CONVOY ====== by David Thorpe Spectrum 48k Relive the excitement of one of the greatest dramas in the history of man. Take control of the greatest naval encounter of all time. As Commander in Chief of either the British or German navies during World War II, plan the strategies of your fleet with absolute realism and frightening consequence. Instructions to play WARNING!! In selecting your flagships, keep secret each other's flagship or the unfair advantage from knowing your opponent's central control will terminate the game early. Introduction Convoy is a naval strategy game, incorporating all aspects of naval warfare in the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea during World War II. It is a game for two or more players, who represent the British and German sides. Each player is the Commander in Chief of a fleet of warships, an air force, and a merchant fleet. The majority of famous capital ships of the period are included, and will sail at the authentic maximum speeds. Object of the Game The object of the game is to supply your own country by means of Merchant Ship Convoys, whilst blockading your opponent so that his stocks and supplies dwindle in relation to your own. Winning the Game - There are three ways to defeat your opponent. 1. Sinking your opponent's flagship - At the start of the game both sides choose a flagship, you will not know which ship is your opponent's flagship. You must take special care of your own flagship, as you, the Commander in Chief, are sailing in your flagship, and if you sink by bad navigation or enemy action, then you will be unable to command and you will lose the game. 2. Winning by successful blockading - If you sink sufficient of your opponent's merchant ships so that your opponent's stocks reach zero, and your own stocks are more than zero, then you will win the game. 3. Winning by conquering your opponent's territory - If your stocks are more than 10,000 tons less than your opponent's, then you will start to lose territory (this will be indicated on the screen map, by a change of colour) and you will lose airfields and ports contained in that territory. If your stocks are more than 30,000 tons less than your opponent's then you will also lose the game, because you homeland will have been occupied by your opponent. NB: At the start of the game the German Player occupies France and Norway. Navigation Map: The map on the reverse side, and the screen map are identical and represent the conflict area, which includes the North Atlantic, the North Sea and the Denmark Strait, north of Iceland. Map Scale: The larger squares on the map have a South and East reference and are 124 nautical miles square. The smaller squares on the map (64 in each large square) have a latitude and longitude reference and are 15,5 miles square. Navigation Points to Remember 1. Your ship must remain within the map area or it will be wrecked. 2. You set the course and speed of your ships, they will continue on course at the speed set, until you alter them. You only get the opportunity to change course every 15,5 hours so you must bear in mind the distance they will travel in this period. This distance is dependent on the speed of your ship and the existing weather conditions (which are printed on the screen map). Your ship will travel 1 small square for each knot of speed, in the 15,5 hour time period: eg a ship set to travel at 30 knots will travel accross 30 small squares in the 15,5 hour period, providing the weather is perfect. The distance travelled being 465 nautical miles. In an 85 knot wind this same ship would only have travelled accross 24 small squares, or 372 nautical miles (a difference of 93 nautical miles). Table of Weather Effects on Speed Wind Speed Reduction in Speed Wind Speed Reduction in Speed you have set you have set 85-71 knots 6 knots 31-24 knots 2 knots 70-55 knots 5 knots 23-8 knots 1 knot 54-47 knots 4 knots 7-0 knots No reduction 46-32 knots 3 knots Navigation Hazards 1. Docking Your Ships in Port - You must remember to reduce the ship's speed to zero if you have sailed into the confines of a port or the ship will wreck. (For the purposes of the game all ports are 1 large map square in dimension). 