE OF THE 8 POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS TO ACCESS THE COMMAND FUNCTIONS. EACH COMMAND FUNCTION HAS A UNIQUE CURSOR SYMBOL. DEPENDING ON THE PHASE (ACTION OR MOVEMENT) THE CURSOR WILL INDICATE POSSIBLE COMMANDS. [HEXAGON ICON WITH EYE] -CURSOR TO ACCESS THE GLOBAL VIEW MAP- THE EYE - DISPLAYS AN OVERVIEW OF THE ENTIRE MAP. POSITION THE CURSOR,PRESS FIRE AND MOVE THE JOYSTICK TO THE RIGHT. THIS GLOBAL VIEW FUNCTION LETS YOU ACCESS YOUR PRESENT SITUATION. AS WELL AS THAT OF YOUR OPPONENT,MOVE QUICKLY TO A NEW LOCATION, AND DETERMINE WHICH UNITS HAVE NOT YET BEEN GIVEN ORDERS IN THAT TURN. ALL ROADS ARE INDICATED IN WHITE. EXAMINE THE ROAD NETWORK CAREFULLY TO DETERMINE DIRECT ROUTES. THE UNITS ARE SHOWN IN THIER RESPECTIVE COLOURS. UNITS TURN BLACK WHEN THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN ORDERS: THIS LETS YOU CHECK QUICKLY IF YOU HAVE ENGAGED POSSIBLE UNITS IN THAT TURN. THE BUILDINGS ARE ALSO BLACK ON THE MAP. THE HQ`S ARE REPRESENTED BY A SMALL WHITE H. TO MOVE TO A NEW LOCATION,MOVE THE SQUARE CURSOR TO THE DESIRED AREA AND PRESS THE FIRE BUTTON. NOTE: WHEN YOU SEE A MAP FOR THE FIRST TIME, YOU SHOULD STUDY THE SITUATION CAREFULLY USING THE GLOBAL VIEW. LOOK INTO ALL BUILDINGS AND TRANSPORT UNITS BEFORE MAKING A DECISION. ONLY A LARGE SCALE STRATEGY WILL LEAD YOU TO VICTORY [HEXAGON ICON WITH AN `I`] -INVENTORY CURSOR- THE `I` DISPLAYS THE INVENTORY OF A BUILDING OR UNIT.THIS FUNCTION CAN ONLY BE USED WHEN THE CURSOR IS POSITIONED OVER A BUILDING OR TRANSPORT UNIT. USE THIS FUNCTION TO EVALUATE THE CONTENTS OF A BUILDING OR UNIT. POSITION THE CURSOR OVER THE BUILDING OR UNIT YOU WISH TO INVENTORY. PRESS FIRE BUTTON AND MOVE THE JOYSTICK LEFT. [HEXAGON ICON WITH ?] -INFORMATION CURSOR- THE `?` PROVIDES INFORMATION. DEPENDING ON YOUR LOCATION, EITHER OVER A UNIT OR ON THE GENERAL BATTLEFIELD. THIS FUNCTION WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH UNIT-SPECIFIC OR GENERAL BATTLE INFO. POSITION THE CURSOR,PRESS FIRE AND MOVE THE JOYSTICK DOWN (TOWARD YOU). [HEXAGON ICON WITH CROSSED CURSOR] -MOVE UNITS CURSOR- THE MOVE COMMAND (CROSSED CURSORS) IS ACCESSIBLE IN THE MOVEMENT PHASE WHEN THE CURSOR IS POSITIONED ON ONE OF YOUR UNITS. USE THIS FUNCTION TO ORDER THE UNIT TO MOVE. THE ROUTE YOUR UNIT WILL TAKE THEN APPEARS ON THE SCREEN. [HEXAGON ICON WITH !] -ACTION CURSOR- THE `!