Chapter 21: Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
The battle for control of the mythical kingdom of Azeroth begun in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, continues in Blizzard Entertainment's wildly popular and award-winning sequel, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. A game of strategic planning, tactical operations, and resource management, Warcraft II offers 28 campaign scenarios played out in a fantastic world where magic spells can raise the dead and dragons rain fire from the sky.The Scenario
Following the deaths of the Orcish Warchief Blackhand and King Llane of Azeroth during the First War, Orgrim Doomhammer has risen to rule the Orcish forces occupying Azeroth, and Sir Lothar has risen to lead an alliance of nations forged to repel the continuing Orcish advance and beat back the evil forces all the way to the Portal whence they came.Players choose for which side they wish to command troops, the Clans of the Horde or the Alliance of Lordaeron. In either case, players are given campaign missions with specific objectives which must be carried out fully in order to win the level. The key to commanding a successful mission is ensuring you have adequate forces (which you must create and/or train) and the resources necessary to sustain them (which you must find and harvest).
Throughout the game, three natural resources are fundamental: gold, lumber, and oil. It takes money to make anything (and most everything must be made), lumber to build anything (and most everything must be built), and oil to power ships (even though many of the ships have sails). In other words, there are basic things you must have in order to get the things you really need to complete a mission. And the dependencies grow more and more complex as the game advances.
For example: To get an Elven Archer, (one of the ground units for the Alliance) you need to have a barracks; but to have a barracks, you need to have a lumber mill; and to have a lumber mill you need to have a peasant to build it; and the peasant comes from the Town Hall. Do you have one of those? And once you have your Elven Archer, do you have enough food to feed him and the peasant? Things can get complicated real fast, especially if you're under attack and you haven't trained any footmen.
Comparing Forces
The sides are fairly evenly matched, though in the upper levels of play the styles of fighting begin to differ. Commanding the Alliance forces requires a more sophisticated approach to Warcraft because of the types of spells which come into play. Commanding the Orcish Horde, on the other hand, requires little subtlety at all. These forces are brutes and they fight best that way.
Alliance Ground Units Orcish Horde Peasant Peon Footman Grunt Elven Archer Troll Axethrower Elven Ranger Troll Berserker Knight Ogre Palladin Ogre Mage Ballista Catapult Mage Death Knight Demolition Squad Goblin Sappers
Alliance Air and Naval Units Orcish Horde Gnomish Flying Machine Goblin Zeppelin Gryphon Rider Dragon Oil Tanker Oil Tanker Elven Destroyer Troll Destroyer Transport Transport Battleship Ogre Juggernaught Gnomish Submarine Giant Turtle
Code Action GLITTERING PRIZES Adds 10,000 gold, 5,000 lumber, and 5,000 oil to reserves VALDEZ Adds 5,000 oil to reserves EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES Upgrades your magic users with all spells DECK ME OUT Upgrades all technologies ON SCREEN Displays the entire game map MAKE IT SO Accelerates pace of building, training and upgrading HATCHET Accelerates tree harvesting IT IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE Renders units invulnerable to all computer opponent attacks, except magical attacks UNITE THE CLANS Results in instant victory YOU PITIFUL WORM Results in instant defeat NEVER A WINNER Prevents a victory at the level TIGERLILY Allows player to jump between levels using additional code: HUMANx or ORCx, where the "x" is replaced by the desired level, 1 to 14.
The Map and Sound Editor
One of the game's outstanding features is that it comes equipped with an editor which allows players to create additional levels of play, or PUDs. By editing together units (buildings, beings, and craft), topographical features, and sounds, customized scenarios can be created, saved, played, and shared system to system. Detailed help files assist players and provide them all the options they need to extend their enjoyment of the game long into the future.
Multiplayer Features
In addition to its single-player campaign mode, Warcraft II also supports a variety of multiplayer protocols which allows up to eight people to play simultaneously. Players can go head-to-head via a direct serial connection (null modem), a modem connection, and through an IPX network connection. To find out how to connect and play over the Internet, stop by the Warcraft 2 Unofficial FAQ List by Dan Zerkle (a.k.a. Trouble) at http://www.ogr.com/faqs/warcraft2.faq. The FAQ offers a helpful look at using the Kali service to play.
For more information on the game in general and playing head-to-head, try Geoff Fraizer's Shlonglor's War 2 Page at http://www.andrews.edu/~fraizer/war2.cgi. Geoff offers playing strategies, PUDs, and other items of interest to Warcraft II fans. Another page to visit is Methos' Warcraft II Strategy Page at http://www.mtsu.edu/~csc10001/strat.html. Along with strategy tips, this page also offers a compiled list of links to other game fans' pages.