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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 until one or both sides have completed their missions or until one side is totally destroyed. Each turn follows a standard pattern of phases. 3.1 American Order Entry Phase During this phase the American player may give orders to his soldiers (section 5), obtain a status report about a soldier (section 6), obtain the characteristics of his squad, or get a view of the mapboard. Each time an order is written, the estimated time and energy required to execute that order will be subtracted from the total available to that soldier. Thus, you will have a fairly good idea of what your soldier can accomplish during this turn. It is always possible during this phase to change the orders given to your men. No orders are final until the player ends the phase. 3.2 German Order Entry Phase The German player gives orders to his soldiers. If you are playing a solitaire game, the computer will give orders to the German soldiers. 3.3 Computer Resolution Phase During this phase the computer executes the orders given by the players. The computer resolves all of the action with total simultaneity. If your soldier has greater dexterity and intelligence than his opponent, he will fire the first shot, unless he has a rifle vs. a machine gun, etc.) The computer will first ask if you want to hear the sounds of battle (gunfire, hand grenades, explosions, screams, etc.) or the sounds of silence. Opting for sound effects will cause the Computer Resolution Phase to take longer, since the computer can't process the orders you have given your soldiers while it is producing sounds. 3.4 American Report Phase During this phase the American player may view a movie of the events of the turn just completed. The movie will show movements of soldiers across the mapboard as well as any fire and explosives attacks that take place. By displaying the (A)ction during this phase the player will see the location of all soldiers that were spotted at any time during the turn, even if they were subsequently lost. By displaying the (M)ap, the player will see the final location of all the soldiers that he can see. The player may also obtain the characteristics of his squad during this phase. 3.5 German Report Phase The German player is allowed to see the results of the turn just completed. 3.6 Save Game Phase This phase marks the end of the current turn. it is at this time that you can save the game in progress for resumption at a later time. The computer will also ask you how many time points you wish to simulate on the next turn. 3.7 Repeat steps 3.1 - 3.6 until a victor is declared. 4.0 SOLDIER CHARACTERISTICS COMPUTER AMBUSH is a game dealing with individual combat, and because of this, you will need to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of your men. These characteristics should be carefully considered as you deploy and use your troops. You can find the standard characteristics of each man on the squad cards provided with the game. You are also given the opportunity to have the computer generate a random set of characteristics for your soldiers (see section 13). The following is a discussion of what each characteristic represents and how it is used in the game. NOTE: The abilities listed in 4.3 - 4.10 are on a scale of 1 - 10, with 1 usually meaning 10% and 10 usually meaning 100%. 4.1 Rank The ranks of the soldiers are as follows: sergeant (sgt), corporal (cpl), private first class (pfc), and private (pvt) for the Americans, and feldwebel (fw), unteroffizier (uo), obergefreiter (og), ana gefreiter (gf) for the Germans. The highest ranking soldier in a squad is considered to be the squad leader. Thus when Padooka is used in a game he is the American squad leader. If he becomes dead or in shock, then the next higher ranking soldier will assume squad leader status. For example, if all ten soldiers were being used and Padooka and Richfield were both in shock, then Bastinelli would become the American squad leader. The squad leader has an effect on the command control ratings (section 6.7) of the other soldiers in the squad. Also, higher ranking soldiers will usually have higher command control ratings. 4.2 Name Each friendly soldier is represented on the screen by the first letter of his last name. This letter is also used by the player to indicate to the computer which soldier is being referred to for order writing or status checks. 4,3 Body Weight This characteristic is the weight of each soldier. Each unit of body weight is equal to 10 kg (22 lbs). 4.4 Physical Strength The number in the physical strength column is the percentage of a soldier's own body weight that he can carry. This characteristic is used to determine the amount of endurance and energy points the soldier receives at the beginning of each turn. The higher a soldier's strength the more he will be able to do before he becomes fatigued. 4.5 Intelligence/Combat Reflexes The combination of intelligence, training and combat experience is represented by this figure. The higher a man's intelligence/reflexes the faster that man will execute his orders. Thus a man with high intelligence will take less than the normal amount of time points to carry out his orders, while a man with low intelligence will use more time points to execute the same order. 4.6 Dexterity This characteristic reflects the solder's ability to move swiftly. As with intelligence, the higher a soldier's dexterity, the less time points the soldier will use when executing his orders. 4.7 Power of Observation The combination of a soldier's basic awareness and his eyesight, this figure is used by the computer to determine whether a man spots enemy soldiers in his field of vision (see section 20.3). 4.8 Throwing Marksmanship This characteristic represents the soldier's ability to throw a grenade. A high marksmanship rating will increase the accuracy of the throw. 4.9 Firing Marksmanship This characteristic represents the soldier's ability to hit a target with his fire weapon. A rating of 6 would indicate that the soldier has a 60% chance of hitting the target before accounting for the accuracy of the weapon being fired, defensive terrain, etc. 4.10 Ability in Hand-to-Hand Combat A soldier's basic ability in hand-to-hand combat. 4.11 Demolitions Expert Even though any soldier may carry the plastic explosive, only one soldier per squad has enough expertise in explosives to qualify as a demolitions expert, and therefore has the ability to detonate a plastic explosive safely. However, if the demolitions expert is dead or in shock, then the squad leader may attempt to detonate the plastic explosive (see section 12.7). In the standard squads, the American and German demolitions experts are Cheng and Wagner, respectively. If you use a computer-generated squad, you decide which soldier is your demolitions expert. Because you may also allocate weapons to your soldiers (section 11), it is possible to start a game with a demolitions expert, but not have a plastic explosive; or have a plastic explosive, but not have a demolitions expert. In the latter case, the squad leader could attempt to detonate the plastic explosive (see sections 11.2 and 22.7). 5.0 ORDERS: WHAT THEY ARE AND NOW TO USE THEM During each player's order entry phase, the player may order his soldiers to perform a combination of tasks. Each soldier begins every turn with a number of energy and time points. The energy and time points required to perform a task are given on the squad card. These costs are the cost for an average soldier (that is, a soldier who rates 5 in all categories). When a player writes an order for one of his soldiers, the soldiers energy and time points will be displayed on the screen. After each order is given, energy and time points required to complete the order will be subtracted and new totals will be displayed on the screen. This allows a player to monitor the approximate number of orders his soldier can accomplish during the current turn. (The number is "approximate" because factors which affect the time required to execute an order may change during the computer resolution phase.) The computer reserves an identical amount of space to store each soldiers orders. A player may continue to write orders for a soldier until that space is filled. This means that a soldier may receive further orders even though his time and/or energy fall below zero. 5.1 Execution of Orders / Insufficient time during the computer resolution phase. A soldier will execute the orders given to him in the order entry phase provided that he has the requisite time and/or energy. (NOTE: This assumes, of course, that your soldier was not shot, forced to defend himself from a charging enemy, etc.) If a soldier does not have sufficient time to execute an order during the computer resolution phase, the computer will advise the player during the next order entry phase on how much additional time is required to execute that order (see section 6.10). The player may then choose to either 1) write (N)ew orders, 2) (L)eave the current orders, or 3) (A)ttach new orders. If (N)ew orders are written, the old orders list is obliterated. If you (L)eave the orders list as is, the soldier will continue to complete the original set of orders during the subsequent computer resolution phase. If a player chooses to (A)ttach new orders, the player can append new orders to the first order in the list (that is, only the first order in the list is kept). This option allows a player to alter his strategy without wasting the time already spent by the soldier in partially executing an order. 