 |
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Game Manual | ||||||||||||||||
| Hoplite
Encounter. Game Manual Contents A. INTRODUCTION B. RESOURCES C. MAP D. HOPLITES and ARMIES E. SHIPS and FLEETS F. MONEY G. ENCOUNTERS H. BATTLES I. ALLIANCES J. ACTION (report) K. ORDERS A. INTRODUCTION You are the leading citizen in an ancient independent Imperial City State or automonous province. You may be tyrant, satrap or leader of the dominant political faction, but in each case your nations's destiny lies in your hands. You determine all military and economic activity through your control of the Army, the Navy and the Treasury. In a warlike age your aim is to defend yourself from your enemies and to conquer and retain an ever expanding Empire of your own. Other players in the game control their own Imperial States. You are all trying to capture smaller countries (whether independent or already part of another Empire) and, when you feel strong enough, each other. The action starts, with turn zero, December 431 BC with your forces in their peacetime dispositions. The first real turn is for Jan 430. Each turn represents one month of game-time. The game is won by the first Empire to control at least two-thirds of the original Imperial states, or, after 120 turns, the Empire with the largest tax income per month. You play the game on a map of the Known World. The map is divided into small hexagons (which we call hexes) and borders beween states and between land and sea always run along the sides of the hexes. Each state (including the major Imperial states) is made up of one hex or of a number of contiguous hexes. Each state is identified by a three letter code and has a capital city which occupies one hex. Some, but not all, states have a port, or ports, each of which occupies one hex. It is possible for the capital to be a port. Every hex is either on land or sea. Ports are considered to be on land but fleets may sail into them. Troops may go to sea on board ships. Apart from these two exceptions, troops can occupy only land hexes and ships only sea hexes. Each port has at least one harbour mouth which will be adjacent to a sea hex. Fleets must enter and leave the port through a harbour mouth so are bound to pass through that adjacent sea hex. B. RESOURCES The forces of each state are hoplites (heavy infantry), triremes (warships) and merchantmen (cargo ships); its resources are held as money (100 drachmae = 1 talent). There is a maximum number of forces each Empire can have. This increases each turn and is equal to the turn number plus 20; on turn 1 you can have 21 forces etc. If a force is disbanded in a given turn it does not count towards this maximum in that turn. Each month (ie each turn) each state in your Empire receives a tax income which is paid into the Treasury in its capital city. This income varies from state to state. It may also be different for the same state when it is a colony of another state from when it is an Imperial Power in its own right. If you control a state you decide whether and how to spend its income, but if no-one controls a state its income is simply lost until someone captures it. In addition, states have the capacity to raise troops, build ships, or both. Again the number of regiments a state may raise and the number of ships it may launch can be different when it is a colony of another power from when it is itself an Imperial Power. For each state there is a maximum number of both troops and ships which can be raised each month. If you capture a country you gain control of its income and can also use its ability to raise forces. Money, troops and ships raised in a conquered country belong to your own Empire exactly as though they were raised in you home country. To capture a country you must have at least one hoplite regiment in undisputed control of the country's capital at the start of a turn. Control can be disputed only by other hoplites, so you can conquer a country even if enemy ships are present in its capital. A hoplite on board ship is considered to be both on land and on board if the fleet is in port. Thus a fleet carrying at least one hoplite can conquer a country whose capital is also a port. Once you have conquered a country it remains part of your Empire until another Power captures it; you do not have to leave any forces in occupation. Your Empire starts the game with just its own country under your control (no colonies) and with a number of forces and some money already available. Any hoplites are initially stationed in one of your cities (which could be the capital or a port or both) and any triremes and merchantmen in one of the ports. The money is in the Treasury in the Imperial capital. Any hoplites, triremes and merchantmen are allocated to forces (armies and fleets) and shown on the Orders input display for turn 1 and the associated Action report for turn 0. C. MAP The map of the known world is divided into hexes which are arranged in columns with interlocking rows as shown : ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ /C00\C01/C02\C03/C04\C05/C06\C07/C08\C09/C10\C11/C12\C13/C14\ ... \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ /R02\___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ /R03\___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ /R04\___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ /R05\___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ . . . Columns run north-south and rows east-west. Each column and each row has an identifier in the form A99 where A is a letter and 99 is a two digit number. Columns are labelled consecutively from left to right (west