Contents

Introduction

Installation and Loading

Where Do I Start?

Game Interface

Game Time

Game Setup

Options

Game Overview

Tutorial

Player Cultures

The City View

Cities

Building a City

City View Interface

City View Panel

The Populace

Food Gathering

Resources and Production

Researching

The Production Menu

Buildings

Academy

Warehouse

City Hall

The Scrolling Map View

The Scrolling Map

The Button Panel

The Scrolling Map Panel

Action Buttons

Armies

Army Food Supply

Unit Types

Terrain Effects

Combat and City Conquest

The World Map View

Building Your Empire

Diplomacy

Research

Philosophers

Strategy_Tips

Appendix

Multiplayer Network and Modem Games

Buildings and Units Appendix

Designer's Notes

Technical Tips

Technical Support

For Help on Help, Press F1


Introduction

The Greek army is poised for attack. Ten thousand spearheads flash in the desert sun. The cavalry hooves stamp restlessly. The grim-faced soldiers at the catapult ready the lumbering weapon for assault. The army's orders: capture Babylon, the jewel of the Persian empire.

Persian soldiers stand in formation outside the city gate. They number 2,000 at most. Has the city been caught off guard? Or does its true defense lie behind its walls?

The horn blasts. The Greeks charge.

"The Greek army has taken Babylon! The Greek army has taken Babylon!" The messenger's shouts shatter the silence of the temple high on the Acropolis of Athens hundreds of miles away from the battlefield. The Greek emperor turns away from his offering to the gods.

"At last, Babylon is mine. The defeat of Persia is at hand!"

 He gazes down at the thriving city below. Chaotic activity is visible under the colorful marketplace tents. A crude rhythm from the workshop echoes off the city walls. Beyond the walls lies the sea, dotted with trade ships bound for the far corners of the Greek empire.

The emperor started out as the ruler of a small nomadic tribe. He built his sprawling empire up from a tiny patch of land near the shores of the Mediterranean. His cities survived invasions of barbaric tribes. His army fought off attacks by rival empires from northern Europe to China. These successes emboldened the emperor. One day he set out to conquer Egypt. The great pyramids now belonged to him.

Conquest of the Persian empire is imminent. Still, doubt clouds his mind. Do the Persians have a devastating new weapon? Are its cities so glorious that the Greek people will beg the Persian emperor to bring them under his rule? Such worries are, in the end, no match for the emperor's thirst for conquest.

"Dispatch 10,000 reinforcements to Babylon," he orders the messenger. "And tell the army not to rest until it has taken every last city in Persia."


Installation and Loading

The installation program for The Rise and Rule of Ancient Empires will automatically copy a portion of the game to your hard drive. The installed portion will then access information from the game CD as needed, so you must have the CD in your CD-ROM drive while you play. The game can be installed from either Windows 3.1 or Windows 95.

Windows 3.1 Installation

1. Insert the Rise and Rule disc into your CD-ROM drive.

2. Start Windows, if it is not already running.

3. Click on File and select Run.

4. On the command line, type the letter of your CD-ROM drive, followed by :\SETUP. For example, if the letter of your CD-ROM drive is D, you would type D:\SETUP and then press the Enter key.

5. Follow the on-screen installation instructions. The Sierra installation program will test your system to make sure you have everything needed to run Rise and Rule, then create the directory SIERRA\Ancient, install the game files, and create a program group and game icon.

6. After the game is installed, you will have the chance to read the "Readme.txt" file. This file will provide you with information on changes and additions made to the game after this document went to press.

7. To play Rise and Rule, double-click on the game icon.

Windows 95 Installation

1. Insert the Rise and Rule disc into your CD-ROM drive. An Autoplay box will appear on your Windows Desktop. Select the option to install and follow the on-screen instructions.

2. To play, insert the Rise and Rule compact disc into your CD-ROM drive and click on the Run button.


Where Do I Start?

A good way to begin playing The Rise and Rule of Ancient Empires is to follow the tutorial included in this on-line manual. The tutorial begins with the game setup and guides you through the first steps of the game. It also discusses features of the three different screen views--the city view, the scrolling map view, and the world view--in which the game takes place.

This game has extensive balloon help. When you position your mouse pointer over just about any item onscreen--buildings, armies, action buttons, information displays etc.--a balloon appears that briefly explains that item and/or its function. For example, if you point to the market in one of your cities, a balloon appears that says "MARKET" It is followed by another balloon that says "helps: trade" and "unit: merchant."

The on-line manual will also familiarize you with many aspects of the game. To access help from the on-line manual, click on the Help menu at the top of the screen and choose the appropriate option. In addition, messages appear onscreen at certain points in the game that discuss key actions and events as they occur and offer advice on subsequent moves.

Also helpful in getting started is the Quick Reference Card included in the game package. The card shows the layout of the three game views and labels the icons that appear in each view.

The tutorial, the balloon and on-line help, and the Quick Reference Card should give you a good understanding of how the game works. You can then read the rest of the manual to learn more about the game's features, or just refer to those sections that deal with parts of the game you find most interesting or confusing.


Game Interface

A mouse is required to play The Rise and Rule of Ancient Empires. When the manual and on-line help instructions tell you to "click on" or "select" something, you should click on it using the left button of the mouse unless specifically instructed to use the right button.

Most of the game's functions are accessed via mouse-activated buttons. These buttons are labeled with icons representing their functions. "Hotspots" are areas on the screen that call up information when clicked on. For instance, when you click on a city or army on the scrolling map, information about that item appears in the panel at the bottom of the screen.


Game Time

The Rise and Rule of Ancient Empires is a turn-based game, meaning that one player moves all his game resources and ends his turn, the next player moves all his and ends his turn, and so on. During a turn, your armies can move only a certain distance on the scrolling map, and the amount of production in your cities is limited. The "end turn" button is located on the bottom of the button column on the right-hand side of the screen. It indicates which player's turn is active.


Game Setup

Before you double-click on the game icon to load the game, double-click on the readme.txt file to find out about any changes made to the game after this document went to press.

When you load the game, an animated introduction sequence runs. (If you wish to skip the introduction, click anywhere on the screen or press any key on the keyboard.) Afterward, a window with the game title and four buttons appears.

Clicking on the New button opens the game setup window, which is discussed below.

Clicking on the Load button loads a saved game. After you click on the button, the File Open window appears. Choose the file name of your saved game and click OK. Your game appears on the screen.

Clicking on the Multiplayer button lets you set up a network or modem game with up to four players on different machines. This option is only available to Windows 95 users. Consult the Readme.txt file and the Appendix for more information on the multiplayer mode.

Clicking on the Exit button closes the program.

The Game Setup Window

After you click on the New button, the game setup window appears. At the top of the window are five buttons. The left-most button loads a saved game. When you click on it, the File Open window appears. Double-click on the file name of your saved game, and the setup for that game appears. You may make changes to the setup if you wish, changing the number of players or which players are controlled by the computer. Once you're satisfied with the setup, click on Accept, and your saved game appears on the screen.

The next three buttons have icons that represent, respectively, two, three, and four players. Click on the button that shows the number of players you have. If you are playing solo, choose the button showing the number of players you want the computer to pit you against. The computer will perform these players' turns.

Clicking on the right-most button opens up the map generator window. Random game-map generation offers infinite play variety. The map generator window includes options for a small, a medium, or a large map. There are also options for saving a map and loading a saved map. In the map generator window, you watch as the world in which your game will take place is formed by the computer. If you don't choose to generate a map, you can load a previous one, or default to the last map used by the game.

The boxes in the center of the game setup window show the player setup. One of the six different game characters--each representing a different culture--is shown in the left of each box, with his or her name at the bottom of the box. The characters are Homer the Greek, Nefertiri the Egyptian, Chuang Cho the Chinese, Leif the Celt, Akkad the Persian, and Chandra the Indian. Your character is shown in the upper left-hand box.

When you click on a character in the game setup window, a display showing all the characters in the game appears. Balloon help names each character.You may click on whomever you wish to play as, or select the "?" to let the computer choose for you. That character will appear in your box. If there are other players, they must also choose a character (each player must choose a different one). If you are playing solo, choose which characters you want as your opponents. You may change the name of a character by highlighting his or her name and typing a new one in its place.

To the right of the game character in each box is an icon showing the type of player--either human, computer, or, for network or modem games, remote (Windows 95 only). Clicking on the icon brings up a display of the available types of players. Click on the appropriate icon, and it appears in the box.

If you are satisfied with the game setup, click on the Accept button to open the game. If you want to quit the program, click on the Exit button.


Options

When the scrolling map view appears, you can click on the Game menu in the menu bar at the top of the screen to view several game options. Click on these options to turn them on or off. When an option is on, a checkmark appears next to it. Options include Sound, Music, Autopilot, Auto End Turn, and Random Events. Autopilot, when turned on, instructs the computer to execute your turns for you. This can be useful if you need a quick break during a multiplayer game. It is also a useful tool for novices who, after starting their first game, wish to get an idea of what a game looks like as it progresses. Auto End Turn, when turned on, automatically activates the "end turn" button when a player has moved all his game resources.

Turning off the Random Events option stops such events from occurring in the game. Random events include, among other things, earthquakes, brush fires, animal attacks, avalanches, rough seas, and barbarian attacks. (Barbarians are more powerful than similar units in the game, and they get stronger and stronger as the game goes on.) When a random event has occurred, the city or army that it has affected is highlighted on the map. Click on the city or army to bring up balloon help describing the nature of the event.


Game Overview

The Rise and Rule of Ancient Empires begins at the dawn of history. You are the leader of a small band of settlers on an insignificant patch of land. You are literally surrounded by darkness; the map is obscured because you have not yet explored it. Your goal is to extend your patch of land into an empire and, eventually, conquer the entire world.

Your first task is to build a city. Your empire will be made up of a number of cities, which are the centers of production, trade, and research. Once you have built your city, you must start producing armies to explore the hidden map.

You spend much of the early stage of the game exploring, establishing cities, defending them, and doing research. Research allows you to enlarge and improve your cities. This in turn allows you to produce improved military units and special units such as merchants and philosophers, which are helpful to empire building. The greater your cities, the better the units they can produce. When you encounter other players, you may exercise diplomacy. You must decide the stance you will take toward your neighbors: warfare, alliance, or indifference.

Eventually, you'll connect your cities with routes for trade and the exchange of knowledge. With proper management, your cities should reach a point at which they require little or no further attention. At this stage in the game, a balance of power is generally established between you and your opponents. Here you must seek an edge--in production, research, economics, or diplomacy--and exploit it to dominate your opponents.

