Global Conquest
PART I: Introduction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HISTORY:
Global Conquest is a strategy game developed as a result of
collaboration between Dan Bunten of Earth and Ban Dunten of
Modulus, a planet in a parallel universe noted for its playful
natives and fried peach pies. Dan was staying up late one night
working on another boring, "Conquer the World" type game when,
suddenly, his computer seemed to be typing by itself! As it
turned out, a game designer from Modulus was engaged in a similar
game-developing activity. His game, however, was made up of
nothing but little "chance" cards and people cooperating with
each other. Somehow, through a strange quirk in the parallel
universes, their program editors made contact, allowing the
programmers to make notes in each other's programs. (This
naturally made "debugging" a nightmare, until they figured out
how to imbed their comments in "comment" lines.) Recognizing the
potential for profit in universe-spanning marketing, Dan Bunten
phoned MicroProse with a great idea for a game.
The Modulians have never known war, conflict or competition.
Their idea of a good game is a bunch of people sitting around on
the floor, guessing the answers to inconsequential questions
written on little cards. Ban the Modulian was excited by the
idea of using little "toy soldiers" to discover a world and fight
among themselves to conquer it. Similarly, Dan the Earthling
thought "Random Event" cards and alliances would add "fund" to
his otherwise ruthless game. Together, they developed Global
Conquest: a strategy game pitting opponents against one another
on a randomly-generated world where crazy things happen and there
are no "real" casualties, only an occasional bruised ego.
Objective The goal of Global Conquest players is to
discover and conquer the world. The conflict in
Conquest lies in the fact that all players have
the same goal and there can be only one winner.
There are always four opponents in Global
Conquest attempting to take over the world. These
opponents, be they human or other sentient life
forms, find themselves fighting over a world
populated by a mindless "indigenous" armed force
(dubbed the "Natives"). If there are not four
"live" players, any unmanned groups will be
controlled by the computer intelligence, so that
there are always five groups taking part in Global
Conquest.
THE GAME BOARD:
Global Conquest is played on a game board that is different
each time around. Among the things that vary is the size: like
the drinks at your favorite fast food establishment, you can have
either the small, medium or mega-whopper size.
Each part of the world can be one of five types of terrain:
ocean, plain, forest, mountain and swamp. (Deserts and tropical
beaches are not included in Global Conquest because sand could
get into somebody's eyes or underwear and cause injuries.)
There are also "artificial" facilities around: Cities (or,
to use the Modulian term, "burbs"), docks, oil sites, and mineral
sites.
A final type of "cloaked terrain" covers and obscures all of
the board's characteristics at the start of each game. Resulting
from a mysterious Modulian Cloaking Device, this "cloaked
terrain" is indistinguishable from ocean terrain. However, as
your playing pieces move around on the board, they remove the
"cloaked terrain" to reveal the actual world beneath. For some
unknown reason, this process is called "discovering the world."
THE PLAYING PIECES:
The basic playing pieces for Global Conquest are infantry,
armor, subs, battleships, aircraft carriers, and airplanes.
These "units," as they're called, discover land and fight each
other with their unique strengths and weaknesses. Your job is to
order these units to do all of this discovering and fighting.
The units will obey your orders, even if they are in the middle
of their favorite soap opera at the time.
In addition, there are two "special" pieces: the spy and the
command center (called "Comcen"). These units are considered
"special" because their characteristics are significantly
different, and because Dan told us so.
The spy can see all other units within a wide range, can
steal "secrets," can slow unit production, and is only seen by
other spies. They are also great fun at the Halloween parties,
and can make a mean bean dip.
The Comcen is your strongest and most crucial piece: it is
able to launch planes, and it attacks from a greater distance
with more power than other units. However, it has one slight
drawback: if you lose your Comcen, you're out of the game.
GAME PLAY:
Besides the game board and playing pieces, there are other
ways in which Conquest is like the board games with which you are
familiar. For one thing, you can play with other people! You
and up to three of your friends can play Global Conquest
together. (This feature was among those most emphasized by Ban,
a firm believer in the Modulian motto: "Play with each other, not
with yourself!") Conquest is also played in "turns" like many
classic games. However, instead of "you take your turn then I
take my turn," in Conquest we all take our turns together. But
even though Conquest could be played like an old-fashioned board
game (complete with taunting and name-calling), it is played on a
computer because 1) it simplifies the logistics, and 2) it spares
MicroProse the trouble of finding someone to make the little
plastic soldiers.
GAME SCREEN LAYOUT:
The screen is divided into four major sections.
Map Window This is the biggest section of the screen,
where the game board and units are shown. It is
in this window that players plot their strategies,
observe the battles, and do the most suffering.
within this area, terrain is represented by 8x8
pixel icons and units by 12x12 icons. This game
board is overlaid at times by a smaller scale
"reference map" and by various menus. To bring up
the reference map, just press the <SPACE> bar (or
the right button on your mouse). Move your cursor
to the are of the board you are interested in
seeing closer and press <SPACE> (or the right
button) again. Now your closeup view of the world
centers around the place you just picked with your
cursor. (Other features of the display are
discussed later in these rules.)
Icon Corner This is the top righthand corner of the
screen. It is divided into four different colored
sections, each representing one of the four
different players. This display is updated as
play progresses, showing the current score, number
of burbs and resources taken over, any treaties
between players, and any conquests of opposing
Comcens. The force which you command has a white
and grey border around it as well as an icon of
your choosing.
Mouse
Manipulation There are two different types of "clicks" of
the mouse buttons: a "normal click" (where the
button is depressed less than 1/2 second) and a
"held click" (where the button is depressed for
longer than 1/2 second). In Conquest, you use
both of these. (Double-clicks, drag-clicks, and
heavy petting are not used in this game).
Throughout the manual, a "click" refers to a
"normal click," and unless otherwise noted all
clicks (whether a "normal click", a "held click"
or just a "click") refer to the "left" mouse
button.
Update Window This is the middle righthand portion of the
screen. In this window, players receive messages
regarding events which affect their units, burbs
and resources. There are three active areas in
this window. Players can: 1) click to the left
of the map portion to backspace through previous
messages; 2) click to the right of the map to move
forward through the messages; and 3) click in the
map area itself to position the main display over
the feature highlighted in the map.
Cursor Window This display is in the bottom righthand
portion of the screen. It shows in magnified form
what is under the cursor. This is one of the most
helpful of the windows, in that it offers
important data such as unit strength in battles,
terrain type, and burb production choices.
Other Areas
of the Display In addition to the four major sections, there
are five other active areas of the display.
Button Bar
Provided above the Main Display for ease of
selection of various options:
Execute
Clicking on this option effectively ends the
"Orders Phase" of the turn. (See discussion below
on ending turns.)
Terrain
Use this button to see the map without units
obscuring it and to access production options for
each burb.
Airplanes
Clicking here allows the player to enter "Airplane
Mode" to give orders to available planes. Note
that a player must click on this button again in
order to exit "Airplane Mode" to give orders to
other units.
Destinations
Using this button allows the player to see the
destinations and paths of all owned units. (Note
the destinations and whereabouts of your units on
lunch break ARE NOT shown.)
Burbs
Click here to get a summary table of all the
villages, towns, cities and metroplexes you own.
You can also position your main world display,
access production options and even transfer funds
from the menu opened by this button. (See the
"Economics" section for more.)
Treaties
Clicking this button changes the Icon Corner into
a menu for offering various levels of alliances.
(See the "Treaties" section for more.)
Time Bar
To the left of and parallel to the Main Display is
a vertical bar known as the "Time Bar." During
the "Orders Phase" this bar is green. If another
player ends his turn, this bar will change colors
and begin to recede downward, signifying the
imminent end of the "Orders Phase." Once the
"Execution Phase" begins, the Time Bar will turn
red and diminish as the "Execution Phase" runs
out. At no time will the Time Bar serve drinks.
Clicking the button in this area generates an
<Alt><P> that pauses or resumes the game.
Topline
The topline is where various modes and status
messages are presented and where you type outgoing
chat messages. Bur more importantly, it offers a
menu of "Program Options." Moving your cursor
into the top area above the button bar changes
this area into the menu (or press <F10>). These
are:
Restart:
Aborts whatever game, film or other activity
is going on and offers the Main Menu.
Save:
This option will abort the game in progress,
then offer you a file menu to name your game
for resumption later. If the game included a
remote player, the other player is also
placed in the save menu and the connection is
dropped.
Pause/Resume:
Press to pause the game or film. Press again
to resume.
Chat:
Press this to "chat" with your opponents.
Press <F5>, <ENTER>, or click in the topline
to end chat.
Volume:
Toggle sound on and off.
Game Type:
Displays the scenario options icons of the
current game or film.
Event:
Displays the Random even currently in effect
and tells the number of turns it has left to
run.
Speed +:
Press this to increase the execution speed of
the game or film (max. speed is 3).
Speed -:
Press this to reduce the execution speed of
the game or film (min. speed is 1).
Show=Who:
This option is only offered during films; it
toggles the point of view.
Resign:
This lets a player resign his command and
turn that role over to a computer opponent.
Disconnect:
An abbreviation of "disconnect," this option
is offered if the game involves multiple
machines and neither of the previous ending
options is appropriate.
Bottom Line
This black area below the main display shows
various results of user game actions and any
incoming chat messages (identified by color of
player). Clicking in this area will show you the
last chat comment that you received.
