LAND BATTLE
Cartridge Instructions
(For 2 players)

Land Battle is a two player war game which utilizes both strategic and tactical
modes of play. Each player controls an array of forces with the objective of
capturing or destroying his opponent's "flag."

THE SCENARIO

The game can be played on any of thousands of different countryside maps -- the
first thousand of which are selectable at the beginning of the game. All of
these maps show roads, towns, hills, lakes, forests, orchards and fields, and
these geographic features impose restrictions and necessitate clever planning on
the part of the player.

THE RESOURCES

At the beginning of the game each player has control of the following military
resources:

12 infantry
3 armored personnel carriers
2 tanks
1 artillery piece
2 bazookas
2 mortars
1 flag

As the game progresses, these numbers do not necessarily decrease. You can
capture opposing forces which subsequently become yours, and every so often,
depending on your previous good fortune, a new resource might be "created" for
you. More on that later...

STARTING UP

To begin the game, press RESET. The copyright message showing the title "Land
Battle" should appear. Press the DISC to start. The screen will turn to green
bearing the legend "MAP #:". Using either keypad, you may type in a number
between 0 and 999 inclusive, followed by ENTER (this will select one of the
first 1,000 maps on which the game can be played), or you may simply press ENTER
having NOT typed in a number (this will randomly select one of many thousands of
playable maps).

When the map appears, note that there are two blue squares, one on each side of
the screen, each at a corner of a town. The square, or cursor, on the left is at
the left player's base town, the cursor on the right is at the base town of the
right player. All of the player's resources (as described above) are "in" his
respective base town, and may be accessed and deployed as described below.

THE CONTROLS

The hand controllers have two primary functions -- to control the direction and
motion of patrols and individual resources, and to transfer resources between
towns and patrols. The keypad "mapping" is as follows:

EDIT MODE:

1: Infantry
2: APC
3: Tank
4: Artillery
5: Bazooka
6: Mortar
7: Flag
CLEAR: Clear
0: Done

DISC: Move Cursor

Strategic & Tactical Mode:

1: Move NW
2: Move N
3: Move NE
4: Move W
5: Pause / Stop
6: Move E
7: Move SW
8: Move S
CLEAR: Abort
0: Edit (Strategic Mode) / Retreat (Tactical Mode)
ENTER: Select

DISC: Move Cursor (Strategic Mode) / Aim Gun Barrel (Tactical Mode)

Upper Action Keys: Go to battle (Strategic Mode) / Fire (Tactical Mode)

Lower Action Keys: Artillery On/Off (Strategic Mode)

EDIT MODE

In order to wage an effective war, you must allocate your resources into
patrols, direct the patrols across the map, encounter enemy patrols, fight
battles, besiege towns and eventually capture or destroy the enemy flag.

To create a patrol, move your cursor (using the DISC) to a town which you occupy
(i.e. in which you have resources). At the beginning of the game, the only town
you will occupy is your base town. Enter Edit Mode by pressing the "Edit" (0)
key. The cursor will disappear and a small orange square (with a notch in it to
distinguish it from your other patrols) will appear on the road at the corner of
the town. This is the patrol that you are editing. At this stage there is
nothing in it, but it can be modified.

Put resources into the patrol (depleting them from the town to do so) by
pressing the appropriate resource key ("Infantry," "APC," etc.) once for each
resource of that type you want in the patrol. PATROLS CAN HAVE NO MORE THAN
THREE (3) RESOURCES TOTAL.

Remove resources from the patrol (putting them back into the town) by pressing
"Clear" followed by the key representing the resource type you wish to delete.
For example, to remove a tank from the patrol, press "Clear" then press "Tank"
(3).

When the patrol has the proper resources in it, you can end the edit by pressing
the "Done" (0) key. The orange patrol will become a blue patrol, and you may
give this patrol directional commands as outlined in "Strategic Mode." You are
no longer in Edit mode.

A patrol which has already been created is NOT destined to remain the same until
it is destroyed. It may be maneuvered (see "Strategic Mode") to any town (either
in the town or on the road next to it) which is not occupied by your opponent,
and, once there, Edit Mode may be reentered via the "Edit" (0) key. The sequence
of events is identical to that outlined above, except that the already existent
patrol and put in the town, and any resources that are in that town may be put
into the patrol. In this way, the contents of a patrol may change, and resources
may be transported from town to town.

If a patrol is emptied during Edit Mode and "Done" is pressed, the orange square
is replaced by the old familiar blue cursor to signify that the patrol no longer
exists (patrols cannot be empty).

Note: A patrol which is being edited (signified by the color orange) does not
officially exist until the edit is finished. Therefore, it cannot move, nor can
it go into battle.

STRATEGIC MODE

Strategic Mode is the mode in which the game begins. At the start, each player
has control of a blue cursor. It can be moved around the map by using the DISC
to direct it. The color blue has a significance: AT ANY TIME, THE PATROL OR
CURSOR OF WHICH YOU HAVE DIRECT CONTROL WILL BE BLUE. An orange patrol is being
edited (as described above), and a WHITE PATROL IS ONE OF WHICH YOU HAVE
INDIRECT CONTROL.