to east), rows from top to bottom (north to south). For each letter the numbering runs from 00 to 99 then starts again with the next letter. Columns can run from A00 to M99, rows from N00 to Z99. However the map used for the game does not necessarily use the whole of these ranges - you discover its extent as the game progresses. Each hex is uniquely defined by its column and row references, eg C00,R00 is column C00, row R00. In our examples we usually use the letter C for columns and R for rows, but column letters can in fact run from A to M and rows from N to Z, though the map may not use the whole of these ranges. Hexes can also be referred to by city or country codes. If a hex is a city it has a four letter code, usually the first four letters of its name but sometimes some other abbreviation. City names are shown on the map along with their abbreviated 4-letter code unless this is the first four letters of the city name. Countries have three letter codes, usually the first three letters of the country name, otherwise an abbreviation which is displayed on the map along with the name. Armies ordered to march to a particular country are routed to the hex containing the capital city of that country; fleets are routed to one of its ports. Note that because of the way columns and rows are interleaved, the hexes in odd numbered columns always have odd row numbers while those in even numbered columns have even row numbers. Hexes such as C00 R00, C99 R99, C48 R20 could all exist but a hex such as C10 R55 can not. You may not move beyond the edge of the Known World. D. HOPLITES and ARMIES Hoplites (heavy infantry) always operate in regiments. Only whole regiments can exist. When we make reference to "number of troops" etc. the number referred to is the number of regiments. Up to five hoplite regiments may be united together to form an army. Armies may be split into smaller armies or merged into larger (provided the total number of hoplite regiments in any one army does not exceed 5). In many countries hoplites may be raised each turn. Each country has a maximum number that can be raised in one turn. If an Imperial country is captured by another, the maximum number of hoplites that it can raise as a colony of the other Empire is usually less than the maximum number that it could raise for itself as Imperial Power. Hoplites raised during a turn must start in the capital of the country wherein they are raised. When you give the orders for a month, all raising of hoplites, and splitting and merging of armies takes place at the start of the turn, before any movements. Armies created by raising, merging or splitting at the start of a turn may move in the same turn. Armies may be split, merged and move in the turn they are raised. When an army is split the resulting smaller armies start on the same hex as the original army. If armies are to be merged into a larger army they must all be on the same hex at the start of the turn and the combined army starts on that hex. Hoplites may carry up to one talent of silver with them, so an army of 3 hoplites can carry up to 3 talents, for example. They may sail on board ship with one trireme carrying one hoplite or 1 merchantman carrying up to 5 hoplites. The total number of hoplites in any one fleet may not exceed 5. Hoplites can march up to a specified numbers of hexes on land each turn. Typically, they can march 6 hexes in summer but only three in winter (game-months Dec, Jan, Feb). The exact number varies from game to game. This should mean that during the first two turns (Jan & Feb of 430BC) they can only march the shorter winter distance, but we assume that during the final months of peace they prepared themselves so thoroughly that they can move the summer distances during these two winter months so the game gets off to a brisk start. They cannot sail on the sea and march on land in the same turn. If an army is to transfer from land to sea, it must march into a port during one turn then sail from it, on board a fleet, the next and vice versa. It is while hoplites are on the march that they may encounter enemy armies and fight the battles which determine the fate of your country. During each turn, each army reports its encounters and battles. At the end of the turn it reports in detail on the hexes around it, up to a specified number of hexes, typically 6, though this figure may vary from game to game. These reports give you a detailed picture of the game map and of you enemies' movements. E. SHIPS and FLEETS There are two types of ship - triremes (warships) and merchantmen (cargo ships). Triremes have a limited carrying capacity but have a fighting strength of 1 unit; merchantment have a large carrying capacity but no fighting strength. Triremes and merchantmen may operate singly or in fleets of up to 5 ships. As with armies, the fleets may be split into smaller or merged into larger fleets (provided the combined size does not exceed 5 ships). In some countries a number of triremes and merchantmen can be built each turn. These must start the turn in one of the ports in the country in which they are raised. A trireme may carry up to 3 silver talents, or 1 hoplite plus up to 2 silver talents. A merchantman may carry up to 15 talents, or up to 5 hoplites but with the maximum of 15 talents reduced by 1 for each hoplite on board. Thus a merchantman could carry 5 hoplites and 10 talents (max.). A fleet may contain merchantmen, triremes, hoplites and money in various combinations and these all move as a single body without hoplites or money being assigned to any particular ship. The number of hoplites in a fleet must not exceed 5. If a