` REPRESENTS THE ACTION COMMAN. IT IS ACCESSIBLE IN ACTION PHASE WHEN THE CURSOR IS POSITIONED OVER ONE OF YOUR UNITS. THIS FUNCTION COMMANDS YOUR UNIT TO ENTER ACTION. THIS ORDER USUALLY CORRESPONDS TO AN ATTACK ORDER AGAINST AN ENEMY UNIT. AS WHEN YOU ARE MOVING A UNIT, THE POSSIBLE ATTACKS ARE DISPLAYED ON SCREEN. [HEXAGON ICON WITH <-->] -CHANGE PHASES CURSOR- THE CHANGING PHASES CURSOR (<-->)INDICATES YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR TURN AND WANT TO MOVE ONTO THE NEXT PHASE. [HEXAGON ICON WITH SPANNER] -SEPERATE A UNIT CURSOR- THE SPANNER IS ACCESSIBLE WHEN YOU ARE STUDYING THE CONTENTS OF A BUILDING AND YOU ARE IN ACTION. IT SHOWS THAT YOU WANT TO LEAVE THE UNIT WHICH IS LOCATED UNDER YOUR CURSOR. [HEXAGON ICON WITH HAMMER] -CREATE A NEW UNIT CURSOR- THE HAMMER IS ACCESSIBLE ONLY WHEN YOU ARE INSIDE THE BUILDING. BY VALIDATING THE OPTION YOU CAN CREATE NEW UNITS. MOVING UNITS [CROSSED ARROWS] TO MOVE A UNIT,POSITION THE CURSOR OVER ONE OF YOUR UNITS. PRESS THE JOYSTICK FIRE BUTTON AND MOVE THE JOYSTICK AWAY FROM YOU (UP) THE MOVE SYMBOL WILL THEN APPEAR. WHEN YOU RELEASE THE FIRE BUTTON THE RANGE OF THE UNIT AND POSSIBLE DESTINATIONS WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED. POSITION THE CURSOR ON THE DESIRED DESTINATION AND PRESS FIRE BUTTON AGAIN. THE ROUTE YOUR UNIT WILL TAKE THEN APPEARS ON THE SCREEN. PRESS THE FIRE BUTTON A SECOND TIME TO MOVE THE UNIT TO A DESIRED DESTINATION. MAKE SURE THE CURSOR IS POSITIONED ON THE DESTINATION SQUARE WHEN YOU PRESS THE FIRE BUTTON A SECOND TIME!. THE RANGE OF THE UNIT WILL APPEAR AGIN ON THE SCREEN AND YOU WILL HAVE TO CHOOSE AGAIN A DESTINATION. AS SOON AS YOU HAVE MOVED YOUR UNIT, THE COMPUTER CLOCKS THE MOVING FUNCTION(BLACK STRIPES ON THE UNIT TELL YOU THAT ITS CLOCKED) YOU CAN ALSO GET UNITS OUT OF BUILDINGS OR TRANSPORTERS. VERIFY FIRST THE CONTENT OF THE BUILDING OR TRANSPORTER USING THE -INVENTORY- COMMAND. TO LEAVE JUST MOVE THE UNIT. THE RANGE OF UNITS MOVING OUT OF BUILDINGS IS LIMITED. AS CONVEYING THE TROOPS TO THE BATTLE FIELD TAKES TIME. AFTER MOVING A UNIT OUT, YOU WILL REMAIN IN INVENTORY MODE. TO LEAVE THE BUILDING,USE THE EXIT COMMAND [HEXAGON-X]. BUILDINGS LIKE TRANSPORT UNITS,ARE REPRESENTED ON THE MAP BY TARGET SQUARES WHEN YOU ARE WITHIN RANGE.CHOOSE A BUILDING AS YOUR DESTINATION AND YOUR UNIT WILL GO INTO THE BUILDING AND TRANSPORT UNIT. KEEP IN MIND THAT YOUR ACTIONS ARE PLANNED:YOUR MOVEMENTS WILL NOT BE EXECUTED AND YOUR UNITS WILL NOT ARRIVE AT THEIR DESTINATION UNTIL THE CHANGE IN `PHASE`.IN FACT,YOUR UNIT MAY NEVER ARRIVE IF YOUR OPPONENT DESTROYS IT BEFORE THE NEXT TUN. HINT: SHORT RANGE (ESPECIALLY INFANTRY)UNITS SHOULD BE MOVED WITH TRANSPORT UNITS. MOVE THE UNIT INTO A TRANSPORT WHICH HAS NOT MOVED IN THAT TURN,AND THEN MOVE THE TRANSPORT UNIT.MOVING UNITS INTO A TRANSPORT UNIT WHICH HAS ALREADY MOVED IN THAT TURN IS NOT POSSIBLE. ACTION ------ POSITION THE CURSOR ON ONE OF YOUR UNITS AND PRESS THE JOYSTICK FIREBUTTON. AS SOON AS THE EXIT SYMBOL APPEARS ON THE CURSOR,MOVE THE JOYSTICK AWAY