?_IDl!R;FracasCopyright SmozzieBrowseButtons()ZmainFracas HelpRf  ̡,/&;)z4!MAP.BMPG:|CONTEXTF|CTXOMAPT>|FONT=|SYSTEM|TOPIC|TTLBTREE_>|bm0N|bm1R|bm10p|bm11n)|bm12/|bm133|bm2X|bm3]|bm4xb|bm5f|bm6^k|bm75|bm8|bm987 9E1 E}T Contents8 }# *Welcome To Fracas!E ΀ "1Snj%ETrdh40OFoI׉ނĉL̉iChoose a topic below, or click here for an expanded table of contents.1 Welcome To Fracas!2 Getting Started3 How To Play4 Tweaking The Map5 Tweaking Gameplay6 Playing Fracas Over A Network7 Strategies, Tips, And Tricks8 How Does Fracas Work?9 Credits & Acknowledgements10 How To Contact The Author XXXX XXXXXXXXXXX X E}, &3 XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXX X XXX XXXXXXX XXXX XXX XXXX XXX XXX XXX XX XXX XXX X XXX X XXX XXX X XXX X )  XXXX XX XXXXXXXXX X XXXX XX XX XXX X XXXX XXX XXX XXX XXX X XXX XXXXXX XXXXX XX XXXX X XXXXX XX XXXX XXX XXXX XX XXXX XX XX XXX XXX XXX XX XX XXXXXX )  XXX XX XXXX XXX XXX XXX XX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX X XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXqGT * " XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXXXX XXXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXXX XXX XXX XX XXX XXX XXXX XXX XXX XXX XX XX XXXXX XXX XXX XX XX XXX XX XXX XXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXX D 1, _A1 Welcome To Fracas?T # 81 Welcome To Fracas 2.0 ! / , 1.1 What Is Fracas?Fracas is a strategy game of tactical combat and world conquest. In Fracas, up to six human or computer players duke it out over land and water. Players deploy troops and build ports to attack opponents' countries and defend their own.Everything in Fracas is customizable! The maps in the game are always random, allowing players to continually explore the tactical advantages of new worlds. The parameters that govern the size, shape, and mechanics of the world are tunable by the user. There are also multiple computer 'personalities' to play against, and there's even LAN support so you can play with your friends. With so many options, it's easy to get addicted!% @= H 1.2 How Do I Win?Fracas is an easy game to learn, yet a hard game to master. Even so, the objective is simple: the last player left on the map is the winner! 1.3 System RequirementsFracas should work with no problems on any Intel Pentium PC with a P-200 processor or faster. It has not been tested on other brands of CPUs or slower ones. Most development work was performed on a PII-300. I suspect that unless a machine is really really old, Fracas will work fine. @T S, _A' YWindows 95, 98, or NT4.0 is required to run Fracas. Beta testers have reported success running Fracas under Windows 2000 and ME. It has not been tested on other operating systems.If you can't get Fracas to run, feel free to contact me and I'll help if I can. Refer to section 10 for details.B @A1ԈAA:J2 Getting Started7_AA# (2 Getting StartedAC/ , 2.1 Installing FracasTo install Fracas, first run the self-extracting installer, Fracas.exe. This will unpack the InstallShield setup files into a temporary directory. Just choose all the defaults and Fracas setup will begin.When the InstallShield setup starts, click the "Next" button to advance through the setup screens. Choose a destination directory when instructed to do so. After installation, the computer may need to be rebooted. Simply follow the prompts.= A&F1 0When installation is complete, Fracas can be started from the Start menu. Alternately, the executable in the installation folder can be double-clicked. 2.2 Starting A GameFor those people who just can't stand to read instructions, go to the "Game" menu and choose "New Game, New Map." All of the default settings will be used and a six-player game with one human and five computer players will start.After the computer players whoop up on you for a while, come back to the help file at this point and read on.NCtH7 J"It is also possible, but more difficult, to rename bodies of water. A player must own ALL of the coastal property around a water mass to be able to rename it. Renaming water works just like renaming land otherwise.Note that only countries that you own can be renamed during your turn. 3.1.4 MessagesAt the very bottom of the game window are two lines of dynamic message text.The bottom of these two is a running commentary of the game's progress. This line of text is always visible and explains what is currently happening in the game. When it is a human's turn, instructions are provided here. When it is a computer's turn, this line explains what the computer is doing. This text is always backlit in the active player's color.;0% -The top of these two shows text for 'special' occasions. When a human player makes an invalid move, the reasons for the error are shown here. If anything else important happens during the game, such as a random event (explained in section 5.1.7) it will be explained here.Br1 Ԉmr"3.2 The World Map30#  3 How To Play.rӎ/ , 3.2 The World MapThe world map is composed of countries. It's easy to think of these countries as real-world countries -- They have both a prescribed border and a government that is separate from the surrounding countries.Countries can directly border other countries. In this case, a borderline is drawn between the neighboring countries. These countries are said to have "land" contact and are called "adjacent" countries. No ports are necessary to travel from one adjacent country to another.1 0Countries can also be surrounded by water. If a country can only reach another country across water, then it is said to have "water" contact and is called an "overseas" country. A port is required to travel between overseas countries. 3.2.1ӎ0 Unclaimed CountriesAt the start of a game, all countries are unclaimed.Unclaimed countries can hold neutral troops. However, these countries do not have attack or defense strengths, and do not participate in combat in any way.2ӎ)1 0An unclaimed country can be annexed by a player during that player's action phase if that player can reach the country by land or water.The color of unoccupied countries can be specified on the Graphics Options dialog. 3.2.2 Claimed CountriesA claimed country is a country that is owned by a player. A claimed country's primary purpose is to hold troops for the player that owns it. These troops add to attack and defense strengths for that player. A claimed country can participate in combat.b-5 8[Claimed countries also add to the number of reinforcement troops (explained in section 3.3.1) that players receive during their turns.A claimed country is shown in the color of the player that owns it. 3.2.3 HQsThe HQ is the most important country that a player can own. It's easy to think of a player's HQ as the "capital."Each player selects an HQ during his or her first turn. Choose wisely, because the HQ cannot be moved later.Defend the HQ at all costs, because if a player's HQ is lost, that player is eliminated from the game.);1 0An HQ is shown in the color of the player who owns it, but with a crosshatch pattern to distinguish it from other countries. 