fleet is in a port at the start of a turn and is not ordered to move at all, then then hoplites (up to a maximum of 5) may exceed the normal capacity of the ships; furthermore, in this case the fleet can carry 3 talents for each trireme plus 15 talents for each merchantman plus 1 talent for each hoplite. Each fleet may sail a specified number (typically 8 in summer and 4 in winter though this can be different in different games) of hexes per turn. The distance is shorter in the winter game-months of Dec, Jan and Feb though for turns 1 and 2 of the game (Jan & Feb 430 BC) fleets can sail the full summer distance. A fleet may start and/or end its voyage in a port, but must otherwise move entirely at sea - it cannot call into a port and leave it again during one turn. After each turn it reports details of all encounters and battles with enemy fleets and armies and gives a full report of the situation on the map on all hexes in view. Fleets have a viewing range (typically 6 hexes but this can vary from game to game). If a fleet is in port, all the map within the viewing range is reported, but if a fleet is at sea a hex (land or sea) is reported on only if it is within the viewing range and there is a continuous route of sea hexes which are themseleves in view between it and the fleet. Inland hexes and sea hexes which are cut off by land are not visible. F. MONEY The currency of the game is the silver talent. Each talent is divided into 100 drachmae. Money is displayed as a number with 2 decimal places eg 12.34 is 12 talents and 34 drachmae, 1.05 is 1 talent and 5 drachmae etc. All financial calculations (tax income and cost of raising and maintaining forces) are performed by the computer. Money cannot be raised or destroyed by the player. It can be transferred, and it is up to the player to ensure that sufficient funds are available in the right places at the start of each turn, but the total must remain unaltered within each financial bloc. Each Imperial Power has a fund of money at the start of the game and receives a tax income each turn from every country in its Empire. It spends money on raising forces and on maintaining them. Income and expenditure are both calculated centrally as part of the run of each turn; however, it is up to the player to ensure that sufficient money is available in the right place to meet the expenditure demands. Money is held in the Treasury of each country or carried by armies and fleets. There is no limit to the amount that can be held in any country's Treasury; the maximum that can be carried by an army is 1 talent per hoplite; the maximum that can be carried by a fleet which is in port and not ordered to move to sea during a turn is 1 talent per hoplite plus 3 talents per trireme plus 15 talents per merchantman; the maximum that can be carried by a fleet which is at sea or ordered to sea during a turn is 3 talents per trireme plus 15 talents per merchantman less 1 talent per hoplite. At the end of each turn, the amount of money which will be available at the start of the next turn is calculated and reported to you on the Orders display for the next turn. A figure is reported for each country and each force. The figures take in to account all money left after the current turn plus all income due in the forthcoming turn, but none of the expenditure. Money can be transferred each turn among countries, armies and fleets belonging to the same Empire providing they are in contact. For this purpose countries in an Empire and its forces form financial blocs. A bloc is made up of all the countries in an Empire which have a continuous land connection plus all the armies and fleet of the Empire within those countries at the start of the turn or of all forces on the same hex but outside the Empire. Armies and fleets outside countries of the Empire form blocs with any other forces from the same Empire on the same hex at the start of the turn. Money can be transferred freely anywhere within a financial bloc. So, if your Empire includes a chain of linked countries it is possible to transfer money from, say, a fleet at one side of the chain (perhaps a newly arrived treasure fleet) to an army on the other side (perhaps just setting out on an expedition). In this example both fleet and army must start the turn in a country of the Empire and there must be a continuous land route within the Empire between them. Armies and fleet outside their own Empire's countries can transfer money to each other provided they are on the same hex, so it is possible to send funds to succour a force that may be running low. Armies marching through enemy territory and fleets at sea will have to carry some money for maintenance. Hoplites or ships for which there is insufficient money for maintenance at the start of a turn are disbanded or decommissioned and disappear from the game. Where a force or a country is not in a financial bloc (eg islands or isolated forces in enemy territory) money can be transferred to or from it only by being carried by an army or a fleet. The cost of raising forces is met by the Treasury of the country in which they are raised. Sufficient money to cover this must be transferred to the appropriate Treasury by the player. If there is insuffient money, the raise order will be executed as far as possible (ie forces will be raised up to the limit of the money available) but the full raise order will not be accepted. Forces are raised in their move sequence on the Orders, and their raising costs paid in this sequence. The cost of maintaining forces which are in territory within their own Empire at the start of the turn is met by the country they start