Turn Counter
Just below the Update Window, this window "counts
down" the number of turns left (in red) when the
game being played has a turn limit; it "counts up"
the turns played (in green) when there is no limit
on the game. (No one is certain why Ban and Dan
chose "Turn Counter" for the name of this feature,
but expensive research is being carried out to
find an answer to this mysterious enigma.)
PART II: TUTORIAL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OBJECTIVE:
To acclimate you to the challenge of Conquest as quickly as
possible, here now is John "Hardbones" Shrimply to act as your
personal tutor.
Basic Training Greetings, salutations, and all that other
junk. Okay, let's get straight to the peach pies.
First off: load the game. There ya go. Now,
watch all that opening sequence stuff. Listen to
that music. Kinda gets your blood flowing, don't
it?
Okay. Now we got to your Main Menu. Pick
the one that says "Play Game." Ya got a new box
now, doncha? Move your mouse down to the bottom,
down to that one that says "Resume Saved Game."
There ya go.
Okay, new box again. Do the one called
"Tutorial." Yeah, they named that one after me,
your tutor. Now ya gotta wait a sec while it gets
all set up for ya.
Since we're waiting, take a look here. See
that box on the right hand side on the bottom
there. That's called the Cursor Windows. Yeah.
You'll see all kinds of stuff in that one.
Oh, the big box in the middle there? That's
just telling you what kinda Conquest we're dealing
with here. All those little symbols tell ya what
ya call your Game Conditions. Don't worry about
it now.
Lemme just tell ya right from the start that
this here tutorial is a "4 player on one machine"
game, and you're getting to play all the parts.
I'm gonna help you through one of the player's
turns. After that, you get to play all the parts,
you don't have to worry about being "blindsided"
by some other yahoo. That is, not unless you're
one of them "split personalities." (Heh, heh,
heh.)
All right, you've probably come to the "Press
Any Key to Continue" by now. So go ahead and do
it. I don't think you're gonna break anything.
Take a Look
Around Okay, first off, let's pause this thing so we
can look around for a sec. Just move your cursor
until it's on that green bar there on the left.
For your enlightenment, that thing's called the
Time Bar. Okay, now click on it. What's it say
up there on that Topline? Probably something
like: "Game Paused...(Alt-P to resume)." Tell's
ya all about it, don't it? OK. Now we can kick
in a special feature that's just for this
tutorial. Press and hold the <Ctrl> key, the
<Alt> key, and the letter <C>. Hold 'em all down
at the same time and you'll see a little trick.
Look next to the Turn Counter. See the little
white numbers? They're the coordinates of where
your cursor is in the world map. We're gonna use
that to help get you where ya need to go. Try
moving the mouse around and watch those numbers
change. Ya get it? Now when I tell you a spot to
go like 11,65, you can move the mouse until ya get
there and you'll see what's what.
Okay, here's the deal. What we're looking at
here is your basic world map. See that deep blue
color? That's your oceans. See that green stuff?
That's your plains. Do this: move your cursor to
11,65. Okay, now take a look over there in that
Cursor Window I was talking about. Says "Ocean,"
huh? Okay, now do this: move it to 17,59. Says
"Plain," don't it? Now put your cursor at 48,52.
Now what's it say in that Cursor Window? City?
Well, that's what they are. A city is a kind of
Burb. No need to say "excuse me." I said "Burb."
Yeah, ya take these over and they help ya build
stuff.
Now, take a REAL close look at that Burb.
Look down there in the Cursor Window: you see
that little flag down there in the bottom
left-hand corner? It's light green. The guys
that wrote this game called it "Cyan" but it looks
green to me! See it? Well, that's there to let
you know who owns that Burb.
Move back to 1, 73. What's it say in the
Cursor Window? Bunch of stuff, huh? Well, that
burb is called a "Metroplex." Ya see the little
purple plane in there? That's one of your planes
and since it's next to the burb picture it means
it's based in that metroplex. Ya see the words
"Magenta Mob"? That's the name of the force
you're fighting with. Good name, huh? See the
word "BUILD" with another airplane next to it and
"T-2" below? That means this burb is buildin' a
plane that'll be ready in two turns.
I'm sure you've noticed all the little boxes
with purple-I mean, magenta-borders? All those
are your "units" - that's what they're called.
They're the ones doing the fightin' for ya.
They're sitting there right now, saying "What're
they gonna make us do next?" Look a little closer
at 'em. Some of 'em are different than others.
That's 'cause ya got more than one kind of unit.
Move to 0,74. That unit is called the Command
Center. (Us old-timers call it the Comcen.) You
only got the one of them. But hey, no one's
trying to cheat ya here. See, this is kinda like
your King in chess: ya lose that little beauty and
you're out of the game. So you'd better keep an
eye on it, huh?
Now let's get to the REAL fighters out there.
Move to 12,54. Now look over at your Cursor
Window. That's right, ya gotcha an ARMOR unit.
Looks kinda like a tank, don't it? Now move to
13,50. INFANTRY, that's what that one is. Both
of these units are your land fighters: that's
their strong point.
Now move to 29,69. That's your CARRIER, and
the little plane next to it in the Cursor Window
means it has a plane on it, ready for action. You
see the "Magenta Mob" just below "Carrier"? That
means this unit is based from your Metroplex.
"Magenta Mob" is both the name of your army and
you "home Metroplex." In front of your CARRIER is
the rest of your South Seas Fleet, your BATTLESHIP
(37,69), and your SUB (37,71). In front of them
is a Cyan Battleship (43,70). Let's get that guy!
Git Your
Guys Moving But first let's do a little ground action.
Go to 13,47. Now look down in your Cursor Window
again: see the little gray flag? That means this
Town belongs to the natives and it looks like
there's no units around to slow you down if ya
wanna make that little jewel part of your
collection. I say we take it.
First, let's take the game off pause: just
click on your green Time Bar again. There ya go.
Click the left button on the infantry at
13,50. Ya go his attention. See him flashing?
He's listening to ya. What's it say up on the
Topline there? "Setting Unit Destination"?
That's what we're doing here, all right.
Move to 13, 47. Okay, we're kinda hooked up,
that unit and us, aren't we? See the dotted line
go from him to our cursor? That's what ya call
your "Unit Path." What you're really saying is,
"I want you to follow this path."
Okay, let's give this guy a destination.
Now, click on the left button again. What's it
say up there on the top line now? That's right,
"Final Destination Set." Congratulations,
General, you've just given your first order.
Piece of cake, huh? I know, he's not doing
anything right now. That's okay: He's waiting
for the "Execution Phase" to start. Ya see, what
we're doing now is giving out the orders. In a
second, when we're through, we'll give 'em the go
ahead, and THEN they'll all do 'em simultaneously.
But before we do anything else, let's check out
our infantry guy, just to make sure he got it
straight. Put your cursor back on him, but don't
do any clicking this time. What's it say up there
on the top line now? "Unit Path." Now look down
there in the Cursor Window again. Ta see the word
"Moving"? That means he go your orders all right.
But let's make sure he knows where to go. Look
back up at the unit in the map window, where your
cursor is. Ya see those three blocks there?
That's the path we gave 'im, all right.
Ya see another Burb close to some of your
units? Okey, then, tell 'em to git their rears in
gear and take all those empty Burbs. Tell that
infantry up at 21,53 to go to 21,51. Then, tell
one of them armored boys (at 26,52 or 29,54) to
take the city at 30,51. Easy, ain't it?
Well, if you think you're ready, we'll tackle
the navy next. Remember your guys down there in
that south sea? Let's get 'em after that green
battleship. Go ahead, give your battleship and
your sub the orders, just like you did those
others. Works just the same, only now you're on
water.
Bomb 'Em Into
the Stone Age By now you're wondering about your air
forces, aren't ya? Well, we gotcha covered. Move
your cursor up to the Button Bar there. Click on
the one that says "Airplanes." Now you're in what
they call the "Airplane Mode." Ya look real close
and you can see your planes highlighted: you got
one in your Metroplex (1,73), don't ya? You also
got two parked in one of your Cities at 38,60.
And hey, you even got the one on your carrier out
there in that south sea! One thing about your
"Airplane Mode," you use it to tell your planes
what to do, they do it, and that's all.
But since we're here, let's give those
fly-boys something to do. Click on the one at
38,60. See the two red circles? Those are the
limits of your air missions: that plane can't go
past that second little circle there.
Let's give this guy a recon mission and find
out what's out there. Move to 44,68. The Topline
says, "Designating Short Strike/Recon." It's
gonna be a "Recon mission 'cause there's no enemy
underneath the cursor, and "short" 'cause we're
inside the smaller circle. Now click again. See
your plane fly its mission?
Now what do you see? Looks like your
airplane found out a bad guy! That's one of the
features of this game: you can't always see the
enemy, even though he's out there coming at ya.
Well, now that we found this chump, let's give him
a little surprise.
Click at 37,60 then click you cursor RIGHT ON
TOP of his green battle ship (43,70_. You're
telling your plane to "Strike him." See him fly
down there and drop a load on that sucker!
Get a New
World View Okay, Couple more things to show ya. Click
your right mouse button in the map somewhere. You
see that box? Tha's what ya call you reference
Map." But hey, don't let the big name fool ya:
it's just a small map of the entire world you're
fightin in.
