Centurion "Defender of Rome" by Electronic Arts 1990 Your goal in Centurion is to rule the world and keep the people happy. While there's no single way to conquer the world, you may want to start by occupying Alpes. Special Loading Features E EGA mode V VGA mode M MCGA mode TANDY Tandy graphics mode NOSND Disconnect sound driver PC Play music using the PC speaker TN Play music using the Tandy speaker ROLAND Play music using the Roland sound driver LAPC Play music using the internal Roland sound driver MT Play music using the Roland MT32 sound driver AD Play music using the Adlib or SoundBlaster sound driver ADLIB Play music using the Adlib or SoundBlaster sound driver K Ignore mouse and use the keyboard only Example: typing "centurion e mt" would run the game using EGA graphics and Roland sound. Selecting Items: Mouse Users - Use the mouse to move the arrow cursor to an item. Press a mouse button to select the item. Note: On the Map screen, the right mouse button is used to move legions. Keyboard Users - Use the numeric keypad or the cursor keys to move the arrow cursor to an item. Press ENTER or the SPACEBAR to select the item. Note: On the Map screen, ENTER is used to move legions. Special Key Commands on the MAP While viewing a map: E End Turn F Complete fleet list L Complete legion list P Complete province list Q Quit Music On/Off toggle = Ctrl-S Enter a Roman Province by moving the cursor to a Roman province and press the left mouse button or the SPACEBAR. Moving Legions From the Map Mouse Users - Move the cursor to a legion and press the right mouse button. The "ghost" legion icons indicate the provinces you can move into and the fleets you can board. Point to the province you want to move into or the fleet you want to board and press a mouse button. Keyboard Users - Move the cursor to a legion and press ENTER. The "ghost" legion icons indicate the provinces you can move into and the fleets you can board. Point to the province you want to move into or the fleet you want to board and press ENTER Moving Fleets Mouse Users - Move the cursor to a fleet and press the left mouse button. The "ghost" fleet icons indicate the bodies of water you can move into. Point to the body of water you want to move into and press a mouse button. Keyboard Users - Move the cursor to a fleet and press the SPACEBAR . The "ghost" fleet icons indicate the bodies of water you can move into. Point to the body of water you want to move into and press ENTER. Land Battle Once you've selected a formation and a tactic, the battle begins. Directing Individual Units To give orders to individual units on the battlefield, pause the game by clicking a mouse button or pressing ENTER or the SPACEBAR. Now you can direct any troops within your general's sphere of influence. To select a unit, place the cursor on the unit and click a mouse button or press ENTER. A small dot appears on the lower corner of the unit icon and the Unit Status Box appears. Mouse users - Move the cursor to the small dot, hold down a mouse button, and drag the movement line in the direction you want the unit to travel. Once you've determined the direction and distance you want the unit to travel, release the mouse button. Keyboard users - Use the numeric keypad to direct the movement line in the direction you want the unit to move. Once you've determined the distance you want the unit to travel, press ENTER. Naval Battle Once you've slected a flagship, the splash screen appears. Click a mouse button or press ENTER or the SPACEBAR to begin the battle between your flagships. You can only fight naval battles using the keyboard. To control your flagship, use the following keys: Speed Up 8 Turn left 4 6 Turn right 2 Slow Down ENTER = Board enemy ship SPACEBAR or INSERT = Fire catapult Retreating To flee a naval battle, move your flagship toward any edge of the screen, or simply press R. A message will appear asking you if you want to reengage the battle. Select Yes to continue the battle or No to retreat. If you escape the enemy, a message will appear telling you which sea you retreated to. Your fleet automatically retreats with your flagship. Racing Chariots Once you've selected Race Now, the charioteers line up at the starting line. Click a mouse button or press ENTER or the SPACEBAR to begin the race. Controlling Your Chariot with the Mouse. Move the mose to the right to steer your chariot toward the outside of teh track; move the mouse to the left to steer your chariot toward the inside of the track. Pull back on the mouse to slow donw. To whip your horses, press a mouse button. If an opponent is off to your left, press the left mouse button to whip