 |
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Screen Handling | ||||||||||||||||
| Hoplite Encounter. Screen Handling 1. General 1.1 Occasionally, When initialised, the Hoplite Encounter screen is blank. If so, click anywhere on the screen to fire up the display. 1.2 Once displayed, the screen shows a map of the playing area and allows the player to control the display and to enter orders for the current turn through the mouse and keyboard as described below. 1.3 The maximum playing area is called the Known World. The map area shown is the part of the Known World which has been discovered by the player in the current game. The border of the Known World is marked in black. Unknown regions are grey. Discovered regions are displayed in colour on the lattice of hexagons that make up the map and show known permanent features, ie sea, countries, capitals, ports, harbour mouths and names. A coloured border marks the boundary of areas held by each Empire (including your own) and known to you. Each of these areas forms a financial bloc. Within the discovered region the area currently visible to the player is marked with a white line boundary. The visible area may be the same as the discovered area or smaller but cannot be larger. Within the visible area all forces are shown, both your own and enemy. Armies are shown as circles, fleets as rectangles. Enemy forces are shown on their start positions. For your own forces each route waymark is shown, outlined in black for the start position of existing forces, dark grey for the start position of forces raised in the current turn, light grey for intermediate positions and white for the final position. Start position outlines are heavier. The waymarks are connected by straight lines but the actual route taken will pass from hex to hex and may be more circuitous than shown. 2. Operation 2.1 The player controls the screen and the elements within it through the mouse and keyboard. To trigger an action, position the mouse arrow over the revelant symbol and (left) click. If the click is sensed a small circle is flashed to acknowlege. If the click represents a recognised action which can be performed the circle is green. If a recognised action which cannot be performed (eg. menu option "Transmit" when there is nothing to send) then circle is orange. If the click represents no recognised action (ie a click in a "dead" part of the screen) the circle is red. If there is no response to a click within a second or so then the click has not been sensed at all. 2.2 In addition to the mouse, the player can call up input panels. These permit the entry of text through the keyboard. Typically the input panels show a current situation (eg current orders) and invite the player to enter amended or new instructions as text. The information entered through the input panels is entered in free format. However, it is interpreted by its postion within the layout of the input panel and the player must take care to enter information in the correct postions only and without disturbing the general layout. Typically, information is shown against a "!O" marker for original (ie at start of the turn) and against "!I" for input (eg amended or new orders entered by the player). 3. Forces 3.1 To show details of an enemy force, click on the symbol for the force. This displays a flag at the start position for the force showing the force Empire, identity, number of hoplites, triremes and merchantman and money. Click on the flag to remove it. 3.2 To show details of one of your own forces, click on its symbol on any waymark for the force. This shows a flag as for an enemy force, a second flag giving extra information about the force and an order input panel. The two flags are for information only. The order input panel is for the entry of amendments to the orders for the force; use mouse and keyboard to enter amended orders against the !I (!Input) line then click menu option "Save" to save the amended orders or "Clear" to cancel and clear them (see 6.6 below). Click on the flags to remove them. 3.3 To move one of your own forces, position the mouse over its final position symbol, press down the left key, then with the left key held down, drag the mouse to the hex that the force is to move to and release the key. If you drag the mouse back to the symbol for the previous waymark for the force, the final leg of the route is deleted. 4. Map movement 4.1 There are four sets of three yellow arrows in the middle of each side of the screen, pointing north, south, east and west. Click on one of the arrows to move the whole map in the direction indicated. The outermost arrow shifts the screen a short distance (one pixel), the middle arrow shifts it about one hex and the inner arrow shifts it about half a screen. To scroll the map, position the cursor over the outermost arrow pointing in the revelant direction and hold down the left mouse button. To stop the scrolling, release the button. 5. Menu 5.1 Click on the top left hand red box to toggle the menu. 5.2 The menu options are of three types : CONTROL, INPUT and DISPLAY. Details are described in para. 6. 6. Menu Options 6.1 CONTROL 6.1.1 Control Hex. For some purposes, a particular hex is designated "control" hex. The coordinates of the current control hex are shown in this menu box. Click on any discovered hex to select it as current control hex. This menu box is divided into nine sections corresponding to map positions top left (north west), centre left (north) etc. To position the map with the curent control hex positioned in one of these nine locations, click on the corresponding division of the menu box. The current reference position (if any) is shown green. 6.1.2 Scale. Marked " - 24 + " (the number varies) Click towards the "-" (left) end to reduce the scale of the map, towards the "+" (right) end to increase the scale, and in the middle to set standard scale (24). The number is a measure of the scale showing. If there is a current reference position (shown green on the control hex menu box) the map expands or shrinks from that position, otherwise the map expands or shrinks from the centre of the screen. 