FROM YOU(UP): THE EXIT SYMBOL IS REPLACED BY AN EXCLAMTION MARK. RELEASE THE FIRE BUTTON TO SEE THE TARGETS IN YOUR RANGE. POSSIBLE ATTACK TARGETS IN YOUR RANGE. POSSIBLE ATTACK TARGETS WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED. CHOOSE THE DESIRED TARGET BY PLACING THE CURSOR OVER THE TARGET AND PRESSING FIRE BUTTON. WHEN THE UNIT RECORDS THE TARGET IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO USE THIS UNIT AGAIN ONCE THE TARGET IS VALIDED. CERTAIN UNITS CAN NOT BE USED FOR ATTACK. A TRANSPORT PLANE,FOR EXAMPLE,CAN REPLY TO AN ATTACK,BUT CANNOT BE USED AS AN ATTACK UNIT.YOU USUALLY NEED TO ATTACK AN OPPONENT UNIT SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE DESTROYING IT. THIS CAN BE DONE IN ONE TURN,USING SEVERAL UNITS,OR IN SEVERAL TURNS. THE DEPOT BUILDER IS A SPECIAL UNIT. INSTEAD OF ATTACKING ENEMY UNITS,IT BUILDS DEPOTS. THIS IS DONE THE SAME WAY YOU ATTACK A UNIT. POTENTIAL BUILDING SITES (INSTEAD OF TARGETS) ARE HIGHLIGHTED. A DEPOT BUILDER CAN ONLY BUILD HALF A DEPOT AT A TIME. EITHER THE DEPOT IS BUILT IN TWO TURNS OR TWO BUILDERS SHOULD WORK TOGETHER. IT IS OFTEN NECESSARY TO ATTACK THE ENEMY UNIT SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE DESTROYING IT. IT IS OFTEN DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE UNITS WHICH HAVE ALREADY BE USED TO ATTACK AN ENEMY UNIT. IF YOU PLACE THE CURSOR ON ONE OF YOUR UNITS WHICH IS ALREADY ENGAGED IN BATTLE,THE TARGET RECORDED BY THIS UNIT WILL APPEAR ON THE SCREEN SURROUNDED BY A HEXAGON. REPAIRING UNITS --------------- REPAIRING UNITS(SPANNER). THE SPANNER IS ACCESSIBLE IN THE ACTION PHASE.USE IT TO REPAIR DAMAGED UNITS IN ANY BUILDING. POSITION THE CURSOR OVER THE BUILDING CONTAINING DAMAGED UNITS AND PRESS THE FIRE BUTTON. MOVE THE JOYSTICK LEFT TO THE INVENTORY SYMBOL. POSITION THE CURSOR ON THE UNIT TO BE REPAIRED,MOVE THE JOYSTICK DOWN(TOWARDS YOU) AND PRESS FIRE BUTTON. THE UNIT WILL APPEAR WITH BLACK STRIPES. THE UNIT CANNOT BE USED WHILST UNDER REPAIR. REPAIRING DAMAGED UNITS USES 3 UNITS OF ENERGY,REGARDLESS OF HOW SERIOUS THE DAMAGE MAY BE,WITH THE EXCEPTION OF DEPOT BUILDERS, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY IN THE BUILDING AN ERROR WILL APPEAR. REPAIRING UNITS IS AN IMPORTANT STRATEGIC POINT.IT IS ESPECIALLY USEFUL TO REPAIR VERY STRONG UNITS. SO THAT ENEMY CAN INCREASE ITS EFFECTIVENESS IN BATTLE BY INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF BATTLE EXPERIENCE GAINED. PRODUCING UNITS --------------- PRODUCING UNITS [HEXAGON-HAMMER]. THE HAMMER IS ALSO USED INSIDE BUILDINGS DURING THE ACTION PHASE.USE THIS FUNCTION TO PRODUCE NEW UNITS IN THE FACTORIES. AS WHEN REPAIRING UNITS,YOU MUST FIRST INVENTORY THE FACTORY. THEN