Most things that one can do in this game are done in Strategic Mode. Edit Mode
can be entered only from Strategic Mode. Patrol movement, and hence all
offensive and defensive strategies, is executed only in Strategic Mode. Laying
siege to enemy towns and entering battle (Tactical Mode) can be done only in
Strategic Mode.

Once you have created a patrol (you may create as many as four of them), you may
send it on a course of your choosing by giving it directional commands. The
patrol to which you may give commands is the "selected" patrol, and will be blue
(as mentioned above). In order to select a patrol other than the one which is
currently selected (blue), press the "Select" (enter) key. The "next" patrol
will become selected (blue) and the previously selected patrol will become
deselected (white). If you have less than four patrols when you press "select,"
then the "next patrol" will sometimes be your cursor (it will come in turn, the
selection process being cyclic). In this way you may retrieve the cursor in
order to enter Edit Mode and create a new patrol. When it does appear, it will
be in the center of your half of the screen and will be selected (blue), while,
as before, the previously selected patrol will be deselected (white). If you
have four patrols created (the most that you can have), then the cursor will
never appear in the selection cycle, because its only purpose is to allow you to
create new patrols, and, with four patrols, it would be illegal for you to
create any more.

Once the desired patrol is selected, directional commands may be given to it.
This is done by pressing one of the eight directional keys or the "Pause" (5)
key. The direction command is then put into that patrol's command queue, or
list. If the patrol is not acting on a previous command, or if it has just
finished a command, it will get and act upon the next command in its command
queue. The queue can hold (i.e. remember) up to four commands, in addition to
the one that the patrol might be executing. When the queue is empty (i.e. there
are no more commands for the patrol), the patrol will stop. The "Pause" command
can be put in the queue before a direction command and will cause the patrol to
stop and wait for six (6) seconds before proceeding to the direction command.
This might be used as a deceptive ploy, or to coordinate patrol movements.

The distance that a patrol will go given one command can vary. If the patrol is
moving along a road, it will travel to the next bend or intersection, or a fixed
distance (approximately 1/3 the vertical screen distance or 1/5 the horizontal
screen distance) whichever comes first. If the patrol is moving "cross country"
it will terminate the command upon encountering a road or a lake, or after
moving the same fixed distance that applies to roads, whichever comes first. A
little experimentation should make patrol movement quite clear and predictable.

A note on patrol speed: Patrols can move at one of two speeds. Normal speed is
adopted by patrols which have either an Armored Personnel Cattier or Tank in
them AND are moving along a road. These resources, being motorized, travel
quickly on the road and can carry/tow the other resources in the patrol. Half-
speed is adopted by all other on-road patrols and by ALL off-road patrols (the
rougher terrain removes the previous advantage of the motorized vehicles). APCs
in a patrol will cause the patrol to be unable to go off-road.

You are never restricted to having a patrol move the maximum distance (or pause
a full six seconds) for the command that it is currently executing. You may tell
the patrol to stop executing the current command and move on to the next by
pressing the "Abort" (Clear) key. One way of emptying a patrol's queue is to
press "Abort" several times in a row, thereby using all the queue's commands.
"Fresh" directional commands can then be entered. There is an easier way.

To empty a patrol's queue and simultaneously stop the patrol, press the "Pause"
(5) key twice in a row. This constitutes the "Stop" command. The patrol will
halt in its track and go no further until new directional commands have been
entered in its queue.

When you give the "Stop" command to a patrol which is in the vicinity of an
enemy-occupied town, the town goes under siege. This is signified by the town
turning blue. You may besiege only one enemy town at a time. Trying to besiege a
second enemy town will simply fall. The first siege must be ended before the
second one can start. A siege is ended when one of the following occurs: the
besieging patrol moves (i.e. is given a command), the besieging patrol is
encountered by an enemy patrol is destroyed, everything in the town is destroyed
(i.e. the town is left unoccupied), or everything remaining in the town
surrenders to the besieging player.

A siege consists of two phases, the Wait Phase and the Damage Phase. The Wait
Phase consists of the first ten (10) seconds of the siege. No loss is incurred
by either player during this time, and it allows the besieged player to organize
an effort to stop the siege before damage occurs. The most effective way to do
this is to create a patrol from the resources in the besieged town and wage this
patrol in battle against the besieging patrol. Alternatively, an existing patrol
from the surrounding area may be brought in to do the dirty work. The Damage
Phase begins when the Wait Phase ends. During the damage phase, resources within
the town will tend to be destroyed one by one at random intervals (the
destruction of a resource is signaled by an explosion). Alternatively, one of
the resources in the besieging patrol might be lost, but this will happen much
more infrequently. Instead of destroying a resource, the town as a whole might
simply surrender to the besieging player, although this also happens less often.
It is possible that everything in the town will be destroyed before the town
surrenders, in which case the town is left unoccupied  and may be taken by
either player. However, in the event that the town surrenders, the town and
everything in it belongs to the besieging player. Should the Flag be lost in a
besieged town, the game is over. If the entire besieging patrol is lost before
the town is destroyed or surrenders, the siege will end. If the besieging player
loses his flag in this manner, he has lost the game.

