TeleEpic Table of Contents About TeleEpic...............................................5 BBS Support..................................................5 BIX Support..................................................6 Making a Working Copy........................................6 Hardware Requirements........................................6 TeleEpic Basic Operation.....................................7 Loading TeleEpic (512K)..............................7 Loading TeleEpic (1 meg+)............................8 When the Program Begins..............................8 Mouse................................................9 Keyboard.............................................9 Verification Requesters.............................10 TeleEpic Overview...................................10 TeleEpic Display & Control..........................12 Battlefield Terrain Map.....................12 Control Panel...............................13 Menu/Message Bar....................13 Warrior Status Table................14 Warrior Tactical Grid...............15 Warrior Control Gadgets.............16 RECV & Send.........................19 Warriors & Weapons..................................19 Starting TeleEpic...................................23 Warrior Movement....................................24 Warrior Attacks.....................................25 Options.............................................26 Playing TeleEpic....................................26 Ending TeleEpic.....................................27 TeleEpic Menus -- General Info..............................27 TeleEpic Menu.......................................29 Scenario Menu.......................................29 Game Menu...........................................30 Choose a Side...............................30 Start a Game................................30 Cede/End Game...............................30 TeleComm Menu.......................................30 TeleCommunication Mode......................31 Sending (Caller)....................31 Receiving (Answer)..................31 Null Modem Connect..................32 TeleConnect OFF.....................32 Disconnect (Hangup).........................32 Transmit Game and Play......................32 Dial Telephone Number.......................33 Tele Files Menu.....................................33 Modem Parameters............................34 Opponent Parameters.........................36 Game Files Menu.....................................37 Game Directory..............................37 Play Saved Game.............................38 Options Menu........................................38 Turn Timer Settings.........................39 Weapon Allotment............................39 Attack/Warrior/Turn.........................40 TeleConnect Procedure.......................................40 Setting Modem Parameters............................41 Voice Contact.......................................43 TeleConnect Procedure Summary.......................44 TeleConnect -- Another Method.......................45 Appendix A - TeleEpic Directories...........................46 Appendix B - Using a Hard Disk..............................47 Appendix C - Trouble Shooting...............................48 Introduction 1 About TeleEpic. 2 3 TeleEpic is the third game in a series of 4 Telecommunication war games written by 5 Scott Lamb and published by the Software 6 Terminal. TeleEpic allows two players to 7 play a Medieval, strategy war game against 8 each other, either over the telephone with 9 two computers and modems, or on a single 10 computer. 11 12 There are three Battlefield Terrain maps, 13 across which TeleEpic may be played, each 14 offering different problems in military 15 strategy. The three Battlefield Terrain 16 Maps in TeleEpic are called KINGS 17 BRIDGE, VILLAGE WALL & CASTLE KEEP. 18 19 Each player controls a small army of 20 graphically animated medieval warriors, 21 each of whom can use a variety of hand 22 weapons: bow and arrows, axes, knives, 23 and sword. The warriors form offensive 24 and defensive formations and fight one 25 another until one side is victorious. 26 27 If you like TeleEpic, then you will also 28 like TeleWar and TeleWar II, the first two 29 games in the series. 30 31 BBS Support 32 33 We ask that you fill out and mail the 34 enclosed registration card to us. When we 35 receive this card, you'll be logged on our 36 2400 baud bulletin board, Track ][. 37 38 All updates and revisions of TeleEpic, 39 should any be necessary, will be posted in 40 the FILES area and can be downloaded by 41 all registered users without delay. Page 5 1 A message area is also provided where 2 comments and questions may be posted, 3 an TeleEpic players may be found. We 4 also ask that you report problems you 5 might be having with TeleEpic. Inquiries 6 will be answered within 24 hours 7 8 BIX Support 9 10 In addition to maintaining our own BBS, 11 we maintain a vendor conference on BIX 12 (Byte Magazine Information Exchange) 13 under the conference name 'telegames'. 14 Questions and answers, as well as new 15 product information, can be found here. 16 17 Making a Working Copy of TeleEpic 18 19 The TeleEpic program disk is not disk 20 copy protected. It may be copied using 21 any of the regular Amiga copy techniques 22 from WorkBench or the CLI. Please read 23 your Amiga manual for the particulars of 24 disk copying, if you are unfamiliar with 25 these procedures. 26 27 Before using TeleEpic the first time, we 28 recommend that you make a working copy 29 of the disk. Please rename the copy 30 TeleEpic, like the master program disk. 31 32 Hardware Requirements 33 34 To play TeleEpic you will need an Amiga 35 computer -- 500, 1000, 2000, etc. -- with 36 at least 512K of RAM. 37 38 To play TeleEpic over the telephone with 39 another computer you also need an "AT" 40 command set compatible modem operating 41 at 300, 1200, 2400 or 9600 baud. Page 6 1 Loading TeleEpic (512K) 2 3 To play TeleEpic on an Amiga with 512K 4 of RAM, follow the regular power up 5 sequence for your Amiga computer (if you 6 are using an Amiga 1000, then be sure not 7 to forget the Kickstart disk.) 8 9 When your Amiga computer requests the 10 1.2 Workbench disk, insert the TeleEpic 11 working copy in the internal disk drive. 12 TeleEpic will then autoboot. 13 14 If you have only 512K of RAM in your 15 Amiga, then you MUST disconnect any 16 external disk drives mounted on your 17 system. Turn off the computer before 18 disconnecting your disk drives. 19 20 We apologize for this inconvenience, but 21 feel that most of you would rather have 22 the extra game features requiring the 30K 23 of memory that would otherwise be used 24 by each external disk drive. 25 26 Amigas with more than 512K of memory 27 are not limited by these memory 28 constraints, and may have external drives 29 attached to the computer. 30 31 Note: TeleEpic requires all 512K of 32 memory to operate. Consequently, unless 33 more than 512K is installed in your Amiga 34 there will not be enough memory to run 35 both TeleEpic and the Workbench at the 36 same time. In addition there will be a 37 few second delay whenever the slide up 38 screens are accessed (Modem & Opponent 39 Parameters, and Game Directory). 40 41 Page 7 1 Loading, TeleEpic (1 MEG + RAM) 2 3 Boot up your Amiga with your usual 4 custom Workbench Disk. Then place your 5 working copy of TeleEpic in any drive, 6 and start up the program using the icon 7 provided in the directory window. 8 9 TeleEpic is a smart program, and will find 10 itself and its file directories, whether it 11 resides on any of the floppy drives df0, 12 df1, df2, or df3. 13 14 Of course you may also boot up with the 15 TeleEpic working copy. If you have 1 meg 16 or more of RAM in your Amiga, you may 17 want to edit the startup-sequence of the 18 working copy to remover the "low" 19 parameter, so the program will not delay 20 after slide up screens are accessed. 