POSITION THE CURSOR ON AN EMPTY SQUARE RESERVED FOR A UNIT. PRESS FIRE BUTTON AND MOVE THE JOYSTICK LEFT. THE HAMMER(PRODUCTION) SYMBOL WILL APPEAR. RELEASE THE FIRE BUTTON, TO SEE WHICH UNITS CAN BE PRODUCED WITH THE ENERGY AVAILABLE, ON SOME LEVELS, CERTAIN UNITS CAN NOT BE PRODUCED EVEN IF SUFFICIENT ENERGY IS AVAILABLE. CHOOSE THE UNIT TO BE PRODUCED WITH THE CURSOR,PRESS THE FIRE BUTTON, THEN MOVE THE JOYSTICK LEFT WHILE KEEPING THE FIRE BUTTON PRESSED. THE CHOSEN UNIT WILL APPEAR COVERED WITH BLACK STRIPES. THE UNIT CAN BE MOVED OUT OF THE FACTORY IN THE NEXT MOVEMENT PHASE. CHANGING PHASE -------------- AFTER HAVING MADE YOUR TACTICAL SELECTION YOU MUST MOVE ON TO ANOTHER PHASE OF THE GAME.PLACE YOUR CURSOR ON AN AREA NOT OCCUPIED BY A BUILDING OR TRANSPORTER. WHEN YOU PRESS THE FIRE BUTTON WHILE MOVING THE JOYSTICK TO THE LEFT,YOU WILL SEE A <--> SYMBOL APPEAR. THE SYMBOL MEANS THAT YOU MUST CHANGE PHASES. RELEASE THE JOYSTICK BUTTON TO VALID YOUR CHOICE. IF YOU REALISE YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN TO PROGRAM SOME TACTICAL CHOICES,PRESS THE JOYSTICK BUTTON TO CANCEL THE CHANGING PHASE. THE COMPUTER WILL ONLY ACCEPT THE CHANGING PHASE WHEN THE SECOND PLAYER HAS ALSO ASKED THE FINAL COMFIRMATION WHICH IS VALIDED BY PRESSING THE SPACE BAR. LOADING AND SAVING GAMES ------------------------ SINCE MOST OF THE MAPS IN BATTLE ISLE TAKE SEVERAL HOURS TO COMPLETE,WE HAVE PROVIDED A LOADING/SAVING FUNCTION. LOADING ------- TO LOAD A GAME GO TO THE MAIN MENU, THEN TO DISK MENU AND CHOOSE THE `LOAD` OPTION.THEN, YOU WILL HAVE TO CHOOSE A SAVED GAME BETWEEN 0-9. FOR THIS, PRESS THE CORRESPONDING KEY. THE PROGRAM WILL ASK YOU TO INSERT YOUR SAVE GAME DISK, INSERT THE DISK,IN THE INTERNAL DRIVE,THEN PRESS ANY KEY. AFTER A FEW SECONDS,YOUR SAVED GAME WILL BE LOADED. SAVING ------ TO SAVE THE CURRENT GAME,BOTH PLAYERS HAVE TO CHANGE MODES. DO NOT PRESS THE SPACE BAR,PRESS `D`(DISK) KEY. THE PROMPT WILL THEN ASK YOU TO TYPE IN A FIGURE FROM 0 - 9. YOU MAY HAVE TO INSERT A NEW DISK. THE PROGRAM WILL REGONISE THE CORRECT DISK AUTOMATICALLY. IF YOU HAVE INSTALLED BATTLE ISLE ON A HARD DISK,YOU WILL NOT BE ASKED TO INSERT A DISK WHEN LOADING OR SAVING. BUT IF YOU ARE USING AN AMIGA,YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE TO INSERT THE CORRECT DISK. IF YOU HAVE LOADED THE GAME ON A COMPUTER WITH MORE THAN 512KBYTES RAM, YOUR SAVE GAME DISK MUST BE FORMATTED WITH AMIGA-DOS AND NAMED BI4. IF YOUR COMPUTER HAS ONLY 512 KBYTES,USE A NEWLY UNFORMATTED DISK TO SAVE YOUR GAME. BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE CORRECT PROCEDURE,OTHERWISE YOU WILL SAVE YOUR GAMES ON THE BATTLE ISLE DISK. THE BUILDINGS ------------- THERE ARE 3 MAIN