When two opposing patrols come within range of each other, they will start
flashing to signify that a battle between them can be fought. If more than one
possible pair of patrols are battle worthy, each pair will flash, one at a time,
in succession. To enter battle with the flashing pair of patrols, press the "Go
To Battle" key, which is the upper action key on either side of the controller.
The screen will "zoom in" to a close-up of the surrounding area and battle will
have begun. You are now in "Tactical Mode."

TACTICAL MODE

Tactical Mode is the mode in which all battles are fought. Entering Tactical
Mode from Strategic Mode via the "Go To Battle" key provides you with a close-up
view of the battleground and a representation of the two patrols' resources each
in their respective positions. The left player's resources are represented in
blue and the right player's are represented in orange. One resource on each side
has a white bar, or gun barrel, associated with it, and this designates the
"selected" object. Selecting a different resource is identical to selecting a
different patrol in Strategy Mode except that there is no cursor involved. That
is, pressing the "Select" key (Enter) will cyclically select the "next" resource
and place the gun barrel on top of the new selection.

Movement of the resources in Tactical Mode is also very similar to the movement
of patrols in Strategic Mode. The direction keys are used in the same way,
"Abort," Pause" and "Stop" commands are all identical (except that there is no
besieging to be done). Resources each have their own command queue, which, once
again, can retain up to four (4) commands other than the one being executed. The
only real difference is the distances and speeds involved.

A resource, given one directional command, will move to the next obstacle (a
tree, a building, an orchard fence or a lake) or a fixed distance (the same
distance as before -- approximately 1/3 the vertical screen distance or 1/5 the
horizontal screen distance) whichever comes first. The only exception to this
rule is if the obstacle is a tree which is immediately next to the resource.
That is, it can move through a tree if it had been "hiding" behind it.

Each type of resource has its own speed. Indeed, each resource type has
individual characteristics of many kinds. You'll note that the Flag resource
appears in Tactical Mode as an Infantry. This is for purposes of camouflage. Its
characteristics are slightly different from that of a regular Infantry. Here's a
table of relative attributes:

Speed (fastest to slowest): Infantry, Flag, Bazooka, APC, Mortar, Artillery,
Tank

Turning Ability (fastest to slowest): Infantry, Flag, Bazooka, APC, Mortar,
Artillery, Tank

Firing Range (longest to shortest): Artillery, Mortar, Tank, Bazooka, Flag,
Infantry, APC

Probability of Destruction when Hit (lowest to highest): Tank, Artillery, APC,
Bazooka, Mortar, Flag, Infantry

Firing is accomplished via the "Fire" button (upper action key on either side).
When "Fire" is pressed, the gun barrel on top of the selected object will
disappear, issuing a bullet in its place. The bullet will travel in the
direction in which the barrel had been pointing for a distance equal to the
firing range of the selected object.

The barrel itself may be pointed in any of sixteen (16) directions with the use
of the directional disc. The direction that the barrel points with respect to
the selected resource is remembered so  that when the resource turns, the barrel
will turn with it. These relative positions are retained even while the resource
is not selected, so that when it is reselected the barrel is where it was left.

Artillery fire from off screen may be called upon to help out in certain
circumstances. These circumstances occur when there exists an allied artillery
piece which is both in range of the battlefield AND not on the battlefield. The
determining range is approximately equal to 1/2 the STRATEGIC screen in the
vertical dimension and 1/3 the STRATEGIC screen in the horizontal dimension.

To call down artillery fire, maneuver the selected resource to the approximate
center of the desired target area and press the Artillery Fire On/Off button
(lower action key on either side). If the above conditions are satisfied, then
shelling will occur at random intervals. To cause the shelling to stop, press
the Artillery Fire On/Off button again. This will stop the artillery fire and
sound your bell tone. There are no requirements on the positioning of the
selected resource in order to cease artillery fire.

When a "hit" is made on a resource, whether it be by a bullet or by artillery
fire, there is a probability that the resource will be destroyed. This
probability depends on the type of resource that fired the bullet, and the type
of resource which was hit. When a resource is hit, the bullet will explode. If
the resource is destroyed, it will no longer be there when the "smoke" clears.

If the situation seems to be turning against you, you may retreat by pressing
the "Retreat" key (0). After pressing "Retreat," there is a fifteen (15) second
delay, after which the Strategy Map returns and Strategic Mode is re-entered.

NEW RESOURCES

Periodically, new resources (reinforcements) might arrive at any town that you
occupy. The periodicity is affected negatively by your bad fortune. The wait for
new resources will increase if you lose a battle or surrender a town under
siege.

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(c)1998 Intellivision Productions Inc.

