North & South

*********



The Project 64 etext of the ~North South manual~, converted to etext

by Martin Brunner <martinb@finwds01.tu-graz.ac.at>.



NORSOU10.TXT, April 1997, etext #229#



Readapted for the Spectrum in 2001 AD by Alessandro Grussu




*********



With the famous comic strip heroes from 'LES TUNIQUES BLEUES' (The

Blue Jackets), imagined by LAMBIL, designed by CAUVIN and published by

EDITIONS DUPUIS, re-live the American Civil War with a little bit of

historical realism and a lot of humour!



Your objective is ensure victory for your side (North or South) by

eliminating all the enemy armies. You will be controlling armies

across all the combat zones of the Civil War. You may respect history

or not, as you like.



********************

* LOADING THE GAME *

********************



[C64 loading instructions omitted]



GLOSSARY OF GAME TERMS

======================



- SIDE:.......The SOUTH (Confederacy) or the NORTH (Union).

- TERRITORY:..Geographical representation of States on the

strategic map.

- CLICK:......Press the space bar or the fire button. This action is

used to confirm according to cursor position.

- CURSOR:.....This is a screen pointer which you can move around on

the strategic map using joystick or P,L,Z,X keys on the

keyboard.

- FIRE:.......Press the space bar or fire button.

- ARMY:.......A force made up of a number of units represented by a

soldier on the strategic map.

- UNIT:...... The basic element of an army. There are three types of

units: Cavalry, Infantry and Artillery.





JOYSTICK OR KEYBOARD

====================



JOYSTICK/KEYBOARD:

UP/P

LEFT/Z RIGHT/X

DOWN/L



Other keys: Press H to pause the game.



[Spectrum: Choose Keyboard, Kempston, Sinclair 1, Sinclair 2 or Cursor.

Keyboard is fully redefinable]



************

* THE MENU *

************



lf you want to start playing immediately, use your cursor and click on

the case marked "GO".

- You are playing at CAPTAIN level. You play Captain STARK against a

Confederate Corporal played by the computer. The start year is 1861

and no catastrophe is activated. North plays first.



lf you want to alter the current configuration, you may act on the

following parameters:

- 1 or 2 players.

- Change difficulty level.

- Change start year.

- Activate (or not) all or some of the catastrophes and events.

- Play (or not) in strategic mode (no arcade) only.

The order given here is only an example; you need not respect it.





1. SELECTING 1 OR 2 PLAYERS

===========================



Click on the Window flag behind the character; a computer will appear,

signalling that your computer will play that side. Reclick on the

computer to switch to human mode.





2. DIFFICULTY LEVEL

===================



Click on the character head in the window.

CORPORALS: BLUTCH for the Union, MATHIAS for the Confederacy.

SERGEANTS: CHESTERFIELD for the Union and CANCRELAT for the

Confederacy.

CAPTAINS: STARK for the North and PHILIP for the South.



CORPORAL is the most difficult, CAPTAIN the easiest game level.





3. CHANGE START YEAR

====================



To choose the year when your game begins, click on the calendar to

scroll the years from 1861 to 1864. 1865 is not available, since the

situation was too unfavourable for the South. Each year corresponds to

a certain number of armies and territories owned by each side; the

situation reflects actual historical conditions for that year.





4. DISASTERS

============



These options are available in order to allow you to create some of

the elements that fans of the comic book series know very well. These

disasters will modify the strategic situation.



To activate a disaster, just click on it.

When in play, you will not be able to cancel the disaster.



a) - Indians:

They occasionally attack armies in neighbouring territories. When

the Indians have spotted their prey, they send smoke signals

before launching their attack. The army thus attacked may lose

only some of its units or could be completely wiped out.



