Welcome to Killer Bee Software’s
May 7th, 2003
Thank you for your purchase of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition. I am very pleased to revive this wonderful game, and hope to move it forward in the future. I have been playing Empire Deluxe since it's release, and spent many all-nighters playing Interstel's Empire Wargame of the Century in the late 80's. Along with other classics like Omnitrend's BREACH 1/2 and Rules of Engagement 1/2, I was attracted to such games because they allowed the user to create maps and scenarios, something that gave the game endless replay possibilities. I soon found myself in possession of a large collection of maps and scenarios for Empire and Empire Deluxe, and offered those files on the web for downloading. More than ten years later, the page is still frequently accessed and the files are frequently downloaded. I have been impressed with the staying power of Empire Deluxe, and understand it is because of the game play and solid design its authors had provided.
Empire Deluxe has been out of print for some time now. Unfortunately, this caused the game to enter into a limbo and seemingly abandoned state, creating an 'empty space' in strategy gaming. There have been many "clones", but in my opinion none have really surpassed the simplicity of game design that is contained in Empire Deluxe. Now that I own the rights to this game, I hope to keep it going and evolve it for at least another decade.
The focus and intention of this restoration, known as Empire version 3.5, is to upgrade the old game, known as version 3.11, to run on modern day operating systems and to take advantage of the Internet for live play without having to use third and fourth party software. Please keep in mind that this is still the old source base and infrastructure, and therefore has some warts and interface ugliness, and due to the nature and age of the program it is possible you may encounter a crash or two. But overall you will receive hundreds, possibly thousands of hours of game play with one of the best all time strategy games ever made.
So welcome to the new beginning of Empire Deluxe with Empire Deluxe Internet Edition
--Mark Kinkead, Killer Bee Software
"I came, I saw, I conquered."
--JULIUS CAESAR
Welcome, Cadet, to Empire Deluxe Internet Edition, the finest computer simulation for the training and practice of the long neglected and much desired skill of Planetary Conquest. It is hoped that, through the extensive use of this program, you can master the art of conquering planets and go on to conquer your own worlds for fame and power (Assuming, of course, that the worlds you wish to conquer, are worlds that exist on two-dimensional, pixilated cathode ray tubes that are not inhabited by any sentient beings that might object to having their planet ruthlessly invaded and violently conquered). Vast exhaustive research and much governmental funding, have determined that the best way to learn something is through repetition, or to use the technical term, "Practice." More vast exhaustive research and much more governmental funding, determined that most people find practice boring. Even more vast exhaustive research and even more governmental funding finally resulted in a unique idea to get potential world conquerors, like yourself, to really want to practice. We call this idea, "Having Fun." With that in mind, we hope that Empire Deluxe Internet Edition will bring you many hours of "Having Fun."
Empire Deluxe Internet Edition is a game of strategic conquest. You, the player, start with one city on a vast and random world. You decide what your cities will produce: armies, planes or ships. Then explore the world and conquer neutral cities. Expand your power base as you attempt to conquer the entire planet. There's only one small problem. There may be up to five other players out there trying to do exactly the same thing; and you're in their way.
Beginning as a novice 2nd Lieutenant or Ensign, you can start your training in the Basic Game and advance through the Standard and Advanced games. Finally, you can create your own worlds and even specific scenarios using the Game Editor. Keep track of your progress using the Player History. Then watch, as each victory brings you closer to the vaunted rank of General of the Army or Fleet Admiral.
Note: Appendix I - Glossary of Terms, contains a list of terms frequently used in Empire Deluxe. If the contextual meaning of a word is not clear when reading the manual, refer to the Glossary.
Meet Fred.
Fred, as we call him, is an arbitrary name given to a fictional, non-existent, but avid Empire Deluxe player used as a generic catch-all in various examples in this manual. Fred is not a very good Empire Deluxe Internet Edition player but he tries hard. Any resemblance of Fred to anyone currently living or dead is really a pathetic coincidence.
Hot Key Commands are represented in bold square brackets [], for example: [ALT + Y] would indicate the hot key command is executed by holding down the Alternate Key and pressing the ‘Y’ key.
Menu Commands are represented in bold by the menu tree items and a dash in between such as File-Save-Game. This would mean selecting “File” from the menu, then the submenu option “Save”, then the submenu option “Game”.
Empire Deluxe Internet Edition requires an IBM PC, 200MHz+ (it can go lower) with SVGA graphics compatibility, running Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP. Ability to play WAV sound files is also nice.
Execute the EDSetup.exe file, and follow the instructions. Once you have chosen all the setup options, press start and he game will be installed in the directory you specified.
After a successful installation, you can begin play with Empire Deluxe Internet Edition without any further configuration. However, the game is highly customizable and after you are comfortable with the game you may want to change certain aspects of the presentation and mechanics of the game. Please see the User Preferences section in “PLAYING THE GAME” part of the manual.
There are two ways to set user preferences in Empire Deluxe Internet Edition:
Setting the preferences for future commanders by selecting Help-New User Preferences in the main screen
Setting the preferences for your current commander by selecting Display-User Prefs [Ctrl + U] while in a game.
The future commander preferences will be the default preferences for all commanders created from here on. The in game user preferences are used to change the preferences of the commander you are currently playing. The dialogs used for both are the same.
Empire Deluxe Preferences Screen
Production Reports allows you to turn off the reports for production of air, land or sea units.
Delays - allows you to set the time Empire Deluxe Internet Edition takes for messages, battles and movement. The delay defaults and what you will find optimal to you personally will most likely be two different things. It is recommended you experiment with these settings if the game appears too slow or too fast to you.
Files gives you options to turn on auto saving of games or auto saving of Turn States.
Sound/Music allows you to turn the sound effects, music and warning buzzers on and off. The Sounds are:
Play Intro: This option will enable/disable the playing of the introduction music.
