______________ \ / ___ ___ __ __ ___ ___ ___ _____ _____ ____ _ __ / | | \ / v \ / | / / | | \ | \ / \ |/ \ THE /__| |__/ | | | /__| | _ |____ | | | | | | | | MAN | | | \ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | \_ | | _/ \_ _/ \_ | \___/ \____ \____/ \____/ \____/ | _/ \ / \/ INSTRUCTIONS A AIM OF THE GAME Your task, as Supreme Commander, is to try and prevent Armageddon. How you achieve this, is not something these instructions will necessarily tell you. They are intended as a guide only. However, to help you get started, we have summarised the four main aims below, the achievement of which is essential if the world is to be certain of avoiding nuclear war. You will need diplomatic, military and tactical skills, as well as a good deal of common sense, if you are to succeed. AIM ONE: Achieve a good working relationship with each individual country. There are 16 member countries of the UNN. Each country has its own political system, its own problems, its own aims and most importantly. its own personality. The only thing they all have in common is a desire not to be destroyed. You must learn how to deal with each country in different situations, some serious, some not so serious. Each country will be in regular contact with you for advice, guidance or approval of their actions. You must learn when to give way, when to be firm and when to compromise. You will be in regular contact with them making your wishes and demands known. As each of the countries will be assessing your performance as Supreme Commander, any that lose confidence in your abilities, or learn to mistrust you, or feel you are not being fair to them, will be less likely to do as you say. They will also feel less secure and will hence become less stable. A country which becomes unstable is much more likely to be unreasonable or aggressive towards both you and any other countries it has poor relations with. However, the most important thing is that each of the 16 countries do as you say. If you lose this control you will become a mere spectactor, watching the world spiral towards its final destruction. AIM TWO: Promote good working relationships between each individual country and each of its 15 fellow UNN members. There is no denying that this is going to be very difficult to achieve. Driven by their own fear, desires, needs and internal problems, the attitude of each country to its 15 neighbours will be constantly shifting. With 16 countries in the UNN there are 240 inter-country relationships for you to worry about. Attempting to follow each of these and managing to keep everybody happy will be virtually impossible. What you must do therefore, is recognise those areas where your attention is most urgently required and concentrate your efforts there. As disagreements between countries arise, you must make a difficult decision. Both countries will believe they are in the right, but you are going to have to tell one of them that they are in the wrong, or that they must accept the other country's position or actions. You will have to weigh carefully all the different factors involved before making this decision. Obviously the better your relationship with each country involved in any disagreement (AIM ONE) the easier it will be for you to deal effectively with the problem. Alternatively, you could decide to ignore the situation or maintain a neutral position, but you should always have a sound reason for doing this. AIM THREE: Achieve economic stability. Each country has two principle needs, FOOD and RESOURCES. If a country has a deficiency in either of these areas it will be less stable. It will also be seeking to gain any shortfall from other countries, either by coercion or trade. You must keep an eye on each country's resources and as far as possible try to allocate them fairly or in whatever way you feel is appropriate given the prevailing conditions. The extent to which you are able to control the movement of resources will depend largely on your relationship with each country involved (AIM ONE) and also on their relationship with each other. AIM FOUR: Achieve military stability. As has been said earlier, each of the 16 countries has its own personality and way of dealing with things. Some may be naturally more aggressive, others more forgiving, for example. However, of paramount importance to a country is its own security. Obviously, each country hopes that the satellite network, under your control, will prevent any wars from starting, but they are also aware that you may not be any good at your job and that the worse may happen. Each country, therefore, is constantly re-evaluating its ability to win and/or survive a war with each of its 15 fellow members. If a country feels insecure it may feel threatened. Depending on its personality, it may become aggressive, or submissive in its relations with countries which it sees as a potential threat. As a country becomes more secure it may also feel more powerful. Again depending on its personality, it may become aggressive towards weaker countries, or countries it does not like. It may also take less notice of what you say. Each country may request you to increase its allowable number of nuclear missiles. Depending on the situation you must decide whether to agree with or disagree with this request. Whether a country takes any notice of your decision will depend on its situation, its relationship with other countries and its degree of loyalty to you. Alternatively, at any time, and for a variety of reasons, you can request a country to increase or decrease its number of missiles and again, depending on many different factors, it may or may not comply. B PLAYING THE GAME Control of the game is by the selection of Five Main Icons. The position of these icons on the screen is shown below. ------------------------------------------- | | | | SATELLITES | | | | MAP OF | | | WORLD | | INFORMATION | | | | | | |________________________| | | | IN TRAY | | U.N.N. RADIO | | FORCE OUT TRAY | | | ------------------------------------------- To choose an icon simply move the arrow cursor over it and press FIRE. Further options to control the course of world events appear automatically as the game proceeds. In both cases, your choice is usually made by moving the cursor or highlighter to the option you wish to choose and then pressing FIRE. You do not always have an opportunity to change your mind, so be careful when making decisions. 