in. Maintenance costs are paid after raising costs and in the move sequence of the forces on the Orders return. If the country's Treasury runs out of money or if the force starts outside its own Empire the maintenance cost is met from whatever it may be carrying. If a force does not have enough to pay maintenance for a turn, it is disbanded or decommissioned either partly (to the point where it can afford to pay for maintenance of its remaining units) or wholly. Forces pay maintence for each turn they are in existence including their first turn - when a force is raised, ensure thare is enough money to pay both raising and maintenance costs. G. ENCOUNTERS Forces on the march or under sail may cross the paths of other forces, enemy or friendly. These meeting or possible meetings are called encounters. Some sort of encounter occurs between any two forces whenever the routes the forces are ordered to take pass through the same hex. The encounter occurs on that hex. The forces of all Empires move simultaneously so there is no advantage to any player from move sequence. However, within one Empire, forces may be given a move sequence relative to each other. This may influence the effect forces have on each other within an Empire but not on their effect on enemy forces. During each turn (which takes one month of game-time) we assume that each force surveys its intended route and notes all possible encounters with other forces along it. Encounters with forces from the same Empire are ignored. Then we work out the possible types of encounter. These are as follows (the abbreviation in brackets is the code by which each encounter type is described in the Action Report) : 1. Amphibious Encounter (AEN). This is an encounter between an army and a fleet. It can occur only in a port. Neither force is halted in its progress so no other encounter type is possible except that if both forces happen to finish on the same hex they fight a battle. 2. Brush Encounter (BRU). If one force is more than twice the size of the other, the larger force is considered to brush the enemy aside so is not brought to battle nor even halted by the smaller. However, for the smaller force this is a possible encounter. For fleet encounters we use the total number of ships (triremes plus merchantmen) in each fleet to determine whether or not a brush encounter occurs even though the fighting strength of merchantmen is zero. Thus if a fleet of 1 trireme encounters a fleet of 1 merchantman the encounter is not a brush for the trireme fleet even though its fighting strength (1) is more than twice the fighting strength (0) of the merchanr fleet. Of course, the encounter is not a brush for the merchantman fleet either. 3. Early Encounter (EEN). This is an encounter which takes place on the starting hex of a force. If force A moves and encounters force B on its (force B's) first hex then the encounter is an early encounter for force B but a possible encounter (or a brush) for force A. 4. Possible Encounter (PEN). This is an encounter with another force of at least half your size but which is not an early encounter. Two forces can have several possible encounters but only one is considered to be their main, or Central, encounter (see para. 5). 5. Central Encounter (ENC). This is the main encounter of two forces and is sometimes called, simply, an Encounter. If a force has at least one possible encounter (PEN) with another force then it (the first force) is considered to have a central encounter (ENC) with the second. If the forces have more than one encounter (eg. as would happen if they were moving towards each other along the same route but in opposite directions) they are considered to meet at the hex nearest the middle of the march. That is they meet on the hex that is central to all the hexes on which they have early, brush or possible encounters. If there are two such central hexes then on odd turns (1, 3, 5, ...) they are assumed to meet on the hex with the earlier col/row reference (that is the more westerly hex or if the two central hexes are on the same longitude, the more northerly) and on even turns on the hex with the later reference (in alpahebtic sequence) that is the more easterly or southerly. If two forces have a possible encounter on only one hex, this is also their (Central) Encounter. 6. Guarded Encounter (GEN). Normally, if one of your armies encounters (in a Central Encounter) an enemy on a hex, then your army is halted. However, if the hex is the final location of at least 5 hoplites from your own Empire and is already occupied by them, then these exisitng hoplites guard the route for your later army which continues its march. This is a guarded encounter for your army which marches on. The sequence of movement of armies becomes important if they are to guard the route for each other. The progress of fleets is guarded by similar rules. That is, at least 5 triremes on their final hex guard the passage of subsequent fleets from the same Empire. 7. Battle Encounter (BEN). The battle encounter for a force is the first Central Encounter which is not also a Guarded Encounter, with any enemy force on its route of march. The force stops on the hex where the Battle Encounter occurs and finishes its move there, even if no battle takes place. However, it still reports on possible encounters that would have taken place over the remainder of its route. A force has a maximum of one battle encounter per turn. If a force has no battle encounter, it marches the maximum distance along the route ordered for it and starts its next turn from there. 