Medieval Heroes is a historical strategy game.
The game takes place in central Europe of the fourteenth century. The game area consists of
the great number of provinces. At the beginning, the player controls one of these provinces.
Every province gives some money to the person who controls it. You can spend collected money
on new troops and capture new territories with their help.
Your goal - to unite all of the provinces under your control and to
build a powerful empire.
Please note, that some of the features described in this document are not available in "Medieval Heroes Free Edition"!
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After selecting "Start New Game", the New Game preferences screen appears.
"Difficulty" This option allows you to choose the game difficulty level:
Easy - for the beginning heroes ;)
Normal - for the practicing heroes,
Hard - ...on this level no one suggests an alliance to you! Don't ask for mercy!
Using the "Nation" option allows you to choose the nation your hero belongs to. Your castle's initial location on the map depends on it:
French - Places you at one of the two castles in the western part of the map,
Germans - Places you in one of the two central castles,
Slavs - The one castle in the eastern part of the map is available.
If there is another player of the same nation on the map, he may suggest entering into an alliance.
There is a list of Heroes under the "Choose Your Hero" option, where you can choose
the hero you want to play. The names of the hero depend on the nation selected.
There are hero's skills opposite every name in the list:
The number of icons shows "Tactics" skill value.
It influences the attack force of all the hero troops.
icons
show "Covert operations" skill value.
Success of "Scout"
and "Robbery" operations depends on this value.
There are buttons in the bottom part of the screen:
"Back" - to return to start menu;
"Help" - to read help for this screen;
"Start" - to start the game.
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Main screen overview |
This is the main screen
of the game.
By using the controls on this
screen, you can do all of the
actions available in the game.
Hint: to get more information on
any icon on the main screen
just tap it.
On the top of the main screen you can see a menu scroll with following buttons and icons:
- tap this icon to open
the game menu (you can also press standard menu area silkscreen button of your Palm). Menu items:
Report - shows last turn report;
Pass Turn – ends your turn;
Preferences - opens game preferences scroll;
End Game – ends current game and returns to the start menu.
Use "Domain" button to switch the map to "Domain" mode. In this mode you can get information about players and their domains (for more details go to "Domain mode").
– current amount of gold in your treasury.
Use the "Recruit" button to open the 'Recruit Army' scroll. Using it you can recruit new units to your campaign army (for more details go to "Recruit army").
In the center of the main screen you can see the map divided into 21 provinces.
To perform any action on the map you have to select a province first. To select a province just tap its interior part.
The currently selected province flashes smoothly. The location of your campaign army is shown as a banner on the map.
Note: A double-click lets you perform any available (default) action in addition to province select.
Below the map you can see the campaign army control scroll.
The size of the campaign army is shown in the left part of the scroll.
One of three buttons ("Move", "Transfer" or "Attack") can appear in the right part of the scroll:
Use the "Move" button to move the campaign army to the selected province.
The button appears, if:
1) the selected province belongs to you;
2) if your campaign army is not there yet;
3) the province can be reached without crossing the enemy area.
Use the "Transfer" button to transfer units between your campaign and guardian armies (for more details go to "Transfer"). This button appears, if campaign army is in the selected province.
Use the "Attack" button to attack the selected province
with your campaign army (for more details go to "Battle").
The button appears, if:
1) selected enemy province is next to your domain;
2) campaign army can reach the province.
On the bottom of the main screen you can see a scroll with information on the province currently selected on the map.
On the first line you can find:
The province name (sometimes short),
The
one turn tax revenue for the province,
The number of potential vassals in the province,
The last icon shows the dominating nation of the province.
The next line shows the strength of the guardian army in the selected province. This information may be not available, if the province belongs to your enemy. In that case, one of the buttons "Scout" or "Robbery" may appear in the right corner:
The "Robbery" button allows you to control your raiders. They can rob a selected castle (for more details go to "Robbery"). Note: The "Robbery" button appears when the enemy province is selected and there is a castle on its area.
The "Scout" button allows you to find out the approximate strength of the enemy army that defends the selected province (for more details go to "Scout"). Note: The "Scout" button appears when enemy province is selected next to the area you control and strength of the army is still unknown.
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"Recruit army" overview |
Use this scroll to recruit units (or buy trebuchet) for money. New units will join your campaign army immediately.
Hint: to call this scroll use the "Recruit" button of the main screen.
Note: your turn ENDS after you press "Recruit" button.
Hint: to get more information on any icon on this scroll just tap it.