 If you manage to bring all of your opponents' cities under your control, you have conquered their empires and won the game. On the other hand, if all your cities are conquered and your armies destroyed, that's the end of your empire. Fortunately, there will be others to build!


Tutorial

This tutorial teaches you how to set up a game and guides you through the basics of play. It also familiarizes you with the three different views in which the game takes place: the scrolling map view, the city view, and the world view. You may find it helpful to use the Quick Reference Card included in the game package in conjunction with the tutorial. Since this is only a basic tutorial, there are many aspects of the game which are not covered here. To learn more about the game, consult the rest of the manual.

When this tutorial instructs you to "click on" or "select" something, you should click on it using the left button of your mouse unless specifically instructed to use the right button.

*Note: Most of the items you see on the screen have balloon help. When you roll your pointer over one of these items, a balloon with text appears explaining what that item is and/or what it does. Whenever you enter a new game view, it is helpful to familiarize yourself with the various items in the view by using balloon help.

Set Up Your Game

After you install and load the game, an animated introduction runs. When it is finished, a window with the game title and four buttons appears. Click on the button labeled New.

The game setup window appears next. At the top center of the window are three buttons showing the different numbers of players that can be in a game--two, three, or four. Click on the button showing three players. This means you'll have two opponents, whose turns will be performed by the computer.

Notice the three player setup boxes. Click on the game character shown in the upper-left-hand box. A display showing the six game characters--each representing a different culture--appears. Click on the one you wish to play as. He or she will appear in the box, with his or her name shown below. In the two other boxes, choose the characters you want as your opponents (choose a different character for each opponent).

Go back to your box. There should be a "face" icon next to your game character, indicating that you are a human player. Click on the icon. Another display appears, with icons showing the available types of players: human, computer, and remote. Click on the face icon, and it remains in your box. Go to the other two boxes, and make sure that the "computer" icon appears next to the game characters of your two computer opponents. Now click on the Accept button at the bottom of the game setup window.

The Scrolling Map View

After you set up your game and click on Accept, the scrolling map view appears. Save your game by clicking on the File menu in the menu bar at the top of the screen, then selecting the Save As option. The File Save window appears. Type in a name for your game and either click on the Save button or press Enter on your keyboard. Your game is now saved.

The scrolling map is where the game's action takes place. On the map, all you see initially is a settler unit on a small patch of land. The rest of the world is blacked out.

As you explore more of the world, the map is revealed. To view different areas of the game world, move the pointer over to one side of the screen. The pointer becomes an arrow, and balloon help tells you to "press right mouse button to scroll." Hold down the right mouse button and the scrolling map scrolls over the game world in the direction the arrow is pointing. When you have uncovered more of the map, scrolling helps you view the areas of the game world that lie outside the scrolling map view.

Using balloon help, find the "next army" button on the panel of buttons at the right of the screen (this panel is common to all game views). When you have a number of armies on the scrolling map, this button allows you to move from one army to the next. When you have multiple cities on the scrolling map, you may use a similar button--the "next city" button--to move from city to city.

Look at the display panel at the bottom of the screen. It contains information pertaining to whichever army or city is selected on the map. The left-most display contains action buttons that perform various functions. The "explore" button is discussed later in this tutorial. The right displays contain information about your settler unit. (All units--military and non-military--are also referred to as armies. Units exist only in cities or armies. Armies can be made up of one or more units.)

The right-most display contains icons representing each unit in your army. Since there is presently only one unit in your army, there is only one icon in the display: the little cart represents the unit's type (settler); the background of the icon shows the type of terrain the unit has affinity for. A unit has affinity for the type of terrain on which it was produced. For example, if a unit was produced in a city situated on desert terrain, the background of its icon will look like desert. Units perform best on the terrain they have affinity for.

The other display contains icons representing your army's overall type, overall terrain affinity, food supply, and levels of health, morale, and quality. Since your army consists of just one settler unit, the icon representing the army's type looks like a settler. In another scenario, if most units in an army are light infantry units, the icon representing the army's type will look like a light infantry soldier. Likewise, if most of the units in an army have affinity for desert terrain, the icon representing the army's terrain affinity will look like desert. Food supply is indicated by either a full plate (enough food) or an empty plate with a red background (not enough food). Health, morale, and quality are represented by red crosses, blue hearts, and yellow lightning bolts, respectively. (You currently see no lightning bolts, since quality starts out at zero.)

To the left of the scrolling map panel is a radar map with a small view of the entire game world. A rectangle on the radar map represents the area of the world that is centered and magnified in the scrolling map view. When the scrolling map moves over the game world, the rectangle on the radar map moves correspondingly.

Building a City

Your first task in this tutorial is to build a city. Select your settler army (only settlers can build cities). A waving flag, or standard, next to an army indicates that it is selected. Now click on the "Found a settlement" button. A window appears telling you to "Enter name of city." Type in any name and press Enter on your keyboard. The city view appears, with the name in the top left corner of the screen.

The city view features a panoramic display of your city. The background landscape indicates the type of terrain your city occupies. Currently, only two buildings make up your city: the city hall and the academy. You have to build the rest. For every building in a city, two sets of help balloons appear--one that says what the building is and one that appears after a moment telling how the building benefits your city or empire. Clicking on a building brings up one or more displays with information pertaining to that building.

On the right side of the screen is the panel of buttons that is common to all game views. Find the "next city" button. When you have more than one city, you can click on the button to go from one city view to the next. To return to the scrolling map view to see what your city looks like there, click on the "display map" button. Your city is right where your settler unit used to be. The waving standard to the right of the city indicates that it is selected. Go back to the city view by clicking on the city.

Below the panoramic display is the city view panel. This is where you oversee food and resource gathering, production, and research. At the top of the panel is a slider bar that lets you adjust the allocation of workers to these four tasks. Icons for each task are positioned above a different colored section of the slider bar.

Above the slider bar is a row of "people" icons indicating the size of your city's populace. Your populace is currently very small. On either side of the row of populace icons are rows of symbols for health (red crosses) and morale (blue hearts). The rows behave like bar graphs, indicating when health and morale in the populace are improving or worsening.

Initially, you just want your city's population to increase. This will happen if you allocate most of your workers to food gathering. To do this, click on the left slider (the sliders are labeled with little "man" icons) and drag it all the way over to the right side of the bar. Now look at the food-gathering display, outlined in blue in the city view panel. A "food eaten" icon (a plate of food), and perhaps a "spoiled" icon (a bundle of wheat on a red background), will have appeared in the display. Move the slider back to the left a bit until the "spoiled" icon disappears.

You have done pretty much all you can at this point, so it's time to go to the next turn. To do this, click on the "end turn" button at the very bottom of the panel on the right side of the screen. The button shows your game character during your turn and the faces of your opponents during their turns. Notice how the food-gathering display has changed at the start of the new turn.

Production

Now you can start producing armies. The production menu display is outlined in green in the city view panel. The display shows the current item of production, the item's quality, and the progress of production. Click on the current item of production; it should be a light infantry unit. A menu appears that shows the other items you can produce, which right now include a settler unit, a market, and a workshop. Additional buildings appear in the menu once requisite levels of knowledge have been reached. In turn, new types of units appear when certain buildings are constructed.

Click on the light infantry unit icon to make it appear in the production menu. Your city immediately begins producing this item with the workers and resources available. Since all your workers are currently allocated to food gathering, you must adjust the slider bar settings.

Move the left slider to the left by clicking on it while moving your mouse to the left. Move it until the red "spoiled" icons disappear, leaving as many green "surplus food" icons as possible. One or more "book" icons should appear in the yellow-outlined research display, meaning you are now producing knowledge. Now move the middle slider left until one or more "hammer" icons on red backgrounds appear in the resource and production display, which is outlined in red. The hammer icons represent workers; the red background means that your workers need ore, or resources, to produce the item you selected. Move the right slider to the left until the green bar graph that indicates the progress of production is as long as possible. (You may also have to move the middle slider further left to allocate more workers to building the item.) When you do this, "rock" icons, representing resources, appear in the resource and production display. (A rock on a red background indicates that resources are being wasted.) Your city's production will then be at its best level.

Click on the end turn button. Notice that part of the horizontal bar has become purple. The purple portion indicates how much production has already been achieved on the item. The green portion indicates how much will be achieved during this turn. Keep clicking on the end turn button until you've produced a light infantry unit. The unit will appear to the left of the academy. When your city finishes producing a unit, it will automatically begin producing another of the same unless you change the item of production. Don't make any changes for now.

Note that when you have an army residing in your city, one or more icons representing food eaten by the army appear in the food-gathering display. This icon looks like a plate with a sword behind it. While a resident army has its benefits, a city has to work harder to keep the army fed. When an army is outside a city, it searches for food on its own. (See Army Food Supply.)

Exploring

Go to the scrolling map. The shield icon next to your city indicates that the city has a resident army. A highlight around a city or an army indicates that an event--such as an increase in population or a loss of troops--has occurred. Place your pointer over the city or army to call up balloon help that explains the event. Click on the city or army if you want to clear the highlight; otherwise, it will clear automatically when you end your turn.

Notice that the information in the scrolling map panel now pertains to your city, which is currently selected. Next to the action-button display are five other displays. The left-most of these displays shows the food supply, health, and morale of the city, as well as the city's affinity for its owner. The next display shows the type and food supply of the city's resident army. The next display has a bar graph showing the progress of research in the five areas of knowledge. (Research and knowledge are briefly discussed later in this tutorial.) The right-most display shows the current item of production, its progress, and its quality. The display at the bottom shows the size of the city's populace.

It's time to begin exploring the hidden map. Click on the display in the panel that shows the type and food supply of the resident army. The army appears on top of the city. Click on a spot just outside the city in any direction (except into water). The army moves to that spot. Keep moving the army by clicking on spots in the same direction. The map is revealed as the army moves across it.

You can also move an army by clicking on it, holding the mouse button down, and dragging the army over the map by moving the mouse. When you move the mouse, red arrows appear indicating the path the army will take. When you let go of the mouse button, the army moves along that path and the arrows disappear.

Armies can only move a certain distance during each turn. An army's movement allowance is indicated by a greenish-brown bar along the bottom of the scrolling map panel.

Return to the city view by clicking twice on your city. Now that the army has left your city, the food supply should be greater. Once again, keep clicking the end turn button until a second army appears in your city. Adjust the slider bar settings during these turns if you need to. When the second army appears, return to the scrolling map and move it in a direction different from the one your first army is moving in.

