CONFLICTS 2 (PSS) Conflicts 2 is a compilation of two strategic simulations set in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. Both are controlled via the keyboard but BATLLE FOR MIDWAY is compatible with the following joystick interfaces: KEMPSTON PROTEK INTERFACE II In each of the simulations you take the role of the American commander and the computer controls the Japanese forces. 1. Battle For Midway In May 1942, some 6 months after Pearl Harbour, the Japanese commander in chief of the first fleet - Admiral Yamamoto - proposed a plan to destroy the remains of the American Fleet. His carriers would launch a surprise dawn raid against the Midway Island Airbase. With that destroyed, the Japanese would land and capture the island and then have 2 days to prepare for the arrival of the US fleet. The plan required surprise to work but the Japanese navy code was broken some months previously and the Americans were well aware of their plans. In the ensuing battle between dawn on June 4th and 13.30 on June 6th, the Japanese navy lost 4 aircraft carriers and more than 250 aircraft. The American navy lost just 1 carrier and 100 aircraft. For the first time in the war, the Japanese had been decisively defeated. From then on, they were overwhelmed by the massive American Task Forces of the later years. 2. Iwo Jima In February 1945 IWO JIMA offered US forces the prospect of an air base near Japan that could provide fighter support and emergency landing facilities to aircraft on bombing runs to Tokyo. The island, which is about 4.5 miles long and 2.5 miles wide, at its widest point, was garrisoned by some 22,000 Japanese under the command of General Kuribayashi. US superiority in numbers virtually guaranteed the outcome but the cost was tremendous. All, except 216 Japanese died fighting for the island, and the US marines suffered almost 7,000 men killed, and more than 17,000 wounded, in the 36 days that it took to capture the island. It was the US marines costliest and toughest fight, with the marines suffering a 1.5 to 1 casualty rate. And Major General Erskine, the 3rd Marine Division's commander, commented, "The enemy could have displaced every cubic inch of volcanic ash on this 'fortress' with concrete pillboxes and blockhouses, which he very nearly did, and still victory would not have been in doubt. What was in doubt, in all our minds, was whether there would be any of us left to dedicate our cemetery at the end, or whether the last marine would die knocking out the last Jap gun and gunner!" LOADING CASSETTE - each of the games is recorded in the following order on both sides of the tape: Battle For Midway Iwo Jima Each one is loaded via the normal command (LOAD ""). We suggest that you make a note of the tape counter reading at the end of each loading sequence to aid you in future. Battle For Midway GETTING STARTED Once the program has loaded make your selection for keyboard or joystick, select the game level (A is easy, C is hard - see game levels) and game speed (A is fast, F is slow). Keyboard controls: W=up, X=down, A=right, D=left, S=FIRE. The screen will clear and the main playing map will appear. GAME LEVELS LEVEL 1: This level is used mainly to learn the game, as the Japanese fleet routes are shown. TF16 will not be attacked by Air so you should have little difficulty in winning. LEVEL 2: This is the normal game. The Japanese fleets will not be visible at the start. They will approach from the west of Midway. Any of your fleets are liable to attack from air and sea. This level follows the true course of history. LEVEL 3: He re we suppose that the Japanese are aware that the Americans have broken their Naval Code, and they consequently set a trap for you. Hint: there will be more Japanese carriers than you think. THE MAIN MAP On screen you will see Midway Island in the centre, your two fleets, their accompanying search aircraft and in the bottom right of the screen, a white square. This is your COMBOX and is used for getting information, ordering moves and attacks etc. It is moved via the keyboard or joystick. The dotted lines (only on level 1) are the routes followed by the Japanese fleets. Red line = 1st MOBILE FLEET (Aircraft Carriers) White line = MAIN BODY (Battleships) Yellow line = OCCUPATION FORCE (Invasion force) UNIT BOOK Whilst you are in map mode, you can read the unit book which shows the US and Japanese forces as they are at the start of the game. It is useful for working out which fleet you are looking at when you have an