Handling of the TOS-Action-MenuThe move and attack menus have one important intention: They are designed to help you give only neccessary and useful commands to your titan. This is implemented by not displaying the menus until it is useful to issue new commands to your titan. This should enhance the gameplay by prompting the player with the menu only when the last action is done (move or attack) or when a really important change of the situation has occured. A titan can make only one move action and one attack action at a time. Let's look at a common game situation, for example--the first game second when you have to give your first commands to your titan. Mostly, you'll be prompted first with the move menu. At this time in the beginning of the duel, you'd like to move your titan to a better location. Move ModeTo move your titan, let's say to the next hex in your current direction, you give the move command "run." Once you click the run button, you won't be prompted with the move menu again until your titan has ended his move. If a move into the next hex would last 15 game seconds, you'll be prompted with the menu exactly 15 seconds after you've given the move order. There is no sense in prompting you again with the move menu in second 2 or 5 or any other, because you've already made your move decision. Worse, if you were prompted again with the move menu, your current move would be spoiled (it's the same as using the "break move" button [the call-move in attack mode or the break-move in network standby mode]). If you've ever reached a good firing position that you want to hold for a long time and you don't need the move menu any more, just proceed as follows: Click on "wait" and then "wait on call." This shuts off the move menu until you activate it again from the attack mode (or after 1000 secs, which is a VERY long time). In attack mode, you can click on "call move." This will immediately reactivate the move mode and you'll be prompted with the move menu. But be cautios with "call move," because it spoils the current move order. That is ok if you gave the move order "wait on call," but if the last move order was something like "walk forward" or "run," you are going to break this move and all the time the titan has already been moving is lost. He won't leave his current hex and has to start a new move at the full cost of game seconds. If you're not sure when to leave the current firing position (the hex you're standing in), you have the opportunity to shut off the move menu for a certain time. It will return again once the specified time has passed. To do this, click on "wait," "wait on time," and then define (in the "wait on time" menu) how many game seconds should pass until you want to give an new move order. A good alternative is to shut off the move mode until the enemy you are firing on has made a move. Do this by clicking on "wait," "wait on units," and "targetted foe." Another situation may be the following: You can get rid of the move-menu until you are able to leave the hill. Click on "wait," "wait on recycle," and then "jump ports." This will tell the game not to call move mode until your titan has fully recycled the jump ports and is able to leave the hill. If--in the meanwhile--something important happens so that you have to make a move like turn or swivel you can always force move mode by clicking "call move" from your attack menu. In this case, it wouldn't even spoil something, because you've only been waiting for a recycle, and this can't be spoiled like a "walk forward" or "run." Attack-ModeThe attack menu works in the same manner. After you've given an order in your move menu, you'll be prompted with the attack menu. As you don't have a locked target in the beginning of the game, you can't attack in the first second. So what command may be useful at that time? Well, there are different choices: If you've already spotted an enemy and he is in the range of one or more of your weapons, it would be nice to lock him as a target. In this case, you give the order "lock target." The locking will take a few game seconds to be completed. You'll be prompted with the attack menu again at the moment the locking is complete. Now it's time to click the "fire" button. This initiates the targeting of the weapons. After a few game seconds, you'll be able to shoot. You'll be prompted with attack mode again to choose which weapons to fire at your target. After finishing the attack, close the attack window and you will be prompted with the attack menu again. This time, it makes sense to click on the wait menu and then on "wait on recycle" followed by "any weapon." This means that you don't want to be prompted again with the attack menu until the next weapon has recycled and is ready again to be fired. This "next weapon" will be the weapon with the fastest recycle time. Note that this wait mode has a keyboard shortcut from the attack menu--press n. If you can't spot an enemy and don't have defense systems like flares, you may want to disable the attack menu until an enemy comes into your scan range. Click on "wait," then "wait on units," and finally on "new foe." With this procedure, you tell the game that you don't want to be bothered again with the attack menu until an enemy becomes visible. You will then only be prompted with the move menu. (Note that this is the default state of attack mode upon startup.) It may take several game seconds to spot an enemy; but you will immediately be prompted with the attack menu once this occurs. During the game, your titan may get very hot from firing its weapons and/or damage of the heat regulator. All weapons are ready and you still have a lock on an enemy titan, but you fear that the next shot will heat up the titan from "heat level yellow" to "heat level red". So you decide to wait a little until your titan has reached a lower temperature to avoid the shutdown. If there are no other actions useful during the cooling down, you should proceed as follows: Click on "wait," "wait on heat," and then on the specific heat level you want to reach. You won't be prompted again with the attack menu until the temperature has fallen just beyond the border of that heat level. There are many more triggers for a "wait on..." action. Have a look at the readme file. Good use of these options can speed up the game. Kai SausmikatVicious Byte |