War In Middle Earth - Gameplay Instructions for C64 version. (pp 11-23) LOADING THE GAME Turn on the computer and insert Disk A. Type LOAD "*",8, 1 then press return. The program will load and run. CONTROLS When the title screen picture appears you may start the game with the default options or you may choose to define your own key controls and / or select a more difficult level of play. Press the 3 key for the default keyboard setting and level of play. The Keyboard commands default to: Q=Up, A=Down, O=Left, P=Right, Space bar=Fire. To redefine your own key controls, press the 1 key. When defining your own keys you may choose any keys except R and S. R (on the Campaign level map) enters the Ring Menu. R (on the Full map) toggles music off. Use ESC to toggle it on again. S skips the manual control battle sequence You may choose to increase the difficulty of play. When you do this, your opponents become more powerful thus battles will become more difficult. To select a more difficult level of play, press the 2 key. Each time you press the 2 key the number representing the level of difficulty (in the lower right corner of the screen) will be increased by one until you reach fifteen, then will begin again at one. COMBAT When a combat occurs, Campaign time is stopped, and the screen displays the campaign map with a pair of crossed swords at the sight of the battle. Push the joystick up to view your forces, left or right to view those of the enemy. Fight Mode Once the clock on the Middle Earth Map display has been started, fight mode will be triggered when two or more opposing forces move into the same position on the Campaign Map. The start of fight mode is announced by the message PREPARE FOR BATTLE above the summary of the details of one of the groups involved. At this point, you may press fire to move into the battle scene or you may skip the battle scene by pressing the S key and the results of the battle will be displayed on the screen. (It would be best not to use the skip battle option if the Ringbearer is involved, as he may well be killed and the game lost.) If you press fire to move into the battle scene, the cursor is replaced with the selection cursor. Every person, or even Hobbit, Dwarf, Elf and Orc involved in battle has their own figure on the screen, though of course as the screen only shows part of the battle, they may well be out of view. Your forces are immobile until attacked or ordered. If they are attacked they will respond, however they will not initiate combat. Your forces will start the battle massed on the right of the screen, those of the enemy on the left. In the centre of the screen the forces will mix. Terrain does affect combat. If you are fighting from a favourable position, such as within a fort such as Helm's Deep, your troops get a bonus on their energy. This means that they need to be hit more often before they are killed. Unfortunately if you attack a fortress such as Morrannon or Dol Guldur the Orcs will gain a defensive advantage. There are two methods of controlling your forces, you can give orders or directly control a character. On the battle screen movement and control is along the diagonals. Up and Right Up and Left Down and Left Down and Right To order a character; position the cursor under him and press fire. To indicate that you are under a character the cursor will change to light blue. At the bottom of the screen the message "Select an Enemy for me to attack" will appear. If the selected character is actually an enemy the message "Not allied to the Fellowship" will appear. If you are not correctly under a figure the message will read "There is nobody here." Once you have correctly selected a character; position the cursor under an enemy and press fire. Again when you are under a figure it will change colour. If you correctly select an enemy the message, "New destination selected" will appear. If you select one of your own forces, the message "You cannot attack a friend" will appear. If the cursor is not centered under anyone the message "There's nobody here" will appear. In either case you need to select a new opponent. If you correctly select an opponent, your character will move to him and attack. To control a character directly, place the cursor over him and press fire twice. The cursor will change to violet. He will now move under the control of the joystick or the keys. As soon as he encounters an enemy he will start to fight and the battle cursor will reappear. To get out of any sequence of controls press the escape key. By ordering your forces to attack efficiently you can influence the outcome of the battle. You will have to discover the best tactics to minimize your losses in these encounters if you are going to be successful. The battle will continue until all the forces on one side are dead. At the end of the battle follow the on screen instructions, and you will return to the Campaign Map. The cursor will