TYPES OF BUILDINGS,HEADQUARTERS,FACTORIES AND DEPOTS. ALL OF WHICH SERVE A VARIETY OF FUNCTIONS. ALL BUILDINGS SHOULD BE SUPPLIED WITH ENERGY TO REPAIR.PRODUCE UNITS. THE ENERGY UNITS REPRESENT ALL RAW MATERIALS. THEY CONSIST OF STRATEGIC TARGETS OF THE HIGHEST IMPORTANCE AND YOU SHOULD TRY TO TAKE THEM AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. EVEN IF A BUILDING IS UNDER THE CONTROL OF YOUR ENEMY YOU SHOULD TRY TO TAKE CONTROL OF IT. ONLY THE SOLDIERS ARE ABLE TO OCCUPY BUILDINGS,THUS, YOU SHOULD PROTECT YOUR INFANTRY AS NECESSARY BECAUSE WITHOUT INFANTRY YOU CANNOT OCCUPY ENEMY BUILDINGS OR DEFEAT THE ENEMY BY TAKING ITS HQ`S. IF YOU WANT TO ATTEMPT TO ATTACK A DEPOT OR AN ENEMY UNIT, YOU MUST PREPARE YOUR ATTACK CAREFULLY. IN MOST CASES THE ENEMY HAS ADVANTAGE IN THAT IT CAN REPAIR ITS UNITS IMMEDIATELY. A SUPERIOR NUMBER OF FORCES DURING ATTACK WILL USUALLY LEAD TO SUCCESS. HOWEVER THE EXPERIENCE OF YOUR TROOPS ARE OFTEN MORE EFFECTIVE THAN A LARGE NUMBER OF ROOKIES, THE LOCATION OF A STRUCTURE IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE A DEPOT OR A FACTORY NOT ACCESSIBLE FROM ANY SIDES IS OFTEN INEVITABLE IF YOUR ENEMY IS TENACIOUS. THE HEADQUARTERS [SHOWN AS A WHITE - H -] ---------------- THE HEADQUARTES REPRESENT THE PRIMARY ENEMY TARGET. EACH HEADQUARTERS IS INDICATED BY A LUMINOUS COLOURED DOME(RED OR YELLOW--BLUE OR GREEN). OCCUPY THIS HEXAGON WITH AN INFANTRY DETACHMENT TO CAPTURE THE HEADQUARTERS AND WIN THE GAME. ON LARGER MAPS,LEAVE AT LEAST 2 UNITS NEAR YOUR HQ`S TO KEEP YOUR OPPONENT FROM BRINGING HIS TROOPS IN WITH FAST TRASPORTERS AND CAPTURING YOUR HQ`S. SENDING TROOPS TOWARDS THE OPPONENTS HQ`S MAY MAKE THE OPPONENT REMOVE UNITS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD. YOU MAY SACRIFICE A FEW UNITS, BUT THIS MANOEUVRE WILL EASE YOUR TASK ON OTHER FRONTS. THE FACTORIES [ - F - ] ------------- THE FACTORIES,LIKE THE HQ`S,ARE ALREADY ON THE MAP. 2 LUMINOUS DOMES INDICATE THE FACTORY LOYALTY. LIKE THE HQ`S, THE FACTORY IS CAPTURED BY THE INFANTRY ENTERING THE ENTRANCE HEXAGON. ALL UNITS IN A FACTORY OR A DEPOT AT THE TIME OF CAPTURE FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE VICTOR. IF BOTH DOMES ARE GREY, YOU CAN CAPTURE THE FACTORY BY INFANTRY LANDING ON THE TOP HEXAGON. WHEN YOU HAVE A CHOICE OF INVADING SEVERAL FACTORIES CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING FACTORS BEFORE MAKING YOUR DECISION. * CHOOSE THE FACTORY OBTAINABLE WITH THE LEAST LOSS * VERIFY THE UNITS STORED. DONT BE TEMPTED BY THE NUMBER OF UNITS AVAILABLE INSTEAD,LOOK AT THE QUALITY OF THE UNITS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF YOUR GLOBAL STRATEGY AND THE STRENGTH OF YOUR OPPONENTS UNITS,FOR