Contents

1. Introduction 5
1.1. System Requirements 5
1.2. Installing the game 6
1.3. Uninstalling the game 6
1.4. Product updates 6
1.5. Multi-player registration 6
1.6. Game forums 7
1.7. Need help? 7
1.8. Conventions 7

2. Main Menu 8
2.1. Singleplayer 9
2.2. Multiplayer 12
2.3. Options 18
2.4. Editor 21
2.5. Exit 21

3. Campaign Map 21
3.1. Core Units 22
3.2. Specializations 23

4. Units 24
4.1. Unit Categories 24
4.2. Unit Classes 24
4.3. Unit Stats 29
4.4. Selection 32
4.5. Movement 32
4.6. Embarking & Disembarking 34
4.7. Zone of Control 35
4.8. Efficiency 36
 4.9. Entrenchment 37 1. Introduction
4.10. Combat 38 Order of Battle – Pacific is a turn based strategy game set during
4.11. Purchase & Deployment 44 The Pacific War. It covers the conflict from the attack on Pearl
4.12. Experience 46 Harbor in December 1941 until the “what-if” invasion of Tokyo in
4.13. Repairing & Reinforcing 47 1946. It puts you, the player, in command of either the Japanese
Empire or the US-led Allies.
5. Commanders 48
The game has been carefully designed to be easy to play
5.1. Detaching 49
yet hard to master. The AI opponent will give even the most
5.2. Injury & Imprisonment 49
experienced players a good challenge. The user interface is laid
6. Scenario Gameplay 50 out in a clear and easy-to-use manner, meaning you’ll be spending
6.1. Briefing 50 your time fighting the enemy and not the game’s interface.
6.2. Controls 50
6.3. Objectives: Victory & Defeat 52 1.1. System Requirements
6.4. Hexes & Territory 54 Minimum Spec
6.5. Supply System 54 Windows® XP/Vista
6.6. Unit Selection Interface 57 Pentium 4 or equivalent
6.7. Terrain 60 2Gb RAM
6.8. Resources 62 512Mb DirectX 9 video card with shader model 2.0
6.9. Command Points 63 CD ROM Drive (not required for the digital version)
6.10. Minimap & Strategic Map 63 DirectX Compatible Sound Card
6.11. Fog of War 64 DirectX 9.0c or higher (included in installer)
6.12. Aircraft Maintenance 66
Recommended Spec
7. Scenario Editor 67 4GB RAM
7.1. Editor Hotkeys 68 1Gb DirectX 9 video card or better
8. Credits 68
Please ensure your graphics and sound drivers are up to date
before playing the game or you may experience graphical glitches
or more serious errors. Check your manufacturer’s website for
the latest version, as new drivers are released regularly.

5
1.2. Installing the game http://www.slitherine.com/sign_up
Please ensure your system meets the minimum requirements This is because you will need a registered account to play
listed above. Multiplayer games on Slitherine’s PBEM (play by e-mail) server.
To install the game, either double click on the installation file When registering you can choose to sign up to the newsletters
you downloaded or insert the Order of Battle – Pacific CD into your to receive regular updates, offers and discounts on the rest of
CD-ROM drive. If you have disabled the autorun function on your Slitherine’s catalogue so it is worth registering!
CD-ROM or if you are installing from a digital download, double-
click on the installation archive file, then double click on the file 1.6. Game forums
that is shown inside the archive. Follow all on-screen prompts to Our forums are one of the best things about Slitherine Games.
complete installation. Every game has its own forum with our designers, developers and
You can also launch the game on Steam. the gamers playing the game. If you are experiencing a problem,
have a question or just an idea on how to make the game better,
1.3. Uninstalling the game post a message there.
Please use the Add/Remove Programs option from the Windows Go to www.slitherine.com and click on the Forums hyperlink.
Control Panel or the Uninstall shortcut in the games Windows
“Start” menu folder to uninstall the game.Uninstalling through 1.7. Need help?
any other method will not properly uninstall the game. The best way to contact us if you are having a problem with one
of our games is through our Help Desk. Our Help Desk has a FAQs
1.4. Product updates section as well as a dedicated support staff that answer questions
In order to maintain our product excellence, Slitherine Games within 24 hours, Monday through Friday. Support questions sent in
releases updates containing new features, enhancements, and on Saturday and Sunday may wait 48 hours for a reply. You can get to
corrections to any known issues. All our updates are available free our Help Desk by going to http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk
on our website: www.slitherine.com Direct e-mail support:: [email protected]
They can also be downloaded quickly and easily by clicking on the
“Update” link in your Game Menu or by using the “Update Game” 1.8. Conventions
shortcut in your Windows “Start” menu folder for the game. Throughout the manual we use a number of terms and we list their
meaning here for those who may be unfamiliar with the jargon.
1.5. Multi-player registration ww Click: Place your mouse pointer over an area or button and
We highly recommend registering your game first before playing. click the left mouse button.
You can simply do this through the game menu, from Multiplayer ww Right Click: Place your mouse pointer over an area or button
or directly at Slitherine’s website at: and click the right mouse button.

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 ww Drag: Hold down the left mouse button while moving the
mouse pointer across the screen
ww Select: Click on an item or unit to “focus” or highlight it.
ww UI: User Interface is a generic term that we use to describe
the “in-game controls” that will be used by you to manage
the game.
ww Tooltip: Useful instant text guidance found by hovering the
mouse pointer over buttons and other UI elements.
ww Strength Plate: The UI box positioned below each individual
unit deployed on the battle map. It contains various types of
information on the current state of its unit.

2.1. Singleplayer
2. Main Menu Campaigns
After the intro video sequence you will arrive in the Main Menu. The first tab in the Singleplayer menu provides an overview of
Here you have a number of options available: all available Campaigns. Use the arrow buttons on the left and
ww Singleplayer: From here you can start a singleplayer right side of the campaign description text to scroll through the
campaign or scenario, as well as load previously saved campaigns. The base game offers three campaigns:
games. ww Boot Camp: Focuses on teaching the player the basic
ww Multiplayer: You can play against human opponents using elements of the game. You play as a batch of US recruits
the PBEM++ server system, or on the same device using the facing another team of US trainees in a series of wargames
Hotseat mode. Both modes allow matches of up to four and training exercises.
human players to take part in a single match. ww Imperial Japan: Puts the player in command of the Imperial
ww Options: Takes you to the Options Menu which offers a Japanese Forces at the start of the surprise attack at Pearl
number of gameplay, performance and visual settings. Harbor. The campaign eventually leads to the fictional
ww Editor: Allows you to create your own custom singleplayer “what-if” invasion of Australia.
and multiplayer scenarios. ww Pacific Allies: Puts the player in command of the US-led
Below these options at the bottom of the screen, a set of flags Allies facing the Japanese aggressor. From a series of hard
can be found which allow you to change the game’s language fought defensive battles starting at Pearl Harbor, the Allies
setting. will face a long fight to regain the initiative and turn the tide
of the war.

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If you are new to this game it is strongly advised to start with the A number of settings are available for individual scenarios:
“Boot Camp” tutorial campaign. The other campaigns will start with ww Quick Experience: When enabled, units gain experience
a higher difficulty level and will not introduce the gameplay features much faster to allow acquiring elite units over the course of
gradually. Even if you are used to hexagonal strategy games, it will a single scenario.
be a useful introduction to some of the game’s unique gameplay ww Combat Randomizing: By default, the combat outcome
mechanics. is slightly randomized and does not match the prognosis
exactly.
Scenarios ww Custom Starting Force: Checking this will remove all core
The second tab in the Singleplayer menu lists all available units from the default scenario setup and allows players to
individual scenarios. Scenarios marked with a golden star are purchase and deploy their own custom starting force.
official scenarios provided by the game’s developer, while a ww Scenario difficulty: The difficulty level of the scenario will
silver star marks any custom scenarios created by yourself or the affect the strength of AI controlled players. There are five
community. levels available, “I” being the easiest and “V” being the
By default, custom scenarios are located in the “My Documents\My hardest.
Games\Order of Battle - Pacific\Scenarios” folder.

