Conquest of Japan Impressions Software, Inc. Strategy Supplement Software Copyright 1992 Impressions All rights reserved worldwide This Manual Copyright 1992 Impressions All rights reserved worldwide. No portion of this manual may be copied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form without the prior written consent of Impressions Software Inc. Overview This booklet details facets of forming armies and fighting battles in the field. It answers the following questions: What can I do to capture all ten cities of Honshu? What should I consider when forming an army? What should I consider when choosing a battle formation? What tactics can I use when fighting a battle? How do my warriors know when to attack? How do archers and arquebusiers (missile-firing warriors) work? How are the results of a single combat (warrior vs. warrior) determined? How does morale affect my warriors? This booklet is intended as a supplement to the instructions given in the manual. To learn how to play the game, one should look to the manual or the technical supplement/tutorial. Main Map Level -- Goals of the Campaign The basics of the Main Map level are fairly straightforward. Your objective is to control all ten armies of the island of Honshu; you do this by forming armies to defend your five cities and attack those of your opponent. The map of Honshu is divided into an invisible grid of squares. Each mobile army can move one square per round. When a city is taken, the mobile army (if any) that came from that city is automatically disbanded. (As explained in the manual, the warriors are too concerned about the goings- on at home to fight!) In this way, potentially overwhelming forces can be routed by conquering their cities -- but only if you can conquer the city before its army reaches its target. Depending on how the cities are located at the start of the game, you may find this to be a key part of your campaign strategy. The Five Warriors (Warriors in Battle) (The following passage discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each of the five major warriors, and their applications on the battlefield.) It would be wrong to suggest an optimum combination of warrior-types to make the "perfect army." First of all, there is no one perfect combination to be had, as each warrior's usefulness depends on how well you use it. And second, part of the fun of the game is in finding the composition that works best for you. With that in mind, we offer these thoughts to consider when making your choices. When fighting on their own, the Standard Battle Values table shows clearly the strengths and weaknesses of the five warriors you can control. The Samurai warrior on foot is overall the strongest piece on the battlefield, being good both in attack and defense. These are your hard-core troops. In offense, they are your battering ram to break the line of your enemy. In defense, they are your hard wall to protect the leader. They are so strong (and brave) that they can take on more than one Spearman at a time, and have a chance of survival and even victory. The strength of the Samurai lies in his body armor, which is both elaborate in design and construction. Watch the opening sequence of the game to see the large number of protective pieces of body armor that go to make up a single soldier's uniform. The mounted Samurai or Samurai cavalry are in some ways the most difficult to command. Being faster than any other piece on the battlefield means that they are ideal for rapid action: both in response to enemy moves, and to probe the weak spots of the enemy defense. However, as you can see in their ratings, they may be the best attacking piece, but their defense is such that a few spearmen that manage to surround and smother a horseman will easily win. The answer, then, is to keep the cavalry group moving. Thrust at the enemy -- do not use them as a defensive wall. They should be like lightning -- your enemy should never know when they will strike next. In a large war, they can be used as a tremendous sword to cut through the enemy; alone, they become like the commando, constantly nagging the enemy defense. If the enemy's missile power is causing you great losses, hit them with cavalry. If a large force is meeting you head on, hit one of the sides with cavalry and swing your men round to support them; then the battle is less straightforward. If an enemy is falling back, then use your cavalry's lead to block their retreat. Always remember to keep them moving, and they should always attack first. If the initial attack does not succeed, pull them back, regroup using the group formation command and go again. The arquebusiers and bowmen's worth are in their missile- firing capability -- hand-to-hand fighting is not their strength. In the early phase of the battle, they should be used to weaken the enemy line before an attack. Arquebusiers have a higher Firepower rating than archers, and have more success at destroying their targets than bowmen. So if you are up against heavily armored troops (e.g. Samurai), it is worthwhile to concentrate them against the Samurai, leaving the bowmen to irritate the lighter troops such as the spearmen. The best (and only!) defense against missile-firers is to charge them down. They are weak at hand-to-hand, and cannot fire their weapons when so closely engaged. Likewise, if your bowmen/arquebusiers can be protected -- either placed behind a row of Spearmen or allowed to fire over a river (where enemy passage will be slow and cumbersome) -- success is more likely. Spearmen are the basic footsoldier. They are the least expensive, and therefore the most plentiful in any army. Although no match for the Samurai alone, they often respond by fighting in groups. Standing either shoulder-to-shoulder in line or double-line is surprisingly effective, as all will benefit from being near their comrades when fighting. Be prepared to switch command mode to Single mode and direct operations by controlling each man individually. You can then use your spearmen to surround an enemy piece, giving a much greater chance of victory against it. Because of their cheapness, Spearmen can be used as a protective wall for the more expensive (Samurai) units or weaker missile-firing units. Standard Battle Values Attack Defense Firepower Leader 4 6 0 Samurai 4 4 0 Mounted 6 2 0 Samurai Spearmen 2 2 0 Signalmen 1 2 0 Bowmen 1 1 2 Arquebusiers 1 1 4 Basic Battle Tactics -- An Outline This section deals with battle tactics on three levels: strategic, tactics (army) and tactics (individual). At the strategic level, your primary concerns are deciding the time and