
*********

The Project 64 etext of the ~Armageddon Man~, converted to etext by
Aki Suuronen <asuurone@lpt.fi>.

ARMAGE10.TXT, August 1998, etext #408#

*********

The Armageddon Man

BOX

The year is 2032 AD and the world is balanced on a knife edge between
survival and destruction. The last thirty years have seen an enormous
expansion of the world's nuclear arsenal. There are now 16 nuclear
superpower nations, each with the capacity to trigger the final
destruction of mankind - Armageddon!

In a world where trust is crippled by 'Uncertainty of Response' the 16
superpowers form a desperate alliance - the UNN (United Nuclear
Nations).

Together they finance and build an enormous network of spy and laser
defence satellites capable of monitoring, influencing and even
directly controlling the political, economic and military events of
the world.

Control of the network itself resides in an enormous and sophisticated
satellite, codenamed Olympus - and control of Olympus resides in its
Supreme Commander often called 'The Armageddon Man' who literally
holds the fate of the world in his hands.

In This incredible new game scenario YOU have just been chosen to
become next 'Armageddon Man'. Whether you have the necessary
diplomatic, military and tactical skills to avoid global devastation
is something you, and the world, are just about to find out.

Contest Instructions.

A full colour vinyl map of the world 2032 AD Edition size 64x41cm
approx.  Two sheet of vinyl re-usable flags.

Martech is the registered trade mark of Martech Games Limited, Martech
House, Bay Terrace, Pevensey Bay, East Sussex BN24 6EE

Copyright Software Communications Ltd 19987 All Rights reserved. Made
in England.



INSTRUCTIONS

AIM OF THE GAME

Your task, as Supreme Commander, is to try and prevent Armageddon. How
you achieve this, is not something these instructions will necessarily
tell you. They are intended as a guide only.

However, to help you get started, we have summarised the four main
aims below, the achievement of which is essential if the world is to
be certain of avoiding nuclear war. You will need diplomatic, military
and tactical skills, as well as a good deal of common sense, if you
are to succeed.


AIM ONE: Achieve a good working relationship with each individual
country.

There are 16 member countries of the UNN. Each country has its own
political system, its own problems, its own aims and most importantly
its own personality. The only thing they all have in common is a
desire not to be destroyed. You must learn how to deal with each
country in different situations, some serious, some not so serious.

Each country will be in regular contact with you for advice, guidance
or approval of their actions. You must learn when to give way, when to
be firm and when to compromise.

You will be in regular contact with them making your wishes and
demands known. As each of the countries will be assessing your
performance as Supreme Commander, any that lose confidence in your
abilities, or learn to mistrust you, or feel you are not being fair to
them, will be less likely to do as you say. They will also feel less
secure and will hence become less stable.

A country which becomes unstable is much more likely to be
unreasonable or aggressive towards both you and any other countries it
has poor relations with. However, the most important thing is that
each of the 16 countries do as you say. If you lose this control you
will become a mere spectator, watching the world spiral towards its
final destruction.


AIM TWO: Promote good working relationships between each individual
country and each of its 15 fellow UNN members.

There is no denying that this is going to be very difficult to
achieve.

Driven by their own fear, desires, needs and internal problems, the
attitude of each country to its 15 neighbours will be constantly
shifting. With 16 countries in the UNN there are 240 inter-country
relationships for you to worry about. Attempting to follow each of
these and managing to keep everybody happy will be virtually
impossible. What you must do therefore, is recognise those areas where
your attention is most urgently required and concentrate your efforts
there.

As disagreements between countries arise, you must make a difficult
decision. Both countries will believe they are in the right, but you
are going to have to tell them that they are in the wrong, or that
they must accept the other country's position or actions. You will
have to weight carefully all the different factors involved before
making this decision.

Obvious the better your relationship with each country involved in any
disagreement (AIM ONE) the easier it will be for you to deal
effectively with the problem.

Alternatively, you could decide to ignore the situation or maintain a
neutral position, but you should always have a sound reason for doing
this.