be flashing at the point where the battle took place and can give your units new orders. Avoiding Combat The Ring Bearer has the option of wearing the Ring. If you do not want to fight then press R. He will put on the Ring and disappear. This enables him to sneak away from the battle and he will appear on the next square of the Campaign Map. He may do this at any time even if he is fighting an enemy. Of course wearing the Ring is not without its disadvantages. Firstly it greatly increases the effect of the Ring - your virtue will decrease at a much greater rate than if you were just carrying the Ring. Secondly although the Ring makes you invisible to normal creatures such as Orcs, it makes you highly visible to Nazgul - if there are any on the Battle Field they will select the Ring Bearer as their target, ignoring everyone else on the field of battle. PLAYING THE GAME You must make the decisions that will lead to the Ring safely reaching Mount Doom. Besides controlling the Ring bearer and his party, you must command the armies of the west, and use them to keep the forces of Mordor from the Ring. To control everything, from the overall disposition of the troops to the actions of individuals in a battle, three levels are used. These are the Middle Earth Map, the Campaign Map, and the Battle Screen. The first few times that you play the game, you may well not be able to see how individual decisions affect the overall outcome of the game. However as you become familiar with the game, you will see how patterns develop. Middle Earth Map. This displays the whole of Middle Earth on the Screen. Along the left hand side of the screen there is a list of commands. There are File, Memo and Time. In the middle of the map there is a gauntleted hand. This is the cursor, to select any action simply position the finger over the desired point, using the joystick or keys. Friendly units are displayed on the map as dots. File Positioning the cursor over the FILE icon will switch the display to a menu which allows you to load or save the game position, return to the map, or exit from the game to the BASIC environment, resetting the machine in the process. Memo Gives you further information on the state of the game, position the cursor over the command and press fire. Any messages will scroll across the screen, press fire to stop. Time Sets the game in motion. Campaign time is shown on the scroll underneath the command. Once time is started, all friendly units will start to follow their orders. Sauron's unit will also start to move. Eventually they will come into conflict. Time will stop and Middle Earth Map will be replaced by the Campaign Map. The location of the battle is shown by a crossed pair of swords. This gives you a chance to examine the forces at your disposal and those you will be fighting, when you are ready press fire and you will go into the battle screen. If you want to stop time after you have started it, move the cursor back onto the map and press fire. This will take you to the campaign map. You command all the free peoples, most of the units have orders that they will follow, however, these will not take long to carry out. The Ring bearer and the other characters will stay in Rivendell until you order them to move. However as soon as time is started the evil forces will start their actions under computer control. So before you start time running look at your forces and give them their orders. To do this you must use the Campaign Map. CAMPAIGN MAP To examine any area of Middle Earth in more detail just position the finger over the area you want and press fire. This takes you to the Campaign Map. This is the same map but on an expanded scale, allowing more features to be shown. This map gives you much more detail of the geography, showing hills, mountains, passes, rivers, roads, woods and towns. Friendly units are displayed on the map as shields. A unit can be a single character, such as Frodo, Aragorn or Gandalf, or it may be a body of troops. Each shield represents all the units on a single point, this is called a stack. To examine a unit position the cursor over the shield and press fire. A window will appear in the centre of the screen giving you the details of the first unit in the stack. If you want to see who else is there, you need to press fire again, and move the joystick up or down to display each occupant in turn. It is advisable to check each location to make sure you know exactly who is where. For each unit you are told, Title Either their name, or a description, e.g. a company of 002 men. Who is in command "Man in command" etc. means no commander set. Destination Where they are going. Energy This is used up walking and by being hit in combat. The higher the better. Determination How long they will keep going. Steadfastness How fast their energy is used up. Virtue How long they can hold the ring. Bravery The braver you are the more often you will hit in