5.2 Execution of Orders / Insufficient Energy A soldier cannot execute an order in the computer resolution phase if he has insufficient energy to do so. Whenever this occurs, the soldier's orders list is cleared and he will be unable to do anything more until he regains additional energy at the beginning of the next turn (see section 6.6). It is usually poor strategy for a player to frive his soldiers so hard they become completely fatigued. Obviously, such soldiers become extremely vulnerable. 5.3 Execution of Orders / Redundant Orders / Impossible Orders The computer will not allow a player to write obviously redundant orders during the order entry phase. For example, a soldier who is already sneaking, cannot be given another sneaking begin command. Never the less, circumstances may occur during the computer resolution phase which makes a legitimate order, redundant or impossible to execute. For example, a soldier fell prone after being wounded by enemy gunfire; an order to have him fall down would obviously be redundant. As another example, a soldier is ordered to pickup a rifle in the square in which he is standing; however, there is no rifle in the square. Clearly, this order is impossible to execute. In such circumstances the computer ignores the redundant or impossible order, and executes the next order on the list, except for the "Get" (section 7.2) and the "Load" commands (section 1?.5). Attempted execution of orders impossible to carry out do not cost the soldier any time or energy points. The following is a complete list of the orders that may be given. 5.4 MRdnm - Move regular in direction "d" for "n" squares in mode "m". While moving regular a soldier will face in the direction that he is moving. 5.5 MIdnm - Move irregular in direction "d" for "n" squares in mode "m". While moving irregular a soldier will remain facing in the same direction in which he was facing before the movement order was given. 5.6 SB - Sneaking begins. When given this order a soldier will begin sneaking and will continue sneaking while executing further orders until he fires a weapon or is given an SE order. 5.7 SE - Sneaking ends. When given this order a soldier will stop sneaking. 5.8 PA - Prepare automatic rifle/sub-machine gun. A soldier given this order will unsling his automatic rifle/sub-machine gun and prepare it for use. A soldier may not fire an unprepared weapon nor may be he use it in hand-to-hand combat. 5.9 PB - Prepare bayonet. A soldier given this order will attach his knife to his rifle so it maybe used as a bayonet in hand-to-hand combat. 5.10 PF - Prepare fragment grenade. A soldier given this order will pull out a hand grenade and place it in his hand so that he may throw it when so ordered. 5.11 PG - Prepare garotte. When given this order a soldier will pull out his garotte and prepare it for use. 5.12 PK - Prepare knife. When given this order the soldier will pull out his knife and keep it in his hand ready for use. 5.13 PM - Prepare machine gun. A soldier given this order will prepare his machine gun for use. 5.14 PP - Prepare plastic explosives. A soldier given this order will prepare his plastic explosives for use. 5.15 PR - Prepare rifle. A soldier given this order will unsling his rifle and prepare it for use. 5.16 LA - Load automatic rifle/sub-machine gun. A soldier given this order will load his automatic rifle/sub-machine gun. 5.17 LM - Load machine gun. A soldier given this order will load his machine gun. 5.18 LR - Load rifle. A soldier given this order will load his rifle. 5.19 GA - Get automatic rifle/sub-machine gun. A soldier given this order will pick up an automatic rifle/sub-machine gun if it is in the same square as the soldier. (i.e., either on the ground or carried by a soldier who's dead or in shock). 5.20 GF - Get fragment grenade. A soldier given this order will pick up a hand grenade if it is in the same square as the soldier. 5.21 GG - Get garotte. When given this order a soldier will pick up a garotte that is in the same square as the soldier. 5.22 GK - Get knife. When given this order a soldier will pick up a knife that lies in the same square as the soldier. 5.23 GM - Get machine gun. When given this order a soldier will pick up a machine gun that lies in the same square as the soldier. 5.24 GP - Get plastic explosives, When given this order a soldier will pick up a plastic explosive that lies in the same square as the soldier. 5.25 GR - Get rifle. A soldier given this order will pick up a rifle that lies in the same square as the soldier. 5.26 DA - Drop automatic rifle/sub-machine gun. A soldier given this order will place an automatic rifle/sub-machine gun on the ground. 5.27 DF - Drop fragment grenade. A soldier given this order will drop an unprepared hand grenade. 5.28 DG - Drop garotte. When given this order a soldier will drop a garotte on the ground. 5.29 DK - Drop knife. When given this order a soldier will drop a knife on the ground. 5.30 DM - Drop machine gun. When given this order a soldier will place a machine gun on the ground. 5.31 DP - Drop plastic explosive. When given this order a soldier will place a plastic explosive on the ground. 5.32 DR - Drop rifle. When given this order a soldier will place a rifle on the ground. 5.33 FSxxyy - Fire a single burst at an enemy soldier in square "xxyy". 5.34 FApptt - Fire on any target that enters the area which you are facing, within "tt" time points, but only if the percentage chance of hitting the target is greater than "pp". FA orders may not be given for less than 10 time points. 5.35 HH - Engage in hand-to-hand combat. A soldier given this command will engage in hand-to-hand combat with any enemy soldier in his square. 5.36 HJtt - Wait "tt" time points ("tt" must be between 10 and 99 time points) for an enemy soldier to enter an adjacent square and then jump to the square and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy soldier. 5.37 EPttt - Set your plastic explosives to explode in "ttt" time points and then place the explosives in the square you are in. 5.38 EFxxyy - Throw hand grenade to square "xxyy". All fragment grenades have an automatic fuse setting of 04 time points, thus 04 time points after the grenade lands in the target square the grenade will explode. 5.39 WAtt - Wait "tt" time points before executing any further orders. WA commands must be given for at least 10 time points. 5.40 NL - List the current orders list of the soldier you are currently giving orders to. This "order" gives a player an update of the orders given to a soldier. Additional orders may be given to a soldier after an NL has been executed. 5.41 FSxxyyL - Same as FSxxyy except that the computer displays the terrain multiplier used in determining the probability of hitting an enemy in the target square (see section 10.4). This is a special order designed to help novices understand the effects of terrain. Thus, the computer will accept this order only if you are playing the "NCO Training" scenario or any level 1 solitaire game (see Game Selection Card). 5.42 NO - To end writing orders for a soldier. 6.0 STATUS REPORT A status report for any friendly soldier is available at any time during a player's order entry phase or report phase. The report contains information on the current status of the soldier. 6.1 Wounds The number of wounds is the percent of wounds received by the soldier compared to the number of wounds needed to kill the soldier. At 50 - 98 the man is in shock and will accept no further orders. A soldier is considered dead when his wounds reach 99. Wounds effect the number of endurance points and energy points received by each soldier at the beginning of each turn. 6.2 Position This is the x,y coordinates in which the soldier is currently located during the order entry phase (this position is the position as of the beginning of the turn). 