When your second army is finished moving, your first army will automatically become selected, indicating that it is ready for action. Click the "explore" button on the left side of the scrolling map panel. This button orders the army to explore the map automatically at the start of each turn.

Notice that when a new army is selected, information pertaining to it appears in the scrolling map panel. Now return to the city view. Produce one more light infantry unit. You're going to add this unit to one of your armies on the scrolling map. When the unit appears in the city, go to the scrolling map and click once outside the city in the direction of one of your armies. Now click on the unit and drag him right on top of the army. (If the receiving army is too far away, it may take another turn for the new unit to be able to join it.) Both units in the army are now represented on the map by one icon. Remember, the number and type of units in an army are indicated in the scrolling map panel.

The World Map View

Now that you have a city and two armies and have uncovered more of the hidden map, go to the world map view for a moment. Do this by clicking on the "display world map" button on the right button panel. The world map view is a full-screen view of the entire game world, which is also shown in the small window to the left of the scrolling map panel. Highlighted icons on the world map represent your cities and armies. Icons representing other players appear when their cities and armies are in the visible game area. You may go to the world map during other playersî turns to see where their armies are moving.

The world map view has a bottom panel like the one in the scrolling map view; it displays information on the currently selected army or city.

Return to the scrolling map view by clicking on the "display map" button. You may also return by double-clicking anywhere on the world map; the scrolling map will be centered on the spot where you clicked.

Research

During the present turn, move your two armies as far as they'll go. Before you complete the turn, go back to the city view. You want to focus on research now, so that additional buildings become available in your production menu. Change the slider bar setting so that workers are divided between research and gathering an adequate supply of food. When you do this, additional book icons appear in the research display. It doesn't matter what the current item of production is, since production and resource gathering have come to a virtual stop.

Click on the academy. The middle of the three displays that appear shows a bar graph indicating the progress of research in the five areas of knowledge. Though some progress has been made, more research will probably be needed before new items appear in the production menu. An announcement in the scrolling map view tells you when a new building or unit becomes available.

Meanwhile, keep moving your armies around on the scrolling map. Keep in mind that during their travels, armies can encounter perils such as natural disasters and attacks by your opponents' armies. You may have to interrupt research efforts in your city in order to produce more armies. Likewise, your city could fall victim to some unfavorable event. You may have to interrupt research to remedy the effects of the event. Part of playing the game is determining your own blend of how much research and production to do, and when to do them. Given limited resources, you must decide whether to produce a new unit for use now--or a building that may help you produce other units in subsequent turns.

Eventually, new items appear in your production menu. Click on one and it appears in the production menu display. The construction of different buildings allows you to produce different units. For example, if you build a barracks, you can then build a medium infantry. Remember to adjust the slider bar settings so that you have the builders and resources to produce the item.

Continuing the Game

You now know the basics of playing the game: building and managing cities, producing armies, exploring the hidden map, and doing research to improve your cities and armies. For information on the last basic aspect of the game--combat--see Combat and City Conquest. You may continue the current game in whatever direction you want. Pretty soon, though, you'll want to produce another settler unit and move it to a site on the map where you want to build your next city.

Once you have a few thriving cities, your quest for empire begins!


Player Cultures

A big part of this game lies in the differences between player cultures. What would it be like to encounter the cities of a mysterious far-off land for the first time? ... to see the differences and richness of culture through architecture, music and society?

Greek

The Greeks' love of logic formed much of Western culture, through the mathematical notions of the Pythagoreans and the intense realism of the Platonists. The Spartan Hoplites were steeped in an intense stoic martial tradition, and were respected and feared throughout the known world. Greek society flourished on a forested peninsula, surrounded by an intricate lattice of beautiful Mediterranean islets. The building styles are classical in nature, with vaulted roofs and elegant columnar structures.

In the game, Greek settlements start with general knowledge, because of their love of logic and mathematics, and martial knowledge, to reflect their great proficiency in warfare;  general knowledge is necessary for most of the buildings that aren't available at startup and helps with foraging for food in cities and armies. Martial knowledge gives enhanced troop quality and helps buildings of a martial nature, such as barracks and city walls. Their medium and heavy infantry are greater with defense and attack than the other cultures. The Greeks tend toward forest and coast to build their cities.

The Greek wonders of the world in the game are modeled after the legendary Colossus of Rhodes, and require a full measure of general, engineering and martial knowledge.

Egyptian

The Egyptians had intense spiritual beliefs, and awe-inspiring engineering capabilities, which created some of the most magnificent structures the world has ever known, including the Pyramids at Giza and the Great Sphinx. Their charioteers struck fear into the hearts of those later trampled beneath them, and their galleys wreaked terror for ages in and around the Southern Mediterranean. The Egyptian cities were set in the arid desert lands of North Africa, mostly in the Nile river valley, though the pharoahs' reach spread far and wide. Their flat roofed architecture reflects the arid climate in which they lived and their music resounds with the light tones of what has become known as the Middle East.

Egyptian cities start with some sage and engineering knowledge, to portray their intense spiritual belief structure and architectural abilities. Sage knowledge helps affinity and morale, as well as foraging. Engineering knowledge helps creation of functional buildings, such as the workshop and city walls.

The Egyptian wonders are pyramids, which require a full measure of general, sage and engineering knowledge.

Indian

India was the crossroads of the world, absorbing influence from both the East and West.

In some sciences, such as astronomy and mathematics, Indians under the Guptas were as advanced as their fellows in Greece and China. They had a very good calendar, and were among the first to adopt the Arabic numbering system, with digits for one through nine instead of Roman numerals. The Indians also were among the first to discover the zero.

Their architecture is intricate. Indian cities start with sage knowledge, indicating their intense spiritual nature. Sage knowledge helps with foraging and political structure.

The Indian people have strong light infantry.

Mesopotamian

Mesopotamia was the source of modern Western civilization, which burgeoned forth from the fertile crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Trade grew out of necessity, since the land, while fertile with grain, was poor in other ways. Cultivation allowed the Mesopotamian peoples to create enough food that not everyone had to work in the fields, giving some the time to develop culture and technology. The Babylonian political system was the first real organized political system. Phoenician merchant ships created the first trade empire in and around the Mediterranean.

Mesopotamian cities start with engineering knowledge, because of their understanding of mechanics. Engineering knowledge helps creation of functional buildings such as the workshop and the city walls, and allows the building of roads.

Mesopotamians in the game have strong light infantry and strong light galleys, because of their historical bent toward seaward travel.

The Mesopotamian wonders are Hanging Gardens, based on the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and require a full measure of sage, engineering and medical knowledge.

Chinese

Chinese culture stretches back five millennia. Contrary to Western beliefs, the Chinese independently developed most of the elements of civilization, including technologies of cultivation and writing. Their kings were warlords who led the fledgling nations into war against each other, and also priests who performed the rituals to keep the gods happy. Their artisans made ornate three-legged pots out of cast bronze, probably for religious use. Other craftspeople worked at silk-weaving, stone carving, and pottery.

Chinese cities start with some medical knowledge and some martial knowledge, indicating their understanding of the ways of both healing and the warrior spirit. Medical knowledge helps the health of your cities and armies, while martial knowledge helps troop quality as well as buildings of a martial nature, such as barracks or blacksmith.

The Chinese in this game have strong heavy cavalry troops.

Celtic

The Celts flourished throughout Northern Europe, raiding around and about the European continent. The mysteries of the Celtic tradition run throughout all European cultures, and they are included here less to honor an actual empire than to wonder what might have been had they built great cities and technologies. Their architecture heavily uses stone and thatch, and their temples are extremely subtle.

Celtic cities start with martial knowledge, indicating their intense combative spirit. This helps troop quality and buildings of a martial nature, such as barracks or blacksmith. The Celts have some of the strongest infantry in the game, and have strong light galleys. They tend to settle in forest, mountains or coast.

The Celtic Wonder is based on Stonehenge and the other standing stone monuments found in the British Isles and requires a full measure of sage, engineering and martial knowledge.

In game terms, the cultures that have two strengths in research will have a slight edge in building new units over cultures that have one. On the other hand, the cultures that have less of an advantage in research have stronger light troops.


Cities

An empire is made up of a number of cities, and its success depends on how well they are managed. In the early and middle stages of the game, cities require management and the establishment of certain types of buildings, such as workshops and temples, to produce key units and maintain the populace. They should eventually reach a point of self-sufficiency after which they require little or no further attention.

Cities are the centers of production, trade, and research. They include a populace and buildings and can include a resident army. Cities vary in size, from village to Great City, depending on their population and the number and nature of their buildings.


Building a City

Building a city is the first step in building an empire. It is also the first step in playing the game. At the start of each game, all you see is a settler unit standing on a small patch of land in the scrolling map view. Click on the "Found a settlement" button in the panel on the bottom of the screen. A window will appear telling you to enter the name of the new city. Type in any name and press the enter key. The city view replaces the scrolling map view. You can also enter the city view by double-clicking on any of your cities on the scrolling map.


City View Interface

The city view features a panoramic display of a selected city, with the city's name in the top left corner of the screen. New cities consist of just two buildings: an academy and a city hall. The background landscape indicates the type of terrain your city occupies. On the right side of the display is the panel of buttons common to all game views. The button with an arrow on top of a city icon is the "next city" button. Clicking on it will bring you to the next city view.

Below the panoramic display is the city view panel, where you oversee food and resource gathering, production (or building), and researching.


City View Panel

The city view panel is where you oversee food gathering, resource gathering and production (or building), and researching.

At the top of the panel is a slider bar that lets you adjust the allocation of workers to these four tasks. Icons for each task are positioned above a different colored section of the slider bar. Adjust the slider bar settings by clicking on the little "man" buttons and dragging them across the bar. Keep in mind that allocating more workers to one task leaves fewer workers for other tasks.

The slider bar settings determine the information that appears in the panel display for each task. Icons in the displays indicate the expected food and resource gathering, research, and production the city will achieve in the next turn.


The Populace

Above the slider bar in the city view panel, a row of icons represents the size of a city's populace. During each turn, a city's populace grows from births and shrinks from deaths in accordance with food supply, disease, warfare, etc.

On either side of the populace icons is a row of symbols. The red crosses represent health, the blue hearts represent morale. The rows behave like bar graphs, indicating when health and morale in the populace are improving or worsening. Health is affected by the availability of food and by contact with traveling armies, which might be carrying disease. Morale is affected by a number of things. These include famine, disease, attacks by enemy units, the number of troops residing in a given city (which harms morale but keeps the peace), trade, etc.

