********* Welcome to Project 64! The goal of Project 64 is to preserve Commodore 64 related documents in electronic text format that might otherwise cease to exist with the rapid advancement of computer technology and declining interest in 8- bit computers on the part of the general population. Extensive efforts were made to preserve the contents of the original document. However, certain portions, such as diagrams, program listings, and indexes may have been either altered or sacrificed due to the limitations of plain vanilla text. Diagrams may have been eliminated where ASCII-art was not feasible. Program listings may be missing display codes where substitutions were not possible. Tables of contents and indexes may have been changed from page number references to section number references. Please accept our apologies for these limitations, alterations, and possible omissions. Document names are limited to the 8.3 file convention of DOS. The first characters of the file name are an abbreviation of the original document name. The version number of the etext follows next. After that a letter may appear to indicate the particular source of the document. Finally, the document is given a .TXT extension. The author(s) of the original document and members of Project 64 make no representations about the accuracy or suitability of this material for any purpose. This etext is provided "as-is". Please refer to the warantee of the original document, if any, that may included in this etext. No other warantees, express or implied, are made to you as to the etext or any medium it may be on. Neither the author(s) nor the members of Project 64 will assume liability for damages either from the direct or indirect use of this etext or from the distribution of or modification to this etext. Therefore if you read this document or use the information herein you do so at your own risk. ********* The Project 64 etext of the ~Computer Ambush manual~, converted to etext by anonymous, obtained from the Asimov Apple ][ site ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/games/strategy/SSI/ computer_ambush.zip, pointed to by Evin Mulron's Apple ][ SSI page http://www.concentric.net/~evin/ssi/. COMAMB10.TXT, May 1997, etext #240#. ********* Computer Ambush TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1.0 GENERAL DESCRIPTION...........................1 2.0 GETTING STARTED...............................1 3.0 SEQUENCE OF PLAY..............................2 4.0 SOLDIERS CHARACTERISTICS......................2 5.0 ORDERS:WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO USE THEM......3 6.0 STATUS REPORT.................................4 7.0 GET AND DROP ORDERS...........................5 8.0 MOVING YOUR SOLDIERS..........................6 9.0 SNEAKING......................................7 10.0 SIGHTING THE ENEMY...........................7 11.0 WEAPONS......................................8 12.0 WEAPONS AND COMBAT...........................9 13.0 NON-STANDARD SOLDIER CHARACTERISTICS........10 14.0 COMPUTER AMBUSH DISK MANAGEMENT.............11 15.0 ORIGINAL DESIGNER'S NOTES...................11 16.0 SCENARIOS...................................11 CREDITS.....................................13 1.0 GENERAL DESCRIPTION Computer Ambush is a simulation of squad versus squad combat in France during World War II. The game scale is 3 meters per square and one second per 10 time points. You will notice while reading the rules that we do not divulge all of the mathematics behind the game. We have done this intentionally in order to create as much uncertainty as possible in the players minds. By playing the game many times you will begin to get a feel for what to expect, but you will never know for sure. Thus we have here a game that truly creates the "fog of war". 1.1 Parts Inventory A. Box B. Rule Book C. 5 1/4 inch game disc D. Two Mapboard Cards E. Two Squad Cards F. Two Grease Pencils 1.2 Mapboard Codes P,R,K...- First letter of last name of a friendly soldier (Star)- An American Soldier as seen by the German Player (Swastika)- A German Soldier as seen by the American Player (Plus)- An enemy soldier in shock (50 or more wound points) (Skull & Xbones)- An enemy soldier that is dead (99 wound points) (Straight line)- Wall (Line w/sect miss)- Window (Line w/offset sect)- Door (Squiggle)- Hedge (Box w/dot)- Interior of a building (Splotch)- Rubble (Pyramid)- Statue 1.3 Password. At the start of each game both players will be required to enter a five character password. It is important that each player keep his password to himself. This will ensure that secret information held by the computer is given only to the appropriate player. 