MissionRisk 2 Manual
|
1 MissionRisk 2 Boot Camp: a step
by step tutorial 3 Declaring war 3.2 Combat 3.3 Cards |
3.4 Intelligence 3.4.6 Dice 3.5 Networking 4 MissionRisk registration 5 Credits 6 Trouble shooting |
Thank you for evaluating
MissionRisk, I hope that you enjoy this program.
MissionRisk is based on risk, the
classic military strategy game of world domination. You can play MissionRisk
with up to 6 players, either human or computer controlled. Wars can be fought
across a network or by using the hot seat method on a single terminal. The aim
of the game is to either dominate the world by wiping out all of your
opponents, or to complete a secret mission issued at the start of the war.
If you like playing Risk, the board game,
then I’m sure that you will
appreciate MissionRisk. Instead of taking up to a number of days to complete a
game, with MissionRisk, a full game can be completed in less than an hour. All
of the housework involve with the game is done for you. Dice are automatically
thrown with the outcomes automatically judged. Cards are automatically dealt
and reshuffled. Cheating is almost impossible.
If you have any comments, suggestions
or criticisms, please feel free to contact me at:
Email: craig@missionrisk.com
Home page: http://www.missionrisk.com
Register Mission Risk online.
1.2 What’s
new in MissionRisk 2
Network playable. At long last, wars can be
fought over a network.
Advanced mission options. You can now select
different victory conditions for missions: players must kill their own target
army to win, you must survive until your next turn to win etc...
Change saturation/luminosity levels of certain colors. Some people have
trouble distinguishing green from yellow. You can now change the saturation
level of these colors to make them distinctive.
Improved intelligence for the Smart Computer players.
Private messages option. You can now send private
messages to other players.
And there is more to come.
2 Boot Camp:
A step by step tutorial.
This section
will help to get you started playing MissionRisk:
Step 1: Setting up a new war
Step 2: Placing new units
Step 3: Attacking
Step 4: Moving and ending your turn
2.1 Step 1:
Setting up a new war
After starting MissionRisk, the “Set Up” screen will be displayed. The default
settings start the war with
1 human player (you) and 5 computer
players.
Go to the “Cards” option box (bottom - middle of the set
up screen). If <Hidden> is checked, uncheck it by clicking it with the
left mouse button. This will enable you to see your opponent’s .
Go to the “First Player” option box (above the cards option
box) and click <Player 1>. This will enable you (Player 1 - The Red Army)
to have the first turn.
Now click “Declare War” (bottom right corner). A map of the
world will appear. Countries will be randomly distributed in such a way that no
one has an unfair advantage on their first turn.
The Information will read “The Red Army. You have 3 units to
place. <Click destination country>“.
The Information box will read “The red army attacks <Click defending country>“.
Pick a country to Attack (the
defending country) and click it with the left mouse button. It needs to be on a
border with the country in which you placed the three units (the attacking
country) and it can’t
be a red country (you can’t
attack your own territories!).
The Information box will read “The red army attacks country with <Click attacking country(s)>“.
Now left click on the defending
country. You will see two sets of dice rolled. The success of the attack
depends on the outcome of these dice.
2.4 Step 4:
Moving and ending your turn
If you have any units remaining, you
can move them to neighboring countries that you hold or you can Pass.
When you pass, if you have made a
successful attack during your turn, you will be dealt a card (only one per
turn).
The other players (computer) will now
have their turn. Once they have finished, it’s your turn again. If you were awarded
a card in your previous turn, you will see it on the board between South Africa
and Western Australia. After a few turns (go to step 2 a few
times), you will have a set of cards.
To trade in your cards, first select a
valid set by clicking on three cards. An “Exchange” and “Cancel” button will appear.
Press “Exchange”. If you don’t have a valid set, you will be
ignored. Otherwise a dialogue box will appear telling you how many units the
cards are worth.