combat. Strength How much damage you do to an opponent when you hit. Allegiance Fellowship, the good guys; Mordor, Sauron's troops or Orthanc, Saruman. In order to give a unit an order, press fire twice while their details are displayed on screen. This causes another window to open, giving you a choice of five options. Select the desired choice and press fire. Return do not give a new order. Set to Destination go to a specific destination, you are offered a second menu giving you the choice of applying the order to the individual unit (individual) or all the units in the stack (everyone). Set to Join orders unit to join another unit's company. Set to Follow orders unit to follow another. View Portrait Display portrait of the group's leader. When any of the Set to orders is selected, the cursor will change to a flashing Maltese Cross. Position this to the desired place and fire. Obviously a destination can be any point on the map. Simply position the cross and press fire: When Campaign Time is started the unit will move to that point. It will not move in a straight line, instead it will take the best route, taking the terrain into account. Therefore it will detour around mountains, and if there is a road it will take that. Each unit will move at its own speed, they will not wait for slower units in the stack, until they reach their destination. A unit may only join or follow another unit. Position the cursor over a shield and press fire. The cursor will stop flashing, and you can run through the occupants till the desired unit is displayed. Press fire again, and you have completed the order. When campaign time starts, the first unit will follow / join the second. In View Portrait mode, you will be prompted to insert game disk 'B'. Insert the disk and press FIRE: the game will then load and display a portrait of the group's leader and a brief description of the character. Portrait mode is exited from by pressing FIRE to skip to the second screen, which prompts you to replace disk 'A'. The Ring The character carrying the Ring (at the start of the game this is Frodo), is indicated on the details menu by a Ring alter his name. You may give the ring to another character who is in the same position as the current Ringbearer. To do this press R while on the details menu listing the details of the character that you wish to give the ring to. (The magnifying glass icon must appear on the screen in order to do this). Alter pressing the R key return to the Middle Earth Map and move the cursor to the time icon then press fire to start the clock. You make the move to the memo icon and press fire to receive a message confirming that the Ring has been transferred. Encounters If any of the friendly forces meet a neutral character, the game will enter Encounter mode, which is similar to combat mode except that you will simply be able to meet the character, who will tell you where one of the three Palantiri is located. possession of one of the Palantir means that a third of the enemy forces (those not directly commanded (Saruman or Sauron) will be visible on the Campaign map; acquiring second Palantir will reveal Saruman's forces, and owning all three will reveal all hostile groups including those commanded by Sauron. Concerning the ways of Orcs, the Schemes of Sauron and how to destroy the Ring Advice to bold adventurers. The Dark Lord, Sauron, wields great power in Middle Earth and holds under his sway many regiments of foul and bloodthirsty Orcs. Yet even Sauron is not unassailable as those who have read the account of the War of the Ring in Professor Tolkien's book will well know. Those who so choose can make the same decisions as were made in the book and recreate faithfully the footsteps of Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship of the Ring but you will find that success is by no means certain and that this path, like any other, is fraught with danger. Sauron's plan of war is flexible and changes subtly each time you play the game. Likewise, to succeed, your plan of war must be flexible too. IN THE THICK OF BATTLE In battle, your men will fight where they stand, without further instructions from you, but this is not the best way to kill Orcs or to safeguard your warriors. Even in a hopeless situation, your battle tactics will determine just how many Orcs are slain in the attempt. As in most battles, the greatest advantage lies in concentrating your forces. Where one Orc is fighting one man, neither has any special advantage apart from their own innate strength and skill. When one Orc is fighting two men, the chances of the Orc killing a man remain the same but the chances of the men killing the Orc increase substantially. For example, if each of the men had a 10% chance of killing the Orc individually, fighting together they would have a 10% chance of killing the Orc and if there were three of them, it would become a 27% chance. Likewise, two or three Orcs