The populace of a given city has a certain level of affinity for each player. Affinity is affected by a number of things, including philosopher routes and merchant routes (trade) between a given city and cities of other civilizations; the creation of cultural buildings, such as temples and libraries, by the player who owns the city; and resident troops (which harms affinity for the player who owns the city). Clicking on the city hall brings up displays that show the city's affinity for you and other players.

When a city's morale and its affinity for the owning player become low enough, it can do one of two things: It can go renegade, and thus be affiliated with no player; or it can choose another player to lead it.

Going renegade requires that the populace outnumber the resident troops by a considerable margin. If this is the case, the populace can expel or kill all resident troops and break off merchant and philosopher ties to the owning player, but not other players. When a city goes renegade, it begins producing barbarian troops. Barbarians are more powerful than similar units in the game, and they get stronger and stronger as the game goes on. Barbarian attacks are among several random events that can occur during the game.

A number of things are required before a city can choose another player to lead it. These include contact with the chosen player's armies and above-average affinity for the chosen player.


Food Gathering

On the left side of the city view panel, the results of food gathering are displayed. Various icons, labeled by balloon help on your game screen, represent fresh food eaten, surplus food eaten, lack of food, food eaten by armies, food spoiled, food stored, food for export, food for import, etc.

Surplus food eaten tends to increase population. This is something to keep in mind when you build a new city. A growing population generates more workers, whom you can later assign to the other tasks.


Resources and Production

On the right side of the city view panel, the levels of resources and workers available for production are displayed. Without raw materials and the workers to refine them, your cities cannot produce buildings and units. Resources are represented by an icon that looks like a rock. Production is represented by an icon that looks like a hammer. A rock on a red background means that resources are being wasted; they're either not being used in production or not being stored. A hammer on a red background indicates that enough workers, but not enough resources, are available for production.


Researching

To the right of the food display in the city view panel, icons that look like books indicate the level of research. Research allows a city to produce buildings, building levels, and units not available at the start of the game. Research is divided between five different areas of knowledge: general, sage, engineering, medical, and martial. You can set the direction of research toward one area and away from another by using the academy slider bar.


The Production Menu

Next to the research display in the city view panel is the production menu display. The display shows the item currently being produced. The item's progress is indicated by a horizontal bar graph with two colors: the purple portion of the bar shows how much of the item has been produced so far; the green portion shows how much will be produced by the next turn. The display also contains a horizontal graph made up of lightning bolt symbols that represents the quality of the item. The quality of an item depends on various factors. The quality of a military unit, for example, depends in part on the level of the city's martial knowledge.

Clicking on the current item of production brings up a menu of all the buildings and units your city is currently capable of producing.

When you click on any item in the menu, the city begins producing that item using the settings of workers and resources available. Adjusting these settings on the slider bar in the city view panel affects the item's progress.

In new cities, the production menu includes only a light infantry unit, a settler unit, a market, and a workshop. Additional buildings appear in the menu when you have done enough research. Other types of units--such as merchants, philosophers, and advanced military units--appear when certain buildings have been built. Balloon help tells you which type or types of units each building allows you to produce.

(For more information on which buildings yield which units, consult the Buildings and Units Appendix.)

When the item is finished, the city begins producing another of the same item, unless a production maximum has been reached (if a building has reached its highest level, for example). In this case, you will be informed, and the production setting will default to the last item produced.

You can change the item of production while you're in the scrolling map view. When a city is selected, click on its item of production in the scrolling map panel. The production menu appears. When you click on an item, it will appear in the panel, and the city will begin producing it.

Also in the scrolling map view, you can give a city orders to send units upon completion to a certain point on the map. To do this, select a city, click on the action button that shows an arrow on top of a pair of walking legs, then click where on the map you want the units sent. The units produced by that city will automatically be sent (over successive turns if need be) to the place you selected. This feature is especially useful in the final stages of the game, when your cities have reached their maximum size and you are concentrating on sending units out to conquer opponents' cities.


Buildings

Buildings and building levels are created in the production menu. Buildings allow for up to three levels of expansion. After one level is built, the building reappears in the production menu once the requisite levels of knowledge have been reached through research.

When you position your pointer over a building or the site for a building, a help balloon appears telling you what that building is or what that site is for. After a moment, an additional balloon appears telling you how the building benefits your city or empire and what type or types of units you can produce when that building is constructed. For example, when you position your pointer over the market or the market site, help balloons say either "MARKET" or "Site for MARKET" and tell you that the market helps trade and enables you to produce merchants. (For more information on which buildings yield which units, consult the Buildings and Units Appendix.)

New cities consist of just two level-1 buildings: a city hall and an academy. Available for production in a new city are a market and a workshop. Other buildings require research of some kind to be built: a temple, a library, barracks, a warehouse, a blacksmith and a city wall.

Clicking on any building calls up one or more displays with information pertaining to that building. One display common to all buildings is the building level display. It appears on the right side of the screen toward the bottom.

The building level display shows the types of knowledge currently required to produce each level of the selected building. It contains three rows of icons--one row for each building level. At the far left of each row is the icon for the selected building. The other icons represent the five types of knowledge: general, sage, engineering, medical, and martial. A building icon that is greyed out indicates that that level of the building hasn't been constructed. A knowledge icon that is greyed out indicates that more of that type of knowledge is needed before construction can begin.

Three buildings with particular importance are the academy, the warehouse, and the city hall.


Academy

The academy is where research is carried out. This building (in addition to a certain level of research in each area of knowledge) enables you to produce philosophers. Clicking on the academy calls up two displays at the right of the city view screen in addition to the building level display. The display at the top of the screen contains a slider bar that lets you adjust the allocation of researchers to the five areas of knowledge. Icons for each area of knowledge are positioned above different colored sections of the slider bar. To adjust the settings on the slider bar, click on the little "man" buttons and drag them across the bar. Above the slider bar, a row of icons represents the portion of the city's population devoted to research.

Below the slider bar display is a panel with bar graphs indicating how much research has been accomplished in each area of knowledge.


Warehouse

The warehouse stores food and resources and is where you control imports and exports. The warehouse improves trade considerably. Merchants traveling to and from a city with a warehouse can, for instance, take food from the warehouse for export to another city or store imported food there.

When you click on the warehouse, a display appears at the top of the city view screen for each level you've built. Each display contains icons showing the amount of food and resources that are stored in that level of the warehouse. Each display also contains four buttons. These buttons, from left to right, allow you to store food, store resources, lock out exports, and lock out imports. The latter two buttons are useful for fine-tuning trade; when you set up routes for your merchants, they will automatically export goods from and import goods to a city unless you use the "lock out" buttons to stop these functions.


City Hall

The city hall is where you keep tabs on a city's affinity for you and for other players (or how your people rate you as a ruler and how much they like your rivals). Clicking on the city hall calls up one or more "ratings" windows with pictures of players' game characters. The window on the left side of the screen contains a bar graph showing how your subjects are faring under your rule. The bar is colored green, red, or yellow, indicating that they are happy, unhappy, or somewhere in between. Rows of icons indicate the reasons for their content or discontent during a given turn. For example, if your subjects are happy with you because they are well fed, icons representing "extra food eaten" appear. If the city has had contact with another player, a ratings window for that player also appears.


The Scrolling Map

Most of the game's action takes place on the scrolling map. This is where you build cities and roads, cultivate land, move your armies, and engage in combat. The scrolling map view is simply a closeup view of an area of the game world.

*Note: The term "armies" refers not just to military units but to all units, including philosophers, merchants, and settlers.

On the bottom left of the scrolling map view is a radar map containing a small view of the entire game world. A rectangle in the radar map outlines the section of the world centered and magnified in the scrolling map. As you uncover more and more of the hidden map, the radar map becomes essential for seeing the parts of the world that lie outside the scrolling map view.

To move the scrolling map over different areas of the game world, move the mouse pointer over to one side of the screen. (If you want the map to move to the left, roll the pointer to the left side of the screen.) The pointer icon becomes an arrow; hold the right button of the mouse down, and the scrolling map begins scrolling over the game world in the direction the arrow is pointing. Let go of the button when the map is centered on the area of the game world you wish to view. Alternatively, you may click once on the radar map to make the scrolling map jump to the point you indicated.

Cities and armies on the scrolling map may be highlighted. This indicates that an event--such as the production of a new unit or a loss of troops--has occurred. Hold your pointer over the highlighted city or army to call up balloon help that explains the event. Click on the item to make the highlight disappear.

Army Movement

There are various ways to move your armies around on the scrolling map. One way is to click on a destination point. If the point is within range, the selected army moves there. If the point is out of range, the army moves as far in the direction of the destination as possible. Another way is to click on an army and then drag it with the mouse as far as it will go. An army's movement allowance per turn is equal to that of the slowest unit in the army. For instance, if an army consists of both cavalry and light infantry units, it will move only at the speed of light infantry units. An army's movement allowance is indicated by a greenish-brown bar along the bottom of the scrolling map panel.

For information on other types of army movement, see Action Buttons.


The Button Panel

To the right of the scrolling map is a panel of buttons common to all game views. Each button is described by balloon help. At the top of the panel are up to three "select player" buttons, representing your opponents. There is also a "select all-player" button if you have more than one opponent. You use these buttons along with the "send message to selected player(s)" buttons for exchanging messages with other players. For more information on exchanging messages, see Diplomacy.

If you're playing against computer opponents, you cannot send messages to them until you have made contact with their armies or cities through combat, trade, etc. Until you make contact with a given player's civilization, his or her player button is greyed out. Human players, on the other hand, can always exchange messages.

Below the player buttons are additional buttons. Clicking on the "next army" button brings you to the next army if an army is selected. Likewise, the "next city" button takes you from city to city. Clicking on the "display map" button brings you to the scrolling map view if you are in the city view. Clicking on the "display world map" button brings you to the world map view--a full-screen display of the entire game world. The "end turn" button (your game character's face) is at the very bottom of the panel. Click on it to end your turn.


The Scrolling Map Panel

Below the scrolling map is the scrolling map panel. The left-most section of the panel contains action buttons that perform various functions. The other sections of the panel contain graphic displays pertaining to the currently selected city or army.

When an army is selected, there are two displays:

The display on the right contains icons representing each unit in the army. The icons show the units' type and terrain affinity.

The display on the left shows the army's overall type, overall terrain affinity, food supply, and levels of health, morale, and quality.