- Mexicans:

If you have activated the Indian mode, the Mexican will also be

present. Irritated at being so unceremoniously torn from a much

needed snooze following a refreshing siesta, he will throw a bomb

on the State of Texas, just to calm down whatever army happens to

be there at the time. The poor army will lose some or all its

units.



b) Storms:

A storm cloud travels around above the map. Any army under the

cloud is unable to move until the cloud leaves the territory.



c) European Reinforcements:

Both sides in the Civil War were diplomatically very active in

Europe. The side who owns South Virginia will receive a ship

containing reinforcements. Once on dry land, they will constitute

an army (1 Cannon unit, 3 Cavalry units and 6 Infantry units) if

there is no army currently in that territory; if there is already

an army, then the newcomers from over the ocean will reinforce that

army up to maximum limits (3 Cannon, 9 Cavairy and 18 Infantry).

Any extras are lost.





5. STRATEGIC OR ARCADE MODE

===========================



Click on the Arcade icon to disactivate the Strategic mode and

vice-versa. In the Arcade mode there are three challenges to face:

the battle, the train and the fort.



In the Strategic mode, these three arcade challenges are replaced by

an automatic system for determining the outcome of each challenge,

using a random decision based on the respective strength of the

opposing forces. This option caters for those players who prefer to

concentrate on the purely strategic aspects of the simulation.



When you have decided on all the parameters above, in whatever order

suits you, you can click on 'GO' to start play.





************

* THE GAME *

************



STRATEGIC MAP AND GAME

======================



According to the start year chosen, the number and positions of armies

vary. Here is a map of the States over which your armies will move.

What is an ARMY in the game?



An army is made up of a number of units of Infantry, Cavalry and

Cannon. According to the number of units in an army, the soldier who

represents that army or the screen map has a greater or lesser number

of cannon balls at his feet.





ARMY MOVEMENT

=============



Play is organized into Game Turns. Players play one after the other.

When each has played his turn, the Game Turn is then completed. During

each of his turns a player may move some or all his armies; he may move

each army from its current territory to a neighbouring territory

(a territory sharing a border with it). Here are a few examples:



1. Moving to another territory

- Click on the unit you want to move

- The possible territories where your chosen unit may move will

flash.

- Click on the territory you wish the unit to move to.

The unit moves to the selected territory. That unit may not move

again until the next Game Turn.



2. Cancel a move so that another unit may first be moved

- Click on a non-flashing territory.

- The army will stay on its territory and may still be moved this

Turn.

- You may also click on the original territory.



3. You decide not to move one, or several particular units

This operation may ONLY be done when ALL movement has been

played. When one or more armies remain which you don't want to

move, to finish your turn, click on the Months and Years band at

the bottom of the screen. lt is now your opponent's turn to play.



4. lt you have moved all your units, your turn ends automatically.





CONQUERING A TERRITORY

======================



6 cases are possible when a unit moves into a territory



1. The territory is VIRGIN.

- The territory is owned by the first player

to move an army onto it.

- If the army moves away from the territory, then the player's

flag will appear in it.



2. The territory is enemy-owned but currently unoccupied by

an enemy army.

- The new army conquers the territory

and the enemy flag disappears.

- When the new army leaves, the owning side's flag appears.



3. The territory is already occupied by an enemy unit.

- In this case there will be a battle. lf the attacker wins, then

the territory will change sides.



4. The territory is already owned by the player. Nothing changes.



5. The territory has a town and is occupied by an enemy army.

- The enemy army must then be defeated in the battle

or forced to retreat.

- You must then win the fight in the fort.

- If you win in the fort, your army may stay in the territory. If

not, it will stay in its original territory.



6. The territory has a town and is enemy-owned but no enemy

army is prosent.

- You must win the fort game to conquer the territory.

- If you fail, your attacking army will remain in its

original territory.





FUSING TWO ARMIES TOGETHER

==========================



It can sometimes be a good idea to fuse two or more armies into one

big force. This is done during movernent:

- Click on an army.

- Move that army to an adjacent territory containing an allied army

in order to be fused with.

- You now have a new reinforced army which you'll be able to move

next turn.



NOTE: The same system of maximum possible force as with European

Reinforcement is used here. You cannot have an army greater in

strength than 18 Infantry, 9 Cavalary and 3 Cannon.