10 11
Loading Games
In the “Load Game” tab you can load and continue previously
saved games. This lists both games saved during the campaign
and individual scenarios. The list is sorted by creation date, the
highest game in the list being the most recent one.
At the bottom of this menu the scenario name, campaign (if
any) and current turn of the selected game is displayed.

Hotseat
The Hotseat menu allows you to start a new multiplayer game
through the “New Game” button. It also provides an overview
of unfinished Hotseat save games – if any are available. These
are automatically created when a new Hotseat game is launched.
To continue one of these games, select it in the list and click
“Continue Game”.
The Hotseat “Game Setup” menu is very similar to the
2.2. Multiplayer Singleplayer Scenario Panel: select a scenario from the list and
There are two ways to play multiplayer: change the settings according to your preferences. The only
ww Hotseat mode allows up to four players to play the game difference is that you can change the avatars of all the (human)
on the same device. Players must “change seat” whenever players involved. Clicking the “Launch Game” button will start the
it is their turn. turn for the first human player.
ww The Online PBEM++ Server System allows you to play
Multiplayer games with and against other players across the
world, on any platform and at any time.

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PBEM++ ww “My Matches”, lists the active games you currently have in
The online multiplayer option requires you to log onto the server. progress.
If you already have a Slitherine account or have previously played ww “My Challenges” shows the challenges you hosted which
other multiplayer games on our server, choose the Log In button are waiting for other players to begin
and enter your username and password. ww “Open Challenges” lets you see if there are any challenges
If you do not have an account, click the available from other players. Challenges displaying a padlock
Register button to create one. After this icon are private challenges which require a password to join.
you also use this account on the Slitherine From here you can accept other players’ challenges or create
forums to communicate with developers your own.
and other players.
After logging in you arrive in the Hosting a Challenge
Multiplayer Lobby which has four different If you want to initiate your own challenge, click the “Host Challenge”
tabs: button to open the Game Setup menu. This interface is very similar
ww “All Games” lists all challenges and to the Singleplayer Scenario Panel: select a scenario from the list
matches of any type and state. and change the settings according to your preferences. The only

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 of players, the player controlling the first side in the selected
scenario will then be able to play the first turn. When it is your
turn you’ll be able to select the game and press “Launch “ to start
the game. Otherwise you’ll have to wait for your opponent(s) to
take their turn(s).
When it is time to play your turn you’ll be notified by e-mail. It is
important that you enter your real email address when registering
or you will not see these e-mail alerts.

Uploading Your Turn

When you are playing a multiplayer match and are ready to finish
your turn, simply click the End Turn button. This will automatically
upload the turn to the server and allow the next player to make
his/her moves. Once all other players have completed their turn,
the game will once again be available for you to play.

difference is that you can choose any available open player slot. Chat
This will put you in control of that specific nation (or group of In both Hotseat and PBEM++ mode you
nations) once the match has started. can create chat messages to communicate
By clicking the “Open Slot” bar at the top of an open slot box with other players. This interface can be
you can reserve also reserve a specific slot for a specific player. accessed by clicking the chat bubble
A window will pop up allowing you to search for the player and button next to the End Turn button in
confirm the reservation. the bottom right side of the UI bar.
A reserved slot cannot be occupied by any player other than From here you can select the message recipients: all players,
the reserved one, allowing you to specifically choose your allies allied players or an individual player. Optionally you can use the
and/or opponents. If you do not reserve any slots, any player can “place marker” button to point to a specific hex on the map.
join your game unless you assign a password to it. This can be useful when discussion strategy with other players to
Once you are happy with the setup, click the “Confirm” mark a location of attack or defense mentioned in your message.
button to launch the challenge. From this moment other players Clicking the same button again will clear the marker.
will be able to join your game. It will automatically turn into an Once your message is ready click the “Send” button to
active “Match” once it has filled up with the required amount confirm it. The message will then be displayed to the recipients

16 17
 at the start of Pause game if windows is not focused: When enabled, the
their next turn. game rendering will pause when another window is switched to
By clicking the in the operating system.
“Overview” button Animation Speeds: Controls the speed of movement and rotation
you can access the Chat Overview panel, which displays all previously animations as well as the delay between individual unit actions.
sent and received messages. Separate settings are available for player and AI units animations.
Classic Unit Facings: When enabled, units will turn to left or
2.3. Options right facing to resemble the 2D orientations used in many classic
Preferences hexagonal strategy games.
Enable Hex Grid: Toggles the visible hexagonal grid to highlight Unit Scaling: Change the display size of the unit visuals.
individual hexes on the map. On “Dynamic” their scale changes as with the camera zoom
Map visuals: level, displaying the models on “Large” size when zoomed out
ww 3D World Map: Switches the map to the animated “real completely and on “Small” size when zoomed in all the way.
world” visual style. (Default) Tutorial: Allows you to disable tutorial popups or reset the
ww 3D Tactical Map: Switches the map to boardgame style tutorial history.
visuals.
ww 2D Tactical Map: Identical to the above, but without any 3D Controls
perspective. Mouse Controls Scheme: The “One-button” control scheme
End Turn Warnings: Enabling these will create various warning allows you to play the game exclusively with the left mouse
popups on clicking the End Turn button. button, while the two-button scheme uses left-click for selection
Display hovered unit’s name as tooltip: When enabled, and right-click to issue orders.
hovering over a unit will display its (custom) name. Map Scroll Speed: Sets the scrolling speed when moving the
Instantly show strength loss from combat: Update the unit mouse cursor to the edges of the screen or using the WASD/ZQSD
strength plates instantly when launching an attack, instead of or arrow keys to scroll the map.
waiting for the damage number in the attack animation to pop up. Mouse Zoom Speed: This slider allows you to adjust the
Always adjust unit size to current ground/air focus: When sensitivity of the mouse wheel, used to zoom in and out on the
switching between ground and air focus, all ground/naval and air battle map.
units respectively will be displayed in either large or small size, Hotkeys: The customisable list of hotkeys allows you to review
regardless of whether they share a hex with another unit. or change the keyboard shortcuts to certain common actions. To
Summarised Unit Stats: Display only the most important change a hotkey, click the button next to its name and press the
statistics when selecting a unit. desired key combination on the keyboard.

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Performance Play intro video on game start: When disabled, the intro video
This tab offers a range of settings that have an impact of the sequence will no longer play when starting the game. Instead it
performance of the game. If your hardware is producing a slow frame will go directly to the Main Menu.
rate, experiment with various performance settings to improve it.
Render Quality: This setting affects the overall quality of the Save & Load
3D graphics. The lower this setting the better performance you When in campaign or scenario mode, you can access the Save
will get on older hardware, the higher the setting the better the & Load tab through the options menu. Here you can save your
graphics will look. current game progress or load a previously saved game.
Effects Quality: Determines the quality of various combat and When accessing the Options panel through the Main Menu this
ambient effects, such as fire and explosions. fourth tab is not available. Instead you have to use the “Load Game”
Lighting Quality: Determines the quality of the lighting in the tab from the Single Player menu.
3D World Map display.
Bloom: Toggle the bloom visual effect, which creates a 2.4. Editor
feathering glow around brightly illuminated areas. From here you can access the built-in scenario editor which was
Weather Effects: Toggle weather visual effects on or off. also used to create all the official game content.
Permanent Wrecks: When enabled, destroyed units will remain
on the map until their hex gets occupied by another unit. 2.5. Exit
Unit Accenting Glow: To increase the contrast of unit models Exits the game.
over specific terrain types, the unit glow can be enabled. Other
settings allow you to switch the effect on or off permanently,
or adjust the glow colour to the unit’s player colour for easier 3. Campaign Map
identification. When launching a new campaign, the campaign map view will
Screen Resolution & Windowed Mode: When running appear. This screen displays a map of the region the campaign
full screen you should always try to use your display’s native takes place in, marking the territory controlled by all involved
resolution. This will be selected by default. When running in parties as well as marking the next available mission(s).
Windowed Mode make certain the resolution is small enough to If multiple missions are available, click on their
make it fit in your operating system’s native screen resolution. map marker to choose between them. To start the
currently selected mission, click the play symbol in
Audio & Video the bottom right corner.
Here you can adjust the volume of the music and the sound effects During later stages of
and ambient sounds, or turn them off altogether. the campaign, coloured pushpins may appear

