Dai Senryaku VII Exceed for US Playstation 2
by Systemsoft Alpha and Valcon Games
FAQ (this document) by JVGFanatic (tm)
Game copyright 2006 Systemsoft Alpha and 2007 Valcon Games
This document's copyright 2008 JVGFanatic
Since this faq is a work in progress this table of contents is very incomplete
and in fact may contain inaccuracies.
Introduction
What is Dai Senryaku VII Exceed?
FAQs
Menu Reference
Game Mechanics
Detailed Game Information
Movement
Zone of Control
March
Transport
Transport Mechanics
Load and Land Rules
Unload Rules
Paratroopers and other Airdropped Units
Resupply & Refueling
Resupply Mechanics
Costs of Supply
Tactical considerations of supply
Attack
Understanding Unit and Weapon Stats
Range
Move
Adjacent
Counter-Attack
Bombardment & Repair
Deploy
Jam
Equip
Air Intercept
Saving of Leveled Units
Grading during Missions and Campaign Levels
Mission Walkthroughs
Campaign Walkthroughs
The Tutorial Mode
Unlockables
ToDo:
Tons of stuff to do yet.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: This document is in transition. It may contain innacuracies.
Please bear with me while I get this all sorted. I'm currently working on two
documents, a manual for D7E and this FAQ so some elements are getting combined
in last-minute fashion. Rest-assured when it is all finished we should be at 100
percent accuracy. Cheers.
Hello and welcome to the FAQ for Dai Senryaku VII Exceed for Playstation 2. In
this FAQ I will attempt to document everything there is to know about D7E. It is
currently a work in progress so bear with its current incompleteness. If you
have anything you'd like to contribute (strategies, etc...) then please send it
along to the following address:
jvgfanatic AT hotNOSPAMmail DOT com (of course remove the NOSPAM bit there...)
Should you send an email to that address be sure to put "Dai Senryaku Exceed" in
the title so I don't delete the email as spam.
I will certainly add you as a contributor to this document should you have
anything useful to contribute so please don't hesitate to send it along.
What is Dai Senryaku VII Exceed?
-------------------------------
Dai Senryaku is a modern era military, turn-based strategy game played on a
hexagonal grid of varying terrain. A collection of units--referred to as an
Army--from each country participating in the battle are arranged on this grid in
a strategic manner. Each unit has strengths and weaknesses particular to its
type. Utilizing the strengths of your army while exploiting weaknesses in the
enemy until you satisfy victory conditions is the core of the gameplay in Dai
Senryaku VII.
Each country participating in a battle takes its turn by moving and taking
action with some, all, or none of its units. Actions in Dai Senryaku VII consist
of resupply, moving, attacking, bombarding facilities, combining units,
producing and placing units, loading units onto transports, and capturing
facilities.
The following countries are playable: Japan, America, Russia, Germany, England,
France, Israel, and China.
The following terrain elements combine to make Dai Senryaku Exceed's maps:
Capital, City, Airport, Port, Factory, Refinery, Bridge, Plain, Desert,
Wasteland, Wetland, Grove, Forest, Hill, Mountain, Peaks, Lake, Shallows, Sea,
Deep Sea, Snowfield, Snowy Grove, Snowy Forest, Snowy Hill, and Snowy Peaks.
The game contains over 400 units across the nations listed. Each hex can contain
multiple units at different heights from deep sea to upper atmosphere. This adds
a tremendous amount of depth to the game and makes for a game with nicely
dynamic fronts.
Extensive testing of the XBox version of this game yielded that Fog of War is
obeyed by the computer AI and the AI does not cheat (funds or intel) under any
difficulty level. There is no reason to believe it will be different here.
SystemSoft has been making Daisenryakus for 20 years now, their AI is pretty
solid if not a bit rote.
For the record, here is a list of Daisenryaku games to appear on consoles:
1988.10.11 Daisenryaku - Famicom
1989.04.29 Super Daisenryaku - Megadrive
1990.04.27 Super Daisenryaku - Turbo CD
1991.06.12 Daisenryaku - Gameboy
1991.06.21 Advanced Daisenryaku - Megadrive
1991.09.28 Daisenryaku G - Gamegear
1991.11.21 Lord of Wars - Turbo CD
1992.05.29 Campaign-Han Daisenryaku II - Turbo CD
1992.09.25 Daisenryaku Expert - Super Famicom
1995.09.22 World Advanced Daisenryaku Kotetsu no Ikusakaze - Saturn
1996.03.15 World Advanced Daisenryaku Saksen Fire - Saturn
1996.03.29 Daisenryaku: Players Spirit - Playstation
1996.05.08 Iron Storm - Saturn - (USA - Release)
1996.08.30 Daisenryaku Expert WWII - Super Famicom
1997.06.27 Daisenryaku Strong Style - Saturn
1998.12.03 Daisenryaku: Master Combat - Playstation
1999.02.04 Cyber Daisenryaku - Playstation
2000.06.21 Advanced Daisenryaku Europe no Arashi - Dreamcast
2001.04.26 Advanced Daisenryaku 2001 - Dreamcast
2001.12.07 Daisenryaku for Gameboy Advance - Gameboy Advance
2003.05.29 Daisenryaku VII - XBox
2003.11.03 Daisenryaku 1941 - Playstation 2
2004.11.11 Standard Daisenryaku: Dengekisen
2005.02.16 Dai Senryaku VII: Modern Military Tactics - XBox (USA Release)
2005.06.02 Standard Daisenryaku: Shiwareta Shouri
2005.12.22 Daisenryaku Portable - PSP
2006.02.26 Sega Ages Vol. 22 Advanced Daisenryaku Deuch Dengeki Sakusen - PS2
2006.05.25 Daisenryaku DS - Nintendo DS
2006.12.14 Daisenryaku VII Exceed - PS2
2006.12.14 Daisenryaku Portable 2 - PSP
2007.12.12 Dai Senryaku VII Exceed - PS2 (USA Release)
World Advanced Daisenryaku Kotetsu no Ikusakaze became Iron Storm when Working
Designs brought it over to the US.