your oppeonent. if he's to your right, press the right mouse button to whip him. Controlling Your Chariot with the Keyboard Use the numeric keypad to control your chariot: Whip Horses Whip opponent on left 7 8 9 Whip opponent on right Move left 4 6 Move right 2 Slow Down PS/2 model 25 and 30 users - Press the up cursor key to whip your horses and the down cursor key to slow down. Press the left cursor key to move toward the inside of the track; press the right cursor key to move toward the outside of the track. Gladiator Show Once you've chosen your gladiator and his oppoent, you see the Colosseum. Click a mouse button or press ENTER or the SPACEBAR to begin combat. You can only control your gladiator using the keyboard. To control your gladiator, use the following keys: High Bock High Strike 7 8 Move Forward 4 6 Move Back Low Strike 3 2 Low Block PS/2 model 25 and 30 users - Use the cursor keys to control your gladiator. To strike your opponent, you'll have to press two keys at the same time Right = Move back Left = Move forward Up = High block Down = Low Block Up + Left = High strike Down+Left = Low strike ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Italia - The Beginning of an Empire When the game begins you only control the province of Italia. The legionnaire standing in Italia marks the single legion you command. To go to Rome, you must enter the province of Italia. You start at the rank of Officer. At this rank, you can't raise more legions or build fleets. And there's little you can do with the twenty talents in the tresury. The good news is that you can raise your rank and increase your wealth by adding - and holding onto - provinces. FORM ALLIANCES Winning allies with your tongue is less costly than subduing them with the sword. When you first move your legion into a province, you can try to negotiate alliances with your neighbors. CIVILIZE THROUGH CONQUEST If the barbarians ignore your diplomats, they may listen to the legion you brought w/ya. When you go to war, you choose a formation and a tactic, and then start the fight. During the battle, you can stop the action and direct individual units or cohorts (groups of legionnares or cavalry). FIGHT MARAUDING SCUM Rome has no lack of enemies. Barbarian tribes from the north invade Italia looking for easy plunder. from the south, cities like Carthago send out organized armies in hope of stemming Rome's rise to power. As a soldier, you're obligated to protect Rome and her allies from foreign attack. SMASH ENEMY FLEETS Once you're high enough rank and you have enough money, you can build fleets to move legions overseas and fight foreign navies. RACE THE FAMOUS CIRCUS MAXIMUS With enought talents you can participate in chariot races in Rome. Winning can earn you more talents and improve your reputation. SPILL BLOOD IN THE COLOSSEUM W/O a doubt, the masses are happier when they're entertained, and the blood that flows during gladiatorial events is guaranteed to increase your popularity. The Game Turn The game progresses in single year increments or turns. The turn limits the actions you can take in a year. For example, you can move or strengthen an individual legion only once per turn. Fleets can be moved only once per turn, too. To go to the next turn, select End Turn from the Map. RANK You begin at the rank of officer. As you climb in rank, you can command more legions and the senate grants you new powers. RANK LEGIONS FLEETS NEW POWERS ---- ------- ------ ---------- Officer 1 0 -- Centurion 2 0 -- Tribune 3 1 Command cavalry legions, fleets Legatus 4 1 -- General 6 2 -- Praetor 8 2 -- Consul 10 3 Command consular armies Proconsul 12 3 -- Caesar 12 3 -- INCREASING RANK In Rome, your reputation determines your success. Your rank in the military depends on deeds and acts that distinguish you from the rest of the Roman nobility. As your social status increases, you'll receive promotions. Doing any of the following increases your social status: Adding Provinces - Adding provinces (through conquest or negotiations) increases your status. Adding provinces that are rich in resources - Aegyptus, Carthago, Macedonia, Parthia, or Gaul - brings more honors than adding poorer provinces. Strengthening Treaties - Your reputation as a trustworthy administrator also affects your status. Every time an alliance is strengthened, your reputation improves. Winning Chariot Races - Backing the right horse makes you look good. When your team wins a race, you win the people's admiration. Building an Amphitheater - All levels of Roman society benefit from an amphitheater. This is a good way to win popular support. Holding Gladiator Events - Lavish