Player Prompts: This option will enable/disable the music played when it is time for a player to take over the interface and play a turn.
Unit Orders: This is music that plays when a unit is awaiting orders
Battles: These are the sounds that are heard when units fight in combat.
Movement: These are the sounds that are heard when a unit makes a move.
Warnings: This is the sound that is heard when the interface warns the player about an event.
Chat: This is the sound that is heard when an enemy computer player offers a resignation or your human network opponents send you a chat message.
Turn Control Alert: This is the sound that is heard when, in a network game, it is time for the user to take control and play the game, but the user has a modal dialog open in the interface, preventing the turn from beginning.
Game Play allows you to set the Aircraft Out of Range Warning. Also, you can force the End Of Turn Prompt to happen every turn after a certain number of turns into the game.
City Settings allows you to set the default production efficiency used in Production Alerts, and also set the default unit type shown in the Production Window when a city has been awarded to you on turn one or captured by your elite forces.
Network Play Allows you to set options that will only be used during Networked (IP) Play. “Jump to Combat Events” will focus your attention on combat against you that occurs during your opponent’s turn. “Jump to Movement Events” will focus your attention on any enemy movement you can observe during your opponent’s turn.If the preferences dialog is being accessed during a game, the dialog will indicate the player who’s preferences are being set. If it is being accessed from the main menu, it will indicate that the preferences are being set for future players.
Once you have selected the parameters you wish to use, you may save them for future use by selecting the Save button from the Preferences screen.
Click on the short cut on your desktop or select the program from the start menu programs to start the Empire Deluxe Internet Edition game.
Empire Deluxe Internet Edition also may be started with a command line parameter indicating a saved game. The format at the command prompt is:
empire {path}savegame
If no path is given, Empire Deluxe will look for the save game in the 'svgame' directory. It will then immediately load the save game and continue play. Note that the .svg extension is not required in the save game file name. This will allow you to associate SVG files with the Empire.exe program through Windows. Also note that the program, Empire.exe, needs to be in your "path".
"Cry "Havoc" and let slip the dogs of war."
--SHAKESPEARE
This section of the manual is designed to put you through a quick run through and overview of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition. The tutorial will cover the main options available to you when playing the game, but not all the options. It also will not cover in depth, the rules by which Empire Deluxe Internet Edition is played. Once you have gone through this tutorial, we suggest that you read the sections entitled Rules of Play and Playing the Game. These will cover in more detail, the items skimmed over here. You may either use the mouse or the appropriate hot keys listed in the Playing the Game section of this manual or in Appendix V - Hot Key Quick Reference.
The first thing you will see upon starting the game is the title screen and the Menu. Click on the menu option Play Game. This gives you your options for starting a game. Select the Play Game-Standard Game. The World Options Dialog will then appear. Select the button marked Load Game Scenario. This will bring up a File Requester. Select the file TUTORIAL.SCN (the "scn" extension designates it as a “scenario”).
The computer
has now loaded the Tutorial scenario and the Scenario Values Screen will appear.
This screen tells you the limits set within the particular scenario. Select OK
to continue.
Scenario Values Screen
The Player Setup Menu will appear next. This screen shows two players listed. You will be player one. We want the computer to be player two, so go to the line marked Player 2 and click on the button labeled Person - Local. A pop-up menu will appear listing various player types. Click the option Computer - Easy. Computer - Easy should now appear in the list for Player 2. Also note the colors listed in this dialog. Your units will be the color shown for player # 1 (displayed below as orange). Go down to the bottom of the Player Setup Menu and select OK.
Player Setup Menu Screen
You will then
be prompted to enter your commander’s name. After entering the name, click on
the OK button. This will take you into the game proper.
The first
thing that will appear on the game screen is the Auto Set Production Dialog
shown below:
Auto Set Production Dialog
You will start this game with two cities, Melbourne and Breed's Hill. The computer will start the game with one city, Denver. At the very beginning of the game, Empire Deluxe asks you what you wish to produce at each city you own. Select “Set All Manually”. Then a Production Menu for either Breed’s Hill or Melbourne will appear.
Production Menu Screen
Eight buttons will appear listing the eight different units available to you in the standard game. Three of them, Carrier, Fighter and Submarine, are ghosted. These units are not available in the basic game and will not be available to you in this tutorial. If the city is Breed’s Hill, as shown above, Select Army from the choices given and hit OK. If the city is Melbourne, click on the button marked Transport and then select OK. You can change these decisions later if you like but for now, leave them alone. Now that the production choices have been made, you will see the game screen in its entirety.
Game Screen
Using the mouse, move the pointer up to the top of the screen to the Game Menu and click on the option Commands. A pull down menu will appear with several other options. Highlight the command labeled "Survey Mode" and select it.
This enters you into Survey Mode. From here you will be able to move the cursor about and study the map without accidentally issuing orders. The map is divided into many invisible squares to help define the rules of the game. Each square can be defined by its grid coordinates. For instance, the square at the top left corner of the map is square 1,1; the square at the top right corner of the map is square 28,1. If you want to learn about something on the map, simply move the mouse pointer over the desired square and click it. A brief description of the items located in that square in question will appear in the Message Bar at the top of the screen. You can get more information by double clicking the desired item. This will call up an Information Window with more information on that item. When you are done studying the Information Window, click on the button marked OK. This will return you to the map. So go ahead and do some exploring. Double click on interesting looking items on the map. Make sure to identify each of the eight terrain types and five unit types. If you accidentally exit Survey Mode, you may reenter it by clicking on the desired menu option or just clicking on the right mouse button while the pointer is on the map.
Now, lets give orders to your units. All the units and cities belonging to you are the color that was indicated as Player #1’s color in the Player Setup Menu Screen covered previously. All the units and cities belonging to the computer player are the color that was indicated as Player #2. You may only give orders to your own units. Empire Deluxe Internet Edition is played using a sequence of turns. Since you are player 1, you get to move all of your pieces first, then the computer player will get to go.
