Handling of the TOS-Action-Menu

The move- and attack-menu's have one important intention: They are designed to help you giving only neccessary and useful commands to your TOS. The main idea in this case is to stop the display of the menu's until it's useful to give a new command to your TOS. This should enhance the gameplay by prompting the player with the menu only when the last action is done (move or attack) or when a really important change of the situation has occured. This does work because a TOS can make exactly one move- and one attack-action at a time.

Let's look at a common game situation, for example the first game-second when you have to give your first commands to your TOS. Mostly you'll be prompted first with the move-menu. At this time in the beginning of the duell you'ld like to move your TOS to a better location.

Move-Mode

To move your TOS, let's say to the next hex in your current direction, you give the move-command "RUN". After you've clicked the "RUN"-Button you'll be prompted with the move-menu again as soon as your TOS has ended his move. If a move into the next hex would last 15 game-seconds you'll be prompted with the menu exactly 15 seconds after you've given the move-order. There is no sense in prompting you again with the move-menu in second 2 or 5 or any other, because you've already made your move-decision. Worse, if you'ld be prompted again with your move-mode your current move would be spoiled (it's the same as using the "BREAK-MOVE"-Button (the call-move in attack-mode or the break-move in network-standby-mode)).

If you've ever reached a good firing-position that you want to hold for a long time and you don't need the move-menu any more, just proceed as follows: Click on "WAIT" and then "WAIT-ON-CALL". This shuts off the move-menu until you activate it again from the attack-mode ( or after 1000 secs which is a VERY long time). In attack-mode you can click on "CALL-MOVE". This will immediately reactivate the move-mode and you'll be prompted with the move-menu. But be cautios with "CALL-MOVE", because it spoils the current move-order. That is ok if you gave the move-order "WAIT-ON-CALL", but if the last move-order was something like "WALK-FORWARD" or "RUN" you are going to break this move and all the time the TOS has already been moving is lost. He won't leave his current hex and has to start a new move at the full cost of game-seconds.

If you're not sure when to leave the current firing-position (the hex your standing in) you have the opportunity to shut off the move-mode for a certain time. It'll be prompted again automatically if the game-seconds you wanted to wait have passed. To do this, click on "WAIT", "WAIT-ON-TIME" and then define (in the "WAIT-ON-TIME-MENU") how many game-seconds should pass until you want to give an new move-order. A good alternative is to shut off the move-mode until the enemy you are firing on has made a move-action. Do this by clicking on "WAIT", "WAIT-ON-UNIT" and then click on the enemy you want to wait for.

Another situation may be the following:
You've jumped on top of a big hill with your TOS. A look on the map tells you that there's a much better positon on the hill a few hexes in your direction. You can't reach this hill by walking or running because you haven't got the right "max-climb-rate" to leave your current position. The only chance to leave the hill your standing on is by jumping, but you've already spent most of your jump-time by reaching this hill. So the only chance is to wait until your jump-ports are fully recycled. As there is no other chance to leave your position it's not necessary to give any move-order (may be except a swivel or turn for a better fire-angle). The recycle of the jump-ports will take, let's say, 40 game-seconds.

There's one clever way to get rid of the move-menu until you are able to leave the hill. Click on "WAIT", "WAIT-ON-RECYCLE" and then "JUMP-PORTS". This will tell the game-system to wait with the move-mode until your TOS has fully recycled the jump-ports and is able to leave the hill-position. If -in the meanwhile- something important happens so that you have to make a move like turn or swivel you can always force the move-mode by clicking "CALL-MOVE" from your attack menu.In this case it wouldn't even spoil something, because you've only been waiting for a recycle, and this can't be spoiled like a "walk-forward" or "run".

Attack-Mode

The attack-menu works in the same manner. After you've given an order in your move-mode you'll be prompted with the attack-mode. As you don't have a target-lock in the beginning of the game you can't attack in the first second. So what command may be useful at that time?` Well, there are different choices:

If you've already spotted an enemy and he is in the range of one or more of your weapons it'll be nice to lock him as a target. In this case you give the order "LOCK TARGET". The locking will take a few game-seconds to be completed. You'll be prompted with the attack menu again at the moment the locking is complete. Now it's time to click the "FIRE"-Button. This initiates the targeting of the weapon and getting ready to fire. After a few game-seconds you'll be able to shoot. This means, you'll be prompted with the attack-mode again and you have to choose one of your weapons to fire at your locked target. After finishing the attack you close the attack-window and you are prompted with the attack-menu again. This time it makes sense to click on the wait-menu and then on "WAIT-ON-RECYCLE" followed by "ANY-WEAPON". This means that you don't won't to be prompted again with the attack-menu until the next weapon has recycled and is ready again to be fired. This "next-weapon" will be the weapon with the fastest recycle-time.

If you haven't already spotted an enemy and you also haven't got defense-systems like "Flares" you may want to disable the attack-menu until an enemy comes into your scan-range. You click on "WAIT" and then "WAIT-ON-UNIT" and finally on "NEW-FOE". With this procedure you tell the game-system that you don't want to be bothered again with the attack-menu until an enemy get's visible. You will then only be prompted with the move-menu if you haven't already made a move-order or the last move-order is finished. It may take a lot of game-seconds to spot an enemy (and may be you've made a lot of movement before you really spot an enemy). But if this happens, you'll immediately be prompted with the attack-menu because you've said "WAIT-ON-ENEMY->NEW-FOE".

During the ongoing of the game it may happen that your TOS gets very hot because of firing and/or damage of the heatsystem. All weapons are ready and you still got a lock on an enemy-TOS, but you fear that the next shot will heat up the TOS from "heat-level-yellow" to "heat-level-red". So you decide to wait a little time till your TOS has reached a lower temperature to avoid the shutdown. If there are no other actions useful during the cooling down you should proceed as follows: Click on "WAIT", "WAIT-ON-HEAT" and then on the specific heat-level you want to reach. You won't be prompted again with the attack-menu until the temperature has fallen just beyond the border of that heat-level you're waiting for.

There are many more triggers for a WAIT ON action either in move or attack mode. Have a look at the readme file. Clever use of these options can speed up the game, cause everyone is only acting when necessary.

Kai Sausmikat
Vicious Byte