Pocket War Instructions
	Introduction | Getting Started | Options | Map | Lists | Waypoints | Cities | Units | Groups | Unit Types | Script Reference | Unit Maker | Q and A

Q and A:

• What is the goal of the game?
  
  Depending on the game type the goal of the game it to take all of the other players cities or to kill all of their units. The first person (or computer) to do that wins.



• Are there any shortcut keys?
  
  Yes. These work on the desktop version and on pocket pcs with keyboards.
  
  
  • F1 - brings up the help screen
  • space - next turn
  • enter - take turns until message
  • esc - close popup windows (like the minimap, city info, unit info, etc.)
  • c - jump to next city
  • a - jump to next army
  • w - jump to next waypoint
  • m - jump to next message location
  • r - resign the game
  • q - quit pocket war
  • arrow keys - scroll the map


• How does a unit take a city?
  
  Most units can't take cities. If you go to a unit's detail page for a unit that can take a city you will see an action button that looks like a city on fire. When a unit is set for this action it will attack any enemy or neutral cities it can see. Remember that the "see" range for most units is very small so you must guide them close to the cities you want them to attack using waypoints. When a unit attempts to take a city it will do a certain amount of damage. When the city reaches zero resistance left it will change to your color and you can now set that city to produce things for you or have it repair itself. The unit will be dispersed around the city to keep the population under control. See the Units chart to find out which units can take cities and how much damage they do.



• What are waypoints and how do I use them?
  
  Waypoints are essential to the game. They are used to order units and groups of units to certain locations on the map. They can be used to direct units to explore in a certain direction or tell a transport where to take its troops.
  To set a waypoint for a specific unit you can click on the unit and then drag to a location on the map. When you let up a "temporary" waypoint will be created at that location. The unit that was clicked on will be ordered to go to the new waypoint. If you end up over an existing waypoint it not create a new waypoint, instead the unit will be ordered to go to the existing one. If the unit is part of a group then all units in that group will be sent to the waypoint. If you click on a city and drag then the city will be set to send all newly created units to that waypoint that is create when you let up.
  
  Tapping and dragging creates "temporary" waypoints. You can tell that a waypoint "temporary" because the waypoint is red. A temporary waypoint will exist as long as a unit is heading for the waypoint or a city or another waypoint are set to forward units to that waypoint. When nothing else needs a "temporary" waypoint it will remove itself from the map.
  
  If you want to set a waypoint without assigning a unit to it simply tap on an empty location on the map and a waypoint will be created. This creates a "permanent" blue waypoint.
  
  You can select an existing waypoint by tapping it. When a waypoint is hilighted you can see its settings on the status bar. You can tap the red and blue bar button to toggle the waypoint between being "permanent" and "temporary." Tapping the other buttons will changes the settings that get applied to units when they reach the waypoint.
  
  To remove a "permanent" waypoint change it to a "temporary" waypoint and when no units need the waypoint anymore it will go away. You can also remove a red or a blue waypoint by tapping the X on the status bar when the waypoint is selected.



• So I know what a waypoint is what is a "tracking" waypoint?
  
  If you drag a waypoint from one of your units and drop it on another unit (either friendly or enemy) then that will create a tracking waypoint. You can tell that its a tracking waypoint by selecting the waypoint. Any unit tracking this waypoint will have a green box around it. Everywhere the tracked unit goes the waypoint will follow. Any units set to go to that waypoint will follow the unit that is being tracked. If the unit being tracked gets killed or goes into a transport or city the waypoint will remove itself and all units going to that waypoint will be reset to their defaults.



• Ok so that is a "tracking" waypoint what is a "follow" waypoint?
  
  A "follow" waypoint is one set up to follow a tracking waypoint. To create a "follow" waypoint first create a tracking waypoint on a unit. Then create a permanent waypoint. Then drag from the permanent waypoint to the tracking waypoint. The permanent waypoint will now "follow" the tracking waypoint. When the tracking waypoint is removed the permanent waypoint will also go away.



• How can I tell when something has happened?
  
  When something happens like an army gets killed or captures a city the little arrows at the bottom right in the status window will turn purple. The purple arrows will take you through the messages and center the map on the location where the message happened. If you click the down purple arrow it will take you to the message. If you click the up arrow it will go back through the messages to the turn number message. If you had something selected at the beginning of the turn it will recenter the screen on that unit. The radar view at the bottom left will show purple flashing dots where events have occurred. As you use the arrows to go through the messages the zooming box will hilight the location on that map where the currently displayed message took place.



• When something is selected what does the information on the status bar mean?
  