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 Some scenarios also contain Auxiliary Units
– which exist only in the current scenario
– marked with a black outline around the
strength plate.
This distinction is also visible in the unit list,
where core units have a yellow unit type name
and auxiliary units a white name.

3.2. Specializations
At specific points throughout the campaigns a choice between
two Specializations will be given. You can only pick one of the two
on the map. These mark the state of specific scenario events available choices – the other will be unavailable for the duration
which have a lasting effect in the campaign. When hovering over of the current campaign.
a pushpin a tooltip will appear to explain its exact meaning. The
colour of these markers also indicate who benefits from the event.
The Campaign UI also allows
you to set the difficulty level,
review unlocked Specialisations
and inspect your current Core
Force.

3.1. Core Units

When playing a campaign, surviving units will be carried over
from one scenario to the next. The force you maintain throughout
a campaign is called a “Core” or “Core Force”. The units that
are part of it are called
“Core Units”. These can be
recognised on the battle map
by the yellow outlines of their
strength plates.

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 Specialisations add unique abilities and units to your forces. ww Reconnaissance
They are inspired by the unique historical strengths, characteristics Units of this class have the unique ability to spread
and doctrines of the warring nations and allow you to add further their movement points in two consecutive moves.
customisation to your Core Force. Land-based Recon units will also be more likely to retreat
from combat to prevent taking significant losses. This
behaviour makes them effective at surviving scouting
4. Units missions, but ill-suited for holding defensive positions.
In Order of Battle – Pacific, everything evolves around the creation Their high movement speed also makes them effective
of a powerful, well-mixed force of different unit types and using harassment units which can target vulnerable enemy units
each individual unit to the best of its abilities. even behind enemy lines.
ww Tank
4.1. Unit Categories This class contains armored combat vehicles
Each unit type belongs one of these three categories: designed to fight in general combat against various
ww Land Units target types. While most Tanks are designed to fight infantry
Are restricted to land hexes and overrun enemy defenses, the majority of tanks also
ww Air Units perform well against other armored vehicles. In high cover
Can move anywhere when airborne. terrain such as cities and forests tanks generally do not
ww Naval Units perform as well , aside from a few specialized types such
Restricted to water hexes. as flamethrower – or howitzer-equipped assault vehicles
which are effective to fight against units in cover.
4.2. Unit Classes ww Anti-Tank
Unit categories are further split into unit classes, which assign These units are specialized in destroying armored
specific roles and behaviours to the unit types. vehicles of the Tanks class. They have the unique
ww Infantry ability of providing fire-support to any adjacent friendly
The infantry forms the backbone of any army during unit when the latter is attacked by an enemy Tank-class
WWII. They excel in cities, forests and mountains unit. Towed and turretless anti-tank weapons suffer more
– terrain types with high cover values. In open terrain, from outflanking attacks however, and often have poor
however, they are vulnerable to artillery fire and armored protection against close infantry attacks.
attacks. Infantry units move fairly slowly on foot, but can be ww Artillery
equipped with motorized transportation to increase their Artillery fire is not very accurate and as a result does
mobility. not do much direct damage. Instead these weapons

24 25
 are mostly effective at breaking the enemy efficiency and bombers can also be switched to carry bombs instead but can
keeping them pinned down. Towed artillery units are slow only do so when deployed on an airfield or carrier.
and generally only suitable for defense or battering large ww Strategic Bomber
fixed defenses. Self-propelled artillery units however can Strategic bombers perform bombing raids from
travel quickly and can fire during the same turn they moved. great heights and are much less precise than tactical
This allows them to support a rapidly advancing attack. bombers. Similar to Artillery, their attacks don’t do a lot of
ww Anti-Air damage to enemy strength, but can cripple their targets’
AA units are used to protect ground targets from air efficiency. Their large size and high altitude generally makes
attacks. Because of their poor mobility AA units are them difficult to destroy, requiring specialized Fighter
hard to use to gain air superiority. They are however valuable aircraft or high-calibre AA guns take them on effectively.
on the defence, providing protection against any air attacks They can also be used to target enemy supply sources
within their firing range. Some AA guns can switch to direct directly, destroying their supply output. A sustained
fire mode, acting as Anti-Tank class units in this alternative strategic bombing campaign can therefore affect the
setup. Compared to true AT weapons however, AA guns are performance of large numbers of enemy units.
generally more prone to taking casualties in ground combat. ww Destroyer
ww Fighter The Destroyer is the workhorse of any fleet. Cheap
Fighters are the ultimate weapon when struggling and numerous, these fast warships act as scouts,
for air superiority. Some types are designed for escorts and the screening of larger, more expensive ships
their dogfighting capabilities against enemy fighters, while against enemy destroyers. They are, however, vulnerable
others excel against Strategic Bombers thanks to their heavy to long range fire from larger Cruisers and Battleships. All
weapon-loads and excellent high-altitude performance. Destroyers have the ability to launch torpedoes, which can
Fighters are also useful in a defensive role: when placed next be used with deadly effect against even the largest warships.
to a friendly bomber, land or naval unit, they can support it They also excel as hunting down enemy submarines and
against attacks by enemy aircraft. Fighters can also be used protecting other ships against this threat.
for attacking ground and naval targets, but only specialized ww Cruiser
attack planes are truly effective in this role. The Cruiser class contains fast, medium sized
ww Tactical Bomber warships packed with various light and heavy gun
Tactical bombers are designed to deliver precise blows batteries. They are ideally suited for escorting important
against enemy ground or naval units. They carry either targets such as transports, supply ships and Aircraft
torpedoes to use against naval targets or bombs which can Carriers. They also carry a large array of anti-aircraft guns
be used against both ground and naval targets. Most torpedo to face off any attack from above. Japanese Cruisers are

26 27
 generally less well-armored but have the ability to launch specific Infantry or towed weapons – as well as air transports
deadly torpedo volleys. for paratroopers, naval transport ships and trains for railroad
ww Battleship movement.
This class contains the largest, most powerful ww Mines
surface ships in the game, capable of attacking Mines are static units which – once deployed – belong
naval and ground targets from great distance. When used to no one. Land and naval mines can only be spotted
for ground bombardment – much like artillery – they rarely by adjacent land and naval units, respectively. Once spotted
cause direct damage. Instead they will wear down enemy they remain visible but can only be removed by moving a unit
efficiency with a barrage of massive explosions. These ships through them – causing several casualties – or using the Mine
are incapable of attacking submarines, relying on Destroyer Clearing ability of specialized units such as Engineers.
escorts to deal with this threat.
ww Carrier 4.3. Unit Stats
Carriers serve as mobile airfields which can maintain The strength and weaknesses of each unit type is defined by the
carrier-based Fighters and Tactical Bombers. This sum of all its stats. These are carefully balanced to accurately
makes them useful in supporting naval battles and invasions reflect their historical characteristics.
where land-based airfields are not available or are too far ww Strength
away from the action. Depending on their size Carriers can Current strength of the unit. This essential value is displayed on
store one to three air units in their cargo holds, providing each units’ strength plate on the battle map. Strength is damaged
these with repair and refueling. in combat and replenished using Repair and Elite Repair abilities.
ww Submarine The higher the strength value, the more effective a unit is in
Submarines are naval vessels capable of moving combat. When it is reduced to 0, the unit will be destroyed.
and attacking while being submerged. In this state ww Entrenchment
only enemy ships equipped with the Sonar Pulse ability can Entrenchment level of the unit. When not moving
effectively reveal and attack a submarine. and not involved in combat, land units automatically
ww Structure dig in and entrench their position. This makes them
Structures range from static combat units such as more resistant to attack.
Bunkers and Coastal Guns to passive Radar Stations ww Experience
and Fuel Depots. This represents the unit’s level of experience.
ww Transports It will gradually increase when a unit is involved
The transports class contains all “organic transports” in combat. Experienced units perform better in combat and
– motorized transportation vehicles attached to are more difficult to destroy.