Move the cursor over the top left corner of the map so that it rests on top of the Destroyer Higbee at square 1,1. Double click on the Higbee. When the pop-up information window appears, click on orders. A list of orders available to the Higbee will then appear in another pop-up window.
Orders Available for the Higbee
Select Move To. The window will disappear and a dotted square will appear around the Higbee. Move the mouse pointer to another water square on the map. Hold down the left mouse button until a dotted line appears between the mouse pointer and the Higbee. You have just issued the order for the Higbee to move to the square where your mouse pointer was. To have the Higbee execute that order, move the cursor back over the Higbee and click on the right mouse button. You will then see the Higbee move towards the chosen destination. If that destination was more than three squares away, it may take several turns for the Higbee to reach it. Units in Empire Deluxe Internet Edition are limited in the number of squares they may move in a turn. This limit will vary from unit type to unit type.
Now you're going to learn another way of giving orders. There are usually several different methods of doing the same thing in Empire Deluxe Internet Edition. When you find a method you like; stick with it. Go back into Survey Mode and find the Battleship Prince of Wales. Move the cursor over the Prince of Wales and click on the right mouse button. This is called "Activating" the unit. You are again in orders mode. Note that the Prince of Wales is now flashing. Units flash when they are requesting orders. Each unit that does not already have orders for that turn, will, one at a time, ask for orders. You are now going to move the Prince of Wales using the keyboard. Press the right arrow key once. Notice that the Prince of Wales moves one square to the right. The Prince of Wales can move further than one square per turn so it is still requesting orders. Let's tell it to attack the green Transport directly to the right of it. To attack a unit in Empire Deluxe Internet Edition, all you have to do is move into the same square as the enemy unit. So to tell the Prince of Wales to attack the enemy Transport, just hit the right cursor key one more time. A battle will then ensue. A Battleship is a much more powerful unit that a Transport, so the odds are that you will win the battle. Just like real combat , however, there is always an element of chance. The Prince of Wales may have come out of the battle with damage on it or it may have even lost.
Lets do some more attacking. Go back into Survey Mode and find the Battleship Graf Spee at square 14,12. Activate the Graf Spee. Now move the mouse pointer to the square just to the left of the Graf Spee and click on the left mouse button. This is yet another way you can move units in Empire Deluxe. Now we want to attack the green Army next to the Graf Spee, so move the mouse pointer over that unit and click on the left mouse button. Again, the Battleship, being more powerful than the Army, will most likely win the battle. Notice this time, however, that the Graf Spee did not move into the square where the enemy Army was. This is because sea units may not move into land squares. Different units in the game are limited to what kind of terrain squares they may move into. Land units, for instance, may not enter sea squares. Likewise, some types of units may not be able to attack other types.
Now that you have learned how to attack enemy units, lets learn how to attack and capture cities. Go back into Survey Mode and find the neutral -- white -- city of Ravenna. The city is surrounded by your Armies. Pick one of the Armies and activate it. Combat against cities is conducted the same as against other units except that only land units can do it. So move the chosen unit into the same square as Ravenna. This battle is at equal odds, so your first attack may not be successful. Keep activating Armies and attacking Ravenna until you are successful. When you capture Ravenna, a pop-up production menu will appear asking what you would like to produce at Ravenna. You will also notice that the only unit it will allow you to produce is an Army. This is because Ravenna is land locked and cannot produce any sea units as they would have no way of exiting once produced. Select the Army to be produced and hit OK. Don't worry about what you're producing right now, it will take several turns for even the weakest of units to be produced. Notice that the captured city of Ravenna has changed color to your color and that the Army you used to attack it with is no longer there. The Army has now become Ravenna's new permanent garrison. If you have any remaining Armies, move them also into the city of Ravenna. Unlike the rest of the map squares, cities can hold an unlimited number of units.
You now know how to capture a city by land. Lets learn how to capture one by sea. Reenter Survey Mode and find the Transport Seaddler. You use Transports to carry as many as six Armies at a time over sea squares. The Seaddler is already loaded with six Armies. Move the Seaddler next to the city of Waterloo, just to the north and right of it. Double click on the Seaddler. A pop-up window will appear listing the Seaddler and the six Armies on her. Select the Seaddler. A pop-up information window will appear. Select the button labeled Orders. This will call up a pop-up Orders Menu. Close those dialogs and select Skip [SPACE] from the Orders Menu. Notice that the Seaddler is no longer requesting orders but the Armies on her are. Move an Army into the same square as the city of Waterloo. You may continue to do so until you capture the city or run out of units.
You should be starting to get the hang of player Empire Deluxe Internet Edition, so we're going to let you continue on without any further assistance. Experiment with the various reports, orders and commands from the pull down menus. Don't worry about beating the computer player, this is just a practice to get you familiar with the game. So go ahead and explore the various options and don't forget to "Have Fun."
This section discusses the rules for playing Empire Deluxe Internet Edition. We suggest that once you have gone through the tutorial, you start with a basic game. Once you have mastered the playing and rules of the basic version of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition, you may move on to master the standard and advanced versions. The rules used in the three versions of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition have many similar points but are not all identical. You should pay close attention to the differences in each section.
The map used in Empire Deluxe is the board on which you play the game, much as a chessboard is the board on which you play chess. Unlike the 8 square by 8 square chessboard, the basic Empire Deluxe Internet Edition "board" measures 50 squares by 50 squares and has a random assortment of different terrain types on it. These terrain types include mountains, water, cities, forests and more. The edges of these squares are not visible on the map as they are on a chessboard, but assumed.
Land - Various terrain types represent land; clear, forest, mountain, river and rough. In the basic game, all these terrain types are the same. For a more detailed description of each type, see Appendix III - Terrain Descriptions. Only land units may enter --move onto -- land squares.
