                             Medway Boys & Ikari

                                 - Present -

			           PRINCE

			     HOPE YA LIKE IT !!!

                      414 Lines (16245 Bytes Decrunched)

                    Docs by **  P H A N T O M   L O R D **

Dark rain-filled clouds rolled and tumbled in the storm-wracked skies above
the city of Uppsala. Great sheets of lightining tore the heavens asunder as
the thunder roared and bellowed. In the tallest tower of the castle, the
King was dying.

Brass gongs were struck as the seers and apothecaries cried to the gods for
guidance. Shamen wove their magiks about the failing Lord as he lay in his
great bed, his body twisted with pain and glistening with sweat. His mouth
was a grim line, his teeth grated against each other and though he suffered
a thousand tourments, he uttered not a sound. His eyes, clear and blue as
the distant ice fields stared with steely determination through the window
as the storm that raged above his city.

Volgrim had ruled the hundred tribes of the Varagians for forty years,
claiming his crown at the unheard of age of twenty. A crown claimed with
bloodied steel in a grip of iron. His justice was swift and his revenge
total. Few men crossed swords with him and lived and those who did swore
fealty to the crown. And so the empire grew. Tribes, who did for time
untold held hatred in their hearts for each other, came together under the
new law and the lands prospered.

The years passed, years that Vorgrim wore lightly upon his bear-like frame.
At fifty he was a man of thirty and his sword arm could still best any five
foe-men. Yet challengers were few and far between, for with the years had
come a universal love for this giant of a man who had achived the
impossible and united the tribes for the first time in their history.

But now from the Eastern Steppes came a horde of ravaging marauders. Their
horse legions were without number and their thirst for dominion
unquenchable. For five years their advance had been checked but in the last
encounter Vorgrim had been unhorsed in the thick of battle. His great war
steed had fallen, crushing the King beneath it. His already war-torn body
had lain for some time before his body guard could reach him and remove him
to safety. The battle had been won with the retreating hordes fleeing for
their lives, leaving the greater number of them strewn upon the field of
conflict. Vorgrim however, was fading fast, despite all his physician's
best efforts.

Repairing to Uppsala, Vorgrim lay in his rooms, fighting his final
confrontation, this time with the grim gatherer of souls who came at last,
to all, from commoner to king. Vorgrim's many sons and the tribe elders
gathered in the great hall while their army's camps surrounded the city
walls. All knew the final outcome of their vigil but awaited the King's
word. A successor must be named. Bloodline mattered not. The crown could
only be passed on to one worthy in the eye of his predecessor, or seized by
mighty and hard steel. This was the Code of Steel.

As the great fires in the hall cast garish lights and dancing shadows about
its length the gathered lords paced uneasily about or sat silently in
corners, each looking at the other from beneath lidded eyes. Each fingered
the hilt of their swords and axes as they chewed their moustaches
impatiently, their brows furrowed and their nerves at fever pitch.

Suddenly the great brass doors to the hall swung open and the king's many
wives entered, followed by the royal bodyguard who carried the broken body
of Vogrim on his bed covered with silver wolf pelts, on top of which lay
his broad sword and war axe. The shamen and apothecaries moved alongside,
their fingers tracing signs and sigils in the air in a final prayer to the
gods.

The lords stood as one man while failing leige was placed at the foot of
his throne and raised into a sitting position before his followers. His
mouth tightened as he was lifted and the muscles in his neck stood out like
ropes, sweat pouring down his temples and his eyes glazed over with pain
but when he looked once more upon the gathering within the hall all felt
the power that had been Vogrim, course from that gaze.

Silence covered the hall like a shroud. The only sound was that of the logs
cracking in the fire and the king's swift, laboured breathing. He turned to
the captain of his bodyguards and slowly nodded. The captain's hands shook
as he reached out and removed the crown from his ruler's head and held it
high before the gathered mass. All eyes went to it. All breath was held. And
Vogrim spoke.

"The Code of Steel", he rasped and the paused. "I hold no man among you
higher than his brother. I love you all as my own. You have followed my
word and guarded my back time without number and I cannot single out one to
stand above his fellows." He stopped as he took a deep breath, his chest
rising and falling in great pain-filled gasps. A thin line of blood ran
from his mouth and he coughed wetly. "Go to the island of the south, take
your tribal war bands and prove your worth one final time. Test your hearts
and steel for me once more and find the one to take my place. Find my
Prince." This said, he looked with tear-filled eyes upon his wives and
smiled. His eyes misted over, the blue of the ice fields was lost and he
died.