fighting just one man gain a considerable advantage. In battle, then, the main priority is to engage each Orc from as many sides as possible and to do this you must try to bring as many of your troops as you can into the front line. Even this task requires some thought. During the early stages of a battle, the Orcs will be moving fast across undefended areas to get at your men and there is hardly any front line to speak of. If you mobilize men too close to the Orcs, you'll find that a waste of time because the Orcs will probably attack them anyway. If you mobilize men too far away from the Orcs, it will take them a while to journey across the battlefield, meanwhile the Orcs may have moved on or may even have been killed! The best policy is to mobilize nearby men that are not likely to be attacked immediately by the roaming Orcs. The next problem is how to mobilize them - do you use direct control or indirect control? in the early stages of battle, whilst the Orcs are streaming across the battlefield, direct control is the best option. Although you have to steer the warrior to his destination (which sometimes means detours), you can alter his course according to the flow of battle and don't end up chasing Orcs with the cursor in the later stages of battle, which are generally less fluid, you'll find groups of Orcs embroiled in hand-to-hand combat. Since these are relatively static, you'll be able to use indirect control quite effectively. In the longer battles, you'll have time enough to maneuver your troops into battle formations. Due to the ebb and flow of battle and the movements of the Orcs, your battle formations will be rough and ready rather than the precise drill formations of parade ground armies but some formations can be extremely effective and against such deadly creatures as the Nazgul. Fighting in formation is almost essential. The simplest formation is the straight line of troops. Single Orcs encountering your line will always find themselves outnumbered 2 to I. However, as soon as a horde of Orcs throws itself against your line, that slim advantage is lost. Worse still, the Orcs are forced into a line too and cannot easily be outflanked. A much more effective tactic is to form a V-shaped funnel into which the attacking Orcs are channeled. The deeper into the funnel they march, the easier it gets for you to close the ends of the funnel and surround them. Using this tactic against a lone Nazgul, it's possible to have four warriors fighting against him simultaneously. To use formations effectively takes some practice. Not only will you need dexterity with the joystick but you will also need some quick thinking if you are to respond in time to the rapid flow of battle, constantly adjusting your formation as sections of your lines get knocked out. But, if you want to slay as many Orcs as possible, formation fighting is the way to do it. THE SCHEMES OF SAURON As your armies and heroes march through Middle Earth, they will doubtless encounter roving bands of Orcs and be forced to battle for their lives. Although the movements of the Enemy's armies always remain hidden, they are not random: there is a pattern to the schemes of Sauron and even a passing knowledge of this pattern is of great value. Sauron, in his evil wisdom, has divided his armies into two groups, the assault armies and the hunting armies. The hunting armies roam Middle Earth, tracking down particular individuals. The Dark Lord, for instance, has assigned to 3 Nazgul the task of hunting down Gandalf. The assault armies follow Sauron's complex campaign plan which assigns them each a series of objectives to take before the final assault on Minas Tirith itself. Even Saruman and the Orcs he controls have a part to play in the Dark Lord's plans, but Saruman's assault armies follow a separate campaign plan with more limited objectives, the bounds of their movements lying largely within Rohan and Gondor. The campaign plan of Sauron is intricate in its detail and space only permits the broad outlines of his plan to be given here. The Dark Lord has marked out over sixty different objectives for his armies to take and secure. To allow his commanders some flexibility in the field, each objective is followed by two other objectives, either of which the commander can choose to attack as he sees fit. Even the Dark Lord himself cannot say which particular routes his armies will take when the choice arises and here lies the subtlety of his plan, for he knows that the Lady Galadriel has the power to look into his mind and know his thoughts. His plan is flexible enough to be unpredictable but by carefully laying out the spider's web of objectives, he can be sure that his strength is eventually brought to bear against those strongholds he desires most. The final destination in Sauron's web of objectives is Minas Tirith, but before reaching this goal, his armies can range far and wide, from Dol Amroth in the