Fellow Daisenryaku Fanatic and FAQ author Jack Power has this list to provide,
these are the Daisenryaku titles released for the PC. Note that these are
Japanese games and may require specific software to run on your US PC. I cannot
provide instructions or support for this however.
Jack Power also has the following to say about the PC series:
FYI, the "gendai" games, 200X series, and Perfect games are all modern war
games a la DSVII. I've written a FAQ on Daisenryaku Perfect, which is
undoubtedly the best installment in the series (especially 2.0).
As an aside: SystemSoft, the makers of Daisenryaku have done some other
projects. Here are as many as I could find at the moment:
1991.07.26 Master of Monsters - Megadrive
1997.07.31 Master of Monsters - Playstation (JP & US)
1996.10.25 Master of Monsters Neo Generation - Saturn
1991.02.15 Master of Monsters - PC Engine (SCD)
Yes, this FAQ has been updated for the US release which became available
on the 12th of December, 2007.
What countries are represented in Dai Senryaku VII Exceed?
Japan
America
Russia
Germany
England
France
Israel
China
How many games/maps/etc can I save?
There are 8 slots per mode (Free, Mission, Campaign, Map Editor, etc..)
Differences from Dai Senryaku VII Modern Military Tactics (XBox)?
Dai Senryaku VII: Modern Military Tactics (MMT) was released in the
US on Microsoft's XBox console by Kemco Games. As it is the only
other Daisenryaku to get a US localization in recent history players
will be keen on knowing what differences exist between it and VII
Exceed.
Daisenryaku VII Exceed is everything that MMT was and more in terms
of content. In addition to MMT's Mission Mode and Free Play Mode
Exceed now has a Campaign Mode in which how you level units to carry
them from stage to stage will play a key role in your victory. I'm
finding Campaign Mode to be a satisfying challenge when compared to
Mission Mode's relative ease.
You can no longer change the computer AI player in Free Play to a
human player mid-turn. You can change the AI's difficulty level but
the option to change to a human player is disabled.
You can choose an operator to voice confirmation of commands. This
has no bearing on gameplay. There were six operators in the Japanese
version of the game, only two in the US version.
The game now supports bombardment and repair. These features are
discussed in that section of the FAQ.
Also new in Exceed is Air Intercept. That feature is also described
in detail in the relevant section of this FAQ.
Some unit details have changed, I'll log as many as I can for the
faq but will appreciate board members pointing out any they spot
changes as well.
Valcon added a few new features to the US release of the game that
were not in the Japanese release. The first is a blacked out screen
between turns in Free Play allowing players to change control without
comprimising troop layout. Another feature is the addition of a window
in the 'assign button' section of options. You can now open the unit
data screen with a single button press. Finally a Health column was
added to the Facility List showing how much damage a facility has
taken from bombardment.
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Game Mechanics (or How To Play)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dai Senryaku VII Exceed is a turn-based strategy game played on a hexagonal grid
of varying terrain. A collection of units--referred to as an Army--from each
country participating in the battle are arranged on this grid in a strategic
manner. Each unit has strengths and weaknesses particular to its type. Utilizing
the strengths of your army while exploiting weaknesses in the enemy until you
satisfy victory conditions is the core of the gameplay in Dai Senryaku VII.
Each country participating in a battle takes its turn by moving and taking
action with some, all, or none of its units. Actions in Dai Senryaku consist of
Resupply, Moving, Attacking Enemy Units, Combining Units, Producing and Placing
Units, Loading Units onto Transports, and Capturing Facilities. For detailed
information on the game's mechanics see section "Detailed Game Information".
The maps in Dai Senryaku VII consist of various terrain elements that have to be
traversed by your army. Building an army appropriate to the terrain they are
fighting on is key to success in D7E. In addition to the land there are also
"Facilities" consisting of Ports, Cities, Refineries, Factories, and Capitals.
There is only one Capital per country and the taking of an enemy capital means
the defeat of that enemy. Facilities are either owned by a country or they are
neutral, each facility possessed by a country brings that country strategic and
material benefits.
Victory in Dai Senryaku VII is achieved by satisfying the particular victory
conditions of the battle if in Mission or Campaign mode however the taking of an
enemy capital will always cause a win in any mode.
There are 3 modes of play in Dai Senryaku VII in addition to a Map Editor and a
Tutorial to help you understand some of the basics of the game. The three modes
of play are: Mission Mode, Campaign Mode, and Free Play Mode. Map Edit mode will
be discussed in more depth later, until then let's concentrate on Mission Mode,
Campaign Mode and Free Play Mode since they are the primary meat of the game.
About Mission Mode
------------------
Mission Mode allows you to play a series of battles that tell the story of Blue
Army (you) versus Red Army (the enemy). While in the abstract you are Blue army,
in fact you'll be playing as each of the game's countries. Your units do gain
experience in a battle however that experience cannot be carried to the next
fight. Continuity from one mission to the next is found in the story that
unfolds as you play through this mode.
Battles are graded in Mission Mode from S (highest) to F (lowest) rank. You will
progress through Mission Mode and unlock units as you complete battles
regardless of rank.
The missions, should you be happy with B, A, and S ranks shouldn't take you too
long to complete given their limited scope. Some of them can be rather time
consuming but none have the scale that you'll face in Campaign mode.
About Campaign Mode
-------------------
In Campaign Mode you'll also be following a story of sorts, each of the four
initial campaigns tells a tale. In addition to this, you'll be able to save
units that have gained experience at the end of each battle. You can then use
these units in the next or later battles. This provides tremendous continuity to
your Dai Senryaku VII Exceed experience.
Battles in Campaign mode are graded similarly to Mission Mode however Campaign
mode branches based on performance.
About Free Play Mode
--------------------
In Free Play mode you start with an empty map. You can set parameters for each
nation on the map including alliances, amount of starting funds, and
nationality. Building your army and executing strategies is what Free Play is
all about. You can have up to 4 players playing this mode either competitively
or cooperatively.