spectacles can increase your popularity, but only when you fairly judge who should live and who should die. Maintaining Rome's Honor - It's your duty to uphold Rome's reputation as a strong power, reliable ally, and fair administrator. Rome's honor is tarnished whenever the people in a province become so dissatisfied with Roman rule that they revolt. Plundering a province also tarnishes the honor of the empire. You can only plunder a province one. Note: You can not plunder Italia. While plundering is a quick way to fill up your coffers, the people you just robbed don't appreciate it. And once other countries witness Roman exploitation, they may be less willing to roll out the welcome mat when your diplomats come knocking. Losing Social Status Your reputation suffers whenever you lose a battle, fail at a game, weaken an alliance, or fail to protect an ally from foreign attack. But though your social status can weaken, you can never be demoted to a lower rank. Becoming Caesar Conquering all the provinces in the world is not enough to achieve the ultimate rank of Caesar - after all, Roman emperors were worshipped as gods. To become Caesar, you must also win the respect and love of the people by sponsoring games and races, strengthening alliances, and maintaining Rome's honor. Strengthen Legion - Recruiting soldiers to strengthen a legion requires talents. The cost is proportionate to raising a legion. For example, let's say 20% of your infantry legion (840 solidiers) was lost in battle. To strengthen the legion back to its max, you'd pay 20% of the cost of raising an entirely new legion (.2x20 talents = 4 talents). However, the no. of soldiers you actually recruit may be limited by the man power in the province. LEGION SPECIFICATIONS You can command 3 types of armies depending upon your rank: infantry legions, cavalry legions, and consular armies. TYPE MAX Infantry MAX Cavalry ---- ------------ ----------- Infantry 4200 --- Cavalry 4200 300 Consular 6000 600 Difficulty Levels The difficutly level set under the Game Options menu affects how the soldiers are divided into cohorts. At the lowest difficulty level, there are more soldiers per cohort. While this gives you fewer cohorts on the field, it actually works to your advantage - the more soldiers you have per unit, the less likely they are to panic under attack. Higher difficulty levels give you cohorts that are less resistant to direct assaults, which places a greater emphasis on wise tactical use of our units. The following table shows you the max no. of soldiers per unit at each difficulty level: Diffuculty Level Infantry Cohorts Cavalry Cohorts ---------------- ---------------- --------------- Galley Slave 500/cohort 150/cohort Legionnaire 400/cohort* 150/cohort Senator 350/cohort* 150/cohort Emperor 350/cohort* 150/cohort * At all difficulty levels, consular armies at full strength have 500 soldiers/infantry cohort. The difficulty level also affects your enemies' courage - the harder the level, the more courageous your enemies will be. Cohorts Infantry Cohorts Elephant Cohorts Cavalry Cohorts ---------------- ---------------- --------------- Speed: slow Speed: Good Speed: Fast Size: 1-500 soldiers Size: 20 elephants Size: 1-150 equestrians GENERALS The general directs and motivates his army. Each general has leadership qualities that effect his ability to command: voice, charisma, and sphere of influence. To see a general's leadership qualities, select his unit. Voice - The range of the general's control over his cohorts. Voice is the numeric equivalent of teh general's sphere of influence. A general's voice can range from 8 (small range) to 18 (great range). Charisma - As a leader, the general inspires his troops and increases their courage. Units w/in the general's sphere of influence won't panic as easily as units outside of his direct control. If a general falls in battle, many troops may panic and leave the field - a disaster for any army. Sphere of Influence - The general can only direct units w/in his sphere of influence. Troops outside his sphere of influence act only on the Tactic orders chosen before the battle, or on any Melee or Retreat command you've given them since the battle started (however, they will attack enemy units in their path and defend themselves when necessary.) LAND BATTLE When you fight the soldiers of a province, you're actually reducing the available manpower of the province. You may want to kill as few enemy soldiers as possible so that, once you add the province to your empire, there will be more soldiers to recruit. On the other hand, if you're worried about a rebellion in the province, you may