Press OK and you will be back at step 2 with the value of the cards added to your new units.
In short, each turn consists of three
stages.
2. Attacking, if you choose to.
3. Moving your units to fortify continents.
Then end your turn by pressing Pass.
When MissionRisk is first started, the
Set Up screen will be displayed. The Set Up screen lets you control the starting
conditions for a new war, such as who controls which player, how cards are
handled, whether to
issue missions, etc.
The Set Up screen is where you will
find:
3.1.1 Setting
up a war: Player option boxes
“Player option” boxes let you set up the starting conditions for each
player.
The number displayed
next to the players’ color is the number of countries that the player starts
with. There are 42 countries on the map thus the total of the starting
countries for all the players must add up to 42.
If you want less than 6 players in a war, you can
reduce the starting number of the players that you don’t want to 0. You must
then increase the starting number for the players remaining so that the total
number of starting countries adds up to 42.
The box to the right selects who controls that army. There
are four choices to select from. They are:
Human
player – controlled by the operator of this terminal.
Remote player – controlled
by a remote terminal.
Average computer player – controlled
by the computer.
Smart computer player – controlled
by the computer.
3.1.2 Setting up a
war: Card options
The “cards”
option box lets you select whether or not cards are dealt, how they are traded
and whether or not they are hidden.
Hidden: Lets you hide
your cards from other players.
Capture: Allows you to
receive left over cards from opponents that you wipe out.
None: Gets rid of
cards altogether.
Fixed: Means that
the combination of cards traded have a constant value throughout the war.
3 artillery = 4 units.
3 infantry = 6 units.
3 cavalry = 8 units.
1 of each = 10 units.
Wilds substitute for any card.
There are 14 of each card and 2 wilds in the pack.
Increasing: Means that
the value of the cards increases with every set turned in. All card
combinations have the same value.
Maximum: Sets the highest value of traded cards when
<Increasing> is selected.
3.1.3 Setting up a
war: War options
The
“War options” box contains various preferences for the up coming war:
Missions: Issues each player with a secret mission. By completing your mission first, you win the
war. Some missions include wiping out other players or holding certain
continents until your next turn.
Supply lines: Allow you to move as many units you
like as far as you like between touching countries.
Limit supply lines: Restricts the number and distance
your units can move.
No supply lines: Restricts your moves to only one
adjacent country.
Fast war: Changes the speed at which the
computer-controlled players play their turns.
Fast dice: Changes the speed at which the dice
are thrown.
Optimize defense dice: Lets the computer look at the attack
dice first and decide how many defense dice to throw. If there is a poor chance
of defending an attack, only one defense die will be thrown to save defending
units.
Border shows players’ color: Helps to identify
whose turn it is by showing the player’s color when it is a human player’s
turn.
Distribute extra starting units: Gives each player extra
units that are randomly distributed over your starting countries. The number of
extra units each player receives can be changed from the <Extra units>
text box.
Advanced: Lets you set mission attributes and
change saturation/luminosity levels of certain army colors.
3.1.4 Setting up a
war: First player
The
“First Player” option box lets you decide if player 1 has the first turn (which
can be an advantage) or to randomly select the first player.
3.2.1 Combat:
Placing new units
At the start of
your turn, you are given new units to place. The number of units you receive
depends on how many countries you own and which continents you hold.
To place your new units, simply left click the destination
country (you must own that country). You can dump all of your units on one
country (to launch an attack) or you can spread them around to fortify and
defend a continent.
You are now ready to Attack, Move or Pass.
3.2.2 Combat:
Attacking
After placing the last of your new units, you are
automatically put into the attack sequence.
The first step in the attack sequence is to pick a country to attack (the defending country). You can only attack
a country that shares a border with one of your own countries or has a
connecting line between the two.
The next step is to pick up units from your own
country (or countries - you can attack from as many countries as you like) by
clicking on the attacking country. Pick up as many units that you feel you will
need. You can change the transfer rate by clicking one of the numbers in the
Transfer box.