The icon representing the army's overall type looks like the predominant type of unit in the army. Likewise, the icon representing terrain affinity looks like the type of terrain that most of the army's units have affinity for. (For more information on armies, see Armies.)

When a city is selected, five displays, clockwise from left, show:

the city's food supply, health, and morale and its affinity for its owner;

the type and food supply of the city's resident army (if applicable);

a bar graph indicating the progress of research in the five areas of knowledge;

the building or unit currently being produced in the city and the item's progress and quality; and

the size of the city's populace.

To call up displays on the resident army of a selected city, click on the display that shows the army's type and food supply.


Action Buttons

The left part of the scrolling map panel contains action buttons that initiate various functions. A number of the buttons appear only when special units that can perform those functions are present in a selected army. For instance, the "found settlement" button appears only when a settler unit is present in the currently selected army.

"Send army"--To send a selected army to a certain destination on the scrolling map, click on the send army button, then click on the destination. Red arrows showing the path of the army from point to point briefly appear, and the army moves automatically to its destination (over successive turns if need be).

"Set patrol"--To set a selected army on a patrol route around a city, click on the set patrol button, then set up to five points on the route. Set the points by clicking on areas around the city. Each point you set is indicated by a blinking red "X marks the spot." If you set less than five points, you must click again on your starting point to set the route. The army moves along its route indefinitely unless it is removed from the route or encounters another player's army.

*Note: The above buttons are also active when a city is selected. Click on them if you want the city's newly completed units to be sent directly to a destination on the map or to be put directly on a patrol route.

"Explore"--To order a selected army to explore, click on the explore button. The army explores the map indefinitely unless you order it to stop or all its units die.

"Stop"--To stop or clear orders that you have given a selected army, click on the stop button.

"Fortify"--To give a selected army orders to station itself on a particular spot, click on the fortify button. This function increases the defense capability of the army. It is useful if, for instance, you have a city on the head of a peninsula; you can station armies at the foot of the peninsula to guard it against enemies.

"Build city"--Requires a settler unit. To build a city, place a settler unit, or an army containing a settler unit, on the spot where you want the city built. Click on the build city button. A window appears telling you to enter the name of the new city. Type in any name and press the enter key. When you do this, the city view replaces the scrolling map, showing the name of your city in the top left corner of the screen.

"Set route"--Requires a philosopher or merchant unit. To set a selected army on a route between two cities, click on the set route button, then click on the first city. Red arrows appear briefly, marking the army's path to the first city. Then click on the second city, and the arrows appear marking the army's path from the first city to the second city. The army will move back and forth between the cities automatically, sharing knowledge (philosophers) and transporting goods (merchants).

"Build road"--Requires an army containing a philosopher unit with a certain level of engineering knowledge. To build a road, move the army to the spot from which you want to start building the road, then click on the build road button. The army icon turns into a worker icon. Sections of the road are built during each turn.

"Cultivate land"--Requires an army containing a philosopher with sage knowledge. To cultivate land, move the army to the spot where you want land cultivated, then click on the cultivate land button. The army icon turns into a worker icon. Sections of land are cultivated during each turn; these sections are slightly darkened on the map.

The "explore," "send army," "set patrol," and "set route" buttons all allow deferred movement. Deferred movement is movement that is carried out automatically over successive turns. Deferred movement functions are especially useful toward the later stages of the game. They help make your empire self-sufficient while you concentrate on conquering your opponents' empires.


Armies

Armies may consist of one or more units and may include different types of units. For example, one army might consist of five cavalry units, a philosopher unit, and a settler unit; another army might consist of one merchant unit. The icon representing an army looks like the predominant unit type present in the army. Army icons also vary in size; a bigger icon indicates a bigger army.

To add units to an army, click on them and drag them onto the square of the target army. New icons appear in the right-hand side of the bottom panel to indicate the addition of those new units. To remove units from an army, select those units by clicking on the icons that represent them in the scrolling map panel. Click on a nearby destination square; the units move toward that square.

Keep an eye on the morale and health of your armies. Morale is affected by a number of things, including health, victory or defeat in battle, the status of the empire, recent losses to attacks, etc. Health is affected by food supply. Armies and cities both have morale and health. When you move units from an army into a city or another army, the morale and health of the units can affect the morale and health of the city or army, and vice versa. The overall quality of an army changes as units are added to or taken away from it.


Army Food Supply

Armies, like the people in your cities, need food to survive, and they always carry a supply of food with them. They get food from cities when they're stationed in cities and from foraging when they're outside of cities. In a city, the food that a resident army eats is represented by an icon in the city view panel that looks like a little plate with a sword.

In cities, armies sometimes take more food than the same number of people might. This is because the army must replenish its store of food.

Outside of cities, armies need to stay near food-rich areas, such as forest or water, to keep on eating. If units in an army have affinity for the terrain they're traveling in, they tend to gather more food than other units without the same affinity;  this does not mean they won't starve, only that they will survive longer.


Unit Types

All units are of a certain type and quality. A unit's type includes its attack and defense values (for military units) and its terrain affinity. Quality is a result of various factors, including the sophistication of the city that produced the unit and experience in battle.

The production of certain types of units depends on the creation of certain buildings in your cities. (See Buildings and Units Appendix.) Balloon help in the city view tells you what buildings and building levels allow what types of units.

Military units are customized according to culture. There are nine basic types:

Light infantry: basic foot soldiers

Medium infantry: basic foot soldiers with light armor and decent weapons

Heavy infantry: foot soldiers with heavy armor and decent weapons

Light cavalry: light mounted troops

Heavy cavalry: heavy mounted troops or chariots

Light missile: foot soldiers with ranged weapons, such as slings or bows

Heavy missile: large rock-throwing engines (i.e., catapults)

Light galley: naval craft capable of carrying land units

Heavy galley: naval craft capable of carrying more land units than light galley units can carry

An army with a galley unit can be moved onto water. If the craft cannot carry the whole army, it will leave a number of units behind on the shore. The easiest way to remove units from a galley is to click on the galley icon in the scrolling map panel and drag the craft away from the troops--instead of clicking on multiple units and moving them away from the craft.

There are three types of special units:

Philosopher: Philosophers aid in research, assist other units, and spread knowledge throughout the empire. Their multiple capabilities make them the most powerful units in the game. To produce them you need a level-1 academy and a certain amount of research in each area of knowledge.

Merchant: Merchants travel between cities on trade routes and initiate diplomatic relations. You need a level-1 market to produce them. (For more information on merchants, see Building Your Empire.)

Settler: Settlers build new cities.

When you begin a game, light infantry and settler units are the only types of units available. Other unit types are available after you build the appropriate buildings.


Terrain Effects

The combat performance and movement of a given unit are affected in different ways by different types of terrain. There are six types of terrain in the game: plain (grassland), rough (rockier than plain), forest, desert, mountains, and water.

Each terrain type has a certain movement cost, which limits the movement of a given unit. Movement is very limited in mountain terrain; it is the least limited in plain terrain. In the later stages of the game, roads greatly facilitate movement, particularly in mountain, desert, and forest terrain.

Each terrain type also has a danger value. The higher the danger value of the terrain, the greater the chance that a unit that finishes movement on that terrain will be wiped out by natural forces or accident. Desert, mountain, and water terrain have the highest danger values.

All units have affinity for their native terrain. For example, units produced in a city in the forest have affinity for forest terrain. When in their native terrain, units enjoy combat advantages, reduced movement cost and danger value, and a superior ability to find food.

The terrain affinity of an army is determined by the terrain affinity of the largest number of units in that army. For example, if most units in an army have affinity for forest terrain, the army overall will have affinity for forest terrain.


Combat and City Conquest

Combat in the game is highly abstract. To attack an opponent's army, click on one of your armies on the scrolling map and drag it right on top of your opponent's army. After you do this, you hear and see a brief puff of smoke indicating battle. A number of immediate outcomes are possible: your opponent's army will be destroyed; your army will be destroyed; both armies will be destroyed; or both armies will survive. When an army is destroyed, it simply disappears from the map. If an army survives the battle, it may have suffered the loss of some units.

You can click on enemy armies to see the number and type of units they consist of (this information is shown in the scrolling map panel). It is a good idea to do this before an attack.

You can also attack opponents' cities to try to conquer them. To do this, click on one of your armies and drag it into a city. Battle will ensue between your army and the city's populace. If the standard representing your civilization appears next to the city, the attack was successful, and the city now belongs to your empire. Conversely, your army may be destroyed by the city's populace. It is also possible to simply destroy a city.


The World Map View

To get to the world map view, click on the "display world map" button in the panel on the right side of the screen. The world map gives you a bird's eye view of the entire game world. The portion of the world you haven't yet explored is blacked out.You may go to the world map during other players' turns to see where their armies are moving.

Icons represent your cities and armies, as well as those of the other players in the visible game area. The icons for your cities and armies are highlighted. Clicking on one of your icons calls up information about that city or army. As in the scrolling map view, the information appears in the panel at the bottom of the screen.

Double-clicking anywhere on the world map will bring you back to the scrolling map view, centered on the spot where you clicked on the world map.


Building Your Empire

An empire is the result of both military conquest and cultural expansion. Part of empire-building is bringing the fruits of your civilization to the peoples you encounter. A flourishing culture, with grand architecture and sound infrastructure, can win over new subjects. You want to spread the idea that it is desirable to call oneself a citizen of a shining empire like yours.

Before there were great empires, there were great cities, like Athens and Thebes. Knowledge, and the advances it brings, was a key reason for these cities' greatness. The growth of knowledge is crucial to this game. Knowledge is acquired in a city by certain members of the population who engage in research. Eventually cities can produce learned people, called philosophers, who greatly increase knowledge both in cities and throughout empires.

Architecture is a city's most outward sign of advancement. You will want citizens and visitors alike to admire your large, efficient workshop, your well-appointed library, and your magnificent temple. Eventually, you'll want to construct a wonder: some sort of structure that will be renowned throughout the ancient world. A wonder is a representation of the sum total of your culture's achievement. Wonders appear as an option to be built when your empire is worthy.

Your cities must reach a certain level of sophistication and stability before you can begin really expanding your empire. This requires not only knowledge and impressive architecture, but skillful management. You must ensure that your citizens are content, your armies are effective, and your cities are growing. How you manage your cities will affect their affinity for you and your rivals. When your cities come into contact with other civilizations through trade, warfare, etc. they develop affinity for the rulers of those civilizations. If your cities are unhappy with you, they can choose another ruler they like better.