As you complete Mission Mode battles and Campaign battles you will open up maps
and units for use in Free Play mode.
Each country can save up to 20 levelled up units for use in Free Play mode.
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Detailed Game Information
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Movement
--------
Moving a unit consists of selecting the unit and issuing the Move command. This
causes the unit to be surrounded by a field of green hexagons and sometimes a
row or two of red hexagons beyond that. The green hexagons denote standard
movement whilst the red hexagons denote high-speed movement. These colors
indicate the hexes to which the unit may move.
There are costs associated with moving including both fuel and movement points.
A unit can move a distance equal to its standard or high-speed movement
allowance given the movement cost required to traverse the terrain and available
fuel. It costs twice as much fuel to move a unit into a red (high-speed) hex as
it does to move a unit into a green (standard movement) hex.
High-Speed Movement Allowance, Standard Movement Allowance and the cost for a
unit to move through various terrain elements are all found on the Unit Detail
Screen.
Air units, when moved, are required to set an altitude. Air units can fly at
low, medium, and high altitude as well as ground level when flying over water.
To change the altitude of an air unit, press the circle button when the altitude
menu appears. Each press of the circle button changes the altitude. Each level
of altitude changed costs one movement point.
A unit cannot move into a hex containing another unit at the same elevation as
the moving unit however a unit can pass through hexes containing friendly units
without restriction.
Zone of Control
--------------
Each hex in D7E has up to six altitudes. Only one unit can exist in a given hex
at a given altitude. A unit can move freely through hexes containing units of
one’s own army as well as units of allied armies.
Ground units and surface vessels are affected by zone of control. Zone of
control governs a unit’s ability to stop an enemy from moving through an area
that is controlled by the unit. In Dai Senryaku VII, this area is equal to the
six hexes surrounding a unit.
A unit will stop moving immediately upon entering the ZOC an enemy unit. In
addition, the enemy will attack the moving unit, if able, and the moving unit
will not be able to return fire.
March
-----
The March command allows you to move units over great distances without having
to issue individual move commands to units. In order to March a unit, simply
select that unit and issue the March command and then "Set Destination." Select
a hex as that unit's final destination and press the X button.
Once a destination has been set you can choose the March command again, this
time selecting the "March Execute" sub command or you can press Triangle and
choose the March All command to execute marches for all your units that have set
destinations.
March has certain features that make it worth using. Sending long-haul units
back for resupply for example is made easier by marching them instead of moving
them manually each turn.
Transport
---------
Some ground vehicles, vessels, and aircraft are capable of transporting other
units. Such units have the “TRANS” ability however each transport capable unit
has its own transport capacities.
To determine the transport capabilities of a unit you will have to open the Unit
Detail Screen. On this screen in the “Transport” section you might see something
like [Veh][Inf] indicating that the unit can transport up one Vehicle load type
unit and one Infantry load type unit. A unit’s load type can be found in the
Load Type section of the Unit Detail Screen and the Load stat in unit production
lists.
Transport capabilities represent the maximum number and size of units that a
unit can transport. A transporting unit can always transport units that have a
smaller load type than the one indicated up to the maximum number of load slots.
For example, our [Veh][Inf] transporting unit can also transport two [Inf] type
units but never two [Veh] units.
- From smallest to largest ground load types are: Inf, Veh, Lght, Hev.
- From smallest to largest air unit load types are: Hel, Air
Transport Mechanics
-------------------
To load a transporting unit with units to be transported, simply move the unit
to be transported onto the unit doing the transporting and choose the “Load”
command.
Load and Land rules
-------------------
Transport aircraft can only be loaded at airports. Transport helicopters and
VTOL craft can be loaded wherever they can land. Trucks can be loaded anywhere.
Carriers can be loaded with air units only while at sea. To land an aircraft at
a carrier you must fly at Ground level and choose the Land command when over the
carrier. Helicopters cannot land on assault ships in either ports or shallows;
the assault ship must be at sea for a helicopter to land on it.
Unload rules
------------
Transport ships must be at a port to unload its units. Assault ships can unload
at ports or shallows. A helicopter on an assault ship must launch at sea as it
cannot take off while the assault ship is in port or in shallows. A ground unit
must have an available hex onto which it unloads adjacent to the transporting
unit. Transporting helicopters can unload wherever they can land.
Paratroopers and other Airdropped Units
---------------------------------------
Special Forces, Paratroopers, and LAir capable units of all types can be dropped
from aircraft. Units with a [LAir] ability can be dropped from a low altitude
while Special Forces and Paratroopers can be dropped from Medium or Low
altitude. No unit can be dropped from High altitude.
Special Forces and Paratroopers can be dropped from helicopters and planes
however they do use their turn during the drop (so they can't be dropped and
capture/move in the same turn).
Building a good supply infrastructure in the worst environments can win you
battles. While your enemy is constantly fretting about running low on ammo and
fuel, your units will always be in top condition if you follow a flexible set of
guidelines for keeping your troops in supply.
Identifying good defensive terrain, positioning units so as to give them good
access to the front, and keeping available key positions for supply units all
combine to make a well oiled supply machine.
First off, you need a good understanding of how supply works in Dai Senryaku VII
Exceed. Each weapon carried by a unit has a limited supply of ammunition and
amount of fuel. The remaining fuel and ammunition is displayed whenever you
select a unit for command. Fuel is displayed as a decreasing yellow bar as well
as a numerical value to the left of the bar. Ammunition for each weapon is shown
beside the weapon’s name.
Each time you fire a weapon its ammunition supply is decreased by one. When a
weapon has zero remaining ammunition then that weapon cannot be used until the
unit has been resupplied.
A unit running low on fuel or ammunition will also have a small icon displayed
above the unit on the battlefield. A truck icon is shown for a unit low on fuel
and a shell (bullet) icon for units low on ammunition.
Resupply Mechanics
------------------
In order for a unit to be resupplied it must be on a supply-capable facility or
adjacent to a supply-capable vehicle or vessel. Choosing the RESP command from
its menu can resupply such a unit.