2. Minefields and Pack Ice Hazards - You must make sure that your ship does not finish the 15,5 hour time period within the confines of a minefield or Pack Ice area. 3. Sailing Around Land Masses - You cannot sail directly across Land Masses during the 15,5 hour time period. However you can cut some corners! But take care, especially through the English Channel. Convoys The British Player has 24 merchant ships in his first convoy, the German Player has 12 ships, the difference is to balance the game in the initial stages as the British Player has twice the distance to travel to land his convoy in a home port. British convoys travel from the extreme Western edge of the map to either Portsmouth or Glasgow (you must be careful that Portsmouth has not fallen into enemy hands or your convoy will be captured in the port). German convoys travel from Trondheim in northern Norway to either Keil or Wilhelmshaven. If your convoy arrives safely at a home port then your stocks will increase by 1,000 tons per merchant ship. Your next convoy will then become available at the initial starting point. You will also get a brand new convoy escort (the British player's convoy escort, corvette, will be in Glasgow and you will note that it only has enough fuel to escort the convoy for the last 1,000 miles of the journey). The number of ships in the new convoy will be determined by the number of stocks held in your home country. So that the more stocks you land the more merchant ships you get. NB: Watch your stocks carefully as they will be reduced every 15,5 hours at an increasing rate. Fuel To refuel your ships you must return to a home port, however, the German Player has a tanker, the 'Altmark', from which the German Player can refuel at sea. The ship refuelling from this tanker must be at the exact latitude and longitude of the tanker to enable the transfer of fuel (this is tricky in bad weather). To compensate the British Player, he may refuel his ships to the west of longitude 8 on the western edge of map. Damage to Ships by Enemy Action Warships will take up to 60 points of damage before sinking. Merchant ships will sink with any damage at all. If your ship is damaged, its speed will be reduced according to the severity of the damage, its ability to fire will also be relatively impaired. Repair to Damaged Ships Your ship can be repaired in a home port. NB: submarines must remain on the surface in port in order to be repaired. Leaking Fuel If your ship damage reaches 51 points then your ship will start to leak fuel. Rudder Damage If your ship damage reaches 58 points then your ship will leak fuel and your ship will be inoperable as you will be unable to steer the ship. Ship Without Fuel or with Rudder Damage If your ship is in this predicament then you will require a tow back to a home port. Towing To obtain a tow you must sail your convoy to the exact latitude and longitude of the immobile ship and a merchant ship will be detached and will tow your ship to port under your control (the fuel level of the towed ship represents the fuel of the towing merchant ship). Submarines All submarines carry 18 torpedoes each, and if your submarine uses all 18 torpedoes then you must return to a home port to re-stock. Submarines under the surface will travel at half the speed set. If a submarine is on the surface it will be more vulnerable to gunfire or bombing. However, aircraft do not appear at night so your submarine can travel on the surface without fear of air attack. Aircraft Carriers These are used by the British Player only. It may appear unfair that (during the aircraft phase of the game) the position of your carrier is revealed. However the planes are flying at the start of the 15,5 hour time period, so if your carrier is moving then it could be more than 400 miles away from the revealed position. Siting In bad visibility the odds of making contact are 10 to 1, so it is relatively safe to venture out in bad visibility which also includes fog. Replacements As soon as the British Player loses a battleship or Aircraft Carrier, he will receive a replacement at Scapa Flow. Total British replacements are 5 battleships and 3 Aircraft Carriers. As soon as the German Player loses a battleship or U-boat he will receive a replacement at Wilhelmshaven. Total German replacements are 2 battleships and 13 U-boats. Time There is no time limit on this game, and the game can be recorded at any point and will recommence on reloading exactly at