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Information on the English version:
This version is based on the German 1.1d.
Heiko has given his express permission
to distribute this in English-speaking
countries. It is a poked version, not
100%, but hopefully good enough to
understand.
At present, the latest version 1.4 has
not been translated into English. If I
get around to it, it will be obtainable
via the author.
There are good reasons for getting the
newest version, over and above that of
improving your German.
- Let the author know you appreciate
his work
- keeping to the spirit of shareware
- 3 new scenarios, including a facinat-
ing one on the colonisation of Africa.
B. Johnston, 23.2.92
---
* Caesar V1.1x *
Written by Heiko Hartmann
(C) 1989/90 Microworks
Shareware !
Programmed in the well-loved GFA Basic 3.0
Shareware means:
- The program can be obtained for nothing.
- If you use the program, you are expected to pay the shareware fee.
At present, this is 20.-DM.
- The program can be passed on complete and unchanged, provided no
payment is requested, other than to cover costs.
- Version 1.0 and higher may only be distributed by agreement with
the author. (N.B. PD distributors)
- Registered users are entitled to help from the author when
required. See later in the text.
Information on version V1.1:
This is almost certainly the final version, in that no further new
options will be added. A large number of errors have been fixed in this
version. It seems that they are related exponentially to the size of
the program. I and a few other brave souls have tested the program
for about 8 months, and never ceased to be surprised by the number of
errors: logical, illogical, silly, technical, ideological and others.
Rules
=====
It is 200BC. The fight for dominance in the mediterranean is at its
peak. Six empires have aspirations to power, but only one can win....
So much for the situation. The game does not quite correspond to
historical facts, but does come surprisingly close.
The players, maximum 5, start by choosing one of five states, which
they then head. Other states are controlled by the computer. The states
are:
1. Rome (red):Almost everyone will know that Rome was the major power
in the Mediterranean. One should not forget that this
could easily have been different. Around 200 BC there
were several other reasonably strong powers.
2. Carthage (blue):At that time, Carthage had the most trade and the
largest fleet. They fought the three Punic wars with
Rome, which finally led to Carthage's destruction and
occupation.
Hannibal was able to advance close to Rome, but lost
the decisive battle after many victories.
3. Macedonia (green) Macedonia was heavily involved in the Punic
wars. The Romans had a pact with Sparta, further to the
south, and colonised Dalmatia and Epirus. This was
finally too much for the Macedonians, who capitulated.
4. Persia (yellow) In 200 BC, Persia had long passed its zenith.
Alexander the Great had overrun the whole area 150
years earlier, and the Persians proved difficult to
eject. However, after they had defeated their enemy,
Greece, no ruler had been able to unite the Persion
forces, and they disintegrated into several Diadochian
districts, which the Romans later took.
5. The Celts (brown) The Celts start this game in Venice. In reality,
they had no central empire. There were several clans, who
ruled large parts of central Europe, including Britain.
They had fought various campaigns in Spain, the
Balkans, Persia and Rome, which they at one point held
for several months
6) Germans (purple) The Germanic races migrated from Asia further and
further westward. The tribes included the Goths, Huns,
Kimbers, Teutons, etc. generally refered to as
Barbarians. Their fighting qualities caused the Celts and
later the Romans grave problems, which finally led to the
schision of the Roman Empire.
Start
=====
Caesar runs on an ST or Mega St with 1 MByte with single-sided disk
drive and colour monitor. It runs on all TOS versions (STE and TT,
who knows.
At the start each player is asked to enter any name, and then choose
his nation (click on the name of the nation). After the last player,
press return again and confirm with OK. It is also possible to click OK
without choosing a nation; one will then be assigned to the player at
random.
If you lick on BOSPHOR, you will be assigned to the country Bosphorus,
and lead the Germans. This nation is only recommended for a good
player who is more experienced than the others, as the start from
Bosphorus is more difficult than the other ones.
Next, a dialog box appears, where the difficulty can be set.
Beginners should select EASY, HARDER is recommended for advanced
players. MARBLE is really difficult: It is not yet known whether one
can win at this level, as no-one has done so yet.
At any time, you can move to the new editor section.If you select
EDIT rather than PLAY in the dialog box you go straight to the editor.
If you have a game in progress which has been saved, you can select
LOAD GAME to continue it. Select the game with the correct name from
the file selector box.
Next you select a flag with a click. The flag has no influence on the
game, it is only for atmosphere.