1.4 Saving a Game or a Squad A decision must be made at the end of each turn whether or not to "save" the game. Saving a game allows you to restart the game at a later date from the point at which you left off. You are also given the opportunity to save a squad of soldiers with non-standard names and characteristics (see section 13 and 14). Saving a squad allows you to use the same non-standard soldiers in more than one game. In order to save a game or a squad, you must first initialize a SAVE disk. This means that You MUST have a pre-initialized disk available before you start any game you think you might want to save (see section 24). 1.5 Mapboard Coordinates To read the map coordinates, first read the column number and then the row number. Example: The statue is in column 30 and row 43, and thus it is in square 3043. 1.6 Setting Up the Game To prepare for play, refer to the Game Selection Card contained in the game box. The different scenarios are listed on this sheet, including the objectives for both players. If this is your first game, we suggest that you play the NCO training scenario while reading the rest of the rules. 1.7 Talking to the Computer After a command is given to the computer, terminate the command by pressing the "RETURN" key. The return key is indicated in the rulebook by the symbol "(CR)" which stands for carriage return. If you make a mistake while entering a command, you may use the "back arrow" to go backwards, then type over the mistake. 2.0 GETTING STARTED To begin playing, insert the COMPUTER AMBUSH diskette into the drive and turn on your computer. In a few seconds, an American and a German soldier will be displayed on your screen. Press any key to start the game. 2.1 Menu Options You will be asked to choose one of four options from a listed menu. These options are: 1) perform disk management (section 14), 2) generate a squad of soldiers (section 13), 3) start a new game, and 4) restart an old game. If you choose either of the first two options, you will later return to the menu, allowing you to start a game if you desire. However, if you choose options 3) or 4), you will begin playing COMPUTER AMBUSH and will not return to the menu. This means that you cannot initialize a SAVE disk nor generate a non-standard squad of soldiers after a game has begun. If you choose to start a new game, you will enter the Scenario Selection Phase. 2.2 Scenario Selection Phase The purpose of this phase of COMPUTER AMBUSH is to allow you to select the game you wish to play. This phase will be executed only once at the beginning of each new game. You will choose from a selection of five solitaire scenarios or seven two-player games (see Game Selection Card). If this is a two-player game, the two players must decide who will play each side and enter passwords when asked. The player(s) will then select his squad of soldiers (with either standard or non-standard soldier characteristics) and place them on the map. Each player will also choose to either accept the standard weapon allocation (section 11.1), or to allocate weapons to his soldiers himself. This gives a player the opportunity to match weapons according to the strengths and weaknesses of his soldiers and can often mean the difference between victory and defeat. You may get a hard-copy listing of your Squad's characteristics and weapons distribution if you desire (and if you have a printer!). 2.3 Sound or Silence? After the game scenario has been chosen, the computer will ask if you desire to play a quiet game or a game with sound effects. If you play a game with sound, the computer will play "music" whenever introducing a new phase of the game, and voice its dissatisfaction on input errors. NOTE: this question does let you play late at night without disturbing (pick one) parents, roommate(s), or spouse! 2.4 Blind or Unlimited Sight? You must also choose whether you will play a "blind" or an unlimited game. In simplest terms, an unlimited game means that the American player can see all the German soldiers in the game, and the German player can see all the American soldiers in the game. A blind game, on the other hand, is more true-to-life, since a player will see only those enemy soldiers that his own soldiers see. The factors which determine whether an enemy soldier is seen or not during a blind game are described in section 10. A blind game clearly adds to the challenge of COMPUTER AMBUSH. NOTE: All solitaire games played at skill level three are blind. 2.5 How Many Time Points? The last question you must resolve in the Scenario Selection Phase is the number of time points you wish to simulate during the first turn. You may choose any number of time points between 1 and 250 (that is, between 0.1 and 25 seconds). The computer will also ask this question at the end of each turn. 3.0 SEQUENCE OF PLAY COMPUTER AMBUSH is played in a series of turns un...
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