AIM THREE: Achieve economic stability.

Each country has two principle needs, FOOD and RESOURCES. If a country
has a deficiency in either of these areas it will be less stable. It
will also be seeking to gain any shortfall from other countries,
either by coercion or trade.

You must keep an eye on each country's resources and as far as
possible try to allocate them fairly or in whatever way you feel is
appropriate given the prevailing conditions.

The extent to which you are able to control the movement of resources
will depend largely on your relationship with each country involved
(AIM ONE) and also on their relationship with each other.


AIM FOUR: Achieve military stability.

As has been said earlier, each of the 16 countries has its own
personality and way of dealing with things. Some may be naturally more
aggressive, others more forgiving, for example. However, of paramount
importance to a country is its own security. Obviously, each country
hopes that the satellite network, under your control, will prevent any
wars from starting, but they are also aware that you may not be any
good at your job and that the worse may happen. Each country,
therefore, is constantly re-evaluating its ability to win and/or
survive a war with each of its 15 fellow members.

If a country feels insecure it may feel threatened. Depending on its
personality, it may become aggressive, or submissive in its relations
with countries which it sees as a potential threat.

As a country becomes more secure it may also feel more powerful. Again
depending on its personality, it may become aggressive towards weaker
countries, or countries it does not like. It may also take less notice
of what you say.

Each country may request you to increase its allowable number of
nuclear missiles. Depending on he situation you must decide whether to
agree with or disagree with this request.

Whether a country takes any notice of your decision will depend on its
situation, its relationship with other countries and its degree of
loyalty to you.

Alternatively, at any time, and for a variety of reasons, you can
request a country to increase or decrease its number of missiles and
again, depending on many different factors, it may not comply.


PLAYING THE GAME

Control of the game is by the selection of Five Main Icons.  The
position of these icons on the screen is shown below.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
|				|				|
|	Satellites		|				|
|				|				|
|	Information		|		Map of World	|
|				|				|
|				|				|
|				|				|
|				--------------------------------|
|	U.N.N.				In Tray			|
|	Forces						Radio	|
|					Out Tray		|
|								|
-----------------------------------------------------------------

To choose an icon simply move the arrow cursor over it and press FIRE.
Further options to control the course of world events appear
automatically as the game proceeds.

In Both cases, your choice is usually made by moving the cursor or
highlighter to the option you wish to choose and then pressing FIRE.

You do not always have an opportunity to change your mind, so be
careful when making decisions.

1. INFORMATION

If you select this icon a window will open with three further
sub-icons. By choosing one of these you will be presented with the
latest intelligence reports on each county's status in three vital
areas. To exit this option select the arrow.

a. FOOD

Each country has a level of food which it requires to sustain its
population. If it has at least this amount, it will be displayed in
GREEN. If it has less than this amount, it will be displayed in RED.

b. RESOURCES

Each country has a level of resources which it requires to sustain its
economy. These are displayed in a similar manner.

c. MISSILES

There are three types of missile, Mx1, Mx2 and Mx3. There is no
difference in range between these, any one of which can reach any
target in the world. However, they do differ in the size of the
warhead they carry and hence the destructive punch they can deliver.

Mx1 - Enormous warhead. High radioactivity
Mx2 - Medium warhead. Moderate radioactivity
Mx3 - Small tactical warhead. Low radioactivity

Under the terms of the UNN Strategic Arms Limitation Agreement (SALA)
the number and type of missile warheads each country is allowed to
possess is controlled by the Supreme Commander.

Each country is constantly re-evaluating its chances of winning a
nuclear war with each of its 15 neighbours. If one country feels it
has a chance of winning against a country whom it regards as an enemy,
and if that country has an unstable or aggressive personality, it may
decide to launch a pre-emptive first strike.