8. Battle (BAT). If two forces from different enemy Empires each finish their turn on the same hex, they fight a battle. The survivors start their next turn on the battle hex. 9. Phoney Battle (PHO). Two forces may be all set to fight a battle against each other but one or both may turn out to have nothing to fight the battle with. This can happen if one force is a fleet with no hoplites and the other an army, or it one or both forces have been wiped out in earlier battles with the same enemy during the same turn. In this case no battle is fought and the encounter is reported as a phoney battle. In a naval battle, a fleet containing only merchantmen hase no fighting strength but it still takes part in the battle (it can draw or lose but cannot win) so it does not give rise to a phoney battle. H. BATTLES Once all battle encounters have been determined, the forces concerned fight their battles. This section describes how. If several forces have Battle Encounters (or Phoney battle encounters) on the same hex, they fight as follows : 1. The fighting strength of each force is calculated. For a naval (fleet) battle the basic strength is the number of triremes. For a land battle (which may be between two armies or between a fleet with hoplites on board and an army) the basic strength is the number of hoplites. In addition to this basic strength, the fighting strength of a force which is of initial strength 5 is augmented by 1 for each force also of initial strength 5 and from its own Empire and located on the same hex. The augmented strength cannot exceed 8. The supporting force must be able to fight the same kind of battle (naval or land) as the force receiving support. For example, if you have armies A1, A2, A3 of 4, 5, 5 hoplites respectively, each fighting a battle on the same hex then army A1 fights with strength 4 (its own basic strength) but armies A2 & A3 each fight with strength 6 (their own basic strength of 5 plus 1 from the other 5-hoplite army). 2. All forces from the same country are taken together as a group. 3. The groups from each pair of enemy countries fight each other with each force fighting at its original strength (even though it may have suffered losses against other enemies). However, each force's losses are cumulative so its total losses during the turn are the sum of the individual losses in its battles against each of its enemies. 4. Each pair of opposing groups fight as follows: Forces within each group are matched against each other in move sequence, ie. the first force from country A fights the first from country B, the second from A the second from B and so on. If all the forces on one side have fought and there are still fresh forces on the other, the forces that have already fought from the smaller group fight again (in the same sequence) against the fresh enemy forces, and, if necessary again and again until all forces on both sides have fought at least once, or all forces on one side are wiped out. When a force fights the second time against the same enemy its start strength is reduced by any losses it sustained in earlier battles againtst the same enemy. If any battle pairing results in a phoney battle, each of the forces involved, if it has any fighting strength and has not fought before, is matched against the other enemy forces, in turn, until it meets up with an enemy force, if any, that can put up some oppostion. This enemy force it fights. In a fleet battle, if one side has only merchantmen, then it has no fighting strength. However a battle still takes place, so this is not the same as a phoney battle. If both fleets have only merchantmen, they also fight a battle, but it is bound to be a draw. The outcome of a battle is determined by the cast of dice (or rather, of random numbers generated by the computer to simulate dice casts). Although there is a high chance that one side or the other will win a battle it is possible to have an indecisive battle in which neither side suffers losses. Essentially the bigger the force (up to the maximum of 5) the better its chance of winning - in fact bigger forces have a disproportionately greater chance so that, for example, if one force is twice the size of the other then its (the larger force's) chance of winning is more than twice that of the smaller force. Once a winner has been established, the scale of victory (that is the loss on each side) is determined by another die cast. When two forces meet in battle we use one die for each force, the number of faces of the die being 1 more than the fighting strength of the corresponding force. the dice faces are numbered 1, 2, 3, ...etc. The force belonging to the country which comes first in alphabetic order we call the first force, the other the second force. For example if the first force has a strength of 2 (hoplites or triremes) and the second of 3, we use dice with 3 and 4 faces respectively. Some of the dice we use are difficult to obtain in the shops. A 6-faced die is readily available, as is a 2-faced die (its called a coin) but the others are rare. This is no problem to the computer which generates random numbers to simulate the dice. A fleet made up solely of merchantmen has a zero fighting strength so uses a 1-faced die; when this is cast it always gives a 1. Once we have chosen the two appropriate dice for a battle, we cast them and add their scores together giving a result whose minimum is 2 (1+1) and maximum is the total number of faces on the two dice. If the first force has fighting strength m (m = 1 to 8) then it wins if the result is one of the first m possible results and if the sceond force has strength n then it wins if the result is one of the last n possible results. Any other result