Possible choices
Shortcut key: t
Your battle computer needs to lock onto a target before you can fire or
charge (run into the same hex). The jock can select any visible enemy
titan or hex. The time to complete this action is affected by the computer
quality and the jocks electronic warfare skill.
This is done by either:
a) Left clicking on a hex on the map.
A small popup window will appear, displaying any enemy titans in the hex. If
there are no enemies present, the hex info will appear.
To lock a titan, select it by cycling through all available titans with the
small arrows at the left and right border of the popup window. Close the
window when the titan of your choice is displayed. To close, click in the
square area in the popup window. The border is green in the image below; if
the titan is not in range of your weapons, the border will be red.
To lock a hex, scroll with the arrows until the hex information with
"LOCK HEX?" is displayed, and close the box. You can only lock hexes
to which you have a direct line of sight. By selecting a hex, a jock can
fire on dense woods with missile racks to reduce them to light woods.
It is also possible to set fire to woods or create steam in water hexes
with energy weapons. Burning hexes will produce heat and obscure vision.
With Autocannons 12 and 20 you can set a smoke screen on a locked hex,
which will obscure vision.
b) Right clicking on a hex on the map
If no enemy titan is present on the hex, you will automatically select to
lock the HEX. If only one enemy titan is in the selected hex, you will
automatically select the titan. If more than one titan is in the hex, a
popup window as in a) will appear and you have to choose as above.
Locked titans are displayed with a small white/black hex boundary on the
map; while locked hexes are displayed with a small blue/red hex boundary.
Shortcut key: a
Pressing this button allows the jock to select weapons to fire on a locked
target or hex. This action may be delayed if the jock fails his reaction
attribute skill check.
If the target titan is not valid (not in arc-of-fire or out of range), the action
is wasted. If the target titan is valid, the jock can select from his weapon
systems. These are displayed in a popup window. The window can be closed
with a click on the 'BACK' field or on the OK button and be moved with
drag & drop (right mouse button).
The target's name is displayed in red if already disabled, or in yellow if
crippled. The scan status is indicated by the display color of the
"LOCK ON TITAN:"--light green for a critical scan, green for a normal scan,
or yellow for no successful scan on the target.
Weapons valid for firing are displayed in green, along with their remaining
ammo and 'to hit' probability. Weapons which are out of range are displayed
in red; reloading weapons are displayed in white. If a titan is in the same
hex as his opponent, he can use his arms/legs for punches and kicks if he
is stationary during the attack.
Attention!
If the 'to hit' chance for a cannon, energy, or close combat weapon exceeds
80% AND a successful active scan was performed on
the target, the small cross hair at the left border of the popup window will turn
green. The jock is now able to call hits with the applicable weapon. Clicking on
the green cross hair with the left button opens a window which allows you to
select a specific body part on your target for which to aim. This allows you fire
at the location with the valid weapons (cannons/energy) at a (much) reduced
to hit probability. Each section has a specific penalty, as well as a 2%/hex
penalty for distance. Close combat weapons receive a 10% penalty when taking
called shots.
Above, you see a titan which has some destroyed (black) locations. These
are the right arm, torso and leg. Don't waste shots on these areas. The armor
on the left torso and left leg is already reduced to zero (red areas); these
locations are very vulnerable to called hits. Areas with fewer than 10 points of
armor remaining are yellow.
Shortcut key: p
This button toggles the shield (if present) on/off. Shields give protection
from energy weapons. If hit, they negate damage but feedback the damage as
heat to the protected titan. Shields can overload and shut down for some
time. Shields fully protect against heat generated by burning forest, flame
throwers, and napalm missles, as well as half against damage AND heat from
exploding titans. Shields produce heat and consume power when switched on.
Shortcut key: v
This button toggles the electronic counter measures device (if present) on/off.
This gives some protection against guided missiles and hampers active scans
attempted on the protected titan. E.C.M. devices consume one power unit when
enabled.
Shortcut key: c
This button toggles the passive scanner on/off. Scanners allow gathering
information on the enemy and use one power unit when on.
Shortcut key: s
Depending on the scanner quality and the jock's scanner skill, it will
take some time to actively scan a locked target. It is possible to get
information about the target's armor and general status. More detailed
information about interior systems and weapons can sometimes also be
obtained. There are 3 pages of information which can be read through by
clicking the arrows at the lower border of the popup window.