21 22 When the Program Begins 23 24 When TeleEpic loads into the computer, 25 the Credits picture displays on your 26 monitor. To exit the Credits and to play 27 TeleEpic, click the left mouse button. A 28 requester will appear and ask you for a 29 manual validation character. 30 31 You will be requested to type in the 1st 32 letter of a random word from the TeleEpic 33 manual. For example, the requester may 34 ask for the first letter from 35 36 Page 12 Line 14 Word 5 37 38 After you find and type in the correct 39 letter, the King's Bridge Battlefield map 40 will load. TeleEpic is ready to begin. 41 Page 8 1 Mouse 2 3 TeleEpic uses the familiar Intuition user 4 interface. You interact with the program 5 with the mouse. The left mouse button 6 always allows you to select and move game 7 pieces, and make requester and control 8 panel gadget selections. The right mouse 9 button is used to display and select menu 10 options that control program operations. 11 12 IMPORTANT WARNING! 13 14 IMPORTANT!! WHEN TELECOMMUNICATED, 15 DON'T HOLD DOWN THE RIGHT MENU 16 BUTTON UNLESS ABSOLUTELY 17 NECESSARY, AS IT WILL PREVENT 18 SERIAL PORT READS, AND POSSIBLY 19 CAUSE YOUR AMIGA TO MISS YOUR 20 OPPONENT'S MOVES, THUS DISRUPTING 21 THE GAME! 22 23 Keyboard 24 25 The keyboard of the your computer is used 26 to input filenames specific modem and 27 opponent telecommunication parameters, 28 and messages (once a teleconnection has 29 been established). 30 31 Using the SEND and RECV lines at the 32 display's bottom messages between players 33 may be typed at any time during a game. 34 Because of the intense time requirements 35 of TeleEpic during game piece animation, 36 however (simultaneous graphics, sound and 37 telecommunications), the letters you type 38 are temporarily buffered and not actually 39 displayed until after all animation has been 40 completed. 41 Page 9 1 Verification Requesters 2 3 A verification requester appears in the 4 center of your Control Panel, and in the 5 center of all scrolling disk access screens, 6 whenever you request an action that might 7 effect the current game configuration. 8 Moving the mouse pistol pointer within the 9 borders of a verification requester and 10 clicking the left mouse button will 11 generally cause the requested action to the 12 initiated, while moving the mouse pointer 13 outside the borders of the requester and 14 clicking the left mouse button will 15 generally then cancel the requested action. 16 17 These requesters are designed to protect 18 you from accidentally initiating an action 19 that may irreversibly change some aspect 20 of game play, or inadvertently break the 21 teleconnection. 22 23 Please read these requesters carefully 24 before responding to them, otherwise you 25 may initiate an action that you actually do 26 not want to occur. 27 28 TeleEpic Overview 29 30 TeleEpic allows two computer users with 31 modems to play a graphically animated, 32 medieval strategy war game against one 33 another over the phone. Two players may 34 also play on a single computer. 35 36 Three perspectively viewed Battlefield 37 Terrain Maps are provided, King's Bridge, 38 Village Wall, and Castle Keep, across 39 which you must battle the forces of your 40 opponent to victory or defeat. 41 Page 10 1 Both sides in TeleEpic have 12 animated 2 individual warriors, each with different 3 names and abilities, which move and fight 4 on command. 5 6 To select any warrior, simply point the 7 knife tip of the mouse pointer to any 8 warrior visible on the Battlefield Map, or 9 to one of the friendly colored positions 10 marked on the Tactical Grid, and press the 11 left mouse button. The chosen warrior 12 will now be marked by a surrounding 13 yellow bracket. 14 15 To MOVE the warrior, point the mouse 16 cursor to another Battlefield Map location 17 and press the left mouse button. The 18 warrior will attempt to walk to the 19 selected destination. 20 21 To ATTACK with the selected warrior, 22 choose a weapon from the Weapon Ready 23 Gadget Cluster and an Attack direction 24 from the Attack Direction Gadget Cluster. 25 Now click on the ATTACK gadget, and the 26 selected warrior will attack the closest 27 enemy warriors in that direction. 28 29 Each warrior has four weapon types -- 30 Bow and Arrows, Knives, Axes and a Sword 31 -- with which to fight. The RANGE and 32 POWER of each weapon type varies with 33 the abilities of each warrior. When a 34 warrior uses the last of a given weapon 35 type, then he must choose another. 36 37 A player's turn lasts until each warrior 38 has either moved and attacked once, or 39 the Turn Timer runs down to zero. Play 40 can be passed to the other player at any 41 time by clicking the PASS gadget. Page 11 1 At the start of a game warriors possess a 2 number of Hit Points and indicate their 3 life strength. Each time a warrior is hit 4 by an enemy attack, he takes a wound 5 which reduces his Hit Points. If a warrior 6 receives too many wounds and the Hit 7 Points decreases to zero, then the warrior 8 dies. Dead warriors remain on the 9 Battlefield Map for three turns before they 10 are automatically removed. 11 12 Warriors may be RESTED or HEALED 13 during a game, which will restore their 14 depleted Hit Points to varying degrees. 15 16 The goal of TeleEpic is to kill every 17 enemy warrior -- not an easy task! When 18 arrows and axes fill the air, and swords 19 clash, there can be but one victor. 20 21 TeleEpic Display and Control 22 23 The TeleEpic display is divided into two 24 sections. The upper half screen is the 25 Battlefield Terrain Map, while the lower 26 half of the display is referred to as the 27 Control Panel. 28 29 Battlefield Terrain Map 30 31 The Battlefield Terrain map is a close-up 32 prospective view of the current TeleEpic 33 battlefield with both the BLUE and RED 34 warriors in position. At any given time 35 one-sixth of the Battlefield Map is 36 displayed on the screen. Warrior 37 movement and attacks are graphically 38 animated on this Battlefield Terrain Map. 39 Only those areas of the map containing 40 one of his warriors may be viewed by the 41 player. Page 12 1 Control Panel 2 3 The lower half of the TeleEpic display is 4 the Control Panel. The Control Panel is 5 comprised of five distinct areas which 6 provide information, warrior control, and a 7 user-to-user interface. These sections are 8 as follows: 9 10 (1) The Menu/Message Bar 11 (2) Warrior Status Table 12 (3) Warrior Tactical Grid 13 (4) Warrior Control Gadgets 14 (5) RECV & SEND Messages 15 16 17 (1) Menu/Message Bar 18 19 The black bar separating the Control Panel 20 and the Battlefield Map display, is the 21 Menu and Message Bar. Don't let the 22 location fool you. This is the same type 23 of Intuition Menu bar that usually sits at 24 the top of the screen in other Amiga 25 programs. 26 27 The TeleEpic menu bar will be displayed 28 whenever the right mouse button is 29 pressed. Refer to the Menus section in 30 this manual to learn about the operation 31 of each menu. 32 33 During a game of TeleEpic, the Menu Bar 34 displays MESSAGES to you, the 35 commander, from your RED or BLUE 36 warriors. If you do not know the result 37 of your last action, read the message that 38 is displayed. For example, if you have 39 just attacked an enemy warrior, you will 40 be informed as to whether or not you 41 wounded that warrior. Page 13 1 (2) Warrior Status Table 2 3 At the far left of the Control Panel is the 4 Warrior Status Table. The status of the 5 selected ordnance is always displayed in 6 this table. Whether a warrior has the 7 weapons and the ability to complete a 8 mission, as well as enough Hit Points to 9 survive a mission, can be determined with 10 a glance at this table. 11 !----------------------------------! 12 ! NAME | Fletch Arrowquiver ! 