is an indecisive battle. Example. First force strength = 2 Second force strength = 3 Die for first force has 3 faces numbered 1, 2, 3. Die for second force has 4 faces numbered 1, 2, 3, 4. Possible results from casting both dice are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7. If the result is 2 or 3 (first two possible results) the first force wins. If the result is 5, 6 or 7 (last 3 possible results) the second force wins. if the result is 4 neither wins. The two dice casts are shown in the Battles section of the Action Report in the form m+n where m is the cast for the first country, n for the second. If there is a winner a third (6-faced) die is cast to determine the scale of the victory. Losses of both winner and loser are shown in table 1. The strength of the winner in these tables is the basic strength, not the fighting strength. Table 1. Battle Losses Loser's losses number strength of winner on die 1 2 3 4 5 1 1 1 1 2 3 2 1 1 1 2 3 3 1 1 2 3 4 4 1 2 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 Winner's losses number strength of winner on die 1 2 3 4 5 1 0 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 0 0 1 2 4 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 Note. The force that wins a battle cannot lose more than it would have lost if the losing force had won at the same scale of victory. For example, if an army of 5 hoplites wins a victory of scale 1 it normally loses 2 hoplites (see table 1), but if the losing army contained only 1, 2 or 3 hoplites, it (the 5 hoplite army) would lose only 1 hoplite because that is all the loser would have destroyed if it had been the winner. Naval (fleet) engagements follow the same rules, but with fleets encountering and fighting with other fleets. If a fleet contains both triremes and merchantmen and it loses some ships, then triremes are the first to be sunk, merchantmen last. If the fleet carries hoplites, the hoplites do not take part in the battle but if their ships are sunk, they are drowned. If a fleet contains more than one ship and also carries hoplites, the troops are assumed to jump on board any surviving ships after a battle, provided they do not exceed the maximum carrying capacity of the remaining ships. In port a fleet may carry up to 5 hoplites regardless of the number of ships it contains so no hoplites will be lost in a fleet battle fought in a port. If a naval battle takes place in port, then any hoplites on board the fleets take no part in the fighting, just as if the battle were fought at sea. However, if a fleet in port encounters an army and the fleet carries hoplites, the hoplites on board ship are assumed to jump ashore and do battle with the enemy army. If an army is carrying money when it suffers losses in battle, the money is carried by any survivors up to their maximum capacity. Any money left over is captured by the enemy, up to its maximum carrying capacity; and any money left over after that is paid into the Treasury of the country in which the battle takes place if the country belongs to the same Empire or is lost to the game if not. If a fleet is in port and carries hoplites, then the maximum amount of money that can be carried is the amoutn that can be carried by the surviving ships and hoplites together. If a fleet is carrying money when it suffers losses in battle, the money is distributed among any surviving ships, up to their maximum capacity. Any money left over is captured by the enemy fleet, up to its maximum capacity and any money left over after that is sunk and lost unless the fleet is in a port belonging to the same Empire, in which case the surplus money goes to the Treasury of the country the port is located in. If a fleet carries both hoplites and money the first priority is given to saving hoplites, the second to saving money. I. ALLIANCES You can make formal alliances with other Empires. If you and another Empire are allied to each other, all encounters between you are reported but otherwise ignored so you do not affect each other's movements. Also, if you both finish on the same hex you do not fight a battle. To set up an alliance, you must offer alliance to the other Empire which must in turn offer alliance to you. The two Empires are formally in alliance for each turn that each is offering alliance to the other. You enter your offer through the "Empire" menu option. When you offer an alliance, you must say which turn it remains good until. The offer automatically lapses after the turn specified. While the offer remains you can change the "Good until" turn to a later or earlier one, but cannot withdraw it entirely or change it to a turn earlier than the one you are entering orders for. This means that once an offer is made it can never be withdrawn without at least one turn's notice. You can offer alliance to a maximum of two other Empires at any time. J. ACTION (report) K. ORDERS To display the current situation of your Empire's countries and forces click on one of the four menu options for "Orders". These display and accept orders in a variety of formats. Orders are the same whichever format is used and it is possible to use different formats in the course of entering orders for a given turn. The order displays each show all countries in your Empire followed by all forces. Countries are listed in alphabetic order, forces in move sequence as at the end of the last turn. Each country and force is shown over up to 5 lines each beginning with a !. These are !O Original. Situation at start of current turn (ie at end of last turn) !I Input. New orders as currenlty amended/entered by you for the current turn. !S Saved. Latest orders accepted