Water - Water -- the blue stuff that doesn't look like land -- divides the various sections of land into islands and continents. Only sea units may enter water squares.
Cities - Cities are the most important terrain squares to the would-be conqueror. It is these squares that you must take to win the game. Without them, the player would be unable to produce new units and repair damaged ones.
The color of a city varies with the ownership. Cities owned by the player are the same color as the player's units. Cities owned by another player are the same color as that player's units. White cities are neutral ones, simply sitting there waiting for the player to conquer them. Each city square represents a separate city, even if multiple city squares are adjacent.
Edge - Around the edge of the map is a border. This represents the edge of the playing board and no units may move on or beyond the edge.
"The bodies of men, munition, and money
may justly be called the sinews of war."
--SIR WALTER RALEIGH
The basic version of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition uses five different playing pieces, or units. These consist of one variety of land unit, Armies, and four varieties of sea units, Transports, Destroyers, Cruisers and Battleships. These units represent the playing pieces that you will move about the map to conquer the world, and just like the playing pieces in a game of chess, each unit has its own characteristic and abilities, strengths and weaknesses. Units belonging to the player will be the same color as that chosen by the player at the beginning of the game. Units that are not the same color as the player, belong to another player and are enemy pieces. To help keep track of individual units, Empire Deluxe allows you to name each unit whatever you wish. If you decide not to name a unit, the computer will name it for you.
Following is a brief description of each type of unit (piece). You can find additional information in Appendix II - Unit Description:
Army
Armies are the basic land unit of Empire Deluxe. They are slow and can fight well, but they can take little damage. They are, however, the only unit capable of capturing cities and are thus indispensable to victory. They are also the only units capable of moving on land. Armies may also cross water with the assistance of Transports. Armies are the easiest unit to produce in the game.
Transport
Transports are the vital link between different bodies of land. They may carry up to six Armies on them and are thus the only way to get Armies from one continent or island, to another. Transports are faster than Armies but can only enter water or friendly city squares. They fight poorly but can take more damage than an Army.
Destroyer
Destroyers are the fastest unit in the basic game. They can fight as well as an Army and can take as much damage as a Transport. They are the easiest sea unit to produce in Empire Deluxe and like all other sea units, may only enter water or friendly city squares.
Cruiser
Cruisers are the smallest of the Capital Ships used in Empire Deluxe Internet Edition. They fight as well as an Army but can both inflict and take considerably more damage. They move as fast as a Transport and, just like Transports, can only enter water or friendly city squares. They are also one of the two units in the game to be able to perform the powerful function of shore bombardment.
Battleship
Battleships are powerful behemoths that roam the seas almost with a free will. They fight as well as an Army but can inflict and take even more damage than a Cruiser. They move the same as a Cruiser and, also like a Cruiser, can only enter water and friendly city squares. Also like Cruisers, Battleships may perform shore bombardment. Simply put; Battleships are larger, more powerful versions of Cruisers.
You play Empire Deluxe Internet Edition in a sequence of turns. At the beginning of a turn the first player, here after referred to as player 1, receives information on all the units produced that turn. Player 1 then has the option of changing that production. Player 1 then gives orders to all of his/her units and may look at various reports and information. Some types of orders given include; move to a given location, patrol an area, explore, attack an enemy unit and so on. You can find a more detailed explanation on giving orders in Chapter VI - Playing the Game. When all the player's units have executed their orders, the player may be asked if they are done with their turn. If the player then ends his turn, the game moves on to the next player, player 2, who follows the same sequence player 1 did. It then becomes player 3's turn and so on. When all the players have taken their turn the process starts all over. The computer will number each turn consecutively in ascending order to keep better track of it. There is no limit to the number of turns a particular game of Empire Deluxe will last. Play continues until someone wins.
Note: Turns are quite short at the beginning of a game because there are fewer units -- and thus fewer things to do. If you are playing a game with multiple human players, since each player must take turns sitting in front of the computer when it is their turn, this will require much seat swapping. To help reduce this problem, players will take several turns at a single seating before play goes on to the next player for his/her set of turns. Since players do not start a game very close, they can take several turns at a time without it interfering with another player. As the game progresses, and players come closer to each other, and are thus more likely to interact, the number of turns a player may get in a single seating will slowly reduce until, at the point when players can finally interact with each other on the map, they will only get the normal one turn per seating.
Example: Fred has just started a game of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition. He gives orders to all his units and ends his turn. Since no one else is close to Fred on the map he gets to take another turn immediately; in fact he gets to take six turns an a row before any else gets to play. Don't get too excited Fred; all the other players get to play six turns in a row too.
All units in Empire Deluxe Internet Edition, just like pieces in chess, can only move a maximum number of squares each turn. This number of maximum squares varies with each unit, and is hereafter referred to as that unit's "Move"." A unit does not have to move its full Move if the player doesn't wish it to. In fact it doesn't have to move at all. Movement is from square to adjacent square and can be to the left or right, up or down, or to any adjacent diagonal square. This gives a unit eight basic directions it may move in. Units with a Move greater than one square per turn, do not have to move in a straight line. They may zigzag, weave or even double back and go back the way they came.
The maximum numbers of squares each unit can move in the basic game is listed in the following table:
|
TABLE I BASIC UNIT MOVE RATINGS
|
|
|
Unit
|
Move
|
|
Army |
1 |
|
Transport |
2 |
|
Destroyer |
3 |
|
Cruiser |
2 |
|
Battleship |
2 |
Example: Fred's Destroyer can move a maximum of three squares in one turn. So during any one given turn, Fred may move the Destroyer 0, 1, 2 or 3 squares in any of eight different directions and does not have to move them in a straight line.