13 !----------------------------------! 14 ! Weapon | Qnt | Rng | Pow | BLUE ! 15 !----------------------------------! 16 ! Arrows | 7 | 7 | 8 |Stride ! 17 !--------------------------| 5 ! 18 ! Knives | 1 | 2 | 3 |-------! 19 !--------------------------|Hit Pt ! 20 ! Axe | 1 | 3 | 10 | 29 ! 21 !--------------------------| ! ! Sword | 1 | 1 | 7 | ! !----------------------------------! 22 The Warrior Status Table lists warrior data 23 in the following areas. 24 25 Warrior Name -- Each warrior has a name 26 by which you can recognize that individual 27 warrior. Since each warrior has different 28 strengths and weaknesses, it is important 29 that a player learn the names of his 30 warriors. 31 32 Player's Turn -- The warrior color whose 33 turn is current is displayed in the Warrior 34 Status Table to the far right of the line 35 beneath the warrior's name. 36 37 Warrior Stride -- the maximum mobility 38 range for the selected warrior, where 1 39 stride unit will move the warrior one 40 horizontal or one vertical square on the 41 Warrior Tactical Grid (22x15). Page 14 1 Hit Points -- the constitution of that 2 warrior, where zero Hit Points means the 3 warrior is dead. Each warrior begins with 4 different maximum Hit Points. Hit Points 5 may be restored by Resting or Healing a 6 warrior. 7 8 Warrior Weapon Table -- The Weapon 9 Name, Quantity (QNT), Range (RNG), and 10 Power (POW), of each weapon type is 11 displayed in the Warrior Status Table. 12 13 Quantity is how many of these 14 weapons the warrior possesses. 15 16 Range is the effective horizontal 17 distance of this weapon, where 1 18 unit equals one cell on the 22x15 19 Warrior Tactical Grid. 20 21 Power is the amount of Hit Point 22 damage done to an enemy when 23 this warrior uses this weapon. 24 25 (3) Warrior Tactical Grid 26 27 The middle of the Control Panel displays 28 the Warrior Tactical Grid. The Warrior 29 Tactical Grid display the whole Battlefield 30 Terrain Map under a 22x15 grid overlay, 31 upon which prominent Battlefield Map 32 features are displayed. 33 34 The Terrain Grid Map displays positions 35 for each warrior color whose turn is 36 current, and the last known positions of 37 previously detected enemy warriors. 38 Enemy warrior positions are updated 39 whenever a player selects a friendly 40 warrior in the vicinity. 41 Page 15 1 Position updates occur when the map area 2 in question is displayed within the upper 3 Battlefield Map display. When a player no 4 longer has any warriors in that area, it is 5 not possible to view that area. 6 7 The selected warrior indicates its Warrior 8 Tactical Grid position by blinking on and 9 off. Another friendly warrior may be 10 chosen for action by clicking one of the 11 friendly colored squares on the Tactical 12 Grid map with the mouse. RED squares 13 indicate RED WARRIORS, while YELLOW 14 squares indicate BLUE WARRIORS. 15 16 (4) Warrior Control Gadgets 17 18 At the far right of the Control Panel are 19 the WARRIOR COMMAND GADGETS which 20 are used to indicate warrior actions. These 21 gadgets have been separated into four 22 distinct clusters. 23 24 Activity gadgets are MOVE and ATTACK, 25 and are RED colored if still active for 26 that warrior in a given turn. Selection 27 gadgets are REST and HEAL, BOW, KNIFE, 28 AXE, and SWORD under Weapon Ready, 29 and the current Attack direction. Choice 30 gadgets are BLUE whenever selected and 31 WHITE when not selected. 32 33 Attack Direction Cluster 34 35 The Attack Direction NW -N- NE 36 Gadget Cluster will -W- --|-- -E- 37 display the firing SW -S- SE 38 angle for a selected 39 warrior. Eight firing 40 angles are available. 41 Page 16 1 Primary Command Gadget Cluster 2 3 The Primary Command !-----------------------! 4 Cluster has gadgets ! << | 180 | >> ! 5 that page through the !-----------------------! 6 warrior list in either ! Move | Attack | Pass ! 7 direction, to indicate !-----------------------! 8 MOVE, PASS or FIRE. 9 10 << >> -- The BACKWARD and FORWARD 11 gadgets page through the warrior list for 12 those remaining on the Battlefield. 13 14 MOVE -- This gadget indicates whether 15 the selected warrior has moved this turn. 16 Actual warrior movement is always 17 commanded in the Battlefield Map display 18 (See MOVEMENT on page 24). 19 20 ATTACK -- This gadget is chosen to 21 Attack with the Weapon Ready of the 22 selected warrior. The current attack 23 direction is always indicated in BLUE on 24 one of the eight Attack Direction Compass 25 Cluster gadgets. 26 27 PASS -- PASS is chosen whenever a player 28 has finished warrior activity and wishes to 29 PASS the turn to his opponent, even 30 though the Turn Length Timer has not yet 31 reached zero. 32 33 Weapon Ready Gadget Cluster 34 35 Selects a Weapon with !----------------! 36 which that warrior ! Weapon Ready ! 37 will ATTACK. When !----------------! 38 a warrior runs out of ! Bow ! Knife ! 39 a weapon, another !----------------! 40 must then be chosen. ! Axe ! Sword ! 41 !----------------! Page 17 1 Rest and Heal Gadgets 2 3 The REST and HEAL !------! 4 gadgets allow a ! Rest ! 5 warrior to recover !------! 6 lost Hit Points, when ! Heal ! 7 they get so low he is !------! 8 danger of dying. 9 10 REST restores 8 Hit Points to the warrior 11 who is resting. A rest lasts for one 12 complete turn. 13 14 For a warrior to select REST, he must not 15 MOVE or ATTACK that turn. The Hit 16 Points will be added to the Hit Posts for 17 that warrior on his next turn. 18 19 However, if an enemy warrior should 20 wound the resting warrior before the next 21 turn begins, then his rest will be 22 interrupted and he will not receive the 8 23 Hit Points. 24 25 HEAL restores all Hit Points to the 26 warrior who has been healed. A healing 27 takes three complete turns, during which 28 time the warrior cannot move or attack an 29 enemy warrior. 30 31 For a warrior to select HEAL, he must not 32 MOVE or ATTACK that turn. All Hit 33 Points will be restored to that warrior 34 after three turns have passed. 35 36 However, if an enemy warrior should 37 wound the healing warrior during any of 38 the three turns needed for the healing 39 process, then his healing will be 40 interrupted and he will not receive any Hit 41 Points at all. Page 18 1 (5) RECV and SEND Message Lines 2 3 The RECV and Send message lines 4 displayed across the bottom of the Control 5 Panel are only activated after a connection 6 is established with another computer. All 7 alphanumeric keys typed on the keyboard 8 will be displayed on the SEND line. Some 9 line editing is allowed, such as cursor 10 keys, back space and the DEL key. 11 12 Message text will be transmitted to the 13 teleconnected computer either when the 14 RETURN key is pressed, or when the end 15 of the SEND line is reached. 16 17 The RECV message line displays incoming 18 text messages from your teleconnected 19 opponent. A chime sounds as an incoming 20 message is received to alert the player to 21 read the message. 22 23 With some modems the RECV line will 24 echo your SEND message after it is typed 25 should the teleconnection be broken. 26 27 Warriors and Weapons 28 29 Both armies are comprised of twelve 30 warriors, who are positioned on the 31 Battlefield Map at the start of each 32 TeleEpic game. Each of the three 33 Battlefield Maps offers four game piece 34 scenarios with various warrior placement. 35 36 Each warrior is individual -- that is, he 37 differs in Name, Stride, Hit Points, and 38 ability to use each weapon. It is 39 important for players to use the warriors 40 effectively, together and alone, to 41 maximize the effectiveness of each. Page 19 1 Every warrior in one army has a 2 counterpart in the other army, who 3 possesses the same warrior stats. So both 4 sides in the conflict are equal at the start 5 of a game. Some warriors are light of 6 foot, and move swiftly from place to 7 place, while others are heavy and slow. 8 Some are excellent swordsman, while 9 others excel with a bow or an axe. Some 10 have the constitution and stamina to 11 withstand many blows, while others die 12 quickly. 