Manual

[Agrippa]

I've read through the manual and commend the writters for a fine looking pressentation, but I think it could have been a little more detailed. The orders section for example. This is one of the key areas for game play and it doesn't really let the player know all that is going on with the orders and how they can be best used.

Also, is there a page that gives the shortcut keys? If there was I missed it.

[Erik Rutins]

Thanks, Agrippa. I'm glad you liked the manual - what kind of additional order details were you looking for? You can find the shortcut key list on pp.107-108, the only key missing is "Q" for Surrender, which I inadvertently left out.

[Agrippa]

What comes to my mind is the differance between engage orders and defence orders in terms of movement.  It's my understanding from other post, that the move sub-order in defence is like a low crawl, while a move sub-order in engage is more like an advance type of movement. 

I've also noticed you in other post telling gamers that they were not giving the correct order for what they hoped to achieve.  For example: I have seen questins about using the rush command over a short distance and having their troops running in place for half their move while being shot at.  I believe you said the advance order should have been used so the troops would go to a defence mode after moving. 

Ammo could also be mentioned.  I'm just saying that things like this could be explained more fully in the manual, so people commanding their troops would have a better understanding of how to control them.

[NefariousKoel]

He has a point here with more detailed explanations of the Orders. 

Although the tooltips for them might say "Cautious Move w/ Reaction Fire" (for instance) it doesn't really tell me a lot as compared to "Normal Move w/ Autotarget Fire".  Specifically the Engage>Move and Defend>Move orders were a big mystery to me until I saw you mention it somewhere around here.

There should be a bit more detail as to any bonuses or penalties for each order.. such as a Defend>Move order keeping your infantry in cover more than an Engage>Move perhaps?

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Agrippa
What comes to my mind is the differance between engage orders and defence orders in terms of movement.  It's my understanding from other post, that the move sub-order in defence is like a low crawl, while a move sub-order in engage is more like an advance type of movement. 

Good point, I should add that in.

I've also noticed you in other post telling gamers that they were not giving the correct order for what they hoped to achieve.  For example: I have seen questins about using the rush command over a short distance and having their troops running in place for half their move while being shot at.  I believe you said the advance order should have been used so the troops would go to a defence mode after moving. 

Ok, noted - I think there I made an assumption that I should not have. For me it never made sense to use a "move fast but don't fire" order if I'm only going to move for a short distance. I think I approach it from the "use the right tool for the job" perspective, whereas folks that are used to CM expect to just Rush and then have their troops automatically figure out what to do next (and they do switch to defend in the next phase in PCK, it's just that you have to plan for at least 40 seconds ahead orders-wise).

Ammo could also be mentioned.  I'm just saying that things like this could be explained more fully in the manual, so people commanding their troops would have a better understanding of how to control them.

Ok, I've noted all these for the next maual and will make mention of some in a future readme.