south to Dale in the far north, from the fair glades of Lothlorien to the Gray Havens in the west. Where the web is thickest, the armies of Sauron are more likely to be found. There are three main areas that Sauron concentrates on: the villages of the Shire in the north, the triangle of Helm's Deep, Dol Amroth and Minas Tirith to the west of Mordor, and the towers and fortresses of Mordor itself. The broad sweep of Sauron's plan is shown on the map, though much of the detail has, of necessity, been left out. There are a number of useful hints given by this plan. Notice, for instance, the two way route through the Mines of Mona. The gate at each end of the Mines of Moria is a further objective from the other gate. Often, this means that a band of Orcs will march through the Mines of Mona to the far gate and then, as soon as they reach that objective, select one of the two further objectives which just happen to be the gate they have come from. So a band of Orcs may spend some time just marching back and forth through the Mines. In this way, the Dark lord keeps the passage through the mountains well patrolled. Notice also the road through Mirkwood. This is a route for Orc armies, but only for armies passing northwards. Armies found on this road make their way eventually either to Lothlorien or to Rivendell and thence to the Shire, since Sauron has specified no return routes but these. It is also vital to understand the way the Dark Lord's twisted mind works. Any defeat he suffers blinds him with anger and goads him to seek revenge, distracting him from his master plan. For each army of his that is destroyed, Sauron will send a fresh army to hunt down the victor. Only when vengeance is fulfilled will that army then turn back to Mordor and begin to follow Sauron's campaign plan. The more successful one of your armies is, the more it will be hounded by Sauron. One tactic, knowing this tendency of Sauron's, is to draw off Sauron's strength by marching a successful army into the wilderness, with a trail of avenging bands of Orcs doggedly following it. PLANNING YOUR CAMPAIGN From the journal of a Brave Adventurer There are many ways to defeat Sauron and we're not going to suggest an instant recipe for success, more a collection of ideas that will help you on your way. My own first hope of victory came in an unorthodox campaign. I ignored the advice given at the Council of Elrond and decided to escort Frodo to the rim of Mount Doom with armies of elves, men and dwarves as well as Gandalf and the rest of the Fellowship, risking defeat at the gates of Mordor. The Fellowship headed east from Rivendell to a rendezvous with Thranduil's elves at the bridge over the River Anduin. From there, the army continued east into Mirkwood to a further rendezvous with the Men of Dale and the Dwarves of the Iron Hills at the place where the road forks south. Having waited some time for all the contingents to arrive, the combined army marched south along the road through Mirkwood, keeping both a vanguard and a rearguard on the road and the Ring Bearer snugly in the middle. The march was slow and careful, the objectives being set day by day to keep the many contingents in good order. Occasional assaults by Orcs were fought off with relative ease and as the army finally emerged from Mirkwood, its ranks were swelled yet again by Celeborn and the Elves of Lorien. Finally, at the Gate of Morannon, after a furious battle, the army breached the defenses of Mordor and streamed across the plains towards Mount Doom. Undeterred the army reached the very foothills of Mount Doom, with Frodo still bearing up well after his long journey with such an onerous burden. Sensing victory at hand, I decided, just for curiosity, to send Gandalf to Barad-dur to find out what was happening there. As soon as he left the army I had gathered at the foot of Mount Doom, the army was attacked again and again by hordes of Orcs. It weathered the first massive assault. Weakened but still standing firm, it weathered the second assault. Then, on the third assault came the massacre; all, including the Ring Bearer, perished in the battle and my hopes of victory were dashed at the very last moment! Had I been less rash and kept Gandalf with the army, I would have probably won a famous victory. So much for curiosity! Here then, instead of risky recipes are some happy hints. GANDALF Gandalf has staggering power in battle and is the only character you control who is capable of defeating the Nazgul, Saruman or Sauron in single combat. Just Gandalf on his own can wipe out an entire company of Orcs. So, Gandalf should be used wherever the need is greatest. If you are trying to sneak Frodo into Mordor undetected and virtually unaccompanied, Gandalf is best employed at Minas Tirith. If you are planning instead to escort Frodo, Gandalf makes a magnificent bodyguard! THE NAZGUL The Nazgul also have staggering power in battle. The Ring Bearer