When setting missile allocations, therefore, you must evaluate:-

- the country you are talking to, e.g., is it aggressive
- its relationship with other countries, e.g., has it any enemies
- its current missile strength, e.g., is it threatened or
  becoming a threat

Whether or not the country heeds your directive depends on how it
views its own situation and its relationship with you. Alternatively
it may pretend to comply with your wishes, then produce extra warheads
in secret.



2. COMMUNICATION
This icon is divided into IN and OUT.

a. IN

By choosing this icon, you can look at letters that countries send to
you. To look at a letter simply move the cursor over the IN tray and
press FIRE.

Once you have looked at a letter it will be discarded and may other
letters in the tray can be looked at.

As new letters arrive, the stack of letters will grow. If you delay
looking at a letter for too long it may get pushed off the top, in
which case you will never see it. The country it came from may assume
you have deliberately ignored it. It will pay you therefore. to keep
up to date with incoming messages. if you are able to do so.

b. OUT

If you choose this icon a menu of standard letters that you can send
to countries will appear.

If you choose a letter, you will then have an opportunity to decide to
whom you want to end it, and if it is appropriate, the details it
contains.

You can sent as many standard letters as you like. The response from a
country may be in its overt or covert actions, or by a letter in
reply.


3. SATELLITES

Choice of this icon will display the satellites which are available.
By moving the cursor over a satellite and pressing FIRE you pick the
satellite up. Move the cursor over the World Map to position the
satellite in geostationary orbit and press FIRE to release it. To pick
it up again, move the cursor over the dot which indicates its
position, press FIRE, then proceed as before. Alternatively, move your
arrow over the empty box in the icon window, then press FIRE. This
effectively removes the satellite from orbit but it can still be
picked up and used again.

There are two types of satellites.

a. 'Big Bird' Reconaissance

These are shown at the bottom. There are only three of them.

A Big Bird satellite is able to spy the area of the world beneath it.
For example, it can detect any increase in military activity. If used
sensibly therefore, it can give invaluable information, including an
early warning of an imminent attack by one country on another.

b. Laser Defence Satellite (SDI)

These are shown at the top. There are six of them, numbered 1-6. An
SDI satellite will shoot down any nuclear missiles which come within
range. By positioning them wisely, you can reduce the chances of an
attack by one country on another from being successful and thereby
escalating the conflict.

They are most effective when on country launches a limited or tactical
nuclear strike against another. In all out nuclear confrontation, a
concentration of SDI satellites may be required.  However, if the
conflict escalates there will be little they can do to prevent massive
destruction and possible Armageddon.

To view your satellites reconnaissance and SDI cover move your arrow
over the eye and press FIRE.

To quit the satellite option move over the arrow and press FIRE.


4. RADIO

The World's airwaves are alive with radio transmissions which
originate from each of the 16 UNN member countries. The information
carried by these transmissions may provide you with invaluable
information. Each country you manage to eavesdrop on will be unaware
that you are listening to them and hence will be unguarded about what
they are saying.

Your radio is equipped to receive signals across six frequency BANDS.
These BANDS are as follows:-

---------------------------------------------------------------
| Band Number | Lower limit frequency | Upper limit frequency |
|-------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
|      1      |         1800 KHz      |        3499 KHz       |
|      2      |         3599 KHz      |        6999 KHz       |
|      3      |         7000 KHz      |       13999 KHz       |
|      4      |        14000 KHz      |       20999 KHz       |
|      5      |        21000 KHz      |       25000 KHz       |
|      6      |        28500 KHz      |       50000 KHz       |
---------------------------------------------------------------

(NB The BAND between 25001 KHz and 28499 KHz is reserved for public
and commercial use exclusively)

