ADMIRAL: SEA BATTLES Demo

ADMIRAL: SEA BATTLES Demo

The ships of The Green Cross Order have invaded and occupied our ancestral lands.

MEGAMEDIA CORPORATION

PRESENTS

ADMIRAL: SEA BATTLES

DEMO INSTRUCTIONS

STORY BACKGROUND

1st EPISODE

The ships of The Green Cross Order have invaded and occupied our ancestral lands.

The greedy order menaces our security now. Your aim is to force the invaders from our

territories.

1. First, build a fort and a port in the North-West corner of the bay.

2. Start "hunting" transport ships of The Green Cross Order. Your aim is to capture or

destroy them all.

3. Destroy all enemy forts in the region in order to weaken his resistance and to gain a

strategic advantage in the area.

4. We received the sad news that the Allied Navy has been defeated. Only the smaller

vessels have escaped and our duty is to save our allies from complete destruction.

5. Capture or destroy the enemy's flagship and crush any resistance from the enemy's fleet.

6. This time your aim is to destroy our foe's forts and military ships and to convoy the

transports to our port.

You must accomplish all the tasks you are given. This will be your baptism of fire.

2nd EPISODE

While we were involved in the war with The Green Cross Order, buccaneers robbed our

transports with perfect impunity. Now you must put an end to the piracy and to find the

plundered gold. Bear in mind that The Green Cross Order is also sending Admiral Gordon's

squadron to search for the gold.

1. Forestall Admiral Gordon by passing The Storming Gates Straight.

2. Build a port on South Cross Atoll.

3. Destroy all of the buccaneers' forts on Turtle Island.

4. Build a fort in Big Bay and defend it.

5. Convoy our transport that are carrying the gold.

6. Continue convoying our transports to the Capital. Defend them and the Capital. Destroy

the pirate's base.

Return the gold to the Royal treasury and let success attend you.

3rd EPISODE

Our merchant navy has discovered new rich lands and your aim is to take the islands

under control and to protect them from the enemy. To accomplish this mission you must build

forts and ports and defend them from the enemy's navy.

Be resolute and your courage will overcome all obstacles.

SHORT MANUAL

NOTE:

This DEMO of Admiral comes with 1 campaign with 1 mission. The full retail version

of the game has a total of 3 campaigns with 18 missions. The final version releases at the

end of October. Each mission has roughly 3 hours of playing time. Any feedback or

suggestions on game improvements or bugs would be appreciated. Please email to

[email protected] or fax to 408-428-9924. You can also visit our website at:

www.megamed.com

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The minimum system requirements required to run this game are:

486 DX2/66 or higher PC compatible

MS Windows 95

8 MB RAM

25 MB of free had disk space

2x CD-ROM drive (4x is highly recommended for viewing the cut-scenes)

An SVGA video card and monitor

INSTALLING ADMIRAL

To install the game, just insert the game CD into the CD-ROM drive and Windows 95

should automatically start the installation. If it does not then you need to make sure that

the Auto Insert Notification setting for your drive is switched on.

STARTING THE GAME

Once you have started the game the game will show a logo screen. You can stop the

animation by pressing the ESC key.

In the Main Menu you can choose from the following variants of the game: start a new

game against the computer, start a new game against a human opponent, start a saved game. You can also view the introduction of the game.

Introduction

If you want to see the introduction, press the INTRODUCTION button.

Starting a New Game Against the Computer

If you want to start playing a new game against the computer press the MISSIONS

button. After pressing that button a new screen will pop up where you can choose one of

three episodes. After clicking on one of the episode's button you can see an introduction

for that episode by pressing the INTRODUCTION button. After you have chosen an episode

confirm your choice by pressing either OK to accept, or CANCEL to reject and return to the

previous menu.

Starting a New Game Against a Human

If you want to play the game against your friend (or foe), in the Main Menu press

the HEAD-TO HEAD button. A new screen will pop up which will offer you a choice of the type

of game you wish to play.

THE SAME COMPUTER - two human opponents on the same computer.

ON-LINE GAME - two human opponents on two different computers connected through any of the

following: local network, modem, or null-modem. The flag under which you will fight

can be chosen at the bottom left corner of the window.