and saved on the player's PC. !T Transmitted. Latest orders transmitted to Olympus. (In fact this shows the latest orders set up for upload to Olympus. The actual transmission is handled by the player through e-mail) !A Accepted. Latest orders accepted at Olympus. These are the orders that will be used for the next turn unless they are superceded before the deadline) The above input panels accept orders for all countries and forces in your Empire. In addition, when you click on one of your own forces an order input panel for that force only is displayed in the 5-line format, and may be used to enter orders for the single force. The display is free format and you enter orders by changing the data in situ on the !I line for each country or force. The computer relies on the postion of data on the Orders to work out your orders so do not alter any line other than the !I line and keep the amended data more or less in the same column positions as the original. Against each country the display shows the money available for that country, including tax income but excluding any expenditure, for the current turn. An "*" in the SE column indicates that the country is a Imperial Power. For each army or fleet the report shows the force reference, special encounters, move sequence, the numbers of hoplites, triremes and merchantmen, the amount of money, the start location and the route the force is ordered to march or sail. The orders you issue acted on in the following sequence: 1. Alliances are established. 2. Money transfers among Treasuries and forces. 3. Raise forces in their sequence within the move. As forces are raised the cost of raising them is deducted from the money in the Treasury of the country in which they are raised. You must ensure there are sufficient funds in each country to pay for the raises ordered. 4. Splits and mergers of fleets and armies (including the transfer of any monies to existing or new units). 5. Calculate maintenance costs of forces. Any force, or part of a force, which cannot be paid for is disbanded. These five steps establish the starting postion for the current turn. 6. Movements and battles for armies and fleets in the specificed move sequence. Detailed instructions for completion of orders : Alliances. Alliances are set up through the "Empire" menu. This shows a list of all Empires in the game on one line. To offer an alliance to one of them (max. 2) enter the number of the turn up to which you are prepared to ally beneath its name. The turn must not be earlier than the current turn. If you are already offering alliance, the turn to which your offer holds good is shown. You can change this to an earlier ot later turn, but cannot change it to a turn earlier than the current turn, nor can you delete it entirely. Countries. The Orders display shows the country code and the amount of money in the Treasury for the current turn for each country you control. The amount of money includes the tax income for the current turn, but excludes any expenditure. You may not add or delete any countries. You may alter the amount of money held by each country by amending the figure on the !I line for that country. However, the total money held by your Empire (whether by individual forces or in countries) may not be altered - it can only be redistributed among your countries, armies and fleets and only within a financial bloc. So, if you increase the amount of money held in one place you must decrease the amount(s) held elsewhere. Enter money as figures with 2 decimal places the integral part being talents, the decimals drachmae (100 dr = 1 talent). Against each country the report also shows the numbers of hoplites, triremes and merchantmen you can raise in the country each turn. The figure is for information only. It does not represent actual forces and is not included in the total of forces at the foot of the display. You do not have to raise the forces shown and if you do you must enter them against new or existing armies or fleets. If all the forces that can be raised must start on the same hex, the hex column and row are shown, again, for information only. Forces. These instructions describe the information shown for each force and what alterations and additions you may make to it. The information about each force is shown on one set of lines on the Orders. For new forces, enter an entire new line against the next blank !I. These instructions describe each of the fields of information for a force and explain what you may and may not enter as an order. 1. Force identifier. This is in the form A999 where A is a letter (A for armies, F for fleets) and 999 is the force number in the range 1-999. The force number must be unique so you cannot have, for example, two armies called A5 nor even a fleet called, say, F13 and an army called A13. If a force is disbanded its id cannot be reused in the current turn. An army can have only hoplites and money in it. A fleet must have at least one trireme or merchantman and may also carry hoplites and money. Existing forces at the start of each turn already have their identifiers. You must not alter these, except that you must change 'F' to 'A' for a former fleet in port when the force no longer contains any ships and vice versa. If you wish to created a new force for your Empire, assign it an identity with A for an army and F for a fleet and a number which is not already in use by the Empire. 