aerial view. Key F: US TF 16 Key G: US TF 17 Key H: US base Midway Island Key J: Japanese 1st mobile fleet Key K: Japanese Main body Key L: Japanese Occupation force UNIT SYMBOLS COLOUR UNIT SYMBOL UNIT Yellow 1 TF 16 (US Fleet) Yellow 2 TF 17 (US Fleet) Orange Aircraft US Search Aircraft Yellow Aircraft US Attack Aircraft Orange Blank US Search Area Red J Japanese Fleet Red Aircraft Japanese Attack Aircraft REPORTS Move the COMBOX over a US unit. (The Combox will turn RED when correctly positioned and press "R". The display will show the ships and/or aircraft in the unit. To return to map mode, press any key. MOVING A UNIT Place the combox over one of the US Search Aircraft Units. When the COMBOX turns red, press fire. The COMBOX will now turn Green. Move the COMBOX to where you want the unit to go and press fire again. The unit will now begin moving to that point. Obviously air units moves faster than ship units. LAUNCHING AIRCRAFT Both fleets and Midway Islands have Air Units. With the COMBOX over one of the units press P. The screen will display the AIRPLOT for that unit (which aircraft are present, which are ready for launch etc.). Only those units on deck can be launched. As a matter of course at the beginning of each day you should launch your CAP. This is your COMBAT AIR PATROL and is the defensive air unit for the fleet unit. Once launched, the CAP will be deemed to be present for the rest of the day and will land automatically at the end of the day. No unit symbol is displayed for the CAP. Press L to launch an air unit. It takes 10 minutes to launch an air unit and 40 minutes to bring the next line up on deck. AIRCRAFT FUEL & STATUS You can obtain a report on all air units in the same way as for a ship unit. When an air unit is down to 60 minutes flying time, a report will automatically be given. LANDING AIRCRAFT Move the air unit next to a fleet unit or Midway Island. Now get the AIRPLOT for the unit you want to land onto, and press K to land the air unit. A maximum of 2 air units (not counting CAP) may be on board a Task force at any one time. AIR SEARCH If any of the search units (large orange squares) spots a Japanese unit, it will be displayed on a red square with a black J in it. Now move the COMBOX over the Japanese unit and press R. A visual representation of the Japanese unit will now be given. You can identify the unit by reference to the UNIT BOOK. Press ANY KEY to return to map mode. TO MAKE AN AIR ATTACK Move one of your ARMED air units next to a Japanese unit. It will flicker and the attack will begin. You will now see part of the resulting battle. SURFACE ATTACK If the Japanese make a surface attack, it will be indicated on screen by a flickering Japanese fleet symbol. You will then be shown part of the ensuing battle. DAY & NIGHT At 19.00 hours (Night) the map will change colour, the search aircraft will disappear. No air units can be launched although you may still land units. The game clock runs at twice normal speed. Surface attacks are allowed at night. VICTORY CONDITIONS You must sink more than two Japanese carriers for every one of yours that is sunk. The main aim of the Japanese was to destroy the American carrier fleet, since with those carriers gone, the whole of American West Coast was open to attack. Iwo Jima GETTING STARTED All the options are selected by keys "1", "2" & "3". "1" & "3" page between the command options and "2" confirms the selection. THE SCREEN LAYOUT The screen will then clear, and a map of IWO JIMA island will appear together with "windows" for specific information and a blank area at the bottom of the screen where prompts and more general information is displayed. WINDOWS Down the left hand side of the screen are 5 windows which are used to display the Identity, Aggression Factor, Defence Factor, Movement Factor, and Range Factor of the US unit currently in play. (See UNIT FACTORS) In the central position at the top of the screen is the Command Window in which the alternative Orders are selected. (See ORDERS) Immediately below the map display is a row of 5 windows in which the Identity and Unit Factors of any Japanese Unit firing, being fired upon, or being examined, are displayed. THE MAP On the Map you will see symbols which are interpreted as follows: AIRFIELD - these large magenta crosses which occupy several squares each. MOUNTAINS - rugged red shapes VILLAGE RUINS - black diamond symbols MINEFIELDS - white skull symbols SCRUB - the yellow squares which make-up most of the map area. QUARRY FACE - black crossed pick-axe symbols. In addition the numerals 1 to 5 are displayed which identify the soft volcanic ash landing beaches available to US forces. TERRAIN Units must expend Movement Points (MV) to cross the varying types of terrain, and if a unit has insufficient Movement Points left to exit a particular square the unit halts on entering it. The terrain occupied by a unit adds to its Defence Factor (DF) when attacked. Minefields represent fortified areas protected by minefields and so give the highest value, however moving into a minefield can cause up to 4 points of damage to a units Aggression Factor. (See UNIT FACTORS) On a reducing scale of MOVEMENT COSTS and COMBAT ADDS, the remaining terrain types are Quarry Faces, Mountains, Village Ruins, Soft Beaches, Scrub, and Airfields. ORDER OF ARRIVAL At the start of the game, all 21 of the Japanese units set up on the map, secretly. These units will be revealed during the game by the following four methods: 1. Troops coming ashore alert all enemy units within 5 square radius. 2. An American unit ends its move close to the concealed unit. 3. The Japanese unit prepares to move or fire, and so reveals itself. 4. On game turn 22 all Japanese units which have not by then been spotted will reveal themselves and enter the battle. The first ten US Marine Units are available from turn 1, made up as follows: 1. 1/28 2. 2/28 3. 1/27 4. 2/27 5. 1/23 6. 2/23 7. 1/25 8. 3/25 9. 4 TANK 10. 5 TANK On turn 3 ten more units arrive offshore unless the seas are stormy, when their landing will be postponed until the weather changes. The ten reinforcements consist of the following units: 11. 3/28 12. 3/27 13. 3/23 14. 2/25 15. 13 BTY 16. 14 BTY 17. 1/24 18. 2/24 19. 1/26 20. 2/26 On turn 6 the 21 RGT arrives, and on turn 10 the 9 REGT is landed, always dependent on the weather conditions not being Stormy Seas. Throughout the game the units will be offered to you, for Orders, in the above sequence, but you may select the phasing units in an order to suit your tactics by using the "1", "2", "3" keys. UNIT FACTORS The unit factors of the phasing unit are displayed in the 5 "windows" on the left screen, and typical unit will look like this: 1/28 AF 8 DF 6 MV 6 RG 2 This information is interpreted as follows: 1/28 is the identity of the unit (1st Battalion, 28 Regiment USMC). AF is the Aggression Factor. This represents the attack strength, the weaponry, the determination, the morale, and to an extent the reputation, of the unit. This factor is the potential 'Firepower' of the unit when in combat, and as the unit takes casualties, this Factor will be reduced. When the Aggression Factor reaches zero, the unit ceases to be an effective fighting force, and is eliminated from the game. The Aggression Factor cannot be increased during the game, nor if it has been reduced, can it be restored. This is, therefore, an important detail to monitor, and consider carefully, when committing a unit to combat. Obviously, the higher the Aggression Factor, the more potent the unit is likely to be attacking. DF is the Defence Factor of the unit, and represents its defensive strength and instinct for self preservation. The Factor is modified by the type of terrain occupied by the defending unit, so that a unit in mountains, for example would be more difficult to overcome than if the same unit were defending in scrub. This Factor is not diminished throughout the game. MV is the Movement Factor or "speed" of the unit. It is the number of points which can be expended by the unit, each turn, when moving around the map. Each type of terrain has a different movement cost, and the computer will only permit the unit to move whilst it has sufficient points left to exit the present terrain. This Factor is never reduced so that at the start of each turn, the full allowance is available. All units are able to move at least one square regardless of the terrain. RG is the Range Factor of the unit, and is the number of squares that an enemy unit may be away from the unit in play, and still be in range. 