Afterwards, the high score list appears. It is stored on the game
disk, so make sure that the disk is not write-protected, and is left in
the drive at the end of a successful game. Only human players can
make the high score list, the computer scores are not saved.
General rules
Each player enters his moves (maximum 3). Some take effect immediately,
others during the battle phase. The playing order can determine
the outcome of the game, so the rules are explained here in detail. The
player with the highest index (see below) starts. The weakest player
enters his orders last, which is an advantage. The computer's orders,
with the exception of FORTIFY, cannot be seen. (More on the
computer's moves follows later.)
The orders are carried out in the reverse order, which may or may not
be an advantage.
The game starts in 200 BC, each move represents a season (a quarter-
year). The orders allowed depend on the season. For example, you can
only fortify a country in summer.
The Map: Grey countries are neutral. Some countries have capital
cities, marked clearly on the map. The sea is divided into 7 zones,
which is relevant for ships. Fortified countries are shown darkened.
Orders in detail
- Army: Move an army to a neighbouring country. Click on the country
with the left button. The right button summarises all your armies.
Select the number of troops to move. Click left '>' increases troops
by 1, '>>' by 100, the right buttion increases by 10 and 1000
respectively. '<' and '<<' reduces the number in the same way.
Confirm with OK, redo after CANCEL
- Ships: Send ships. This functions in a similar way as with armies.
Ships can move within a sector or to a neighbouring sector, in
those days ships had a shorter range. A ship can carry up to 100 men,
and at least 1 man must travel with a fleet.
- Status: Gives an overview with useful information. This order is
carried out immediately.
- Spy: This is also performed immediately. It gives information on an
opponents strength in a country, and costs a certain amount.
- Expand: New troops or ships can be called up immediately. Only
possible in a country with a capital. Amount and cost are entered
as when moving an army.
It is possible to build up armies in a foreign capital, or even a
neutral one.
The cost of men depends on the total population and the existing
troops. Ships increase in cost as the number per land increases.
- Fortify: You can fortify your own or foreign countries, but not
neutral ones. Fortified countried defend themselves better than
normal ones. This is also true of capitals. the most difficult are
fortified capitals.
- Help: You can send troops to a neighbouring country, ships, or gold.
Help, expansion or fortification of foreign countries improves your
standing with them; more on this later.
- Recruit: Hire soldiers. unlike Expansion, no capital is necessary.
Enter a sum, and troops are hired in all your countries. The number
depends on the population, the amount paid and the number of
countries you lead.
- Sabotage - Can be performed in a foreign country. Choose the country,
the type of sabotage, and the amount you want to pay. If successful,
various results to your advantage occur. Often, however, they are
unsuccessful.
- Bribery: success leads to a transfer of troops
- Blackmail: similar, but payment in corn and gold
- Kidnapping: ransom in corn and gold.
- Arson: burns down fortification, costs troops
- Conspiracy: a country will become neutral
- Revolt: the country joins your side
- Treaty: You can aim for agreement with a computer empire. Choose the
topic and the tone of your discussion. If successful, your relations
usually improve. If not they deteriorate.
Experiment to see the different results.
New since version 1.0
- Pact: Here you can make an offer to a neutral country. You receive
taxes and corn from the country. After some time (on average 2.5
years) the country decides if it will join you or end the pact. The
initial cost is high, but is usually worthwhile in the long term.
- Piratry: You can hire a fleet with men, which wreak havoc in the zone
they are hired. A country in two zones, the clockwise one is chosen,
except in the baltic and red seas.
Climate: some countries, mostly in Africa, are hot and dry in summer.
They are more difficult to conquer in this season.
Carthage especially, should take care at the start, as the game
starts in summer.
Similarly, some northerly countries are cold in winter.
This fact is mentioned when spying on such a country.
If your moves are complete, click END.
The players follow in turn. Afterwards, the orders are performed. Those
entered first are carried out first, starting with the last players
orders.
In a battle, the strength of the two armies is given at the top of
the screen. Troops are removed, the battle is ended when one side
reaches 0. Fortifications, if they existed, are destroyed. The winner
gets those ships which are not destroyed, somewhat less than half.
If ships attack a country without success, the remainder, less than
half, return to the port of origin.
The quarterly treasury report follows, with information on corn supply,
population changes and tax income.
- Corn harvest: depending on the weather, varies from very good to
poor. The harvest in each country is given in figures on the map
(0 - 9). It depends on the general harvest, the agriculture budget
and luck.
- Population change: varies between -9 to +9. It depends on the corn
available and the building budget, to a lesser extent on the local
situation, e.g. existence of large cities.