13 14 A brief description of each red warrior 15 and his blue counterpart follows. 16 17 Lord Justin & Prince Aragon are the 18 aristocratic leaders of the two armies. 19 Trained in the art of war from an early 20 age, they are deadly with all weapons, 21 swift of foot, and possess average stamina. 22 As the finest swordsman in the realm they 23 are valuable at the end of a game, when 24 projectile weapons are scarce and swords 25 are all that remain. 26 27 Martin Trueflight & Fletch Arrowquiver 28 are forest hunters. The bow and arrow is 29 their weapon, though they are also good 30 swordsman. Their Stride and Hit Points 31 are average to low. They are useful most 32 when used for long range Bow attacks. 33 34 Baron von Krieg & Balthizar Ali are each 35 foreign mercenaries who fight for gold 36 rather than glory. Their average to low 37 weapon ability and Stride is offset by 38 battle experience that reflects in rather 39 high Hit Points for each. They are useful 40 to lead an attack, to soak up blows that 41 would kill lesser warriors. Page 20 1 Monsieur Epcet & Don Agil Espada are 2 young foreign noblemen sent by their 3 titled families to learn the art of war. 4 Their youth gives them a rapid stride, and 5 their training makes them better than 6 average with all weapons. Their lack of 7 experience reflects itself in average to low 8 Hit Points. They will account for 9 themselves well in battle, though they may 10 not live long. 11 12 Elric Quickstroke & Rapier Thrust are both 13 accomplished men at arms. They are 14 excellent with all weapons, especially 15 swords, are quick of foot, and of average 16 Hit Points. both are efficient fighters and 17 will get the job done. Their passage will 18 be marked with the bodies of fallen 19 enemy. 20 21 Grey Ferret & Dirk Poniard are thieves by 22 trade, forced to join the war to escape 23 the gallows. The knife is their weapon of 24 choice. Each is fast and silent of foot, 25 though low in Hit Points. Placed in the 26 front lines, they will quickly die. But if 27 they are kept in the shadows at the edge 28 of a fray, their knives will take their toll. 29 30 Eric Stoutheart & Balantine Brusk are 31 sturdy serfs who took service in the army 32 of their liege lord to escape working in 33 the fields. They are average with most 34 weapons, as well as average in stride. Hit 35 Points are average low. They will fight 36 because they know nothing else. It is 37 unfortunate, but true, that success in 38 battle is often built on such warriors, who 39 die that others may conquer. 40 41 Page 21 1 Braddock Dala & Duke Celibrian are 2 noblemen fighting for fame, love, and 3 glory. They are well trained and 4 experienced in all weapons, especially the 5 sword, have better than average stride, 6 and average Hit Points. Their expertise is 7 invaluable in any fight, but more so at the 8 end of a game when projectile weapons 9 run short. 10 11 Goldie Chimera & Scarlet Sage are dandies 12 who are distant relations of important 13 people (nobody can remember whom). 14 They have higher opinions of themselves 15 than justified by their abilities, which are 16 average at best. In their favor, is an 17 uncanny luck, which is reflected in very 18 high Hit Points. No one complains when 19 these two are placed in the front lines of 20 a battle. They are survivors. 21 22 Robin Locksley & Warden Forester are two 23 more forest hunters who excel with a bow 24 and arrows as well as a sword. They are 25 very fleet of foot, but low in Hit Points. 26 Use there long bows from a distance. If 27 they can empty their quivers before they 28 are killed, then it is unlikely that many 29 enemy survive. 30 31 Giantkiller & Theron Axewielder are exiled 32 mountain dwarfs of ancient feuding 33 families. They each have strength that is 34 unequalled by normal men, who flee the 35 power of their axes. The might of their 36 Hit Points is renown. They ignore wounds 37 that kill others. However, each is slow of 38 stride and a very poor swordsman. It is 39 important that every axe they carry takes 40 a toll on the battle. Use them to turn 41 the tide of battle. Page 22 1 Bangor Hatchett & Haibard Berserker are 2 barbarians giants of warring tribes from 3 the eastern steppes. They know how to 4 fight with any weapon. But it is with the 5 axe that cut a swath through their foes, 6 like a scythe through wheat in a field. 7 They may be slow of foot, but have Hit 8 Point so very high that they are difficult 9 to bring down. Like the dwarfs they can 10 be used to break the lines of the enemy. 11 If every axe has found its mark, then at 12 the very least, the enemy will hold no 13 advantage. 14 15 Starting TeleEpic 16 17 TeleEpic will begin when you select "Start 18 a Game" under the "Play" menu. A small 19 data file loads from the disk and the game 20 begins. The side (RED or BLUE) that is 21 currently chosen on the play menu always 22 begins. 23 24 Once a game has begun, the positions of 25 all friendly warriors are displayed on the 26 Warrior Tactical Grid. The selected warrior 27 will be marked with a yellow bracket on 28 the Battlefield Map display, and his 29 location will blink on the Warrior Tactical 30 Grid. 31 32 In order to select a different warrior, 33 point the mouse knife pointer at any other 34 warrior on the Battlefield Map display and 35 click the left mouse button. The 36 battlefield Map display then realigns itself 37 to the new warrior, centering it in the 38 display when possible. The Warrior Status 39 Table now displays stats for the warrior, 40 and all the Command Gadgets reflect his 41 remaining options. Page 23 1 Another warrior, in particular those not in 2 view in the Battlefield Map display, can be 3 chosen by clicking the mouse pointer 4 pistol on a friendly colored warrior that is 5 marked in RED or YELLOW on the Warrior 6 Tactical Grid. 7 8 Warrior Movement 9 10 The selected warrior that is within the 11 boundaries of the yellow bracket can be 12 ordered to move by simply pointing the 13 mouse pointer to another location in the 14 Battlefield Map display and clicking the 15 left mouse button. If the location isn't 16 impassable (occupied by another warrior, 17 trees, water, stone, etc.), and is within 18 the STRIDE range of the warrior, then he 19 will do his best to move to the selected 20 location, avoiding any impassable 21 obstructions. 22 23 TeleEpic analyzes the move and calculates 24 the best route to reach that destination, 25 taking into consideration the terrain 26 crossed and the STRIDE of the warrior. 27 Sometimes the warrior will not reach the 28 destination, however, because a bridge, a 29 hill, stairs, furniture, etc. slow his 30 progress. Sometimes the destination lies 31 just outside the warrior's STRIDE range, 32 s he does the best he can with what he 33 has. 34 35 Usually, movement orders that are within 36 the STRIDE range of the warrior are more 37 likely to be successfully carried out. In 38 any war pushing troops beyond their limits 39 can be counter productive. 40 41 Page 24 1 Warrior Attacks 2 3 The game default mode allows each warrior 4 to attack once per turn. If the Double 5 Attack option is enabled under the Options 6 Menu, then each warrior may ATTACK, 7 MOVE, then ATTACK again. 8 9 Set the Attack Angle by first selecting a 10 compass angle from the eight gadgets in 11 the Attack Direction Gadget Cluster. Then 12 clicking the ATTACK gadget causes that 13 warrior to attack. When a warrior has 14 attacked with a projectile weapon (arrow. 15 knife, or axe), the weapon continues in a 16 straight path until either it: 17 18 (1) hits the first enemy warrior reached, 19 (2) reaches its effective weapon range, 20 (3) hits an impassable object, 21 (4) reaches a Battlefield Map boundary. 