6.1.3 Save When an input panel is on display, the player can key information into it. Then, to get the information accepted and saved by the current running session, click "Save". "Save" checks the information keyed in. If it is satisfactory in layout and format it is accepted by the current session and saved on the player's PC for future reference in the current or future sessions. The input panel is closed. If the information is not satisfactory errors are reported on a separate panel. The original input panel remains on display but is not saved. Correct the original input panel then click "Save" again to get the data accepted and saved or click "Clear" (qv) to clear the current input panel and any error panel but with loss of any input since the last successful "Save". Note that the acceptance checks at this stage are not rigorous and it is possible that data accepted here may be rejected later. 6.1.4 Clear This clears the current input panel and any associated error panel. Any information keyed into the input panel is lost. 6.1.5 Transmit Information that is "Saved" from the current or previous sessions must eventually be sent to Mount Olympus for processing. This "Transmit" option prepares data for transmission by creating a folder called PlayUp999 (where 999 is the player's number) in the C:\Games\Hoplite folder (or equivalent). In a separate operation this folder must be zipped and sent to Olympus (See Player Operation Instructions). 6.2 INPUT 6.2.1 Session. 6.2.1.1 Shows details of the current operational session in three parts : 1. Session control 2. Screen control 3. Session information 6.2.1.2 To close the current session and call up a new session : 1. Change data in the session control panel. The display shows original (current) information on a line flagged with !O and input (amended) information on a line flagged !I. To amend information key onto the !I line. Keep the amended information reasonably aligned with the original. The items that may be changed are player, name, game, empire, turn. New data must be valid for the current PC. If the name is changed, none of the other information may be changed at the same time. 2. Click "Save" on menu. Current session is cleared and a new session fired up. Apart from "name" the changes control the current operational session and are ephemeral. If "name" is changed the new name is saved permanently as the name of the player. To cancel any changes, click "Clear" on the menu (before clicking "Save"). 6.2.1.3 Screen control permits the player to change the scrolling pause, scrolling speed and map scale. Information is shown as !O (original) and !I (input). To set new parameters, enter the required figures on the !I line, keeping the input reasonably aligned. Change information on the !I line then click "Save" to put it into effect, "Clear" to ingore it. 6.2.1.4 Session information shows basic parameters for the current game (costs, ranges) and is display only. 6.2.2 Empire This displays an input panel containing information about the Empires in the game. The information about each Empire is shown in a column and consists of : 1. Alliances offered by you (!O = Original) 2. Alliances offered by you (!I = Input) 3. Alliances offered to you 4. Conquests (number of Imperial countries held) 5. Income (total income per turn for the Empire) Rows 1, 3, 4 and 5 are display only; row 2, Alliances offered by you (Input) may be amended through the keyboard. To offer an alliance to another Empire, enter the turn number up to which the alliance is offered in the column for that Empire. Existing offers are shown on the row above. The turn entered must be equal to or later than the current turn. If an offer already exists it can be changed to a different turn (earlier or later) but cannot be removed entirely. If the other Empire makes you an offer of alliance you become allies for all turns covered by both offers. Once you have amended the Empires input panel you must click "Save" and eventually "Transmit" to get your offer included in the next transmission to Olympus. To cancel the input panel without accepting any information click "Clear". The current control hex is shown and may be amended. The current hex is shown against the tag !O and the new one against the tag !I. Initially the two are the same. To set a new control hex, amend the hex id against the !I tag using format C99R99 then click menu option "Save". The control hex must be a discovered hex. 6.2.3 Ord.scr.2 Orders scrolled with two lines (ie the !O and !I lines below) per country or force. This displays an input panel showing Orders for the current turn. Each country in your Empire and each of your forces is shown in tabular layout over up to 5 rows per country or force. The rows are : !O Original Orders at start of current turn !I Input Orders as currently amended/entered by player !S Saved Latest orders saved (ie Accepted) on player's PC !T Transmitted Latest orders prepared for transmission to Olympus. (Actual transmission is via the website). !A Accepted Orders as accepted at Olympus Some of these rows may be missing on some displays. Use the mouse and keyboard to enter new or amended orders for each country or force in the row !I. The remainder of the layout must not be altered and the information that is entered must be reasonably neatly aligned in the appropriate columns. For countries, only the money amount may be changed. New countries cannot be added nor existing ones removed. The figures in the Hoplite, Trireme and Merchantman columns show the show the maximum number of each that can be raised by the country each turn. If raised, they must be placed in a force. These figures are not included in the totals at the foot of the input panel. To transfer money to or from a country increase or decrease the amount of money against that country. Overall, money cannot be increased or decreased so each change in one place must be balanced by a contrary change elsewhere. Money can be transferred among all countries and forces within a contiguous land bloc within your Empire or among your forces outside your Empire and on the same hex, ie fleets at sea or armies in neutral or enemy territory. For forces, existing information can be changed