gibson@trwrb.UUCP (Gregory S. Gibson) (10/29/88)
<There is a Dutch version, PD, called Risky, B&W only. <Our version includes maps of the world, Canary islands and the Bijlmermeer. <G.J. van Oldenborgh, t19@nikhefh.hep.nl How can I get a copy of Risky? I have Lords of Conquest for my Commodore 64. How good is Empire? Is the Empire strategy like Risk or like Lords of Conquest? Gregory S. Gibson gibson@trwrb.UUCP -- Gregory Gibson {...ihnp4,ucbvax}!trwrb!gibson
seitz@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Matthew Eric Seitz) (10/31/88)
In article <8398@trwrb.UUCP> gibson@trwrb.UUCP (Gregory S. Gibson) writes: > >How good is Empire? EMPIRE is excellent. >Is the Empire strategy like Risk or like >Lords of Conquest? Closer to LORDS OF CONQUEST than to RISK. EMPIRE is very different from RISK. Both are multi-player strategy games where you build up military forces, capture resuources, and attempt to conqer the world. EMPIRE is much more like the board games put out by companies such as Avalon Hill. Matt Seitz seitz@cory.berkeley.edu > >Gregory S. Gibson >gibson@trwrb.UUCP >-- >Gregory Gibson >{...ihnp4,ucbvax}!trwrb!gibson
to_stdnet@stag.UUCP (11/01/88)
From: ftg!dwm@stag.UUCP (Dave Meile) Just thought I'd add my two cents to the "what's a good game similar to Risk". (Plus, as an added bonus, a mini-review of Empire) Two Strategy Games for the Atari ST =================================== Up until recently, there have been few "strategy oriented" wargames written for the Atari ST. Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI), makers of a large number of wargames for the 8-bit Atari computer (as well as for most other microcomputers), has focused primarily on fantasy games for the Atari ST. Their first war game is titled COLONIAL CONQUEST. Meanwhile, Walter Bright and Mark Baldwin have been busy converting the prime "abstract" wargame from mainframe to microcomputer. The result is EMPIRE: WARGAME OF THE CENTER from Interstel (distributed by Electronic Arts). -------------- COLONIAL CONQUEST Strategic Simulations, Inc. Color Monitor required not copy protected - "key word" protection This game is based on the "empire building" prevalent in the late 1800's. It is a strategy game on a world scale, allowing up to 6 players (human and machine) to try to gain control of minor countries around the world. It is a little like the board game RISK, in that you must pit your armies against the armies of countries which you invade. There are three scenarios - a "free for all" where the Player countries own nothing and must conquer the world, an 1880 scenario where Players have control over the actual historical areas at the time, and a 1914 scenario with similar historical control -- and a war against Germany if you play England, Russia or France. Players have supply centers in their country of origin. Here, they can build armies or naval fleets (necessary to trasport armies across oceans). Game play is simple. As each player's turn comes up, they are allowed to build armies and navies, fortify countries under their control, extend economic aid to neutral countries (for the purpose of thwarting another player's attempts to control that neutral country), "spy" on other countries to determine army strengths, "bribe" neutral countries in order to gain control without sending in armies. Then, there is a movement phase, where navies transport armies around the world, and armies march into neutral or enemy controlled territory. Finally, there is a combat phase, where armies (and navies) match off against each other to determine who has control of contested countries. Each of the player countries (England, Germany, France, USA, Japan, Russia) has individual strengths and weaknesses. England has better armies and navies, but they cost more and must sail from two ports within England. Russia's armies cost less, but do not perform as well as armies of other countries. You can play by yourself against 1 to 5 other computer- controlled opponents with varying levels of play, or you can declare some of those countries as "neutral". For example, I found it challenging when starting out to play USA against a computer-controlled Russia, with the other four countries relegated to the sidelines. (Remember, that's TSARIST Russia ... the game is pre-Revolutionary!) Play continues until one player reaches a certain score, which can be set upon starting the game. Players receive a point for each battle won and lose a point for each battle lost. There are also points awarded for each country controlled. A "Save Game" feature makes it possible to play with someone by mail by simply mailing the saved game to the other player(s). The manual contains an interesting article for the history buffs: "At Play in the Imperial Sandbox: The Golden Age of the White Man's Burden 1880-1914 by Robert S. Billings". COLONIAL CONQUEST uses GEM menus and alert boxes, and allows yo to make a copy of the game disk so you don't have to set your original disk at risk. There is a "key word" protection scheme -- you must indicate the correct information on a dialog box which appears when you boot the disk. All in all, a nicely addicting game, with enough variety in computer play to make things challenging. --------------- EMPIRE: WARGAME OF THE CENTURY Interstel Corporation Color or Monochrome not copy protected - "keyword" protection This game is very loosely a sequel to STAR FLEET II, but is in no way dependent on that game for playability. Basically, EMPIRE is also a strategic game of "empire building" for 1-3 players, including human and computer players. Players start with a single city and a blank map. The object is to explore as much of the map as necessary to conquer the many cities that are there. Each city can produce armies, fighters, destroyers, troop transports, etc. to aid in exploration and conquering. The player must move his forces through the world, decide on what needs to be produced when (and where) and, of course, conquer the other players who will also be doing the same thing. Game play is deceptively simple. Move armies around to conquer cities. Create fighter planes to explore more territory. Create troop ships to move armies across water. Create destroyers and submarines to explore the oceans and coastlines and to destroy othe troop ships. Build large ships (including aircraft carriers) to attack enemy ships and to bombard troops on shore. The trick is that things can get mighty unwieldy after you've conquered 20 cities or so and have production of many forces coming each turn. A player must do some thinking in order to be assured that armies will be available for troop transports (or vice versa), and that the assault on the enemies prime cities is backed by enough firepower to keep those cities once they've been conquered. Movement of the enemy is hidden. Commands are entered using the keyboard or from the menu bar. Movement of forces can be made using the keypad or the mouse. There are a LOT of options, and the novice player will make reference to the Command Reference Card throughout the first game or so. There are up to three players in a game. Each starts with one city and no idea about the rest of the world. Any or all of the players can be human or computer. There are two levels of computer opponent -- Standard and Expert. If you need more of a challenge, each of the players can be handicapped/given an advantage through "Efficiency Ratings" -- where you can increase or decrease the rate of production and the combat efficiency of each player's forces. There is a "demo" game mode which I recommend you watch if you've never played before (you'll catch the basics within about 60 moves or so). For those players who wish to play other humans via mail, there is a play-by-mail feature. You can have a playing map generated by the program, or design your own maps. One of the most recent games I've played involved a map of the Caribbean included on the game disk. Other maps have showed up on several BBS services, such as GENIE. The manual is a joy to behold. Every command, every menu, strategic hints, introductory material on the game, combat units, signing on ... it's all there. You can back up the game onto a "playing" disk, keeping the original from harm. EMPIRE will also run from a hard disk. The program uses "keyword" protection -- you'll be asked for a security word (the procedure is described in detail in the manual). WARNING: this game is addictive. I spent many hours playing EMPIRE in one of its original incarnations on a minicomputer. I bought the ST version when it came out, and have spent several sleepless nights conquering various worlds without realizing that time was slipping by so quickly. Morning comes sooner than you think! -- Dave Meile Flying Taoist Graphics ftg!dwm@stag.UUCP Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. (Sam. Johnson 1775) ============================================================================ (A member of STdNet - The ST developers' Network)