3.2.4 Ports And WaterThe port is a very significant invention in the lives of your little Fracas-folk, because with a port, a country can influence faraway lands.A country that has a port will be able to provide attack and defense support to overseas countries. Note that a country can influence other overseas countries only if they share a common water mass. In other words, if the same water mass borders two countries, one of those countries can reach the other if it has a port built on it."' An important point: Ports make naval combat possible, but do not affect attack and defense totals themselves. In other words, building a port on country X does not "beef up" country X's defense in any way. It will, however, allow troops in country X to defend other overseas countries.A country can have only one port. Ports are shown as docks and piers along the country's border. Ports can only be built during a player's action phase.E;g1{g3.3 Phases Of A Turn3"#  3 How To Play5g1 0  3.3 Phases Of A TurnThroughout the game, each player takes a turn in sequence. This sequence is never altered. The first player can be specified in the Game Settings dialog.Each player chooses an HQ country during the first turn. After that, each player's turn is composed of three individual phases: The reinforcement phase, the action phase, and the troop movement phase.The running commentary text at the bottom of the screen will always indicate which player's turn it is and the current phase./ , 3.3.1 Troop Reinforcement PhasePresumably while all this military warfare is going on in the world, the military is training new soldiers to join the fight. The first thing that a player does when it is his or her turn is add reinforcements to the army.The number of reinforcements that a player gets to deploy depends on the number of countries that player owns. The number of bonus troops received per country owned is configurable, and is explained in section 5.1.3.7 <To deploy troops in a country, the active player must click on a country that he or she owns. All available troops are then deployed in that country. It is not possible to deploy troops to more than one country per turn. " 3.3.2 Action PhaseNow comes the fun part. During the action phase, a player can do ONE of the following actions: Annex unclaimed land, build a port, attack one enemy country, or pass the action phase. 3.3.2.1 Annexing LandKP1 05To annex land, simply click on an unclaimed country. If the active player can reach that country by either land or sea, the country becomes the property of the player. All neutral troops in the country are also added to the active player's forces.Remember that it is only possible to claim land overseas if you have a port. 3.3.2.2 Building A PortA player can build a port by clicking on a country that they own. If the country is owned by the player and does not have a port on it already, a port will be built.l;1 0wOnce a country has a port, it can participate in overseas combat. 3.3.2.3 Attacking An OpponentTo attack an enemy country, simply click on the enemy's country. If the active player has a higher attack total than the defender's defense total, the attack succeeds and damage is dealt. If not, the attack is disallowed and the active player can perform another action.It may be helpful to right-click a prospective enemy country first to see if it is possible to attack it, and to get a feeling for how well-defended a particular area of the map is.5PG \The mysteries of attack and defense totals are explained in section 3.4. 3.3.3 Troop Movement PhaseOnce an action is performed, each player has an opportunity to move troops from one place to another. This is a three-step process:1. Click the country to move troops FROM.2. Enter the amount of troops to move in the lower right corner.3. Click the country to move troops TO.The interface for choosing the number of troops is designed to make troop movements easy.j4[ 6 :k"If a specific number of troops is desired, that number can be entered directly into the edit box.The plus and minus signs add or subtract 1 troop from the current amount.The 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and ALL buttons can be clicked to select that fraction of the total troops in the FROM country. This number will be automatically entered in the edit box.The number of troops defaults to the full amount of troops in the FROM country. In other words, if you don't use the movement interface, ALL troops will move out of the FROM country and into the TO country.<  1 0Remember that you must click on the destination country to perform the troop movement. If no troop movement is desired, this phase can be passed with the "Pass..." button.After moving troops, play passes to the next player. 3.3.4 Passing and ResigningIn the course of taking over the world, it will likely be necessary to leave your empire as it stands for a turn or two. It is possible to skip the action or troop movement phases of a player's turn by clicking the "Pass..." button in the upper right of the screen. Passing the action phase will still allow the player to make a troop movement. Passing the troop movement phase will start the next player's turn. It's not possible to pass the troop reinforcement phase. Why would you not want more troops?=[ & /If a player wants to leave the game prematurely, the "Resign..." button in the upper right corner can be clicked. This will immediately remove the active player from the game. The remaining players will continue as normal. A player can only resign at the start of a turn.I 1 {yUI4.1 Generating A New Map8U# *4 Tweaking The Map"A/ , 4.1 Generating A New MapOne of the features of Fracas is the ability to change the parameters that govern the shape UAof the map. Some players like more water, others like more land. By using the options in the "Terraform" dialog, all players can be satisfied.Whenever the "New Game, New Map" option under the "Game" menu is selected, a new map is constructed from the current settings in the "Terraform" dialog. The game must then be aborted or ended before a new map can be generated.xOUC) The "New Game, Same Map" option under the "Game" menu will start a new game on the map used in the last game. The previous map MUST have been saved first! See section 4.1.1 for details on how to save a map. All settings will be as they were when the map was saved.The "New Game, Load Map" option under the "Game" menu will start a new game on a specified saved map. You need a saved map to use this option. See section 4.1.1 for details.The "Load Saved Game" option will resume a game that was saved in progress. See section 4.1.1 for details on how to save a game in progress.b+A]F7  aL21 0This setting defaults to medium sized countries. 4.2.2 Country ProportionsThis property specifies how similar in size each country on the map is.Proportional countries are generally all the same size. UnproportionalN2I countries can vary quite a bit in overall size. Take for example, the size difference between the United States and say, Cuba. In an unproportional map, this kind of size discrepancy is possible. In a proportional map, all countries would be about the same size (in square miles) as Cuba.lNу3 4Note that as a map becomes more unproportional, the land to water ratio (explained in section 4.2.5) becomes less accurate.This setting defaults to somewhat proportional countries. 4.2.3 Country ShapesThis property specifies (for lack of a better term) how strangely the countries on the map are shaped.Normal countries are generally blob-shaped and circular. Irregular countries are artificially distorted to give them longer and thinner tracts of land. Irregular countries tend to be more realistic, tend to border more countries, and generally make maps that are more interesting and challenging.t2v1 0This setting defaults to irregular shaped countries. 4.2.4 Minimum Allowed Lake SizeThis setting specifies the smallest allowable lakes on the map. In other words, there will be no lakes on the map smaller than this setting.It is possible to turn off the lake correction algorithm completely. This means that all water areas on the map are left intact after the computer places countries. This allows for lots of very tiny lakes on the map. Any other setting will cause the computer to 'fill in' small water masses with land. Turn off lake correction by moving the Lake Size slider all the way to the left.Wу͈= H5This setting defaults to medium sized lakes. 