1. INFORMATION If you select this icon a window will open presenting you with three further sub-icons. By choosing one of these you will be presented with the latest intelligence reports on each country's status in three vital areas. To exit this option select the arrow. a. FOOD Each country has a level of food which it requires to sustain its population. If it has at least this amount, it will be displayed in GREEN. If it has less than this amount, it will be displayed in RED. b. RESOURCES Each country has a level of resources which it requires to sustain its economy. These are displayed in a similar manner. c. MISSILES There are three types of missile, Mx1, Mx2 and Mx3. There is no difference in range between these, anyone of which can reach any target in the world. However, they do differ in the size of the warhead they carry and hence the destructive punch they can deliver. Mx1 - Enormous warhead. High radioactivity Mx2 - Medium warhead. Moderate radioactivity Mx3 - Small tactical warhead. Low radioactivity Under the terms of the UNN Strategic Arms Limitation Agreement (SALA) the number and type of missile warheads each country is allowed to possess is controlled by the Supreme Commander. Each country is constantly re-evaluating its chances of winning a nuclear war with each of its 15 neighbours. If one country feels it has a chance of winning against a country whom it regards as an enemy, and if that country has an unstable or aggressive personality, it may decide to launch a pre-emptive first strike. When setting missile allocations, therefore, you must evaluate:- - the country you are talking to, eg, is it aggressive - its relationship with other countries, eg, has it any enemies - its current missile strength eg, is it threatened or becoming a threat Whether or not the country heeds your directive depends on how it views its own situation and its relationship with you. Alternatively it may pretend to comply with your wishes, then produce extra warheads in secret. 2. COMMUNICATION This icon is divided into IN and OUT. a. IN By choosing this icon, you can look at letters that countries send to you. To look at a letter simply move the cursor over the IN tray and press FIRE. Once you have looked at a letter it will be discarded and any other letters in the tray can be looked at. As new letters arrive, the stack of letters will grow. If you delay looking at a letter for too long it may get pushed off the top, in which case you will never see it. The country it came from may assume you have deliberately ignored it. It will pay you therefore, to keep up to date with incoming messages, if you are able to do so. b.OUT If you choose this icon a menu of standard letters that you can send to countries will appear. If you choose a letter, you will then have an opportunity to decide to whom you want to send it, and if it is appropriate, the details it contains. You can send as many standard letters as you like. The response from a country may be in its overt or covert actions, or by a letter in reply. 3. SATELLITES Choice of this icon will display the satellites which are available. By moving the cursor over a satellite and pressing FIRE you pick the satellite up. Move the cursor over the World Map to position the satellite in geo-stationary orbit and press FIRE to release it. To pick the satellite up again, move the cursor over the dot which indicates its position, press FIRE, then proceed as before. Alternatively, move your arrow over the empty box in the icon window, then press FIRE. This effectively removes the satellite from orbit but it can still be picked up and used again. There are two types of satellites. a. 'Big Bird' Reconaissance These are shown at the bottom. There are only three of them. A Big Bird satellite is able to spy on the area of the world beneath it. For example, it can detect any increase in military activity. If used sensibly therefore, it can give invaluable information, including an early warning of an imminent attack by one country on another. b. Laser Defence Satellite (SDI) These are shown at the top. There are six of them, numbered 1-6. An SDI satellite will shoot down any nuclear missiles which come within range. By positioning them wisely, you can reduce the chances of an attack by one country on another from being successful and thereby escalating the conflict. They are most effective when one country launches a limited or tactical nuclear strike against another. In an all out nuclear confrontation, a concentration of SDI satellites may be required. However, if the conflict escalates there will be little they can do to prevent massive destruction and possible Armageddon. To view your satellites reconnaissance and SDI cover move your arrow over the eye and press FIRE. To quit the satellite option move over the arrow and press FIRE. 4. RADIO The World's airwaves are alive with radio transmissions which originate from each of the 16 UNN member countries. The information carried by these transmissions may provide you with invaluable