You can now make your attack. Click the defending
country again. The dice will determine the success of the
attack. You can keep attacking until you either win or run out of attacking
units. Double clicking the defending country will put you into overrun
mode, where your units will automatically keep attacking the defending country.
You can retreat from the attack at
any time by clicking one of your own countries.
If you win a battle, the attacking units remaining
after the battle will be moved into the defeated country. If you have enough
units remaining, you can launch another attack or you can move
or pass.
If you get muddled up at any stage
during the attack, press <Attack> to reset the sequence. If you have
picked up any units (look at the information box), you will need to put them
back into the country from which they came before the <Attack> and <Move>
buttons will become active again.
HINT: Keep an eye on the Information
box for guidance.
3.2.3 Combat:
Overrunning a country
If many units are involved in a battle, you can order your units to overrun the
enemy by double clicking the defending territory during an attack. Click again
if you wish to stop the attack.
3.2.4 Combat:
Retreating
3.2.5 Combat:
Moving
If
<Limit Supply lines> or <No Supply lines> options were
checked in the Set Up screen then you are restricted to moving only a short
distance.
To move, click <Move>.
Next click the country you want to move to (the
destination country).
Now click the country you want to move from to start
the transfer (the source country). Keep clicking the source country until you
have moved enough units.
Now click the destination country to stop the move.
You can begin another move sequence by selecting another destination country
(there is no need to press <Move> again), or you can pass.
If you get muddled up at any stage,
press <Move> again to reset the move sequence.
HINT: Keep an eye on the
Information box for guidance.
NOTE: once you have
pressed the <Move> button, you can no longer attack until your next turn.
3.2.6 Combat:
Passing
When you have finished your turn, press <Pass>. If you have made a
successful attack during your turn, you will be dealt a card.
HINT: You
need to replace all picked up units to where they came from before the
<Pass> button will become active.
3.3 Cards
At the end of
every turn in which a player makes a successful attack, a card is issued to
that player. When the player accumulates a valid set of
cards, they can be traded for extra units.
To trade in a set of cards, select the
cards that make up the set by pointing to and clicking them individually. If
the cards are hidden, click any card to turn them all over. An exchange and a
cancel button will appear.
Click the exchange button and if you
have selected a valid set, you will be told what their value is.
Click the OK button and your new units will be ready
for placing.
Cards can be exchanged at any stage during your turn.
The value of the cards depends on whether the card values were set to fixed or increasing at the start if the
war.
A valid set
consists of either 3 of the same type of card or 1 of each type.
There are 14 Artillery, 14 Infantry, 14 Cavalry and 2
Wildcards in the pack. Wildcards substitute for any of the 3 other types of
cards to make a valid set.
3.3.2 Cards : Fixed
card values
The value of
the cards does not change during the war.
3
Artillery = 4 units.
3
Infantry = 6 units.
3
Cavalry = 8 units.
1 of
each = 10 units.
Wilds substitute for any card.
There are 14 of each card and 2 Wilds in a pack.
3.3.3 Cards :
Increasing card values
All valid card combinations have the same trade value as each other, however
their value changes during the war. The first set traded in is worth 4 units.
The next set is worth 6 then 8, 10, 12, etc. up to 22 units. The next set is
worth 25 then 30, 35, 40 etc. up to the maximum value set before the war.
3.4.1 Intelligence: The information box
The upper part
of the information box describes the current situation like a story. The lower
part tells you which countries to click during the Placing,
Attacking and Moving sequences. The
background color of the information box is the same as the color of the current
player.
While having your turn, watch the information box. It
will help you through the different sequences, tell you when you have to change
cards and generally let you know what is happening in the war.
3.4.2 Intelligence:
Countries
Countries are
individual territories that make up continents. The more
countries that a player holds at the beginning of their turn, the more new
units they will receive.