Supplying units on carriers is easy but not so obvious. You must do so through
the Unit List (press CIRCLE and choose Unit List from the menu). Choose the unit
you wish to supply from the unit list and press X, the standard menu of commands
including RESP will be displayed.
Costs of Supply
---------------
Each unit has a resupply cost that is deducted from your total funds when a unit
is resupplied. Fuel that is required to refuel a unit is also deducted from your
fuel reserves total. Both your total funds and fuel reserves are shown in the
upper left corner of the screen with no unit selected.
Supplying a supply truck with supplies at a facility does not cost anything
however supplying other units with that supply truck does cost the appropriate
supply cost.
Supplying a unit in the field with a supply truck uses a single (one) supply
point from the truck’s available supply stock whether the unit is refueled,
resupplied, or both and no matter how much is needed to resupply and refuel.
This compounds the case for turning off AUTO in Resup Method, in System Options
since in “Auto” mode units will resupplies even when only small amount of ammo
has been used.
Tactical considerations of supply
---------------------------------
Correctly positioning a support tanker is key to headache-free supply
management. For example, it is wise, particularly when the lay of the terrain
supports such a maneuver, to end your tanker’s movement adjacent to as many
out-of-supply units as possible. As such it is a good idea to get supply issues
out of the way at the start of a turn particularly since a unit is not ‘used’ as
a result of resupplying.
It bears mentioning again: turn off AUTO Resupply in Options. Set it to MANual,
it will keep you busier but it’s a resource-smart busier.
Attack
------
If you should find an enemy unit within range of your units’ weapons then you’ll
be able to issue the Attack command. The attack command will only be available
if the unit doing the attacking has met all of the firing criteria for at least
one of its available weapons.
Let’s take a look at some of the factors in determining whether or not you can
attack with a given unit.
Understanding Unit and Weapon Stats
-----------------------------------
Range
-----
You cannot fire a weapon unless an enemy unit is within range of the weapon.
Understanding the Range page of the Unit Detail Screen is paramount to knowing
how to place units so that they are within firing range of enemy units. Unlike
many other simpler strategy games, finding the range isn’t as simple as pressing
a button. Instead you’ll need to count hexagons.
To get to the Range page of the Unit Detail Screen you’ll need to press X to
display the weapon info page. From there press down so that Range is
highlighted. Each weapon is shown as well as the ranges that each weapon
operates at. The numbers shown are specific to each elevation. If there is a
value of “2” in the yellow (or “1”) column then the weapon will be able to hit
enemies at Low Air altitude as far as 2 hexes away.
There is one caveat to that calculation, each weapon also has to “Elev” stats
that denote how many levels of altitude up and down that the weapon can fire and
unless an enemy falls within those ranges as well as the lateral range it cannot
be targeted.
Move (Mv)
---------
Next, if you look at the Status page of the Weapon Detail screen you’ll see a
list of weapon attributes for each of your unit’s weapons.
One of them is labeled “Mv” and this stat determines whether or not a weapon can
be fired directly after moving a unit. Weapons with an “O” in this column can be
fired during the same turn that a unit has moved while those with a “–“ in the
Mv column cannot.
Weapons that cannot be fired after a move can only be fired if the firing unit
has not moved during the given turn.
Adjacent (Adj)
--------------
Next let’s examine the “Adj” stat on the Weapon Status page of the Unit Detail
screen. Adj stands for Adjacent and a weapon without the Adj ability cannot fire
into an adjacent hex.
In this case I’m looking at the details for a Patriot Missile System and on the
Weapon Information STATUS page I can see that the ADJ attribute of the MIM-104
Missile is marked with a line and thus the weapon cannot be fired at an enemy
that is adjacent to this unit.
Some aircraft (bombers) are able to bomb facilities. Bombing facilities reduces
their effectiveness. A fully damaged facility has it’s repair, refuel, and
income generating features reduced dramatically.
In order to bomb a facility a unit with the Bomb (BMB) ability must position
itself directly over the facility to be bombed. Once doing so the “Bomb” command
can be issued from that unit’s command menu.
In order to determine how severely facilities are damaged you can (by default)
press the L2 button
Another quick way to display damage to your own facilities is to display the
Army Facility List.
Facilities that have been bombed and have had their effectiveness reduced may be
repaired by Engineer units. Engineer units are a special kind of infantry that
have the RPR (Repair) ability. In order to repair a facility you must position
the Engineer on the facility and then choose the “Repair” command.
Deploy
------
Some units are either Deployed or Mobile. Such units have an ability of “DPLY”.
This is more restriction than ability. While a unit with this ability is moving
it cannot fire. When the unit is deployed and ready to fire it cannot move.
Issuing the “DEPL” command ends a unit’s turn and thus a unit cannot deploy and
fire on the same turn.
These units are often used as fixed position artillery or fortification-style
armament. This attribute differs from the weapon attribute Mv.
Jam
---
Some aircraft have the “Jam” (ECM) ability. This ability, which is triggered by
a command, will reduce the search ability of all units within its area of effect
to one hex. The effect lasts for one turn and the Jam command uses ECM
ammunition much like a weapon and cannot be used once its ammunition has been
depleted. Supplying a unit capable of Jamming will resupply its ECM ammunition
as well.
Equip
-----
Many units in D7E are capable of carrying different weapon load outs. Each
loadout is referred to as a “Package” or “Pack.” You can change a unit’s pack by
positioning it on an appropriate facility and choosing the Equip command. The
Equip command takes a full turn to execute so a unit will be unable to move
either before or after the command is issued. Another caveat is that a unit that
is not in full supply or full health cannot change its equipment.
Facilities capable of equipment change are as follows:
Naval vessels: Ports
Aircraft: Airfields and carriers
Ground units: Cities, capital
Air Intercept
-------------
Air intercept is automatic in Dai Senryaku 7 Exceed. It’s the ability [INT] of
some naval vessels to attack aircraft automatically should the aircraft enter
the range of the vessel’s weapons.