  If a city is selected the status bar will display
  "City Name", "City Type", "Defense left", "Number of units stored", "Unit type being built, % complete", "current action button", "current waypoint button"
  By tapping the "current action button" you can changes the default action that new units produced in this city will take. If the action is set to waypoint then you can tap on the "current waypoint button" next to the "current action button" to change which waypoint units will be sent to.
  If a unit is selected the status bar will display
  "Unit name", "Armor left", "Group Number", "number units being transported", "fuel percent left", "current action button" "current movement button" "current waypoint button"
  By tapping the "current action button" you can change the action this unit will take. By tapping the "current movement button" you can change the movement this unit will take. If the movement is set to waypoint then you can tap on the "current waypoint button" next to the "current movement button" to change which waypoint units will be sent to.
  If a waypoint is selected the status bar will display
  "Waypoint's Name", "Waypoint type", "current action button" "current movement button" "current waypoint button" "waypoint type toggle button" "remove waypoint button" By tapping the "current action button" you can changes the default action that a unit will take after reaching this waypoint. By tapping the "current movement button" you can changes the default movement that a unit will take after reaching this waypoint. If the movement is set to waypoint then you can tap on the "current waypoint button" next to the "current movement button" to change which waypoint units will be sent to. If the waypoint is a "permanent" waypoint the "waypoint type toggle button" will turn it into a "temporary" waypoint. If nothing needs this waypoint it will then be removed from the map. If the waypoint is a "temporary" waypoint then it will be changed into a "permanent" waypoint. Tapping the X will remove this waypoint and anything set to go to this waypoint will be reset to its defaults.



• How does battle work?
  
  All units have attack ranges. When a unit is within attacking range of another unit it will attack it if it is set to attack units. Each unit has a base amount of damage they can do. This is adjusted by how good they are at attacking the type of unit they are attacking and how good the unit they are attacking is at defending against them. The amount of damage done is also adjusted by how far away the enemy unit is and the terrain that both units are on. For specifics on each unit see the unit chart.
  
  Land Bonus and Penalties
  
  shallow ocean - sea units take +20 damage from land and air and +10 from other sea
  deep ocean - sea units get take -20 damage from land and air adn -10 from sea
  forest - ground units take -40 damage from air, -20 from sea, and +20 from ground
  desert - ground units take +40 damage from air and +20 damage from sea
  
  Defending
  
  units marked as defending take -50 damage from attacking units
  
  Distance
  
  for each square more than 1 square away there is a -10 damage modifier



• If a unit gets damaged can I fix it?
  
  Any unit that is sitting in a city will repaired each turn. Also, some units are able to repair other units.



• I have a unit set to attack cities and I can see a city why doesn't the unit go attack it?
  
  All units have a "see" range. You can see everything but the units themselves only know where friendly units are and where things they can see are. If you want an army to attack the city (and this holds true for units attacking enemy units) you must get your unit to move within "see" range of the unit you want it to attack. This can be done by setting a waypoint near the city and then telling the army to go to that waypoint. When the army gets within "see" distance of the city it will attack it.



• How does grouping work?
  
  You can click on an empty spot on the map and then drag the stylus to draw a white box around any units you want to group. When you pick up the stylus you will be taken to your newly formed group's page. If you make a change to this page all units in the group will pick up the change. If you click on view an view on the units in the group you can remove that unit from the group by either changing one of its settings or by changing the group number that it belongs to. Group 0 means no group. You can add other units to this group by clicking on their details page and then changing the group number unit it matches the group that you want that unit to belong to. You will notice that the unit's settings change to match those of its new group. If a unit in a group ever gets its settings set such that they no longer match the group's then it will automatically remove itself from the group. An example of this is when a unit reaches a waypoint that is set to change the unit's settings. If the group is set to go to the waypoint then one by one as they reach the waypoint they will be removed from the group until the group no longer exists.



• Can I use the buttons on my PDA to control the game?
  
  Yes. The d-pad can be used to pan the screen. The other hardware buttons can be used to zoom the map in an out as well as preforming other functions.



• How do I report a bug, an enhancement request or just ask a question?
  
  Send email to support@metalshard.com if you have any questions. For the latest version of Pocket War go to the MetalShard web site.



• What are the settings in the pocketwar.set file?
  
  Here are the most useful settings though there is never really a good reason for you to change them:
  • Setting #17: 0-windows, 1-full screen
  • Setting #26: sound effects volume in percent (0-100)
  • Setting #28: trace mode (for debugging pocketwar problems) 0-don't trace 1-do trace
  • Setting #31: screen resolution 0-640x480 1-800x600 2-1024x768 3-1280x1024 4-240x320
  • Setting #38: number of seconds between checking for your turn in multiplayer mode
  • Setting #41: use network if set to 0 PocketWar will not try to do any online stuff (multiplayer etc.)
  • Setting #42: screen brightness in percent (0-100)
  • Setting #43: music volume in percent (0-100)
  • Setting #44: screen refresh rate 0-default 60 or greater is the hz
  • Setting #45: show the tutorial 0-don't 1-do
  • Setting #46: show surrender button 0-don't 1-do
  • Setting #47: draw cursor 0-windows draws the cursor 1-pocket war does

[Introduction]