War Diary is a real-time strategy game based on actual events that took place in the 16th century. Towards the end of the 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, through conquest, united Japan for the first time. A brilliant strategist, his appetite for power was not satisfied with this achievement. He set his sites on something bigger.... Hideyoshi requested that Korea allow passage of his troops on their way to invade China. Korea refused, and in 1592 Hideyoshi landed between 150,000 and 200,000 troops on Korean shores. The Japanese possessed a weapon the Koreans had not encountered before -Guns. Using matchlock guns that had been copied from the Portuguese in 1542, the Japanese advanced quickly, seizing the capital, Seoul, within two weeks. It is into this scenario that you are thrown in War Diary. As a Korean General, you must crush this invading army in a series of campaigns that will challenge your mind and make your heart beat that little bit faster... |
More details on the history behind War Diary |
HOW TO PLAY
At the Main Menu: Start
Game -starts a new game
In the full version, when you click on "Opening"
|
The demo consists of two fully playable levels.
Stage 1 (of your campaign) Your homeland is under attack. The enemy have landed in the south of the country at Pusan Bay. There, they captured Dongrae castle, butchering most of the inhabitants. They are now headed for the strategically important castle of Saejae. It is your job to gather the royal forces in the area and secure the castle. This level is fairly easy and is intended for you to get used to the controls etc. for the game. |
The Screen is divided into several areas: |
In the lower left: |
Map of the entire level.
Unexplored areas are black. Your troops are in light green, your buildings a darker green. The enemy's troops (when visible) are red and their structures, pink. |
In the lower middle: |
Status
Indicator
Shows health of person or building currently selected on the main screen. Also shows level of experience of character (1 to 4). |
Options
Available options for that person or structure. |
In the lower right : |
Clock
Indicates the time of day or night. Enemy troops and positions are not visible at night, except when your men are near them (or a priest uses a magical power called Night Vision -only available in the full version) |
Weather
Vane
Shows the direction the wind is blowing in |
Very Top of Screen:
Resources
|
Main Screen:
Here is where all the action takes place. You till the soil, harvest your crops, fell the trees, smelt the iron, construct your buidings, make your weapons, create characters, fight the enemy and more! |
Screen Mode: To get a wide view main screen just hit the "Tab" key. Once in the wide view screen you can call up the map by hitting the space bar. |
Scrolling: The screen scrolls as you move the mouse or use the arrow keys on your keyboard. |
Game Menu: Press the "F10" key to bring up the Game
Menu.
Save
Save a game
|
Calling up the Game Menu will also Pause the game. |
Resources: |
Money
Needless to say, this is an essential resource. You need it for creating buildings, ships, troops etc. Food, Iron and Trees can be sold to raise money. |
Food
Each day, depending on the number of troops, peasants etc. you have, a certain amount of food is consumed. You can obtain more food by either buying it or harvesting it. A peasant can harvest food only from farmland. When it is first harvested, the farmland has a value of 100 (i.e. it produces a hundred units of food for each crop that the peasant carries back to the main hall). When crops are grown continuously, this value decreases (for each journey, the peasant carries back less and less food). Letting the farmland lie fallow will restore the value to 100. |
Trees
Required for building and certain weapons such as bows and arrows. Peasants fell trees and bring them back to the main hall. |
Iron
Required for building and certain weapons such as swords and cannons. Peasants working as Blacksmiths produce Iron. |
Buildings:
Main Hall This is the hub of your base. Here, you trade, importing or exporting raw materials, and construct buildings. Trading: Click on the Main Hall. There are three options available just to the right of the Status Indicator. The top right has a money symbol (looks like a doughnut with a square hole in the middle). By clicking on this, you are taken to the Trading Post screen. At the Trading Post: Offering Price -the price offered for your raw materials. The more often you sell your resources, the lower the price will be each time you return to the Trading Post. Supply and Demand. Holding on to the resource for some time maximizes it's price. Buying Price -the price at which you can purchase a resource. Always higher than the Offering Price. To trade, simply click on the red (for selling)or blue (for buying) arrows. Click "OK" for each time you want to complete a transaction. When you are finished trading, click on the Red stop symbol in the lower right corner. Building: The other icons to the right of the Status Indicator are for construction of buildings. Different types of buildings are associated with each button. In the first level a Barracks, an Arms Works and a Guard Tower can be constructed. In the second level, a blacksmith's and a shipyard can also be built. In the full version there is a much wider range of buildings with everything from a Temple to a Stables. To construct a building, just click on the building button, choose a building, and if you have sufficient money, trees and iron, it will be built in the Main Hall (the cost of each building is shown as you move the cursor over each icon). When the building is finished, click on the Main Hall. A green box appears and with your mouse you can move the box to where you want the building to appear. If the box turns red or partly red, you cannot place the building there. Make sure that you don't block any routes for peasants or access to other buildings. |