Now, move your cursor up to 9,10 in the
reference map and click you r right button. What
ya got has changed, huh? Now your point of view
has shifted north some so that all you can see is
ocean. But don't let that fool yam that's the
part of this world your units haven't discovered
yet. It looks like the ocean now, but you can bet
the farm that there's really a bunch of land and
other people's units under there.
Okay, let me show ya a little trick I learned
as a rookie. First, use that right button again
and get up that Reference Map. Now, do a held-
click with that right button over the top right
corner of the world. Look, now ya got your world
centered around your cursor.
Mommy, Where
Do Armies
Come From? Click Burbs on the Button Bar. Look at the
middle column there, the one with the BLD T- on
top of it. Ya see that two of 'em say ARM. That
mean that those burbs are making Armor units. The
ones with Air are making planes. Click on one if
the burbs. This brings up a menu that shows you
what you can build. The thing in red is what is
currently selected.
PART III: STARTING A GAME
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE MAIN MENU:
When you load Conquest you will be given the following
options:
Play Game Choosing this option allows you to start a
game. (See "Starting the Conquest," below.)
Film Menu This option brings you to a menu that allows
you to watch a replay of a previously played game,
load a previously saved film for viewing, or save
a just-completed game to a film. There is always a
"default film" available to watch. It is the film
of the last game played (or film loaded) and is
retained even after you quit Global Conquest. (One
of the Modulians' favorite film-viewing features
is the "Show=Who" option of the Topline [or<=>key]
that lets them "peep" at what their opponents did
and saw at various times during the game).
Configure This choice allows the players to create
custom games or to configure Conquest with their
favorite play options: everything from sound,
scoring, world types, and odor-elimination
availability are set from this option. (See
discussion in the "Configure Menu" section.)
Do the
Boogie-Woogie This option ... Whoops! Sorry, wrong game.
THE PLAY GAME MENU:
After choosing the PLAY GAME option, you are offered the
following options:
King of
The Hill This scenario is won by the player who holds
the Native Capital at the end of 30 turns. If,
however, no player has possession of the Native
Capital at the game's conclusion, the winner will
be decided by the point scores: each burb is worth
a certain amount of points. This scenario is
played on a small world to make a short but
frantic contest. It is really violent and
confused. And violent. The name "King of the Hill"
was chosen for this scenario because no game has
ever used this name.
Eye Sea Ewe This game has the same type of scoring as
"King of the Hill," but features a special type of
visibility where all players get to see what any
player sees. Be it land, sea enemy units, UFOs, or
Elvis, all players are shown what any other
players are seeing. This is real violent too. But,
sadly, less confused.
Live and
Let Die Victory in this version of Global Conquest is
awarded to the player who is most successful at
maiming and destroying the opposition. (See the
section on "Scoring Options.") Points are awarded
for each hit of damage to all opponents EXCEPT the
native forces: damage given to natives has no
effect on your score. However, TAKING damage from
the natives COSTS a point per hit. Note that, as
on Modulus, no player can ever get below a score
of zero, no matter how badly he is being pounded.
(Modulians do not believe in negative numbers.)
Guns or Butter Victory in this Conquest is claimed by the
player with the most income "points" after the end
of sixty turns. (See "Victory and Defeat.") Played
on a medium-sized world, Modulians who excel at
this scenario are automatically given a management
position with one of the fast-food establishments.
Pick Custom
Game Here you are presented with all of the custom
games that you have saved on your disk. (To make a
custom game, see the "Configure Menu" section).
Resume Saved
Game Choose this option to continue a previously-
saved game. Be warned that "Saved" games bring you
right back to where you were before the "Save
Game" command was given. (The "Save Game" command
DOES NOT "save" players from impending disaster.
Do-overs are not a big thing among the Modulians,
ya know?)
THE PLAYER OPTIONS BOARD:
Once you've decided what king of Conquest to play, you're
dumped to this screen.
First, you will be offered a bar of the Player Options Board
for you to use: on the left side of the board, a message stating
"This Machine" tells you which force you will initially be
offered to command. If you decide that you don't like that
starting position or color, click the left side of the bar until
it shows a computer. The click on the left side off one of the
other bars until the "This Machine" option is given.
1. Select Your Icon for the Current Game: to choose an
appropriately intimidating icon, simply click on the icon
button to cycle through those that are available. The
favorites among Modulians are the Double Decker Cheeseburger
Deluxe Icon and the Mushroom Cloud Icon.
Note: You can preset your default name, icon and rank on the
Player Options Menu, accessible through the Configure Menu.
2. Select Your Name for the Current Game: Clicking on this
button will allow you to give your fighting force a suitably
awe-inspiring name. Favorites among the Modulians include
"Ketchup Pos," "Death Spawn," and "Hip Grinders."
3. Select Your "Rank" for the Current Game: To set your "Rank,"
simply click on that button until the desired rank appears.
Note that to the right of the Rank symbol, a numeric summary
of the chosen Rank appears to further elucidate the
condition you will find yourself in. Note also that
promotions DO NOT take place during Conquest. As they say on
Modulus, "Once a Corporal, never a General."
Rankings So what's in a rank, anyway? Glad you asked.
The three possible rankings are set according to
the desired level of difficulty:
General This is the easiest level to play. The player
with the rank of General is entitled to the
privileges that accompany that rank. Accustomed to
the "good life" as they are, Generals start with 2
additional burbs, 40 extra bucks and their units
all cost $10 LESS.
Captain This is the middle level. The Captain starts
the Conquest with one extra burb, 20 additional
bucks, and units are 5 bucks off.
Corporal This is the most difficult level to play: the
rank of Corporal offers no privileges, only
greater hurdles to cross. The Corporal gets no
additional burbs or starting cash, and units are
full cost due to his/her lack of influence and
rank. If a player wins the Conquest from this
rank, he receives the coveted "Modulian Planetary
Hero" award, which comes complete with a coupon
good for a lifetime supply of fast food.
Setting Up
Your Opponents
(So to Speak) The remaining bars on the Player Options
Board are used to prepare the game for your
competition. You can set the number of people
playing, as well as their location: there can be
up to four players on one machine, or some
combination of local and remote players. You can
also use the remaining bars to set the computer
opponents' rank. Simply click on the rank button
to go through all of the available options. (The
rank of "Total Imbecile" is NOT available for your
computer opponents - although making them
Corporals and you a General might approximate that
situation.)
After all the players have been selected,
simply click on the "Execute" button to accept
your settings.
Note: If any of the players were designated as
"Remote," you will be presented with various
options for connecting with them (see the "Multi-
Computer Games" section).
The Presentation
of the Icons Okay. You've picked your game and set up your
opponents. Now the computer begins the
"Presentation of the Icons" (also known as showing
the Game Type). The various icons represent the
options and rules for the game you've chosen. (See
"The Configure Menu" section for a full discussion
of their meanings.) At this point, the secret
Modulian formula for building a new world begins
cranking out the Game board on which you will
play. In this process, totally random elements are
used so that each game of Global Conquest is
different from any other. As the world is "made,"
the display windows on the right-hand side of the
screen will keep you abreast of the world-building
progress.
Once the world-building process is through,
your screen will clear itself of the various Game
Type stuff and the world-building pictures, to be
replaced by the real game map.
Picking Burbs Every player starts the game with at least
one "Starting Burb" in his or her corner of the
game board. You may also get to pick additional
burbs if: 1) the scenario calls for it; 2) or is
one of the privileges of your rank; or 3) you
bribed the Modulians to get your own private
version of the game. In such cases, you will be
offered an empty Game Board. Simply position your
cursor somewhere in the big map and press the left
button to "make a wish." (Something along the
lines of "Let there be a burb near" while holding
your fingers crossed seems to work.) Your cursor
will move to nearest yet-to-be-picked burb, an
infantry unit will be appear on the top line to
let you in on this. This process, called "picking
your burbs," is first-come-first-served.
Once all players have finished picking their
cities, the setup for the game is complete and the
Conquest begins in earnest.
The Icon
Corner In the top righthand display, or the "Icon
Corner," the group which you command is surrounded
by a white rectangle and is dominated by your
personal icon. (The other three colors are, of
course, commanded by humans and/or the computer.)
Close to your icon will be a number which
represents your present score. During the game you
will also see icons showing the number of burbs,
oil sites and minerals each player possesses. In
the case of your own stuff, these counts are
accurate, but the counts for your opponents
probably aren't: they represent those burbs, oil
sites and minerals that your units have
discovered.
PART IV: PLAYING THE GAME
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE TURN SYSTEM:
Conquest is played in turns. Each turn has an "Orders Phase"
and an "Execution Phase." (Despite playtester demand, there is no
"Move Your Opponent's Pieces While He Is Not Looking Phase.")
The Orders
Phase During the Orders Phase you can set
destinations for your pieces by simply clicking on
a unit, moving the cursor to the desired
destination, and clicking again. (You'll find that
this is the most common order you will give. You
will also find that screaming orders at the
computer console has no effect on the units, and
may cause rapid deployment of the local
authorities to your vicinity.)
When you decide that you're through and
content with your orders, you the give the "I'm
ready to fight" command, A.K.A. the "Execute"
command, by moving your cursor to that button and
clicking the mouse (or by pressing the <F1> key).
This ends the "Orders Phase." The first player to
"Execute" his orders gets a five-buck quickness
bonus deposited into his treasury.
Note: Orders given to planes while in the
"Airplane Mode" are carried out immediately in the
Orders Phase. Planes do not wait for the "Execute"
command.