ATTACKING AN ENEMY ARMY

=======================



- Click on the army you want to use.

- Click on the territory containing the enemy unit you wish to attack.

- The two opposing armies will now switch to the arcade 'Battle' mode,

unless the players are in strategic mode only.





ATTACKING AN ENEMY ARMY WITH SEVERAL ARMIES

===========================================



If several allied neighbour units can move onto the same enemy-

occupied territory, then they may attack that enemy at the same time.

- Click on one of your attacking armies.

- Click on the enemy territory.

- All allied armies which can attack that enemy will automatically

move to the enemy territory.



NOTE : Remember that the sum of attacking armies may not exceed the

maximum of 18 Infantry, 9 Cavalry and 3 Cannon. lf, after this fusion,

there are extra units, they will remain as an army in one of the

original territories. The computer is supreme judge in tricky cases!





RETREATS

========



If the battle situation seems grave enough to suggest an orderly

retreat, in arcade mode, the joystick/keyboard 1 player should press

the E key; the joystick 2 player should press [arrow pointing up].

If you have taken the decision to retreat, there are two possible

cases:

- You are the attacker: your army moves to its territory of origin.

- You are the defender and the computer moves your army back from the

front line to one of your territories. In both cases the retreating

army loses an artillery unit.

- If none of your territories are available to move back to, then the

retreat won't be possible and the retreat keys (E and ) will be

inactive.





THE SUPPLY PHASE OR GETTING NEW ARMIES

======================================



At the end of each Game Turn, according to the number of territories

you possess, you should receive a certain number of bags of gold.



You will only receive the gold, however, if two of your towns are

connected by a railroad crossing only territories of your own.





Getting the gold

----------------

If two towns are correctly connected, a train will travel at the end

of your turn from one to the other. The bags of gold will then be

deposited in the players central Bank.





Getting new armies

------------------

When a player has 5 bags of gold in his bank, a new army is created in

exchange for the 5 bags. The new army will flash at the bottom left of

the map.



To move the new army into play, click on a flashing territory. The new

army (6 Infantry, 3 Cavalry and 1 Cannon) can only move to a territory

containing no other army and which lies on a railroad line that

belongs entirely to the new army's player. The available territories

will flash.





What happens lf you cannot move a new army into play.

-----------------------------------------------------

lf no appropriate territory is available, the bags of gold will remain

in your Bank until you are able to move a new army onto the playing map.





How to collect your enemy's taxes.

----------------------------------

-You must block the line between the two enemy towns by capturing one

of the territories along the line.

-No link between another two enemy towns must be possible (otherwise

the train will always take the safest route, the one with no hostile

army present).

-Once and once only, the enemy train will try to get through (if no

other possible line exists). You will then switch to the Train arcade

sequence. lf you win the arcade (or strategic) sequence, the enemy's

taxes will arrive in your Bank.





THE TRAIN SEQUENCE: ARCADE MODE

===============================



The character you control is on the ground. First you must climb up

the back end ofthe passing wagons onto the roof of the train. lf you

fail to climb on, then your interception attempt is over.



Keyboard Joystick



How to climb ontd a wagon, P UP

How to move on the wagon Z X LEFT RIGHT

How to jump trom one wagon to the next P UP



Your objective is to reach the front of the train in order to stop it

and overcome the driver.





To defeat your enemies:

-----------------------

- Space bar or Fire button: you throw a knife at your enemy, unless

you are in hand to hand combat.

- Space bar or Fire button: you punch your enemy in hand to hand

combat.



NOTE : The number of knives available is limited by the difficulty

level.





The race against time:

----------------------

The amount of time availabie varies according to the difficulty level.

Time is symbolized by a clock and your progress towards the locomotive

is represented by a boot. You must get there before your time runs

out; your boot must reach the right edge before the clock. lt an enemy

pushes you off the train, you must climb back on as fast as you can

before the train gets away!





2-Player version:

-----------------

The player who owns the train, and who detends it against the

attacking player, can send men onto the roof to fight off the attack.