6.3 Facing This is direction in which the soldier is facing at the beginning of the turn. 1 - N (up) 2 - NE 3 - E (right) 4 - SE 5 - S (down) 6 - SW 7 - W (left) 8 - N In addition to the 8 directions on the map a man may have a facing of "0" or "9". A "0" indicates that the soldier is scanning in all 8 directions and a facing of "9" means that a soldier is in hand-to-hand combat and thus is too busy to look for other enemy soldiers. The facing of a soldier determines who that soldier may see. 6.4 Posture The letter indicates the posture of the soldier: U - upright P - prone 6.5 Sneaking This indicates whether a soldier is sneaking Y yes N-No 6.6 Endurance Endurance is a measure of how tired each soldier is. Each soldier starts the game with 99 endurance points. When a soldier's endurance reaches 0 he is considered fatigued and may not carry out any other orders until he has regained some of his endurance. When a soldier executes an order a number of energy points is subtracted from his energy level and a proportional number of endurance points are subtracted from his endurance. Example - if a soldier had 50 endurance points and 100 energy points at the beginning of a turn and he used 50 energy points during that turn, he would use 25 endurance points that turn. At the beginning of each game turn, all soldiers gain back a number of endurance points proportional to their strength and wounds. 6.7 Command Control This number reflects the control a soldier has in understanding and completing orders given him. It has a value between 0.1 and 1.0. The squad leaders command control rating depends on his rank, the percentage of friendly soldiers he has line of sight to (see section 10), and the percentage of enemy soldiers he can see. The remaining soldiers of the squad have command control ratings that are dependent on (in order of decreasing importance): distance from the squad leader, the soldiers power of observation, whether the squad leader has line of sight to the soldier, and whether the soldier has line of sight to his squad leader. A German soldier's command control rating will never exceed his squad leader's rating; this is not true for an American soldier. A soldiers command control rating affects the amount of time it takes for him to complete an order. A soldier far away from his squad leader, for example, will have a lower command control rating and will execute fewer orders, than if the soldier were closer to his squad leader. 6.8 Explosives The explosives section of the status report has the capacity to show the status of up to 6 explosive weapons. Each explosive being carried by the soldier has a two-letter indentification code. The first letter specifies whether the explosive is a fragment grenade (F) or a plastic explosive (P). The second letter refers to whether the explosive is prepared (Y) or not prepared (N). 6.9 Other Weapons The other weapons section of the status report has the capacity to show the status of up to 5 other fire or hand-to-hand weapons. (see section 8.7 for the weapon carrying limits for each type of weapon). Each other weapon has a three-letter identification code. The first letter specifies the weapon type: Code - Weapon A - Automatic rifle/sub-machine gun B - Bayonet G - Garotte K - Knife M - Machine gun R - Rifle The second letter specifies whether the weapon is prepared (Y) or not prepared (N). The third letter specifies whether the weapon is loaded (Y) or unloaded (N). If the weapon is a bayonet, garotte, or knife it will not be given a third letter. 6.10 Current Orders This is a list of the current orders given to a soldier. If a soldier had insufficient time to execute an order during the last computer resolution phase, the time required to complete the first order on the list will also be given. 6.11 Enemy Soldiers Sighted If a blind game is in progress (see section 2.4), the player also learns the location of any enemy soldiers his friendly soldier currently sees. For example, suppose a view of the mapboard reveals an enemy soldier in square 4337. Furthermore, suppose six of your friendly soldiers have the potential to see this enemy soldier (see section 10). You may find it advantageous to know which of your soldiers see this enemy, or perhaps more importantly, which (if any) of your soldiers do not currently see the enemy. 7.0 GET AND DROP ORDERS Soldiers have the ability to drop and/or get (pick up) weapons. Time and energy costs required to drop and get weapons are shown on the order summary chart. There are limits on the number of weapons each soldier may carry (see section 8.7). Although the computer keeps a record of where all dropped weapons are located, it does not divulge this information to the player(s). Thus, it is the player s responsibility to remember where he had a soldier drop a weapon, if he later intends to have a soldier retrieve it. 7.1 Weapons on the person of a soldier who is dead or in shock are considered to be dropped weapons. Dropped weapons may be picked up and used by soldiers from either side. All "Get Weapon" orders which cannot be executed because the weapon is not present in the square, require 10 time points and 1 unit of energy - the cost of "searching" for the weapon. (If a "Get" order cannot be executed due to the weapon carrying limit, the order is simply ignored). 7.2 Each soldier is issued one fire weapon (rifle, autorifle, or machine gun) at the start of the game. A soldier who drops his fire weapon will gain 1 point in dexterity (up to a maximum of 10 points), allowing him to execute orders more rapidly. If the soldier subsequently retrieves the dropped fire weapon, his dexterity will decrease to the original level. Furthermore, a soldiers dexterity will decrease by one point for each additional fire weapon he acquires in excess of the one he normally carries. Exception: if the additional fire weapon is a machine gun, the dexterity decreases by two points. 7.3 All weapons that are retrieved with a "Get" command will be in the unprepared/unloaded state after it is retrieved. The "Get" command does not affect the status of the currently prepared weapon. The "Drop" command will affect the currently prepared weapon only if the dropped weapon is the prepared weapon. An explosive weapon primed to explode is not considered a dropped weapon. Example - A soldier carrying a prepared rifle as his only fire weapon executes a DR (drop rifle). He will place his rifle on the ground and will not have a prepared weapon. Example - A soldier carrying 4 hand grenades, one of which is prepared, executes a DF (drop fragment grenade). He will place an unprepared hand grenade on the ground. His prepared weapon will still be a fragment grenade. 8.0 MOVING YOUR SOLDIERS All movement orders use the format Mxdnm: M - Indicates movement order x - Represents whether the movement is regular (R) or irregular (1) d - Direction of movement (0-8) n - Distance to be move (in # of squares 0-9) m - Mode of movement (i.e. walk, run, crawl, etc.) When a soldier moves he uses time and energy points as shown on the order summary chart. The effects of terrain (doors, windows, etc.) on movement are shown on the terrain effects chart. 8.1 Regular or Irregular Movement Regular movement is represented by an "R", and means that the soldier is facing in the direction of movement. An "I", indicates that the soldier remains facing in his original direction of facing while moving in direction "d" Energy and time costs for irregular movement are twice that for regular movement. 8.2 Direction A man may move in any of 8 directions as shown in section 6.3. For diagonal movement, time and energy costs are multiplied by the square root of 2. Thus, the soldier pays appropriately for all the ground he covers. Enter the number of squares you want the man to move. 8.4 Mode of Movement There are 7 different movement modes available. Each requires different time and energy costs (see the squad card). Of the 7 modes, 5 allow movement from one square to another. The other 2 modes change a soldier's posture between prone and standing. The chart below lists the different modes which may be used: R - Run W - Walk D - Dodge C - Crawl L - Look F - Fall S - Stand A soldier must be upright in order to run, walk, or dodge. A soldier must be prone in order to crawl. The "look" mode is a special case, since a soldier can "look" while moving or while standing still. If a soldier is moving (i.e., the distance (n) is not 0) in the look mode, he must be upright. Otherwise, a soldier can "look" in either posture. When falling prone or standing upright, the distance (n) must be 0 while any direction may be chosen. 