Saving of Leveled Units
-----------------------
At the end of each Campaign and Free Mode battle you are allowed to save units
which have gained experience. You can then load these into other Campaign or
Free Mode battles respectively.
When you load these units into a battle you are asked to pick a memory card
where it will then ERASE each unit from the saved units list as it's launched.
Should that unit perish or should you lose the fight you will lose any of the
units you've launched into that battle.
Even if you load an earlier saved game you will NO LONGER have those units
available for sortie.
You can refuse to save the game during a launch however I'm unsure as to the
effects of this.
Grading during Missions and Campaign levels
-------------------------------------------
At the end of each Campaign and Mission mode battles you'll get graded on five
criteria. They are as follows, from top to bottom:
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Game Reference Guide (Menu/Screen Translations)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents
-----------------
The Main Menu
The In-Battle Options
The Unit Information Screen
Unit Production Information
Command Menu
System Menu
Map Editor Menu
Controls
-------------
The Main Menu
-------------
Mission - A series of missions
Campaign - Four campaigns
Free Play - Free Play maps
Map Editor - You can build your own maps here
Tutorial - The game's tutorial
Set Up - One options screen (more available in-battle)
---------------------
The In-Battle Options
---------------------
Display Settings
Unit Information
|-Unit Name
|-Sub Units
|-Load
|-Elevation
|-Status
Hex Lines (on/off)
Army's Capital flag (on/off)
Map Effect (on/off)
Map Cursor (Reset to capital/Keep in place)
Battle Screen (own army/all armies/no display)
System Settings
Battle Animation (Real/Summary)
Select Weapon for counter-attack & opportunity fire (off/on)
Resupply Method (auto/ask/manual)
Vibration (on/off)
Button Config - Assign Square, R2, and L2 to any of the following:
End Turn
Save
Load
Options
Unit List
Terrain Chart
Movement Chart
Unit Catalog
Army Status
Army Facility Chart
Adjust Detection Level
Reset View
Move Cursor to Capital
March All
Supply All
Display SubUnit Tag
Operator Selection
Sound Settings
Choose your background music
Return to Defaults
Save Settings
---------------------------
The Unit Information Screen
---------------------------
Unit Type Movement Type
Unit Name Special Commands
Unit Nationality & Flag Transport Information
Cost Type
SubUnits Standard Move Movement Cost Table Variable
Endurance High Move with Altitude Selection
Fuel ECM Evade Strength
------------------------------
Weapon Information Tables
-------------------------
Pressing CIRCLE on the Unit Information screen will open the Weapon info
page(s). A lit of Weapons current loaded into the unit are shown, white weapons
are ones in the current PACK while grey ones are not availble with the current
PACK.
The Up/Down d-pad will switch between three pages of data for the weapons while
Left/Right d-pad will switch between showing information about the different
PACKs. Note changing the PACK here does NOT change the unit's current
configuration.
First Page of Weapon Info:
Weapon Name FirePower HitRates: Air/Heli/Veh/Inf/Ves/Sub/Facil
Second Page of Weapon Info:
Weapon Name Ammo Count Range: High/Med/Low/Grnd/Surf/Deep/Up/Dn
Third Page of Weapon Info:
Weapon Name Type Abilities: Adj/Move/Att/Def/Bomb/Mssl/Mega
Explanation:
Adj - Can the weapon be fired from a range of 1
Move - Can the weapon be fired after moving
Att - Can the weapon be used for attacking
Def - Can the weapon be used for counter-attacking
Bomb - Can the weapon be used for facility bombing
Mssl - Is the weapon a Missile type
Mega - Does the weapon do Megahex damage
---------------------------
Unit Production Information
---------------------------
When you attempt to make a unit by pressing the button on a capital, airport, or
port you get a list of available units. The data displayed for each unit is as
translated below:
Unit Type Unit name
Cost Sol Type Load Type
Fuel SubUnit Count SubUnit Endur
Movement Package
-----------
Command Menu
------------
Active Unit List
Terrain Chart
Movement Chart
Unit Catalog
Battle Overview
Facilities Overview
Set Detection Level Visibility
Map Reset
Move To Capital
Supply All (only present when manual supply is set)
March All (only present when units are to be marched)
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System Menu
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Pressing the Start button in mid-game will get you this menu:
End Turn
Save
Load
Player
Option
Quit
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Map Editor Menu
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This menu is opened by pressing Start in the Map Editor
Map Settings
Preview
Lines On/Off
Save
Load
Quit Editor
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Controls
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On the Battlefield
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X Btn - Okay/Select
Triangle - Cancel
Square - Customizable*
Circle - Command Menu
Select - Hides/Shows Info Palette
Start - Displays System Menu
R1 - Zoom In (Zooms are analogue so press harder for faster zoom)
R2 - Zoom Out
R2 - Customizable*
L2 - Customizable*
R Stick - Move Map
L Stick - Rotate Map
L3 - Rotate to Default
After a campaign mission
------------------------
You are given the option of saving up to 20 units.
X Btn - Moves units from one side to the other
Square - Show stats for selected unit
Start - Saves and continue
Triangle - Cancel
In the Map Editor
-----------------
The Map Editor is a complex beast. Here are the controls:
R2 - Opens Tool Menu
L2 - Opens Terrain Menu
R1/L1 - Zoom In/Out
Circle - Opens Menu
Square - Picks up current terrain
Start - Opens the Menu
Triangle - Undoes latest action
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Mission 1: Recruit Training
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Objective: Eliminate the Red army.
Strategy: You can't capture Red's capital with the units you have so you'll have
to eliminate all Red units. Keep your capture capable units protected by leading
an advance with your (kick butt) M109's and your M1A1. Red has a surprise M109
waiting for you on the southern area of this map so just keep your eyes out for
it.
There are 155mm Howitzers located on Red capital and on the northern peninsula.