Some units are not able to enter certain types of squares. Land units may only move into land or city squares. Sea units may only move into water or friendly city squares. No unit can enter an edge square. No unit may enter a square occupied by another friendly unit, even if it is to get to a square that is on the other side of that unit. There are two exceptions to this:
Friendly Cities - There is no limit to the number of units that may enter a friendly city square. Units that enter a friendly city square will disappear from view until they ask for orders. If a unit enters a city square that previously had no units in it, the color of the buildings in that city square will darken in shade. This is to indicate that the city square now has at least one unit located in it. It does not indicate the exact number of units in that city square.
Transports - Six Armies may enter the same square as a transport. This is how you load a transport. Armies loaded on a transport move with the Transport where ever that transport may go. They may do nothing else except unload, i.e., move off that transport. They may follow no other orders until they unload. Armies automatically unload when the transport they are on enters a city that is the target of its move. If a transport exits a city square that also has land units in it, the maximum number of units that Transport can carry will automatically load onto the Transport and exit with it. Armies loaded onto a Transport that have not exceeded their Move that turn, may still move even if the Transport they are on has moved its maximum Move for that turn.
Example: Fred's Transport, the Lusitania, has an Army on it that had been loaded on the previous turn. Fred moves the Lusitania 2 squares, its maximum Move, bringing it next to a strip of land. Fred may still move the Army, which has not yet moved that turn, off the Lusitania 1 square, which is the maximum Move of an Army.
The icon for a Transport that has at least one Army loaded on it will have portholes appear on it to indicate this. As with cities, it gives no indication of the number of Armies that are on it.
In the basic game of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition there is no limit to what each player may look at. All players are able to see the entire map, as well as all the units of all the players and which players own which cities.
"The chance in war is equal,
and the slayer oft is slain."
--HOMER
Combat is the meat of conquest and thus a very important part of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition. Initiating combat is quiet simple. If you wish to attack an enemy unit or city, just like chess, all you need do is move the unit you wish to do the attacking, into the same square as the unit you wish to attack. Unlike chess, the results of this attack are not a forgone conclusion, but instead are determined randomly using a calculation of odds. The exact mechanics of combat in Empire Deluxe Internet Edition are quiet complicated. If you wish to know more about them, read Appendix IV - Combat Mechanics. Roughly speaking, two identical units fighting each other, each has equal odds of winning. Some units fight better than others. Once combat starts in Empire Deluxe Internet Edition, there are no ties or retreats. Combat will always result in one, and only one, of the units involved being destroyed and removed from the game.
Combat between units.
Combat between two units is described above. If the defending unit wins the battle it remains where it is. If the attacking unit -- the one that initiated the combat -- wins the battle, it will move onto and occupy the square the defending unit was occupying, unless that square is not a square that the attacking unit can normally move into. If it cannot occupy the defender's square, it will stay in the square it started the attack from.
Example: Fred's Army attacks another Army and wins, so Fred's Army will move into the square that the defending Army previously occupied. If Fred's Army attacks a Destroyer and wins, it will remain where it started, since an Army cannot enter the water square that the Destroyer occupied.
If an attacking unit that wins a combat, has not moved its maximum move that turn, it may still continue to move, including moving into another unit to attack it, until it has reached its maximum Move. Even if the attacking unit is not able to move into the defender's square, the attack still counts as moving one square for determining the maximum number of squares that unit can move that turn. There is no limit to the number of battles a unit may initiate in one turn, as long as it keeps winning and does not move farther than its maximum move.
If a combat involves a Transport that has Armies loaded on it, only the Transport is involved in the combat calculation for determining combat results. The Armies on that Transport, however, suffer the results of that combat calculation, i.e., a Transport that has no Armies loaded on it fights just as well as a Transport that has six Armies on it. If a Transport is damaged, some Armies on it may be destroyed. If the Transport is destroyed so are all the Armies that were on it. Armies on a Transport cannot be individually targeted; only the carrying Transport may be attacked. Armies on a Transport may only attack off a Transport if they can move into the defending unit's square when they do so, i.e., Armies on a Transport may not attack sea units from that Transport, since they would be unable to enter the water square that sea unit occupied should they win.
Capturing cities works much like attacking an enemy unit. To attack an enemy or neutral city, you simply move the unit you wish to do the attacking, into the defending city square. Only land units, i.e., Armies, may attack and thus capture cities. Cities can never attack a unit but can fight as well as an Army when defending.
If the Army attacking the city loses the combat, it is destroyed. If the Army wins, however, the city is not destroyed, but is captured. When an Army captures a city, it disappears and the losing city becomes a friendly city and changes color to match the colors of the victorious attacker. The Army is assumed to be the city's new garrison and for all practical purposes, no longer exists. When an Army captures a city, the attacking player will be immediately prompted on what he would like to produce in that city (see the section on Production later in this chapter).
As with loaded Transports, units located in cities that are being attacked have no bearing on the results of that attack. If a city is captured, all units that are in that city are immediately destroyed. Units in cities may not be targeted for attack, as with loaded Transports. Only the city itself may be attacked. Thus units in a friendly city square are immune to attack from enemy units other than land units. Unlike units loaded on Transports, units in cities may perform any orders they would normally be able to perform, including attack out of that city.
Land units may always attack, i.e., initiate combat by moving into, sea units in Empire Deluxe Internet Edition. Sea units, however, may not normally attack land units. The sole exception to this is shore bombardment. Only two types of sea units may perform shore bombardment; Cruisers and Battleships. Combat involving shore bombardment is identical to normal combat accept that the defending land unit always fights weakly.
Each time a unit wins a combat, it may suffer damage from that combat. As long as that unit remains in the game this damage is carried with it, and may accumulate if that unit wins other battles. Each type of unit has a maximum amount of damage it can take. If the accumulated damage total equals or exceeds the maximum damage allowable for a unit, that unit is destroyed.