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ww Chassis ww Defense
The chassis type defines “how a unit is moved”. Chassis types Each unit type has various defense values used when
range from “foot” for infantry to “wheels” or “tracked” for being attacked by various different unit categories
ground vehicles. Naval units are either “shallow draft”, “deep or (offensive) combat types.
draft” or “submerged”. Only the first type is capable of moving ww Offensive Combat Type (OCT)
through shallow water hexes. The chassis thus directly affects Defines which defense stat is used by the enemy unit in
how far a unit can move across different terrain types. combat. This determines what defense value is used against
ww Movement Points a specific unit type. For example, when a unit with OCT
The number of movement points a unit can spend “Mechanized” attacks, the defender will use its “Defense
every turn. Depending on the unit’s chassis type, Against Mechanized” defensive value against it.
every terrain type takes a certain number of points ww Defensive Combat Type (DCT)
to travel across, so the combination of these two attributes Defines which attack stat the enemy will use against this
determine how far the unit can travel in one turn. unit. This determines what attack value is used against a
ww Line of Sight (LOS) specific unit type. For example when an aircraft with DCT
The LOS value determines how far away a unit can spot “Small” is being attacked, the attacker will use its “Attack
enemy units. Each terrain type has a specific “LOS cost”. Against [Air] Small” attack value against it.
For example “Open” terrain has a cost of two, “City” terrain ww Bombardment
a cost of three and “Mountains” a cost of five. This means a Strategic bombers can target and damage supply sources.
unit with a LOS value of six can see three hexes across open The amount of potential damage done is defined by the
terrain (6 / 2), two hexes across city terrain (6 / 3) and one bombardment value.
hex across mountains (6 / 5). ww Shock
ww Range Units such as artillery and strategic bombers will
Unit’s shooting range (in hexes). A range of 0 means lower their target’s efficiency level when attacking.
that the unit needs to be adjacent to the target and Their shock value determines how much severe this
actually be able to enter the terrain type of the enemy. effect will be.
For example, a Tank cannot attack Infantry positioned in a ww Assault
Mountains hex because it cannot enter that terrain type. Units with an Assault value of 1 or higher will
ww Attack damage and decrease enemy entrenchment at
Each unit type has various attack values used against the beginning of their attack. Use them to lead
various different unit categories or (defensive) an assault on heavily fortified positions to soften up the
combat types. target’s defenses before the other units move in.

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4.4. Selection Each hex can contain one air unit, one ground (land or naval)
When hovering the mouse cursor over a friendly unit, unit or one of each. If it contains both an air and a ground unit,
the default cursor will change to a selection cursor. only the focused unit will be displayed in full scale with its strength
Click the left mouse button to select it. You can only and status icons visible. To switch focus between air and ground
select your own units, not allied or enemy units. layers, click the toggle button in the top-left corner of the screen
or press the <TAB> key.
4.5. Movement
Most units can only move once per turn. An exception to this rule Swapping Unit Positions
are Recon class units which can move twice, provided there are Adjacent units of the same category (land, naval or air) can swap
still movement points left after their first move. positions, provided they can both move into each other’s terrain
Most units can still attack after moving, but cannot move after type and have not yet moved this turn. To swap two units, select
attacking. However towed artillery units however can only fire if one, hold down <CTRL> and click on the other unit.
they have not yet moved during the current turn.
When a unit is selected, Motorized Transportation
a white overlay is displayed Infantry and towed guns move slowly without motorized
over each hex it can move in transportation. You can assign a transport vehicle to these units
that turn. Clicking on any of through the Upgrade menu, accessible through the Upgrade
these hexes will move the button in the Abilities panel in the lower left corner of the screen.
unit to this position, provided These transport vehicles are called “organic transports” because
it is not blocked enroute by they remain part of that unit wherever it moves. Organic transports
a previously invisible enemy cannot be detached from a unit, but can be removed through the
unit. Upgrade menu if the “No Transport” option is selected.
When upgraded with an
organic transport, the white
movement overlay will also
display truck icons for hexes only
reachable using the transportation
vehicle. Clicking on such a hex will
automatically turn the unit into its
organic transport type and move
it to the destination.

32 33
Railroad transportation ww Positioned on a city, town or village adjacent to a port hex.
When a unit is positioned in a ww Adjacent to a friendly warship (not including submarines or
city or village with a railroad transport ships).
line it can be moved by train. Clicking on a valid embarkment hex will
Select the unit, click on any of turn the unit into a naval transportation
the available marked hexes ship and allows them to move across
with a locomotive icon and bodies of water.
the unit will turn into a Train A transport ship can disembark on
transportation unit, moving it to the chosen destination. adjacent land terrain provided the unit type
In the following turns, infantry units can leave the train it carries can actually enter that terrain.
transportation from any hex. Other classes such as tanks or artillery For example infantry can disembark on a
need to be in a city or village to be unloaded from the train. coastal mountain hex, but tanks cannot.

Long Distance Movement 4.7. Zone of Control

Sometimes you need to move a unit across a large distance which Ground and naval units
would take a number of turns, making it a rather cumbersome project control over all
endeavor. To automate such an assignment you can set a long adjacent hexes. This area
distance destination by holding the CTRL key and clicking on the is called the “Zone-of-
unit’s final destination. Control” or ZoC. Hexes
When a long distance destination is set, the unit will inside an enemy units’
automatically move toward this position at the end of every ZoC are more difficult to
turn. Clicking the End Turn button will trigger a popup asking move through: It costs
permission to complete all long distance moves. On confirmation three times as many
all units will complete these moves just before the turn ends. movement points to move from one hex to the next if the first
To cancel a unit’s long distance destination, hold the CTRL key and hex is in enemy ZoC.
click on either the unit or destination hex. When you give any other This means moving past an enemy unit or gap in the enemy
order to the unit the long distance destination will also be removed. defense generally takes several turns. As displayed in the image
above, the Japanese destroyer’s movement is restricted by the
4.6. Embarking & Disembarking ZoC of the two US destroyers.
Land units can be transported across water by embarking on naval Besides affecting movement, all hexes within the ZoC of a land
transportation. The option to embark is available if the unit is: unit will automatically be captured if it has not moved or attacked