- Income varies between 0 - 9. It depends on the economy, the tax
rate and the population.
The economy also affects the price of ships and fortifications.
The population affects hiring of troops, tax income, and the prices
of ships and troops.
The corn market
In spring and autumn, you can trade in corn. Click on '>>' or '<<' to
buy or sell. Use the right button for larger amounts. Click on OK to
complete the dealing.
The purple line shows the expected requirement in the next half year.
the extra stock is thus the amount below this line. Further figures are
given to aid decisions to buy or sell. The price changes with supply.
Corn price depends on the market, the harvest and the economy.
If there is no more corn on the market, you cannot buy even if your
people must starve.
Budget
Once a year, after the summer round, you can a just your budget.
Here, you determine the distribution of gold between agriculture,
infrastructure and the treasury.
More gold in building leads to a higher population.
More gold in agriculture means a better harvest.
Gold in the treasury is needed to expand.
If the people feel too little is spent on their wellbeing, they
become discontent, so be careful.
Tax rate
In winter, the tax rate can be adjusted. Higher rates lead to more
tax income. Here too, too high rates can lead to revolt, a tax cut
can improve the situation.
The Index
=========
A summary is given at the end of each round. The status of each
player is given in a global index, considering countries, capitals,
ships, troops, population, gold and corn. The player with the highest
index, shown graphically and in figures, is winning. The index also
decides the order of play.
The number of capitals is shown at the left of the screen.
180 index points, or more than 7 capitals are needed to win.
The game can be saved at this stage by clicking on the box SAVE (see
also extras).
The Computer
============
The computer can be a powerful opponent. Here are some tips on its
play.
The computer also has a maximum of 3 orders, with which it can attack
or fortify a country. In addition, it builds up armies or fleets in
certain countries. The number depends on the computer's index.
This, and the fact that the computer knows each countries status
without espionage, gives it a certain advantage. Also the computer does
not have to worry about corn supply or the mood of its people.
On the other hand, the computer has no real aim. It changes its tactics
from one move to the next, with alarming inconsequence. This is a great
advantage for human players, though it requires practice and skill to
make the most of it.
The computer does not take account of moving ships or armies
One important variable is your relationship with a computer empire.
This can be seen by calling up STATUS in any round. If you attack the
computer (even by accident, or if you are unsuccessful) you become
enemies. This means the computer will attack you at every opportunity
(most unwelcome). You can improve your relation by:
- building up troops or ships in the computer's territory
- fortifying its countries
- providing help of any sort
- if the (random) message 'improved relations' appears
Your relation deteriorates if the message 'out of favour' appears
Discussions on religion can be used to change the relation between
the computer and another opponent to emnity. This is sometimes a
powerful weapon.
Even if relations are good, the computer can cause trouble. The
computer notices a countries weakness after a catastrophe, and may
attack. It may be difficult to oust him again. If this happens, and you
have several countries in the area with small armies, get rid of it, at
almost any price.
Tips for survival
=================
It is illusory to hope that you will not be affected by the dreadful
message 'you have too little corn.....' throughout a whole game. Even
conservative play can lead to large-scale starvation.
Humans are tempted to leave the computer alone. This usually ends
badly, for the computer accumulates troops, and unleashes them after
the catastrophe comes. Better tactics are to attack the computer as
soon as the opportunity arises.
The computer can be fooled by clever troop movements.
If a computer empire develops a weak country, you can rely on other
computer players to attack it.
An attempt at revolt is a good way to get at a computer's country with
large army. Chances are best in unfortified countries without a
capital, and paying a high price. Conspiracy is a similarly useful
method.
These types of sabotage are also damaging to human players. An
additional rule is recommended, that only one sabotage against human
players per round be allowed.
Massive buying of corn reduces the price, which is unwelcome for
players following.
An agriculture budget of round 20% is recommended. This gives a good
harvest, as long as you have sufficient gold (20% of nothing is
nothing!). Make sure you have gold for the next round.
If the people's mood is good, a single round at 50% tax can bring
needed gold.
In Rome
=======
A player with Rome usually has a good start, but has difficulty
expanding.
To begin, take either the capital in Luciania or Etruria, the country
north of Rome. Both have military strength and good economies. A
further aim is the capital in north Italy, Apuania, before the Celts
can take it. Once the whole peninsula is red, there are three main
lines of continuation. You can attack the Celts (brown) in the north.
This is only recommended if you are strong enough.