information. Each country you manage to eavesdrop on will be unaware that you are listening to them and hence will be unguarded about what they are saying. Your radio is equipped to receive signals across six frequency BANDS. These BANDS are as follows:- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | BAND | LOWER LIMIT | UPPER LIMIT | | NUMBER | FREQUENCY | FREQUENCY | |-------------+-------------------------------+-------------------------------| | 1 | 1800 kHz | 3499 kHz | | 2 | 3500 kHz | 6999 kHz | | 3 | 7000 kHz | 13999 kHz | | 4 | 14000 kHz | 20999 kHz | | 5 | 21000 kHz | 25000 kHz | | 6 | 28500 kHz | 50000 kHz | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (NB The BAND between 25001 KHz and 28499 KHz is reserved for public and commercial use exclusively) Each of the 16 member countries is only allowed to use one of these six bands for its internal radio communication. However, it may transmit or receive on any frequency within the bands upper and lower frequency limit. There are two ways to use the radio. ------------------------------------------- | +------------------------+ +------+ | | | FREQUENCY | |TUNING| | | | DISPLAY | | | | | +------------------------+ +------+ | | +----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ | | |SCAN| | 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | | +----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ | | +-------+ | | | START | +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ | | | STOP | | 4 | | 5 | | 6 | | | +-------+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ | | | | +----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ | | | /\ | | 7 | | 8 | | 9 | | | +----+ BAND +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ | | MAN [] | | +----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ | | | \/ | | 0 | | AM | | FM | | | +----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ | | +-------------+ | | | EXECUTE | | | +-------------+ | ------------------------------------------- 1. FREQUENCY SELECT First select a start frequency. There are two ways of doing this. Either: i) Move the arrow over BAND and press fire. This will select one of the lower limit frequencies. By pressing fire, you can tune to each of the six bands. or ii) Move the arrow over the number keys and press fire to select that number. By doing this you can type in exactly the frequency you want. Select EXECUTE to set this frequency. Once a frequency has been selected you can adjust it by using the up (increasing frequency) or down (decreasing frequency) arrows. Once you have executed the desired frequency, exit the radio option by moving the arrow off the radio and pressing FIRE. If any country transmits a message on or near the selected frequency, it will be displayed automatically. Obviously, once you discover each country's transmission band, you can focus your attention where you feel it is most important. 2. FREQUENCY SCAN First select one of the six BANDS, then move your arrow to the START/STOP box and press FIRE. The radio will automatically scan all of the frequencies between the lower and upper frequency limits for that band number and it will continue to do this after you exit from the radio option. Naturally, using this option will give you a far greater chance of intercepting any transmissions. However, the signals you receive on automatic scanning are always scrambled, and before you can read them, you must unscramble them. If a transmission is intercepted it will be displayed automatically in its scrambled form. To unscramble it you must select the correct combination of eight signal filters which appear as boxes f0 to f7. To switch a filter on, move the arrow over the box and press FIRE. To switch it off, repeat this process. The more filters you have correctly set on or off the more of the message you will be able to see. If you have all the filters correct, you will see all of the message clearly. Obviously, whether you decide to use FREQUENCY SELECT or FREQUENCY SCAN is a matter of weighing up the relative advantages or disadvantages. 5. UNN FORCES As Supreme Commander, you have under your direct control a powerful rapid deployment military task force. This elite force draws its members from each of the 16 member countries. Each member of this task force has to swear an oath of allegiance to the UNN and its Supreme Commander. It has no nuclear capability, but it is equipped with the very latest military hardware. If commanded by you to do so, it is able to move quickly and effectively into any country in the World. Under the terms of the UNN charter, any country which attempts to prevent it from doing this, will be expelled from the UNN, with disastrous results for its economy and security. Any country which has the UNN Force on its territory will always follow your instructions. By using this force, therefore, you can impose your will upon any country with whom you have a poor relationship and/or who also appears to be taking an aggressive or threatening attitude to any other country. If used carefully it can prevent a war from starting, giving you an opportunity to sort out the problems between the countries involved. However, no country likes having the UNN force on its soil and whilst they may not actually complain, they will not think kindly of a Supreme Commander who leaves the force, for no apparent good reason, within their borders for long periods of time. Unfortunately, the UNN task force does have to be somewhere. Deciding where and when to move it may be crucial to your overall success. C WARS Wars are of two types, CONVENTIONAL or NUCLEAR. 