8.5 Scanning To scan, enter a 0 in both direction and distance positions of the movement order. While a soldier can scan in either an upright or prone position, it will take him longer to execute when prone (see section 8.7). A facing of 0 indicates that the soldier is looking in all directions. The soldier will have a 50% of normal chance of sighting the enemy, but unlike soldiers with a facing of 1-8 he will he able to look all around him. The movement mode entered at this time is irrelevant unless you specify "L". In this case a soldier will "look" as well as scan (see section 8.7). 8.6 Changing Facing If you wish to change the facing of a soldier without having him move out of his square, give a Move Regular order for 0 squares in the direction you wish the soldier to face. While a soldier may change face in either an upright or prone position, it will take him longer to execute when prone (see section 8.7). The mode of movement entered at this time is irrelevant unless you specify "L". Then a soldier will "look" as well as change facing (see section 8.7). A soldier may be given a order which includes an implied order to change face. For example, a soldier facing direction "6" is given a "MR34R" order. A soldier given this order will be charged the time and energy costs required to execute the implied facing change, as well as the movement costs between squares. The facing costs are also charged under the appropriate circumstances for the FSxxyy order (section 12.2) and the EFxxyy order (section 12.6). 8.7 The Look Mode A soldier who is in the look mode will search for weapons lying on the ground and/or carried by another soldier (friendly or enemy) who is dead or in shock. A soldier can "look" while 1) moving in an upright position between squares, 2) scanning, and 3) changing facing. The time and energy costs required to execute a scan or Change of facing order when upright or prone and/or looking or not looking is shown below: Scan / Changing Facing Costs Upright (U)Looking ModeTimeEnergy or Prone (P)(Yes / No)CostCost UNo10 1 UYes151 PNo152 PYes202 If a soldier is in the look mode, and he spots a weapon, he will pick it up. The time and energy costs required to pick up the weapons are the same as for the "Get" commands. The rules that apply to the "Get" commands also apply to the look mode when a soldier spots a weapon. A soldier will pick up as many weapons as he sees in the square until the weapons carrying limit has been reached. The limit imposed on the number of weapons one soldier can carry depends on the weapon. The carrying limits for each weapon class (i.e-, explosive/non-explosive) and kind are listed below: Limit on Number of Weapons that One Soldier May Carry Explosive Weapons (No more than 6 total) Weapon Limit ----------------------------- Plastic Explosive2 Hand Grenade6 Non-Explosive Weapons (No more than 5 total; No more than 3 fire weapons) Weapon Limit ----------------------------- Machine Gun2 Autorifle Rifle3 Rifle3 Garotte2 Knife3 If a soldier spots more than one weapon of the same class in the same square, he will pick them up in the order of their priority. The table shown above lists the weapons in order of decreasing priority. Example: A soldier carrying 3 explosive and 3 non-explosive weapons (only one fire weapon) is in the look mode. He spots a dead soldier who is carrying a plastic explosive, 4 hand grenades, an autorifle, a garotte, and a knife. The soldier will pick up the plastic explosive, 2 grenades, the autorifle and the garotte. He will pay the appropriate time and energy costs for each weapon he picks up. The soldiers dexterity will decrease by one point. 8.8 Aperture Movement A soldier may not move diagonally through a door or window. The soldier must first move directly adjacent to the aperture, only then may he move through it. 9.0 SNEAKING If you wish to have a soldier move discreetly so as to have a low probability of being seen, give the soldier a SB or sneaking begins order. Once a soldier is given a sneaking order, he will be considered to be sneaking until the SE or sneaking ends order is given. While sneaking, all time and energy costs for his actions will be doubled. Under certain conditions, sneaking soldiers are afforded protection from exploding fragment grenades not given to non-sneaking soldiers (see section 1?.6). A sneaking soldier who fires a weapon reverts to normal (non-sneaking) status. 10.0 SIGHTING THE ENEMY In order to sight an enemy soldier, the enemy must he in one of your soldier's field of vision. If a soldier has a facing of 1-8, his field of vision is the angle of 180 degrees centered on his facing direction. The center 45 degrees is considered to be the primary field of vision. The remaining 135 degrees is considered the peripheral field of vision. \ P | \ E | B \ R | PRIMARY L F \ I| I I \ | N E Soldier____________ D L \ D \ S \ PERIPHERAL \ The above diagram shows the field of vision Of a soldier with a facing of 2. A soldier that is scanning has a primary field of vision of 360 degrees, i.e. he can see in all directions. A soldier in hand-to-hand combat can only see the enemy soldiers in his square (he is too busy just fighting to enjoy the view.) 10.1 Chance of Spotting An enemy soldier in a friendly soldier's field of vision is not necessarily spotted. The following formula is used to determine whether the enemy man is spotted: Pc = Fx Po x Tx S x PS Pc - Percentage chance to spot the enemy F - Facing multiplier (section 10.2) Po - Power of observation multiplier (section 18.1) T - Terrain multiplier (section 10.4) S - Sneaking multiplier (sectiOn 10.6) PS - Primary/peripheral multiplier (section 10.7) This probability of spotting is also used in determining the probability of hitting a target being fired upon (section 12.9). 10.2 Facing Multiplier The facing multiplier is determined by the facing of the friendly soldier: Facing Multiplier ----------------------- 1-81.0 00.5 90.0 10.3 Power of Observation Multiplier The power of observation multiplier is determined by the following formula: 0.5 + (Power of observation of friendly soldier x 0.05) 10.4 Terrain Multiplier The terrain multiplier is determined by the following formula: Tm = (1.0 - D x 0.01) x T1 x T2 x T3.....Tn Tm - Terrain multiplier D - Distance T1, T2, T3, Tn - Terrain Type multipliers TerrainMultiplier -------------------------- Wall0.00 Statue0.00 Window 0.25 Door0.50 Hedge0.50 Rubble0.60 Interior0.80 Clear1.00 A few examples will illustrate the terrain multiplier. Example 1: A soldier is standing at 3117 looking at a soldier in 3235. The terrain multiplier is (1.0 - 18 x .01) x 1.0 = 0.82. Example 2: A soldier standing at 1215 looks at a soldier at 1715. Terrain multiplier is 1.0 - 5 x .01) x 0.5 x 0.6 = 0.285. Example 3: A soldier standing standing at 1220 looks at a soldier in 2120. The terrain multiplier is: (1.0 - 9 x .01) x 0.5 x 0.8 x 0.8 x 0.8 x 0.8 x 0.8 x 0.5 = 0.0745472. Example 4: A soldier standing at 1126 looks at a soldier at 1429. The terrain multiplier is (1.0 - 4.2426407 x .01) x 0.5 = 0.478768. NOTE: The computer will display the terrain multiplier in any level 1 solitaire game when given an FSxxyyL order. Also if the terrain multiplier (TM) is below .01, it is considered to be zero. 10.5 A soldier looking directly through an obstruction (i.e., adjacent to a window, doorway, or hedge) does not count the adjacent obstruction for visibility purposes. Example 1: A soldier at 1320 looks at a soldier at 2220. The terrain multiplier is (1.0 - 9 x .01) x 0.8 x 0.8 x 0.8 x 0.8 x 0.8 x 0.5 = 0.1490944 (compare with example 3 in section 10.4). Example 2: A soldier at 3318 looks at a soldier in 2918. The terrain multiplier is (1.0 - 4 x .01) = 0.96 10.6 Sneaking Multiplier The sneaking multiplier is determined by the sneaking mode of the enemy soldier. ModeMultiplier -------------------------- Sneaking0.5 Not sneaking1.0 10.7 Primary/Peripheral Multiplier Field of Vision Multiplier ------------------------------------------------ Enemy is in primary field1.00 Enemy is in peripheral field 0.75 10.8 Enemy soldiers may only be spotted if they are in the field of vision of a friendly soldier. All enemy soldiers in a friendly field of vision and for whom the percentage chance to spot the enemy is greater than 0.01, are automatically spotted at the instant of their firing a fire weapon. 10.9 If two soldiers are both prone, and there is a window or a hedge between them, then they cannot spot each other, unless they are in adjacent squares. 10.10 A soldier looking out from a window or a door is allowed only a 90 degree field of vision out of the aperture as shown in the accompanying diagram. A square that is 1/2 blind spot and 1/2 in the field of vision is considered to be in the soldier's blind spot. Example: A soldier standing at 3524 with a facing of 7 would not have line of sight to square 2633, but he could spot an enemy soldier in 2632. [ Diagram here ] 10.11 Enemy soldiers are spotted if they are in a square containing a friendly soldier. 