2. Special Encounters (SE). Three types of encounter, early (EEN), brush (BRU) and guarded (GEN), can allow your force to continue on its way regardless. You may not want to do this, however. If you want a force to be able to continue after one of these types of encounter, enter Y in the SE column. If not, enter N. If nothing is entered we assume Y. 3. Sequence. As far as possible, forces are considered to move simultaneously, but for some purposes, the forces within a single Empire have to be considered to move in turn. For example, the monies available to maintain your forces each turn are allocated from the Treasury of the country in which the force starts in move sequence, so if you are short of money, it is the later forces in sequence which are threatened with being disbanded. Enter the sequence in which you wish your forces to move into this field as a number in the range 1 to 98. If you enter no sequence number here the force is given a sequence number of 99. Forces are moved in sequence starting with 1. If several forces have the same sequence number they are sequenced, relative to each other, in the order in which they appear on the Orders. 4. Strength - Hoplites. This column is headed H. Enter the number of hoplites in the force in this field. You can leave it blank if the force has no hoplites. The number entered must be in the range 0-5. Hoplites may be entered in both fleets and armies. For existing forces, the number of hoplites is already shown. If you wish to alter this figure, replace it with the new figure. The new number may be zero. Disbanded hoplites are not charged maintenance in the turn in which they are disbanded. For new forces, enter the number against the force identifier you set up. Note that hoplites can be raised only in the capital cities of countries within your Empire and only up the maximum number allowable for the country. In capital cities, the total number of hoplites after any changes in strength which you order to armies must not exceed the number of hoplites in the capital at the end of the previous turn (as shown in the !O lines) plus any newly created this turn. On other hexes, the total number of hoplites must remain unaltered, or decrease, although you can change their distribution among the various forces. 5. Strength - Triremes. This column is headed T. Use this field for triremes as you used the previous field for hoplites. If a force contains triremes it must be a fleet. 6. Strength - Merchantmen. This column is headed M. Use this field for merchantmen as you used the hoplite field above. If a force contains merchantmen it must be a fleet. If it contains neither triremes nor merchantmen it must be an army. The total number of ships in a fleet (triremes plus merchantmen) must not exceed 5. Newly raised fleets must start in a port in the country in which they are raised. 7. Strength - Money. Enter new or altered amounts in this field. The figure represents any money carried by the force and must fall within the allowable limits. 8. Start - Col & Row. Forces must start from capitals (newly raised hoplites) or ports (newly raised ships) or from their current position. For existing forces these fields are already printed and must not be changed. For new forces you must enter their start position. You can do this in one of three ways: 1. Enter col & row reference of the hex the force starts from in the form C99 R99, where C99 is the column and R99 the row reference. 2. Enter a three letter country code reference in the start col field. If the force is an army we assume it starts in the capital of the country; if it is a fleet we assume it starts in one of the ports. You must not enter a country reference for a fleet if the country has no port. If you enter a country reference for a fleet and the country has more than one port, you will not know which port the fleet is considered to start from, so this method, although allowed, is not recommended. 3. Enter a four letter city code. The force is considered to start at the hex occupied by the city (capital or port). The four letter city code is the first four letters of the city's name with the following exceptions: Enter SAMOS as SMS " SAMOTHRACE as SMO " THERMA as THMA " THERMUM as THMM " AMPHISSA as AMPA " AMPHIPOLIS as AMPS The hex you enter must be legal for the associated force. 9. Route. Enter the route of march or line of sail in these fields. Each one represents a waymark hex on the route. Up to 6 (possibly more) may be entered in any, or any combination of, the following ways: 1. Enter col & row reference of the hex in the form C99R99. 2. Enter a four digit number being the col and row reference of the hex without the letters. Eg enter C48 R70 as 4870, C00 R00 as 0000, D09 R07 as 0907 etc. The computer will calculate the unique hex as the hex nearest to the previous hex on the route and with the numeric col & row references entered so ensure successive hexes are not too far apart (less than 50 in either col or row directions). 3. Enter a three letter country reference. This will be treated as it is for the route start position. It does not have to be a country within your Empire. 4. Enter a four letter city reference. This will be treated as it is for the route start postion. If final destination of the force is a hex which has not yet been discovered by you it must be entered by method 3 (country name). All other hexes on the route must be already discovered by you. Totals. Totals for hoplites, triremes, merchantmen and money are shown at the foot of the Orders by type (!O, !I etc). They are calculated automatically and cannot be changed by you. They are for information only and give you an idea of your total strength and a chance to check that your money total is unaltered. Manual04. Copyright (C) Hoplite Encounter 2 Jul 2007. 12 Nov 2008 |
||||||||||||||||
| back to top | ||||||||||||||||