The gathered lords filed slowly past the body of their king. Each bent his
knee in turn and kissed his chilling fingers and was gone. There was steel
to be honed and a crown to be won. The victor would sit on Uppsala's
throne. Vorgrim would have his Prince and the Vangarians their king.

Vorgrim's word was still the law.

                                  CONTROLS
				  --------

ATARI ST and AMIGA
------------------
Control is by use of the mouse. Except where otherwise stated, either
button may be used.

                               AIM OF THE GAME
			       ---------------

Your objective is simply to kill the Enemy Prince, without losing your own
Prince. There are many ways to win, and endless scenarios to try. Playing
against the computer you should eventually be able to take on fairly
superior armies with a reasonable success rate.

                                 GAME SETUP
				 ----------

Once you have some experience of the game, be adventurous in your game set
up.

SELECT A MAP
------------
Each map offers different strategic opportunities.

SELECT AN ARMY
--------------
Choose a banner for your army colour. For two player games, players must
choose different colours.

SELECT BOTH ARMY SIZES
----------------------
Use the [LEFT ARROW] and [RIGHT ARROW] symbold to change each army size.
The numbers indicate cavalry regiments, infantry regiments, and total men.

SELECT SOUND ON / OFF
---------------------
Select the [MUSIC] symbol to enable sound effects. Sound effects can also
be turned on/off on the game screen, while the game is paused.

SELECT VISIBILITY
-----------------
BLIND	Enemy troops and banners are always visible

+-----+
|BLIND| Enemy troops and banners are only visible when your troops are on
+-----+ screen.

+-----+
+-----+
|BLIND| Enemy troops are only visible when your troops are on screen. Enemy
+-----+ banners are never visible.
+-----+

SELECT NUMBER OF PLAYERS
------------------------
SOLO	One player game.

LINK	Two player game. Blue player controls map selection and both army
	sizes.

LOAD	Only select this option if you have previously saved a game.

                               TWO PLAYER GAME
			       ---------------

                  PRINCE WAS DESIGNED AS A TWO PLAYER GAME
                     AND YOU OUGHT TO TRY IT LIKE THAT.

REQUIREMENTS
------------
Two player games require two computers and a serial connection. The
computers do not need to be the same type, any combination of ATARI ST's,
AMIGA's, and PC's is permitted. A null modem cable is required to connect
the two machines.

The connections for 25 way connectors should be:
			pin 2 to pin 3
			pin 3 to pin 2
			pin 7 to pin 7
Pin 7 on a 25 way connector corresponds to pin 5 on a 9 way connector.

SET UP
------
Players must select different colour armies. The blue player controls
selection of the map and both army sizes. Blind can be independantly set.

STARTING A GAME
---------------
When start is selected, or a two player saved game is reloaded, a
communications dialogue box will appear. Both players should select the
same baud rate. When a succesful link is established the game will start.

ERRORS
------
Communications errors are corrected where possible, but if an error causes
the machine to lose synchronisation, a link error dialogue box will appear.
You may ignore the error and continue play if you wish, but the results are
unpredictable.

TROOPS
------
There are 4 ranks of men.
	PRINCES				Wear golden armour
	REGIMENTAL COMMANDERS		Wear silver armour
	COMPANY COMMANDERS		Wear iron armour
	OTHER RANKS			Wear leather

There are 2 types of regiments.
	CAVALRY REGIMENTS		have 5 or 9 companies of 5 horsemen
	INFANTRY REGIMENTS		have 5 or 9 companies of 9 foormen

There are 3 types of company in each infantry regiment.
	SWORDSMEN			strongest of the foormen.
	AXEMEN
	SPEARMEN			weakest against other foormen, but
					strongest footman against horsemen.

MAGNIFICATION
-------------
The map can be viewed at 4 levels of magnification
   ¤ At the first level of magnification the whole island is visible but no
     men may be seen.

   ¤ At the next level of magnification a large section of the island is
     visible and the regimental commanders are represented as banners.

   ¤ At the next level of magnification terrain becomes visible and
     regimental and company commanders are visible. Regimental orders are
     issued at this level.

   ¤ At the last level of magnification full terrain detail is shown and
     all men are visible. At this level only company commands are possible.

                                  GAMEPLAY
				  --------

The main window is the MAP WINDOW.
The window on the right is the TROOP CONTROL
The window at the bottom is the GAME AND WINDOW CONTROL

GAME CONTROL
------------
PAUSE		Suspend play, reselect to continue
SAVE		Save current game, play continues
QUIT		A surreneder box asks you to confirm your order. The
		opposing army will be awarded victory.
[MUSIC ICON]	While the game is paused the quit option is replaced to
		enable sound effects to be turned on/off.