Each of the 16 member countries is only allowed to use one of these
six bands for its internal radio communication. However, it may
transmit on nay frequency within the bands upper and lower frequency
limit. There are two ways to use the radio.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
|								|
|	|-------------------------------|	|---------|   	|
|	|	FREQUENCY		|	|	  |	|
|	|	 DISPLAY		|	| TUNING  |	|
|	|-------------------------------|	|---------|   	|
|								|
|	--------			-----	-----	-----	|
|	| SCAN |			| 1 |	| 2 |	| 3 |	|
|	--------			-----	-----	-----	|
|								|
|	---------						|
|	| START |			-----	-----	-----	|
|	| STOP	|			| 4 |	| 5 |	| 6 |	|
|	---------			-----	-----	-----	|
|								|
|	------				-----	-----	-----	|
|	| /\ |		BAND		| 7 |	| 8 |	| 9 |	|
|	------		 --		-----	-----	-----	|
|	------		|  |					|
|	| \/ |		 --		-----	-----	-----	|
|	------				| 0 |	| AM|	| FM|	|
|					-----	-----	-----	|
|								|
|						--------------	|
|						|   EXECUTE  |	|
|						--------------	|
|								|
-----------------------------------------------------------------

1. FREQUENCY SELECT

First select a start frequency. There are two ways of doing this.
Either:-

i) Move the arrow over BAND and press fire. This will select one of
the lower limit frequencies. By pressing fire, you can turn to each of
the six bands.  or

ii)Move the arrow over the numbers keys and press fire to select that
number. By doing this you can type in exactly the frequency you want.
Once a frequency has been selected you can adjust it by using the up
(increase frequency) or down (decrease frequency) arrows.

Once you have executed the desired frequency, exit the radio option by
moving the arrow off the radio and pressing FIRE. If any country
transmits a message on or near the selected frequency, it will be
displayed automatically. Obviously, once you discover each country's
transmission band, you can focus your attention where you feel it is
most important.


2. FREQUENCY SCAN

First select one of the six BANDS, then move your arrow to the
START/STOP box and press FIRE. The radio will automatically scan all
of the frequencies between the lower and upper frequency limits for
that band number and it will continue to do this after you exit from
the radio option.

Naturally, using this option will give you a far greater chance of
intercepting any transmissions. However, the signals you receive on
automatic scanning are always scrambled, and before you can read them,
you must unscramble them.

If transmission is intercepted it will be displayed automatically in
its scrambled form. To unscramble it you must select the correct
combination of eight signal filters which appear as boxes f0 to f7.

To switch a filter on, move the arrow over the box and press FIRE. To
switch it off, repeat this process. The more filters you have
correctly set on or off the more of the message you will be able to
see. If you have all the filters correct, you will see all of the
message clearly.

Obviously, whether you decide to use FREQUENCY SELECT or FREQUENCY
SCAN is matter of weighing up the relative advantages or
disadvantages.


5. UNN FORCES

As Supreme Commander, you have under your direct control a powerful
rapid deployment military task force. This elite force draws its
members from each of the 16 member countries. Each member of this task
force has to swear an oath of allegiance to the UNN and its Supreme
Commander.

It has no nuclear capability, but it is equipped with the very latest
military hardware. If commanded by you to do so, it is able to move
quickly and effectively into any country in the World. Under the terms
of the UNN charter, any country which attempts to prevent it from
doing this, will be expelled from the UNN, with disastrous results for
its economy and security.

Any country which has the UNN Force on its territory will always
follow your instructions. By using this force, therefor, you can
impose your will upon any country with whom you have a poor
relationship and/or who also appears to be taking an aggressive or
threatening attitude to any other country.

If used carefully it can prevent a war from starting, giving you an
opportunity to sort out the problems between the countries involved.
However, no country likes having the UNN forces on its soil and whilst
they may not actually complaint, they will not think kindly of a
Supreme Commander who leaves the force, for no apparent good reason,
within their borders for long periods of time. Unfortunately, the UNN
task force does have to be somewhere. Deciding where and when to move
it may be crucial to your overall success.


WARS

Wars are of two types, CONVENTIONAL or NUCLEAR.

1. CONVENTIAL WARS

Conventional wars are punitive. In such a conflict both sides realise
that due to the enormous advances in weapon technology it is virtually
impossible for either side to win. However, they can ease the tension
between two countries, but whether this happens depends entirely on
the relative strength of each country involved and further to that, on
who attacked who.