Building an empire is helped by infrastructure. Infrastructure spreads knowledge throughout your empire and the ways of your culture to other civilizations. In turn, it improves the quality of your cities and armies.

Philosopher routes comprise a major part of infrastructure in the game. These routes allow philosophers to travel back and forth between cities, teaching what they know and gaining more knowledge--much like the Sophists of ancient Greece did. When one of your cities produces a philosopher, you may, for example, set the philosopher on a route to a city that lacks knowledge. That city acquires knowledge much faster this way than it would through the basic research process. Networks of philosophers were to the ancient world what mass communication is to the modern world. Both increased the spread of knowledge, allowing civilization to advance considerably.

Other components of infrastructure are roads and cultivation. An empire needs roads to facilitate movement between its cities. It needs cultivation to ensure a stable food supply, particularly if the cities in the empire have large resident armies.

Merchant routes, for trade, can be an important part of infrastructure. Trade is not just a means of exchanging of goods; it also puts a city in contact with other civilizations. In the ancient world, civilizations in the Mediterranean, east Africa, Persia, China, and India intermingled by transporting goods to one another along the trade route known as the Silk Road.

In the game, trade increases a city's affinity for players whose cities are the source of goods. Sending a merchant to a foreign city is considered a sign of goodwill by the receiving emperor and his people. Merchants thus act as a means to encourage foreign cities to defect to your empire.

Merchant routes require, of course, the production of merchants. In addition, trade is considerably improved by the construction of a warehouse. Warehouses store food and resources and are where you control imports and exports.


Diplomacy

You are the ruler of a civilization. You engage in diplomacy with your counterparts. In the game, diplomacy involves direct communication between players by using the "select player" and "send message to selected player(s)" buttons in the panel on the right side of the screen in all game views. The "select player" buttons show faces representing your opponents. The "send message" buttons show icons representing the different types of messages you can send: war declaration, peace overture, offer of friendship/trade, and threat.

If you're playing against computer opponents, you cannot send messages to them until you have made contact with their armies or cities through combat, trade, etc. Until you make contact with a given player's civilization, his or her player button is greyed out. Human players, on the other hand, can always exchange messages.

Diplomacy is best explained by an example: You are playing the Greek ruler, and you want to threaten war to the Egyptian ruler. Right-click on any "send message" button. A message panel showing your game character appears. This panel is where you choose the nature of the message you want to send. On the bottom right of the panel are buttons showing the four types of messages. Click on the war button and press Enter on your keyboard. When you do this, the message panel disappears and the war button replaces the "send message" button you originally right-clicked on.

To send the message, click on the button showing the Egyptian ruler, and then click on the war button below. The Egyptian ruler's button pops back up and a fanfare sounds, confirming that your message was sent. The Egyptian ruler may reply; if she does, you hear a second, different fanfare, and the Egyptian ruler becomes highlighted. Right-click on her, and her response appears in a message panel that shows a picture of her. When you have read the message, click on the panel to get rid of it.

You may send a personalized message to a player. In the message panel that appears when you right-click on any "send message" button, delete any message currently in the panel and type in any message you wish at the blinking cursor. Press Enter on your keyboard and then click on the appropriate "select player" and "send message" buttons. Obviously, this feature works best when you're playing against human opponents.

Whenever another player sends you a message, his or her player button becomes highlighted and you hear a fanfare. Right-click on the highlighted button to receive the message; send a reply as instructed above.

Note that the computer players react to both your messages and your actions. Only send threats if you really mean them!


Research

You cannot build an empire, or a decent city for that matter, without knowledge. Knowledge requires research.

Research allows you to produce various types of buildings and building levels not available at the start of the game. When you construct new buildings and building levels, you can produce new types of units--most importantly, philosophers. Among other things, philosophers possess the knowledge required to build the roads that connect your cities and to cultivate the land that makes them self-sufficient.

You allocate a portion of a city's populace to research by using the slider bar in the city view panel. The more people working on research, the faster a city acquires knowledge. You also decide how to allocate research among five different areas of knowledge: general, sage, engineering, medical, and martial. The icons representing these areas are, respectively, a book, an eye, a hammer, a caduceus, and a sword.

Different buildings require certain levels of knowledge in multiple areas before you can build them. When you have reached the knowledge requirements for a given building, it will appear in the production menu in the city view panel. The academy bar graph in the city view shows the progress of research in each area of knowledge.

You may use the academy slider bar to shift a city's focus away from certain areas of knowledge and toward others. For example, if you want to improve the quality of the military units a city produces, you can direct research toward martial knowledge. Keep in mind that doing this will reduce research in other areas.

Each of your cities must perform its own research; the knowledge gained in one city is not automatically gained in others. You can transfer knowledge between cities, though, by setting up a network of philosophers who journey back and forth between cities carrying information of various types. For instance, you can set philosophers on a route from an established city to a new city. The philosophers will share what they know with the new city, helping it acquire knowledge faster than it would on its own.


Philosophers

The multiple capabilities of philosophers make them the most powerful units in the game. Philosophers assist other units and perform the crucial task of spreading knowledge among cities. This function, like trade, links your cities into an empire.

You may produce philosopher units after all five areas of research get to a certain level. When this point is reached, a philosopher icon appears in the production menu of the city view.

Philosophers have different types of knowledge that correspond with the five areas of research. A philosopher will have expertise in a certain area of knowledge if the city that produced that philosopher concentrates research on that area of knowledge. So, a city that focuses on medical research will produce philosophers with more medical knowledge than any other type of knowledge.

Philosophers with different areas of expertise allow various advances and improvements depending on where they're placed.

•	Philosophers with general expertise boost knowledge overall.

•	Philosophers with sage expertise improve the morale of cities and armies and allow cultivation when they reside in armies.

•	Philosophers with engineering expertise allow road-building when they reside in armies.

•	Philosophers with medical expertise improve the health of both cities and armies.

•	Philosophers with martial expertise improve the quality of armies.

You can set up routes for your philosophers to transport information between cities. For instance, if one city has expertise in engineering, you can set its philosophers on a route to another city that needs this expertise. The other city will eventually reach the first city's level of engineering expertise without having to assign further research to that area of knowledge. The more philosophers you set on a route, the faster the transfer of information.

You can also set philosophers on routes to enemy cities, but these routes are only for taking, not exchanging, knowledge.


Strategy Tips

In the opening game:

Build as many cities as you can support. Try to build a city in each terrain type--plain, rough, water, forest, desert, and mountain--so that you can produce units of every affinity.

Use armies of the right terrain affinity to explore the right areas--i.e., use armies with forest affinity to explore forest. Doing this gives your armies a much better chance of survival.

Build up research as quickly as possible. An ideal way to do this is to build five cities and focus research in each city to one area of knowledge. Then, produce philosophers and set them on intercity routes to spread the knowledge around.

Build the second level of each city hall. This maintains your city's food supply.

Building up general and sage knowledge helps with food gathering.

Building up medical knowledge improves the health of cities and armies.

In the rest of the game:

Spread knowledge to the farthest realms of your empire.

When you build a new city, send infantry units from older, established cities to add to the population. This helps news cities grow more quickly, and is the only way to found successful cities in hostile terrain.

Cultivate the areas around your cities; as soon as you can produce a philosopher unit, create a full-time cultivation army. Cultivation allows you to divert labor from food gathering into producing units or doing research.

Produce merchants and set them on routes with other players' cities. Trading with another player's city increases that city's affinity for you before you attempt to take it over. The more affinity the city has for you, the less resistance you'll encounter when you conquer it. This improves your chances of holding on to the city.

After you capture a city through combat, either disband some of your army by adding units to the city's population, or send your army on to other battles, leaving only a few troops behind. A large army stationed in a city makes the populace unhappy. In addition, overfeed your new subjects, and keep them in contact with the rest of your empire, through merchant and philosopher routes, to give them a feeling of belonging to your regime. Otherwise, they may just kill your army and reject you as their ruler.

Once your opponents' armies come into contact with your armies, they send additional armies out to explore the area where contact was made. Therefore, if you place troops on patrol to guard the borders of your empire, make sure you establish them far enough away from your cities, because you want to keep enemy armies at a distance.


Appendix

Multiplayer Network and Modem Games

Buildings and Units Appendix


Multiplayer Network and Modem Games

Simple steps to follow when creating a Multiplayer game:

NETWORK PLAY

(1) Ensure the proper network  drivers, if applicable, are correctly installed and loaded

(2) select the multi player option, and then Network Play

(3) If you are the MASTER computer select the CREATE option  to create the Multiplayer Game

(4) If you are one of the remote systems select the JOIN option and this will allow you to choose a multiplayer game

MODEM  PLAY

(1) Ensure the proper  modem drivers, if applicable, are correctly installed and loaded

(2) select the multi player option, and then Modem Play

(3) If you are the MASTER computer select the CREATE option  to create the Multiplayer Game. This will put the computer in the "wait for call" mode.

(4) If you are the remote system select the Join button, and this will allow you to dial  the master machines phone number.

Network Game:

The Rise and Rule of Ancient Empires supports up to four players per game on a network using the IPX protocol. Your network must support IPX protocol with the appropriate device drivers loaded to be able to play a game. If you are unsure if your computer meets these requirements, ask your network administrator for assistance.

Before starting a network game, the players need to decide who will be the master. The master will be the person who creates the network game which the other players will join. To begin a network game, choose the multi-player option from the starting menu. The next dialog will give you the option of playing a network or serial game, choose network game. At the next dialog the master will choose to create a new game, and will then be prompted to name the network game. Once the master has created a game, the other players should see the game appear in the listing. If the game does not appear, choose the refresh button, which will update the game listing. Once the name of the network game appears, select it with your mouse and then choose the join game option. Once all players have joined the game, the master must then choose to start the game.

Serial game:

Rise and Rule supports head-to-head play via a modem connection.

Before starting a serial game, the players need to decide who will be the master. The master will be the person who creates the game which the other player will join. The slave will be the player that calls to make the connection to the master's game. To begin a serial game, the players must choose the multi-player option. The next dialog will give you the option of choosing a network or serial game, choose serial game. At the next dialog the master will choose to create a new game, and will then be prompted to name the serial game. Once the master has done this, the slave must then choose serial game. The slave game will then give the option of dialing a number or creating a game, choose to dial a number. You will then be prompted to input the phone number you wish to dial, input the number of the master computer's modem and select the dial button. The slave game will then dial the master game, connect to the master modem and then allow the slave player to join the master game.

