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— 5K bytes
— 1992-09-02
— PP20 compressed
DICTATOR II
===========
A war/strategy game for one or more players.
Introduction
------------
The game consists of a map of Great Britain, divided into seven regions.
Each region is further sub-divided into counties. The object of the game
is to take over and control counties. The game is eventually won by having
a high enough proportion of the population under your control.
Playing the Game
----------------
Any number of players from three to six can take part in the game. Some or
all of these players may be controlled by the Computer. On the title
screen, just click on the required number of players (the default is four),
and then on `Go For It'. You will then be asked for the players' names.
If you want a player to be controlled by the computer, just press the RETURN
key when asked for the player's name.
Initially, Britain's counties are shared approximately equally between the
different dictators (players). Each player has control over everything that
happens in the counties he owns. A player can buy military units, farms,
factories for his counties, and can declare war on other counties, in an
attempt to capture them.
Military Units
--------------
A number of military units can be stationed in each of your counties. There
are seven types of military units available. Each one has a different
attacking strength, defensive strength, and of course, cost. Units also
cost money to maintain. The maintenance cost is exactly one third of the
cost to buy a unit, and must be paid each turn. Here is a list of the
military units available:
Attack Str. Defence Str. Cost
Legion 1 1 3
Cavalry 2 1 6
Catapult 3 1 9
Tank 4 1 12
Infantry 1 2 6
Fortress 1 3 9
Castle 1 4 12
Counties
--------
Click on a county with the left mouse button to display information about
that county. The county's name and current owner will be shown at the top
of the screen. Other information, like the number of farms, factories and
military units will be shown beneath. Note that, if you do not own the
county, then not all the information will be available.
The amount of money in the county's treasury is shown in white. The number
in brackets next to this is the amount of money gained in the last turn.
If you own the county, you will be shown how many military units are
stationed there. If you also own an adjacent county, you can move some of
units to that county. Click on the adjacent county with the RIGHT mouse
button. A screen will then appear showing how many units are in each
county. Click on the unit(s) you wish to move.
After you have moved armies to an adjacent county, then that county cannot
declare war, or move units to another county, in the same turn. The county
that units have been moved to will be shown near the top of the screen, next
to `Move:'.
The number of farms is shown in square brackets next to the word `Farms'.
Each farm usually produces one unit of food. However, this may vary
according to the season. The number of food units produced are shown
underneath. The food units are then used to feed the population. One unit
is required for every 20,000 people. Such a food unit is coloured blue.
The surplus food units are coloured yellow. The greater the surplus food,
the happier the population are, as the food prices are kept low (Common
Agricultural Policy ???). Consequently, building more farms can increase
the popularity.
The popularity is important as it defines which military units you are able
to buy. If you are unpopular in a county, then the people will not
tolerate such vast military expenditure. Here is how the popularity factor
effects military units:
Popularity Units Available
60% or more... All Units Available
55% to 59%.... All Units except Tank, Castle.
54% or less... All Units except Tank, Castle, Catapult, Fortress.
The number of factories is shown in square brackets, as was the case with
farms. The factories production (ie, manufactured goods), is shown below.
Military units that are stationed in the county, must be maintained with
the resources obtained from manufacturing. Such a used up manufactured
unit is shown in blue. Surplus manufactured goods are shown in yellow, and
are placed in the county's treasury. With this money, you can buy new
military units, farms, or factories. The number of manufactured goods also
depends on the popularity - happy people are more efficient, and produce
more.
If there is a shortage of food or manufactured goods, then this will be
shown as black items. A shortage of goods will be rectified by taking money
out of the county's treasury. Note it is be unwise to keep to many units
in a county that has not got enough factories to support them. This is
because, if there is not enough money in the county's treasury, then one or
more units will be destroyed. You will get two-thirds of the cost of buying
the units refunded. You should find a shortage of food to be very rare, but
this will cause the population to be very unhappy.
To buy a farm, factory, or military unit, click on the green square next to
the appropriate item. If you click on Military Unit, a list will appear of
all the units that are available to you. Click on the desired one, or on
Cancel to exit. Farms and Factories will be added immediately, provided
you have the necessary money, that is, 20 units of money.
You can only have a maximum of six of each type of military unit per county.
That is, six legions, six infantry, etc.
Declaring War
-------------
This is the way to capture new counties. To declare war, click the LEFT
mouse button on the the county from which you want to launch your attack.
Then click on the county you wish to declare war on with the RIGHT mouse
button.
You cannot declare war in a county that has already moved military units.