wnat to kill as many soldiers as possible to decrease the number of soldiers the rebels can field. Choose a Formation and Tactic Once you've chosen to go to war, you must meet the enemy on the field. At the prompts, select a formation and tactic for your legion. These are the preliminary orders for your cohorts. Once you've chosen a tactic, the battle begins. Pausing the Battle You can pause the battle in order to direct individual units or review the courage status of any unit on the field. Checking Unit Status Once the battle is paused you can check the status of each unit on the field. To check a unit's status, select the unit. The unit status box appears, giving you critical info about the unit's current strength and courage. You can check the status of an enemy unit (or a friendly unit outside your general's sphere of influence) by moving the cursor to the unit and holding down the action button. Reviewing Orders If you want to review the current orders for the whole army, pause the battle and select 'Select Roman Unit'. Melee To order a unit to move and attack the nearest enemy, select a unit, and then select Melee. If you want all units to eelee (even those outside your general's sphere of influence), select Melee w/o specifying any particular unit. This "releases the Roman legion" - every unit in your will move to the nearest enemy unit and attack. Note: When you release the legion, the army will proceed to slaughter with reckless abandon. Melee doesn't produce a very systematic defeat of the enemy and can very well lead to your defeat if initiated too early. On the other hand, melee is a handy way to get units outside of your general's sphere of influence to move and attack. Note: You can give new orders to a unit in melee; but once you give it new orders, the unit is no longer in melee mode. Retreat To order a unit to retreat, select the unit, and then select Retreat. A unit will continue retreating until it's off the field or until you give it new orders. If you want all units to retreat (even those outside your general's sphere of influence), select Retreat w/o specifying any particular unit. Note: If you're protecting a Roman province from a marauding army and you order your entire army off the field, the people of the region will rise up and annihilate your army. SCIPIO'S BATTLE NOTES Flanking A cohort marches w/shields and weapons forward, making its flanks (sides) and rear vulnerable to attack. Flanking is attacking a unit at one of these vulnerable points. Whenever possible, you want to move your units into positions to flank enemy units. Doubling Up When two cohorts are attacking, their combined strength is thrown at the enemy. "Double Up" on enemy units wherever you can. Routing From a purely tactical standpoint, routing an enemy unit( making it flee the battle field) is just as good as destroying it; after all, a panicked enemy unit poses no threat to you. Once you rout an enemy unit, you may turn your attacking cohort(s) on another enemy unit. Defense vs. Offense Defense is easier than offense. Units that are set ( that is, not moving) having an advantage over units that are moving - the defending unit can inflict damage just before an approaching enemy unit closes in. If there isn't a tactical advantage to moving a unit forward to meet the enemy, let it stand where it is. Calalry Because of their speed and power, cavalry cohorts are the most effective units on the field. A flank attack from a calalry unit is deadly. Elephants The Romans discovered that the sheer size and strangeness of elephants were enough to set ranks of men and horses in disorder. Troops are more likely to panic the 1st time they face elephants. Once a legion has soldiers who are veterans of battles w/elephants, their courage when facing these beasts goes up. Elephants are well-armored toward the fromt but can be effectively attacked from the flanks and rear. A panicked elephant unit will behave erratically, often turning on its own troops in its attempt to flee the field. Generals A cohort's courage may drop when its general falls in battle. If the cohort's courage drops to Panicked, the cohort will flee the field. To keep your army's courage up, don't let your general move into a position where the enemy can attack him. At the same time, take advantage of any opportunity to destroy the enemy's general. SHIPS The Romans armed their warships with catapults and ballistae or large arrow launchers. In addition, each ship had a large ram fixed to the prow of the ship which could be used to punch a hole in the enemy's hull just below the surface of the water. In Centurion, there are three types