4.2.5 Approximate Land To Water RatioThis setting specifies the approximate amount of land present on the world map.This setting will affect the length of the game. Games without much land don't last as long as games with lots of land.This setting defaults to about 75% land (and 25% water). 4.2.6 IslandsThis setting specifies whether or not the map will contain islands (isolated masses of land), and how many. There are three settings: None, Some, and Lots.v3 4If None is selected, there will only be one mass of land on the map. The other two settings will produce islands. The Lots setting will produce many more islands than the Some setting.This setting defaults to Some islands. 4.2.7 Screen SizeThis setting specifies the resolution of the main Fracas window. There are three settings: 640x480, 800x600, and 1024x768.This setting can be used to change the overall size of the map. You may want to do this to make the map more claustrophobic, or to make a day-long campaign on a huge map with tiny countries. Or your display adapter may not support larger resolutions. If an option here is grayed out, it means that your current desktop resolution is not at least that large.:͈#' 'This setting may adversely affect game performance on your system. The larger the map, the more internal computations there are during turns, and the longer it will take. If your machine is struggling, make the map smaller!This setting defaults to 800x600 resolution.Il1x yl4.3 The Preferences Menu8## *4 Tweaking The Map|Cl,9 @ 4.3 The Preferences MenuThe Preferences menu contains settings that are tunable at any time. 4.3.1 Computer Player SpeedThe Preferences menu contains the Computer Player Speed control. There are four settings: Slow, Medium, Fast, and Fastest.This setting controls the amount of time that a computer takes during their turn. If you're the type of player that likes to think a lot during other people's turns, choose "Medium" or "Slow". On the other hand, Fracas experts will want to pick "Fast" or "Fastest" to make the gam,#e move as swiftly as possible._3 4Note that this setting only controls a delay time and does not affect the computer players' ability to make moves. In other words, setting it to "Fastest" will not make the computer dumber.Note also that this setting may not have a profound effect on the speed of the game if the current map has lots of tiny countries on it.This setting defaults to Medium, which is about a three second delay for each computer player. 4.3.2 BordersThis setting specifies how borders between adjacent countries look to the user. There are six settings. Experiment to find the setting that looks best. [ ,N j"  4.3.3 Sound EffectsThis setting turns sound effects on or off. Sound Effects default to on. 4.3.4 The Graphics Options DialogThis option will bring up a dialog for tweaking the game graphics. These options can be changed at any time. 4.3.4.1 Graphics CheckboxesThere are four checkbox controls on the Graphics Options dialog. These work as follows:Enable Explosions: Toggles the pretty explosions when countries are attacked. These can be turned off to improve performance.4M3 4Enable Waves: Toggles the pretty waves in the water. These can also be turned off to improve performance.Flash Countries: Toggles the white country flashes when players make moves. This can have a drastic effect on system performance.Prompt To Save Map: Toggles the map save reminder prompt at game end. 4.3.4.2 Unoccupied Country ColorThe color of the unoccupied countries on the map can be selected here. Only colors that are not currently selected as player colors can be chosen.[1 0Network players can select different unoccupied country colors on different computers. 4.3.4.3 Animation SpeedThe overall speed of the explosion animations can be changed so that Fracas runs better on slower or faster machines. Use this slider control to adjust the speed of the animations.Sliding the control all the way to the left will yield the fastest animations. However, this could cause poorer performance on slower machines. If this happens, just nudge the animation speed slider up a tiny bit. Experiment to find the most efficient animation speed for your computer.M- ( 4.3.5 Refreshing The ScreenIt may be necessary to 'redraw' the screen if there are many applications open and for some reason the Fracas application is not being updated correctly. Select this or press F5 to redraw the screen.MD1" lj D}pL5.1 The Game Settings Dialog9}# ,5 Tweaking GameplayJD: B#" The fundamental rules of Fracas can be changed from game to game. This allows players to customize games to meet their individual conquering needs. 5.1 The Game Settings DialogThe Game Setting dialog contains all of the game parameters that can be tweaked. Note that these parameters can only be changed when a game is not currently in progress. In other words, you can't change how the game is played in the middle of the game. Choose "Game Settings..." from the Options menu to open the Game Settings dialog.F}1 0+ 5.1.1 Initial Troop PlacementThis setting specifies how densely populated the world map is at the start of the game. There are five settings, from no countries populated to all countries populated.Initial troop placement governs the percentage of countries on the map that have troops in them at the start of the game. Note that this setting does not influence the AMOUNT of troops present in these countries.This setting defaults to normal, which means that about half of the countries start with troops in them.< U1 0 5.1.2 Initial Troop CountsThis setting specifies approximately how many troops are already on the map when the game starts. There are three settings, from Few to Lots.Only the number of countries specified with the "Initial Troop Placement" setting will have troops in them. Depending on this setting, those countries will have up to 10 (Few), 50 (Normal), or 100 (Lots) troops present.Note that the distribution of initial troops is done fairly so that all players will have a stab at a healthy concentration of troops. In other words, Player 4 will not have to worry about players 1, 2, and 3 scarfing up all the high troop counts on their first turn when picking an HQ. There will be enough large 'centers' of troops for all players to have a good start. ^1 0This setting defaults to normal, which means that no country will have more than 50 troops at the start of the game. 5.1.3 Bonus TroopsThis setting specifies the number of troops, per country, per turn, that each player will be able to deploy during their reinforcement phase. There are six settings, from 0 to 5.If this setting is zero (Skip Reinforcement Phase), the only troops that will ever be present in the game are the initial troops found in countries when the game starts. If set to any other number, then real estate has value in the game. In other words, it pays to own land if you get more troops each turn as a result. The player who owns the most land will be getting the largest troop bonus. Uh: BThis setting controls how quickly the map is populated with troops. Larger numbers tend to unbalance the game and make one player dominant very quickly.This setting defaults to 3 bonus troops, per country, per turn. 5.1.4 Naval SupportThis setting specifies how powerful overseas troops are. There are four settings, from weak to fully functional.The naval support options are:Rafts - troop strengths are cut to 1/10 of their value overseas ^s 9 @Skiffs - troops are 1/4 as powerful overseasDestroyers - troops are 1/2 strength overseasBattleships - troops attack and defend with full capacity overseasThis setting controls how important ports are. If set to Rafts, building a port really doesn't buy much. If set to Battleships, however, two countries can fight overseas as if they were adjacent to one another, and ports become deadly.This setting defaults to Destroyers (1/2 strength overseas).Ch 1 0% 5.1.5 Enemy PortsThis setting specifies what happens when an enemy country is taken over. There are four settings, "Captured," "Destroyed," "Depends on Casualties," and "Randomly Destroyed."If set to "Captured," enemy ports become the property of the attacking player when a country is taken over. If set to "Destroyed," then the port is destroyed when ownership of the country changes.The other two options are a bit more fun. "Randomly Destroyed" means just that -- some ports are destroyed and some aren't. s 1 0The "Depends on Casualties" option tends to favor the less powerful players. If a player's attack total is equal to or greater than four times the defender's total, the port is destroyed. Otherwise it stays. In other words, if you really, really massacre a country, you'll inadvertently take the port with you!This setting defaults to "Destroyed." 5.1.6 When An Enemy Is Conquered...This setting specifies what happens when an enemy HQ is destroyed. There are five settings: A3 45...The victor claims all remaining countries: When this setting is selected, destroying an enemy's HQ can often mean winning the game. All of that enemy's land, troops, and ports become the property of the victor. This setting will decreaseA the game's length substantially....The remaining countries become neutral: When this setting is selected, destroying an enemy's HQ will cause the enemy to lose control of all countries. These countries become neutral once again and all troops in them also become neutral. The next player to legally annex one of these now-unclaimed countries gets all the troops in it, as normal. This setting is the default.C+ $...The remaining countries stay loyal: When this setting is selected, destroying an enemy's HQ will remove the player from the game, yet the color and ownership of the enemy's remaining countries does not change. The enemy's countries with troops in them will never initiate combat again, but must be defeated to take ownership of the country. Basically, this setting is the electronic equivalent of the phrase "They can take my gun when they pry it out of my cold, dead hands."]*AF3 4U...The enemy is completely eradicated: When this setting is selected, destroying an enemy's HQ will destroy all of that enemy's troops and ports as well. All countries claimed by that enemy return to neutral ground. Use this setting when you don't want to remember anything after the holocaust....Chaos erupts in the defeated countries: When this setting is selected, destroying an enemy's HQ will yield unpredictable results for the remainder of their property. Some might stay loyal, the victor could claim others...you just never know.xGCH1 0 5.1.7 Random EventsThis setting specifies whether or not random events happen throughout the game. There are three settings: Frequent, Infrequent, and Off.The events that can happen vary in scope and intensity, but all are beneficial. They will always happen at the start of a player's turn.The random events do occur randomly, so if it looks like one player is being 'favored', it's all just luck of the draw. There is some protection built in against this however: Players with higher statistical totals will be less likely to get a random event than others.NFJ5 83For a purely strategic game that depends little on luck, turn random events off.This setting defaults to Infrequent. 5.1.8 HQ SelectionThis setting specifies how HQs are chosen at the start of the game. There are two settings: Manual and Automatic.The Manual setting will allow each player to choose their HQ, in turn order. This tends to favor the players that go first.The Automatic setting makes the computer choose each player's HQ before the game starts. This setting tends to balance the game a bit better.VHpL6 :This setting defaults to Manual. 5.1.9 First TurnThis setting specifies who goes first. There are seven settings, one for each configured player and Random.The Random setting will pick a random player to start the game. Otherwise, the selected player will go first.This setting defaults to the first configured player.GJL1!B LL*5.2 Other Game Options9pLL# ,5 Tweaking GameplayHL8O7 <# 5.2 Other Game OptionsThe Game menu contains all the controls for starting a game, aborting a game, and changing the player parameters. Refer to sections 2.2 and 4.1 for details on starting a game. 5.2.1 Aborting A GameTo Abort a game in progress, choose "Abort Game" from the Game menu. This will prematurely end the current game and allow the user to again change the settings in the "Players," "Options," and "Terraform" menus. Note that the game in progress cannot be resumed once it has been aborted.L< F" 5.2.2 Choosing PlayersChoosing "Players..." from the Options menu will bring up the Players dialog.In this dialog, the name8OpLs and colors of each player can be changed, as well as the type of player. To change a player's name, simply type it in the edit box for that player. Use the color drop-down to select the color of the player. Note that no two active players can use the same color, and no two players can have the same name.Use the option buttons to select one of four player types for each player. The choices are human, computer, network, and inactive. Human players are just that -- controlled by a human. Inactive players do not participate in the current game. Computer players are automatically controlled by the computer. Network players are humans on a remote computer. There must be at least two active players (human, computer, or network) in a game.8Oą/ ,+ 5.2.3 PersonalitiesWhen a computer player is selected in the Players dialog box, the Personality dropdown is activated. This dropdown allows the user to select the computer 'personality' behind the player. This affects how the computer reacts to different situations and generally defines 'how' they will play the game.There are six different computer personalities to play Fracas with. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, which depend largely on the type of map. This section will explain those strengths and weaknesses somewhat, but we don't want to give too much away -- it's much more fun to explore the personalities on your own. ш3 4Stonewall: This is the most well-rounded personality. Stonewall plays well whether there is an abundance of land or water. Generally defensive, Stonewall knows when to strike and when to be patient. Playing on a map with three Stonewalls is a good challenge. Stonewall works well on almost any map.Bully: Bully is, well, a bully, and is one of the most dangerous personalities. Bully has a tendency to pick fights with weaker players, and is a tad reckless. It's not surprising to see Bully take off across the continent with all of his troops, making a beeline for someone's HQ. On the other hand, he's not terribly defensive and can leave his back door wide open. Bully works best on a map with lots of land.ą3 4Moose: Moose is stubborn. This personality works by staying put and building up countries that he already owns. Moose shuns troop movements, and human players will have to work to dig him out. Moose works well on any map.Ahab: Ahab is master of the oceans. On a map with lots of land, Ahab plays like a weak Stonewall. However, when there is water about, Ahab snatches up coastal territory and won't let go. Ahab works best on a map with lots of water and islands.