1 to 13 countries = 3 units.
14 to 16 countries = 4 units.
17 to 19 countries = 5 units
etc.
Note: You can attack Kamchatka (far east Siberia) from
Alaska and Alaska from Kamchatka. Clicking the ocean next to Alaska is interpreted
as clicking Kamchatka, and vice versa.
3.4.3 Intelligence:
Continents
There are 6
continents in the MissionRisk world. Each is made up of a group of countries.
South America is worth 2 units.
Australia is worth 2 units (includes Indonesia).
Africa is worth 3 units.
North America is worth 5 units (includes Greenland).
Europe is worth 5 units (includes Ukraine but not the Middle East).
Asia is worth 7 units (includes Siam and the Middle East but not Ukraine).
Right clicking
any country during a war will bring up an intelligence report, which will tell
you which continent the clicked country belongs to.
HINT: Select <Continent map…> from
the Help menu.
3.4.4 Intelligence:
Missions
If the
<Missions> option was checked at the start of the war, each player is
dealt a secret mission. If you complete your mission before any one else
completes theirs, you will win the war.
You can change the type of missions dealt and the
conditions for completing missions from the <Advanced...> button in the
war options box.
To see your mission during the war, first make sure
that other human players are looking away (the computer players will not peek),
then go to the <Missions> dropdown menu and select <See mission>.
Another way is to press <control M>.
3.4.5 Intelligence:
War statistics
End of war statistics are shown after a war has been won.
Each player is given a score, which is based on the number of countries gained
and lost, the number of units involved in the war (the fewer the better) and
starting conditions. Winning a war doesn't particularly mean that you will have
the highest score, it depends more on how well you fought your battles.
Dice are used to
determine the outcome of each battle. The red dice are for attacking and the
white dice are for defending.
The attacker first
rolls up to 3 red dice. The defender then rolls up to 2 white dice. The number
of dice that a player can roll cannot exceed the number of units committed to
the battle by that player. The highest attacking die is compared to the highest
defending die. If the attacker’s die is less than or equal to the defender’s
die then the attacker looses 1 unit. Otherwise the defender looses 1 unit. The
next highest dice are then compared.
If <Optimize
defense dice> option was checked before the start of the war, the number of
defense dice thrown will depend on the result of the attacking dice. This
reduces the losses slightly while defending a country.
3.5.1 Networking:
Overview
MissionRisk
wars can be fought over a local area network (LAN). You can have up to six
participating terminals and as many observing terminals as the network (and
speed of the host terminal) will allow.
A network war has one host terminal that controls the
war (does not have to be a participating terminal) and one or more client
terminals that join the war. To connect, the selected host first listens for
connection requests from clients. Clients then request a connection with the
host. Once connected, players are assigned to terminals and war is declared.
The network
setup dialogue box initiates and controls communication between terminals. It
can be opened by selecting <Network setup> from the file menu:
Connection options: Make your
terminal a host or a client.
Connection
type: For now, there is only one connection method (TCP/IP).
Refresh
rate: Controls the frequency at which remote terminals are updated during
your turn. The host is the only one who can change this setting. A high refresh
rate sends a message for nearly every roll of the dice. If there are many
players, you all have your dice speeds set to high and you are on a slow or
busy network, someone’s going to hang! (I’m not necessarily talking about the
LAN!)
Settings: (Name of
host) Clients must enter the name of the hosting terminal. That name is the
first entry in the host’s “Session
history” text box.
Settings: (Port number)
All terminals must use the same port number.
Session
history: Lists details for the current networking session. For
the host, it keeps a log of which terminals have connected and disconnected,
and any TCP errors (if any) that have occurred. The first entry in the list is
the name that clients can use to connect to your terminal. For the client, it
tells you what number has been assigned to your terminal after successfully
connecting.
Connect: (Client)
Request a connection to a listening host.
