Characters Italian
Version
MANUAL
THE GAME
Main menu: you can select the operation moving the indicator up and down with cursors and selecting what you want pushing 'space' or 'enter'.

There are 3 options:
- begin playing the selected level('start'),
- choose and load another level('load level'),
- exit('quit')
The current loaded level is written on the page bottom. If you want to change it, you have simply to select it in the load level menu, reachable selecting 'load level'. This menu appears as a list of all loadable levels. Choosing one of these, it will change the current level on the main page bottom.
When a game is over a new screen appears and you can choose to play that level again or to return to the main menu. (the loadable levels are located in the /levels directory.
The game is turn-based. Every team can play only in its turn.
The most important actions to know are the aim and camera managements. If you will be able to precisely take aim at your enemies, usefully moving the cams, your bullets will reach them before their can reach you! This will help you for a good aiming and to know better the terrain where the battle takes place.
You have to use the following keys to aim your enemy:
- left & right cursor to change your aim direction (north south east west)
- up & down cursor to change your vertical aim angle (from 5 to 85 degrees)
- '+' & '-' to increase and decrease your weapon power.
- 't' shows an indicator just above one of the enemies. You can move it to every character of the opposite team and also above you, just to look at the world around you. Read on to know more about this key.

All infos are displayed on the right-side console while you are playing: the direction is shown by a compass on the top of this console, angle and power, and informations about the enemy you are aiming at.

The cameras in the game are:
key 
'1' free camera
'2' follow camera
'3' sky camera
'4'...'7' fixed lateral cameras
Camera '2' is the most important one: it is fixed on a circle around the active player and it looks at the enemy aimed by him (changeable pushing 't'). You can move this camera around the player pushing 'a' and 'd' or holding the mouse left button down and moving it.
If you are playing your game with this kind of camera, you have to rotate it after selecting your target with 't'. If your weapon's indicator will be on the same line of your enemy's indicator and if they will be on the same line both, it will probably be a good-aimed shoot!




Then you will can think of the weapon's shooting angle and power.
Cam '1' and '2' are useful to move your sight on the entire world around. Number 1 is completely free on the battlefield and it's not linked with your character. They  look both at a centre you can change clicking the mouse right button on the map. You can move around this centre just pushing 'a' and 'd' keys or moving the mouse holding the left button down. You can also move towards this centre pushing 'w' key or go away from it pushing 's' key (these movements can also be done with the mouse wheel). You can also move these two cameras up and down pushing 'r' and 'f' keys or holding the left mouse button down, moving the mouse forward and backward. You will have to spend few minutes to completely adapt to the cameras, also with the use of your mouse, then it will be very important when you'll take aim to your enemies!

And finally...the shooting! You have simply to push 'enter' or 'space'... and look at the result.. it depends from your aim, from the weapon power and from shooting angle, chosen before. An explosion will appear at the point of the bullet impact with the ground and it will can kill your enemy! You can also fire just clicking on the mouse right button, holding the left button down, so you'll can take your aim and then fire.
If you've not chosen to shoot (i.e. you are not in a good position of the world), you can decide to make your character walking in his aim direction just pushing 'alt' key: you'll can stop his running pushing 'alt' again (i.e. if he reachs a good aiming position, for example on a hill, or a place hidden from enemy fire), else he'll stop himself after 2 seconds. In this case you will not can shoot for that game turn.
Every player in the game has a weapon: this can be a 'small gun' or a 'standard' weapon or an 'annientator'.
- A small gun will permit faster runs on the battlefield, then the player will be difficult to be fired and will run for long distances in the world. This weapon causes little explosions on the ground so the probability to kill your enemies will be smaller.
- An annientator provokes huge explosions, you'll be very dangerous with it! On the other side its weigth will cause your player have a low movement factor, so you couldn't go so far with it!
- Standard weapon is a good middle between the described weapons.

In players' console a 'wait for turns' indicator could be displayed: it shows how many turns have to pass before the character could shoot. The weapon of this player will not be displayed in the game until this counter go to zero. In the while, it will can only run on the battlefield.
This feature introduces different levels in which you'll can play, i.e. an assault in which your large team has to run towards your few enemies to kill them; and they could have annientators to stop or slow your advance!s

IMPORTANT: during your playing, F1 key shows a game-keys list with some info at the bottom as the world gravity. The other two information about the game refers if the characters can walk in the water and if they can kill enemies just touching them ('death touch' option). This last option could modify your strategy... if you will not reach your enemy to touch him and kill him...he will surely reach you in his turn! So..pay attention, or you'll be killed!


TIPS:
- a mouse right button click on the ground switchs your view to camera 1 (free cam) and camera 2 (follow camera) with the centre where you've clicked.
- mouse can make cameras usage easier... in camera 1 (free cam) view, you can emulate 'a', 'd', 'r' & 'f' keys moves just using your mouse, holding the left button down and moving it. The mouse wheel emulates the zoom... like 'w' & 's' keys.
- the simple mouse click on a character will show the indicator on it (as you pushed 't' key). So you can take aim at it!
- cam 3 (sky camera) is handy  to immediately understand where is your character and where are your enemies in the world, simply selecting it with the indicator ('t' key)
- camera 2 (following cam) can behaves in 3 modes, switchable with 'y' key: the current mode is displayed on the console on the right

    - 'follow bullet' is a camera that follows the bullet during your shoot, on its trajectory
    - 'target camera' is a view from your enemy when the fire starts. The cam will position above the character aimed by the indicator (changeable with 't' key) and it will look the bullet come towards him. Be aware to select the right target with 't' key if you want to look the bullet from the target, else you could expect an explosion that never arrives there, because the target indicator was selected on another player, far from you expect it.
    - 'fixed camera' is a simple static cam on the active character's shoulder!