34 35
 dirt road will decrease this movement
penalty, while moving along a hard
road causes no efficiency loss at all.
Disembarking from transportation
ships also causes an efficiency drop.
The amount of efficiency loss depends
on the terrain type the unit lands on.
Beaches cause a fairly low penalty making them ideally suited for
naval invasions. Disembarking from a port to an adjacent city hex
causes no efficiency loss at all, making the capture of coastal cities
useful in the course of a naval invasion.
Unlike strength, efficiency will automatically recover when a
unit doesn’t not move and is not involved in combat for at least
one full turn. It may take several turns for a 0 efficiency unit to
during the previous turn – provided these hexes are not in the fully recover to the maximum efficiency level of 10.
ZoC of an enemy unit and do not contain a supply source.
4.9. Entrenchment
4.8. Efficiency Idle units will automatically create entrenchments at their
While a unit’s strength value determines how “healthy” it is, position. The effectiveness of the entrenchment will increase
its efficiency represents its current state of cohesion, morale gradually over several turns, ranging from 0 (no entrenchment)
and fatigue. This value has a strong impact on unit combat to 10. These levels are visualized on the map by sandbags
capabilities, especially the ability to deal damage to enemy units around the unit. The more bags, the higher the entrenchment
– defensive capabilities are affected in a lesser degree. The colour level.
of the strength number on the unit plate gives an indication of The following actions will prevent a unit from entrenching:
its current efficiency level. As efficiency drops, the number turns ww Attacking an enemy
yellow, orange and eventually red. ww Moving to a different position
Efficiency can be damaged through combat, especially when ww Being attacked by an enemy unit
bombarded by artillery, naval gunfire or strategic bombers. ww Using certain special abilities
Movement through difficult terrain types such as mountains and Repairing and upgrading do not prevent a unit from entrenching.
jungles will also decrease efficiency. This is indicated by negative Moving a unit to a new position will clear its previous
values on a unit’s predicted movement path. The presence of a entrenchment. Attacking from an entrenched position will

36 37
also reduce its effectiveness. As such, in order to maintain When hovering over a hex marked
entrenchment defending units must hold their position and resist as a valid move, a combat prognosis
the temptation of launching counter attacks. will appear over every target which
is in range from that position. These
4.10. Combat potential prognoses display the
All units can only attack once per turn. expected combat results as if the unit
When selecting a unit which has not yet has moved to the hex the cursor is
lost its ability to attack in the current turn, currently pointing at. This allows you
all valid targets will be marked with a red to check your attack options before
crosshair. having to confirm the move order.

Combat Prognosis Ambush

When hovering the mouse over a valid target, the combat When moving a unit it may run into an enemy unit that was invisible or
prognosis will be displayed. This is an estimated outcome of the hidden in the fog of war. This will trigger an ambush attack between
attack, displaying the amount of damage each side is expected the enemy unit and the moving unit. Being caught by surprise, the
to deal to the other. The number under each flag indicates the moving unit will suffer from significant combat penalties.
estimated damage the unit of that nation will do to the other. So
the higher your number is compared to that of the enemy, the Retreat
better the combat odds are for you. When a defender takes heavy casualties’ damage in an attack,
Similar to the scores of a sports it will attempt to retreat to safety to reduce its losses. This
game, a prognosis of (USA) 3-0 increases its chances of survival but causes further deterioration
(Japan) means the American unit of its efficiency. The amount of damage taken during the retreat
is expected to score 3 hits on the depends on the movement speed difference between the
Japanese unit. attacker and the defender. Highly experienced units also suffer
To initiate an attack, simply left- less efficiency and strength loss when retreating.
click on a valid target. Remember
that the outcome may not exactly Strategic Damage
match the prognosis, as combat results are slightly randomized Strategic Bombers have the ability to target enemy supply sources
and currently invisible enemy units may also affect the real directly to decrease the amount of supply they provide. Sustained
combat outcome. strategic bombardments will eventually decrease the efficiency of
all enemy units within the affected territory.

38 39
 Simply move the bomber over an enemy Fighter Cover
supply source and it will show up as a valid Similar to defensive fire support, fighter-class units will defend
target, regardless of whether it contains a any adjacent friendly ground, air or naval unit against enemy
(visible) enemy unit or not. air attacks. For example when a bomber attacks a carrier with a
fighter adjacent to it, the fighter will be involved in the combat
Outflanking Support calculation and cause additional damage to the attacker.
A unit engaging a target can get outflanking support from other The only exception is that fighters will never assist other
friendly units. To provide such a bonus, the friendly unit must be: fighters in combat. A maximum of three fighters can provide
1. Adjacent to the target unit support in a single attack. If more supporting fighters are available
2. NOT adjacent to the attacking unit the best ones will automatically be used.
3. NOT adjacent to any other
enemy unit which is also Air-to-Air Combat
adjacent to the target A mechanic unique to air-to-air combat is that the damage done by
Friendly units providing outflanking both attacker and defender depends on the defender’s strength
support will be highlighted with value. For example when a 10 strength fighter attacks a 3 strength
a pulsing blue cross during the bomber the damage taken and dealt by both will be lower than
combat prognosis. if both units had been at full strength. This represents that there
are only so many attacking aircraft that can safely engage a single
Defensive Fire Support target simultaneously, and that weakened targets are more
All units in the Anti-Tank and Anti-Air classes count as “support spread out – trying to avoid combat – resulting in longer flight
units”. They will provide a combat bonus to any adjacent times to catch up with them.
ground unit when the latter is attacked by a tank or aircraft In practice this means it is better to spread out your fighters
respectively. when engaging several incoming enemy bombers rather than
Enemy units providing fire support will be highlighted with concentrating all fighters on a single target until it is destroyed.
a pulsing red cross during the combat prognosis. A maximum It also gives to badly damaged aircraft a better chance to escape
of three units can provide back to the safety of their airfield or carrier.
support in a single attack. If
more valid support units are Naval Combat
available the best ones will When engaged in combat, ships would face their sides to the
automatically be used. enemy to allow all guns to aim at the enemy and deliver maximum
broadside fire. This meant that – once they got in firing range –

40 41
fleets would generally sail parallel to the enemy, not toward In the example above the Japanese cruiser does two damage
them. In the game this is simulated with the following mechanic: to the enemy ship from a distance of five hexes. If it chooses
When ships increase or decrease the distance toward a specific to move upward to a hex that is still five hexes away from the
target before firing, its attack capability will be decreased. enemy, the combat prognosis does not change. If instead it
moves toward the enemy – thus changing the distance from five
to two hexes – the predicted damage output will decrease to 0+.
In addition to this, the combat calculation also takes into
account that firing accuracy decreases over range:

Damage caused by ships decreases if the target is further than

1/3rd of the ship’s range + 1 hex. So for example a three range
Destroyer will deal maximum damage at any target within a range
of two hexes (three range / 3 + 1 hex), while a six range Cruiser
can hit targets up to three hexes away with maximum accuracy.
Targets further away will take less damage when fired upon as
illustrated in the screenshot above.
Note: Torpedoes are not affected by any of these two naval
combat mechanics.