Listen: (Host) Listen
for connection requests from client terminals.
Disconnect: Close
connection.
3.5.3 Networking:
Finding you terminal’s Host Name
When the
Network setup dialogue box is first opened, MissionRisk will try to find the
host name of your terminal and display it as the first listing in the session
history text box. If more information is required, click the <IP info...>
button on the left bottom corner of the Network setup dialogue box.
Some types of LAN connections assign IP addresses
automatically, causing the above methods to return the wrong Host Name. In that
case, you will have to “ping” the system to find the correct Host Name. To ping
the system, you must know the domain name (for example, user@host.com). From an
MS-DOS box, type: ping user@host.com where “user” is the name of the person
hosting the networking session.
Another method is as follows:
From an MS-DOS box type: net user
It should respond with: “user accounts for \\NAME”
“NAME” is what we are looking for. Now type: ping “NAME
Yet another method:
From an MS-DOS box type: ipconfig
3.5.4 Networking:
Hosting a war
1. From
the MissionRisk file drop down menu select <Network setup...>
2. Select <Host a war> from the
connection options box.
3. Select a port (default 707) and enter
it into <Port number> in the settings option box. Client terminals must
use the same port number to connect.
4. Click <Listen> and wait for
connections. The Host Name of your terminal is the first item listed in the
session history text box. Client terminals will need to know that name in order
to connect to you.
You can now hide the Setup box by
clicking <OK>.
To make Players available to remote terminals, select
“Remote player” from the player option boxes in the Set Up screen for the
appropriate Players. Remote terminals can now choose from these Players. You
will see them graying out as they are selected. If there are any “Remote
players” left, the “Smart computer player” on the host’s terminal will control
them. If another terminal decides to connect while a war is in progress, that
terminal can take over those remaining Players.
HINT: Select <Border shows player’s
color> before declaring war. It will let all human players know when it is
their turn.
3.5.5 Networking:
Joining a war
1. From the MissionRisk file drop down menu
select <Network setup...>
2. Select
<Join a war> from the connection options box.
3. Enter
the host’s IP name into <Name of host> in the settings option box. That
name is the first item listed in the host’s <Session history> text box.
4. Select
a port (default 707) and enter it into <Port number> in the settings
option box. You must use the same port number that the host is using.
5. Click
<Connect>. If your connection is accepted, you will be assigned a
terminal number.
You can now hide the setup box by clicking <OK>.
All player option boxes will change to “Remote
player”. Players that are available for you to choose are the ones that are not
grayed out. To choose one, change an available Player from “Remote player” to
“Human player” (or “Computer player”). That army will gray out on all other
connected terminals meaning that it is not available to any one else. If you
decide that you no longer want that army, change it back to “Remote player”. It
will again become available to other terminals.
Now sit back and wait for the host to declare war. You
can broadcast a message to let the host and other players know that you are
ready.
HINT: Select <Border shows player’s
color> from the <View> dropdown menu. It will let you know when it is
your turn.
3.5.6 Networking:
Communication
To send a
message to other terminals, select <Compose message...> from the options
drop down menu or click the network icon in the toolbox. A “Message” dialogue
box will appear. Type your message directly into the box and press
<Enter> to send. A “Message” dialogue box will open on all connected
terminals showing your message and your terminal number to identify the
message’s origin.
If one or more
remote players do not receive your message, or if the message gets corrupted,
it’s a sign that your refresh rate is set too high. It is also a good idea to
treat the messaging system as a two-way radio, and acknowledge messages as they
are received.
To send a private message, select the “Private” option
and check the destination player’s check box. Only the terminal that controls
that Player(s) will see your message.
MissionRisk is shareware, which means that it is not
free software. If you like this program, please register it. The shareware
version of MissionRisk is fully functional with no limitations or restrictions
at all during the 28-day evaluation period. It will occasionally remind you to
do the right thing and register the program (if you like it). When the 28-day
evaluation period has lapsed, the smart computer players and various other
functions will no longer be available, however MissionRisk will remain
playable.