22 23 To use a sword, the warrior must be on a 24 square adjacent to an enemy warrior. 25 26 Because of the narrow vertical view of the 27 Battlefield Map display, it is possible to 28 hit an enemy warrior who is one row off 29 the top or bottom of the Battlefield Map 30 display. 31 32 Warriors cannot attack warriors colored 33 like themselves. The weapons are assumed 34 to pass over their heads. 35 36 The victor in TeleEpic is he who best uses 37 his warrior strengths. Remember the 38 defensive stats of each enemy warrior. Do 39 not waste a 12 power axe attack on a 40 warrior who has only 4 Hit Points, but 41 throw a 4 Power knife instead. Page 25 1 Options 2 3 The Options menu offers game options that 4 can be set before a game is begun. These 5 include Setting the Turn Timer, Weapon 6 Allotment, and Attack/Warrior/Turn. 7 8 Turn Timer Settings -- The Turn Timer 9 forces the turn to change after a certain 10 number of minutes have elapsed. The timer 11 defaults to three minutes. However, 12 anything from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, for 13 the maximum length of a player's turn, 14 may be set as an "Options" menu selection. 15 The shorter the time allotted, the fewer 16 warriors a player is able to move during 17 the course of a turn. 18 19 Weapon Allotment -- Weapon Allotment 20 sets the number of projectile weapons per 21 warrior to either FIVE or NINE (the 22 default). With FIVE weapons allotted to 23 each warrior, the game will usually end 24 with many sword duels. This provides an 25 interesting variation to NINE weapons, 26 wherein the warriors rarely run out of 27 projectile weapons. 28 29 Attack/Warrior/Turn -- This option allows 30 a game to be played with a Single Attack 31 per Warrior per Turn mode (the default), 32 or a Double Attack per Warrior per Turn 33 mode. In Double Attack mode warriors 34 may ATTACK, MOVE, then ATTACK again. 35 36 Playing TeleEpic 37 38 When TeleEpic is teleconnected to another 39 computer, every correct moves made on 40 one computer are echoed on the other. 41 Page 26 1 The one exception to this is that the 2 receiving computer does not receive the 3 opponent's Warrior Tactical Grid. 4 5 Expect most players to take a few minutes 6 to make moves at the start of a game of 7 TeleEpic. Use this time wisely by reading 8 enemy warrior stats (call them intelligence 9 reports), marking the weaker warriors as 10 good targets. Turns will take less time as 11 warriors are killed. 12 13 Ending TeleEpic 14 15 Once all of a player's warriors have been 16 killed, he has lost the game and must 17 select END/CEDE GAME under the PLAY 18 menu before another game can begun. 19 20 Menus -- General Information 21 22 TeleEpic menu headings are displayed when 23 the right mouse button is depressed. By 24 moving the mouse pointer over these menu 25 headings, items for each are displayed. 26 Moving the cursor down the menu item list 27 will highlight each item. Releasing the 28 right menu button whenever any menu 29 item is so highlighted it will select it. 30 31 Sometimes, when a menu item is selected, 32 it causes other menus and menu items to 33 be activated or deactivated (ghosted). 34 Ghosted menu items cannot be selected. 35 36 When teleconnected to another computer, 37 the menus are accessible only to the 38 player whose turn is current. Menus are 39 not usually available to the player 40 receiving these moves, although they can 41 be activated. Page 27 1 Whenever Intuition receives a signal from 2 the right mouse button, it stops doing 3 everything else -- including reading the 4 data coming in the serial port. If a game 5 move should be received at the serial port 6 while the right mouse button is depressed, 7 then that move can be misread, or even 8 lost. 9 10 This means the teleconnected computers 11 would each display a different TeleEpic 12 game configuration which obviously will 13 not work. TeleEpic requires that both 14 computers match at all times, otherwise, 15 continuation of the game is impossible. 16 17 This problem will not effect TeleEpic, as 18 long as the players do not use the right 19 mouse button during game play when they 20 are receiving opponent moves. 21 22 If menus must be accessed to save a game 23 in progress, then a player should only do 24 so when it is his turn. This minimizes the 25 possibility of interrupting game play 26 transmissions. 27 28 If it is ABSOLUTELY necessary to access 29 the menus when they are turned off and 30 you are receiving your opponent's moves, 31 they can be re-activated by clicking on 32 the menu/message bar with the mouse 33 pointer. 34 35 But please let your opponent know what 36 you are doing so he can delay moving 37 until you are finished with the menus. 38 Otherwise it is very likely that the game 39 will become scrambled between the two 40 computers. 41 Page 28 1 (I) TeleEpic Menu 2 3 The TeleEpic Menu offers four possible 4 menu selections. 5 6 (1) King's Bridge 7 (2) Village Wall 8 (3) Castle Keep 9 (4) Exit TeleEpic 10 11 The first three selections load and play 12 the different Battlefield Terrain Maps. 13 When teleconnected, it is imperative that 14 both the computers play on the same map, 15 otherwise the game cannot be started. 16 17 Exit TeleEpic will end the program and 18 return all memory and resources back to 19 your Amiga. 20 21 (II) Scenario Menu 22 23 The Scenario Menu offers four game 24 scenarios wherein warrior placement varies. 25 When teleconnected, the scenario selected 26 on the computer that starts the game will 27 be the scenario that is played. 28 29 In King's Bridge and Castle Keep the 30 scenarios place the warriors as follows: 31 32 Scenario #1: plays Right to Left 33 Scenario #2: plays Diagonally 34 Scenario #3: plays Top to Bottom 35 Scenario #4: plays an X pattern 36 37 In the Village Wall the four scenarios have 38 been set to warrior placements that give 39 either RED or BLUE an advantage. All 40 these scenarios play Top to Bottom. 41 Page 29 1 (III) Game Menu 2 3 The Game Menu offers the following three 4 options: 5 6 (1) Choose a Side 7 (2) Start a Game 8 (3) Cede/End 9 Game 10 11 (1) Choose a Side selects either BLUE or 12 RED as the army color of the first player. 13 This selected color will start the game. 14 15 When teleconnected, the computer starting 16 the game received this color and always is 17 the first to moves. 18 19 (2) Start a Game will begin a NEW 20 TeleEpic game, using the selected 21 Battlefield Map and Scenario. 22 23 When teleconnected, either of the players 24 may start the game. All game settings, 25 Map, Scenario, options, etc., will be 26 determined by the starting computer. 27 28 (3) End/Cede Game will end the TeleEpic 29 game currently being played. 30 31 (IV) TeleComm Menu 32 33 The TeleComm menu contains all options 34 relating to telecommunication: 35 36 (1) TeleCommunication Mode 37 (2) Disconnect (Hangup) 38 (3) Transmit Game and Play 39 (4) Dial Telephone Number 40 41 Page 30 1 (I) Telecommunication Mode 2 3 The TeleCommunication Mode option offers 4 four possible teleconnection modes into 5 which the Amiga may be set: 6 7 (A) Sending (Caller) 8 (B) Receiving (Answer) 9 (C) NULL Modem Connect 10 (D) Teleconnect OFF 11 12 The computer will always be set to cone of 13 these four Telecommunication modes. The 14 default is TeleConnect OFF. In order to 15 initiate a teleconnection with another 16 computer, one of the first three items 17 must be selected. TeleCommunication 18 Mode reverts to TeleConnect OFF when 19 the menu item Disconnect is selected. 20 21 (A) Sending (Caller) telecommunication 22 mode designates this computer as the 23 calling computer, i.e. the computer that 24 initiates the teleconnection by calling the 25 other computer over the telephone. 