Any gold that is left in your treasury after recruiting will be shown in the top part of the scroll.
Arms and number of units (soldiers or trebuchets) that you want to get are shown below.
The number of units ordered is in the left column.
The icon next to it allows you to get info about every
arm (Swordsmen, Archers, Knights,
Trebuchets).
The price is in the right column.
Use the "Recruit" button to recruit the troops specified. Your
turn ENDS after recruiting.
Press the "Cancel" button to cancel recruiting.
Swordsmen are universal units that can be used both during castle siege and field battles. They don't cost a lot, have a good attack force and normal vitality, but they are slow on the field.
Details:
Damage: 1
Hit Points: 3
Speed: 1
Cost: 1 coin
Advantages:
They are capable to get over the moat surrounding the castle.
Disadvantages:
When retreating they may be destroyed by enemy knights.
Archers are special combat troops used for ranged attack. They are quite expensive, have good vitality. Their attack is not very strong and aiming is time proportional to the distance of the target. The principal disadvantage is that after the first army arrangement, archers can't be moved any more!
Details:
Damage: 1
Hit Points: 3
Speed: can't move!
Cost: 4 coins
Advantages:
Ranged attack.
They are effective during castle defense.
Disadvantages:
They can't move on the battle field.
They can't resist enemy swordsmen and knights
when fighting them directly.
When the enemy is in a state of siege archers damage reduces by half.
When retreating they may be destroyed by enemy knights.
The elite troops of the army, feudal lords, brought up mastering mounted combat. Their training, tournaments and battles have turned them into the best fighting machines your fledgling empire can have. Knights - excellent horsemen, they have incredible vitality and they are very expensive...
Details:
Damage: 3
Hit Points: 9
Speed: 2
Cost: 5 coins
Advantages:
Move at high speeds.
High vitality.
Speed/strength of attack is higher than swordsmen.
One knight can destroy one retreating enemy swordsman or archer.
Disadvantages:
High price.
They are unable to get across the moat surrounding the castle.
Trebuchets - stone throwing machines that use counterbalance and sling principle. Used to destroy walls during a castle siege.
Details:
Cost: 15 coins
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Use this scroll to transfer units between your campaign army and guardian army.
Hint: To transfer troops, press the "Transfer" button on the main screen. The button appears on the campaign army control panel (on the main screen) when your campaign army is on the selected province.
In the center, the combat unit type is shown.
The number of troops the guardian army has is on the left,
The number of troops the campaign army has is on the right.
Press the arrows to move troops from the Guardian Army to the Campaign Army.
Use the "Accept" button to accept the transfer and "Cancel" button - to cancel.
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"Domain Mode" - special map view.
Here you can find available information about any of the lords taking part in the current game.
Hint: To use this feature, press the "Domain" button on the main screen.
The selected domain flashes smoothly on the map in the center of the screen.
Below the map you can see the scroll with following information:
In the first line of the scroll has the name of the lord (who owns the domain selected on the map).
On the second line displays the lord's nation and his skills:
The number of icons show his "Tactics" skill value.
This skill influences the attack force of all the hero troops.
icons
show "Covert operations" skill value.
The success of "Scout"
and "Robbery" operations depends on this value.
The last line shows the total amount of tax revenues for all the provinces of the selected domain for one turn.
To leave the mode, use "Domain" button again.
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Use this scroll to control your scouts. They can collect info about the approximate enemy guardian army strength of the selected province. Cost: 1 coin for a scout.
Hint: To use this scroll press the "Scout" button on the main screen. This button appears on the province info panel (on the main screen), when an enemy province next to yours is selected and its guardian army strength is still unknown.
The province name is shown on the first line of the scroll.
The lord's name is shown on the second line of the scroll.
Below, after the
icon the amount of gold is shown, that remains in your treasury after scout operation.
The operation's probability of success is next to the
icon. Success depends on your and your enemy's "Covert operations" skill.
Use the "Scout" button to scout a selected province and "Cancel" to cancel the operation.
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This scroll is used to control your raiders. Their aim - to steal money from a selected castle.
Hint: To use this scroll, press the "Robbery" button on the main screen. The button appears on the province info panel (on the main screen), if the selected province has a castle on its territory.
If your operation succeeds, you get all the money your enemy currently has.
Note: operation preparation takes one turn to complete, therefore after giving the order, your turn ENDS.
On the first line of the scroll you can see name of the lord, whose treasury your raiders are going to attack.