Accuracy depends on the jocks skill and the scanner quality as well as
the range. Scanners have a maximum and an optimum range, which can be
displayed with the * (asterisk) key. Active scans beyond the optimum range
(light green circle) are heavily penalized. Scan success is displayed by
the color of the small scan icon at the lower right of the popup window:
Red: : Failed scan, very inaccurate or no data.
Yellow : Normal success.
Green : Critical success, very accurate data.
Percentages the next scan will be successful/critical are also displayed. The
first successful or critical scan increases the chances and speed for future scans.
Active scan with normal success:
Critical success gives information on the enemy's heat status (small
heat icon at the lower right) and the jock's race.
If the scan was successful, the battle computer will give small
offensive modifiers against that specific target.
A scan history can be accessed by the F6 key or by clicking on the small
scan icon when a previously scanned foe is displayed in the hex info window.
Shortcut key: l
You can link a titan's scanner to a team member to see what he can see.
The team member must be in line of sight and ready to be linked to. Each
titan can only handle a limited number of links; this number is displayed
in the status window. Both must have their scanners ready. The link can
be lost by chance or when special events happen. A link allows indirect fire
on otherwise unseen targets, as well as missile fire at a better range
(counted from link to target rather then from launcher to target). You can
not actively scan targets you can only detect due to a scanner link.
Shortcut key: f
This button ejects small heat-generating projectiles which slowly drift to
the ground. These protect nicely against guided missiles but slightly hamper
the computer's targeting system. Flares only protect one titan and become
obsolete when he moves to a different hex or jumps up.
Shortcut key: r
Press this button if you have a damage control system (D.C.S.) and any
damage level between light and heavy on some systems. It will take time
depending on the jock's repair skill and the D.C.S. There is no guarantee
of success. The chance of success is affected by the jock's repair skill,
the D.C.S., and the damage level of the system.
Shortcut key: g
Rotates the torso one hexside to the left. This will change your arc of
fire. Movement is still performed in the old direction. A titan can only
deviate one hexside from his center position so the torso is either left,
right or center positioned.
11. Swivel Right
Shortcut key: h
See above, rotates torso to the right.
Shortcut key: e
This will eject your jock from his titan. He might get hurt during this
action, but he can't be killed afterwards. Use this as a last chance to
save a valuable jock from a crippled titan. Note that ejecting into
burning forests or hexes which are crowded by enemy titans can be
pretty dangerous.
Shortcut key: w
This offers a selection of triggers which will set the attack mode to be
triggered again only under special circumstances.
These are:
On call : Wait till attack is called manually from the move mode or after 1000 secs.
On time : Set a time between 1 and 999 seconds.
On units : Wait on movement of a specific unit or on appearance of new titans.
-Select from friend, foe, or targeted foe as triggers.
On heat : Wait until your titan has reduced heat to a certain heat level.
On recycle : Wait until certain weapons or other devices are ready for operation.
-Press 'n' from the attack menu to wait for the next available weapon.
[On Repair (d) : Wait until repair period is finished.]
[On attack: : Wait until attack mode is valid.]
On move : Wait until move mode is valid.
Modes in brackets [ ] are disabled in attack mode. They are only valid
for Wait on XXX in move mode.
Make good use of these waits to speed up game (don't check your weapon
reload status every second if you can use wait on recycle) and improve
your strategy (check wait on unit [new foe] to be ready as soon as a
new enemy titan is detected).
Shortcut key: m
Calls move mode. This cancels the current move mode and allows you to set
a new mode.
Note: If your move takes 25 secs, and you Call Move in second 24 of your
move sequence, that move sequence is cancelled and void.
Shortcut key: , (comma)
Displays an overall map of the combat arena. Close it by pressing the
button again.
Shortcut key: . (period)
Brings up a popup window which displays 7 pages of valuable information.
You can switch pages by clicking on the lower arrow keys on the
window and close it by clicking OK on the window or by pressing the
button again.
In hotseat games the active player can select this page for his team
members with the '1' to '8' keys.
a) General Data
Besides obvious data there are some information which might need an
explanation.
BMT:
The base movement time of the titan. This is the time a titan needs
to cover the distance of one hex in walk mode over normal terrain.