location of a battle. If you are on the offensive side, you have the luxury of comparing the size of the two forces and observing the location of the defender before choosing to attack. If you are on the defensive, your only tool in choosing what size force attacks you is avoidance, and your location decisions need to be taken prior to your attacker reaching you. By comparing forces, each side can better decide whether they should fight all- out, or try to conserve men for another day. Observing the location of the battle lets both sides choose battle tactics to best exploit the tactical advantages of the terrain. At tactics (army) level, your concern shifts to the shape and use of your formation. When presented with the seven formation choices, look at their layouts and read their descriptions in the manual. The placement of your forces in that formation determines their usefulness in the fight; you would not want to have to break up a secure front line, only to move forces into the fray that were previously too far away to be useful. When in battle, the movement of individual groups can drive your battle plans. A group of Mounted Samurai can be used as an invasionary force, slipping around and behind the enemy lines, attacking and getting out quickly. Other lines of Spearmen or missile- firing troops can be similarly directed against enemy threats, and new formations for these "lines" can be used to head off attacks from different directions. In these cases, the computer's preselected groups may not represent the optimum "split" for your forces; in that case, use the Group Number statistic and Assign Men to Groups command to form your own, new groups. At tactics (individual) level, you are mostly administering tactical decisions made at the Group level. Many times, you will use Single movement commands to coordinate your warriors' efforts towards a single target. They are then able to surround an enemy warrior, and gain the upper hand. You will also be using Single mode to reform lines of the formation, and keep your forces next to each other. That way, they have the advantage of each other's support when defending against a foe. In most (but not all) cases, these three levels of tactics coincide with the three levels of control in the game. See the manual for details on the different commands. The Micro Miniatures System This game is an example of Impressions' Micro Miniatures system, a series of games using an automated, miniatures- based wargaming system. Where in some board wargames you might be responsible for the complete control of each individual man, the Micro Miniatures system gives each warrior intelligence and the ability to direct himself in combat. You are able to command the entire battle with a few simple commands, yet still be able to guide each single man on the battlefield if and when you want to. Impressions plans to release one game under the Micro Miniatures system each year, and will continue to refine the system in accordance with players' comments and suggestions, as well as with technological progress. The following information describes some aspects of how the system works. Attack Initiative Your warriors are programmed to attack when they consider it appropriate. Thus, by simply moving a group of Spearmen up to the enemy's forces, they will automatically attack them. On the other hand, if a threat steps close enough to one of your warriors on the battlefield, he can decide to break rank and attack; archers can even set aside their bows, and fight hand-to-hand at an extreme disadvantage. Thus your overall tactical plans must bear in mind the temperament of your individual troops, and not leave them where they feel vulnerable enough to disobey orders. Warriors will also, on occasion, countermand a direct instruction to attack one warrior in favor of attacking a weaker opponent. Missile-Firing Warriors Archers and arquebusiers will also attack when appropriate; however, as they attack from a distance, one need only locate them within range of the enemy for them to begin firing. Missile-firing warriors choose their own targets from those within range; an individual target cannot be chosen for them. Remember to keep them distanced from enemy troops, or else they might drop their bows and fight hand-to- hand (see above). Also, remember that just because an arrow or musket-shot appears to hit a target, it doesn't mean it was fatal; it may take several shots to be successful. Resolving Hand-to-Hand Combat When two warriors clash, the battle occurs in something like "rounds" of combat. In each round, the attack (or firepower) and defense ratings for each warrior are used to calculate the success of the battle, taking into account the terrain each character is on and the morale of each man. From this, three results may occur. The first is death -- one warrior falls in battle. The second is that one warrior is wounded enough to retreat -- that warrior suffers a drop in morale, and will be less willing to fight until he "licks his wounds." The third result is no result, which means the battle continues for another round. Resolving Missile Attacks When a warrior is hit by an arrow, the result is either that his body armor is pierced, or that it's not -- if pierced, the warrior dies, otherwise the warrior ignores the attack and continues on. Multiple-Warrior Units If a unit containing more than one warrior (represented on screen by a single piece) is hit by a missile or loses a hand-to-hand fight, it may only lose one or some of the warriors in the unit. As long as that unit has at least one man in it, it will not disappear, but its fighting statistics will change to reflect the loss. Single pieces represent more than one warrior when the size of either army (including its nine signalmen and one leader) exceeds 100 warriors. You can check this using the Number of Men statistics icon in Battle mode. Morale Morale is a way that the Micro Miniatures system simulates the free will of the individual warrior and his reactions to events around him. When a warrior is near another comrade who dies or retreats, his morale drops. A warrior with low morale is less willing to engage in battle, and more likely to retreat when faced with a powerful foe. Likewise, each victory on the battlefield raises the morale of the allies around it. Thus, you may have to find simple fights for some of your warriors, in order to raise their spirits high enough to take on greater foes. This system of Morale integrates your various warriors into an army -- one whose success depends as much on its overall emotional state as on each individual victory.