26 27 When Sending Mode is selected, the "Dial 28 the Telephone Number" menu item under 29 the TeleComm Menu header is activated. 30 31 (B) Receiving (Answer) telecommunication 32 mode designates this computer as the one 33 that waits for and answers the call from 34 the other computer when a teleconnection 35 is to be established. 36 37 Selecting Receiving places the Amiga into 38 a passive state in which it quietly waits 39 for the telephone to ring. Once the phone 40 rings; TeleEpic answers and establishes the 41 teleconnection. Page 31 1 (C) Null Modem Connect telecommunication 2 mode places TeleEpic in a Teleconnected 3 state, bypassing the modem communication 4 routines. This mode should be selected 5 whenever two computers are connected to 6 one another with a serial port null modem 7 cable. 8 9 It may also be used if your modem is not 10 sufficiently "AT" command set compatible 11 for the Sending and Receiving modes to 12 function properly. You can use other 13 telecommunication software to place the 14 call and answer the telephone. Once the 15 teleconnection is made with this other 16 software, selecting Null Modem Connect 17 will cause TeleEpic to grab the open serial 18 line so a game can be played. 19 20 (D) TeleConnect OFF 21 22 TeleConnect Off mode allows two players 23 to play TeleEpic on a single computer. It 24 automatically reverts to this mode 25 whenever the Disconnect menu option is 26 selected. 27 28 (2) Disconnect (Hang up) 29 30 The Disconnect option will hang up your 31 modem, breaking the teleconnection, and 32 return TeleEpic to the TeleConnect OFF 33 Telecommunications mode. Both computers 34 must select Disconnect when a session has 35 ended. 36 37 (3) Transmit Game and Play 38 39 The Transmit Game and Play option under 40 the TeleComm Menu heading transmits a 41 saved game configuration, that was just Page 32 1 loaded, to the teleconnected computer. 2 Both computers must display the same 3 Terrain map and not have a game started 4 when this option is selected. 5 6 Before a game is transmitted, one player 7 should alert the other to the fact that a 8 game is about to be sent. Use the chat 9 line to send such a message. 10 11 (4) Dial Telephone Number 12 13 When the computer is placed in Sending 14 (Caller) telecommunications mode and a 15 teleconnection has yet to be established, 16 the Dial Telephone Number menu option is 17 enabled. Selecting this option will dial 18 the selected opponent's phone number. 19 20 (V) Tele Files Menu 21 22 TeleEpic telecommunication disk files are 23 accessible in this menu under one of the 24 headings: 25 26 (1) Modem Parameters 27 (2) Opponent Parameters 28 29 Both Modem and Opponent files for all the 30 Telecommunication games published by 31 Software Terminal, TeleGames, TeleWar, 32 TeleWar II and TeleEpic -- are shared in 33 common. 34 35 If you have more than one of our games, 36 you don't need to re-enter the files for 37 each one. Assigning the Tele+Files: logical 38 device to one single directory containing 39 your Modem and Opponent files will make 40 them available to all these games at once 41 (See Appendix A and B). Page 33 1 (1) Modem Parameters 2 3 Modem Parameters are set from a slide up 4 screen that appears whenever the Modem 5 Parameters option is selected. 6 7 Whenever TeleEpic is loaded, it reads a 8 disk file called "modemset", stored in the 9 Tele_Files directory, for the default 10 modem settings. These settings can be 11 edited to conform to your modem and 12 saved to disk, so that each time TeleEpic 13 loads it defaults to your personal modem. 14 15 Current modem settings are displayed in 16 BLUE on the Modem Parameters screen. 17 The following modem settings are 18 configurable by the user. 19 20 Baud Rate - Modem Parameters 21 22 Baud rates of 300, 1200, 2400 and 9600 23 may be selected by clicking on a gadget 24 box with the mouse pointer. 25 26 Dial Command - Modem Parameters 27 28 When your modem dials a telephone 29 number it must send a signal to your 30 modem that a telephone number is about 31 to be sent. If your modem is "AT" 32 compatible, then one of the two gadgets 33 "ATDT" (for tone dialing) or "ATDP" (pulse 34 dialing) should be chosen. 35 36 A custom command entry box is provided 37 for any modems with non-standard modem 38 command sets. Note that this entry box 39 may also be used to add "AT" commands to 40 the dial command. For example, ATX6DT 41 will tone dial and return result codes, Page 34 1 which TeleEpic can use to inform you with 2 requests that the number was busy, 3 whether it was a human and not a 4 computer that answered the phone, and 5 whether no one answered the phone. 6 7 If any characters are displayed in the 8 custom dial command box then that is the 9 current active dialing command. Click the 10 box active, type the command, and hit 11 RETURN. 12 13 Answer Command - Modem Parameters 14 15 A modem must be commanded to answer 16 the phone when it rings. If the modem 17 has an auto answer feature, the command 18 gadget, "ATSO=1" on the Modem Parameter 19 screen commands it to pick up the phone 20 after it rings once. 21 22 Not all modems will auto answer, but must 23 instead be told to pick up the telephone 24 after it rings. The "ATA" gadget is used 25 in this case. If you have selected this 26 answer command, you should not enter the 27 receiving mode until after the telephone 28 rings (See TeleConnect Parameters). 29 30 A custom command entry box is provided, 31 should your modem answer command differ 32 from those provided. Click/activate the 33 box, type the command and hit RETURN. 34 35 LOAD/SAVE/QUIT - Modem Parameters 36 37 Click the gadgets provided to LOAD and 38 SAVE the modemset file. Click the 39 "QUIT" gadget to exit the Modem 40 Parameter screen and return to the game. 41 Page 35 1 (2) Opponent Parameters 2 3 Opponent Parameters are set from a slide 4 up. TeleCommunication Files screen that 5 appears whenever the Opponent Parameters 6 option is selected. Here you are able to 7 enter the telephone number of an opponent 8 and the baud rate at which you play that 9 individual, and save it in a file that can 10 later be quickly retrieved to establish a 11 teleconnection. 12 13 Click on the telephone number entry box, 14 type in the telephone number, and hit 15 RETURN. Then click on the baud rate at 16 which you will play that opponent. The 17 baud rate should be the highest rate that 18 both your modem and that of your 19 opponent have in common. For example, 20 if a 2400 baud rate modem plays a 1200 21 baud rate modem, then play at 1200 baud. 22 23 SAVE - Opponent Parameters: Settings for 24 all opponents may each be saved in a file 25 that can be instantly retrieved whenever 26 you want to play TeleEpic with that 27 opponent. Click on the File Name text 28 entry box, type in the opponent's name, 29 and hit RETURN. Now just click the 30 SAVE gadget. Notice that the file is now 31 entered into the Opponent File Directory. 32 The Opponent Directory contains all the 33 opponent files entered into TeleEpic. 34 35 LOAD - Opponent Parameters: To select a 36 file for loading, click on the file box 37 containing the opponent's name. You will 38 see the file name appear in the File Name 39 box. Now click the LOAD gadget, and the 40 opponent file will load and configure the 41 computer to that opponent's parameters. Page 36 1 DELETE - Opponent Parameters: Clicking 2 on the DELETE gadget will delete the file 3 from the disk that is listed in the File 4 Name box. 5 6 QUIT - Opponent Parameters: Clicking 7 the QUIT gadget will scroll down the 8 Opponent Parameters screen. 9 10 (VI) Game Files Menu 11 12 The Game Files Menu provides options for 13 saving a game that is being played to disk, 14 and for later retrieving that game from 15 the disk to resume play. There are two 16 selections under this menu heading. 