ш3 47Paranoid: Paranoid is one of the more interesting personalities in Fracas. He's a bit more unpredictable than the others, and seems to be more concerned with keeping other players away from him than outright attacking. Don't be surprised if Paranoid grabs up land in an out-of-the-way place on the map -- he's only doing it because the voices in his head tell him to...Clyde: The personality for beginners. If the other personalities keep beating you up, or if you want to start simple, this is the personality for you. Clyde plays a decent game, but will frequently make some boneheaded mistakes to give humans a fighting chance. For beginners only.G / ,1 5.2.4 Get Options From Map FileFracas has the ability to grab options from an existing map. In other words, if you want to play a game of Fracas using options that have been previously saved with another map, yet don't want to play on that SPECIFIC map, choose this option. You will be prompted for a .map file to grab options from.Note that this option only modifies the Players, Terraform, and Game Settings dialogs and does not start a game. You'll need to manually start a new game for the options to take effect. pL_7 < 5.2.5 Game StatisticsFracas keeps track of some vital game statistics during each game. To see these, just choose "Statistics..." under the Game menu. You can also see the statistics at the end of the game by clicking the appropriate button on the final dialog.A brief description of each statistic follows. For most statistics, the player on the left side of the grid is the attacking player.Countries Attacked: Shows how many of each player's countries have been attacked by each other player. Note that this only records that an attack was made, not that a country was overtaken.c5 . *kCountries Overtaken: Shows how many of each player's countries have been taken over by each other player. In other words, if you attack a player's country and take it over as your own, you will get one point added here and to the corresponding Countries Attacked statistic. This value will always be equal to or less than the corresponding Countries Attacked statistic.Troops Killed: Shows how many of each player's total troops have been destroyed by each other player. If a player loses 37 troops during an attack, then this statistic increases by 37.5 8HQs Defeated: Shows who has taken whom out of the game. A large X will appear in the appropriate slot when this happens. If a player resigns, all of the others receive an R in their slots for this player.Totals: Shows the total number of countries and troops, which is the same information shown on the statistics panel during the game.Rankings: Shows each player's overall rank and total score. Rank is a number from 1 to 6. The player ranked 1 is in the lead! Ties are possible. A player's score is calculated from all of the other statistics, and involves a lot of math and a little bit of magic. Scores are always between 0 to 1000, and a score of 1000 is almost impossible to attain./ , 5.2.6 Hi ScoresEach saved map has a Hi Score list to go along with it. If the winner of a game has a score (see section 5.2.5 above) large enough to get in the list, they will automatically be added to it when the game ends.Hi Scores are reset for each new map. this means that even changing one tiny game option will clear the Hi Scores and require a new map to be generated. It wouldn't be fair to change how the game was played just so you could get on the list easier!*' Note that only the winning player is eligible to get on the Hi Score list. If you came in second with a good enough score, it's still not good enough!Also note that Hi Scores are neither kept nor available during a Network Game.Oy1 B$ y0 7 Strategies, Tips, And TricksD!*# B6 Strategies, Tips, And Tricksy9 @"" Tip number one: EXPERIMENT. The gameplay and map settings can be combined in a multitude of ways to completely change the strategy of the game. Try playing with a small land to water ratio and lots of islands. Or try playing with no bonus troops. And above all, HAVE FUN. The computer players play a defensive game in general, with the exception of Bully. This means that they usually don't move across large stretches of land quickly. Use this to your advantage.99 @"" If the map has a lot of water on it, you need to become a naval power quickly. Choose an HQ that's on or near water and get a port built as quickly as possible. This will allow you to scarf up all the unclaimed troops on that big coastline. Countries can hold a maximum of 999 troops. If this maximum is exceeded by placing reinforcements, the excess troops are lost forever. It's much better to use a troop movement to max out troops in a country. The computer players don't know t*his, though...%A9 @"" The computer opponents play a good game, especially Stonewall. You can learn a lot by setting up a six-player game with all computer opponents. Watch 'em fight! Sour your enemies' victories. When you see one of your opponents is about take out another's HQ, start maneuvering to swoop in on the loser's large troop concentrations. If "When an enemy is conquered ... the remaining countries become neutral" is selected, you can grab the good ones before the victor has a chance!uD V""" If water is right-clicked, the information panel will show the name of the water mass. This is useful for determining if the same water mass borders two distant countries. Woe to the player who didn't notice the tiny channel at the edge of the map! If naval support is set for 1/10, be prepared for long standoffs over water. This setting works best on maps with lots of coastline, but not necessarily lots of islands. To make a map that has absolutely no water whatsoever, change the country size to tiny, country proportions to proportional, minimum lake size to large, and land to water ratio to mostly land./A)9 @"" For a more 'fair' game that relies on chance as little as possible, disable random events and select "When an enemy is conquered ... the enemy is completely eradicated." Make Initial Troop Placement "None" and make Bonus Troops greater than zero. Also works with "When an enemy is conquered ... the remaining countries stay loyal." For a more challenging game, play against five computer players and make yourself pick HQ last. This gives the computers pick of the litter on HQ countries.0 D V""" For a more challenging game, increase the land to water ratio (make more land) and play against Bully or Stonewall. For a more challenging game, decrease the land to water ratio (make more water) and play against Ahab or Moose. Of course, the most challenging games are six-player human contests. Keep track of wins. The winner of the last game picks HQ last in the next game. The person with the most wins gets free lunch on Friday.H)x 1<. x  I8 How Does Fracas Work?=0  # 47 How Does Fracas Work?