You can land in Africa or the French atlantic coast, carrying the
battle for territory abroad.
You can land in England or some of the mediterranean islands. This is
the least dangerous but least promising line.
In Carthage
===========
The carthaginians can often expand quickly, as the surrounding
countries are weak. The disadvantages are their weak economies and
the risk of attack on the coast. The most inportant territories are
Tingis, Africa, Masinissa, Kyrenia and of course Egypt, if you can
get there fast enough. Supply lines to the east aret difficult, so that
a strong fleet may be an advantage.
Strategies afterwards include:
- Attack the Persians (yellow) and try to control the whole southern
part of the map.
- Land in Spain or south Greece. This requires a major effort, but
opens new perspectives.
- Land in Britain, Sardinia etc. (see Rome)
In Macedonia
============
The Macedonians have few troops at the begining, and must expand with
care. They have, like the Carthaginians, the advantage that they
are spared attacks from other empires for quite a while.
Initially, they should take Dalmatia. They can then follow one of four
strategies.
- Overrun south Greece. This brings extra capitals, which, however
usually do not fall to others.
- Attempt to take Byzanz in the East. Take care with the strong country
Thessalonica, and the Germans.
- Expand in the direction of Moesia. This is easy, but leads to an
early confrontation with the Germans.
Concentrate on the western territories. Here the Celts are the
natural enemy.
In Persia
=========
The Persians are confronted from the start with strong neighbours.
The most promising way is to take Pergamon and Lydia, then attack
Syria until it falls.
The next steps lead to Egypt, if Carthage doesn't get there first, or
by ship to Byzanz. If you wish to cross swords with Carthage, take
Cyrenia, which allows you to travel to Spain by ship.
If Carthage is a human player, an agreement can avoid a premature fight
to the death.
In Venetia
==========
The Celts have problems with other empires from the start. Rome is
pressing forward from the South, Macedonia from the Southeast and the
Germans from the Northeast.
Keep calm. If you must, give up either Venetia or Liguria to Rome.
Concentrate on Spain, where there is no competition. All Spanish
territories are rich except Celtiberia. Then you can expand to the
North, and take Alesia. After this, you probably have to take on your
enemies, so prepare for this well with fortifications etc.
In Bosphorus
============
Just one short tip. Play carefully, and take Haimos at the start.
The Extras
==========
Press the ESC key to reach these options:
- Add a player: Replace a computer player by a human (This is a
useful trick if nothing else works).
- Remove a player: the computer takes over a human empire.
- Change level: the degree of difficulty can be changed at any time.
- Change name; If you don't like a name, you can change it here.
- Save Game. Here you can save the game on disk. It can be loaded for
continuation at the start of a game. (A better option is to save it
at the summary screen, as the troops under way are not stored)
- New start: Starts a new game.
- Program information: here is the obligatory copywrite screen.
- Click GO ON to go back to the game.
All commands in the extras menu work via the keyboard. Leave a function
with an empty string (i.e. Return).
The Editor
==========
The country editor is very easy to use.
The Bosphorus Empire (Germans) start. Click on a country with the
left mouse, and it becomes a territory of the active player. a second
click makes it neutral. At the end of his turn, he clicks on land with
the right button, and the next player continues.
Warnings
========
Never take too many countries at the start. This leads to economic
problems and slow progress. Remember that a player with 8 capitals or a
higher index than all others combined wins the game.
There are a number of surprising turns built into the game, as messages
appear at regular intervals. No comments on these are necessary here.
Remember that neutral countries may suddenly attack.
A word from the author
======================
I spent the best part of a year on Caesar, reading history, looking up
encyclopedia, testing and improving it. At some times it was hard
graft, at others it was infuriating. I also had a lot of fun, and now
no longer know why the computer reacts the way it does. It is still not
complete, there are a few improvements, and another version is sure
to come out some day.
And this leads up to my next point. Registered users will be informed
when a new update is finished. They can then order the next update,
at a probable cost of 10.- DM.
Those who are not registered, and are using a version 0.9 or higher
should be aware that they are breaking the law, and acting unfairly.
The registration fee of 20.- DM will assure you the newest version,
an summary card and the latest version, plus the update service
mentioned above.
Tips, good and bad experiences, errors, registration fees, greetings,
questions and suggestions are welcome and should be sent to:
Heiko Hartmann
Sonnenbergstr. 41
7015 Korntal
Finally:
If you should suffer from this program in any way, I'm sorry, but I can
take no responsibility. I didnt force you to load or start the program.
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