Naval Torpedoes
Various naval and air units have the ability to fire torpedoes. After
firing a volley of torpedoes it takes a number of turns to recharge
the ability. Torpedoes generally deal very high damage, especially
to large – easier to hit – capital ships.
Unlike normal attacks however, torpedoes require a clear line of fire:
Land hexes and other ships – friend or foe – can block a target if they

42 43
 are positioned on the
torpedoes trajectory.
In the example above,
the Japanese destroyer
can fire torpedoes at
the bottom cruiser, but
not the one at the top,
because it is shielded
by a destroyer.
The damage output of a torpedo is determined by whether the
target has moved in the previous turn or not. This is indicated by
the national emblem next to the enemy unit’s strength number:
if the unit has moved the emblem is fully darkened, meaning
torpedoes will be less effective at hitting and damaging the target.
Note: A ship which has not moved or attacked during its own
turn will automatically count as “moved” for this torpedo penalty,
so you don’t have to move every single ship every turn if it is not
involved in combat. Only ships which have fired their guns but did After purchasing a new unit it is added to the force pool list,
not move will take maximum damage when targeted by torpedoes. under either the “All” or “Reserve” tabs. Clicking on its icon will
select that unit and highlight valid deployment hexes on the
4.11. Purchase & Deployment battle map. As a general rule, ground units can be placed adjacent
The Production Panel can be accessed during your turn through to cities, air units around airfields and naval units around ports.
the “Purchase” button above the Unit Abilities panel and allows Note that these locations are only valid
you to acquire new units. if they contain a Victory or Capture
In the Production Panel, select the desired unit class, pick a Point and are controlled by the player
unit from the available selection and click the purchase button who owns the unit.
to complete the purchase. If you do not have enough Resource In addition to these standard
Points to purchase the unit or not deployment rules, a lot of scenarios
enough Command Points to deploy it, also mark additional areas as valid
a tooltip on the Purchase button will deployment positions. Sometimes
inform you. these areas are only available during

44 45
 the deployment phase, other times Experience slightly improves a units
throughout the course of a scenario. offensive and defensive capabilities,
Freshly purchased units can still be sold but mostly impacts unit efficiency and
by clicking the “$” button at the bottom survivability. Veteran units will suffer less
right side of their icon. This will refund the efficiency loss from combat and movement,
full cost of the unit, but once the unit has been deployed on the and will take fewer casualties when forced
battlefield once you will no longer be able to sell it. to retreat.
A unit’s experience level is visualised
Deployment Supply Requirements with small yellow dots above its strength
Note that land units can only be deployed on regions which have plate on the battle map. These dots match the experience stars
enough supply output to support them. For air unit deployment, displayed in the lower UI panel if a unit is selected. Hovering the
there must be enough supply output from friendly airfields or cursor over these stars will display the exact experience points
carriers available on the map. Most carriers for example provide the unit currently has.
enough supply to maintain only carrier-based 3 aircraft. If there Not designed as combat units, Aircraft Carriers also gain
are no airfields available – for example in a naval battle – the experience from refueling aircraft.
deployment of land-based aircraft will be prohibited.
Valid deployment hexes which are unavailable due to supply 4.13. Repairing & Reinforcing
shortages will be marked in a red overlay. In the example above, Land units can be repaired anywhere on the map as long as they
the M3 Stuart tank are not cut off from supply. When not adjacent to the enemy and
requires 4 supply if it has not yet moved in the current turn, a unit will recover up to
and cannot be 5 strength points from a Repair action. Otherwise only 2 strength
deployed because points can be recovered per turn. These rates can decrease if the
there is 0 supply unit is suffering from supply shortages. Units which can operate
surplus available in in enemy territory – such as commandos – cannot repair until they
this territory. reach friendly territory.
To repair an air unit it must be undeployed or landed on an
4.12. Experience airfield or carrier. Naval units must be deployed inside a friendly
When units are involved in combat, they gain experience. this port hex, but also have a damage control ability to repair a limited
means that green recruits – should they survive – will eventually amount of strength on the open sea.
grow into tough veterans. The amount of experience gained in a The specialized “Support Ship” unit can also repair naval units on
single attack depends on the amount of damage done and taken. the open sea, albeit at a slower rate than port facilities.

46 47
 There are two types of repair available To assign a newly unlocked Commander to a unit, just click on its
in the Unit Abilities panel: Normal and Elite portrait in the top-right corner of the screen and all valid targets
Repair. Using normal repair will reduce be highlighted on the battlefield. Then click on a valid unit to
the unit’s experience level based on the amount of fresh confirm the attachment.
reinforcements added. Elite reinforcements will maintain the Just like Core Units, Commanders will be carried over from one
experience level, but becomes more expensive as experience scenario to the next throughout a campaign. When a Commander
grows. The cost compared to standard reinforcing is significant, is attached to an Auxiliary (non-Core) unit it will automatically
so you should restrict the use of elite reinforcements to key units be detached from that unit at the end of the scenario. The
in your army core. Commander can then be attached to another unit at the start of
the next scenario.
Reforming Destroyed Units
When a Core unit is destroyed, you can track its history in the 5.1. Detaching
Force list under the “Destroyed Units” tab. When selecting it in Commanders can be
the list a “Reform Unit’ button will appear in the Unit Abilities detached through the
panel. This allows you to reform the unit Information Panel of their
for full cost, maintaining 5% of its former current unit. Click the red
experience. It will also keep the logbook and cross in the top-right corner
statistics history of the unit in place. of the portrait to detach
it. The Commander will
instantly detach from that
5. Commanders unit but requires two turns
Commanders are automatically unlocked in specific scenarios on before it can be reassigned
specific dates or events, and can be attached to a unit to provide to another unit.
specific bonuses to its unit and any
other unit within its command range.
There are three types of Commanders,
each can only be attached to a specific 5.2. Injury & Imprisonment
category of units: When a Commander’s unit is destroyed in combat it will become
ww Generals: Attach to land units. unavailable for a number of turns. This timer can be tracked on its
ww Captains: Attach to naval units. portrait in the top right corner of the screen. Once the timer has
ww Pilots: Attach to air units. ran out, the Commander can be reassigned to another unit.

48 49
 If a commander’s unit is destroyed Double mouse-button control scheme:
while completely cut off from supply, ww Select unit: Left click on unit
its status will be “Imprisoned” ww Deselect unit: Left click on a open hex
instead of “Wounded”. Imprisoned ww Move unit: Right click on destination
commanders take longer to recover ww Attack unit: Right click on target
– or rather, escape imprisonment – than wounded commanders. ww Swap unit: CTRL + Right click on target

Hotkeys
6. Scenario Gameplay Hold Space Bar: Display supply mode.
6.1. Briefing TAB: Switch between air and ground view
Most scenarios start with an briefing sequence to take you Page Up/Down: Scrolls through units that still have movement
through the objectives and background of the mission. Click the or attack points left
“Start Briefing” button to initiate the briefing display, then use F5: Quick save
the next or previous buttons at the bottom UI to read through F8: Quick load
the various pages. F9: Take screenshot, saved in the game documents folder
You cannot select units or interact with the battle map during (PNG file format)
the briefing. Once you have reviewed the briefing, you can click Escape: Opens the options menu.
the “Start Game” button to start the game. Arrow keys: Scroll the map
WASD keys: Scroll the map (qwerty)
6.2. Controls ZQSD keys: Scroll the map (azerty)
UI mouse controls P: Open/close purchase menu
ww UI controls: Left click select/apply, Right click to cancel F: Open/close force pool list
ww Drag the map: Drag the right mouse button CTRL + Enter: End turn
R: Repair selected unit
Unit mouse controls E: Elite repair selected unit
Single mouse-button controls scheme: U: Open upgrade menu for selected unit
ww Select unit: Left click on unit C: Open chat messenger (MP only)
ww Deselect unit: Right click I: Toggle the Unit Information panel.
ww Move unit: Left click on destination +: Zoom in
ww Attack unit: Left click on target -: Zoom out
ww Swap unit: CTRL + Left click on target

50 51
6.3. Objectives: Victory & Defeat You can also bring up the Turn Overview
There are two types of objectives in a scenario: panel at any time by clicking on the turn &
ww Primary Objectives: Need to be achieved in order to win the date indicator in the bottom right UI bar. It
mission allows you to review the scenario objectives
ww Secondary Objectives: Completing these is optional and and their status at any point in the game.
will give various bonuses in the current scenario or at later
points in the campaign. Victory & Capture Points
Failing to complete all of the primary objectives before the turn Some hexes are marked with animated flags which come in three
limit expires will lead to a defeat. types:
Also keep in mind that it is not always possible to achieve all ww Primary VPs: Marked with a golden flag.
Secondary Objectives. In some scenarios you have to choose ww Secondary VPs: Marked with a silver flag.
specifically on which objectives to focus on, rather than try to ww Capture Points (CP): Marked with a bronze flag.
complete them all. While Secondary Objectives may not always Primary and Secondary Victory Points are generally linked directly to
affect the current scenario, they may affect the strategic situation the scenario objectives,
of the campaign and have noticeable consequences in later while CPs merely mark
scenarios. the ownership of
important locations.
Turn Overview Both VPs and CPs
The objectives of the current are also very important
scenario are displayed in the in the deployment of new units: when present on a city or village
Turn Overview panel. This will hex, new units can be deployed there by whomever controls the
automatically be displayed at hex. Note however that when you (re)capture an enemy VP or
the start of the scenario and CP it takes 3 turns to establish full control over the point. This is
each new player turn. represented by the height of the flag:
To get more information Until the flag is fully raised, the hex will not provide any supply
about an objective, such as its and will not allow the deployment of new units.
award or the position of hexes
or units it refers
to, click on the
icon in front of
it.