1. CONVENTIONAL WARS Conventional wars are punitive. In such a conflict both sides realise that due to the enormous advances in weapon technology it is virtually impossible for either side to win. However, they can ease the tension between two countries, but whether this happens depends entirely on the relative strength of each country involved and further to that, on who attacked who. They do little damage in themselves but if they are not over quickly, the tend to escalate into nuclear war. 2. NUCLEAR WARS If one country launches a missile or missiles at another country, you will see the missiles tracking toward their targets on your world map. At this stage, it will be too late for you to move your SDI satellites to shoot them down. If you did not spot the conflict coming and did not cover it with your satellites, then all missiles launched will strike their targets. Whether the affair is limited, or whether it escalates into a full scale nuclear war involving two or more countries, will depend on a large number of factors. Again at this stage, it may be too late for you to effect the course of events. A side effect of any nuclear conflict is an increase in the level of radioactivity in the Earth's atmosphere. It is not necessary, therefore, for every country in the world to be destroyed for Armageddon to occur. A large scale nuclear war between two countries only may still release enough lethal radioactivity into the atmosphere to kill the entire population of the world. D MAPS AND FLAGS (and a few hints!) The map (which is folded around the outside of the case) and the re-usable peel off flags are provided to help you plot the course of world events. Precisely how you use them is up to you, but the suggested use is as follows:- 1. If you think country A is taking a dangerously aggressive attitude towards country B, place one of country A's flags in country B's box (or the other way around). OR 2. If you think country A has a very close relationship with country B, place one of country B's flags in country A's box (or the other way around). Alternatively, you can put the flags referred to in either 1 or 2 above on the map itself. By carefully plotting 1 and 2, you will have a constant record of each country's principle ALLIES and most likely ENEMIES. Here is one example of how this information can be useful to you: If a conflict starts, it is through the warring parties allies and enemies that escalation to Armageddon may occur. For example: Country A launches a missile attack against Country B. Country B retaliates. Country C is A's close ally, so they launch an attack against B also, in support of A. B retaliates. Country D has no particular allegiance to B, but has a very poor relationship with A. It therefore launches an attack against A. A retaliates. C attacks D in support of A. D retaliates. How could the information that A and C were allies, and A and D potential enemies have helped you avoid this escalation? As soon as A and B had attacked each other, you may have had time, for example, to: a. Place SDI satellites between C and B and also D and A. b. Send a letter to D telling them to improve their relationship with A. c. Move the UNN force into C. Correct use of the flags, therefore, can give you invaluable early warning and an opportunity to limit the spread of any conflicts that occur. There are other ways in which this information can help you succeed, but they are for you to discover. The year is 2032 and once again the world is balanced on a knife edge between survival and destruction. Whether you have the necessary diplomatic, military and tactical skills to cope with the awesome responsibility placed upon you is something you and the World are just about to find out. © Martech Games Limited, 1987 CREDITS: Spectrum program and game design by: J Wilson D Martin B Notarianni R France Graphics by Malcolm J Smith Music by Millers Packaging Design and Artwork by Pillory Barn Advertising Cover illustration by Steinar Lund IMPORTANT ******************* AMSTRAD DISK USER TO LOAD TYPE RUN ''ARMAGED Also available from Martech: CATCH 23 TOP SECRET . . . MISSION CODE NAME: CATCH 23 . . . INTELLIGENCE: CK 23 ORBITAL INTERCEPTOR HAS PASSED MAIDEN FLIGHT . . . MISSION STATUS: GO. . . DROP 2200 HOURS . . . GOOD LUCK The CK23 test development site is the most secret military complex on earth. Hidden somewhere on a mountainous and now deserted island, it is surrounded by deadly minefields, high voltage electric fences and surveillance cameras. The island itself is bristling with military activity, from armed foot patrols to roaming lethal tanks. It is your mission to explore the island and find the heart of the development complex. Once there you must steal the design of the CK23 and then set a time delay bomb in the nuclear reactor. The explosion which follows will devastate the entire island. The action takes place on a moonless night, hence you have been provided with a Sightless Image Enhancer (SIE) with head-up display. Using advanced 3D-vector graphics with full collision detection, you will see an accurate picture of your 'world' as you move within it. You will be able to see and explore entire villages. Around any corner could lurk an armed guard or tank ready to despatch instant death. Being quick on the trigger is essential for survival. It is also possible to enter and explore buildings - which may contain vital information or boobytraps. The civilian workforce hid a network of 'spies.' Unfortunately they have all been evacuated but you must understand their incredible mission if you are to succeed. This alone will test your powers of reasoning and deduction to the full. Catch 23 is a vast game with one of the biggest challenges ever designed on a home microcomputer. It is the closest thing yet to actually being there. Coming soon: SLAINE - THE CELTIC BARBARIAN