|x X ' This section is for those users who feel compelled to take things apart. Note that the source code is available for some pieces of Fracas at www.planet-source-code.com. Just search for Merlo.I was originally inspired to write a random map generator by an old Commodore 64 game called Lords of Conquest, from Electronic Arts. In Lords of Conquest, the object of the game was to conquer the enemies on the map by harvesting natural resources and using them to build things like weapons and boats. Although there isn't much resource-gathering in Fracas, the map generator is somewhat similar and has been improved upon immensely. C@' qBasically, the map generator adds countries to the map, one by one, until it is done or until it can't place the current country. The settings in the 'Terraform' menu are applied at different times during the build process to adjust the placement and size of new countries. This code is available at www.planet-source-code.com and is called "LandMass." This was the working title of Fracas.The map display is actually a tiled display. Edges and corners of countries are blitted (copied) to the map after the bulk of the land. Borders and troop numbers are then blitted on top of the finished map. The particle explosions are re-blitted on top of the finished map repeatedly inside of a timer element. Note that whenever a change to the map itself occurs, such as claiming a country and changing its color, the map is completely redrawn. This system works well for a turn-based game, asX C@0  quick changes to the map elements are not necessary.X B% The particle explosion code is also available at www.planet-source-code.com and is called "Particle Explosion Simulation." Basically, each ball in the explosion is an instance of a "Ball" class which contains all the properties you'd expect a ball to have, such as elasticity and the position of the ball's shadow. Each time through the animation loop, simple physics is applied to each active ball. Gravity, elasticity, and velocities are all taken into account on an individual basis. Slide the "Animation Speed" slider all the way to the left to see just how fast your machine can go. Who said that VB was too slow for games? :)C@F' [Note that the Win32 API BitBlt instruction is used for the majority of graphics work in Fracas. This allows the game to run smoothly on all Win 9x and NT platforms without getting into messy DirectX compatibility problems. But I do plan to jump on the DirectX 7.0 bandwagon with my next project.The Random Name generator, a very subtle addition to Fracas, is used to name each individual country and body of water. Just right-click a country to see its name. The name generator should always produce a perfectly pronounceable gibberish word. It works by randomly choosing a letter of the alphabet to follow each other letter in the word. The trick is to only choose letters that will 'sound' okay when spoken. There are too many rules that govern this choice to list here, but I will say that the Scrabble(TM) letter tile distribution percentages are taken into account. This makes the country names a little less otherworldly! BI% If Fracas will be remembered for anything, I want it to be remembered as my first stab at artificial intelligence. Although the AI isn't necessarily smart, it isn't stupid either and it beats me half the time. The AI algorithms are complicated, but the mechanism is simple. The computer sees the game with fresh eyes each turn. It calculates scores for every country on the board for each move it makes, and takes the highest score it finds. There are about forty tunable parameters which give weight to the different decisions it makes. Tuning these parameters allows the creation of the individual personalities. It was a lot of fun to tune "Stonewall." He's about as good as I could get him, and he plays the game a lot like I do.MFJ1 $; JYJc9 Credits & AcknowledgementsBIYJ# >8 Credits & AcknowledgementsJxL0 .Fracas game concept and programming by Jason Merlo.The following people helped playtest Fracas and offered constructive criticism, beer, and other support during its creation:Debbie Hiott (my wife!)David Hiott (for playtesting *and* copy editing this document)Christian MerloKelly JamailPete Holiday (for server support and FracEdit!)Bowie & Stinky PinkyMacGillicuddy Theodore Dandelion (aka Mac Dandy)Ozzymandia Von Donut (our basset hound, who also did the 'port' sound effects)YJN8 >Smudge Becket (an inspiration for the 'Paranoid' personality...guard the house, big boy.)The following people acted as beta-testers for Fracas 2.0. Frankly, it would just be a buggy piece of crap without the generous assistance of:Adam VollmerAndrew LeonAlex VoyvodaAlexander MachadoAndrew LandenBen DippenaarBen McgeheeBill SherifaliBob SmithBrad McCannBrian & JulesBrian RossCamiel van BreugelCarlos CarrChris GallagherChris KlebanChris & Prissy Volz!xLB RChris OsborneChuck LindellCathy, David, and GabrielCraig PiersonCristian DumitrescuDan FullerDanielEnrique EliasDelRiscoDaniel MelloDaniel PaquetteDaren FrostDarrell HessDavid SoulsbyDottie & JimDrae CalistairDylan GordonEric DemersEric O'SullivanEric VergunstEric & Amy SargentFabriceNI MolestiFrederic JeanGanahGarth ChapmanGeoff A. CohenGoran VrbancicJeff AmosJeroen BronkhorstJim AndersonJim FelthauserJim NixonJimmy GoldHeavy N@ NJohn ShedletskyJohn W. CorialeJon KuhnJon MiltonJPBrown MolineKaveh R. GhaziKaye AndersonKing ScullyLady, Chula, and two fat catsLarry VillneffLiz, Dale, Christy, and HollyLuis MoralesMarcus ErikssonMarion MobleyMarv WaldenMatthew BeavenMatthias SchroederMarie GallagherMichael ThiesMichael TreadwellMike Zubas, Hentai MasterNils FagerburgP & J van der NeutPatrick ReinPaul IvanorePaul SerrePaul TouchstonePenny BassetRadu Serbanoc@ NRichard HasanRob HirdtRobert CumiskeyRon MullinsRonald DartschScott McClellandSean DurkinSebastian Camilo Labrador AragonSimon A. R. LudlowSmoke StackStephen AlexanderStephen Peterson, August, Andrew, & JesseThe ArnimalThe IT Staff of Infinity NetworkingTravis HurstVan SandersVeit MichalVijayakrishnaWilfried LuettmannYvan SchneebergerM110 How To Contact The AuthorAc# <9 How To Contact The Author : BYou can reach me, Jason Merlo, at one of the following Email addresses:jmerlo@austin.rr.comjason.merlo@emersonprocess.comPlease send all feedback to one of the above addresses.Fracas and all my other VB experiments are currently located at:http://www.smozzie.comIf you really like Fracas a lot, and feel compelled to support this fledgling game programmer, please send all donations and/or beer money to:Jason Merlo5910 Marilyn Dr.Austin, TX 78757-4425 USAl$ I would love a development position in the gaming industry. If you like Fracas and can help, please do!K 1%Expanded Table Of Contents@%# :Expanded Table Of Contents E #j%j%ETrj%ETrETrETrETrETrETrETrdddd1 Welcome to Fracas! 1.1 What Is Fracas? 1.2 How Do I Win? 1.3 System Requirements2 Getting Started 2.1 Installing Fracas 2.2 Starting A Game 2.2.1 New Game, New Map 2.2.2 New Game, Same Map 2.2.3 New Game, Load Map 2.2.4 Load Saved Game3 How To Play 3.1 Parts Of The Screen 3.1.1 The Map 3.1.2 The Statistics Panel%a~ ʀ=dddEEEEEUVUVUVUVUV 3.1.3 The Information Panel 3.1.3.1 Renaming Countries And Water 3.1.4 Messages 3.2 The World Map 3.2.1 Unclaimed Countries 3.2.2 Claimed Countries 3.2.3 HQs 3.2.4 Ports And Water 3.3 Phases Of A Turn 3.3.1 Troop Reinforcement Phase 3.3.2 Action Phase 3.3.2.1 Annexing Land 3.3.2.2 Building A PortE| ̀9UVUVUV h4h4h4剂剂剂 3.3.2.3 Attacking An Opponent 3.3.3 Troop Movement Phase 3.3.4 Passing and Resigning 3.4 Attack And Defense Totals 3.4.1 Defense Total 3.4.2 Attack Total 3.4.3 Combat Resolution4 Tweaking The Map 4.1 Generating A New Map 4.1.1 Saving And Loading 4.2 The Terraform Dialog 4.2.1 Country Size 4.2.2 Country Proportionsaw 7剂剂剂剂剂ZᚉZᚉZᚉZᚉZᚉZᚉZᚉ 4.2.3 Country Shapes 4.2.4 Minimum Allowed Lake Size 4.2.5 Approximate Land To Water Ratio 4.2.6 Islands 4.2.7 Screen Size 4.3 The Preferences Menu 4.3.1 Computer Player Speed 4.3.2 Borders 4.3.3 Sound| Effects 4.3.4 The Graphics Options Dialog 4.3.4.1 Graphics Checkboxes 4.3.4.2 Unoccupied Country Color| ̀5ZᚉZᚉ0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O 4.3.4.3 Animation Speed 4.3.5 Refreshing The Screen5 Tweaking Gameplay 5.1 The Game Settings Dialog 5.1.1 Initial Troop Placement 5.1.2 Initial Troop Counts 5.1.3 Bonus Troops 5.1.4 Naval Support 5.1.5 Enemy Ports 5.1.6 When An Enemy Is Conquered... 