52 53
6.4. Hexes & Territory
Every hex is owned by a specific player. Hexes are captured by
moving land or naval units to or through them. Air units cannot
capture hexes. Regions of hexes uninterrupted by enemy or neutral
hexes form “territories” and are visually defined with borderlines.
When a hex contains a
Victory Point or Capture
Point its flag will represent
the nation that owns the hex.
Water hex ownership is not
visualised with borderlines
because unless it also contains
a VP it has no effect on the
gameplay.
Isolated patches of territory containing no units or supply Land Supply
sources will be automatically captured if they are completely Land units generally draw supply from cities, villages or other land-
surrounded by enemy territory. based supply sources. The supply level of a land unit is calculated
by adding up the output of all supply sources in its territory and
6.5. Supply System dividing that by the sum of the supply requirements of all units in
Supply plays a vital element in Order of Battle and can be the that territory. Each unit type requires a specific amount of supply.
difference between victory and defeat. For example, in the screenshot above there are two towns
You can enable the Supply Display mode providing five supply each in a small pocket of territory. This
by holding the <Space Bar> or clicking on the means there are a total of ten supply points available here. The
Command Points display in the bottom left side of five US units in this territory require four supply each, so the
the UI, just above the date & supply balance is:
turn indicator.
In this mode, supply (5 + 5) / (4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4) = 10 / 20 = 0.5 = 50% supply level for each
sources are marked on the of the five units.
map and unit strength plates
change to display their supply The red – 10 indicates that there is a total shortage of ten supply
type and cost requirements. points in this territory.

54 55
 So in order to operate at full efficiency the total amount of ones. The unique “Supply Ship” unit provides by far the most
supply provided by all supply sources in a territory must match or supply and is essential to support naval invasions until sufficient
exceed the total supply requirements of all units in that territory. land-based sources can be captured. When deployed in a port hex,
When there are not enough supply sources available in a ships provide twice as much coastal supply as they normally do.
territory, units will gradually lose efficiency until their efficiency Note: Carriers do not provide Land Supply, but provide Air Supply
level matches their supply level. So in the example above, the 5 instead.
units will drop to 50% efficiency over the next few turns.
Air Supply
Air units draw supply from any friendly airfield on the map,
regardless of the distance to the aircraft. Carrier-based aircraft
can also draw supply from Carrier units. Just like land units,
if there are not enough air supply points available to match or
exceed the total amount of required supply points of all aircraft
Units on less than 100% supply level are marked with yellow, present on the battle map, the air units efficiency level will drop.
orange or red dots depending on the severity of the shortage. While losing all airfield
The supply level of a unit will also affect its movement speed or carriers may not directly
and repair rate. It is also not possible to deploy additional units damage your aircraft, it will
in a territory if its supply output cannot sustain the extra supply effectively cripple them. Once
requirements of those units. depleted to zero efficiency,
they will be unable to defend
Coastal Supply themselves properly let alone
Naval units do not require supply. However, they have the cause further damage to
ability to provide supply for land-based units when adjacent to enemy units.
land territory. When in supply display
mode, black arrows will point to the 6.6. Unit Selection Interface
territory each coastal ship is currently The bottom UI bar displayed during scenario gameplay can be
providing supply to. divided into 3 sections. From left to right it contains:
The amount of coastal supply
provided depends on the ship type
and strength: larger ships generally
provide more supply than smaller

56 57
 ww The selected unit’s Abilities Panel on the left side of the bar through difficult terrain more easily, or grant active abilities such
ww The selected and hovered units’ information display in the as minesweeping capabilities or special attack types.
center of the bar When hovering the cursor over another unit, the terrain or
ww The scenario information display on the right side of the bar traits information will
The far left side of the UI bar displays the Unit Abilities Panel, which be replaced with the
provides access to Repair, Elite Repair, Upgrade and certain special icon of that unit. The
abilities depending on the type of the selected unit. It also contains central statistics will
“next” and “previous” button which allow you to scroll through all also change to display
currently active units. Active means that the either information about a combat prognosis between the two
unit can still execute a move or attack during units or a comparison of their statistics.
the current turn.
The content of the center section is Unit Information Panel
dynamic and can display a variety of unit- Clicking the “i” button on the bottom right of
related information. the unit icon or pressing the <I> key will open
When selecting the unit information panel.
a unit, it will display This panel provides an overview of the
the basic information unit’s statistics and history. The “General”
about that unit as tab displays the current unit type’s statistics, the attached
well as on overview of its most important stats. On the right side it
will display the terrain type of the unit’s current position on the map.
By clicking on the
terrain type name, this
display can be toggled
to display a list of the
unit’s traits instead.
While the unique balance of a
unit’s statistics largely define its
purpose on the battlefield, their
use is often augmented by one
or more special traits. These can
define passive bonuses or benefits such as the ability to travel

58 59
Commander (if any) and his bonuses as well as the Logbook, types such as cities, jungles and hills have
which contains a summary of the main events in the unit’s career. higher cover values than open terrain and
The “Statistics” tab provides a detailed overview of the unit’s beaches. All attack stats against land based
performance in combat, listing kills of each unit class as well as targets consist of two values. The terrain
some overall statistics. cover value determines what actual value is
used when fighting on a hex.
6.7. Terrain For example the M4A3 Sherman 105mm
Every hex has a specific terrain type. You can above is armed with a low-velocity howitzer,
bring up a Terrain Information Panel by clicking designed for assault and infantry support but not for fighting
the “i” button on the terrain picture of the enemy tanks. Its “Attack against [Land] Mechanised” (lower-left
currently selected unit. corner) has a range of “12-16”.
This means it will have 12 attack against tanks on terrain with
Terrain Information 0% cover and 16 attack in 100% cover. If the terrain has 50% cover
This popup shows the combat effects and it will have 14 attack. This means the unit’s gun is less effective
efficiency penalties related to the selected against tanks on open terrain, where shots would be fired from
terrain type. Terrain can cause an attack long ranges, but its performance improves in towns and cities,
penalty for the attacker, the defender, or where its high-calibre gun can be used to bettter effect.
both. Fighting on terrain with an “attacker The exact calculation for range “X - Y” is:
damage” factor of less than 1.0 will cause (X - Y) * (100 - (cover rating)) + Y
fewer casualties for the defender, while
terrain types where both sides have lowered Roads & Rails
damage output – such as mountains – result Dirt and Hard Roads decrease the cost from moving through
in lower casualties in general, thus making hexes. When there is a road connection between two hexes,
decisive combat much slower and more difficult to achieve. moving from one hex to the other will only take half the movement
The panel also displays the efficiency loss for moving to or points it would normally cost.
through this terrain, the efficiency loss for disembarking here Railroads allow trains and other railroad unit types to move
from naval transportation and the terrain “cover rating”. through the hexes.