17 18 (1) Game Directory 19 (2) Play Saved Game 20 21 (1) Game Directory 22 23 The game in progress may be SAVED, re- 24 LOADED or even DELETED from the slide 25 up. Game Directory screen that appears 26 each time the Game Directory option has 27 been selected. Only the game files 28 previously saved for the current Battlefield 29 Map are listed in the Game File Directory. 30 31 Note: Games should always be saved while 32 the game is still active. Do not save a 33 game that has been ended. 34 35 SAVE - Game Directory: The current 36 game may be saved to disk to be later 37 reloaded and play renamed. Click on the 38 File Name text entry box, type in a file 39 name, and hit RETURN. Next click the 40 SAVE gadget. Notice that the game file is 41 now entered into the Game File Directory. Page 37 1 LOAD - Game Directory: To select a 2 game file for loading, click on the file box 3 containing the name of the saved game. 4 You will see the file name appear in the 5 File Name box. 6 7 Now click the LOAD gadget and the game 8 file will load. Once you have QUIT the 9 Game Directory screen, you will see the 10 warriors rearrange to the previously saved 11 game configuration. 12 13 DELETE - Game Directory: Clicking on 14 the DELETE gadget will delete the file 15 listed in the File Name box from the disk. 16 17 QUIT - Game Directory: Clicking on the 18 QUIT gadget will return you to the game. 19 If playing on one computer, you may now 20 "Play Saved Game"; or if teleconnected you 21 may select "Transmit Game and Play". 22 23 (2) Play Saved Game 24 25 When playing on a single computer in the 26 TeleConnect OFF mode, in order to begin 27 playing the saved game just loaded, the 28 "Play Saved Game" menu option must be 29 selected. Game play will resume at the 30 point at which it was saved. 31 32 (VII) Options Menu 33 34 The Options menu offers a number of 35 game options that may be set before a 36 game is started. These options are: 37 38 (1) Set Turn Timer 39 (2) Firing Protocol 40 (3) Attack/Warrior/Turn 41 Page 38 1 (1) Turn Time Settings 2 3 TeleEpic is equipped with a Turn Timer 4 that forces player turn changes after the 5 following timer options have elapsed. Three 6 minutes is the default. 7 8 (A) .5 Minutes 9 (B) 1 Minute 10 (C) 2 Minutes 11 (D) 3 Minutes 12 (E) 4 Minutes 13 (F) 5 Minutes 14 15 Setting the Turn Timer to very short times 16 will usually only allow a few warriors to 17 MOVE and ATTACK in a given turn, 18 thereby preventing multiple warriors from 19 ganging up all at once on a single warrior 20 and killing him. 21 22 (2) Weapon Allotment 23 24 The Weapon Allotment menu selection 25 provides two options for setting the 26 number of projectile weapons carried by 27 each warrior. 28 29 (A) 5/Warrior 30 (B) 9/Warrior 31 32 (A) 5/Warrior Mode allows 5 projectile 33 weapons per warrior. This configuration 34 usually allows warriors to run out of 35 projectile weapons by the end of the 36 game, making sword fighting important. 37 38 (B) 9/Warrior Mode allows 9 projectile 39 weapons per warrior. This is the default. 40 41 Page 39 1 (3) Attack/Warrior/Turn -- This option 2 allows games to be played with the 3 following ATTACK options. 4 5 (A) Single Attack 6 (B) Double Attack 7 8 (A) Single Attack per Warrior per Turn 9 allows each warrior to attack only 10 once per turn. Single Attack is the default 11 mode. 12 13 (B) Double Attack per Warrior per Turn 14 mode allows each warrior to attack twice 15 each turn. In order to attack with a 16 warrior twice in this mode, he must 17 ATTACK before he moves. After he 18 MOVES, he is allowed to ATTACK again. 19 20 TeleConnect Procedure 21 22 The primary feature of TeleEpic is that it 23 allows two persons to play an animated 24 strategy medieval war game over the 25 phone using computers and modems. 26 27 Modems are usually used to contact a BBS 28 (Bulletin Board System) to post messages 29 and upload and download programs and 30 files. TeleEpic provides your modem with 31 another use -- game playing. 32 33 Making a teleconnection with another 34 computer is easy with TeleEpic. The 35 mystique of computer telecommunications 36 is gone. 37 38 TeleEpic does all the work, so that the 39 user can concentrate on honing his game 40 playing skills 41 Page 40 1 Setting Modem Parameters 2 3 If TeleEpic is to work correctly, it must 4 communicate with your modem and the 5 modem of your opponent. A few simple 6 settings must be made prior to establishing 7 a teleconnection, so that TeleEpic can 8 communicate with your modem. These 9 settings are only made once, and are saved 10 to the disk so that they can automatically 11 load when you want to play. 12 13 These parameter settings are made on the 14 Modem Parameter Screen, which scrolls 15 into view when the Modem Parameter 16 option is selected in the Tele Files menu 17 (see Tele Files Menu, page 32). The baud 18 rate and dial and answer commands must 19 be set before the teleconnection is 20 attempted. 21 22 Baud Rate is the number of binary digits 23 per second transmitted across your modem. 24 Modems today commonly transmit at 25 either 300, 1200 or 2400 baud. TeleEpic will 26 support all these baud rates, as well as 27 the new 9600 baud modems. 28 29 Set your baud rate to the highest level 30 supported by your modem, that will most 31 commonly be using to play TeleEpic with 32 your friends. The higher baud rates will 33 transmit game data more quickly, so they 34 are naturally preferred. 35 36 Dial and Answer Commands tell the modem 37 how to dial and answer the phone. Modems 38 recognize a command instruction set that 39 allows the computer to direct the modem 40 to perform these activities. TeleEpic 41 supports the "AT" command set standard. Page 41 1 If your phone is touch tone, click "ATDT" 2 on the Modem Parameter screen. 3 However, if you have a pulse rotary 4 phone, then click "ATDP" to set the 5 modem dial command. If your modem 6 recognizes a different command set, or to 7 add additional commands in the dialing 8 command string, mouse click in the Custom 9 Dial Command Box, type in the command, 10 and press RETURN. 11 12 Modem Answer commands are set in the 13 same manner. "ATSO=1" commands your 14 modem to answer the phone on one ring, 15 when you are in the Answer Mode. "ATA" 16 forces the modem to instantly pick up the 17 phone as you enter the Answer Mode. As 18 with the dial command string box, a 19 custom answer command may be entered 20 into the Custom Answer Command box. 21 22 After the Modem Parameters have been 23 set, be sure to SAVE them to disk. 24 25 Setting Opponent Parameters are also easy, 26 and need only be done once. These 27 parameters save the telephone numbers and 28 baud rates of opponents in files, so they 29 may be retrieved when needed. 30 31 Under the Tele Files menu select the 32 Opponent Parameter option to scroll the 33 Opponent Parameters Directory screen into 34 view (see Opponent Parameters on page 35 30). 36 37 Type the phone number of your opponent, 38 and select the baud rate at which you will 39 always play. The baud rate should be the 40 highest in common to both modems. 41 Page 42 1 Then type your opponent's name into the 2 File Name Box (after clicking it active), 3 and hit RETURN. Finally, SAVE the file. 4 5 The next time you wish to play TeleEpic 6 with that opponent, just LOAD the file 7 from the Opponent Parameters screen. 8 9 Before you establish a teleconnection, 10 whether you are Sending (Calling) or 11 Receiving (Answering), you MUST set the 12 Opponent Parameters or LOAD an 13 Opponent Parameters file from disk. 14 15 Voice Contact 16 17 It is recommended that telephone voice 18 contact first be established between the 19 TeleEpic players to decide who will be the 20 caller and enter the Sending Mode and dial 21 the number, and who will answer the 22 phone and so enter the Receiving Mode. 23 24 The caller should then enter the Sending 25 Mode and the receiver should enter the 26 Receiving Mode, if the latter's answer 27 command is set to "ATSO=1" (if "ATA", the 28 receiver should not enter the Receiving 29 Mode until after the phone rings). 