Unlocks: Map Recruit Training opened in Free Play
---------------------------------
Mission 2: Capture the Enemy Base
---------------------------------
Objective: To take Red's capital
Your Forces: China
Type 69 x 3
Type 83 x 2
Type 89
PGZ-95 x 2
PLZ-45 x 2
S-300 PMU
WZ551 x 2
Recon Veh
Infantry x 2
Supply Truck
Strategy: Take out the MiG that is near your capital. I have done this with a
single PGZ-95 but chances are it will take both of them to take out the plane.
If you don't take it out then you might just want to restart the level as it's
easy enough to do.
Your two infantry and the supply truck are going to be responsible for more than
you can imagine. They are going to be able to take out most of the helicopters
at a range of 2 hexes. To be sure, your PGZ's will bear some of the burden but
they will take a while to get into range.
Once you start your move on Red's capital you can pretty much drive through
non-stop for most of the helis will be dealt with by that time.
Unlocks: Map Capture the Base in Free Play mode
MBT Type 69 (China) in Free Play mode
WZ551 (China) in Free Play Mode
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Mission 3: Long Bridge to Battle
--------------------------------
Goal: To eliminate Red army or take Red's capital.
Your Forces: Germany
Tornado RECCE
Leopard 2A6 x 6
155mm Deployed x 4
Infantry
MLRS
Marder A3 x 3
PZH 2000 x 4
Support Tanker
Truck
Strategy: This mission is easy enough given the amount of firepower and recon
ability you are given. Just wait until the enemy advances and take them out.
Make sure you go for the kill because the enemy will have plenty of opportunity
to repair their units and draw the battle out.
Unlocks: Long Bridge to Battle map in Free Play
Leopard 2A6 (Germany)
-----------------------------------------
Mission 4: Defend Against A Faraway Enemy
-----------------------------------------
Objective: Either eliminate all of the enemy's strike forces or have at least 16
Yellow Support Tankers survive until the end of turn 12.
Strategy: Simply set up a good defensive net along the line of yellow supply
tankers. Your carrier is your biggest weak point but even if it gets sunk (bleh)
then you will still be okay because your planes have enough fuel to last the 12
turns. If they need ammo you've got airports near the capital.
Really, with the defensive fire of your Patriots you will have no trouble with
this mission at all.
Unlocks: F35B (America)
Map Faraway Enemy in Free Play
---------------------------------
Mission 5: Southern Defense Force
---------------------------------
Objective: Gain $10,000 in funds before Red Army
Strategy: Land your transports on either side of the main island and capture/dig
in as possible. Move your 155mm guns to the left side of the center of the
island and dig in. Build Type 90s and Type 99s for an assault on the central
production area, that is where the money is.
Unlocks: Assault Ship Oosumi (Japan)
Attack Heli AH-64 (Japan)
Map: Southern Defense Force playable in Free Play
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Mission 6: Attack From the Deep
-------------------------------
Objective: Maintain at least 20 BLUE Army units while destroying all RED Army
submarines.
Your Forces (United Kingdom): Invincible
Nimrod MR-2 x 3
Lynx Mk. 8 x 10
Supply Ship x 10
Strategy: Make sure you fly low when doing recon so you can see as far as
possible. Getting that last sub is going to be really hard but you can count on
it going for wherever the enemy recon plane sees you (other than your capital,
of course).
Unlocks: Naval Helicopter Lynx Mk. 8 (UK)
Naval Helicopter Lynx Mk. 8 (Germany)
Map: Enemies From the Deep playable in Free Play
Your Forces (China): Infantry x 6
Special Forces x 2
Type 99 Amph. Tank x 2
+ Production
Strategy: Perform an assault on the factory with all of your infantry from
different directions keeping in mind the detection range of the facilities
surrounding it as they have artillery on them. If you can take out even one of
the artillery and have an infantry unit to slip into the factory then you beat
the mission by capturing it.
Unlocks: Type 99 Amph. Lt. Tank (China)
Map: Jungle Fortress playable in Free Play
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Mission 8: Capture in the Vermillion Archipelago
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Objective: Sink all of RED Army's warships.
Your Forces (USA): 155mm Howitzer x 2
CH-47 Chinook x 2
F-22 Raptor x 1
M-1 Abrams x 3
M109 x 2
M-113 x 1
M3 Bradley x 1
P-3C Orion x 1
RAH-66 Comanche x 1
RF/A-18 x 1
S-3B Viking x 1
SH-60 Sea Hawk x 2
UH-60 x 1
V-22 Osprey x 2
Avenger x 1
San Antonio x 1
Seawolf x 1
Zumwalt x 4
Ticonderoga x 2
Patriot x 3
HAWK x 2
Virginia x 3
Paratroopers x 3
Recon
Special Forces x 3
Tactical Considerations: Your search craft will run out of fuel easily and thus
you need to keep a close eye on that. There are immense areas to search so this
is very important.
Your Howitzer's have minimal sea firepower so they'll likely sit unused.
You've got two Chinooks which are used to transport units. One of them has an
Avenger and Paratroopers, the other has two Paratroopers. At the very least you
should take the Southern Island (3 neutral cities, a neutral port and a neutral
airfield make it a good though not great strategic win). Your long term goal if
the mission lasts that long will be to take the central island as well. Most
importantly, if you land your Chinooks and unload your ground units they will
get to move on that turn, if you drop them then they will have to wait a turn to
move.
Also pre-loaded are your Ospreys. While one Osprey has the range to make it to
the central island you will want to exercise a little caution as that island is
defended and will require a more coordinated assault.
Your F-22 will be your primary anti-air platform but you'll have to be wary of
it's fuel level. Use it to cover your P-3C which will act as a terrific search
plane.
Strategy:
Your army starts in the southeast, the enemy is in the northwest. You have a lot
of coverage, your anti-air support comes in the form of two jets and a couple of
ships.
Unlocks: Destroyer Zumwalt (USA)
Submarine Virginia (USA)
Map: Vermillion Keys in Free Play
Spoilers
********
Starting locations of some of RED army's ships on Blue turn 1:
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Mission 9: Hot and Cold
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Objective: Capture RED Army's capital.