11.0 WEAPONS There are three types of weapons used in Computer Ambush: fire weapons (rifles, automatic rifles/submachine guns, and machine guns), explosives (plastic explosives and fragment grenades), and hand-to-hand weapons knives (bayonets, and garottes). 11.1 Standard Weapon Allocation Below is a table showing the standard weapon allocation for the German and American sn~1ad0- SoldierFire WeaponHand GrenadesExplosiveGarrotte PadookaAutorifle2 RichfieldRifle1 BastinelliAutorifle2 LawsonRifle2 GarittyMachine Gun2 ChengRifle5Yes WheelockRifle1 HossRifle2 MarootianAutorifle4 Yes DumkeRifle ReichAutorifle3 KleindorfAutorifle2 AllbrechtRifle2 GruberMachine Gun1 ZimmerAutorifle2Yes SchneiderRifle1 BraunAutorifle2 WagnerRifle5Yes MullerRifle2 DuselRifle 11.2 Non-Standard Weapon Allocation During the Computer Ambush Scenario Selection Phase, a player has the option of allocating weapons to his squad of soldiers. If you choose this option, you must then decide if you will receive a "restricted" allocation or a more "unlimited" allocation. The "restricted" allocation will limit the numbers and types of weapons allocated to your squad dependent upon the size of the squad (for example, with a "restricted" allocation, a squad will never receive more than one machine gun). With an unlimited allocation, however, each squad (regardless of size) will receive a number of each type of fire weapon equal to the number of soldiers in the squad, 30 fragment grenades, and a plastic explosive. Note especially that the "unlimited" allocation allows a squad that lacks a demolitions expert, to receive a plastic explosive. Such is not the case with the "restricted" allocation (see also sections 4.11 and 12.7). Irregardless of whether a "restricted" or an "unlimited" allocation is chosen, each squad will receive one garotte and each soldier will receive one knife. The computer will give the player a list of the number and types of weapons his squad has been allocated. The player then apportions these weapons to his soldiers as he desires, subject to only the following restrictions: 1) each soldier will carry one and only one fire weapon and 2) each soldier can carry a maximum of 6 explosive weapons. A player can obtain a print out of the non-standard weapon allocation if he desires. 12.0 WEAPONS AND COMBAT Most of the orders you can give to your soldiers concern manipulating weapons in preparation for or during combat. These orders are explained below. 12.1 Weapons Preparation All weapons must be prepared before they may be used. Each soldier may only have one weapon prepared at a time (exception: a rifle and bayonet may both be prepared). When an order is given to prepare a weapon, any other weapon that had been prepared will automatically be unprepared. Example: A soldier carrying a rifle in his hands decides to throw a grenade. By giving an order to prepare a grenade he slings his rifle and then pulls out a grenade. The rifle is now unprepared and the grenade is prepared. The prepare weapon order follows the form "Pw". Where "w" is the initial of the weapon being prepared. Example: A PF order will prepare a fragment grenade. See the order summary chart for time and energy costs. 12.2 Use of Fire Weapons / Fire a Single Burst There are two different orders which will result in the firing of a fire weapon. The first order is fire on an enemy in a particular square, and it takes the form FSxxyy where: F - signifies that this is a fire order S - signifies that this is a single burst fire order xx - indicates the x coordinate (column) in which the enemy is located YY - indicates they coordinate (row) in which the enemy is located FS stands for fire a single burst. Since the enemy must be in the designated square for your man to fire on him this order is most useful on stationary targets. If an enemy soldier is present in the target square when the FS order is given, your soldier will fire at the enemy soldier even if he moves out of the target square (unless the enemy soldier moves completely out of the line of sight of the firing soldier before the soldier actually pulls the trigger). A soldier who must change facing to execute the FSxxyy order will be charged the appropriate additional time and energy costs for changing facing (section 8.6). The soldier will remain facing in the direction of fire after execution of the fire order. 12.3 Use of Fire Weapons / Fire on Area The second type of fire order has the form FApptt where: F - signifies that this is a fire order A - signifies that this is an area fire order PP - this is the minimum percentage-chance-to-hit the enemy that must be obtained before the soldier will fire. (99 equals don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes). tt - this is the amount of time in time points that you want your soldier wait while looking for a target to shoot. The number of time points must be between 10 and 99. FA stands for fire on area. A soldier given this command will fire on the first target that he can see for which he can obtain a shot that has at least a "pp" chance of hitting. He will continue to fire on targets that he can see until "tt" time has elapsed. Example: A soldier is in square 3253 facing direction 1. The soldier is given the order FA0599. After 30 time points have elapsed an enemy moves from 3157 to 3257. At this point he is seen and fired at by the soldier in 3253 (assuming that the chance to hit is over 5%). This soldier cannot fire again until sufficient time points have elapsed to account for his having fired (an average rifleman would have to wait 25 more time points before firing again). Since the soldier had been ordered to FA for 99 time points he would continue to look for targets (possibly the same one) until 99 time points have elapsed. 12.4 Targets for FS and FA Orders/"Ducking" Rule Soldiers given FS or FA orders will not fire at enemy soldiers who are in shock or dead. Under certain conditions, soldiers who are being fired upon may "duck". Three concurrent conditions must be met: 1) the soldier, himself is being fired upon; 2) the soldier, himself is currently firing a weapon (either FS or FA); and 3) he is looking through an obstruction (that is adjacent to a window, doorway, or hedge). When such a soldier "ducks," he merely takes more time to execute his fire order. Note, however that even if the three conditions listed above are met, the soldier will not automatically "duck." The chance of such a soldier "ducking," is proportional to his command control: soldiers with a high command control have a lower probability of "ducking." If a soldier "ducks," he will take from 4 to 30 additional time points (0.4 to 3 seconds) to fire his weapon (this is determined randomly). A "ducking" soldier consumes no energy during the time he is "ducking." Extended example: The American squad is attempting to gain conrol of the government building, strongly suspected to be guarded by German soldiers. at this time, neither side has spotted an enemy soldier. Currently, Padooka and Bastenelli are both prone, facing 1, looking through the hedge in square 2945. Richfield is prone, facing 1, looking through the hedge in square 3145. Gruber is prone, facing 5, looking throught the window in square 3150. Bastenelli is going to attempyt to strengthen the American position by dodging to square 3746 and falling prone behind the hedges, facin 8. Padooka and Richfield are both given "MR10S (CR) FA0199" orders, while Bastinelli is given "MR20S (CR) MR21D (CR) MR37D (CR) MR80F" orders. Gruber is protecting the south flank of the government building and is given "FA0199" orders. Just as in real life, what will actually happen is largely unpredictable. Gurber will almost certainly spot Padooka or Richfield first and start shooting at one of them, even though the chance of this occurring is roughly 22% (see section 12.9), giving Bastinelli a reasonable chance to survive a few gun bursts. As soon as Padooka and Richfield are standing and Gruber starts shooting, they will spot Gruber automatically and will begin shooting at Gruber. (Notice that if they did not stand, they could not see Gruber, who is prone behind a window, at all - see section 10.9). Even though their chance of hitting Gruber is very poor (less than 10%), they may well force Gruber to "duck." If Gruber does not "duck" due to a high command control rating and/or luck, he will fire his machine gun enough times to virtually ensure wounding Bastinelli. Of course, PAdooka or Richfield might get very lucky and wound or kill Gurber. The number of even this simple fire fight are large. Also don't forget the possibility that fire weapons might unload (see next section). Throw in a hand grenade or two (no pun intended) and... well, you get the idea. Whatever happens, the chances are good that they won't occure exactly that way again. 