Register Mission Risk online.
Future versions of MissionRisk will include modem
wars, have a smarter AI and include many other improvements. Some of these
future improvements will only be available to registered players. By registering
MissionRisk NOW you will be registered for all future versions.
The current price of MissionRisk is $12US. This price
will rise as more features are added.
MissionRisk can be registered ON LINE using “Register
Now” (RegNow), a reputable company who specialize in secure online
transactions.
RegNow also accept phone, fax and mail orders:
Please make checks out to “Register Now!”
Phone- (product
number: 1584-1)
Toll free in the US: 1-877-353-7297
*add $3.00*
International: (425)
392-2294 *add $3.00*
Fax-
Fill out and print the text file ‘orders.txt’ (found in the MissionRisk
directory) and fax:
Toll free in the US: 1-888-353-7276 *add $2.50*
International: (425)
392-0223 *add $2.50*
Mail-
Fill out and print the text file ‘orders.txt’ (found in the MissionRisk
directory) and send to:
Universal
Commerce, Inc.
P.O. Box 1816
Issaquah, WA 98027 *add
$2.50*
4.2 Entering the
registration code
Register
Mission Risk online.
Once you have
registered MissionRisk, RegNow will send you an email containing your
registration code.
To enter your code, select <Help> - <Enter registration code>. The
registration dialogue box will now appear. Enter your name and code exactly as
it is shown in the email message. The code is a series of letters and numbers, which are case
sensitive.
You can cut and paste the registration code from the
email message directly into the registration dialogue box as follows:
1. Open the registration dialogue
box as described above.
2. From
the registration email message, highlight your name and press <control C>
to copy to the clipboard.
3. Left
click in the ‘Name’ box on the registration dialogue box and press <control
V> to paste from the clipboard.
4. Do the
same for the registration code and then press ‘OK’
Any problems, send a message to: craig@missionrisk.com
DEVELOPMENT:
Craig
Douglas.
PRE RELEASE TESTING AND
ADVICE:
Gary
Wilson
Brendan
(the Red Man) Ryan
Gary
Ryan
Much feedback has been received since
the release of MissionRisk in September 1998.
POST RELEASE SUGGESTIONS AND
ADVICE:
Mauro
Castelnuovo
Kevin
K. Kaeding
Edmund
M. Carnahan
Dan
Kaplan
Christopher
A. Jones
Andy
Wick
Jim
Clark
Leon
Fiss
Dan
Westlake
Martin
Gross
Lars
Monsees
BUG REPORTS:
Kevin
K. Kaeding
Edmund
M. Carnahan
José
Nussbaum
Tyler
Bowden
Doug Agnew
LANGUAGE TRANSLATIONS:
Italian:
Mauro Castelnuovo
Lars
Monsees
REFERENCES:
Risk
FAQ - Version 5.21 by Owen Lyne et al
http://www.maths.nott.ac.uk/personal/odl/riskfaq.html
6.1 Trouble
shooting: Graphics
MissionRisk will render countries in 3D
as long as your system color pallet is set to HI COLOR or better. If your
pallet is set to 256 colors or less, countries will be painted in 2D.
You can switch 3D rendering on or off
from the <View> menu at any time during a war.
To change your system pallet to HI
COLOR (if it is available): from the Windows Start menu select <SETTINGS>
- <CONTROL PANEL> - <DISPLAY>. Select the <SETTINGS> tab and
select <HI COLOR (16 bit)> from the COLOR PALLET drop down menu.
MissionRisk is best played with a
screen resolution of 800x600 or better. To change your screen resolution: from
the Windows Start menu select <SETTINGS> - <CONTROL PANEL> -
<DISPLAY>. Select the <SETTINGS> tab and slide the pointer in the
DESKTOP AREA box to the desired resolution