Barracks
This is where you create your troops and peasants. There are three options -peasant, fighter and arm. Peasant:
Fighter:
Arm:
On most levels, you are given a small stock of arms for your troops. However, these soon run out and you will have to create more in an Arms works. |
Arms Works
Here you create the weapons for your army. Only two types of swords and arrows are available in the demo. Click on either the sword or arrow icon to produce either one. The more powerful the weapon, the greater it's cost in terms of money and resources used in it's construction. Weapons get worn down with use. A sword may have to be replaced or an archer may run out of arrows. When this happens a flashing red arrow will appear beside the soldier whose weapon needs to be replaced. |
Guard
Tower
Shoots arrows at invading enemy troops. |
Blacksmith's
When manned by a peasant produces Iron. |
Shipyard
In level two of the demo, this can produce a Transport raft. Transport raft: Used for transporting troops. Can also be used as a Pontoon bridge. Wind direction effects how quickly it can move. In the full version, the shipyard also builds Battleships. |
Characters:
Characters and some structures such as Guard Towers and Battleships have different levels of experience. These range from 1 to 4, with 4 being the least experienced and 1, the most experienced. Those with little experience (e.g. a soldier fresh from the barracks) need the most guidance. In a battle, they're actions often need to be directed. Those with more experience can take care of themselves. All characters have three icons associated with them: A "run" icon (picture of a running man) A "stop" icon (picture of a man with a walking stick) An "action" icon. The action icon, in the case of a footman is a sword (for attacking), an archer -a bow and arrow (for attacking), and for a peasant some farming tools (for harvesting etc.). After clicking on a character, you can order him to move to, or attack, a specific location by clicking on the icon and then clicking on the location on the main screen or on the map. You might also notice a small question mark below the status indicator. This is for equipping the character with such items as a shield, ginseng for health etc. These items are only available in the full version. When a character runs out of arrows or his sword is worn down etc., a flashing red arrow will appear beside him. You can re-equip him by clicking on his weapon icon (now changed to a large question mark). |
Peasant
Harvests crops on farmland, cuts down trees, smelts Iron in Blacksmiths. |
Footman
Equipped with sword. Has strong stamina and fighting power. |
Archer
Equipped with bow and arrow. Weak stamina and fighting power. However, can inflict damage on the enemy from a greater distance than Footman. |
Gunner
Mans a powerful Cannon. Slow moving. Exploding cannonballs can injure your own troops who may be near the enemy. (Full version only) |
Priest
Weak fighting power, but has a wide range of magical powers including shooting balls of fire, powers of healing and summoning Lightning. (Full version only) |
Knight
Mounted on horse and equipped with a sword. Strong stamina and fighting power. Moves quickly. Cannot be created until Stables are constructed. (Full version only) |
Specter
Summoned only at night by a Priest. Attacks the enemy with a sword. Daylight destroys him. (Full version only) |
Stage 2
The capital, Hanyang is in grave danger. The King has dispatched his son, Prince Imhae, to Kangwa island to try to block the enemy's advance. Unfortunately, the enemy has already arrived and the Prince and his troops are in grave danger. You must command a relief force that will find the Prince and return him to his father. Additional buildings available on this level: Shipyard (can build Transport rafts)
We hope you enjoy the demo! |
Order the FULL version today:
Nearly 150 Megs of 3D animation! |
New buildings include: |
Temples
-produce Priests and all their magical powers, including summoning lightning, shooting balls of flame, healing, summoning specters, night vision, being able to see traps, changing the direction of the wind, and stopping or starting rain. |
Tool
Works
-produce Ginseng for health, daggers and shields, for extra protection for your troops and peasants. Also produce boots that allow your men to move much more quickly. |
Heavy
Arms Works
-produce Gunners for manning your Cannons, Ballistas for shooting super arrows. |
Stables
-produce horses and knights. |
Traps
-Blows up when stepped upon. Visible to your forces, but invisible to the enemy. |
Guard
Tower
-can be upgraded with Cannons! |
Main
Hall
-can be armor plated for extra protection. |
New characters include:
Priests, Gunners, Knights, Specters |
New weapons include:
New swords (six altogether) New types arrows (six including crossbows) Cannons -up to six different kinds! Ballista (machine that shoots arrows at a very rapid rate) Three different kinds of super arrows (for the Ballista) Battleships! (the Turtle ships of Admiral Yi -see history page) |
And most importantly, new challenging levels for you to fight the enemy over! |
All of this, just barely crammed onto a CD-Rom.
How much are we going to charge you for all of this? $60? $45? No. Just $19.95! If you have any questions about War Diary, please contact us via email at: or by phone at: +1 203 776 8608 Visit The Game Factory on the World Wide Web |
Copyright © The Game Factory 1996. All rights reserved.