- To send a man up to the roof: Direction UP or DOWN.

- To throw a knife or give a punch (in hand to hand combat), press the

Fire button.



NOTE : The man moves by himself from right to left. The defending

player controls the moment when the soldier appears and fires.





THE FORT SEQUENCE

=================



Possession of at least two towns connected by a railroad link is vital

for both players. These towns are protected by forts. To capture an

enemy territory containing a fort, the player must defeat any enemy

army present in the territory (in Battle mode) and also win the fort

game. If no enemy army currently occupies the territory, the attacking

player will still have to take the fort in order to capture the

territory. lf the attack fails, then the attacking army stays where it

was at the start of the turn. A failure has no other consequences.





The arcade game:

----------------

Time is limited; the more difficult the level, the less time you have.

Once again, a boot symbolizes your progross in the fort. Your

objective is the enemy flag situated at the far end of the fort. lf

you get there in time, the enemy flag will come down, to be replaced

by yours. You have captured the town.



You move and fight according to the same principle as in the Train

sequence. Some of the obstacles can only be got over by climbing a

ladder. Guard-dogs will appear from time to time and try to stop the

attacker. lf the attacker steps on a box of explosives, he will be

stunned for several seconds.





2-Player version:

-----------------

The same commands are used as in the Train sequence.

NOTE : lf the defender uses DOWN direction to bring on a soldier, he

will arrive at ground level. Using UP direction will bring the soldier

into play on the ramparts.





THE PITCHED BATTLE

==================

A battle is fought when two opposing armies occupy the same territory.

The aim is to eliminate the enemy force or force it to retreat. The

winner keeps the territory where the battle is fought.





Battle play:

------------



1. Choose the unit which is to move or fire:

Player 1: ........ press RUN/STOP,

Player 2: ........ press F5.

[Spectrum: press the SELECT key]

The selected unit is represented by its symbol. It is displayed at

top left screen for the Union player and top right screen for the

Confederate player.



2. Moving the unit

Use the directions provided by Keyboard or joystick to move your

units.

- Artillery moves only UP or DOWN.

- Cavalry begins facing the enemy, either RIGHT or LEFT. Backward

movement is impossible for horses; the most they can do is stay

where they are.

- Infantry can move in any directon.



3. Firing and Charging

- Artillery 1 player : Press Fire or Space bar.

2 players Fire button.

Keep the Space bar or Fire button pressed; a gauge will display

at the top of the screen. The fuller the gauge, the greater the

range. When the gauge reaches the bottom, you reach the end of

the enemy screen.

To fire, release the Space bar or Fire button, The cannon balls

will land at a distance corresponding to the gauge level.



NOTE : The cannons possess only 9 cannon balls. When the

artillery has exhausted its ammunition, it will automatically

leave the field of battie.



- Cavalry: The same principie applies to commands. The first

FIRE-press positions the charge, facing the enemy.

Further FIRE pressing is used for sabre-slashing the enemy

troops. When the Cavalry reaches the opposite screen edge, it

will go round the battle field and return to its original

position, assuming of course that there are survivors!

Changing formation: To switch Cavalrymen to normal or to

single-file formation, direct them once in the opposite direction

to the direction of their charge (RIGHT or LEFT). This particular

manoeuvre is vital for crossing bridges and canyons!



- Infantry: The same command principle applies. The first press

places the footsoldiers into firing position. Further pressing

will make the firers shoot straight ahead. Changing formation:

To return to the original formation, just direct them once in

the direction opposite to their marching direction (LEFT or

RIGHT). lf you continue taking that direction, the formation will

move back.





SURROUNDING THE ENEMY

=====================



To capture a territory without fighting a battle, you can encircle it.

When enemy territories with no armies stationed in them are encircled

by several of your armies, those territories change sides.

You cannot 'surround' a territory which has a town.





GENTLEMEN, DRAW SABRES!



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End of the Project 64 etext of the (North South) manual.



*********