the point at which you recorded it. Make sure you have a new tape to record the game on, and that your recorder is set correctly. Please note that there are 15 separate items of information to record when saving the game, and a key must be pressed after each section has been recorded. Aircraft You can protect your ships or ports by positioning your aircraft directly over them, consult the map and find the correct range and direction for your covering aircraft. Action Sequences All action sequences are enacted after ships or aircraft have sighted each other. Ship to ship contact is resolved automatically and all the ships involved are depicted and are identified, together with the map reference of the action. The aircraft action is determined by yourselves - you control the bomb release on the aircraft by joystick or keyboard and again the action area is depicted (including ports) together with the target ship. NB: Obviously the German Player must not look at the screen when the British Player is signalling his ships and vice versa. Both players may look at the screen togther after the German Player has finished signalling. Good hunting! BRITISH SHIPS TYPE MAX SPEED 1 HMS HOOD BATTLECRUISER 31 KNOTS 2 HMS PRINCE OF WALES BATTLESHIP 29 KNOTS 3 HMS RENOWN BATTLECRUISER 29 KNOTS 4 HMS KING GEORGE V BATTLESHIP 29 KNOTS 5 HMS REPULSE BATTLECRUISER 29 KNOTS 6 HMS VICTORIOUS AIRCRAFT CARRIER 31 KNOTS 7 HMS ARK ROYAL AIRCRAFT CARRIER 30 KNOTS 8 HMS SUFFOLK CRUISER 31 KNOTS 9 HMS SHEFFIELD CRUISER 32 KNOTS 10 HMS BELFAST CRUISER 32 KNOTS 11 HMS THAMES SUBMARINE 21/10 KNOTS 12 HMS TRUANT SUBMARINE 15/7 KNOTS 13 HMS SEALION SUBMARINE 13/6 KNOTS 14 HMS SEVERN SUBMARINE 22/11 KNOTS 15 HMS CLYDE SUBMARINE 22/11 KNOTS 16 CONVOY (UNLIMITED) MERCHANTSHIPS 16 KNOTS 17 CORVETTE (UNLIMITED) CONVOY ESCORT 16 KNOTS REPLACEMENTS HMSWARSPITE BATTLESHIP 24 KNOTS HMS NELSON BATTLESHIP 23 KNOTS HMS MALAYA BATTLESHIP 24 KNOTS HMS DUKE OF YORK BATTLESHIP 29 KNOTS HMS RODNEY BATTLESHIP 23 KNOTS HMS EAGLE AIRCRAFT CARRIER 24 KNOTS HMS ILLUSTRIOUS AIRCRAFT CARRIER 31 KNOTS HMS FORMIDABLE AIRCRAFT CARRIER 31 KNOTS BATTLESHIPS - POCKET BATTLESHIPS AND BATTLECRUISERS FIRE 8 SHOT SALVOS - IF THEY ARE UNDAMAGED CRUISERS FIRE 6 SHOTS SALVOS IF THEY ARE UNDAMAGED DESTROYERS AND CORVETTES FIRE 4 SHOT SALVOS IF UNDAMAGED SUBMARINES CARRY 15 TORPEDOES WHICH ARE FIRED SINGLY AIRCRAFT CARRIERS - MERCHANT SHIPS AND THE TANKER HAVE ONLY ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS AND WILL NOT FIRE LONG RANGE GERMAN SHIPS TYPE MAX SPEED 18 ADMIRA-SCHEER POCKET BATTLESHIP 26 KNOTS 19 GNEISENAU BATTLECRUISER 31 KNOTS 20 SCHARN HORST BATTLECRUISER 31 KNOTS 21 BISMARCK BATTLESHIP 29 KNOTS 22 ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE POCKET BATTLESHIP 26 KNOTS 23 PRINZEUGEN CRUISER 32 KNOTS 24 KOLN CRUISER 32 KNOTS 25 CONVOY (Unlimited) MERCHANTSHIPS 16 KNOTS 26 ALTMARK TANKER 16 KNOTS 27 DESTROYER (Unlimited)CONVOY ESCORT 36 KNOTS 28 U28 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS 29 U29 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS 30 U30 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS 31 U31 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS 32 U32 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS 33 U33 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS 34 U34 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS REPLACEMENTS LUTZOW POCKET BATTLESHIP 26 KNOTS TIRPITZ BATTLESHIP 29 KNOTS U47 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS U48 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS U49 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS U50 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS U51 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS U52 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS U53 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS U54 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS U55 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS U56 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS U57 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS U58 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS U59 SUBMARINE 17/8 KNOTS © 1985 Rino Marketing Limited, 1 Orange Street, Sheffield SI 4DWTel: (0742) 739061 All rights reserved. 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