The Execution
Phase During the Execution Phase, you watch your
units as they move forward their destinations in
single steps, discovering land and enemy units
along the way and shooting at the opposition when
within firing range - all without any need for
further instructions or encouragement from you.
Each turn has eight rounds (each round gives each
unit a chance to move and/or fire).
Orders that take longer than one turn to
execute will remain in effect until 1) the unit is
destroyed, 2) the unit completes the order, 3) the
unit is given new orders, or 4) the players smash
their computers to small fragments of useless
junk.
When the Execution Phase begins, the vertical
green time bar on the left side of the main
display will turn red and begin decreasing in six
as the Execution Phase elapses. Players can use
this bar to determine the remaining time left
before the next Orders Phase (so they can sneak
off to the fridge and back without slowing up the
game). Players can also click on this bar at any
time to effect a pause in the game.
Important Note: Clicking on the timer bar WILL NOT
save one of a player's pieces from impending
disaster. It will only prolong the agony.
The only other feature of the cycle of turns
in the game are the Random Events. Every five
turns, a set of three Random Event "Cards" are
presented for your edification, the last of which
is the current event. (See the section on Random
Events for a more detailed description.)
THE FIGHTING UNITS:
Each team starts tie game with the pieces available for that
type of Conquest. Below is a list of all units possible for any
game of Global Conquest. (Sorry, but no nuclear weapons, stealth
bombers, or rayguns are available.) Units fight in a number of
different "modes." The most basic of these is the standard attack
mode, when you order the unit to plough into an enemy piece. The
units are ordered to take the other modes via their unit menus
(see the section on Menus).
Comcen This unit is like the "king" in chess: if a
player loses his Comcen, he loses the game. (See
the section on Victory and Defeat.) However, the
Comcen strikes twice as effectively as any other
unit in battle. When the Comcen is in battle, your
display will show "interference" to remind the you
that is, and your career in Conquest, is at risk.
The Comcen can fight, carry planes, and take over
burbs, oil, or minerals. (Comcen can also convert
to a "party barge," but this sort of activity is
frowned upon.)
Planes Planes can perform various air missions (as
well as provide joy rides for the officers). To
see your planes you must click the "Airplanes"
button (or press F4) to enter "Airplane Mode." Any
ready plane can be selected and given a mission by
clicking the left mouse button while the cursor is
near it. Note that all missions have a chance of
failure, and that the probability of such a
catastrophe occurring increases as the "range" of
the mission increases, or the proximity of the
target to enemy planes decreases. Missions
executed in the outer, "medium range" circle are
half as effective and/or twice as dangerous as the
inner, "short range" circle.
The standard air mission is the attack/recon
mission, generated by a normal click on the plane.
The click selects the airplane and puts the two
range circle on the screen. If you then select an
enemy unit within the range circles, the plane
will attack it. If you select an empty space, the
plane will do a recon mission. Recon missions
uncover any terrain within a radius of 8 spaces
from the chosen spot and any units within 12
spaces.
The held-click will provide the "Air Menu":
Transfer, Paradrop, Bomb, Dogfight, Kamikaze, and
Home missions (see below).
Spies Spies are former politicians who, not being
trusted with live ammunition, have been recruited
for the dirty work needed to be done in Conquest.
These units cannot carry weapons; the spy is used
to gain information about the location of the
enemy's units. The best feature about spies is
that only an enemy spy can "see" another spy: to
all other units the spy is invisible.
Typical to the politician's profession, the
spy can also "steal." Unlike today's politicians,
however, spies mostly steal information. If a spy
ends its turn in an enemy burb, all enemy units
within 25 spaces will be visible and the status of
units being made in the enemy Comcen, info on all
enemy units and burbs is available. In both cases
this information is temporary and will vanish
after the orders phase ends. Finally, spies ending
their turn in an enemy burb sabotage that burb's
production (for specifics see the "Economics"
section).
Note: When playing a scenario where Comcens,
planes or spies are unavailable, the "starting
units" of Comcen and spy are replaced by an
infantry and a battleship (or another infantry in
a transport if battleships are out).
Infantry This unit fights, takes over burbs, takes
possession of fuel and minerals AND can be used to
"exploit" burbs and resources. When not moving,
these units "digin", taking a superior defensive
position. When these units are moved to sea, they
become transports and move like ships. Transports
can be killed easily by any other ship, but are
the only ships that can mount amphibious attacks
against land units, burbs, oil, and minerals.
(Infantry transports CANNOT pull skiers behind
them.)
Armor This unit consists of a tank division. It can
fight and take over burbs, fuel or minerals. It is
twice as fast as an infantry unit and better on
offense. However, this unit is worse at invading
from water and is more costly than an infantry
unit. Like infantry it also turns into a transport
while crossing water and is just as defenseless
(even though it weighs more and CAN pull a skier.)
Submarine This unit lurks under water. It cannot take
over burbs, fuel, or minerals. Its strong point is
its "stealthy" profile, allowing it to surprise
enemy vessels, where it does major damage at close
range. However, once discovered, the sub is more
vulnerable to destruction than are other warships.
Like the other ships, subs will stop moving if
their next movement would take them ashore. (Subs
can pull two skiers simultaneously but this is not
recommended when they are submerged).
Battleship This unit patrols the oceans of the game
board. It cannot take over burbs, fuel, or
minerals. It can attack transports and other enemy
naval forces. It has a moderate fire range and can
bombard shore units. It is good against carriers
in head-to-head combat and is better than carriers
against subs. (It can also pull THREE skiers at
the same time).
Carrier This naval unit has a greater combat range
than battleships (although it does a little less
damage) and it can carry planes. It cannot take
over burbs, fuel, or minerals (but it can pull up
to FIVE skiers at one time).
UNIT MOVEMENT ORDERS:
You select a unit to give destination orders by clicking on
it. As you move the cursor from its current location, you will
see a series of blinking dots trailing from the chosen unit to
the cursor location. This is the units's "path." The color of the
dots depends upon whether the unit will cross land or cross
water. This color change can help you see potential movement
problems, like ships trying to move ashore, to move off the
screen toward your wallet).
do a normal click of the button and you have set a final
destination for the unit. The unit will move there over the exact
path that the dots have shown. However, you can also set
intermediate destinations between your unit and its final
destination. This is useful in moving around environmental
obstacles or an opposing group's forces. To set an intermediate
destination, select a unit as (which is demonstrated by that
portion of the path becoming non-blinking). Now you set another
destination from that point (with the blinking dots once again
showing the section of the path you are working on). Up to three
different intermediate points can be set before the final
destination. (If you attempt to set more than three intermediate
points, your computer will phone 911 and the police will raid
your home. This type of behavior will not be tolerated!)
If you set at least one intermediate destination, you can
create a special movement order called patrol. To do this, make
the final destination of the unit the same as its current
location. This will cause the unit to repeatedly move through all
of its destinations. You can stop the patrol by giving the unit
different orders.
You can always check your unit's path by placing the cursor
over it and waiting until the dots to its destination show in the
Map Window. Do this to ensure that your orders were correctly
understood. (Despite their low mentality, units CANNOT be blamed
for numbskull destinations.) If a new destination is desired
simply repeat the process. The old orders will be discarded in
favor of the new orders. If you start giving orders to a unit but
decide to leave the old orders alone, press the "Esc" key.
The process to a destination takes time and, depending upon
the length of the move and the terrain crossed, may take more
than one turn. Movement through water is the fastest for all
units, and movement through swamp is the slowest. (See the
Technical Notes section at the end of these rules for specifics.)
Infantry units can make passage through difficult terrain
easier for other units. If a stationary infantry unit occupies
the obnoxious terrain another unit is attempting to cross, the
moving unit moves at the standard movement rate instead of at the
lower rate for the terrain. It thereby becomes possible to create
"roads" of infantry through swamps, forests, or mountains. (The
unit stuck is normally not very pleased with this unglamorous
assignment, but who said war is fair?)
A special type of terrain obstacle involves the transition
from transport to land unit for armor and infantry. When an
infantry or armor unit moves from land to sea, it will pause for
four rounds to load into its transports and to have a marshmallow
roast there on the beach. When going from transport to land
(unloading), it will take eight rounds. If the beach square has a
friendly dug-in infantry unit squatting in it, this
loading/unloading takes only one round, as the campfire has
already been lit. If the first sea square is a dock, there won't
be any delay at all because there is no beach upon which to start
a fire to roast the marshmallows.
Managing Your
Movement The Destinations button on the Button Bar is
a handy way to check up on all the destinations
you have given. You can even "step through" your
whole set of units examining and revising their
plans by pressing then <Enter> key.
SEEING STUFF:
Terrain
Discovery While moving around, your units will be
uncovering the world's terrain and bumping into
cities, enemy units, and resources. Some units
have better eyesight than others and "discover"
stuff at greater distances.
Units discover terrain at the following
distances: an infantry or armor unit will reveal
all terrain within three spaces, transports two
spaces, subs one, battleships four, carriers five,
spies one, and Comcens eight. (Note that if you're
playing a game with "Open Visibility" - the "Eye
Open" option - all terrain is discovered and
visible at the beginning of the game.)