JMT:
The Jump Movement Time. This is the time for a Jump Forward (see below)
regardless of terrain.
JUMP TIME:
This is the status of the jump ports (xxx/yyy). xxx is the seconds left
for jumping; yyy is the maximum jump time before the titan must recycle.
The jump ports are automatically reloaded at a slow rate (1 unit/3 sec)
when the titan is grounded.
CLIMB:
The maximum height difference a titan can cover between two adjacent
hexes (walk forward move mode). The rate is worse for run (-5m), dodge
(-10m), and walk backward (-15m) move modes.
SPEED:
The actual speed in kilometers per hour.
SCAN HEIGHT:
The sum of titan height, terrain and scanner bonus. This is the height
from which Line of Sight for the titan is calculated.
LOCK ON:
A target lock is displayed here. The name is marked with ">Name<" if it
was scan actively with normal success and with ">>Name<<" if scanned with
critical success.
LINKED TO:
If you have linked your scanner to a team member, his name is displayed here.
LINKED BY:
If team members have established a link to you, the number is displayed
as well as the maximum number you can handle.
SCAN, E.C.M., SHIELD:
The status for these three devices is displayed--enabled, disabled or
not available (N/A).
HEAT:
Your current heat and the decrease/increase as calculated the last second.
POWER:
Your available/maximum energy units as calculated the last second.
b) Armor Data
This is an important display which shows the external armor (left column)
and the internal structure (right column) along with actuators [A] and
the gyro system [G]. It can be selected directly for the active player
with the '0' key.
When the external armor is gone, damage is applied to the internal structure.
When the internal structure is reduced to zero, the respective body part is
disabled (torso) or ripped off (head, arms or legs).
The letter for the actuator/gyro [A,G] is displayed in a color representing
its damage level:
light green : ok
yellow : light damage
light red : medium damage
red : heavy damage
black : destroyed
The leg actuators are, from left to right: hip, knee, foot.
The arm actuators are, from left to right: elbow, hand.
The left and right torso actuators are the shoulder actuators.
The lower torso actuator is the swivel actuator.
c) Weapon Damage/Reload Data
Here are your weapons, along with their respective damage and recycle status.
Recycle of projectile weapons is in seconds; whereas recycle of energy
weapons is in power units (PU). It is explained in the energy section of
the manual. It can be selected directly for the active player by pressing '9'.
d) Weapon Range/Ammunition/Location Data
Again, the weapons with their ammunition, maximum ranges and location.
You can display the weapon ranges as circles on the map with the / key.
The circles are only an estimation, as the true range field is a big hex area.
Ranges are displayed in yellow if no target was locked, green if the target
is within weapon range, or red otherwise. Energy weapons which do not
need ammunition (all but flamer) are displayed N/A in the ammo column.
Abbreviations for the locations are:
HD |
Head |
CT |
Center Torso |
LT |
Left Torso |
RT |
Right Torso |
CBT |
Center Back Torso |
LOT |
Lower Torso |
LA |
Left Arm |
RA |
Right Arm |
LL |
Left Leg |
RL |
Right Leg |
e) Systems Data
Here is the display for the internal systems status, with their damage
level color-coded as described above. Offensive and defensive devices
(shield/flares/computer) are displayed along with their to hit modifiers.
f) Jock's General Data
Here the jock is listed with his attributes, rank, and hit points. A jock
with only half of his hit points is considered wounded; with only 1/4 left,
he is considered seriously wounded; and with 0 hit points,
he is considered seriously dead :-).
The jock's name is displayed in different colors, depending on any special
effects:
white : Jock ok
yellow : Jock is dizzy (he receives negative skill modifier)
light red : Jock is bleeding (jock loses hp for some time)
red : Jock is unconscious
black : Jock is dead
The total experience points are displayed, as well as the accumulated
experience points for this in the categories combat skills (CS), move
skills (MS) and other skills (OS). These will be automatically converted
to development points after battle.
The jock's kills and total battles fought are shown here also.
g) Jock's Skill Data
All skills are listed here. The two move skills which are not needed
for the current titan are displayed red. The color coding from red to
green just gives a quick hint on his strengths and weaknesses.
Shortcut key: <SHIFT>-Q
Press this button to exit the battle module.