wesnoth/MANUAL

/* $Id$ */

Controls

   Arrow keys:     Scroll
   Left click:     Select unit/move unit
   Right click:    Main menu, cancel action
   Middle click:   Center on pointer location
   Escape:         Exit game, exit menu
   z:              Zoom in
   x:              Zoom out
   c:              Reset zoom to default
   u:              Undo last move (only deterministic moves can be undone)
   r:              Redo move
   n:              Cycle through units that have movement left
   1-7:            Show how far currently selected unit can move in that many turns
   space:          End unit turn and cycle to next unit that has movement left
   l:              Move to leader unit
   ctrl-f:         Toggle fullscreen/windowed mode
   ctrl-r:         Recruit unit
   ctrl-shift-r:   Repeat last recruit
   ctrl-c:         Recall unit
   ctrl-a:         Toggle accelerated game mode
   d:              Describe current unit
   ctrl-d:         View defensive ratings of current unit against attacks
   ctrl-t:         View how the current unit behaves in various terrain
   ctrl-s:         Save game


Orbs

On the top of the energy bar shown next to each unit of yours is an orb. This orb is:

    * green if you control the unit and it hasn't moved this turn
    * yellow if you control the unit and it has moved this turn, but could still move further.
    * red if you control this unit, but it has already used all its movement this turn
    * blue if the unit is an ally, but you cannot move it 

Enemy units have no orb on the top of their energy bar. (In older versions < 0.5.2 there was a black orb on the top of energy bar of enemy units)


Description

The game takes place over a series of battles, or scenarios. Each scenario pits your troops against the troops of an adversary. Each side begins with one leader in their keep.


Gold

Each side is given some amount of gold to begin with, and receives 2 gold pieces per turn, plus 1 more gold piece for every village that side controls.

Each unit also has a maintenance cost. The maintenance cost is generally equal to the level of the unit (but see the 'Loyal' trait below). Units that are not recalled or recruited - i.e. that lead the side or join the side voluntarily - do not have a maintenance cost associated with them. Maintenance is only paid if the total maintenance of a side's units is greater than the number of villages that side controls. Maintenance paid is the difference between the number of villages and the maintenance cost. So, the formula for determining the income per turn is,

2 + villages - maximum(0,maintenance - villages)

where maintenance is equal to the sum of the levels of all units that have been recalled and recruited.


Recruiting and recalling

Units may be recruited for a price, as long as the leader is on a keep, and there is at least one vacant castle hex in the castle the leader is in. Right-click and select Recruit to recruit new troops.

After you complete a scenario, all surviving will be available to you next scenario. Right-click and select Recall to re-recruit units from previous scenarios. Recalling costs 20 pieces of gold.

You can first highlight free castle tile and then proceed with recruit, this way you can choose the tile for recruited unit to appear, this works for recruiting and recalling.

You are not able to move a unit on the turn you recruit or recall that unit.


Unit specialties

Unit specialties are decribed under Unit Description in-game.


Traits

Units have traits which reflect aspects of their character. Traits are assigned randomly to units when they are created. Each unit receives two traits. The possible traits are as follows:

   Loyal:         The unit never has a maintenance above 1.
   Strong:        The unit does extra damage in close combat, and has a few more hitpoints.
   Quick:         The unit has one extra movement point, but a few less hitpoints.
   Resilient:     The unit has more hitpoints.
   Intelligent:   The unit requires less experience to advance a level.


Moving

When a unit is clicked on, all the places it can move to on the current turn become lit up, while everywhere it can't move is greyed. You can then click on the hex you want it to move to. Moving onto a village that is neutral or owned by an enemy will take ownership of it. If you select destination which beyond reach in your turn the unit will enter 'goto-mode' and continue moving towards destination thru next turn(s). You can easily undo goto movements in the beginning of your turn, goto can be broken by selecting unit and choosing new destination.

You may not move through the six spaces around an enemy piece (their Zone of Control) without stopping.


Fighting

If you move next to an enemy unit, you may attack them. Click on your unit that is next to an enemy unit, and click on the enemy you want to attack. Every unit has one or more weapons they can attack with. Some weapons, such as swords, are melee weapons, and some weapons, such as bows, are ranged weapons.

If you attack with a melee weapon, the enemy you attack will be able to strike back at you with its melee weapon. If you attack with a ranged weapon, the enemy will be able to attack back with its ranged weapon, if it has one.

Different types of attacks do different amounts of damage, and a certain number of strikes may be made with each weapon. For instance, an Elvish Fighter does 5 points of damage with his sword every time it hits, and he can strike 4 blows with it in one exchange. This is generally written as 5-4.

Every unit has a chance of being hit based on the terrain they are on. Units in castles and villages have a lower chance of being hit. Elves in forest have a low chance of being hit.


Alignment

Every unit has an alignment: lawful, neutral, or chaotic. Their alignment affects how they perform at different times of day. The following table illustrates the different times of the day:

 | turn |  day-phase |
 ---------------------
 |  1   |    dawn    |
 |  2   |    day     |
 |  3   |    day     |
 |  4   |    dusk    |
 |  5   |    night   |
 |  6   |    night   |

Units that are Lawful deal 25% more damage at day, and 25% less damage at night. Units that are Chaotic deal 25% more damage at night, and 25% less damage at day. Neutral units have their fighting unaffected by the day/night cycle.


Healing

Injured units in villages will recover 8 hitpoints every turn. Injured units that are adjacent to units with the 'heal' or 'cure' abilities will also heal. Units next to unit(s) with the 'heal' ability will heal a maximum of 4 hitpoints per turn, and 8 hitpoints per turn for unit(s) with the 'cure' ability. However the more units around a unit that can heal, the less each one will be healed.

'Heal' prevents poisoning to cause damage while 'cure' removes poisoning. When poisoning is cured unit does not gain hitpoints on that turn.

Experience

Units are awarded experience for fighting, and after obtaining enough experience, they will advance a level, and become more powerful.

Multiplayer

There are a number of ways to play a multiplayer game of Wesnoth. The simplest way is a 'hotseat' game: Multiple players on one computer, each player takes the 'hotseat' when it is their turn. To start a 'hotseat' game, select 'Multiplayer' from the main menu -> 'Host Multiplayer Game'. After selecting your map, change all the names in 'Player/Type' to be human players or computer players (i.e. no 'Network Players'), and then start your game.

You can also play networked games of Wesnoth. One player 'hosts' a game on their computer, and other players join. Select 'Multiplayer' -> 'Host Multiplayer Game', and then change some of the 'Player/Type' entries to 'Network Player'. Once you start the game, it will wait for other players to connect. The other players must select 'Multiplayer' -> 'Join Game', and then type the host name or ip address of the player who is hosting the game.

Once all players have joined the game, the game will start. The player hosting the game must be able to receive connections on port 15000. The other players must be able to connect to port 15000 on a remote machine. You can only play network games against players who have exactly the same version of the game as you.

You can also play games over the Wesnoth server. Wesnoth has two public servers:

server.wesnoth.org: for releases of the game devsrv.wesnoth.org: for CVS versions of the game

To connect to a server, select 'Multiplayer' -> 'Join Game' and then type in the host name of the server. You must be using the exact version of the game the server is intended to be used with to be allowed onto the server.

Once you are on the server, you will be placed in the 'lobby' areas. The lobby is where you can see which other players are online, see the games currently open, and create new games. One player should create the game, and other players can join the game.

It is possible to simply observe an ongoing game, by joining the game as an 'Observer'.