of warships that vary in speed, size, and durability: Triremes Quinquereme Galleon Speed: Fast Speed: Good Speed: Slow Durability: Weak Durability: Good Durability: Strong Size: Holds 50 Size: Holds 100 Size: Holds 200 foot soldiers foot soldiers foot soldiers You need to place soldiers on your ships in order to make your fleet an effective weapon. To man your ships with legionnaires, move a legion or army onto the fleet. Your ships can carry cavalry units, too (although cavalry units don't give you any advantages when fighting naval battles). Cavalry units take up more room onboard - one equestrain requires the room of four foot soldiers. Though the size of your fleet is important, the kinds of ships you have is critical. The Flagship If you have more than one type of ship in your fleet, you must select a flagship before the battle begins. Each type of ship has it's advantages and disadvantages when acting as your flagship. If no legion is aboard your fleet, your flagship will be manned by a skeleton crew of one-half the maximum ship capacity; with a legion, your flagship will have the maximum number of soldiers it can carry. SEA BATTLE When you fight a sea battle, you actually controll only your flagship. As you fight the enemy's flagship, your fleet's morale rises or falls w/your progress. There are two things to watch during a sea battle - your progress against the enemy flagship, and how well your fleet is fighting. Here's the scoop on the Sea Battle status line: /-> 7 ships 9 <- \ / 100 men 100 \ Strength of / / \ \ Strength of enemy flagship / / \ \ your flagship / / \ \ / / | \ # of enemy # of men aboard | # of your ships left enemy ships left | ships left not counting | not counting the flagship | the flagship | # of men aboard your ships left Catapults and Arrows The catapult only fires in a straight line from the bow of the ship. The soldiers on board your ship automatically launch arrow whenever your ship comes in range of the enemy. If all the men on your ship die, arrows will no longer be launced - the catapult crew, however, will continue to fire when ordered to. Ramming To ram, simply steer the ram on the prow of the ship into the enemy's ship. The heavier your ship and the faster you're going, the more damage you'll do. Boarding You can lower the boarding ramp anytime during combat. If the ramp makes contact w/the enemy flagship, your legions automatically board and hand-to hand combat ensues. If the ramp doesn't make contact, it will automatically be raised. Chariot Races Skulduggery Select an option to bribe an opponent, hire a physician, or invoke the help of the gods (to cheat). Bet Select an option to increase or decrease the amount of your bet. The max bet is 100 talents. The betting odds are always a min. of 1-1. Medium and heavy chariots are more difficult to master, so the odds are increased to 2-1 for medium and 3-1 for heavy chariots. Note: Every time you win, the odds go down, and every time you lose badly (3rd or 4th), the odds go up - max. odds are 5-1. You must circle the track 3 times to complete the race. Whenever you finish a lap, one of the fish on the lap counter flips up. The finish line appears when one chariot completes two circles around the track. Watch out for the turns. The red speed limit line marks the max speed you can be going when you enter the turn. If you're going too fast, your chariot will break apart. The closer you are to the outside track, the higher your speed limit and the faster you can take the turn. Note, however, that the inside of the turn is shorter - even though you can't go fast on the inside of the turn, you may get around the bend quicker. H = Horse's energy C = Chariot durability GLADIATOR SHOWS Select Gladiators Select the gladiator you want to control, and then select how much you want to pay for training. Now select the gladiator you want to compete against and his level of training. once you've chosen your combatants, the fight begins. In the Arena As you fight, the crowd's pleasure will rise and fall with the blood, gore, and action in the arena. The more wild swinging and good blocks, the more the crowd likes it. The spectators don't like to feel cheated, so drag out the carnage as long as you can but avoid moments where there's no action. When a gladiator falls, you get to judge whether he live or dies. Select "thumbs up" if the gladiator gave the people a decent fight; select "thumbs down" if the worthless dog dropped too quickly. If the crowd agreed with your ruling, the pleasure bar will rise. If they thought you judged poorly, the pleasure bar will fall. 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