================================= M A C H I N A T I O N S 0 . 3 4 ================================= Lead Programmer: Jon Sargeant Lead Artist: Tom Pittlik Other Contributions by: Jindra Kolman John Carter Petr Tuma Brian Rose Sebastian Patulea Abraham Hart Last Modified 1/18/04 Copyright (c) 2001-2003 ----------------- Table of Contents ----------------- 1. Installation 2. Getting Started 3. Keyboard Commands 4. Mouse Commands 5. Queuing Commands 6. Modes of Aggression 7. Patrol 8. Unit Production 9. Alliances 10. Resource Sharing 11. Timing 12. Shell 13. Compiling 14. Playing a Network Game on One Computer 15. Troubleshooting 16. Reporting Errors --------------- 1. Installation --------------- There are two .zip files you can download. 'machxx.zip' contains all of the game files and source code. 'machxx_game_only.zip' contains just the files needed to run the game. Extract either to any directory; the game files will automatically appear in the correct subdirectories. ------------------ 2. Getting Started ------------------ You should find the game user-friendly. Follow these instructions to setup a single-player game: 1. Select "Single Player" from the Main Menu 2. Select "Choose Map" from the Setup Menu and accept the default parameters 3. Click "Start Game" 4. Press ESC to access the game menu. From here, you can exit to the Setup Menu. Please be aware that Machinations is not playable yet. There is no objective nor winning condition. To setup a network game, you will need to elect one player to be the game host. The game host will select "Host Game" from the Main Menu and share his IP address with the other player(s). The other player(s) will select "Connect" and enter the IP address on the subsequent screen. Next, the host will need to select the appropriate map from the Choose Map window. Click "Choose Map" and enter either "2players" or "4players" in the map filename box. "2players" supports up to two human players. "4players" supports up to four human players. When you click "OK", the game will automatically load each player in an available slot. The host should also set the latency in the Set Timing menu to a reasonable value (say, 200ms). (NOTE: the game displays each player's latency in parenthesis beside his name. You can use these values to estimate the optimal latency). Once ready, the host clicks Start Game, and the game commences. Only the game host can end the game. Again, there is no objective or winning condition. The game will proceed indefinitely. -------------------- 3. Keyboard Commands -------------------- [SHIFT] means that you can hold down shift to select/deselect multiple units/groups ESCAPE Access in-game menu ENTER Type a text message CTRL+A Select all units Arrow keys Pan the views HOME/END Rotate the view PAGE UP/DOWN Zoom the view SHIFT + HOME/END Tilt the view + or = Adjust game speed [SHIFT] 0-9 Select a group ALT + 0-9 Assign a group , Send message to enemies . Send message to allies ' Send message to player / Enter shell command ----------------- 4. Mouse Commands ----------------- There are two ways of issuing commands: 1. Select one or more units with left mouse button, select a command from the command panel, and select one or more targets with the left mouse button. 2. Select one or more units with left mouse button and target one or more targets with the right mouse button. The game will choose the most appropriate command (e.g. move, follow, attack, or repair). [SHIFT] means that you can hold down shift to select/deselect multiple units/groups [SHIFT] Left-click Select unit beneath the mouse pointer [SHIFT] CTRL + Left-click Select all units of same type in current view [SHIFT] ALT + Left-click Select all units of same type everywhere [SHIFT] Right-click Target unit beneath the mouse pointer [SHIFT] CTRL + Right-click Target all units of same type in current view [SHIFT] ALT + Right-click Target all units of same type everywhere You may also drag a box around one or more units with the left or right mouse buttons. ------------------- 5. Queuing Commands ------------------- You can queue any number of commands by holding down shift during each subsequent command. For example, suppose you assign a group of cones to group 1, a group of enemy units to group 2, and another group of enemy units to group 3. Then, typing: 1 A 2 SHIFT+3 R SHIFT+1 will order the cones to destroy the enemy units, then repair themselves once finished. You could also type: 1 A 2 A SHIFT+3 R SHIFT+1 -or- 1 A 2 SHIFT+A SHIFT+3 SHIFT+R SHIFT+1 You may choose the method that feels most comfortable to you. The important thing is that you hold down shift while selecting subsequent targets (with the mouse or keyboard). ---------------------- 6. Modes of Aggression ---------------------- Modes of aggression are very important during strategic battles. Here is a short description of each: Evade: The unit flees from an attacker. For instance, if my sphere gets attacked by your cube from the west, it will flee to the east until it is beyond your cube's range. The unit will continue to fire at will (if possible). Defend: The unit will not stray from its present position. (If the unit is en route, it will proceed directly to its destination). The unit will fire at will, when possible, but will make no effort to pursue enemy units. Pursue: The unit will pursue enemy units within its field of view. IMPORTANT: Even though you order the unit to stop, the unit may travel halfway across the map in pursuit of another unit. Use this mode of aggression with care. Hold Fire: The unit will hold fire and ignore enemy units. Offensive units default to Defend mode and passive units default to Evade or Hold Fire. If you want to swarm an enemy base, use Pursue mode. If you want to establish a perimeter around an enemy base and wait for reinforcements, use Defend mode. --------- 7. Patrol --------- Patrol works slightly different from most RTS games, and thus may cause confusion for some. When issuing a patrol command, you must explicitly target each waypoint using shift. For instance,