Unit Discovery Units discover enemy units at the following
ranges: infantry and armor will spot all units
within five spaces, transports three spaces, subs
four, battleships five, carriers six, spies ten,
and Comcens six. Only enemy units within the range
of your units (or spotted by your airplanes or
spies) show up on your display during the "No
Visibility" - "Eye Closed" - scenarios, and any
attacking unit is immediately spotted by the force
whose unit it is attacking. (In an "Open
Visibility" scenario, even though you as a player
see all the enemy units, your units don't: they
still see each other at the standard ranges.)
BATTLE:
Units fight automatically when they see enemy units and are
in firing range of the targets. They require no special orders
from you: your only responsibility is to tell them where to go:
if they plough into (or near to ) an enemy piece, they'll enough,
you may hear your name followed by a string of curse words. We
advise Conquestors to simply ignore this type of language from
the troops; as the commanding officer, it is beneath your
dignity.)
Units will attempt to kill other units only when they have
gotten within "firing range" of the target. The firing range for
land units and transports is two, although to fire upon a ship
the unit must be adjacent to it. (Because unit icons are 1.5
spaces by 1.5 spaces, adjacent icons overlap slightly.)
Submarines can fire up to three spaces away at any target and
carriers can fire up to four spaces.
The Comcen's firing range varies with the unit being fired
upon: against land-based units it is two, against battleships it
is three, and against carriers the distance is four.
Battle
Damage As units battle, they take damage. The
purpose of battle is to cause the opposing units
to take so much damage that they cease to exist,
except as fond memories in the mind of your
opponent. This is called "killing them." Sadly,
the enemy units will be attempting to do the same
to your units. Whoever dies first may be said to
have "lost" the battle. At the beginning of the
game, all units start at a strength of 100%. As
they fight, they will lose some of this strength.
To find out how a battle is going, position
your cursor over one of the battling units and
check out the Cursor Window. The combatants will
be shown, each with its current strength below the
unit. As the battle progresses, these strengths
will go down. Once a unit has 0% strength left,
the unit passes from Conquest to the Conquest
Afterlife.
The damage an attack causes depends on the
attacker and defender types, and may be modified
by the defender's terrain. Land units can inflict
greater damage by "glancing" their opponents -
that is, by attacking a unit from two different
directions. ("Taunting" will have no effect
whatsoever on the attacked unit.)
Ship
Bombardment Battleships and carriers can "bombard" land
units once they are within range. However, this
type of combat cannot reduce the land unit below
30% strength.
Spies Spies have a unique set of characteristics.
They can't be spotted except by other spies, and
they can't be destroyed unless they are spotted.
Therefore, it takes a destroying unit (such as a
Comcen or infantry) working with an allied spy to
track down and destroy an enemy spy. (That, or the
player can obtain a court order, which is
extraordinarily difficult.) Also, spies specialize
in personnel, not discovery: they "see" units at a
range of 10, but only "discover" the area of the
world that they physically pass over.
Submarines Subs have special scanning rules. They can't
be spotted by planes, spies or any other unit
until they attack. However, once a sub is spotted
it stays "seen" at the normal range of the
"seeing" unit (e.g., 6 for carriers and Comcens, 5
for battleships) but for a shorter period of time
(only 2 rounds, which is considerably shorter than
the 8 rounds for all other units). Subs can also
see smoke rising from beach parties, but are on
strict orders NOT to investigate unless a savage
case of peace has broken out.
THE UNIT MENU:
Units can be ordered to take different "postures" to help
your attacks or defense. To access the "Unit Menu", put the
cursor directly over the desired unit and hold down the left
mouse button.
A menu will pop up offering the following choices, depending
upon the circumstances and the unit chosen. (There are also
"quick select" or "hot keys" that, if pressed while the cursor is
over a unit, will immediately execute the menu item.)
Repeat This command is here to save you time, kind
of like the "redial" feature on your phone. When
selected, the chosen unit will receive the same
set of marching or sailing orders as the last
unit. This includes any intermediate destinations
as well. Example: You have just ordered an armor
unit to attack a burb. You place the cursor on an
infantry unit and select "REPEAT." You are
ordering that unit to the same exact destination
(which, in this case means to attack the same
burb.) The Modulians call this command "Monkey
see, monkey do." But actually, since the repeat
function does not copy special orders such as
Blitz or Wait, it would be more accurate to call
it "Monkey move, monkey follow." Obsessive
accuracy is not a Modulian characteristic trait.
(Press the <R> key with the cursor over a unit to
quick-select this item.)
Pursue This command orders a unit to follow another
unit. After choosing this command, click on the
unit you want "pursued". Your unit will then try
to follow the "clicked-on" unit. This can be used
on any unit, regardless of affiliation, but works
best when used on a unit of the opposite sex.
(<P> is the quick-select key for this item.)
Sneak This posture causes your unit to conceal
itself. This can be done by moving or stationary
units. The opposing forces must be three times
closer than normal to spot you sneaky unit.
However, you unit can't see or fire at other units
at all and can move only at half-speed. Units in
this mode are half-concealed on the game board.
(Press <S> to quick-select this item.)
Blitz This posture causes your unit to move faster
than in normal mode. (For infantry the speed
increase is about 100% while for most others it is
about 50%.) However, this also causes the unit to
incur damage at a 2% rate per round. Your units
in this mode have a lightning-bolt symbol at the
top. Units will cease blitz mode when their
strength reaches 20% or they reach their
destination. (Units which must use the latrine
facilities will automatically choose this mode.)
(<B> quick-selects this item.)
Wait This command is used to delay a unit's
execution of its movement orders. After picking
this option you can pick from waits of: 0 rounds
(used to discard a previous wait), 2 rounds, 4
rounds, 6 rounds or until the unit completes its
repairs. (Pressing <W> sets a unit to "wait till
repaired" if it is on a suitable repair sire or
sets the wait for 4 rounds if it is out in the
boonies.)
Home If this command is executed while a unit is
in a friendly burb, that burb will become its new
home base from which it will get its support (see
Environment section for more info on support).
(Press <H> to quick-select this item.)
Exploit This command is available only to infantry
units, and only in scenarios where the "exploit
effect" is selected. (Of the four standard
scenarios. only "Guns or Butter" offers the
exploit effect.) Exploitation offers various
opportunities to improve economic output. If
implemented by an infantry positioned over a
village or town, it may upgrade that site to the
next higher level. The odds of success are 30%
for a village being made into a town, 15% for a
town to develop into a city. Regardless of the
outcome, the infantry unit disbands (in order to
open its own discotheque in the site).
You can also exploit any other type of land
terrain to make a resource. Mountains will
produce a mineral site and swamps will produce
fuel sites, while forests and plains may produce
either one. This type of exploitation is always
successful but may be short-lived (especially in
forests and plains). Attempting to exploit an
existing oil or mineral doesn't work.
AIRPLANES:
Airplanes are another unit type with special rules. If
"available" but not used for a mission, they automatically scan
for units and terrain within 12 spaces. However, unlike other
units they don't automatically attack: they must be given
missions.
Combat Air
Missions The following air missions are targeted
against ground units. To fly one of these
missions, click on the plane (in Airplane mode, of
course), then click on an enemy unit within the
red circles.
Short Range Air Strikes:
Against enemy armor units and non-dug-in infantry
units, this removes half of the unit's remaining
strength. For Comcens on land and infantry that
is dug in, the air strikes remove one-third of
their remaining strength, (Which means that after
the initial "strikes," the planes will kill land
units VERY slowly.) Against battleships, carriers,
and Comcens at sea, planes reduce the defender by
a fixed 25% of original strength. Against subs,
the strength-reduction rate is 34% of the original
strength, and against transports, the damage is a
whopping 50%.
Medium Range Air Strikes
These cause damage at HALF of the short-range
rate.
Success or
Failure of a
Combat Air
Mission Planes do not always complete their missions:
success depends on the proximity of enemy planes
to you target and whiter the nearest enemy plane
is available, or is resting (see below). There's
a base 10% chance of any air mission failing;
range and opposition may increase this to as much
as 75%.
Air Missions With Enemy Air Units Adjacent the Target
If your target is on top of or next to an
enemy plane, a dogfight ensues. If the
opposition's plane is unavailable, your chances
are: 25% chance of completing the mission; 40%
chance of mission failure; 10% chance of your
plane being shot down; and 25% chance that your
foes plane is shot down.
If the Opposition's plane is available, your
chances are: 50% chance of mission failure; 25%
chance of your plane being shot down; and 25% your
opponents plane is shot down.
Air Missions with Enemy Units in the Vicinity
If your target is between two and 10 spaces from
an enemy plane, the probability of your air
mission failing ranges anywhere from 10% to 50%;
one third of those failures will end up resulting
in a lost plane.
Sad Note: Even if there are no enemy planes within
10 spaces, all air missions still have a 10%
chance of failure.
Airplane
R and R After flying a mission, a plane is
unavailable for one turn (for short range missions
and medium range transfers) or two turns (for the
medium missions and long transfers). Kamikaze
missions kill your plane.
While resting, a plane cannot scan for enemy
units (thus "seen" units may disappear), and
cannot give "joy rides" to the grunts.
Airplanes in
Defense If your opponents attempt an air strike
against your forces and the strike is within 10
spaces of your planes, your planes will
automatically defend against the attack. If your
plane survives this defense, it will need even
more rest than usual. Planes need an additional
1/2 turn of rest per attack they defend against.