EXAMPLE, IT IS NOT VERY WISE TO TAKE A FACTORY CONTAINING 3 ANTI-AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS IF THE OPOONENT HAS NO PLANES OR HELICOPTERS. THE DEPOTS [ - D - ] ---------- DEPOTS EXIST ON ALL MAPS, BUT THEY CAN ALSO BE BUILT USING SPECIAL UNITS. IN ORDER TO BUILD A DEPOT, THE GROUND MUST BE CLEAR: A DEPOT REQUIRES 4 HEXAGONS AND LEVEL GROUNDS. DEPOT BUILDING SITES ON MAPS WITH UNEVEN GROUND ARE VERY RARE. START THE ACTION FOR THE DEPOT BUILDER THE SAME WAY YOU START THE ATTACK ACTION AND POSSIBLE DEPOT BUILDING SITES WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED. S DEPOT CONSTRUCTION UNITS BUILDS ONE HALF OF THE DEPOT AT A TIME. YOU CAN EITHER USE 2 UNITS WORKING TOGETHER OR BUILD A DEPOT IN 2 TURNS.AFTER BUILDING A DEPOT, THE CONSTRUCTION DOES NOT HAVE ANY RAW MATERIAL TO BUILD ANY ADDITIONAL DEPOTS YOU CAN REMEDY THIS BY SENDING THE UNIT TO BE REPAIRED IN A FACTORY OR IN YOUR HQ`S. A DEPOT YOU HAVE BUILT IS YOURS IMMEDIATELY, AND DOES NOT NEED TO BE CAPTURED BY YOUR TROOPS. DEPOTS ARE SUPPLIED WITH ENERGY DURING CONSTRUCTION AND CAN REPAIR UNITS.YOU CANNOT,HOWEVER,PRODUCE NEW UNITS IN DEPOTS. ASIDE FROM THESE DIFFERENCES,DEPOTS AND FACTORIES ARE GOVERNED BY THE SAME RULES. ON SOME MAPS THERE WILL BE EXISTING DEPOTS THAT YOU HAVE TO CAPTURE. YOU CAN ALSO TAKE POSSESSION OF ENEMY DEPOTS BY CAPTURING THEM WITH YOUR INFANTRY. ON LARGE MAPS, DEPOTS REPRESENTS IMPORTANT STRATEGIC BASES WHICH SHORTEN SUPPLY TIME WHEN SET NEAR TROOPS IN COMBAT. SUPPLYING DEPOTS WITH ENERGY IS NOT ESSENTIAL. IT IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO SUPPLY FACTORIES WITH THE CRYSTAL ENERGY SOURCE. SUPPLYING BUILDINGS WITH ENERGY ------------------------------- REPAIRING AND PRODUCING UNITS USES ENERGY. THIS ENERGY REPRESENTS ALL THE RAW MATERIALS NECESSARY TO BUILD OR REPAIR UNITS. MOST BUILDINGS WILL BE SUPPLIED WITH ENERGY AT THE START OF EACH GAME. THIS ENERGY WILL BE USED DURING THE GAME TO REPAIR AND REPLACE UNITS. ENERGY CRYSTALS ARE PRESENT ON ANY MAPS. COLLECT THESE ENERGY CRYSTALS AND SUPPLY YOUR FACTORIES WITH THEM TO DO SO, MOVE THE CRYSTALS INTO A TRANSPORT UNIT. WHEN THE TRANSPORT UNIT ENTERS A BUILDING THE CRYSTALS WILL BE UNLOADED AND PUT INTO CREDIT OF THE BUILDING. EACH CRYSTAL IS WORTH 50 UNITS OF CREDIT OF THE BUILDING, KEEPING IN MIND THAT 50 UNITS OF ENERGY CAN PRODUCE ABOUT 4 NEW UNITS. YOU CAN SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CRYSTALS. TYPICALLY, THE CRYSTALS ARE FOUND IN DIFFICULT TO REACH LOCATIONS. YOU MAY NEED SEVERAL TURNS BEFORE REACHING THEM,WHICH MEANS THAT YOUR TRANSPORT UNIT COULD EASILY BE INTERCEPTED BEFORE REACHING ITS DESTINATION. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR OPPONENT DOES`NT GET ANY CRYSTAL, AS THE REPAIRING OF UNITS BEGINS A DECISIVE PART IN THE GAME. THE TERRAIN ----------- THE TERRAIN IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN BATTLE ISLE. DURING THE MOVEMENT OF UNITS, A CHANGE IN TERRAIN CAN SHORTEN OR LENGTHEN THE RANGE AND MOBILITY OF UNITS. MANY OF THE LAND UNITS MOVE FASTER ON CLEAR LAND (ex:ROADS)WHILE WOODS AND MOUNTAINS PRESENT IMPASSABLE OBSTACLES. USUALLY THE HEAVIER THE UNIT, THE MORE LIMITED THE RANGE AND THE MORE UNLIKELY IT IS TO PASS THROUGH MOUNTAINS. THE DEPTH OF WATER PLAYS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR THE NAVAL UNITS. THE LARGER AND HEAVIER THE VESSEL,THE MORE SLOWLY IT MOVES.THE LIGHTER THE VESSEL,THE LONGER ITS RANGE,LIKE LAND UNITS,THE RANGE OF NAVAL AND AIR UNITS WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED IN MOVEment PHASE. THE TERRAIN ALSO PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE DURING THE ATTACK AGAINST THE OPPONENT. UNITS ON THE ROAD ARE EASIER TARGETS THAN UNITS IN THE WOODS. THE ALTITUDE CAN BE A DECISIVE FACTOR IN THE OUTCOME OF A BATTLE: THE UNIT POSITIONED HIGHER USUALLY HAS THE ADVANTAGE THE EXPERIENCE SYSTEM --------------------- THE QUALITY OF A UNIT DEPENDS NOT ONLY ON THE FIRE POWER, THE RANGE, OR THE ARMAMENT, BUT ALSO ON THE EXPERIENCE GAINED BY THE UNIT IN COMBAT. EACH TIME A UNIT IS EBGAGED IN BATTLE AND SUCCEEDS AT LEAST ONE ENEMY UNIT. THE UNIT EXPERIENCE GAINED DURING BATTLES IS DISPLAYED ON THE STATUS LINE(STARS). THE MORE EXPERIENCE A UNIT HAS, THE MORE DANGEROUS THAT UNIT IS TO THE OPPONENT, AS EXPERIENCE PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE OUTCOME OF THE BATTLE. TRY TO GAIN SUFFICIENT EXPERIENCE WITH ALL YOUR UNITS. DONT ATTACK POWERFUL ENEMY UNITS WITH WEAKER UNITS OF YOUR OWN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME. IN ALMOST ALL CASES, THIS WILL ONLY HELP YOUR OPPONENT GAIN EXPERIENCE. IF YOU ATTACK A SERIOUSLY DAMAGED OPPONENT UNIT, TRY TO USE A UNIT POWERFUL ENOUGH TO COMPLETELY DESTROY THE ENEMY DETACHMENT. YOUR UNIT WILL THEN GAIN 2 ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE POINTS. AS YOUR ACCURACY IMPROVES WITH EXPERIENCE, YOUR ABILITY TO DODGE ENEMY FIRE ALSO IMPROVES. HOW TO GET IMMEDIATE INFORMATION -------------------------------- BATTLE ISLE IS SUCH A COMPLEX GAME THAT IT IS HARD TO REMEMBER EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR FIGHTING UNITS AND THE SITUATION IN GENERAL. AND SO WE HAVE PROVIDED A FUNCTION FOR CALLING UP INFO AT ANY POINT OF THE GAME. INFORMATION ON FIGHTING UNITS. ------------------------------ PLACE THE QUESTION MARK ON THE UNIT AND PRESS `RETURN`. THE SCREEN WILL SHOW FULL DATA ON THAT UNIT.BELOW THE UNIT ID,YOU WILL