EDITOR

The game editor is divided in two parts.
On the left side you can choose some options about geography, textures, characters and other in-game options. You can also see a preview of what you create during your work. On the right side you can modify the terrain and choose the players' start position. 
This last part is a grid representing the terrain. It becomes a landscape if you want to see the preview.

The grid can be modified, selecting an area with the mouse (as shown in the screenshot) and modifying its geography rising up and down its height, just using the mouse wheel. If the color of the grid becomes darker, it means the terrain is moving up, if the color becomes lighter, the terrain will move down. If you go under the bottom level (sea level) the selected area takes a blue color meaning the water.
Clicking on the preview button you can just look at your creation!

 

If your world looks like not a natural landscape, you have simply to push on 'erode terrain' button and it will modify the terrain as an erosion done by a geologic time. It gives your map a natural touch so it can become a real landscape! Too steep mountains will become beautiful hills! Here is a good example of how you could create and modify your terrain, rising up mountains, eroding them, and then rising up other hills on it..

No erosion 1st 'erode terrain' click
2nd 'erode terrain click' 3th 4th and 5th 'erode terrain' click
new terrain modellation 1st new 'erode terrain' click

It's convenient to use 'erode terrain' at least one time when you create your world, just to prevent unreal worlds...(if it's just what you want!)

Then the left side of the editor application will make better the game you're going to play: this is the geography tab:

The first 3 buttons allows you  to choose colors for your ground, your water (if you want it!) and for the sunlight lighting up the scene (IMPORTANT: these color have to be additioned to the color of the texture you choose).
The daytime combobox allows you to select a part of the day in which the game will start: this causes changing on the sky color and on the inclination of sun rays.
There are 3 following checkboxes:
- fog: it allows you to make a fog world and the fog color will be the sun color! The sky on the background will can not be seen.
- water: it allows you to choose if you want ot see water under the terrain after explosions or on the ground level if you create it. You can uncheck it and the water will not be displayed any more.
- random geography: selecting this option, you'll save a randomly created level, without any information about your grid-created world. It will be a random geography terrain level every time you'll open it. There remains only the information aboutcolors, textures and other about game, but not about geography.

IMPORTANT: when a new map is created, choosing size and density, you have to keep attention to your cpu's power and to your graphic card memory: a high density map with huge size could slow your game and make it boring!

The next tab is about textures:

That's about the images sticked on the world: you can simply choose them and look at your world appearance...until it's quite cool! Remember, you can see your preview!
The birds' texture cannot be seen in the preview, so choose of that and look at it when you play the game!
And now the players:

On the top combobox there is a character identification number.
You can see the player characteristics just looking in the information textarea below. You can also watch at its state, and if it's active in game. If it's been actived, you can place him on the grid with the 'place' button after you've selected a cell on the grid. If 'random start position' is checked, you will not can place him because this will be an action that the game will do when the game will starts.

IMPORTANT: you have to place at least two different teams (also one player per team if you want) to save your level and they have to be placed (or random start position must be selected) and active both. The counter on the bottom shows you these informations.
ATTENTION: if you check 'random start position', you'll loose your characters' position!

You can click on 'edit' to modify your character features:

 

You can choose the team of the character you're editing (simply selelcting a color for that team), his weapon (look at the game features for details), how many game turns he has to wait before he could shoot at his enemies (eventually never, selecting the related checkbox - death touch should be selected if you want a player could not shoot at his enemy! - )

EXAMPLE:
level dday.xml
A team has a good position to fire (the germans) on the mountains, and its weapons are annientators causing huge damages, but it is a quitwe static team (it couldn't escape too far if the opposite team would reach it!). The team is composed by 5 players.
Another team (the allied forces) is composed by more players...for example, they could be 9. They would have small guns but they can 't shoot at their enemies: they have to touch them. Allied are fast and they have to assault the mountains taking care to not be fired by big german explosions...
Only 2 players of the allied forces can protect the assault with their standard weapons...

And then there is one last tab:

These options are visible during the game only.
- Gravity influences the physic of the bullet parabola.
- 'Sun speed' indicates how fast the time has to pass; the sun will move in the sky (as the rotation of our planet) and the time will pass by every end of the turn of every player.
- 'time passing' allows you to choose if in your world the time passes. Check it if you want to play a game in which there is always night for example..
- 'birds number' allows you to decide how many flying animals are in the sky above the battlefield.
- 'in-water walking' is to check if you want players can walk in water or they have to receive it as an obstacle, and then walk around it (if possible).
- 'craters' allows you to determine if explosions on your world have to create big holes on the terrain.
- 'bengala missile' allows you to determine if bullets have a great light in the world so their light in the sky could be seen from very far. Else if you uncheck this box, bullets will have a normal light and they will create less shininess.
- 'death touch' indicates the possibility to kill an enemy touching him, moving towards him in addition of the possibility to shoot at him.

 

ENJOY YOURSELF! !!

 

P.S. if you were thinking of it ... OCSS means 'Omini Che Si Sparano' (italian for 'Mans firing one each other')....