The maximum amount of damage each unit can take in the basic game is listed in the following table:
|
TABLE II BASIC UNIT DAMAGE RATINGS
|
|
|
Unit |
Maximum Damage |
|
Army |
1 |
|
Transport |
3 |
|
Destroyer |
3 |
|
Cruiser |
8 |
|
Battleship |
12 |
Damage may have adverse results on a unit other than making it more vulnerable in further battles. A unit that has taken a total accumulated amount of damage equal to or greater than half the maximum amount of damage it can take, is "Crippled." A unit that is Crippled, has the maximum number of squares it can move immediately reduced to 1. If that unit was the attacker in a combat, since its maximum move is now one and it moved at least one square to initiate combat, it may no longer move that turn. If a Transport takes damage, it also has the number of units it may carry reduced by 2 for every 1 point of damage that has accumulated on it. If the number of units loaded on that Transport exceeds the maximum number it may now carry, those units in excess of that number are immediately destroyed.
Example: An enemy Destroyer attacks one of Fred's undamaged Transports loaded with 5 Armies and leaves that Transport with an accumulated damage total of 2 before being destroyed. Fred's Transport is now Crippled and can only move 1 square per turn and may now only carry 2 Units. Since the number of Armies on Fred's Transport now exceeds the maximum number of units that his Transport may hold, i.e., 2, the remaining 3 Armies are immediately destroyed. Too bad Fred, you should have protected your Transport better.
Damage that has accumulated on a unit can only be removed by repairing that unit. A unit may repair only in a friendly city and automatically repairs each turn it is in that city. Each full turn that a damaged unit spends in a friendly city removes 1 from the accumulated damage total of that unit until it has no more accumulated damage remaining on it. Effects of accumulated damage, such as reduced movement due to being Crippled and reduced hold capacity, disappear as that damage is repaired. A unit need not repair all the accumulated damage on it if the controlling player wishes, and may move out of the repairing city at any time before or after all the repairs are completed.
Damaged units that are placed on Sentry Orders will continue to be repaired as well. When the unit is fully repaired, it will clear its Sentry order, and will wait for new orders to be given.
Example: Fred's Crippled Transport in the example above moves into a friendly city on turn 67. Since the Transport did not spend all of turn 67 in that city, it does not repair any damage. On turn 68 Fred has the Transport sit in the city the whole turn (Fred hits the [SPACE] bar or has given the transport the [S] Sentry Command). So at the end of turn 68 it has now has 1 removed from its accumulated damage total. This reduces the accumulated damage total from 2 to 1. Since the amount of accumulated damage on Fred's Transport no longer exceeds or matches half of its maximum allowable damage of 3, i.e., Fred's Transport is no longer Crippled; it no longer has a Move of only 1. On turn 69, if Fred decides to move the Transport out of the city, with an accumulated damage total of 1 remaining on it, it would have its normal Move of 2 but only be able to carry a maximum of 4 Armies. If he chooses to let the Transport remain in the city one more turn, the last bit of accumulated damage on it will be repaired and it would be able to leave the city on turn 70 with no accumulated damage. Fred would then have a Transport able to perform as if it was brand new and had never suffered damage in combat.
Production
"I believe in the Providence of the most men,
the largest purse, and the longest cannon."
--ABRAHAM LINCOLN
No matter how good a general you are; it is difficult to win a war without a continued supply of reinforcements to support the war effort. Cities, in Empire Deluxe Internet Edition, are the production centers. Each city is capable of producing one unit, and only one unit, at a time. Unlike real life, the player need not spend any money, fill out any paper work, petition for any government funding or even hire any laborers to accomplish this. All the player need do is tell the city what he/she would like it to produce and then wait. Producing units takes time and some units take longer than others.
The numbers of turns it takes to produce each unit in the basic version of Empire Deluxe is listed in the following table:
|
TABLE III BASIC UNIT PRODUCTION TIMES |
|
|
Unit
|
Turns to Produce |
|
Army |
6 |
|
Transport |
30 |
|
Destroyer |
24 |
|
Cruiser |
36 |
|
Battleship |
60 |
A city that is producing a unit may not produce any other unit until the first is completed. If ordered to produce another type of unit, it will scrap all production of the first unit and start at the beginning with the new one.
Example: Fred told one of his cities to produce a Destroyer. This is going to take 24 turns. Eight turns later, however, Fred changes his mind and decides he wants the city to produce a Cruiser, which takes 42 turns. Production on the Destroyer is stopped. The 8 turns spent trying to produce it is wasted, and Fred gets a nasty letter from the ship builder's union. Even if Fred ordered the city to resume production of the Destroyer on the very next turn, he would still have to wait a full 24 more turns for it to be produced.
The type of units a city may produce is restricted by that city's location. A city that does not have a water square next to it on any of it's 8 sides, including the corners, cannot produce sea units. Cities do not have to produce anything if the player does not wish. Resources are not limited in the basic version of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition, so time is the only limit to the number of units a player may produce.
Other Players.
"A man-of-war is the best ambassador."
--CROMWELL
Before you get too excited about conquering a world, don't forget that there is always at least one other player out there trying to do exactly the same thing and only one of you will succeed. There are always at least two players in a game of Empire Deluxe and there may be as many as six. The default for a basic game is two players, one human and one computer controlled. Other players in a game of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition may be humans you are playing against on the same computer; someone at a remote location talking to your computer via modem or a network setup, they may be your computer itself or any combination of these. The computer can control any number of the six players in a game. In fact, it can control all six while you sit back and watch it schizophrenically battling with itself. The computer thinks separately for each player it controls; it will not gang up to overwhelm you. Exactly who or what your opponents are, is selected at the beginning of each game.
Empire Deluxe Internet Edition makes no provisions for diplomacy. It is war to the finish and to the victor goes the spoils.
Winning and Losing
"War does not determine who is right -- only who is left."
--ANON.
Empire Deluxe Internet Edition is a competitive game of world conquest and as such there will always be only one winner. Unlike chess, there are no stalemates. The winner is the last player left in the game.