You can select number of raiders below. This number is limited; it depends on your "Covert operations" skill and equals 5 + skill value. To prepare one robber you need 1 coin.
Next to the
icon the amount of gold is shown, that remains after the robbery operation.
The probability of success rate is next to the icon.
Your raiders one by one will try to rob the enemy treasury.
Success of every robber depends on your and your enemy's "Covert operations" skill
and shown on the left of "x". The number of attempts is on the right (it is the number of raiders).
For more details go to "Covert operations" skill.
Use the "Robbery" button to rob the selected castle, after that your turn ends.
To cancel, use the "Cancel" button.
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When your hero troops encounter enemy troops in one province, they go into action.
Note: preparing your campaign army for attack takes one turn.
The scroll with the info about armies’ strength appears.
In case of a field battle, it is possible to switch into "Quick battle" mode. It is convenient when quick results are required. This mode is similar to the common battle mode with auto ordering selected without the battlefield showing. The current armies' strength is shown instead of this.
If "Quick battle" mode is not selected, you are allowed to arrange your army on the battlefield.
The battle goes on until one of the armies is destroyed or until one of the heroes retreats. (For more details go to "Retreat").
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Menu panel |
It is located in the top part of the screen:
- click this icon to call up the game menu (you can press the standard menu area of your Palm as well). Menu items available:
Retreat - to retreat from the battlefield;
Preferences – to open the battle preferences scroll;
"Auto" button. You can order on your own or use "Auto ordering" mode, "Auto" lets you switch to this mode and break it. When "Auto" selected, computer gives orders to your army. You may break it at any time. In this case your army may still carry out previous order, but you can cancel or replace it.
Use the "Pause" button to pause the battle. At this time one can take in a situation and give an order to the army. Pressing "Pause" again allows the battle to resume.
During the battle between "Auto" and "Pause" buttons an icon appears. It may be the bridge icon to control a drawbridge (for more details go to "Castle defense, bridge") or the trebuchet icon to control firing at the castle (for more details go to "Castle defense, trebuchet").
The Battlefield is in the center of the screen. It is a rectangular area divided into squares.
Swordsmen and knights can move on the field, archers remain in their initial position until the end of the battle. During the castle siege or defense the moat and the castle walls turn out to be additional obstacles (or defenses if you're defending a castle).
The Army control panel is located under the battle field map.
The left icon shows combat arm selected.
Orders being executed are shown in the center.
Icons for canceling and accepting orders are in the right part of the scroll.
For more details go to "Commanding troops".
In the bottom part of the screen, all accessible information during the battle is displayed.
The section consists of two lines - on the first line is the information on your armies, and on the second - the armies of the opponent:
The total number of surviving soldiers of each arm is shown on the left.
On the right icon ,
shows the "Tactics" skill of the hero, the leader of the army.
Force of attack depends on his soldiers’ skill.
During the fight any of battling heroes can give the armies the order to retreat. The only time an army cannot retreat is when it defends the castle.
To retreat, it is necessary to choose "Retreat" from the menu.
The army of the retreating hero will sustain additional losses only if there are knights in the army of the opponent. The hero CANNOT be lost when retreating!
During the battle, the campaign army of one hero attacks guardian army of another. The campaign army always acts from the left part of the screen, guardian army defends on the right part. Soldiers of the human player are colored blue, and soldiers of a computer - red.
The army of each side can consist of three various combat arms - swordsmen, archers and mounted knights. During a siege, trebuchets may also take part in a fight.
All of the soldiers of one type gather in one or in several squads (depending on how many there are). All the soldiers from one squad carry out the same action (e.g. attack one target). The number of squads for each arm is limited to four. The stronger the army, the greater number of squads are formed.
On the battlefield the squad occupies one cell and is displayed as one swordsman, archer or knight.
Note: Remember, that such a display is just a schematic,
and each squad can contain a plenty of soldiers.
Above each squad on the battlefield is its approximate strength (or number of hit points) is shown. It is displayed as a white strip whose length is proportional to number of the soldiers who have survived.
All actions (arrangement, giving orders) during the battle are performed on the currently selected group of squads. They are marked with a white aureole around the troop’s image in the bottom part of the screen on (the battling armies' info panel), and also around each group which is taking part in the battle on the field.
To select group, press its image on the battling armies' info panel or touch any squad on the field.
Note: You are allowed to select only your own troops.
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Before the beginning of the battle it is necessary to place the armies on a battle field. The area accessible to troop allocation is displayed as a grid.