Your Forces (USA): AMX-10P x 3 (capture)
AMX-10RC x 4
AMX-30B2
AMX-30GCT x 3
AU-F2 x 7 (move and fire)
MLRS
SA-342 Gazelle x 2
Foudre x 5
Leclerc x 5
Special Forces
Support Tanker x 2
Strategy: Pretty easy overall, it will be slow going to start because of the
snow but just play the level a bit cautiously until you can recon and artillery
shell their capital.
I believe the enemy can produce units on this map so capturing the capital is
essential.
Unlocks: Map: Hot and Cold in Free Play
Foudre Assault Ship (France)
AU-F-2 SPH (France)
Your Forces (USA): 155mm Deployed x 4
ATACMS x 4
EA-6B Prowler x 2
F-35A x 2
FB-22 x 2
KC-135 x 2
M-109A6 x 8
M-3 Bradley x 3
MLRS
RF/A-18 x 2
Recon Veh x 2
Supply Truck x 2
Strategy: Don't miss the units you have on the southern corners and
south-central section of this map. You have a ton of firepower at your disposal,
know it, love it, use it.
Unlocks: F-35A (USA)
FB-22 (USA)
Border Incident Map in Free Play
-------------------------------
Mission 11: Hot Sands Offensive
-------------------------------
Objective: Capture 50 facilities before RED army wipes YELLOW army off the map.
Your Forces (Israel): A-4N Skyhawk x 2
CH-53 x 4 (Transport)
F-15 Baz x 3
F-15I Raam x 2
F-16 Barak x 3
F-4E-2000 x 2
M-113 x 1 (Cap)
RF-4 PhantomII x 2
Kfir C7 x 2
Truck x 2
Hughes 500MD (Lahatoot) x 4
Merkava Mk. 3 x 2
Merkava Mk. 4 x 6
Ramta RBY x 3
Paratroopers x 8 (Cap)
Infantry x 2 (Cap)
Supply Truck x 2
Strategy:
Unlocks: Hughes 500MD (Lahatoot) (Israel)
Merkava Mk. 4 (Israel)
Hot Sands Offensive Map in Free Play
Your Forces (French): 155mm Deployed
AS-532 Horizon x 5
KC-135FR x 2
Atlantic 2 x 4
Tiger x 6
Lafayette x 2
Support Tanker x 3
Strategy: This mission is a pain in the butt, no bones about it, lol. Anyway,
use your Horizons for most of the searching and your Tigers for attack. Your
Atlantics do pack quite a punch but their range is limited. Use the KC-135 FRs
for mid-air refueling if you must.
You will be forced to crawl along the waterways near RED capital to get the last
couple of Luns. I believe I counted five of them total with 3 of them in the
outer sea area and two in the waterways. This puts you in range of some pretty
heavy anti-air cover so just take your hits and shots carefully and watch your
ranges. Your Horizons can search about as far as your Tigers can travel. Most
often you'll find the enemy Luns moving INTO your search range rather than you
searching and destroying.
Unlocks: AS-532 Horizon (France)
Sea Monster Map available in Free Play
-------------------------------
Mission 13: The Lost World
-------------------------------
Objective: Get one of the Light Armored Vehicles to BLUE capital by turn 99.
Rewards: Light Armored Vehicle (Japan)
Lost World Map available in Free Play
Strategy: This one is a challenge. To do this effectively you'll need to move
your small group with the LAVs in it through hostile territory with one of the
two enemies sporting Leopard tanks. If you're unfamiliar with those then this
mission will indoctrinate you into their awesome firepower and high defense.
You can time the advance of the LAV's through the front. Watch the cycle of
attack/retreat and try to slip through when Red pulls their Leopard's back from
the front. Chances are your group WILL get shattered but all you need is for one
of those LAV's to make it to blue captial. Your small force near your capital
can advance across the bridge and prepare the road as well.
-------------------------------
Mission 14: The Oil Emperor
-------------------------------
OBJECTIVES: Maintain at least 15 BLUE facilities while depleting RED Army's
facilities to 15 or less within 20 turns.
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Campaign Walthroughs
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Herein I will attempt to describe and give general strategies to each Campaign
Mode battle. While my strategies may not be the best I hope, in the future, to
add strategies submitted by other players. Credit is, of course, given to those
who help others out here. The grades listed after each battle's title are the
grades I received for that battle. This should encourage you to a) do better and
b) send in your strategy :)
Each campaign has multiple battles, each is listed along with the starting
units, goal, strategy, and unlock items (for beating said battle).
Here is a map of Campaign Battles showing the branches througout.
Campaign 1_____________________
01: First Battlefield
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|
02: Graduation
|
Campaign 2 ____________________ |
03: East Mediterranean War
|
___________________________
| |
04: ?????? 05: Holy Warriors
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Campaign 1:
Officer Candidate (2 Battles)
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01: First Battlefield (S)
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Your Units:
Type 87
Type 89
Type 90 x 4
Type 99 x 2
MLRS
Infantry x 2
Supply Truck
Goal: Eliminate all opposition or capture the enemy's capital.
Strategy: It's pretty easy to S-Rank this mission. I took a plodding 23 turns to
beat it and still S-Ranked it without losing a single unit. The enemy will
provide minimal opposition however he does have some good scouting units and
ranged artillery so just stay on your toes. The M-1 tanks can also be a bother
but just keep your Type 87 on the lookout.
The enemy will try to sneak through the mountain pass by travelling slightly
south of the road. If you keep your Type 87 looking out for that pass you should
be fine, just be aware that if the enemy sights you he has a small battery of
M109's ready to pound you.
Make sure you get at least a little experience for ALL your units here and this
includes the supply truck (have it finish off an infantry unit or something).
This will allow you to save those units for use in the next campaign battle!
Unlock: First Battlefield Map in Free Play mode.