THE AIR MENU:
Transfer When chosen, a third "long range" circle is
shown the greater distance which a plane can be
moved to another burb or carrier. When doing this
type of mission, you may also click on an adjacent
infantry to transport along with your plane, and
both units will be moved to the chosen transfer
burb. (This is a popular maneuver since many
soldiers have never ridden in an airplane before.)
You can use the "Hot Key" rather than the menu of
you want; simply press the "T" to perform a
transfer.
Paradrop To perform this type of mission, you first
click on an infantry unit that is VERY NEAR to
your plane. (If the unit is not close enough for
a paradrop mission, you will get a message
informing you of this.) Next, select the spot
where you want the paradrop to take place. If
that spot is not over another burb or over water,
it will be another burb or over water, it will be
carried out. Planes based on your Comcen or
carriers cannot perform paradrops. Also, note
that this mission causes the paradropped unit to
lose 1/5th of its strength (20% of them landed
head first). The "Hot Key" for this mission is
the "P".
Bomb This mission brings about results which are
remarkably similar to Congressional legislation:
money (five bucks) is taken away from the burb or
resource targeted and nothing returned. Not that
this has no effect on the Native forces because
they are too poor to tax. The "B" is the "Hot
Key" for this type of mission.
Dogfight These are strike missions designed to damage
the air forces of your enemies. After selecting
this, put the cursor in the neighborhood of the
target plane, and a Dogfight will take place. "D"
is the "Hot Key" for this mission.
Short Range Dogfight Missions
If your opponent's plane is available, there
is a 30% chance that your plane will be downed,
but a 37% chance that the opposition's plane will
be destroyed. If your foes plane is unavailable,
your chances of destroying the targeted plane jump
to 40%, and the possibility that your plane will
be eliminated drops to 17%.
Medium Range Dogfight missions
When your opponent's plane is available, the
chances for wither one of the planes to be
destroyed is 25% When the opposition's plane is
unavailable, your chances for losing your plane
drop to 10%, while the probability that your
adversary will lose his plane remains 25%.
Editor's Note
On Modulus, the previous discussion on plane
mission success probabilities is further
illustrated with multi-colored bouncing balls and
dancing bears. We regret not being able to
duplicate the Modulians' teaching methods here
but, due to time and budgetary constraints, we
offer only the bare facts, trusting that they are
sufficient for the average Earthling.
Kamikaze These are strike missions in which the plane
does twice its normal damage. The drawback,
however, is that the plane does not return home,
but passed on to the Conquest Afterlife. The "Hot
Key" for this one is "K."
Home This option, though not an "air mission" is
used to assign the economic support for the plane
chosen. Choosing this option causes the burb
where the plane is based to become its
"supporting" burb. The "Hot Key" for this one is
"H".
PART V: ADVANCED STUFF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ECONOMICS:
Developed
Populated Areas
(The Burbs) Developed populated areas (burbs) must be
conquered and held to produce new units to command
in battle. There are five different types of
burbs: village, town, city, metroplex, and the
Native Capital. After a burb type is captured and
the turn is over, the Production Menu for that
site will appear.
If the burb is a port, metroplex or capital,
any type of unit can be made there. If it is a
village, only infantry can be made. If the site
is land-locked, no ships can be made. Depending
on the scenario chosen, various other constraints
may be in effect for town and city sites. ( See
the Configure Menu section for the details of
resource constraints.)
The site must be held for the duration of the
production cycle to get the planned unit. If
during the production cycle an opposing force
takes over the burb, that force can choose the
partially completed unit from the production
options and, when finished, it will be put into
circulation for the conquering force. If at any
time before a unit is finished you decide to
change what is being made at that site, all the
money spent on that unit is lost and the new unit
is started "from scratch."
Income Village-sized burbs get four bucks per turn,
towns get six, cities get eight, and capitals and
metroplexes get ten. Resource sites (oil or
mineral) provide an additional two bucks each.
This money is just as necessary in Conquest as in
life: money keeps your forces maintained, produces
new units, and impresses the in-laws.
Support
All built units are economically "supported"
by a burb. Initially, the site which builds a
unit supports it, shelling out one, two, or three
bucks per unit per turn (depending on the scenario
being played). The supporting site makes the cash
that maintains the unit, so if a burb is taken
over by an enemy, all units that site built will
suffer maintenance damage until they re-base in
another burb (see "Non-Support," below).
Every burb has a budget to follow. Unlike
reality, however, the burbs in Conquest CANNOT
deviate from the budget or divert cash to the
player's pocket. All available cash is first
spent to maintain a burb's "supported" units. If
a burb is supporting more units that it can pay
for, some of the units based in that burb will
suffer maintenance damage (known as "NO SUP").
Production If there is any cash left after maintenance
support payments are made, the excess is spent
producing the unit you have ordered the burb to
build. If you haven't ordered the burb to produce
a unit, a quarter of its remaining income will go
to maintain the factories of that burb, and
anything left from that will be safely tucked away
in the burbs piggy bank for use on a rainy day.
Thus, if you don't build any units in a burb for a
while, and it isn't supporting many units, your
burb will probably build up a nice nest-egg.
Later on, you can blow all of the burb's savings
to build units real fast, or you can spend it all
on a wild weekend with the troops. However, this
last alternative is discouraged as it helps the
spread of undisciplined behavior.
Resources Fuel and mineral deposits are found in random
places on the world, the fuel in swamps and the
mineral in mountains. They are initially hidden,
and are revealed only after land units have moved
adjacent to them (airplanes, ships and spies
cannot find resources). Resources are captured in
the same way as burbs. In all scenarios, each
captured resource contributed two bucks to the
income of your nearest burb. In some scenarios,
however, resources are necessary to build certain
type of units: this depends on the role of
resources specified in the scenario.
Units can repair if they are stationary on
resource sites. (Because of the fire hazard, units
CANNOT throw wild parties on resource sites.)
Non-Support An unsupported unit (one whose burb base has
been captured, or is supporting more units than it
can afford) suffers maintenance damage at a rate
of around 20-30% per turn. Note that units can't
be destroyed by this maintenance damage, but can
drop to as low as 10% strength.
Unsupported units will display the legend "NO
SUP" in the cursor window when under the curser.
Despite this, they can still move and act
idiotically.
Bombing Burbs
and Resources If a plane bombs a burb or a resource
attached to a burb, five bucks are taken directly
out of the burb. Repeated bombing may put the
balance of the burb into a deficit situation,
where it cannot support all the units assigned to
it (much less continue work on the unit under
production)!
Spies and
Production
Sabotage It is perhaps in this area where Conquest
most closely resembles life as we know it: the spy
(former politician) will sabotage the income of a
burb if it ends its turn in an enemy-held burb.
It will add eight bucks per turn to the cost of
the unit currently under production. For example,
if, after supporting existing units, a burb is
earning ten bucks/turn toward production of new
units, the spy will in effect "cancel" eight of
those bucks, and the burb will end up only two
bucks closer to producing the unit. Multiple
spies bring about results which closely simulate
long court proceedings: they are devastatingly
cumulative. A burb with enough spies in it may
never be able to produce new units.
Managing
Your Bucks Getting Info on your bucks
Two of the buttons in the Button Bar are
dedicated to helping you keep up with your bucks,
burbs and production: TERRAIN and BURBS.
The Terrain Button
Clicking on the TERRAIN button shows the
world without those nasty little units mucking to
your view. Also, in the Map Window the center of
each burb shows the type of unit under
development. If you click on a burb (yours or one
which your spy has infiltrated), the burb's
Production Menu is shown. Here you can see the
site's name, present economic balance, level of
income, supporting costs, build costs, and any
cash surplus. While in this display, you can also
alter the burb's production orders (unless you're
spying on an enemy's burb).
The Burbs Button
The BURBS button offers a pretty darn
complete overview of all the economic information
available in Conquest. By clicking on the BURBS
button on the Button Bar, you enter "Burb Mode,"
which brings up the Burb Menu. This menu gives
you a quick reference to the economic situation of
all your burbs simultaneously: burb type,
supporting resources, build commands, time left
until completion of units, income, support, and
present balances.
There are three functions accessible through
this menu: "Build," "Transfer," and "Support,"
Clicking these buttons sets what you can do with
the burbs listed.
When "Build" is set, if you click on a line,
you get access to that burb's Build Menu. After
you finish with that menu you are returned to the
Burb Menu. A heldclick brings up the "Unit
Support Display" (from which you also return to
the Burb Menu - see above). A right button click
(or <Space>), exits the Burb Menu and positions
the cursor over that burb.
When changing unit production orders for your
burbs, there can often be a loss of bucks when a
partially-completed unit is scrapped and
production is started on a newly-ordered unit.
With the Burb Menu, however, just a quick glance
at the "Build" column will tell you if changing
production orders will waste your bucks: burbs
ready to start production on a new unit will have
RED letters and numbers; burbs which are already
into the production cycle will display BLACK
letters and numbers. Any burbs with units going
unsupported ("NO SUP") will have their SUPport
column printed in red.
Getting Your
Hands On
Your Bucks The Burb Menu also gives you access to your
treasury. At he top right of the menu, you will
see the total amount of cash in your Treasury.
You can use this Treasury balance to manipulate
the balance of your burbs.
Getting Bucks From the Burbs and Into Your Treasury
With the "Transfer" button set, you can click
on one of the listed burbs to transfer ten of your
bucks from that burb to your Treasury. (In the
"Guns or Butter" scenario and other income-based
scenarios, the money in your Treasury is a BIG
part of your final score.) After clicking on a
burb name, the cursor will turn into a Dollar
icon. To add the cash to your Treasury, simply
place the dollar into the Treasury Total, and ten
bucks will be transferred.