unaccompanied, can avoid Nazgul by taking paths that do not cross the routes of the enemy in Sauron's campaign plan. In the case of the Nazgul, discretion is always the better part of valour and the best way to deal with them is to avoid them entirely. They are quite capable of massacring an entire army. SAURON Sauron, like the Nazgul, is to be avoided altogether. However, he spends most of his time within the confines of Mordor itself. If he does venture beyond the borders of his foul realm, it will only be for a very short distance. There is no danger, for instance, of encountering him at Minas Tirith. SARUMAN Though not as deadly as the Nazgul, Saruman is a power to be reckoned with in battle. He is usually to be found within the triangle of Orthanc, Edoras and Helm's Deep, but may occasionally attempt to seize the citadel of Minas Tirith. If it is well guarded, Saruman alone is unlikely to succeed. DEFENDING MINAS TIRITH If Minas Tirith falls before the Ring Bearer reaches Mount Doom, all is lost. So, its defense is of vital importance. It is best defended by fresh troops. Not only are these full of vigour and strength, they also have no vengeful bands of Orcs out hunting for them. As soon as an army gains a victory in defense of Minas Tirith, it should be moved away (if the strength of the remaining defenders allows). This will draw the avenging hordes pouring out of Mordor away from the citadel and towards the victorious army. Following this sort of plan, Minas Tirith should be heavily garrisoned in the early stages of the war, when most of Sauron's Orcs are on assault missions. As more and more assaults are repelled, the emphasis of Sauron's attack turns to revenge and a much weaker garrison of fresh troops can hold Minas Tirith whilst the original defenders draw the main enemy strength elsewhere. Always keep at least enough strength in Minas Tirith to repel a Nazgul attack. DEFENDING ELSEWHERE Do not be sentimental about defending other strongholds. When fighting from a stronghold, your troops will kill more Orcs, but the strongholds themselves only serve to delay the final assault on Minas Tirith. It is better to preserve your strength to repel that final assault than to have your armies massacred in defense of a distant stronghold. The Rohorrim, for instance, should not abandon Helm's Deep lightly but once the main body of their host has gathered there as a powerful army, they should begin the ride to the defense of Minas Tirith before their strength is frittered away in fighting off countless waves of Orcs. MOVEMENT IN THE OPEN The larger the army, the more difficult it is to hold together. In the War of the Ring, the armies are composed not just of different units but of different races, making it so much the harder for the army to keep formation on a long march. The game simulates this, and you will find that the units of an army that's assigned a distant objective will quickly become strung out along the route, each unit trying to move at its maximum speed in the direction it considers best. Annoying, but realistic. To keep an army together, you have to sacrifice speed and set it a series of much closer objectives, pausing at each one until the stragglers have arrived. If you want as tight a formation as possible, you must Set its whole route square by square, which is slow but very safe. If you want to escort the Ring Bearer and ensure that troops are always guarding him every step of the way, the best way of doing this (and keeping his speed of movement at maximum) is to send armies ahead of him to line his route. Then, as he moves along, he is passed from army to army. As soon as armies fall to the rear, they are sent to the front again. Quite often, this tactic preempts attacks by Orcs and the armies to the fore or to the rear will repel the Orcs before they even reach the Ring Bearer. Movement by road is swiftest, as you would expect, but armies are likely to try for shortcuts if the road isn't straight. To keep armies on roads, each time set their next objective to the point where the current straight section of road ends. Travel by road is also less exhausting for your troops. BEING BOLD Sauron will not be defeated by shrinking violets - be bold! Mordor is not impregnable. The Nazgul are not invincible. Even Sauron himself can be defeated in battle. Keep Minas Tirith well guarded but look to your main objective of getting the Ring to Mount Doom. If the Ring Bearer is to succeed, the Enemy should be distracted at every opportunity, even if this means harrying him in the strongholds of Mordor itself. The player who, like Denethor, thinks only of defense is doomed to failure. The Ring Bearer, in the book, reaches Mount Doom with only two companions, proceeding by stealth alone. This is not the only way. There is no guarantee, but Frodo can equally succeed in reaching Mount Doom escorted by a mighty enough army. The choice, of course, is yours.