You are also not allowed to declare war during the first turn. This is so
that everyone has a turn to build up their defences before waring begins.
You can only declare war on neighbouring enemy counties. When a county is
selected (ie, clicked on), it's neighbouring counties are filled in the
colour of their respective owner.
Battles are simulated using the following procedure:
The strongest attacking unit from the attacking county, is compared with
the strongest defensive unit from the defending county. One of the units
is then destroyed, depending on their relative strengths. For example, if a
cannon is attacking a fortress, then that corresponds to a ratio of 4 to 3.
Thus, the odds are 4:3 that the cannon will win. The battle will continue
until exactly half the original number of units (from either side) have
been destroyed. For example, if the attacking player has 9 units and the
defending player has 3 units (ie, a total if 12), then the computer will
simulate the war until 6 units have been lost. If the defending county runs
out of units in the meantime, then they lose the county to the attacking
player.
If a war takes place between two counties, which results in neither county
capturing the other, then important rules come in to play. Firstly, the
other players will be able to see how many units were in the unsuccessful
counties. This is because word travels fast about battles. Secondly, no
units may be moved in or out of that county for that turn, and no new units
may be bought there. The county that was declared war upon will be shown
next to the word `WAR:' when this has happened.
If the battle was won however, then the winning county can move military
units to the defeated county, in order to protect it. The number of units
in either county is not given to the other players. However, the winning
county cannot declare war, or move military units, to any other county, in
the same turn.
If you find that you cannot move units or declare war, check to make sure
none of the above rules are preventing you. The easiest way to do this, is
to look at the top of the screen, underneath the county's name. If the words
`WAR:' or `MOVE:' are shown, then the country is forbidden to communicate or
declare war with any other counties in that turn.
Empire
------
There are three options below the main map. These are Empire, Maps, and
Game. The first, Empire, shows information about all you counties you own,
and the total number of each type of military unit you have.
Maps
----
The second option will bring up a sub menu on the left hand side of the
screen. This is a list of available maps.
The Dictators map simply shows the ownership of each county.
The Status map shows what has most recently happened to a county in the
last turn. Counties could have been at (i) peace, (ii) have won a war,
(iii) have lost a war, or (iv) fought an indecisive war. Note that, if an
indecisive war was fought, you will be able to see how many military units
are in that county, whether you own it or not.
The other maps are self-explanatory, and are usually much less often used.
Game
----
Pressing this button brings up a list of game options. These are:
(i) Next turn - will end your turn, and play will pass to the next player.
(ii) Save Game - will ask you for a filename, and then save the current
game.
(iii) Quit Game - will return to the title screen. From here, you can
start a new game, load a previously saved game, or exit from the program.
End of Turn
-----------
At the end of each turn, new population figures are calculated. The
counties' populations grow at a rate that is proportional to the amount of
surplus food. Also, if any player owns an entire region, then the
population will grow twice as fast in every county within that region. Each
turn corresponds to one season, so four turns represent one year.
The other county statistics are of course also updated. It is particularly
important to note the popularity in counties. If you own a county that is
surrounded by unfriendly counties in the same region, the popularity will be
much lower. Thus, by capturing a region, the popularity will tend to
increase, enabling better military units to to built.
At the end of every fourth turn (ie, every year) a population graph is
shown, which displays how each dictator's empire has grown or shrunk. This
graph can also be called up at any time by pressing P.
The game ends when a high enough proportion of the population is under one
player's control. The proportion depends on the number of players in the
game:
3 Players... 65% of population required to win game.
4 players... 60% " " " " " "
5 Players... 55% " " " " " "
6 players... 50% " " " " " "
When the game ends, you will be shown the final population graph. After
this, the game will return you to the main playing screen, so that you can
examine the final state of your empire. You can save the game at this point
also. You cannot continue to play the game, however. You must click on
the `End Game' option from the `Game' menu to exit.
Files
-----
The following Files should be included (all in the `Dictator2' drawer):
Dictator2.PRG (program)
Dictator2.info (icon)
Dictator2 (script file to load from workbench)
Dictator2.Doc (this document)
Dictator2.Doc.info (document's icon)
Dictator2.Dat1 (graphics data)
Dictator2.Dat2 (more graphics data)
IconX Should be in C: directory for the program to load from workbench
Author
------
Dictator 2 (c) Steven Pugh 1992, Written in GFA BASIC.
Steven Pugh
10 Wellington Close
Sandhurst Green
Sundorne
Shrewsbury
Shropshire
SY1 4SP