After pressing any of the highlighted cells of the grid, selected troops will be located in the specified area. It is possible to give orders to squad and to confirm the actions by pressing the check mark.
Note: the width of the area accessible to troop allocation depends on the "Tactics" skill of the hero.
After the last group of troops are placed, the "Start" button appears. To change troop arrangements, just choose the group you wish to relocate and specify its new position.
By default, archers are placed first on the battlefield, then swordsmen and at last knights. Again, troop deployment can be changed by selecting the group you want to move. The selection is carried out by pressing the appropriate image in the bottom section of the screen.
By pressing the "Auto" button, the initial arrangement of armies and giving orders are carried out automatically. The "Start" button does not appear, and the battle begins automatically.
There are three types of orders to give to your army: "defense", "move" and "attack". Each squad will simultaneously can carry out only one of these commands at any one time.
Orders are given separately for each squad. It is possible to give several orders at once, which will be distributed to all the free squads. The first squad that is awaiting new orders will execute the next order from the unexecuted list.
Different orders have a different priority. The "defense" command has the lowest priority and is carried out only if there are no other orders. The command of moving has the highest priority and is carried out first by squads awaiting orders.
First, it is necessary to choose the squads to which the order will be given. The current list of commands is displayed on the army control panel.
To give a "defense" order, clear out the list of orders, by pressing on a delete symbol. Then only the image of a shield will be displayed in the list.
To give a "move" order to a group of squads press the battle field in that place where it is necessary to collect squads. As soon as a squad reaches a point of gathering, it is ready to perform further orders. When all the squads visit a point of gathering, the order on moving automatically leaves the order list.
To "attack" an enemy squad, just select the opponent you wish to attack on the battlefield. You can select up to five targets simultaneously. In this case all the targets will be distributed to all the free squads (which don't attack anybody) with the same priority. I.e. if you have 4 free squads, and you have specified 4 targets for them, one squad will be directed against each target.
To remove any order from the list, it is necessary to choose the appropriate icon and to press the delete symbol. Remember. if you press delete for a squad that has no orders, it will automatically defend.
Commands being carried out are displayed: for a command of moving in a point of gathering, a cross is drawn, for a command of attack on a squad of the opponent a sword or a crosshairs is drawn.
During field battle, knights, who are well protected and can move quickly, have great advantage over the other unit types.
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Each castle is surrounded by a moat. In the water all soldiers lose 25% of their protection. The speed of their movement is slowed down by half.
The castle walls protect the armies which are defending the castle. The force of archers' attacks are reduced by half when shooting at targets behind the castle walls. The walls can be destroyed with the help of a (or many) trebuchet.
A castle siege is carried on until the annihilation of the enemy army in the castle (or the destruction of the attacking army).
Two ways of siege are possible:
1. For a successful capture of the castle, the player may need to destroy the castle walls. After that happens, the swordsmen of the hero, having overcome the moat, rush into the castle. Knights must wait for the drawbridge to be lowered (it happens after the walls are destroyed by trebuchet or after the swordsmen rush to the castle and lower the bridge).
2. If the attacking army has a great number of archers, the destruction of the walls may be not necessary at all. Your archers may be able to destroy the defending army from afar.
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Before a siege, a scroll appears where you need to choose a mode of stone shooting. You can choose between high accuracy of hits or greater rate of fire. To change the mode later (during the battle), press the trebuchet symbol on the top of the screen.
In the top line, the number of available trebuchets is shown.
Below it is possible to set required accuracy of a shot. The higher the accuracy
of the shot,
the more time is required for recharging and aiming.
Note: the number of trebuchets influences only the accuracy of a shot, not speed of shooting! I.e. if you have 3 trebuchets and you have specified accuracy of hits - 33% in preferences, the probability of hit of one stone is considered in the following way: 3 attempts of hit are made, the probability of success of every stone is 33%.
Trebuchets first destroy the walls of the castle. They switch to destroying the castle gate after the two lateral walls of the castle are destroyed.
After the destruction of the gate, the drawbridge breaks. If it was raised, it falls and opens a way to the castle for your knights to invade!
When defending the castle, if the gate is undamaged and you have not been invaded, you can control the drawbridge by selecting the icon at the top of the screen. By lowering the drawbridge, you can allow your army to leave the castle to attack the invaders. Don't forget to raise the drawbridge behind you so they can't sneak in!
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Hint: to call up this scroll, use the "Report" option on the main screen. The important events which have occurred during last turn and concern your hero are listed in the report. |
This section is used to define game parameters according to the player preferences.