After you have chosen an ON-LINE game you are given a choice of connection types.

After you have chosen the appropriate type of connection and if you are playing

under the Red flag then you will need to wait until your partner's computer connects

to yours. If you have chosen the Green flag, then after you have chosen the type of

connection you will need to choose the name of the game out of the suggested list.

To avoid problems, it is best to arrange the name of the game before you start.

OFF-LINE GAME - in this mode you save the game in a special file at the end of your turn and

then send it to you rival usually via e-mail These files are saved in the directory

\OFFLINE\SEND. The file that you receive should be placed into the \OFFLINE\RECEIVE

directory.

After you have chosen any of these modes, you can choose a map on which to fight,

the amount of money each player has at the beginning of the game, and the name of the game.

If you are playing the ON-LINE mode then these settings can only be chosen by the player

playing under the Red flag. The player playing under the Green flag will receive these

settings after the computers are connected.

Loading a New Game

If you want to play a saved game, in the Main Menu press the LOAD button. Having

pressed it you will see the list of saved games. In the lower left corner there are buttons

showing each type of game. These types are arranged as follows: MISSIONS, THE SAME COMPUTER,

ON-LINE, OFF-LINE. Choose the type of game you wish to load by pressing the corresponding

button then choose the name of the saved game and press OK.

GAME CONTROL

Playing Field

The playing field is a two dimensional sea map on which different geographical

objects are situated (such as islands, reefs, and shallows). While playing the game you

control the following objects:

Ships: galley tender

transport paddle steamer

steam-corvette brig

clipper frigate

galleon 2-decked battle-ship

3-decked battle-sip

Forts: 1st line fort 2nd line fort

Port

Near the active object on the playing field, depending on the control button you

press, there will be conventional signs showing that objects ability to act. Such as:

cell in which a ship can be placed

enemy object that can be fired upon

cell in which you may build a port or a fort

cell in which you must build a port or a fort (in certain missions)

Controlling Objects

Control of objects is accomplished with the help of the Control Bar. The Control Bar

is divided into two parts. In the upper part, information about the currently active object

is given in the form of horizontal bar graphs which show:

its class and image

life level

ability to move

fire strength

fire range

boarding crew strength

In the lower part are the object control buttons which are:

move ship

fire a salvo

board enemy vessel

choose next object

repair object

build an object

end your turn

Near every button there are indicators that show the availability of the

corresponding action. A red light indicates that the action is not available,

green - available, and light green - action is currently selected.

MOVING SHIPS: To move a ship, point the cursor at it, click the left mouse button, then in

the Control Bar press the button MOVE SHIP or press "m" on the keyboard. After that,

cells that you can move that ship to will be marked with a special sign and the word

"MOVE" in them. Choose a cell and click the left mouse button on it.

FIRING: To fire at an enemy object using your current (active) object, click on the FIRE A

SALVO button or press "f" on the keyboard. After that all the enemy objects within

the range of your object will be marked with a special sign and the word "FIRE"

below it. Choose an object and click the left mouse button on it to fire.

BOARDING: You can board an enemy vessel if your ship is in the same cell with it. To board a

foe's ship click on the BOARD button or press "b" on the keyboard.

REPAIRING: To repair a ship (if the option is available) click on the REPAIR button or press

"r" on the keyboard.

BUILDING: To build an object (if the option is available) click on the BUILD button or press

"u" on the keyboard. After doing that you will get the Build Window in which you can

choose the object you want to build. Cells in which you can build a new object will

be marked with a special sign. Choose the cell in which you want to build the object

and click the left mouse button.

CHOOSING THE NEXT OBJECT: To go to the next object that has the possibility to take an

action click on the NEXT button or press "n" on the keyboard. You can also choose

the next object by clicking the left mouse button on the object you wish to make

active. This second way does not work while you are trying to move the current

object. In this case you should cancel moving the first ship by pressing any button

in the Control Bar and only then choose the object you need.

ENDING YOUR TURN: When you have finished your turn click on END on the bottom of the Control

Bar.