They do little damage in themselves but if they are not over quickly,
the tend to escalate into nuclear war.


2. NUCLEAR WARS

If one country launches a missile or missiles at another country, you
will see the missiles tracking toward their targets on your world map.
At this stage, it will be too late for you to move your SDI satellites
to shoot them down. If you did not spot the conflict coming and did
not cover it with your satellites, then all missiles launched will
strike their targets.

Whether the affair is limited, or whether it escalates into a full
scale nuclear war involving two or more countries, will depend on a
large number of factors. Again at this stage, it may be too late for
you to effect the course of events.

A side effect of any nuclear conflicts is an increase in the level of
radioactivity in the Earth's atmosphere.

It is not necessary, therefore, for every country in the world to be
destroyed for Armageddon to occur. A large scale nuclear war between
two countries only may still release enough lethal radioactivity into
the atmosphere to kill the entire population of the world.


MAPS AND FLAGS (and a few hints!)

The map (which is folded around the outside of the case) and the
re-usable peel off flags are provided to help you plot the course of
world events. Precisely how you use them is up to you, but the
suggested use is as follows:-

1. If you think country A is taking a dangerously aggressive attitude
towards country B, place one of country A's flags in country B's box
(or the other way around).

OR

2. if you think country A has a very close relationship with country
B, place one of country B's flags in country A's box (or the other way
around).

Alternatively, you can put the flags referred to in either 1 or 2
above on the map itself.

By carefully plotting 1 and 2, you will have a constant record of each
country's principle ALLIES and most likely ENEMIES.

Here is one example of how this information can be useful to you:

If a conflict starts, it is though the warring parties allies and
enemies that escalation to Armageddon may occur.

For example:
Country A launches a missile attack against Country B.
Country B retaliates.

Country C is A's close ally, so they launch an attack against B
also, in support of A. B retaliates.

Country D has no particular allegiance to B, but has very poor
relationship with A. It therefore launches an attack against A. A
retaliates. C attacks D in support of A. D retaliates.

How could the information that A and C were allies, and A and D
potential enemies have helped you avoid this escalation?

As soon as A and B had attacked each other, you may have had
time, for example, to:

a. place SDI satellites between C and B and also D and A.

b. Send a letter to D telling them to improve their
relationship with A.

c. Move the UNN force into C.

Correct use of the flags, therefore, can give you invaluable early
warning and an opportunity to limit the spread of any conflicts that
occur. There are other ways in which this information can help you
succeed, but they are for you to discover.

The year is 2032 and once again the world is balanced on a knife edge
between survival and destruction. Whether you have the necessary
diplomatic, military and tactical skills to cope with the awesome
responsibility placed upon you is something you and the World are just
about to find out.

Copyright Martech Games Limited, 1987

Credits:
Spectrum program and game design by:
J Wilson
D Martin
B Notarianni
R France
Graphics by Malcom J Smith
Music by Millers
Packaging Design and Artwork by Pillory Barn Advertising
Cover illustration by Steiner Lund


Game Advertising in manual not included in this text



Additional information from etext writer.
Locations of the countries in the game related in real world.

Canada
U.S.A.
Central American Alliance	(Cuba, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras,
				 Nicaragua, Costa Rica)
European Unite			(Britain, Ireland, Spain, Portugal,
				 France, Italy, West Germany, Greece, 				 Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, 				 Belgian, Holland)
Libya
Argentina
Black African Republic		(Niger, Tsad, Mali, Congo,... contains
				 most of the countries in African
				 contined)
South Africa
Israel
Islamic Alliance		(Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi-Arabia,.. 				 mainly Middle-East countries)
Pakistan
India
Australia
China				(China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Burma,
				 Thailand, Laos, Koreas, Mongolia)
Japan
Eastern Block			(Ex-Soviet Union, Afghanistan and
				 old Warsaw Pact countries)

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