The following options are available here:
"End turn confirmation" option includes asking for confirmation about performance of operations which result in the completion of the player's turn. Such operations are attack of a province, army recruiting and robbery of the opponent's treasury.
"Warning" option includes displaying of warning messages in case of danger. For example, when there is a threat to the only castle of the player and no guardian army remains in it, the player is warned about potential danger of losing the castle.
"Newbie messages" option includes displaying of tips, such, as the message on the oath of vassals. Skilled players may wish to turn off this option.
When the "Report after turn" option is used, the report with the list of important events is displayed automatically after turns of all players. The report at any moment also can be seen, by pressing the "Report" option on the main screen.
"Quick battles" option may be useful to those who completely rely on automatic army control. If this option is used, by default at the beginning of the battle, it is offered to the player to use quick battle mode. For more details about Quick battles go to "Battle".
This section is used to define parameters of battle according to the player preferences.
The following options are available here:
"Smart pause" option includes an automatic stop of battle in for when all of the squads have executed all the given orders.
"Use keys" includes use of four bottom Palm keys for a quick selection of squads.
Lord, Hero – independent ruler.
Province - one of the geographic areas that the map is divided into.
Independent Province - a province which does not belong to any of players (lords).
Domain - the independent territory that consists of one or several provinces, seized by the player (lord).
Nation - influences the casual events occurring in a province, and on relations between players. At the beginning of the game players of the same nation as yours (those may not appear) may offer to enter into an alliance.
Alliance - the non-aggression pact between heroes when they agree to battle together against enemies. The alliance breaks up, when one of allies attacks or robs another, and also when all enemies of allies are destroyed.
Vassals - when the campaign army of a lord gets to the free province, all of the nobles in the province swear allegiance to him without a fight, i.e. become his vassals. Each vassal gives one swordsman to the master, but only once. At repeated capture of the province by other player vassals don't break their oath (i.e. don't give an army to other lord)!
Castle - helps to strengthen the defensive capability of a domain and is a refuge for the hero. In case of the capture of the last castle of the player, his domain and some troops pass to the winner. The loser can't be a candidate for a throne.
Campaign army - An army that can be moved from one province to another and with its help the hero can seize the provinces and domains of opponents.
Guardian army - army that constantly is in the territory of the province and protects it in case of an enemy invasion. If the opponent attacks a province where both campaign and guardian armies present, these armies merge for defense.
"Tactics" skill - influences force of attack of the hero's army.
The width of the area accessible for initial army arrangement
also depends on it.
The detailed information:
Value of skill is set at the beginning of the game and does not change during it.
The maximum value of the skill is 4.
The total damage, that any squad of the hero can cause:
"Tactics" skill value |
Real damage (in % of specified in documentation) |
---|---|
4 |
90%-100% |
3 |
80%-100% |
2 |
70%-100% |
1 |
60%-100% |
Now, as you can see, in the information for each combat arms maximum is theoretically
achievable. For example: "Tactics" skill = 2, then 100 archers will cause
the damage to go from 70 up to 100 units for one shot.
Skill also influences an initial disposition in the battle:
The maximum number of the cells accessible to arrangement of armies is 3 + "Tactics" skill value
on the field and outside of the castle. The hero besieged in the castle, always can place
army on the maximum area, i.e. on 5 cells inside the castle.
"Covert operations" skill
- influences the probability of success in "Scout"
and "Robbery" operations. The higher the skill value, your operations
will
become more successful, and operations of the opponent will fail more often.
The detailed information:
Value of skill is set at the beginning of the game and does not change during
it. The maximum value of a skill is 4.
"Covert operation" skills difference |
Probability of success in Scout |
Probability of success in Robbery |
---|---|---|
3 |
90% |
40% |
2 |
85% |
35% |
1 |
80% |
30% |
0 |
75% |
25% |
-1 |
70% |
20% |
-2 |
65% |
15% |
-3 |
60% |
10% |
"Skills difference" means the difference between skill value of the hero which will carry out the operation and skill value of the hero against which the operation will be carried out.
If you are experiencing problems with Medieval Heroes, you can contact us at support@medievalheroes.com. Please, don't forget to write your full name, HotsyncID and activation code in email you send us! Support is guaranteed for the registered users only.
You may also post your questions and comments on a forum at http://www.medievalheroes.com/rus/.
Document Version: March 28, 2003
©2003 Arcona Magi