Information Windows

While playing the game you can receive various bits of information with the help of

information windows. You can control these windows with the help of the Information Control

Bar (the smaller of the two permanent windows). In the window you can get the following

information:

weather forecast

mission task (when playing against the computer)

tactical map

information about objects in a certain call

information about enemy targets within range

information about navy effectives

comparative descriptions of objects in the game

information about the costs of building and repairing of objects and the

number of credits you posses

quick help

To receive any piece of information just press the corresponding button in the

Information Control Bar. You can have only one information window open at a time. To close

an information window press the corresponding button in the Information Control Bar once

again.

WEATHER FORECAST: With the help of this window you can learn information about the direction

and strength of the wind for the current turn and the next turn.

TACTICAL MAP: In this window you can see the whole map with all the objects in it. The red

rectangle on the map indicates the zone that you can see in the normal map. You can

move this zone by clicking the left mouse button on the necessary zone in the

Tactical Map. To return to the normal map double-click the mouse on the necessary

zone.

CELL INFORMATION WINDOW: In this window you can get all the information about the objects

in a certain cell. To choose a cell click the mouse on it. After that you will see

the class of the object and all of its vital information. In case there are two

objects in the same cell you can choose either of them by clicking on the up- and

down-arrows in the window

TARGET WINDOW: If the current object has any targets within range you can open the Target

Window. In this window all targets within range are displayed. Here you can learn

all the information about the targets. You can also fire at the one you prefer by

clicking the FIRE A SALVO button in this window.

NAVY EFFECTIVES WINDOW: In this window you can find information about the effectives of your

and your enemy's fleets. The flag in the upper part of the window indicates which

navy is represented in it at the moment. To get information about the other navy

click the NAVY INFO button in this window. The number of "alive" (not destroyed)

objects is placed under the header AVAILABLE, the number of destroyed objets is

placed under DESTROYED. You can also get information about all objects of a certain

class. To do this just click on the button above the image of the class you want to

view and then in a special window you can view information about each object of that

chosen class by clicking on the up- and down-arrow buttons. To return to the Navy

Effectives Windows click on the NAVY EFFECTIVES button.

COMPARATIVE DESCRIPTION WINDOW: In this window you can get relative information about

objects based on the following:

Strength - ability to stand bombarding

Maximum distance of one move: with a TAILWIND, in a CALM, and in a STORM.

Fire Power and firing Range

Boarding ability

Ability of vessels to pass over shallows

OBJECT PRICING WINDOW: In this window you can obtain information about the prices of

building an object (button BUILDING INFO) and the cost of 1% of a repair job

(button REPAIR INFO). In this window there is also shown the amount of money you

currently possess.

SETTINGS CONTROL WINDOW: In this window you can change some settings in the game to make it

more comfortable for you. You can switch on/off the grid, sound cut scenes and

music.

TRANSITIONS FROM MISSION TO MISSION

When playing against the computer first you need to form your navy. A navy is formed

with the help of a special window. In this window information about available ships and each

ship chosen for the mission is given. Available classes of ships are indicated by green text

To choose ships for the mission, first click the mouse on the image of an available class of

ship, then you choose certain ships of this class by clicking the up- and down-arrow buttons

and confirm your choice by clicking on the ADD button. You can exclude a chosen ship by

clicking the REMOVE button. If you want to exclude all chosen ships click the REMOVE ALL

button. The "Total on Mission" counter indicates the total quantity of ships chosen for the

mission at the moment. When the number of chosen ships exceed the limit the background color

of this counter turns red.

Before choosing ships we recommend that you look at the task for the mission by

clicking on the TASK button.

SAVING AND LOADING GAME

While playing the game you can save it. For that you should click on the button with

a disk on it in the Information Control Bar. When the LOAD WINDOW appears choose one of the

10 given positions. If you want, you can edit the name of the saved game.

Any of the saved games can be loaded from the Main Menu. Click on the LOAD button

and choose the game you want to load. Keep in mind that each playing mode has its own

10 positions for saving games. That is why you should set the mode of the game by pressing

one of the four buttons in the lower part of the LOAD WINDOW first before loading the game. These four buttons denote the following:

Play against: the computer

a human on the same computer

on connected computers (on-line)

on separate computers (off-line)