For further information regarding multiplayer games please refer to the readme.wri file on the root directory of  the CD-ROM.


Buildings and Units Appendix

Unit Types

The distinct cultures have different strengths and weaknesses in unit types. The random Barbarians are a non-player culture who occasionally will show up to cause you trouble.

Light Infantry: Throughout history, most males were expected to serve in the army. Light Infantry represents the great, unwashed masses of ancient times. Wearing little armor, and having only the most rudimentary training, these units are best used for exploration and defense. They are available for production at the start of the game.

These cultures have strong Light Infantry:

Indian

Mesopotamian

Random Barbarians (strongest in the game)

Medium Infantry : Those citizens that could afford armor and weapons of quality were formed into Medium Infantry. These units are the backbone of your armies, and are capable of performing any task you desire. To produce them, you need to build a first-level Barracks.

These cultures have strong Medium Infantry:

Greek

Random Barbarians

Heavy Infantry : Only the most wealthy of nations can afford to have Heavy Infantry units. Well armed and trained, these units are professional soldiers, often composed of the King/Queen's own Royal Guards. Few units can stand up to the attack strength of these behemoths. These units are best used en masse. To produce them, you need to build a third-level Barracks.

These cultures have strong Heavy  Infantry:

Greek

Random Barbarians

Light Cavalry : As only the wealthy could afford horses, a citys noble and merchant classes make up Light Cavalry units. The fastest units on land, light cavalry make superlative explorers and lend strength to any army. Some nations have Mounted Bowmen as Light Cavalry, making them deadly in defensive armies. To produce Light Cavalry units, you need to build a first-level Blacksmith.

These cultures have strong Light Cavalry:

Indian

Special Missile Cavalry:

Chinese

Random Barbarians

Heavy Cavalry : Only a city's elite nobles were allowed to form these units. Tough, fast and heavily armed, these units are the ultimate in striking power. In some cultures these units are chariots, in others elephants. But, all in all, these units are very difficult to stop. To produce them, you need to build a second-level Blacksmith.

These cultures have strong Heavy Cavalry:

Egypt

Chinese

Random Barbarians

Desert Raiders : Moving like the wind, appearing out of sandstorms to reek terrible vengeance on the unwary, these nomads serve your empire from the wastelands. Their ability to move quickly and thrive in the deserts makes them indispensable. Their carrying capacity exceeds normal Heavy Cavalry. These units are available in Desert Affinity cities for the Greek, Egyptian, Chinese, and Celtic cultures. To produce them, you need to build a third-level Blacksmith.

Elephants: These great behemoths of the jungle are the armored transport of the ancient world. Their attack, defense and carrying capacity is greater than standard Heavy Cavalry. These units are available in Forest Affinity cities for the Indian and Mesopotamian cultures. To produce elephants, you need to build a third-level Blacksmith.

Light Missile : Be it a rock, axe, javelin, arrow or crossbow bolt, these units have the ability to strike first in combat. When formed up with good ground units, these units will form the cornerstone of your nations armies. While weak on defense, missile troops add the bonus of attacking before non-missile troops. To produce them, you need to build a first-level Workshop.

Heavy Missile : Huge siege engines, capable of hurling Volkswagens over 1/2 a mile, these units are the ultimate in ranged weapons. Too slow to travel with most armies, they often are left behind in cities and called up to the front when their firepower is needed to take cities. Best transported by ship to the front, they will make mincemeat out of most defending armies. While weak on defense, Heavy Missile troops add the bonus of attacking before non-missile troops. To produce these units, you need to build a second-level Workshop.

These cultures have strong Heavy Missile:

Chinese

Light Galley : Used as trading vessels, troop transports and auxiliary warships, these ships plied the seas of ancient times. Used alone for exploration, or en masse with Missile troops as an offensive weapon, these small ships are indispensable to a thriving civilization. They can transport 2-3 land units across water. To produce them, you need to build a first-level Workshop.

These cultures have strong Light Galley:

Egypt

Mesopotamian

Celts

Heavy Galley : A large ship, with three banks of oarsmen and an armored prow for ramming, these vessels dominate the seas. Too expensive for exploration, these ships' only purpose is to fight. They can transport 4-5 land units across water. To produce them, you need to build a third-level Workshop.

These cultures have strong Heavy Galley:

Random Barbarians

Philosopher : Be they priests, magi, engineers, or monks, these wise men wander the world in search of knowledge. Used to spread enlightenment to your cities, these units also supervise armies in planning roads and irrigation. Cities welcome these units to their homes, and they help to improve your approval ratings at home and abroad. Be aware that this is NOT a military unit. To produce Philosophers, you must reach ten percent of research in all areas of knowledge.

Merchants : The backbone of a thriving empire, these are the people that run your economy. Use them to move food to starving cities, or to provide a city with the raw goods it needs to build its wonders. Merchants can be used to trade with other nations, and if the trading becomes lopsided, can even encourage the enemies' cities to defect to your cause. This is NOT a military unit. To produce Merchants, you need to build a level-one Market.

Settlers : Be they refugees, outcasts, or camp followers in search of greener pastures, these units are the seeds of all your cities. Their food-carrying capacity being much higher than that of most units, they can brave the deserts in search of fertile ground. This is NOT a military unit. Settler units are available for production at the start of the game. Unlike other units, they consume three of the icons representing your populace, instead of one.

CITY STRUCTURES

Town Hall : The heart of your city, it often employs the most advanced of your nations building techniques. This structure helps boost your Empire Rating and raises the Moral of your armies and cities.

Workshops : Vast buildings used to generate the goods your empire needs, Workshops raise your cities production capacity. As you improve this structure you will find that units are requiring less time to complete.  Different levels of this building allow the creation of missile troops and ships

Market : Vast tents and carts, festooned with colorful banners and awnings, the Market will allow your city to begin trading with other civilizations.  This building allows and encourages the merchant units.

Academy : Hallowed halls and cloistered laboratories, where the great minds of your nation enlighten the masses, the Academy will raise your Researching abilities to new heights, drastically reducing the amount of time required to Research new technologies.

Temple : Built of only the finest materials, set apart from the houses and shops on sacred lands, the Temple will improve your people's Moral, and will aid in your research of the Sage ability.

Library : Often found close to the academy, and serving as the guarding place of your most precious scrolls, the Library will increase your Research skills, and serves to improve your unit's Moral and your overall Empire rating.

Barracks : Squat, foreboding structures, often build to serve as small forts within the city, the Barrack are a  permanent structure used to train and house your professional armies. Barracks raise your Troops Quality ratings, and boost your Empire ratings.  Different levels of this structure allow the creation of  medium and heavy infantry.

Warehouse : Be they grain silos, or long wooden structures, Warehouses allow you to store excess Food and Raw Resources. A great boon in times of famine and sieges.  Warehouses help significantly with controlling trade.

Blacksmith : Fiery forges and soot covered men toil endlessly to provide you with the tools of conquest. Blacksmiths allow your city to produce quality weapons and armor, which will raise your Troop Quality and allow for stronger military units.  Blacksmith building levels allow the different cavalry troops, including Desert Raiders and Elephants.

City Walls : Be they baked mud bricks, wooden palisades or towering limestone walls, the City Walls will vastly improve your units Defense ratings while they are defending that city.

Wonders of the World : Each civilization has a distinct Wonder that it can build. Once your research is high enough in three key areas, you will be able to undertake the painstaking task of raising on of these Wonders. Once complete, your Empire ratings will raise, possibly causing nearby enemy cities to defect to your side. This can be a double edged sword. If the enemy manages to capture a city that owns a wonder, you may find your cities defecting to the enemy.


Designer's Notes

The concept behind Rise and Rule is all the magic that is the classic empire building genre in a good looking, beautiful sounding and, most important, great playing game set in the earliest days of mankind. For this we had to weave the threads of exploration, conquest, research and building into the game before you. I think you'll agree that it's fine, like silk or spice carried along the golden trade routes of ancient Asia.

The story of the ancient world is the story of the birth of mankind and of the rise of empire, bringing with it the growth of culture and civilization. With culture came philosophy and research, and with civilization came travel, cultivation and trade.

This game portrays six great cultures, not as they were, but as they might have been. What if Greeks had clashed with Chinese?  What if Celtic tribes had banded together to forge an iron empire? What must it have been like to carve a great network of humanity out of anarchy and dust in the ancient world?  Should you put your efforts into building up your infrastructure, with roads and cultivation and travelling philosophers? Crush your opponents with massive armies?  Or trade, spreading your influence through more peaceful means?

You can find out. Play one or all of the player cultures in the game. Different strategies yield different strengths and weaknesses. Try combat one time, trade the next. Find out which strategy is best for you, and which culture you like best. The random map generator gives infinite possibility;  or, if you prefer, you can load up one of the "real world" maps.


Technical Tips

Note: Technical Tips apply to users of Windows 3.1. (Consult the Readme.txt file for additional technical information.)

We have found that many of the common problems our customers experience with their machines have simple answers. If you are having one of the problems listed below, the solution provided should be tried first before you search any further for answers.

Memory Requirements: This game is designed to run on a machine that has 8 megabytes of system RAM installed. If you experience errors that say "Out of memory" or "General Protection Fault", check to see if you have any other programs running, by looking at the system task list. You can get to the system task list by holding down the <Ctrl> and <Esc> keys at the same time. If you see anything other than "Program Manager" and the game, choose that item in the list with the up and down arrow keys and hit the "end task" button with your mouse.

When things aren't working:

1. Is my video card set to a standard 256 color mode?

"Video mode" refers to the number of pixels displayed on the monitor along with the number of colors each pixel can represent. The default video mode for most installations of Windows 3.1 is 640x480 pixels with 16 colors, usually referred to as standard VGA. This game requires a 640x480 pixel 256 color, or better, display mode. If the video mode has greater than 256 colors, you may experience some slowdown in performance, but otherwise it should work fine.

To find out what video mode your machine is using:

Go to the Program Manager (the main starting view of Windows) and open the "Main" program group. Double click on the "Windows Setup" icon. This will give a listing of a number of settings for Windows, including "Display". On most systems, this entry will indicate the resolution as something like "SVGA 640x480x256" (this indicates 640 by 480 pixels with 256 colors).

If the Windows Setup Display does not clearly state how many colors are being used, consult the documentation for your computer to find out how video resolution can be changed;  this should give you some indication of how to find out what mode your machine is currently using. Sometimes a "Set Resolution" utility can be found in a group in your program manager that might give a push button interface to the whole process of display management. If necessary, call the company that sold you your computer (a list of computer manufacturers is included later in this document) to find out this information.