Cover Rating Rivers & Bridges

The cover rating of a terrain type determined how much cover Rivers are among the most important natural obstacles you will
from direct fire and natural obstructions are available. Terrain encounter in the game. A unit always spends all its movement

60 61
points to enter or exit a river hex. This means it takes three turns ww For completing specific objectives. Sometimes the cost of
for a unit starting adjacent to a river hex to cross over and move repairs to complete these objectives may exceed their RP
away from the river. bonus, but they may provide additional advantages in later
In addition, while sitting on a river hex a unit is highly vulnerable scenarios.
to attack. Crossing rivers near a strong enemy presence should
only be attempted when strong artillery support is available. 6.9. Command Points
Whenever possible, bridges should be used to cross a river quickly The amount of available Command Points
and safely. They do not cause any movement restrictions but (CP) is displayed in the top-right corner
being attacked while on a bridge still causes a combat penalty. of the main UI bar, next to the resources
Bridges can be destroyed using the “Demolition Explosives” display. These values determine how many
ability of specialized units such as Engineers. A hex with a units can be deployed at a given time in the current scenario.
destroyed bridge has the same penalties as a river hex without There are 3 types of CP, one for each of the three unit categories
any bridge. Engineers also have the ability to create pontoon available in the game:
bridges. These have the same benefit as standard road bridges. ww Land CP, indicated by a green helmet icon
ww Naval CP, indicated by a blue anchor icon
6.8. Resources ww Air CP, indicated by a red aircraft icon
The main resource type in the game is given the general name Each unit type consumes a specific amount of CP when it is
“Resources” or “Resource Points” (RP). These are used for deployed. If there are not enough remaining CP the unit cannot
various actions: be deployed until more CP become available through a specific
ww Purchasing new units scenario event or the destruction of another Core unit. Auxiliary
ww Repairing units units do not consume CP and do not return their CP cost to the
ww Upgrading units reserve pool upon destruction.
ww Executing certain special abilities
The amount of RP currently available in a scenario is displayed 6.10. Minimap & Strategic Map
in the top-right corner of the main UI bar. Additional RP can be The minimap is positioned on the right side of
acquired in a few different ways: the main UI bar. It displays an overview of the
ww Most scenarios provide a steady income of RP every turn. whole battle map. Units are represented by dots
If the scenario is completed faster than the turn limit, any matching their owner’s player colour. Bright dots
RP for the remaining turns are automatically added to the are units that have not yet moved, darkened dots
stockpile. The amount of RP income per turn is displayed in are units that have consumed all their movement
the Turn Overview popup window. points for the current turn.

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 Note that enemy and neutral units are only visible on the minimap right. This is because jungle terrain has a higher “LOS cost” than
when they are actually within line of sight of one of your own units. open terrain.
The white rectangle At the start of a turn, all your units reveal the FoW of all hexes
indicates the area that is within their LoS. When you move them, they reveal all the hexes
currently visible on the battle along their path of movement.
map. Left-clicking anywhere Enemy units attacking from inside FoW – for example long
on the minimap will move range artillery – will automatically be revealed for the duration of
the camera to focus on that their turn. At the end of each turn the FoW is recalculated, hiding
location. hexes that your units can no longer see.
Right-clicking on the There are also a number of special units such as submerged
minimap will open the Strategic submarines and commando type infantry units which can be
Map. This is essentially a invisible to the enemy even when their location is not concealed
larger version of the minimap, by the FoW. In addition, Infantry and towed guns positioned in
providing a full overview of certain terrain types such as jungles and cities can only be spotted
the map, friendly and (visible) by adjacent ground or naval units.
enemy units and their classes. Note that you cannot control the
units in this view, it only serves to provide a quick overview of the Distant Vision & Radar
current strategic situation. Aircraft and Radar Stations have the ability to see past their LOS
range, revealing the position of enemy ships or aircraft in the fog
6.11. Fog of War of war. These hexes are covered with a lighter version of the FoW
All hexes on the map that are not within Line of Sight (LOS) of at as opposed to the standard black shroud. Enemy units detected
least one friendly unit will be covered in a dark shroud, called the in this manner will be marked as an icon without revealing their
Fog of War (FoW). Enemy units in the FoW are not visible on the type or strength.
battle map.
The distance a unit can see
depends on the terrain types
of its surrounding. Note how
in the screenshot above the
US unit can see 2 hexes along
the open road, but cannot see
past the jungle terrain on its

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6.12. Aircraft Maintenance 7. Scenario Editor
Air units require fuel to stay up in Scenarios are created using the boardgame visuals style.
the air. The number on the right You can at any point test how your creation looks and plays
side of an air unit’s strength plate by clicking the “Launch Scenario” button in the bottom right
indicates the amount of turns it corner of the screen.
can stay up in the air. If an aircraft
is selected, red movement markers
indicate hexes that will be out of
fuel range in the next turn.
When the fuel indicator drops
to 0, the air unit will lose strength
each turn until it finally drops
out of the sky and crashes. To prevent this from happening the
aircraft must land on a friendly airfield where it will be refueled
automatically in the next turn. Carrier-based aircraft can also land
and refuel on aircraft carriers.
When on or adjacent to a friendly airfield you can use the
“Land” ability to put it on the ground. When landing on an empty When opening the editor you will start off with a blank map
airfield, a Hangar unit will be created and the aircraft will be filled with the “Open” terrain type. The buttons in the bottom
stored inside. If a Hangar already exists, the aircraft will be added left side of the UI bar allow you to change terrain types or
to its current cargo. Hangars will automatically disappear when place decorations, units, roads, rivers and other special objects
the last aircraft inside takes off. on the map.
Selecting the Hangar or Carrier allows you to select and The editor allows you to add every feature that is used in the
manage their cargo in the bottom left UI bar. official game content to your own creations, thereby letting you
Float Planes and Flying Boats are an exception to this rule: design single-player and multi-player scenarios of any size and
They do not require refueling. This ability to stay airborne makes complexity that you want to.
them ideal for long range For more information on the scenario editor and game
reconnaissance missions, modding, you can visit the game forums on the Slitherine website:
but they carry very little http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=264
armament and are vulnerable
to enemy air attacks.

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7.1. Editor Hotkeys Slitherine
Shift + Click (with unit selected): Move unit to new location CHAIRMAN
CTRL + numpad number (with unit selected: Set AI team <number> JD McNeil
ALT + numpad number (with unit selected: Set AI team 10 + DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
<number> Iain McNeil
CTRL + click (with valid transport type selected): Assign transport PRODUCER
to target unit on the map Alex Stoikou
CTRL + T: toggle overlay image on/off (<yourscenarioname>_ OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
template.jpg) Erik Rutins
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Philip Veale
8. Credits MARKETING DIRECTOR
Aristocrats Marco A. Minoli
LEAD DESIGN & PROGRAMMING CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Lukas Nijsten Richard Evans
AI PROGRAMMING PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER
David Forster Olivier Georges
3D MODELLING COMMUNITY MANAGER
Bernd Brosing Bart Schouten
ARTISTS ASSETS MANAGEMENT
Massimiliano Del Bono, Wim De Mulder Liz Stoltz
ART LEAD
ANIMATIONS
Claudio Guarnerio, Myriam Bell
Niels Vaes
QA & PRODUCTION ASSISANTS
SOUND FX
Andrew Loveridge, Gerry Edwards, Matthew Davis
Paulo Costa
ADMINISTRATION
MUSIC Dean Walker
Alessandro Ponti
CUSTOMER SUPPORT STAFF
VIDEO Paulo Costa, Joseph Miller
Michèl Niedermeier
WEB DEVELOPMENT
Valery Vidershpan, Andrea Nicola, Fernando Turi

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Notes

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Printed in China through WorldPrint Ltd.