5.1.7 Random Events 5.1.8 HQ Selection 5.1.9 First Turn ̀/hꉂhꉂhꉂhꉂhꉂhꉂhꉂFoFoFoFoFoFo 5.2 Other Game Options 5.2.1 Aborting A Game 5.2.2 Choosing Players 5.2.3 Personalities 5.2.4 Get Options From Map File 5.2.5 Game Statistics 5.2.6 Hi Scores6 Playing Fracas Over A Network 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Network Requirements 6.2.1 Network Limitations 6.3 Hosting a Network Game 6.4 The Network Arbitration DialogJm FoFoFoFoFoFoI׉ނĉL̉i 6.5 Joining a Network Game 6.6 Playing a Network Game 6.7 Winning or Losing a Network Game 6.8 Leaving a Network Game Prematurely 6.9 Chatting 6.10 Advanced Network Options7 Strategies, Tips, And Tricks8 How Does Fracas Work?9 Credits & Acknowledgements10 How To Contact The AuthorN1 m 3.4 Attack And Defense Totals3#  3 How To PlayNO7 J Note: The fraction of troops that can attack and defend overseas is configurable and is explained in section 5.1.4. 3.4.2 Attack TotalPut simply, when it's time to attack an enemy country, the strength of the attacking player against that country is calculated. The attack total against an enemy country is the sum of the following:1. The number of troops in all of the attacker's adjacent countries, and2. A fraction of the troops in all of the attacker's overseas countries that have ports.U$1 0IIn other words, troops in a country next to an enemy country can attack the enemy with full strength. Troops who can only reach an enemy country with the help of a port can only assist with a fraction of their strength. 3.4.3 Combat ResolutionWhen a country is attacked, the attack total and the defense total are compared, and the battle is resolved as follows:If the attacIk strength is less than or equal to the defense strength, then the country cannot be attacked. No turn is lost, and the attacker can choose another action.iBI' If the attack strength is greater than the defense strength, then the attack succeeds. The amount of troops lost by the defender is equal to the difference between attack and defense totals. If this difference is greater than the number of troops in the defending country, the country is lost and the attacker gains control of it.Note that there is no way to 'sacrifice' your troops to make a stronger country weaker. If you can't attack a particular country, then you can't attack it, period. There is no random element in combat, either -- Fracas is a strategy game!Pc15lj.c6 Playing Fracas Over A NetworkE"# D6 Playing Fracas Over A NetworkOc.7 < 6.1 IntroductionFracas 2.0 supports LAN network play over valid TCP/IP connections. Up to six different computers can connect to each other to play. Networked players can even play with computer-controlled players as well - so its possible for you and your buddies to gang up, form teams, and beat the pus out of the other guys. Just be careful not to get stabbed in the back! 6.2 Network RequirementsAll thats required to play Fracas on a LAN is a valid TCP/IP connection between two or more computers. One computer must be designated the host machine. The host of a networked game of Fracas is the central server that distributes game information to the other computers, which will be referred to as clients from here on. Clients need to know the name or TCP/IP address of the machine that theyre going to connect to.X 9 @?Its a good idea to make sure you can communicate with the other computers before firing up Fracas for a network game. Basically, if you can ping another computer by name or address, Fracas will likely work using that connection. To ping another computer, bring up the DOS command prompt and type:ping x.x.x.xorping NAMEReplace x.x.x.x with the target computers TCP/IP address and NAME with the computers network name in the examples above. If you see the ping command return a Reply from message, then youre connected!D. ' ;If you dont know your computers name or IP address, these can be found in the Network applet in your computers Control Panel. Windows 95 and 98 users can also go to Start->Run and type winipcfg to get some useful information.A detailed discussion of networking and TCP/IP will not be covered here. See your system administrator or visit one of the tutorials on the web if you need help setting up your network. Do not Email the makers of Fracas with general networking questions - they will be ignored. Thanks for understanding.q k0 . 6.2.1 Network LimitationsWhile the network play supported by Fracas is certainly serviceable, there are a few limitations which should be stated before our mailbox fills up with nasty-grams:* No official Internet support. This means that if you cant get a networked Fracas game to work with your long-lost friend in Kalamazoo, youre out of luck. Theres likely some sort of firewall or something else blocking the way.* No official firewall support. Its up to you to configure your firewall to allow TCP/IP communications. Check the Advanced Network Properties dialog (shift-N) to configure the port. ~@/ ,* No saved games. You can save maps containing network players, but you cant save a game in progress. Also, there is no prompt after the game to remind you to save your map. Besides, isnt it more fun playing on new territory each time?* No high scores. High scores are not kept for network games. 6.3 Hosting a Network Game Up to five humank~@s can play on the host machine like a normal hot-seat game, but each client computer can only support one human.k%C' The player(s) on the host machine are responsible for determining all of the game parameters to be used in the network game. This includes all map and game settings, as well as player colors. Clients will be able to choose their own player names later, but the host can specify default player names.On the Players dialog, the host should configure any networked players as Network using the appropriate dropdown menu. Refer to section 5.2.2 for details. Any player marked as a network player MUST be claimed by a client computer before the game can start. Thats why its important to know how many clients will be joining you.~@F< F]" When the game parameters are set, a game can be started by choosing New Game, New Map from the Game menu. The New Game, Same Map and New Game, Load Map options will work for networked games too, if a map with networked players was saved previously.If any players have been marked as Network the network arbitration dialog will pop up to allow clients to join. 6.4 The Network Arbitration DialogThe Network Arbitration dialog is seen by all network players before the game starts. This is where clients connect to the host computer. The dialog contains a list of configured players for the game, and their current network status. Possible status values are:#%C1I- (Local or Host: This player is controlled by a human on the host computer.Computer: This computer player is controlled by the host computer.Waiting...: The host is waiting for a client to claim this player.Available: This player is available for a client computer to claim as their own.Joined or Taken: This player is controlled by a human on a client computer.Player statuses will update as clients join and leave the game. A large Cancel button is always available during network arbitration. If a client clicks Cancel, their player becomes available again to other clients and they must join the game again. If the host clicks Cancel, the game is aborted and all clients are booted off. At this point, the host must start another game.FK/ ,? 