12.5 Loading Fire Weapons All fire weapons run out of ammunition 10% of the times after they are fired. Exception: Machine guns only unload 3% of the times fired. An unloaded weapon may not be fired. To load a weapon you must give the soldier a load weapon order. This order takes the form Lw where w is the weapon being loaded. A player may want to give a soldier who has just fired a weapon a Load order in case the weapon unloads. If a load order is given, and the weapon is already loaded, 10 time points and 1 unit of energy is charged. (If the load weapon order is impossible to execute because the soldier doesn't have the weapon, the order is ignored). 12.6 Use of Explosives / Grenades There are two types of explosives: fragment grenades and plastic explosive. In order to throw a grenade a soldier must first have line of sight to the target square and sufficient energy to throw it the required distance (see Squad Card). (The average unwounded soldier with an endurance of 99 has enough energy to throw a grenade approximately 60 meters. If a soldier does not have sufficient energy to throw the grenade to the target square, the order is ignored). Whether or not a thrown hand grenade lands in the target square is dependent upon the throwing ability of the soldier who threw it. The throwing ability will determine the accuracy of both the aim as well as the range of a thrown hand grenade. To give you an idea of throwing accuracy, an average soldier will throw a grenade with an accuracy in aim of +/- 25% of the distance to the left or right of target center and with an accuracy in range of +/- 10% of the distance. The path that the hand grenade takes to its destination is the "line of sight" determined by the computer. (This means it will stop if it hits a wall or the statue) A soldier will always face the direction he is throwing; if he must change facing to execute the EF order, he will pay the appropriate change facing costs. Hand grenades take time points while they are in the air. The travel time of the grenade is equal to 4 x the distance of the throw as measured in squares. The grenade will explode 4 time points after it has reached its destination. All soldiers in the blast square are killed by the explosion. A grenade may wound soldiers up to 12 meters (4 straight squares) away from the blast square. The further away the soldier is from the explosion the less likely he will be hurt by the explosion. If there are terrain features (doors, hedges, etc.) between the grenade and a soldier, or if the soldier is prone, then the soldier is less likely to be wounded. A soldier who has a door or window between him and an exploding grenade, and is both adjacent to the window or door and in the sneaking mode, is protected from injury. Example: A soldier standing in square 2852 throws a grenade through the door and into square 2752. If this soldier is not sneaking when the grenade explodes, he could be severely wounded whether or not he is prone. However, if this soldier were in the sneaking mode when the grenade exploded, he would not be injured. 12.7 Use of Explosives/ Plastic Explosives Plastic explosives may not be thrown. Plastic explosives are used by setting a fuse length in time points and then placing the explosives in the square in which the explosives expert set the fuse. This means that you should set a long enough fuse so that the explosives expert can run clear of the blast area. Note: If your demolitions expert is in shock or killed, your squad leader may attempt to detonate the plastic explosives, if you consider it mission essential. However, be forewarned that he may set the fuse incorrectly so that the plastics do not explode, or they explode sooner or later than anticipated. Equally likely is the possibility that they blow up in his face. When plastic explosives detonate, the square in which the explosion occurred and all adjacent squares are immediately turned into rubble squares and all standing structures are blown down. All soldiers in those squares are killed and all weapons (whether carried by soldiers or lying on the ground) are destroyed. Soldiers up to 24 meters (8 straight squares) away from the blast square may be wounded or killed by the blast. As with grenades, the further a soldier is from the blast square as well as the more obstacles between the blast and the soldier, the less likely the soldier will be hurt by the explosion. Sneaking soldiers are given the same protection from plastic explosives as from grenades (see section 12.6). However, remember that if a soldier is too close to the blast, the door or window giving him protection will be blown down, and thus, will not give him protection. 12.8 Hand-to-Hand Combat A soldier given a hand-to-hand order while in the same square as an enemy soldier will attack that soldier if he has the required 20 units of energy. The soldier that comes under attack will defend himself if he has the required 18 units of energy. Both soldiers are then in "hand-to-hand status." The average soldier who is in hand-to-hand status will "attack" once every 15 time points. Soldiers that are in hand-to-hand status, remain in that status for the duration of the turn (unless one soldier dies or goes into shock). The percentage chance to wound an enemy in hand-to-hand combat is proportional to the attacker's hand-to-hand ability, his wounds, the weapon he is carrying, whether he is jumping on an enemy, the defenders hand-to-hand ability, his wounds, and the weapon he is carrying. If a soldier is jumping an enemy (HJ), then he is twice as likely to wound the enemy. Weapon effectiveness in hand-to-hand combat both as offensive and as defensive weapons are rated from best to worst is: bayonet, knife, rifle, automatic rifle/submachine gun, machine gun, garotte or hand grenade or plastic explosive or unarmed. The garotte is a special weapon, for normally it is worthless; however, when jumping at an enemy it is the best weapon to use. So that you have an idea of the usefulness of hand-to-hand combat, an unwounded average soldier who is jumping with a bayonet against an unwounded average enemy who is carrying a bayonet has a 50% chance to wound the enemy. A soldier who executes and survives an HH order, will be facing the direction he was before he went into hand-to-hand combat. A soldier who executes and survives an HH order will be in the scan mode. A soldier who successfully defends himself from a charging enemy will continue executing the orders given him. Note: a soldier who has been given an HJtt order cannot be given a subsequent order to move to another square in the same turn. 12.9 Weapons Accuracy When a soldier is fired upon, the chance of wounding him is proportional to the firing soldiers marksmanship, the accuracy of the weapon being fired, the probability of the target being seen by the firing soldier, the posture of the target soldier (prone men are 50% less likely to be hit), the orders of the target soldier (moving soldiers are 25% less likely to be hit, dodging soldiers are 50% less likely to be hit), and the orders of the firing soldier. (a soldier with a FA order is 25% less likely to hit the target than a soldier with a FS order). The basic accuracy of the fire weapons are as follows: WeaponAccuracy Rifle100% Machine gun70% Automatic rifle/submachine gun75% Example: An average soldier with an FS order firing a rifle at a soldier running in clear terrain ten squares away would have roughly a 34% chance of hitting the target. If that soldier was dodging, the probability would be roughly 17%. 12.10 Except for the special cases of soldiers present in the blast square of a fragment grenade or in a square adjacent to a plastic explosive detonation, when a soldier is hit by either a fire weapon, an explosive, or by hand-to-hand combat, the number of wound points allotted to the soldier is between 1 and 99 and is determined randomly. If a soldier is "hit" and his wound point total is greater than 10 he will fall prone and fail to carry out any further orders. If a soldier is "hit," he will "scream" 505 of the time. Exception: A soldier who is hit as a result of hand-to-hand combat will always "scream." 