So how are the other players eliminated from the game? There are three ways.
First, a player may resign at any time he/she chooses to do so. A player who resigns has all of their pieces removed from the map and all of their cities become neutral.
Second, a player may abdicate his position and allow the computer to take control. The Expert level computer player will gladly show you how it should be done.
The third, and more likely way, is for a player to be knocked out. A player is automatically knocked out of a game when, at the end of their turn, they control no cities on the map and have no units. If a player is knocked out of the game that player is then removed from the turn sequence.
When you win a game of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition your victory will be logged in the Player History. If you did well enough you might be promoted. You may view your successes and failures by referencing the Player History section of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition.
As an additional reward, you will be allowed to view all the different players that were in the game from their final point of view. You can study their reports, units, and distribution, to find out what strategies they used.
This completes the basic rules for playing Empire Deluxe Internet Edition. Now that you have read all the basic rules, we suggest that you skip the standard and advanced rules and read Chapter VI - Playing the Game. After reading Chapter VI, play several games until you feel comfortable with the basic rules and then go on to the standard and advanced games.
All the rules that applied in the basic version of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition still apply in the standard version, but with a few additions
The Map.
There are three major differences in the map in the standard version of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition.
The first is that the map dimensions are no longer limited to always being 50 squares by 50 squares. At the beginning of a game the player may choose the size of the map he will be playing on. It may be as small as 20 squares by 20 squares, as large as 254 squares by 254 squares or any size in between.
The second difference is that, if the player so chooses; the standard game may be played on a wrap around map. A wrap around map is one in which the far left side of the map connects with the far right side of the map, much as the eastern hemisphere of the earth connects with the western hemisphere. A wrap around map is best pictured as playing the game on the outside of a cylinder rather than on a flat board
The last major difference is the existence of unexplored terrain.
Unexplored Terrain - Unexplored terrain appears as solid black squares. It is not truly a terrain type, but is used to obscure those squares that the player has not yet explored. Exploring a square is done by moving next to it. Unexplored terrain can be looked at as a set of black tiles covering the map. Each time a player moves one of their pieces next to one of these tiles, it is removed and the true terrain type underneath it is revealed. Each player must explore the map separately. Your opponents' exploration does not benefit you.
All other terrain types used in the standard game of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition are identical to those used in the basic game.
The Units.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the basic and standard version of Empire Deluxe is the introduction of three new unit types. These are Fighters, Submarines and Carriers. The other five unit types used in the basic game are also used in the standard game and perform identically to those rules.
Following is a brief description of each of these new unit types. Additional information may be found in Appendix II - Unit Descriptions:
Fighter
Fighters are the only air units used in the standard version of Empire Deluxe. Many new rules apply to them, especially in the movement section, so read these carefully. Fighters are the fastest unit in the standard game. Because they fly, they may go almost anywhere, but because they have limited fuel, they are restricted to how far they may go at one time. Fighters may enter water squares, land squares, friendly city squares; and may even fly through, but not stop on, squares occupied by friendly units. Fighters perform in combat identically to Armies. They make excellent scouts.
Submarine
Submarines are stealthy, deadly hunters of the oceans. They move as fast as a Cruiser. They attack well but defend poorly. Submarines do as much damage as a Battleship, but can take even less than a Transport. The main power of a Submarine is its ability to be invisible. Only certain types of units can see Submarines. For more information on this, see the section on Sighting, further on. Submarines may not shore bombard Armies but they are the only sea unit that cannot be attacked by Armies.
Carrier
Carriers, or Aircraft Carriers to be precise, are basically Transports for Fighters. Unless otherwise mentioned, the same rules that apply to Armies and Transports, apply to Fighters and Carriers. Carriers may hold up to eight fighters on them. They can travel as fast as a Transport. Carriers attack poorly but defend well. They can only do as much damage as a Destroyer but can take as much damage as a Cruiser. Carriers cannot shore bombard.
Turns
There is no difference in the turn structure between the basic and standard version of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition.
Movement
The same rules that applied to movement of land and sea units in the basic game still apply to those units in the standard game. With the introduction of air units, certain new rules now exist.
Fighters may enter any water, land or friendly city square. They may move into any square containing another friendly unit to pass through it, but may not end their movement in the same square. Unlike other varieties of units, air units spend all their movement points every turn. Even if ordered not to move they still are treated as if they have moved their full move.
Perhaps most importantly, air units have a limit number of squares they may go before they must land to refuel. This limited number of squares is referred to as "Range". Fighters have a Range of 20 squares. Since fighters have a Move of 5, this means they may travel for four turns before refueling. Refueling is accomplished by entering the same square as a friendly city or Carrier. A fighter that enters the same square as a friendly city or Carrier, automatically ends its turn, lands and refuels. A fighter that moves 20 squares without refueling, crashes and is destroyed.
A player will be warned that a fighter is about to move beyond it’s range and will be unable to safely return under current conditions. The message SHORT ON FUEL appears in the Unit Info and Message Bar and asks the player to confirm the order. This warning is very subtle, and possibly could be missed. A more overt warning, the Aircraft Out of Range Warning, can be toggled from the preferences menu to prevent you from overlooking this situation.
Example: Fred has decided he would like to use his 231st Fighter unit, currently in the city of Trafalgar, to explore some terrain 13 squares away from the city. He orders the 231st to go to that location. Since the 231st Fighter unit has just refueled at Trafalgar, it may move a total of 20 squares before it must land again. Fred's 231st Fighter moves 5 squares on the first and second turn. On the third turn, when Fred attempts to move the fighter into the next (11th) square, he is advised that the plane will be out of refueling range. Fred ruthlessly commits the Fighter to continue on. The Fighter gets to its destination on the third turn. Fred's in luck, his Fighter's exploration of the area reveals a neutral city ripe for conquest. Unfortunately for Fred, his 231st Fighter unit is now 13 squares away from the city it started from. Since it has already moved 13 squares, the Fighter will have to move a total of 26 squares to get back to Trafalgar. This number is greater than the Fighter's Range, so unless Fred has another city or Carrier within 7 squares of his Fighter unit's current location, the 231st Fighter unit will have to receive its reward for finding a new city, posthumously.