6.5 Joining a Network GameBy selecting "Join Network Game" from the Game menu, a player can connect to a host. After selecting this, the network arbitration dialog pops up with a prompt for the host name. Type the hosts name or TCP/IP address into the box, and click the Join button. If the host name or address is valid, and the client can communicate with the host (see section 6.2 above) a list of available player slots will appear.If you are unable to connect to the specified host, STOP! Go back and check your network connections and settings. You must be able to communicate with the host machine over TCP/IP before you can join a network game.X1I~N' After joining, you will be presented with the current player list. A small red arrow will appear by the player slots that are still available. Click any available player name to join as that player. The status of that player will change to Taken to indicate that you have taken control.Before joining, a client can change their player name by typing it in the appropriate box. If this box is blank, the default name shown in the player list will be used. It is not possible for a client to choose a specific player color. The host always chooses everyones color before starting the game.,K/ ,When all players have joined - in other words, when all available slots have been taken by clients - the game will start. Clients must wait as the host machine generates the map and initial game data is sent. A progress indicator will be shown while game data is being transmitted to clients. When all clients have received their game~N data, the game starts. 6.6 Playing a Network GameNetwork games proceed exactly like any other game of Fracas. Each player makes their moves in turn as normal.~N~' CNote that it is sometimes normal for lengthy pauses to occur during network players turns. More than likely, this is because that player is thinking about their move. There is no time limit on moves, but be polite and dont leave other players hanging for too long. You can also chat with the other players (see section 6.9) to prod them.It might be important to know that the host machine is responsible for controlling all computer players. the host is also responsible for transmitting one clients moves to all the other clients. This extra work means that it might be wise to use your most powerful computer as the host. This will minimize network delays.W/ ,U 6.7 Winning or Losing a Network GameIf a network player is defeated during the game, they can stick around and observe the remainder of the game! Nothing special needs to be done - the other players will continue as normal and the action will still be updated on the players computer.The exception to this is that if all humans on the host machine are defeated, the host MUST stick around until the game is over. If the host aborts the game or closes the Fracas application before the game is over, clients cannot continue and the game ends. So be polite and offer your support to the remaining players! Clients can abort the game after losing with no ill effects.D~/ ,+Play continues as normal until only one player is left. That player is the winner! After the win dialog is displayed, it can be acknowledged normally. At this point, a new network game can be started as described in section 6.3. 6.8 Leaving a Network Game PrematurelyLeaving a network game before the game is over is not recommended. But if for some reason a player cannot continue (or if the Fracas application is closed unexpectedly), the rest of the network will be updated to this fact and will react accordingly.qW3' If a client leaves the game prematurely, the host will take over for that player as a computer player. This means that if youre losing, purposely dropping your connection will not be treated as a resign! The correct way to leave a game while not harming the network, other people, or your reputation is to click the Resign button at the start of your turn. Once resigned, its safe to abort the game ... but again, not if youre the host!If the host leaves the game prematurely, the game is immediately over since all clients are orphaned at that point. In other words, the host MUST stay in a network game in order for the game to continue. Aborting or closing the Fracas application on the host computer will end the game for all players and might make your gaming partners dislike you a little bit more. Dont do this unless all players agree to end it all quickly!x:> Jw"  6.9 ChattingFracas contains a chat feature for use while playing a network game. To open the chat window, select Chat from the Game menu.Chatting is simple. Just type your message to the other players in the box at the bottom of the chat window and click the Send button. Alternately, hitting return while typing in the box will send the message too. Thats it! Clicking the Exit button will close the chat window.It is possible to emote in the Fracas chat window! Prefacing your chat comments with /me will do this. For example, the line:537 </me is enjoying Fracas!will be displayed in bold in everyones chat window as:Bowie is enjoying Fracas!If your player name is Bowie, of course. It's also possible to whisper to one other player. This means you can plan strategies and the like without the enemy knowing what you're up to! To whisper, preface your chat comment with /x, where x is the player's number from 1 to 6. Players are always numbered from 1 to 6 in the order they appear in the statistics panel. For example, the line:P<; D+/1 I think we need to move in NOW!will only be sent to player 1, or the first player in the statistics panel. They would see:I think we need to move in NOW!The color of all whispered text is red so you know to whisper back and keep your plans secret.Note that you cannot whisper and emote at the same time -- sorry. I had to draw the line somewhere. This is a wargame, not a chat room!Note also that you can only chat once a network game has started. When the game is over, the chat window closes automatically./ ,O 6.10 Advanced Network OptionsPress Shift-N to bring up the Advanced Network Options dialog. This dialog contains a few parameters which can be tweaked if there are problems getting a Fracas network game to work.Port number is the TCP/IP port number used to connect to other computers. If this number is changed on one machine, it must be changed to the same number on another machine in order for the two to communicate. This number should really only be changed if for some reason another application is using the default port number. The default port number is 3737. Why 3737? I dont know. It just seemed like a port number that no one else would be using.<& 'ACK Message Timeout is an internal parameter that controls the rate at which messages are retried between machines. Lowering this number will likely only degrade performance. Raising it may improve network performance on slower systems by reducing the number of times messages are resent in a given time period. The best bet is to leave it alone unless youre experiencing performance problems. 11>5MS Sans SerifArialArial CEArial CYRArial GreekArial TURCourier New   /&;)LzContents1 Welcome To Fracas,2 Getting StartedԈ3.1 Parts Of The Screen3.2 The World Mapm3.3 Phases Of A Turn 4.1 Generating A New Mapy4.2 The Terraform Dialog 4.3 The Preferences Menu5.1 The Game Settings Dialoglj5.2 Other Game Options.7 Strategies, Tips, And Tricks$8 How Does Fracas Work?9 Credits & Acknowledgements;10 How To Contact The AuthorExpanded Table Of Contents{3.4 Attack And Defense TotalsB6 Playing Fracas Over A NetworkO /&;)L4hETr,Ei;Z  {ނ$LI.yhljh4 j%U%0OUVm1SnFoBdԈlp0$$L    > 5 lp0 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