13.0 NON-STANDARD SOLDIER CHARACTERISTICS A player may choose to have the computer randomly generate a set of soldier characteristics rather than accept the standard set of soldier characteristics given on the squad card. Note: the rank and weight of the soldiers remain the same. A challenging two-player game can he developed in this manner if both players agree to take a computer-generated squad into battle. This will add a great deal of realism to the game: just as in real life, you must use the men you get and make the most out of them. 13.1 Changing your soldiers characteristics After the computer has generated a random set of characteristics for each soldier of your squad, it will display the soldiers' names and their new characteristics. The cursor will he over the strength characteristics of the squad leader. If you are willing to accept both the characteristics and the names of the soldiers, enter the letter "F" for finished. If you are willing to accept the characteristics of the squad as is, but wish to change the soldiers names, enter the letter "N" (see section 13.2). If you wish to change a soldiers characteristic, enter a number between 0 and 9 (0 equals 10). The cursor will automatically advance to the next characteristic. You may selectively change your soldiers characteristics by moving the cursor over the characteristic you wish to change. You can move the cursor by pressing the following keys: I, J, K, M, left arrow (<--), or right arrow (-->). A list of the keys the computer will accept and their function is given below: I - moves the cursor up J - moves the cursor left K - moves the cursor right M - moves the cursor down <-- moves the cursor left --> moves the cursor right The numbers 0 through 9 - changes characteristic N - enters the "Change Name" mode (see section 13.2) F - moves the cursor to "Finish field" 13.2 Changing your soldiers' names if you wish to change the names of your soldiers, enter the letter "N". The cursor will then be placed over the first soldier's name. You may then enter new names for your squad. (A "return" moves the cursor to the next soldier's name.) The first letter of each soldier's name must be different. When you have entered new names, the computer will go back to the "Change Characteristics" mode. Enter the letter "F" to enter the "finish" field. The computer will then ask if you are finished changing the names and characteristics of your squad. If you are finished, type "Y". On any other input the computer will enter the "Change Characteristics" mode. 13.3 Saving/Printing Your New Squad You are given the opportunity of saving and/or obtaining a printed copy of your generated squad. If you wish to SAVE your squad, you must have previously initialized a SAVE disk (see section 14). You will be asked to give a name for your squad. The name must be different from any other squad name you have already saved. 14.0 COMPUTER AMBUSH DISK MANAGEMENT There are four disk commands Computer Ambush can perform. These commands allow you to INIT a SAVE disk, CATALOG a SAVE disk, DELETE a squad, and DELETE a game. You must INIT a SAVE disk before you can perform any other function. A "CATAlOG" of a SAVE disk will list the names of all SAVED games and squads (Note: The computer appends a suffix to the name you give when saving a squad or game on disk. Whenever, the computer later asks you for the name of your squad or game, do not include the suffix in the name. One SAVE disk can hold about 30 squads and 15 games. The "DELETE" command will remove a squad or game from the disk. If you choose the "perform disk management" option, the computer will give explicit directions for executing the disk management. 15.0 ORIGINAL DESIGNER'S NOTES (Or, you should have seen the one that got away) I've been wargaming since I was twelve and game designing since I was ten. I couldn't believe it when I was offered an opportunity to get paid for what I've wanted to do. Having played all the tactical man-to-man games that I could find, I figured it was time for the definitive game on the subject. Definitive because all the drudgery would be dealt with by the computer! All the players would have to do is have fun. During the last six months I've learned the hard way the limitations of small computers and my own limitations in simulations. I think the game you have in your hands is a very good one, certainly worth playing often, and it should be a lot of fun. But honestly, folks, as soon as we all get a home Cray II computer . My original game had 30 different weapons, the map was 100 x 100 squares, there were prisoners, guards, medics, communications, campaign games c-rations... -Ed Williger 16.0 SCENARIOS COMPUTER AMBUSH is actually 12 games in one, for there are five solitaire scenarios and seven two-player scenarios. At the beginning of each game the player(s) will be asked whether a two-player or solitaire game is to be played. A. SOLITAIRE SCENARIOS If You choose to play a solitaire game, you will be asked to choose the skill level of play. That is, you will choose to play against a squad from one of the following German divisions: 1) volksgrenadiers (rookies), 2) Wehrmacht (average), or 3) Waffen SS (very good). Note: If you choose the NCO Training Scenario, you will automatically play against the German rookies) 1. NCO Training This scenario serves as the introductory game for new players. The American player is given four soldiers placed on column 13 south of row 21. His mission is to secure the village, i.e. eliminate all German soldiers encountered. The American player wins if all German soldiers are in shock or dead, otherwise the computer wins. The computer will notify the player when he has either won or lost. The following are possible orders for the American soldiers on the first turn: a. To have Padooka cover the street above the factory, enter: MR12R (CR), MR21R (CR), MR30F (CR), SB (CR), FA0199 (CR), NO (CR). Padooka will run around the building, fall prone in the street, and shoot if he sees a German. b. To have Cheng run around the corner of the building and then dodge down the street, enter: MR15R (CR), SB (CR) MR21D (CR), MR38R (CR), FA5030 (CR), NO (CR). Cheng will run up to the street, sneak, dodge diagonally 1 square, face down the street, and shoot if he sees a German soldier. c. To have Bastinelli throw a grenade into the factory, enter: MR11R (CR), PF (CR), EF1820 (CR), MR58R (CR), MR32R (CR), PA (CR) FA2510 (CR). NO (CR). Bastinelli will throw a grenade into the factory, run around the back of the building, unsling his autorifle, and shoot any German soldier he sees. d. To have Dumke run around the back of the building, enter: MR41R (CR), MR34R (CR), MR21R (CR), MR13R (CR), NO (CR). Dumke will run completely around the building, climb over a hedge, and run up the other side. ((CR), for Carriage Return, means the "RETURN" key.) 2. Ambush In this scenario the American player must set up and execute an ambush of a 7 man German patrol. The American Player has the option to use any or all of his 10 soldiers (we suggest 4-5) and they may be set up as desired by the player(the computer will ask the player which soldiers he wishes and where he wishes to start them).The German patrol will enter the map at one of eight locations. It will pass through the center of the town (near the statue) and then exit the map at one of the eight locations. The entrance and exit locations are randomly chosen, except that they will never be adjacent. The eight entry locations are: 2464; 3664; 4849; 4837; 3111; 1126; 1137; 1158 The American player wins if all German soldiers are in shock or dead. The American player loses if all of the American soldiers are in shock or dead or if all non-wounded German soldiers (must be minimum of three) are within 3 squares of the German target square. The computer will notify the player if he has won or lost. 3. Raid In this scenario the American player is attempting to destroy the German communications center in the Government Building. The computer will set up six German soldiers in or near the Government Building. The American player may use any or all ten of his soldiers (we suggest 5-6). He should set up his soldiers west of column 20 or east of column 44, and south of row 44. It may appear that the Germans could be easily out matched, however, the American player is under a time constraint: he must accomplish his mission within 8 minutes if playing a level 1 (easy) game and within 4 minutes if playing a level 2 or 3 game. (Note: 8 minutes equates to 4800 time points, or at least 20 turns.) The American player wins if all German soldiers are in shock or dead or if he detonates a plastic explosive in square 3052. The American player loses if all American soldiers are in shock or dead or if he runs out of time. The computer will notify the player if he has won or lost. 4. Infiltration This scenario is basically the reverse of the Ambush solitaire scenario. That is, the American player must move a patrol through the town against 10 German soldiers. The American