WINDOW CONTROL
--------------
[COMPAS ICON]		Select the viewing direction required.

[DIRECTION ICON]	Scroll the window by selecting the appropriate
			arrow. Hold down the button for continuous scroll.
			Selecting the central box and holding down the
			button, links the mouse directly to the window
			position, for fast scrolling.

[BOX ICON]		Zoom control. Select the small or large box to zoom
			in or out using the left button. The same control
			can be achieved by always selecting the same box
			but using left or right buttons to zoom in or out.

[REMOVE CORPSES ICON]	Left button removes all corpses currently on the
			battlefield.
			Right button removes bodies as they fall. Reselect
			to cancel.

The map can be centred on any man by selecting him with the right button.

The first two levels of magnification have a frame showing the area visible
at the next level of magnification. At the first level of magnification
where the whole map is seen, the frame can be centred about any area of the
map be selecting a new centre.

TROOP CONTROL
-------------
Select a man to obtain an information display. If you select a man using
the right button, then the map will recentre about that man. The
information given will depend upon the level of magnification and the
status of the company.

The information shown is:-
	FIRST		colour of army and number of men remaining.

	THEN 		identity of regiment and men in regiment.

	OR		identity of regiment and company, and men in
			company.

	THEN		strength of the individual selected represented by
			a bar.

When a man from your own army has been selected then a commands menu is
displayed. Cavalry and infantry have different menu options. Commands will
either be for the regiment or company indicated in the information display.
Regimental orders are obeyed by all companies of a regiment (except SCOUTS)
and override company orders.

The first five options in the command menu are movement orders:
	for Cavalry	TURN, WALK, TROT, GALLOP, CHARGE

	for Infantry	TURN, WALK, RUN, CHARGE, WITHDRAW

When the command is selected outlines of the selected group appear in the
map window. Use the cursor to kove these outlines to their required
destinations and click the left mouse button to confirm the order or the
right button to abandon the command.

The REFORM command instructs a company or regiment to return to formation
about their company commanders. Company commanders will not reform about
their regimental commander.

SCOUTS
------
The SCOUT command detatches a company from the regimentla chain of command.
If this command is issued at regimental level, all companies in the
regiment will be put on scouting duty. When a company is in scouting mode,
the message in the command menu changes from SCOUT to SCOUTING. Select
SCOUTING to return a company to the regimental chain of command. Companies
can only be returned to regimental control on an individual basis.

If a regimental commander is killed then all companies in the regiment will
be permanently assigned scouting duties.

                             COMBAT AND TERRAIN
			     ------------------

¤ When opposing men meet, they will AUTOMATICALLY FIGHT each other.

¤ COMBAT EVALUATION primarily involves, the strength of the opponents, and
their relative positions. Extra strength is awarded to men who are
charging, and to spearmen who are fighting horsemen.

¤ TERRAIN is an important consideration for combat strategy, speed and ease
of movement, and for conserving energy.

¤ GOING UPHILL will use more energy and slow men down, although coming
downhill is no easier then travelling on level ground.

¤ SAND, ICE, and WATER slow troops down and drain more energy. If you stand
about for too long in these places you could eventually die of exhaustion.

¤ WOODS and FORESTS are more difficult to travel than open ground.

¤ HAMLETS and VILLAGES present no hazard and you may pass through them
refreshed with the nourishment they provide.

¤ The FASTER you travel the more energy you use. You should only charge for
short distances, as the extra energy used will soon outwiegh the combat
strength bonus.

                                 END OF GAME
				 -----------

When one Prince is killed, no further orders may be issued, but any orders
already given will be followed to their natural conclusion. If the second
Prince is killed by men following previously issued orders, then no army is
awarded victory.

A player who surrenders cannot obtain a draw, even if the other Prince
dies.

Blind or double blind will be deselected to give full visiblity of all men.

Select QUIT to return to the title screen.

                                  GAME SAVE
				  ---------

SAVING A GAME
-------------
This option is available on the game screen. Games may be saved on the game
disk. Only one game can be saved per disk. In two player mode each machine
must have a seperate disk.

Game save disks should be as follows:-

	ATARI ST	Any formatted disk may be used

	AMIGA		Any disk may be used

Do not use ST or AMIGA disk for any other files or data.

                            LOADING A SAVED GAME
			    --------------------

   One player game   	As soon as the saved game has loaded, play resumes.

   Two player game	Both players should load their saved game. When the
			saved games have been loaded the communications
			dialogue box appears. When communications are
			established, the game resumes.

              *** - NOT BAD FOR AN  A T A R I  GAME !!!! - ***
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