New campaign level: Graduation
02: Graduation (A)
--------------
Your Units
Type 87
Type 89
Type 90 x 2
AH-1S Cobra x 2 (Pack 1)
F-2 x 2 (Pack 1)
MLRS
Infantry x 2
Goal: Eliminate all Red opposition or capture Red's capital.
Strategy: Use your air units to act as recon. Watch out for the enemy F-16s and
be prepared to work in cycles replenishing your aircraft's ammo. Red army has
significantly more firepower than they did in the previous campaign mission but
nothing you can't handle. It is possible to make it through this without losing
a single whole unit (though the loss of sub units is inevitable).
I recommend getting experience for ALL your units in the previous campaign
mission as you'll have the ability to bring them out here. You don't start with
a supply truck so having the one saved from the previous mission will help
immensely.
Unlock: Graduation Map in Free Play mode
Type 61 SP (Japan)
Type 74 SP1 (Japan)
END OFFICER CANDIDATE CAMPAIGN - Credits roll
------------------------------
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Campaign 2:
The Mediterranean War
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03: Taking the Bosporus
-----------------------
Your Units (Russia)
2S19 MSTA-S x 3
2S6M Tunguska x 2
9A52 Smerch
BMD-3 x 2
BMP-3 x 2
Ka-52 Hokum B (Pack 1)
Mi-17 Hip H x 2 (Pack 1)
Mi-24 Hind x 2 (Pack 1)
Su-33 Flanker x 2 (Pack 1)
Su-34 x 2
Su-35
T-72 x 2
T-90 x 5
Ivan Rogrov x 2
Udaloy x 2
Slava
Tor M1 ADS x 2
Infantry x 3
Supply Truck x 2
No reinforcements
Goal: Elmination of Red's army or capture of Red's capital.
Strategy:
Unlocks: Overtaking the Bosporus Map in Free Play Mode
B+ Got CAMPAIGN 05
05: Holy Warriors
-----------------
Your Units (Russia)
2S19 MSTA-S x 2
9A52 Smerch x 2
BMD-3
BTR-T
Ka-50 Hokum
Su-33 Flanker x 2
T-80 x 2
Admirial Kuznetsov
Ivan Rogrov x 3
Tor M1 ADS x 1
Special Ops x 2
Supply Truck
Campaign Battle 11: The Netherlands
Your Units:
AS90 Braveheart x 8
Challenger 1 x 5
Gazelle x 1
Harrier GR7 x 2
Infantry x 2
Jaguar GR3 x 2
Lynx Mk.9
Sabre x 3
Saxon x 2
Starstreak SP HVM x 2
Stryker x 8
Support Tanker x 1
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The Tutorial Mode
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following tutorials are presented in Tutorial Mode. You can, for the most
part, get through them by pressing O repeatedly however at many points you'll
need to move a specific unit to a specific location. At other times you'll need
to select a particular command. In such cases the necessary choices are clearly
indicated though for commands you'll need to match what you see in the
instructions (Kanji) to what is in the command list.
Playing through the tutorial unlocks the Tutorial Map in Free Play mode.
1-1 - Production, Land
1-2 - Production, Air
1-3 - Production, Sea
1-4 - Production
2-1 - Movement, Land
2-2 - Movement, Air
2-3 - Movement, Sea
2-4 - March Movement
3 - Enemy Detection
4-1 - Attacking (Indirect)
4-2 - Attacking (Move & Attack)
4-3 - Attacking (Megahex)
5-1 - Transport (Truck)
5-2 - Transport (Heli)
5-3 - Paratroopers
5-4 - Transport (Sea)
5-5 - Transport (Carriers)
6-1 - Repair
6-2 - Supply Trucks
6-3 - Supply Ships
6-4 - Repair of Aircraft
6-5 - Supply of Aircraft on Carriers
6-6 - Midair Refueling
6-7 - Repair/Supply of Ships
6-8 - Supply of Ships enroute
6-9 - Reoutfitting Aircraft
6-10 - Merging Units
7 - Capturing Facilities
8 - The Command Menu
Tutorial Map in Free Play Complete Tutorial mode
First Battlefield Map in Free Play Complete Campaign Level First Battlefield
Graduation Map in Free Play Complete Campaign Level Graduation
Type 61 SP (Japan) Complete Campaign Level Graduation
Type 74 SP1 (Japan) Complete Campaign Level Graduation
Map Recruit Training in Free Play Complete Mission 1 in Mission Mode
Map Capture the Base in Free Play Complete Mission 2 in Mission Mode
MBT Type 69 (China) in Free Play Complete Mission 2 in Mission Mode
WZ551 (China) in Free Play Complete Mission 2 in Mission Mode
Long Bridge to Battle Map in FP Complete Mission 3 in Mission Mode
Leopard 2A6 (Germany) Complete Mission 3 in Mission Mode
F35B (America) Complete Mission 4 in Mission Mode
Map Faraway Enemy in Free Play Complete Mission 4 in MIssion Mode
Assault Ship Oosumi (Japan) Complete Mission 5 in Mission Mode
Attack Heli AH-64 (Japan) Complete Mission 5 in Mission Mode
Map Get Rick Quick in Free Play Complete Mission 5 in Mission Mode
Naval Helicopter Lynx Mk. 8 (UK) Complete Mission 6 in Mission Mode
Naval Helicopter Lynx Mk. 8 (Ger.) Complete Mission 6 in Mission Mode
Map Enemies From the Deep in Free Complete Mission 6 in Mission Mode
Type 99 Amph. Lt. Tank (China) Complete Mission 7 in Mission Mode
Map Jungle Fortress in Free Play Complete Mission 7 in Mission Mode
Destroyer Zumwalt (USA) Complete Mission 8 in Mission Mode
Submarine Virginia (USA) Complete Mission 8 in Mission Mode
Map Vermillion Keys in Free Play Complete Mission 8 in Mission Mode
Map Hot and Cold in Free Play Complete Mission 9 in Mission Mode
Foudre Assault Ship (France) Complete Mission 9 in Mission Mode
AU-F-2 SPH (France) Complete Mission 9 in Mission Mode
