Sophie: xconq-7.5.0-1.20050612.5mdv2009.1 i586

xconq-7.5.0-1.20050612.5mdv2009.1.i586.rpm

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<TITLE>Xconq - Quick Start</TITLE>
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<H1><A NAME="SEC7" HREF="xconq_toc.html#SEC7">Quick Start</A></H1>

<P>
First, install the game according to the instructions for your system.
(These are to be found in the files <TT>`README'</TT> and <TT>`INSTALL'</TT>.)

</P>
<P>
Double-click on the <I>Xconq</I> icon (all platforms) or type <CODE>xconq</CODE>
at a shell (Unix/Windows).  You get an initial screen with several
buttons.  Click on "New".  You get a screen with a list of available
games.  The "Introductory" game will be at the top of the list.  Click
on it, then click on "OK".  You may get a screen for variants, but if
you do, don't mess with these, just click "OK" again.  You then get a
list of sides and players; the default setup is correct already, so
click "OK" again.

</P>
<P>
After a short pause while <I>Xconq</I> sets up the game, you will get
one or more windows, depending on your system.  The big window is
the one to be interested in; it is a view of your new world.

</P>
<P>
It's also almost entirely black, representing the unknown.  In the
middle you should see a small picture of buildings, representing your
first town "Jinod", and right below a small picture representing the
soldiers of your 1st infantry unit.  Your infantry is framed by a
scrolling marquee, which indicates that it is your "current" or
"selected" unit; the unit to which commands will apply.  Your units
are in a greenish hexagon, which is their "cell", and the cell is
surrounded on five sides by similar cells.  All of these represent
plains.  To the west there is a brownish patterned cell, which means
mountains.

</P>
<P>
When the mouse pointer is over the map, you see that it looks like a
gunsight with cross hairs.  (On the Mac, this is a small arrow that
always points away from the current unit.)  This means that you're in
"move mode", and that if you click on any location, the unit will try
to move there.  This happens the same whether you click in an adjacent
cell or one far away, or even somewhere out in unknown regions.  Your
units are smart enough to find its way around some obstacles, and will
stop and let you know they need new orders if they are blocked.

</P>
<P>
Click on the cell east (right) of the town and infantry.  Hey, something
happened!  Your infantry is now out in the open, and it's discovered the
sea to the east and northeast.  At the same time, there is another
infantry inside the town, but it looks fuzzy; that's because it is
"incomplete".  Your town Jinod will continue to work on the new
infantry while you move around.  Also note that the turn number is now
5, when it was 4 before.  An infantry gets to move once/turn, so when it
moved, it was done for the turn, and since there was nothing else to do,
<I>Xconq</I> automatically went to the next turn.  Your 1st infantry is the
only unit not doing something already, so it gets to be the current unit
again.

</P>
<P>
Your infantry can't go into the water (try it, you'll get beeped), so
instead click on the land cell to the northwest, then northeast, just
following the water's edge.  Click to move east; you then discover
another town!  While your own units have a little blue-and-white flag in
the upper right corner, this town (which is named Mebnels) has no such
emblem, which means that it is independent.  Since you want to save the
town from being taken over by the evil robots, try to capture it--just
click on the town.  The town, not knowing that your benevolent rule is a
better fate than being exploited by the evil robots, will try to resist.
If it's successful, you'll have to keep trying, once each turn.  Mebnels
may even destroy your infantry.

</P>
<P>
At some point during all this, you'll find that the current unit is no
longer your 1st infantry!  Jinod has been quietly working on your 2nd
infantry all along, and the new unit is now ready for orders.  <I>Xconq</I>
automatically jumps you to it when the 1st infantry is done for the
turn.  Click on the cell <I>immediately west of Mebnels</I>; you'll see
your 2nd infantry appear to jump two cells, then highlight the 1st
infantry (if the 1st is still alive, anyway).  What actually happened
was that you gave a "move to" task to the 2nd; it moved once, the turn
ended and a new turn started, the 2nd moved again because it wasn't at
the destination yet, and then since 1st wasn't doing anything, it became
the current unit.

</P>
<P>
Continue trying to capture Mebnels.  When the 2nd infantry arrives west
of Mebnels, you can click on Mebnels to have it attack there as well.
This is crucial, because the robots are coming...

</P>
<P>
In the turn after you've captured Mebnels, you'll see that Mebnels
itself becomes the current unit.  Towns can't move around, but they can
produce new units.  Choose "Build" from the Play menu, or type
<SAMP>`P'</SAMP>.  You will get a prompt asking to choose from a list of
letters.  To see what they mean, type <SAMP>`?'</SAMP>  to get an explanation.
You can choose by either clicking on the unit icons on the right side of
the window, or by typing one of the letters.  Armor is faster than
infantry and more powerful too, which will come in handy shortly, so
type <SAMP>`a'</SAMP>.  You will see a small gray tank picture appear underneath
Mebnels' picture.

</P>
<P>
(On the Mac, you can either type as described above, or use the
construction window, which displays Mebnels on one side and a list of
unit types on the other.  Click on armor and then on "Construct".)

</P>
<P>
Continue moving your 1st and 2nd infantry east.  When you get your 3rd
infantry, click anywhere near the location of your 1st or 2nd infantry.
The 3rd will work its way up to the others eventually.

</P>
<P>
Some time about now you'll start seeing units or towns with the red X
of the robots.  Those are the enemy; attack!  As with Mebnels, you just
have to click on the enemy unit when your current unit is adjacent to
it.  Keep an eye on the notices window/pane, it will tell you about
how the fighting is going.  You'll also see some flashing on the units;
bigger means more damage.  If one of the units disappears, that will
be because it was destroyed.

</P>
<P>
Since this game is so simple, there is not a lot of strategy to winning
it.  You need to capture as many towns as possible (search around your
first town Jinod to find others to help you build units), and you need
to wear down the enemy by capturing its towns.  Eventually either the
AI will dominate and eventually wipe you out, or you will defeat all its
armies and capture all its towns.  The AI does not cheat, and doesn't
get any special advantage, so if you lose to a mere machine...

</P>

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