A surplus balance in your burbs is created by
spending less on support and production than your
income - a bizarre notion. This "balance" (as it
is listed in the production menu) may be handy if
you want to build a unit in a burb on the spur of
the moment. However, if that burb is conquered or
the dreaded space pirates random event happens,
your little nest-egg will vanish. Once cash has
made it into your Treasury, tough, it is safe from
all hazards (except, of course, you early demise).
Getting Bucks From Your Treasury and into a Burb
You can also move cash out of your Treasury.
However, when you move money from the Treasury to
one of your burbs, you will incur a stiff 50%
"bankers' bribe"
Getting Proper Support From Your Bucks
The Burb Menu also allows you quick access to
unit support assignments. When one of you burbs
can no longer support a unit, or if you just want
to change where the unit gets its support from,
click on the Support Button. Then click on any of
your burbs. This brings up that burb's "Unit
Support Display." In the map window, you'll see
the units attached to the burb, as well as any
resources attached to that burb, and any
unsupported units. You may reassign unsupported
units by clicking on them and then on the burb you
want them to call home.
While in the Support Display, you can check
the current income and support costs for other
burbs by holding the cursor over them (which makes
finding a suitable home easier). You can bring up
the Unit Support Display for other burbs by
clicking on the new burb. Finally, a held-click
will bring up a burb's Build Menu so you can
change what the burb is producing. After you exit
the Build Menu, you will see the support
assignments for that burb.
To exit the Support Display, press <Esc> or
click on an empty space on the map.
TREATIES:
Just as on Modulus, treaties can be established in Conquest.
However, Earth players of Conquest will be pleased to discover
that they DO NOT have to go through the traditional "Hind-
Quarters Kissing" ceremonies required of all peace-seeking
Modulians.
There are three levels of treaty relationships:
Cease Fire This is the first and most casual level where
neither side can shoot at the other side until the
agreement has been broken.
Alliance Allies can see all units and discoveries of
their ally, and cannot do battle with them. They
also receive a 25% boost in income from all their
burbs and resources. (All your citizens are so
pleased that your country finally has a friend
that they work extra hard.)
Teammates The final and most intimate of relationships
allowed in Conquest, allies at this level are
allowed to give orders to any unit in the
alliance. On Modulus, this level traditionally is
followed by a splitting-up of responsibilities
between teammates: one ally would take the ground
forces, and the other would take the naval forces,
for instance. (There is no income bonus for this
level since the citizens have now become jaded and
question whether the "marriage will work.")
Making and
Breaking
Treaties Global Conquest players can seek to create or
break relationships by clicking on the TREATIES
button above the Icon Corner (or by pressing
<F9>). After clicking on the button, place the
mouse cursor over the color of the force with
which you wish to make or break a treaty. Then
click either 1) the left mouse button to BREAK a
previous treaty, or 2) the right button to OFFER a
new level of allegiance. Either button changes
the level of cooperation between the players to
the next level, which becomes effective AFTER the
present "Orders Phase" is completed.
If you offer a closer level of allegiance and
the other player does not respond during the same
turn, no change in treaty level is made.
If you seek to break a treaty, you may do so
without your partner's permission, but only at the
rate of one level per turn. However, if your
partner AGREES to the break during the turn, you
may sever ALL vestiges of allegiance in one turn.
VICTORY AND DEFEAT:
Conquest Over
One Comcen When a Comcen is destroyed, it's called a
"KO." (To Modulians this is short for "Kicked
Over" but through a curious quirk of fate it also
fits our boxing term "Knocked Out.") If there is
still more than one Comcen left, a Conquest Death
is recognized and eligible players are required to
attend the "Probate of the Last Will and
Testament." In the Probate, all of the deceased
player's money, burbs, units, and score points are
"probated" to the surviving players. Since this
redistribution of assets is based on the
geographical proximity of the surviving Comcens,
Modulians have dubbed this rule "The Closest Gets
the Mostest." (In scenarios where there isn't a
Comcen, eliminating all of a player's units and
taking all of his burbs has the same effect as
knocking out the Comcen.)
The player whose units delivered the "Coups
de Grace" (called the Executor of the Will) gets
all of the Deceased's spies, as well as all of the
Deceased's units within 40 spaces of his Comcen.
The rest of the Deceased's units not grabbed by
the Executor go to the nearest Comcen within 40
spaces.
Any of the Deceased's units that are further
than 40 spaces from any Comcen either go to the
native forces or disband (they flip a coin amongst
themselves to decide which). All units that "go
native" become infantry since the natives are not
allowed to operate heavy machinery without a
license.
The Executor of the Will also gets half of
the Deceased's treasury and score (depending on
the scenario) PLUS any of the Deceased's burbs
within 20 spaces of his Comcen. Finally, all
airplanes in burbs or on carriers that the
Executor of the Will received will survive, but
all of the others will fly away in a final act of
defiance.
In the top righthand icon display, the
conquered group's background color will change to
that of the conquering force. By keeping up with
this display, a player can stay updated on the
opposition's conquests and defeats.
Note: On Modulus this entire process takes weeks
and involves hundreds of extended family members.
However, through the magic of computer science, we
have reduced this process down to less than a
pixel and 1/16 of a second.
Conquest Over
All Comcens The last Comcen alive claims "Won By KO"
victory and is recognized as the victor. Nothing
else is necessary. After all, if you've done
that, you've done quite enough damage for one day,
don't you think?
Conquests of
ALL Capitals/
Metroplexes If one player owns the
four Metroplexes at the beginning of a turn, that
player wins a "Capital Win" victory. You DO NOT
have to destroy all remaining Comcens, but can
claim Conquest by what is called "Right of Rule
and Right of Way."
Scoring
Options Although every Conquest game uses one of
these formulas for calculating the score shown in
the Icon Corner, only in games where there is a
time limit does the score determine the winner.
In an unlimited time game only "KOs" or "Capital"
wins count.
Income
The scoring of this type of Conquest is
calculated as (get ready for this) the total of
one-half the money in your Treasury, plus the sum
of the balance of all your burbs, plus the sum of
income per turn of all your burbs and resources,
plus the "scrap value" of all your units (about
one tenth their cost).
Capital
You get points in this one for each burb you
own. Villages are worth 20, towns 30, cities 40,
metroplexes 50, and the native capital 2500. It's
possible to win this game without capturing the
native capital, but not if someone else does!
Head-Count
The points for this type of Conquest are
based on the amount of damage you inflict on your
adversaries (NOT on the number of friends you can
make during one of these games). Points are
awarded for each hit of damage to all opponents
EXCEPT the native forces; damage inflicted on
natives has no effect on your score. The points
you receive depend upon the value of the unit you
are damaging. Hitting an opponent's Comcen gets
you 16 points per hit, while damaging an infantry
will only give you two points per hit.
However, "Head-Count" scenarios allow you to
lose points as well: if a Native unit damages one
of your units, you will LOSE points for each hit.
(You don't lose points when any opponent OTHER
THAN the natives "hits" your units.)
Finally, notice that, as on Modulus, no
player can ever get below a score of zero.
(Modulians do not believe in negative numbers.)
Incomplete Games
If, God forbid, you decide to end a game
before any player has won outright, you can still
use your ending score to decide the winner.
However this is unsatisfying to some players, and
those who consistently decide to end games when
the "just happen" to be ahead are considered to be
in need of "straightening their priorities."
Defeat
If your Comcen is destroyed, or your last
unit and burb is taken, you have lost. Period.
But that doesn't mean you can't still enjoy
Conquest. If other "computer-controlled" Comcens
are still alive, a menu will appear giving you an
option of either watching the conclusion of the
war or taking over an unmanned force.
If you choose to take over an unmanned force,
you get to pick which of the remaining groups to
command. Note that it is considered rude not to
chat with your human opponent(s) about this move
before making it: they may not invite you back if
you beat them on your second chance!
RANDOM EVENTS:
Ban the Modulian, desiring to make Global Conquest as
lifelike as possible, included the following list of realistic
random events. These events are like "chance cards." (On
modulus they use billboard0size cards to protect against dealing
from the bottom of the deck). After an event has taken place in
a given game, that possibility will not come up again until the
event deck is exhausted. The card deck for a game when the TAME
option is selected is made up of the cards listed under Realistic
events below with five "no event" cards thrown in to make a total
deck od 20 cards. The WILd option includes both the Realistic
and Exotic events along with eight "no event" cards to make a
total of 40. Thus, with an event every fifth turn, only a game
lasting 100 turns will use all the cards in the tame deck, and
200 turns would be required to see every card in a wild deck.
Foreshadowing
(Cheating) Despite the size of their event cards, the
Modulians still find cheating to be irresistible
and have developed their own "Honor System,"
whereby limited cheating is not only acceptable,
but expected. Therefore, players will be allowed
to "peek" at TWO possible upcoming events at the
start of each new event.
To be fair (as such a concept is understood
by the Modulians), the Modulians allow losing
players to cheat better then players who are ahead
in score: the player whose score is the lowest at
the time of the random event gets to look at the
next two cards, though not necessarily in the
correct order. The player who is second from last
gets to peek at two cards from the next THREE
possible events. The player who is in second
looks at two from the next possible FOUR, and the
player who is ahead gets to see two from the next
FIVE.