1/28 with a Range Factor of 2 will, therefore, need to be within 2 squares of the enemy unit in order to attack it. ORDERS At the top centre of the screen is a "window" in which appears the Orders available for the unit which has its Factors currently displayed. The possible Commands are "ATTACK", "LAND", "MOVE", "QUIT" and "PASS". Select any of these options and the computer will respond, either by performing the Command given, or with the prompt describing what further is required. All replies to prompts are by pressing "2" to give an order or by pressing "1" or "3" to select an alternative command or option. ATTACK Units cannot move and attack in the same turn, so this is selected as an alternative to moving. (Units can however, LAND and ATTACK in the same turn.) When ATTACK is ORDERED the computer will superimpose a flashing selection box over the nearest displayed enemy unit, display the prompt "ATTACK THIS UNIT?", and display "YES" in the Command Window. If "NO" is selected and ordered, then the box will be superimposed over the remaining displayed enemy units, in turn, starting with the next nearest, and continuing until "YES" is selected and confirmed, or until all the enemy units have been rejected, when the selection box will be placed over the nearest unit once more. It is, therefore, possible to inspect the UNIT FACTORS of all the enemy units presently displayed on the screen, before committing your phasing unit to a specific attack. At the start of the game your troops are supported by 6 gunship support factors, and one factor may be added to every attack made by US units, provided that: 1. You have not used up all of the remaining factors for the turn. 2. The Sea Conditions are Calm or Heavy Surf. If there are support factors still available the computer will ask "DO YOU WANT NAVAL GUNFIRE ON THIS UNIT?". If "2" is pressed then Gunfire will be directed on the enemy unit. In order to Attack, a unit must first have LANDED and if this has not happened, the computer will reject any attack Orders. (See LAND) LAND When you have decided which of the five indicated squares is to be the unit's landing beach select "LAND", and you will be prompted to enter a number from 1 to 5 corresponding to the site chosen. Provided that the selected site is not already occupied, your unit will come ashore in the square immediately under the selected number. Landing in Heavy Surf Sea Conditions can be very dangerous, and there is a 40% chance of a unit taking heavy casualties. Both LANDING and MOVING or LANDING and ATTACKING can be ordered for a unit during the same turn. MOVE When "MOVE" is selected the computer will prompt you with "DIRECTION?" and the direction selection is via the "1" & "3" keys. Throughout the game, all units may move anywhere on land, provided that they have enough MV points remaining. QUIT If QUIT is selected, the game will terminate and you will be asked to press any key to play again. PASS Use this if you don't want to move or attack with a particular unit or if you want to stop moving with MV points still remaining. JAPANESE FORCES (Computer Controlled) There are 21 Japanese units, in sizes varying from battalion to division and, with the US units, all of the main units involved in the conflict are individually represented in the game, as are several of the lesser units. Those not specificially mentioned in the game are taken into account by modification of the combat Factors of some of the main units. In the Japanese Forces Phase, units may MOVE or ATTACK in a similar manner to the US units. However they do not get the option of Naval Gunfire. The Air Strikes are directed occasionally against units still on landing craft, but mainly against the Gunfire Support Ship, and for each successful KAMIKAZE attack one Gunfire Factor is permanently lost. The Japanese submarine I-15 will stalk and attempt to sink any remaining Gunfire Support Ships. Occasionally US aircraft will be diverted from raids on Japan to attack airstrip 2, where the Japanese aircraft are based, but these, being carrier based, cannot fly in Stormy Seas Conditions, whereas the Japanese, being land based, can and will seize this advantage. Gunfire Support Ships are represented on the map by a Gunship symbol and the colour of the symbol indicates the number of factors still available: the colours being CYAN for 5 or 6 factors, GREEN for 3 or 4 factors, and BLACK for 1 or 2 factors. If all the ships providing Gunfire Support are sunk (ie the factors are reduced to zero), no further Naval Gunfire will be available to the Marines. If there are Japanese aircraft on Airfield 2 when US units move onto the Airfield, advance units will destroy all of the remaining aircraft before they can take off. VICTORY CONDITIONS As the American player, you must eliminate all of the Japanese units on the map within 32 game turns at level 1, 33 at level 2, to 36 at level 5. P.S.S. 452 STONEY STANTON RD. COVENTRY CV6 5DG. TEL: COVENTRY (0203) 667556