player will be asked to choose both a starting and exit location from the list given in the solitaire Ambush Scenario above the computer will verify that the locations are not adjacent). The computer will then automatically place the American soldiers in a patrol formation near the starting location. The standard patrol formation is given below. The numbers in the squares refer to the relative rank of the soldier. Thus, the squad leader is "1", second in command is "2", etc. Soldier number "3" is in the starting square. ______________ |____|_1__|____| |_7__|____|_6__| Center /|\ |____|_2__|____| of | |_8__|_10_|_9__| Mapboard | |_4__|____|_5__| |____|_3__|____ The American player may eliminate any of his soldiers that he desires (we suggest you keep 8-10). However, he will not be able to change their starting positions. The American player's mission is to move his patrol to his target location; he has a 10,000 time point time limit to accomplish the mission. The American Player wins if all German soldiers are in shock or dead or if all half of the soldiers he started with are within 3 squares of the target location. The American player loses if all American soldiers are in shock or dead or the time limit is exceeded. If more than one half of the American patrol is in shock or killed, the only way the American player can win is by killing all the German soldiers. The computer will notify the player if he has won or lost. 5. Barn Defense In this scenario the American player is defending the barn (B1) against a 10 man German attack. The American player should set up his players in or near the barn (we suggest 5-6 soldiers). The German soldiers will start west of column 32 and north of row 27. The American player wins when all German soldiers are in shock or dead. The American player loses if all American soldiers are in shock or dead or if the Germans detonate a plastic explosive in square 4113. The computer will notify the player if he has won or lost. B. TWO PLAYER SCENARIOS 1. Ambush This scenario is basically the two-player version of the solitaire Ambush scenario: the American player is ambushing a German patrol. The German player will be asked to choose a starting and target location from the same list of locations given in the solitaire Ambush scenario (the computer will not divulge this information to the American player, but will inform the German player of his squads objective point whenever he asks for his squads characteristics). Both the American and German players may use as many soldiers as they desire. The German soldiers will be placed on the map in the standard patrol formation (see the solitaire infiltration scenario). The American players mission is to look for the German patrol and destroy all German soldiers before the patrol reaches the target location. The German players mission is to move his patrol to the target square within 10,000 time points. The American player wins if all German soldiers are in shock or dead or if the German patrol fails to reach its destination in 10,000 time points. The German player wins if all American soldiers are in shock or dead or if all non-shocked German soldiers are within 3 squares of the target square, and the number of non-shocked soldiers is at least one-half of the starting patrol. The computer will notify the players if a player has won the game. 2. Patrol This scenario is similar to the two-player Ambush scenario above, except that the players reverse roles. That is, the German player is ambushing an American patrol. Otherwise, the playing rules and winning conditions are the same as the Ambush Scenario. 3. Strongpoint In Strongpoint, the American player is defending the factory (A1) against a German assault. The American player should set up his soldiers south of row 25 and west of column 30. The German player should place his soldiers north of row 25 and east of column 30. The American player's mission is to survive the German onslaught and preserve the factory from destruction (detonation of a plastic explosive within the main shop will destroy it) for 12 minutes (7,200 time points). The German player's mission is to either destroy all American soldiers or detonate a plastic explosive within the factory within the 12 minute time limit. The computer will notify the players if a player has won the game. 4. Church Defense In this scenario the Germans are on defense protecting the church (D5) from an American assault. The German player should set up his soldiers north of row 37, east of column 33, and south of row 50. The American player may set up anywhere outside of that perimeter. The German player's mission is to preserve the church from destruction for 12 minutes (7,200 time points). The American player has 12 minutes to either kill all Germans or destroy the church with a plastic explosive. The computer will notify the players if a player has won. 5. Seek and Destroy This scenario represents a meeting of two enemy patrols. Chance meetings of patrols were rare, but they could become quite violent. The German player should place his soldiers anywhere north of row 40, while the American player should put his soldiers south of row 35. The American player wins if he gets a soldier back to row 11 after he has passed through square 4055 (the soldier must end his turn in that square). The German player wins if he gets a soldier back to row 64 after he has passed through square 4013. Also, if all enemy soldiers are in shock or dead, then the remaining player wins. The computer will notify the players if a player wins. 6. Alley Fight In this scenario each player is attempting to gain control of an area of the map within a specified period of time. The perimeter of the area is row 55. row 27, column 24. column 11. The players are attempting to "control" all the squares within the perimeter. The computer will ask which player will start the game defending the area. The player which defends the area, starts the game with control of all squares within the perimeter. The other player attempts to wrest control from the controlling player. A player has control of a square if one of his soldiers was the last one to enter it. We suggest that the player who begins the game in complete control of the area, keep only 2/3 of the soldiers that the attacking player keeps. The winner of the game is the player who has control of most squares at the end of the game. The length of the game is determined by the following equation: Number of time points = number of defenders/number of attackers X 5,000. 7. Free Form Make up your own scenarios. From one-on-one duels to 10-on-10 campaign games, you can begin with as many soldiers as you wish and at any place on the map that is mutually agreeable to the players. Try a game of one-on-one where both players agree not to use their fire weapons, hand grenades, and knives only). For those of you who want to try simulated computer non-violence. try relay races (it's not as easy as it sounds). Remember, the fewer the soldiers you choose the faster the game. Note: If all the remaining soldiers are in shock or are killed on the same turn the American is considered the loser and the German player the victor (i.e. for the American player to win he must have at least one remaining soldier that he can command). The defender should be given roughly 2/3 of the number of soldiers given to the attacker CREDITS Original Game Design - Ed Williger, John Lyon Redevelopment - Larry Strawser, Kendall Whitesell Programming - Larry Strawser, Kendall Whitesell Rule Book - Larry Strawser Soldier Dossier - Robert Billings Art and Graphic Design - Louis Saekow, Kevin Heney, and Robert Olliver Typesetting - Abra Type Printing - A&a Printers & Lithographers Column Row A. Factory Complex 16 20 A1. Main Shop 16 16 A2. Tool Crib/Supers' Office 16 13 A3. Misc. Work Shop 25 14 A4. Warehouse 23 23 A5. Office 28 16 A6. Scrap and Junk 27 21 A7. Raw Materials & Usable Junk B. Farm Complex 41 13 B1. Barn 45 20 B2. Small Personal Crops 35 16 B3. Farm House 38 16 B4. Outhouse 45 16 B5. Tool Shed/Work House C. Bus Depot Complex 26 35 C1. Passenger Waiting Area 25 29 C2. Garage/Sho[ 28 28 C3. Tool Shed/Machine Shop D. Miscellaneous 36 22 D1. School 45 30 D2. Hotel/Roominghouse 36 32 D3. Small Shops 15 31 D4. Crummy Complex of Proletarian Houses (i.e. workers' homes) 43 43 D5. Church 30 53 E. Government Building F. More Miscellaneous 30 43 F1. Statue 19 44 F2. More Small Shops 21 45 F3. Small Cafe 13 46 F4. Light Industries and Shops 46 55 F5. Upper Class/Bourgeois Home 45 58 F6. Servants'/Gardener's Home 45 62 F7. Garage 41 55 F8. Mayor's Home 42 60 F9. Servants' Quarters 40 62 F10. Garage 30 62 F11. Middle Class Homes 18 62 F12. More Middle Class Homes 21 56 F13. Gas Station/Garage