2. How do I change the video mode to 256 colors?

First, consult the documentation, the computer vendor or manufacturer to find out how your specific machine should change between video modes. Sometimes it is as simple as running a program and choosing "640x480" and "256 colors" in a list of options. If not, read on.

Most video hardware for Windows machines includes a set of "drivers", software files designed to manage the specific hardware through various Windows modes.  If you have an older machine, contact the manufacturer for updated video drivers.

Get out your Windows install diskettes and set them aside, as some video mode changes require access to resources from them; usually there are 6 in the set. If you have a "video driver" diskette, get that out too. Run the "Windows Setup" program from the "Main" program group in the "Program Manager" (the initial Windows screen). (If you run into any problems where Windows will not display properly after running Windows Setup, you can run the DOS version of Setup, which is located inside the Windows directory and set the display for VGA, before contacting either the vendor or manufacturer of your computer for more information on video configuration).

If the "Display" setting indicates 256 colors, you are already in a 256 color video mode. If you are experiencing problems with this video mode, try using some other 256 color mode.

To change drivers, click on the "Options" menu, choose "change system settings", click on the arrow to the right of the display setting and scroll down to an appropriate driver listing. If your hardware specific video drivers have been previously installed (very likely) they should be on this list. Windows version 3.11 (either for workgroups or not) or later, include in this list Super VGA 256 color video drivers. Since some video cards require specific drivers, you should usually use the ones that came with the hardware.

If your video drivers are not on the list, scroll to the very bottom of the list and choose "Other Display (Requires disk from OEM)...". At this point, insert the video drivers disk that came with your system and make sure the disk path is correct, usually either "A:\" or "B:\". Choose the appropriate driver (640x480x256 is optimal) and follow the prompts if asked for further disk insertion.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT USE XGA, VIDEO 7 OR 8514/A DRIVERS UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT THE CARD YOU HAVE IS OF THE APPROPRIATE TYPE.

 If you try to use the 256 color drivers that come with Windows 3.11 or later, be aware that they require a VESA compliant video card. VESA refers to a standard set of calls for Super VGA cards that allows different programs to work properly with Super VGA displays.

If you are not sure whether or not your video hardware is VESA compliant, a program included in the game install, called UNIVESA.EXE, can be used to make non-VESA compliant SVGA cards use VESA calls;  the file can be found in the UNIVESA directory inside the game directory and can be added near the end of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, so long as it is above the "WIN" line. Note that UNIVESA will not work if you donît have an SVGA card, and may not work if the SVGA card is too old.

3. Why doesn't my sound work?

Sound hardware, usually a card of some kind, is required for sound to work in the game. If you hear sounds in other places in Windows, but not in the game, it is possible that there is a conflict of resources, where some other program that is running is controlling the card. Make sure the game and the Program Manager are the only two programs running (hold down the <Ctrl> and the <Esc> keys to get a list of currently running programs).  Make sure your sound drivers are properly installed. If you have an older configuration, contact the manufacturer of your card for the latest sound drivers.

4. General problems

Make sure the game and the Program Manager are the only two things running (hold down the <Ctrl> and the <Esc> keys to get a list of currently running programs) as things like screen savers and runtime virus checkers can sometimes cause problems with other programs running at the same time.

Hardware Contact Info

Some of the numbers below may be out of date, so wherever possible refer to the documentation regarding technical assistance that came with your machine. The vendors or manufacturers of your hardware should have updated drivers for your system, in case you need to get hold of them. Additionally, most manufacturers maintain online support, through services such as Compuserve and America Online, or bulletin board systems that allow you to call up from your machine and download the updated files.

Computer manufacturers

Packard Bell	800 733 4411

AST	714 727 4141

AT&T	201 898 6000

Compaq	713 370 0670

CompuAdd	800 456 3116

Dell	800 624 9896

Epson	213 539 9955

Gateway	800 846 2301

Hewlett-Packard	208 323 2551

IBM	507 253 5005

Tandy	817 878 6875

Texas Instruments	512 250 7407

Toshiba	800 999 4273

Zenith Data Systems	312 745 2400

Video Cards

Ahead Systems, Inc.	510 623 0900

ATI Technologies, Inc.	416 756 0711

Boca Research, Inc.	407 241 8088

Diamond Computer Systems, Inc.	408 736 2000

Everex Systems	510 498 4411

Genoa	408 432 9090

Hercules Computer Tech, Inc.	510 623 6050

National Design, Inc.	800 253 8831

Orchid Technology, Inc.	510 683 0323

Paradise	800 832 4778

Trident	415 691 9211

TrueVision, Inc.	317 576 8788

Tseng Labs	215 968 0502

Western Digital	800 832 4778

Sound Cards

Creative Labs	408 428 6600

Diamond Computer Systems, Inc.	408 736 2000

Ensoniq	610 647 3930

Gravis	604 431 1807

Media Vision	510 770 9905

Orchid Technology, Inc.	510 683 0323


Technical Support

Technical Assistance is only a phone call away. Direct your inquiries to the Technical Support department if your question is about hardware and software compatibility specific to this game (e.g. sound card configuration or memory management). For our 24-hour automated Technical Support, call (206) 644-4343. If you prefer, you may request assistance by facsimile; the U.S. fax number is (206) 644-7697.

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Sierra Hint Books offer you a  complete guide for the total Sierra game playing experience. Youîll find out how to get the most out of your game. You'll find clues, tips, and inside information with which to expand your game enjoyment and experience.

Bulletin Board Services

The Sierra Bulletin Board phone number is (206) 644-0112. Call Sierra's own BBS with your computer modem and browse our technical knowledge database, get game hints online or download game patches and other files. You'll find the answers to the most commonly asked questions by selecting index choice #8 from the Main Menu. Set your communications program to 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity. (8-1-N).

CompuServe:Join with other Sierra game enthusiasts online in Sierra's own Forum (GOSIERRA), or leave us an E-mail message at CompuServeID 76004,2143. Also, hints are available from other CompuServe members in the Gamer's Forum (GOGAMERS).

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IT IS ILLEGAL TO MAKE UNAUTHORIZED COPIES OF THIS SOFTWARE

This software is protected under federal copyright law. It is illegal to make or distribute copies of this software except to make a backup copy for archival purposes only. Duplication of this software for any other reason including for sale, loan, rental or gift is a federal crime. Penalties include fines of as much as $50,000 and jail terms of up to five years.

Sierra, as a member of the Software Publishers Association (SPA), supports the industry's effort to fight the illegal copying of personal computer software.

Report violations to :

SPA, 1101 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 901,

Washington, D.C. 20036

This manual, and the software described in this manual, are copyrighted. All rights are reserved. No part of this manual or the described software may be copied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form without the prior written consent of Sierra On-Line, Inc., (c) 1996 Sierra On-Line, Inc., and/or designate trademarks of, or licensed to Sierra On-Line, Inc. All rights reserved.

Bellevue, WA 98007. Printed in U.S.A.

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Units in Production Menu

These are some of the units that may be available in a production menu (from left to right):

Light infantry

Medium infantry

Heavy infantry

Light cavalry

Heavy cavalry

Light missile

Heavy missile

Philosopher

Merchant

Settler

*Note: Only a light infantry and a settler unit are available in the production menu at the start of the game.


Buildings in Production Menu

These are some of the buildings that may be available in a production menu (from left to right):

Barracks

City Hall

Market

Library

Temple

Warehouse

Blacksmith

*Note: A market and a workshop are the only buildings available in the production menu at the start of the game.


Production Menu Display

The production menu display shows:

The current item of production (a heavy cavalry unit here);

a solid bar graph representing the progress of production;

a bar graph made of lightning-bolt symbols representing the quality of the item being produced.

Clicking on the current item of production brings up the production menu.


Game Buttons

This panel of buttons is common to all game views. Each button, when you click on it with the mouse, performs a certain function.

The top four buttons are for exchanging messages, either with individual players or all players at once.

The other buttons, in descending order, perform the following functions:

Bring you from the selected city or army to the next city or army;

display the world map;

display the scrolling map;

end your turn.


Slider Bar in City View Panel

The slider bar lets you adjust the allocation of workers between their four tasks. Each task is represented by a different colored section of the slider bar.

Food gathering: blue

Research: yellow

Production (or building): green

Resource gathering: red

You can adjust the slider bar settings by clicking on the little "man" buttons and dragging them across the bar. The settings determine the information that appears in the panel display for each task.


Populace in City View Panel

The row of "people" icons represents the size of the city's populace. During each turn, a city's populace grows from births and shrinks from deaths in accordance with food supply, disease, warfare, etc.

On either side of the populace icons is a row of symbols. The crosses represent health, the hearts represent morale. The rows behave like bar graphs, indicating when health and morale in the populace are improving or worsening.


Radar Map

The radar map contains a small view of the entire game world. A rectangle in the radar map outlines the section of the world centered and magnified in the scrolling map. As your armies uncover more and more of the game world, the radar map becomes essential for seeing the parts of the world that lie outside the scrolling map view.


Army Information

This display shows, clockwise from bottom left: the selected army's movement allowance, type, food supply, and terrain affinity; and bar graphs showing its health (crosses), morale (hearts), and quality (lightning bolts).


Units in Army

This display shows the number and type of units in the selected army.


City Information

This display shows the selected city's food supply and contains bar graphs showing the city's health (crosses), morale (hearts), and affinity for its ruler (solid bar).


Resident Army

This display shows the type and food supply of the army residing in the selected city.


City Knowledge

This display contains a bar graph representing the selected city's level of research in each area of knowledge.


City Production

This display shows:

The current item of production in the selected city;

a solid bar graph indicating the progress of production on that item;

a bar graph made of lightning-bolt symbols indicating the quality of the item.

Clicking on the item of production brings up the production menu.


Population

The row of "people" icons represents the selected city's population.


World Map Panel

Like the scrolling map panel, this display panel contains information about the currently selected city or army.


Visible Game World

This is the area of the game world that is currently visible; the blackness represents the part of the world you have not yet explored. The icons on the visible game area represent the cities and armies of each player.


Action Button Menu

This is a menu of buttons that, when you click on them with the mouse, give various orders to your armies. For more information about these buttons, see Action Buttons.


Scrolling Map Display Panel

This display panel contains information about the currently selected city or army. For more information about the displays, see The Scrolling Map Panel.