30 31 When both players are ready to play, they 32 can agree that the call will be placed 15 33 or 20 seconds after they each hang up the 34 phone. 35 36 This will minimize the chance of an 37 extraneous incoming call ringing the phone 38 of the RECEIVER before the Sending 39 computer can dial the number. 40 41 Page 43 1 Teleconnect Procedure Summary 2 3 1. Each computer will load TeleEpic. 4 5 2. Set Modem Parameters, if not set. 6 7 3. Load or set Opponent Parameters. 8 9 4. Call your opponent on the phone to 10 decide who will call whom. 11 12 5. Both computers should be on the same 13 map, and not have a game started. 14 15 6. The caller should enter the SENDING 16 mode, and the one who answers 17 should enter the RECEIVING MODE, 18 if "ATSO=1" is his answer command. 19 20 7. Just before hanging up the telephone, 21 agree that a call will be placed in 15 22 seconds. Hang up the phone. 23 24 8. The SENDING player now selects the 25 "Dial a Telephone Number" option and 26 that computer dials the phone and 27 waits for an answer. 28 29 9. If "ATSO=1" is set on the RECEIVING 30 computer, it will answer the call 31 after the telephone rings once, and 32 makes the teleconnection. 33 34 If "ATA" is the RECV computer 35 answer command, the player enters 36 the RECEIVING MODE on the phone 37 ring, and makes the teleconnection. 38 39 10. Players type messages to each other, 40 START A NEW GAME, or LOAD and 41 TRANSMIT & PLAY a saved game. Page 44 1 TeleConnect - Another Method 2 3 Some non-standard modems don't answer 4 the phone or recognize the "AT" command 5 set, so may not initially seem to work 6 with TeleEpic. 7 8 Don't give up hope yet! You are able to 9 play by using the NULL MODEM 10 CONNECT mode. 11 12 Both computers must use telecomm 13 software that does work with their 14 modems to establish the teleconnection. 15 This software should be set to the 16 following telecommunication parameters. 17 18 Baud Rate = your baud rate 19 Parity = NONE 20 Data Length = 8 bits 21 Stop Bits = 1 stop bit 22 Duplex = Full Duplex 23 24 After a teleconnection has been made 25 between the two computers, QUIT the 26 other telecommunication programs. The 27 telephone line should remain open between 28 the two modems. 29 30 Load TeleEpic on each computer. Both 31 computers should immediately be placed in 32 the NULL MODEM CONNECT mode. Do 33 not do anything else until a reasonable 34 length of time has passed, so your 35 opponent has time to follow the same 36 procedure to place his computer in NULL 37 MODEM CONNECT MODE. 38 39 Finally, players should type messages to 40 each other to see if a teleconnection was 41 successfully established. Page 45 1 Appendix A - TeleEpic Directories 2 3 TeleEpic accesses two main directories 4 during program operation. 5 6 (1) Tele_Epic Directory 7 (2) Tele_Files Directory 8 9 The Tele_Epic directory contains all the 10 graphics and sound data files needed by 11 the program. This directory is assigned 12 the logical device name EP: so that it may 13 be found by the program whether it 14 resides on a floppy or a hard disk. 15 16 The Tele_Files director contains all of 17 the user created disk files used in the 18 game. 19 20 The modemset file contains the default 21 modem parameters that are loaded each 22 time TeleEpic is played. 23 24 The TeleFiles subdirectory that is in the 25 Tele_Files directory contains all of your 26 Opponent Parameter files 27 28 The GameFiles subdirectory that is in the 29 Tele_Files directory contains all of the 30 saved Games for TeleEpic. 31 32 The Tele_Files directory is assigned the 33 logical device name TELE+FILES:, so that 34 it may be found by the program whether it 35 resides on a floppy or a hard disk. 36 37 The TeleGames, TeleWar, TeleWar II and 38 TeleEpic file directories are compatible 39 with those of TeleEpic. Only one 40 Tele_Files directory is needed to service 41 all of these games. Page 46 1 Appendix B - Using a Hard Disk 2 3 To use TeleEpic from a hard disk, copy 4 the following directory, program files and 5 icons to your hard disk. 6 7 (1) TeleEpic program 8 (2) Tele_Epic directory drawer 9 (3) Tele_Files directory drawer 10 11 These files need not be placed in the root 12 directory of the hard drive. They can be 13 located in any of the directories or 14 subdirectories on your hard drive. 15 16 Two assigns, however, will now need to be 17 added to your startup sequence in order 18 for the program to locate the directories 19 whenever it is started. 20 21 Each time your Amiga is turned on, the 22 startup-sequence, located in the "S" 23 directory of your boot disk, is run. 24 25 Placing the assigns here will assure that 26 your Amiga will always be able to run 27 TeleEpic without any difficulty or delay. 28 29 So, where 30 31 HD = your hard drive dh0:, dh2:, etc. 32 33 DP = directory path to TeleEpic directories 34 35 add the following lines to your startup 36 sequence. 37 38 Assign EP: :/Tele_War 39 ASSIGN TELE+FILES: :/Tele_Files 40 41 Page 47 1 Trouble Shooting 2 3 TeleEpic will not Load 4 5 1) Do you have sufficient available free 6 memory for TeleEpic to load? 7 2) On a 512K Amiga only one external 8 drive should be connected, and no 9 other task should be running. 10 3) Check to verify that your TeleEpic 11 working copy is not damaged. 12 13 TeleEpic will not Dial a Number 14 15 1) Is your modem connected & powered? 16 2) Are all of your Modem Parameters 17 set correctly? 18 3) Is your modem compatible with the 19 "AT" command set? 20 4) If not, consult your modem manual for 21 a dialing command that might work, 22 and type it in the Dial Command Box. 23 5) If all else fails, try Teleconnect -- 24 Another Method (page 45). 25 26 TeleEpic will not Answer the Phone 27 28 1) Is your modem connected & powered? 29 2) Are your Modem Parameters correctly 30 set? 31 3) Is your modem compatible with the 32 "AT" command set? 33 4) If not, consult your modem manual for 34 an answer command that might work, 35 & type in the Answer Command Box. 36 5) Try the "ATA" command to force the 37 modem to answer the phone (Select 38 Receiving Mode after the phone 39 rings). 40 6) If all else fails, try Teleconnect -- 41 Another Method (page 45). Page 48 1 TeleConnected, but Game will not Work 2 3 1) Are both computers the same set to 4 the same baud rate? 5 2) Was a game STARTED on a computer 6 when the Teleconnection was made? 7 3) Are both computers on the same Map? 8 4) Hangup and then re-establish phone 9 voice contact to verify modem 10 settings, and then try again. 11 12 TeleConnected & Playing, then No Response 13 14 1) Are you still connected? Check for 15 the Carrier Detect (CD) light on your 16 modem, if it has one. 17 2) Type in a message or two. The chime 18 may awaken your opponent. 19 3) If you or your opponent accessed the 20 menus, or pressed the right mouse 21 button when the other was making a 22 move, game move transmission may 23 have been scrambled. 24 4) If the SEND message line echos back 25 to the RECV message line (with some 26 modems), then you are disconnected. 27 5) If you have been disconnected, first 28 SAVE game. Choose the "DisConnect" 29 menu option. If the game is still 30 active and menu item Cede/End Game 31 is ghosted, select the TeleConnect 32 OFF mode (even if it was already 33 selected) to force activate the 34 Cede/End Game menu item. 35 36 If you have Reached the End of your Rope 37 38 Call our BBS at (817) 244-4151 and ask for 39 help. We will help all we can. But 40 strategy in TeleEpic is up to you! 41 Page 49 ============================================================================ DOCS PROVIDED BY -+*+-THE SOUTHERN STAR-+*+- for M.A.A.D. ============================================================================