SEE THE IMPORTANT TECHNICAL DATE: 1 - FIRE POWER AND ATTACK RANGE AGAINST TERRESTRIAL TARGETS 2 - FIRE POWER AND ATTACK RANGE AGAINST AIRBORNE TARGETS 3 - FIRE POWER AND ATTACK RANGE AGAINST MARINE TARGET 4 - RADIUS OF ACTION OVER BEST TERRAIN 5 - ARMOUR IF YOU CALL UP ANY INFO ON ENEMY TARGETS, YOU WILL GET AN `ACCESS DENIED` MESSAGE. GENERAL INFORMATION ------------------- IF YOU WISH TO SEE THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE GAME, SELECT THE QUESTION MARK WITH THE CURSOR ON AN EMPTY SPACE BETWEEN UNITS.A SET OF FIGURES APPEARS ON THE SCREEN,WITH THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS: 1 - ROUND/THE NUMBER OF ORDERS EXECUTED SINCE GAME WAS STARTED 2 - LEVEL/LEVELS 0-15 CONCERN MAPS WHICH ARE ONLY AVAILABLE IN 2 PLAYER GAMES NUMBERS 16-31 ARE MAPS USED WHEN YOU ARE PLAYING THE COMPUTER. 3 - MODE/SHOWS THE CENTRAL COMMAND POST MODE. YOU CAN ONLY ORDER YOUR UNITS TO MOVE IF THE WORD `MOVE` APPEARS,OTHERWISE, YOU MUST PLAN YOUR ATTACK AND EXECUTE OTHER ACTION. 4 - HIGH/IS AN ABBREVEATION FOR `HIGHEST RATING` THE HIGHEST SCORE ON THE CURRENT MAP. 5 - ACTUAL/DESIGNATES THE ACTUAL SCORE. 6 - THE MAIN WINDOW SHOWS THE BALANCE OF FORCES BETWEEN THE PLAYERS, YOU CAN COMPARE THE NUMBER OF UNITS,DEPOTS AND FACTORIES BETWEEN YOURSELF AND YOUR ADVERSARY. THE FIGHTING UNITS,DEPOTS AND FACTORIES IN THE THIRD COLUMN DO NOT BELONG TO ANYONE,THEY CAN BE WON BY EITHER PLAYER. 7 - TURN/SHOWS THE NUMBER OF ORDERS YOU HAVE GIVEN. 8 - LIMIT/SHOWS THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ORDERS YOU CAN GIVE. PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT ---------------------- WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN PLAYING BATTLE ISLE FOR SOME TIME,YOU WILL BE LESS INTERESTED IN THE OUTCOME OF ANY PARTICULAR BATTLE THAN IN YOUR SCORE.THIS IS WHY THERE IS A LIST OF BEST PLAYERS FOR EACH MAP. WE SHALL DESCRIBE THE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SYSTEM TO HELP YOU BLOW OFF THE ROOF!!!. THE BEST SCORE IS BASED UPON THE DEFENSE VALUES OF ALL UNITS ON THE MAP.THIS IS SHOWN IN THE GENERAL INFO. THE SCORE DROPS WHEN A FRIENDLY OR ENEMY TROOP DISAPPEARS. COUNTING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF UNITS IN THIS WAY MEANS THAT YOUR FINAL SCORE WILL DROP IF YOU WIN BY DESTROYING ALL THE ENEMY UNITS,BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU WILL EARN SUPPLEMENTARY POINTS. THIS IS HOW POINTS ARE CALCULATED. ---------------------------------- * ALL UNITS DESTROYED..... +500 POINTS * WITH HIDDEN INVENTORIES. +100 POINTS * NOT MORE THAN 4 ORDERS. POINTS X 4 * NOT MORE THAN 8 ORDERS. POINTS X 3 * NOT MORE THAN 16 ORDERS. POINTS X 2 * MAXIMUM SCORE........... 32.500 POINTS END....