The Modulians use this system so that the
lowest-scoring player knows the next two events
(though not their order) and the winning player
has less than a one in five chance of guessing the
next event correctly. (Two is the allowable
cheating limit on Modulus; any cheating over that
limit is considered "tacky," and the offender is
tied to a chair and forced to watch three
consecutive hours of game shows as punishment.
Needless to say, this punishment is rarely
necessary.)
PART VI: MORE STUFF...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE CONFIGURE MENU:
The configure menu allows players to set the Conquest
environment to their individual taste.
Custom Game Choosing this option allows you to build your
favorite type of scenario.
Interface This option allows players to pick: 1) Icon
Types; 2) Game sound options; and 3) Belief System
Game Sound Options
A. No Sound.
B. PC Speakers.
C. Adlib and compatibles.
Belief System
The Belief System selections include:
A. Modulians. PLayes who choose this icon
conform with the traditional Modulian beliefs of
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Fast Food.
B. No Modulians. Picking this one signifies
the player's lack of belief in Modulians.
C. Ultra Modulians. The Players who choose
this icon are stating that their belief system
closely resembles that of the "Ketchup Jammer
Kids" of Modulus, whose motto, "don't manipulate,
cooperate," is legendary.
Editor's Note: These buttons don't seem to do
much of anything at all. If you find out
differently, please let us know.
Player's
Options This menu choice allows you to pre-set 1)
Your player name, 2) Your player icon, and 3) Your
player "rank." These choices will be preserved
along with your custom setup for loading at game
time.
BUILDING YOUR SCENARIO:
During the "build" process, you will be presented with the
following menu choices. Simply choose your favorites from the
menus, then save the scenario with an appropriate name.
Setup Options
Units Allowed: You choose which units you will be using
for the Conquest.
Burb Number: Set the desired number of starting burbs.
All players start with a corner "Metroplex," but this
option allows additional burbs to be owned at start-up.
Starting Cash: This option allows the players to set
the starting "balance" of their Metroplex. (When
playing with multiple starting burbs, the secondary
burbs get half of the chosen amount in their balance.)
Economic
Options Support Costs: This option allows you to set the
support costs of the units.
Burb Level: Set the average economic status of the
world by choosing from poor, middle class, or rich.
Effect of
Resources Here you can decide what role resources will play.
Options available include:
1) Provide Money. The default level, this choice means
that they simply provide economic support (two
buck/turn) to the nearest held burb.
2) Oil is Needed to Build Tanks and Planes. In this
role, all resources still give your nearest burbs two
bucks per turn, but oil is now a necessity for building
armor and planes. An oil resource must be either
"attached" or within 25 spaces of one of your burbs i n
order for you to use it.
3) Minerals are Needed for Building Ships. Choosing
this one not only includes the two previous "roles" for
resources, but also makes the mineral resource a
necessity for building all naval units.
Effect of
Exploiting Here you get to decide what the "Exploit"
option will do. The electives include: 1) No
Exploitation Available; 2) Exploitation Upgrades
Burbs; or 3) Exploitation Can Upgrade Burbs or
Make New Resources.
Scoring Here players can set the way scoring is
calculated: 1) income; 2) Capital; or 3) Head
Count.
Play Option The following selections are made available
in the hope that they allow the destruction and
death of the opposition to be carried out in
relative comfort and ease.
How to End
Turns There are two types of ending: Cutthroat and
Times.
Cutthroat Endings:
1) Immediately (exploding firecracker icon): In
the solo game, the orders phase ends when you
click on the Execute button. In the multi-player
game, the orders phase ends five seconds after one
player clicks on the Execute button.
2) After Short Delay (firecracker with a short
fuse0: In solo game, this works just like
"Immediately," above. In the multi-player game,
once any player clicks the Execute button, the
other players have twenty more seconds to complete
their turn.
3) After Long Delay (firecracker with a long
fuse): In a game with two or more players, players
have 60 seconds PLUS the time taken by the
quickest opponent to complete their orders.
Note: For multiple players on one machine, the
five second or 20 second "delayed" time is added
to the shortest time taken by the quickest player
previous to you. For example: if you are the last
player and everyone before you went quickly, you
will have a very short turn. Also note, however,
that for multiple players on one machine, player
turns rotate: in the next turn, the last player
becomes the first player.
Fixed Time Endings
These options give you a fixed amount of time
to give orders. You can make the "Orders Phase"
last two minutes or four minutes. Even with these
options, you can still click on the Execute button
to offer to end the turn early.
Game Length Each and every Conquest doesn't have to end
with the annihilation of the opposition's Comcen,
or the capture of the Native capital and the four
metroplexes. We are all civilized people here.
Choices include 1) 30 turns, 2) 60 turns, 3) 90
turns, 4) 120 turns, or 5) an infinite number of
turns (or until they drag you away from the
computer to recover in the asylum).
Opponent
Visibility Here you can decide what the players are
allowed to see of the opposing forces and worlds
map.
1) Eye Closed: This means that players can see
only opposition units when they are scanned and
know what they have discovered themselves.
2) Eye Half Open: In this option, you see any land
discovered by any of the players. You also see
any units seen by any of the other players. This
excludes what the natives see as well as whatever
each player knows about his own stuff.
3) Eye Open: This lets you see all units all the
time and the world is totally known from the
beginning.
Note: Aside from offering variety, these options
are primarily offered to accommodate multiple
players on a single machine. With the "Half-Open"
all players can jointly watch the execution phase
and must look away when it is another player's
order phase.
Random Events Selections include: 1) No Random Events (for
the weak of heart), 2) Tame Random Events (for the
timid), or 3) Wild Random Events (for the mentally
and morally sound).
WORLD TYPE OPTIONS:
This menu is provided so that you can create your own
personal world loaded with all of your favorite, most malicious
characteristics.
Board Size Large, Medium, and Small. The left-most option
allows selecting a name of a custom map.
Map Density Features: Land mass, forests, mountains,
swamps, fuel sites, mineral sites, burbs, and
indigenous forces can all be set to the desired levels.
By combining the different attributes, players can
set the difficulty level of each game.
Saving Your
Scenario After selecting your favorite factors from
the previous menus, you will be brought to the
Save a Scenario screen. You must save your
"Built" scenario so that you can choose it the
next time you play Conquest.
MULTI-COMPUTER GAMES:
Connect Menus
Option If any player was designated as the "Remote
Player" from the Player Options Board, you will be
shown as the Connect Options Menu and allowed to
pick from these options:
Modem/Phone
Choose this one if you want to use your modem
to kill your best friends and enemies. If you are
doing the dialing, simply choose that option and
enter your enemy's phone number. IF you are doing
the answering, pick that choice and wait for the
connection.
Note: The phone number string can contain a "T" as
the first letter if you are not getting "touch
tone" noises and would like them.
Direct Serial
By using "Null Modems," you can hook two
computers together via serial cables. If you have
made this sort of connection, you can use it to
play a multi-computer Global Conquest. Choose
Direct Serial from the Conquest Options Menu to
use this sort of connection.
Existing Connection
Global Conquest can also use pre-existing
connection. If you have a modem connection with your opponent
through a telecommunications software package and you both decide
on a bit of Global Conquest, simply do the following:
1) Set the connection parameters correctly: go to the
software's port options and
A) Set the data bits to 8.
B) Set the stop bits to 1
C) Set the parity to NONE.
2) Exit your software WITHOUT breaking the connection.
Most communication software packages will ask you if
you are sure you want to exit without breaking the
connection.
3) Load Global Conquest. After setting the game
conditions and reaching the Connect Options Menu,
select Existing connection and the game will start.
Note that if you have already played a game of Global
Conquest and decide to play another, this option allows
you to retain the connection while setting the game
conditions.
After a Successful Connection
Once the multiple machines are properly
connected, a version of the "Player Options Board"
is presented that displays the icons, names and
ranks of the players involved.
Note: It is possible to hide the fact that you are a
human player from a remote opponent by picking the
default name and icon that would be chosen if the slot
you occupy were a computer opponent.
The human player who is on the highest bar of the
"Player Options Board" will send his chosen scenario
and that is the one that will be played.
MANY PLAYERS ON ONE MACHINE:
In these games, you and one or more other humans are playing
Global Conquest on the same machine. You set this up by clicking
"This Machine" on more than one bar on the Players Options board.
Swivel Chairs
Recommended When one player has finished his orders phase
and presses "Execute" ( or his time runs out), the
computer screen turns grey and flashes the message
"Press Key for Magenta Mob." The current player
ambles off; the Magenta Mob player presses a
button; the grey screen clears and he sees his
position.
Turn Order With multiple players on one machine, player
order changes from turn to turn. Int the first
turn, Player A goes first. He sees the random
event card and he inputs his orders. Then it's
player B's turn, followed by C and D.
When player D finishes his turn, the
execution phase begins. He sees it from his
perspective; that is, he can see anything he could
during a normal game. Then it's his turn again
(he makes two turns in a row). When he's
finished, it's player A's turn. Player A click
the button, then quickly scans the screen to see
what happened during the last execution phase.
Other Ways
to Play You don't have to play Global Conquest blind,
if you don't want to. If you make a custom
scenario and pick "Eye Half-Open" option,
everybody can watch every execution phase. If you
pick the "Eye Open" option, everybody can watch
each player's orders phase as well.
...enjoy the game!
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