as follows: Force. Id letter can be changed to A (army) or F (fleet) but the number must remain the same. SE (Special Encounter). May be set to Y (yes) or N (no) Seq (Sequence). May be set to a number 1 - 99, or blank Strength / H T M. set to the number of hoplites, triremes and merchantmen in the force for the current turn, ie after any regrouping, disbanding or raising of forces. May be set to zero or blank. Money. Set to amount of money carried by the force after any transfers. Start. Starting location of the force. May not be altered for an existing force. Route. C2R2, C3R3 etc. Column and row references to waymarks in the route over which the force is ordered to march or sail. May be entered as Town or Country codes. Waymarks must lie within the discovered area of the map except, optionally, then final one in which case it must be in the form of a three letter country code. In addition, new forces can be entered on the blank !I rows. Input is as for existing forces but with all information entered including force id and start position. 6.2.4 Ord.scr.5 Orders scrolled with five lines per country or force. Order input is against the !I line as for 6.6 above. 6.2.5 -Ord.p2+ Orders paged with two lines per country or force. Orders are shown against a transparent background; Order input is against the !I line as in 6.6 above. When a page is on display click on "-" to show previous page, "+" to show next page. When - or + is clicked, its contents are validated before displaying the next page. Click on "Save" saves orders from all pages - not just the page currently on view. Click on "Clear" removes the order input panel and ignores new order input to the current page, but retains the input orders from previous pages. The transparent order input panel can become unreadable after a few amendments. However, a click on one of the direction arrows gives the whole screen a nudge and clears this problem. 6.2.6 -Ord.p5+ Orders paged with five lines per country or force. Handling is as for 6.8. 6.2.7 Forces Orders for raising, disbanding, splitting and merging forces on the current control hex. An input panel is displayed with a list of forces starting on the current control hex showing their strengths in Hoplites, Triremes, Merchantmen and Money. Two columns are shown: Original and Input. Enter amended strengths in the Input columns to transfer hoplites etc. among the forces. New forces can be raised by entering them on one of the blank lines. If the hex is a capital its raising limits are shown (for information only) and the money in its Treasury which can amended to be included in money transfers. If the hex is a port its raising limits are shown for information only. 6.2.8 Finance Orders for redistributing money within a single financial bloc may be entered via this option. Click on the menu option to show a list of all the countries and forces within the finacial bloc that includes the current control hex. Use the mouse and keyboard to amend the amounts of money against selected countries and forces. Only money figures in the "!Input" column may be amended. Click "Save" to validate and update the orders with the amended amounts. No new forces can be raised. Existing money can be re-allocated with the bloc but cannot be created nor removed. Numbers of hoplites, triremes and merchantmen in each force are the latest input figures shown for information only. 6.2.9 Messages Send and receive messages to and from other players in the game. Each message consists of two parts - a control line with formatted information and a free text area for the message itself. On the control line you may amend only the "To" Empire (defaults to XXX) and the "Ack" Empire (defaults to your own Empire). Enter as the three letter code of one of the Empires in the game. The "To" Empire is the addressee. The "Ack" (acknowledged) Empire will be shown to the recipient as the sender; you may enter any Empire in the game so be aware that on the messages you receive the acknowledged sender may be false. Enter or amend the message in the free text area. Initially this says "Enter message here". Only these three areas ("To", "Ack" and text) may be amended. Keep the message layout tidy as the computer relies on the layout format in processing the messages. You may amend only "New", "Pend" (message saved but not transmitted) and "Memo" (message to yourself) messages. To save any changes click "Save" on the menu. To quit the message display, with loss of any information keyed during the current showing, click "Clear" on the menu. To send messages click "Transmit" on the menu. This will prepare outstanding messages for transmission via PlayUp999 along with any other data due to be sent to Olympus. 6.3 DISPLAY This section shows documentation for the game. Each document can be displayed in a paged ord scrolled format. To show the paged version click on the left hand side of the relevant document, to show the scrolled version click on the right hand side. To turn pages of a paged version once it is on display, click on the - (page back) or + (page forward) on the menu line immediately above the list of documents. 6.3.1 Ord.Sheet Shows an image of a printed order sheet as at the start of the turn. Display only. To clear click "Clear" on menu. 6.3.2 Action. Shows the Action Report for the previous turn. This includes details of orders executed, monies spent, encounters, battles, results and conquests. Display only. To clear click "Clear" on menu. 6.3.3 Examples. Shows examples of various inputs. 6.3.4 Operation. Shows instructions on computer handling for Hoplite Encounter. Covers set-up, execution and communication. Display only. To clear click "Clear" on menu. 6.3.5 Develop. Shows a list of developments in the game. Display only. To clear click "Clear" on menu. 6.3.6 Manual Shows the Hoplite Encounter game manual. Display only. To clear click "Clear" on menu. 6.3.7 Screen Shows instructions on screen handling. You're reading it now. Display only. To clear click "Clear" on menu. 6.3.8 Summary Summary of game rules. Display only. To clear click "Clear" on menu. Screen08. Copyright (C) Hoplite Encounter 10 Apr 2007. 26 Mar 2010 |
||||||||||||||||