Fighters may load onto Carriers just as Armies may load onto Transports. Unlike Armies on Transports, Fighters loaded on Carriers may perform any normal action they choose. Up to eight Fighters may be loaded onto a Carrier at any one given time. The icon for a Carrier that has at least one Fighter loaded on it, will appear differently from an unloaded one.
The Moves for each unit in the standard version of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition are listed in the following table:
|
TABLE IV STANDARD UNIT MOVE RATINGS |
|
|
Unit
|
Move
|
|
Army |
1 |
|
Fighter |
5 |
|
Transport |
2 |
|
Destroyer |
3 |
|
Submarine |
2 |
|
Cruiser |
2 |
|
Battleship |
2 |
|
Carrier |
2 |
Sighting
"The whole art of war consists in getting at what
is on the other side of the hill, or, in other words,
in learning what we do not know from what we do."
--DUKE OF WELLINGTON
Another big change between the standard and basic versions of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition is the introduction of sighting rules. The player has already been introduced to the fact that he may not see the entire map now. The player will also not be able to see all the enemy's units or cities on the map either. Basically, sighting works very simply, units and cities may only see things that are in squares next to them and the player may only see things on the map that his units and cities see. Since terrain does not change, the player may always look at that portion of the map that they have already seen before, i.e., the explored portion of the map.
Enemy units that were next to friendly units, but no longer are, will still have their icons appear on the map in the last location they were known to be in. They may or may not still be at this location. The icon for that unit will disappear from the map three turns after it was last spotted or if a friendly unit moves next to the icon and the enemy unit is no longer at that location.
Example: At the beginning of his turn, Fred moves his Destroyer 1 square. This places the Destroyer next to a square containing an enemy Battleship, which Fred had not previously seen since none of Fred's other units had been next to it. Fred wisely decides that discretion is the better part of valor, and moves his Destroyer the remainder of it's Move, i.e., 2 squares, away. Fred can no longer see the Battleship since he no longer has any units next to it, but the icon for it remains on the map. In the next turn, Fred now decides he would really like to know exactly were that Battleship is. He moves the Destroyer so that it is again next to the icon of the Battleship. The Battleship, however, has moved, so the icon for its old location disappears. Fred continues to move his Destroyer and, again, brings it next to the enemy Battleship whose icon now reappears on the screen. On Fred's next turn he is relieved to find that the Battleship did not destroy his puny Destroyer. In fact, it hasn't even moved. Fred decides not to take any chances and moves his Destroyer away from the enemy Battleship as quickly as possible. The icon for the Battleship again remains on the screen even though Fred's Destroyer can no longer see it. Fred decides to avoid that area of the map for a while and, three turns later, the icon for the enemy Battleship disappears.
Special sighting rules apply to Submarines. Submarines cannot be seen by some units and cannot see other units, even if they are next to each other. The icon for an enemy Submarine will only appear on the map if it is next to a friendly Destroyer, Submarine or Cruiser, or if it is involved in combat with a friendly unit. It will only remain on the map as long as those conditions exist. Enemy land and air units do not appear on the map if the only unit next to them is a friendly Submarine.
Combat
The combat rules and mechanics of the standard version of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition are identical to those of the basic version with the following special exceptions and additions:
- Submarines and land units may not attack each other.
- Sea units may not attack air units that are on land squares.
- Land units may not attack air units that are on water squares.
- The number of Fighters a Carrier may hold is decreased, on a one for one basis, by the amount of accumulated damage that the Carrier suffers from. Fighters loaded on the Carrier, in excess of its new hold capacity, are destroyed.
The maximum amount of damage each unit can take in the standard version of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition is listed in the following table:
|
TABLE V STANDARD UNIT DAMAGE RATING
|
|
|
Unit |
Maximum Damage |
|
Army |
1 |
|
Fighter |
1 |
|
Transport |
3 |
|
Destroyer |
3 |
|
Submarine |
2 |
|
Cruiser |
8 |
|
Battleship |
12 |
|
Carrier |
8 |
Production
Production rules in the standard version of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition are the same as those of the basic version, with one addition.
Cities that continue to produce the same type of unit now gain a production benefit to represent that they do not have to retool their factories. If a city produces the same exact type of unit consecutively, every unit past the first one produced has its production time reduced by 1/6th. This bonus only lasts as long as the city continues to produce that unit consecutively.
Example: Fred ordered the city of Trafalgar to produce an Army on turn 1. The Army will be produced six turns later, at the beginning of Fred's seventh turn. Fred decides he would like at least three more Armies so he tells Trafalgar to continue producing Armies. This reduces the production time for the Armies to five turns each. So five turns later, on turn 12, Trafalgar produces another Army for Fred, and again on turns 17 and 22. At this point, Fred decides he wants to produce a Transport at Trafalgar. Since the last unit Fred produced at Trafalgar was an Army, not a Transport, it will take a full 30 turns to produce his Transport. Thirty turns later, on turn 52, Fred's Transport arrives. Fred can now either produce another Transport, which will now take only 25 turns, he can produce an Army again, which will take six turns since the last thing Fred produced was not an Army, or he can start from scratch with another type of unit.
The numbers of turns it takes to produce each unit in the standard version of Empire Deluxe Internet Edition are listed in the following table:
|
TABLE VI STANDARD UNIT PRODUCTION TIMES
|
|
|
Unit |
Turns to Produce |
|
Army |
6 |
|
Fighter |
12 |