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F.A.Q. - Playing the Game |
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| Playing the game |
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- What are "Secret Allies"?
Secret Allies is the most exciting Massive Assault’s concept. Before the World War starts, both players get equal set of allied countries, which are NOT visible or known to the enemy. You can disclose any of your Secret Allies at any moment, getting a contingent of fresh troops. But you don’t have to disclose all of your Secret Allies - you may keep one or a couple of them until the latest stages of war and then surprisingly disclose it (them), shifting the power balance to your advantage.
- What is "Guerrilla"?
If your enemy invades a Neutral country or your disclosed Ally, you are given the right to raise local resistance forces - Guerrillas and place them in any part of the country. They are quite small in numbers, but they move and fire first, so they may be very effective for various sorts of saboteur actions, such as blocking narrow passes, occupying the capital, destroying valuable enemy units, etc.
- What are the turn’s Phases?
They are:
- Guerrilla Phase - you raise local resistance forces in the countries invaded by the enemy during the previous turn
- Movement & Combat Phase (or just "Combat" for short) - you move your units and fire
- Recruitment Phase - you collect Revenue and recruit new units in every country where you have Control
- Disclosure Phase - you can disclose any one of your Secret Allies
- How does resource management work in Massive Assault?
Massive Assault does not have resource gathering or management systems so typical for RTS’s. And it was done deliberately. This game is concentrated on political intrigues plus military strategy and tactics. The developers believe that the gameplay would become less dynamic if there were any sort of resource management elements. The only economic aspect is the fact that conquered and controlled territories bring periodic revenue, which can be used for recruiting new units.
- If I changed my mind and want my unit (which has already moved and fired) to move to another place or fire at another target - what should I do?
Use UNDO or REWIND buttons - they allow you to cancel (without any negative consequences) your unit’s action(s) and redo them.
- It seems that my units can fire at multiple targets - I can select my unit, which has already fired, and fire at another enemy unit - what’s going on?
When your unit, which has already fired, fires at another target, the fire is REDIRECTED! In other words, the previous fire is cancelled (i.e. the target regains its lives) and your new target suffers the fire. This is done for your convenience, so that you don’t have to click REWIND or UNDO every time you changed your mind about which target to select - this allows you more flexible experimenting with your fire concentration.
- What is the difference between UNDO and REWIND functions?
REWIND button rewinds the last unit that moved/shot. If you keep clicking REWIND, you will see the units "jumping back" in the succession opposite to how you moved them. UNDO can be activated when one of your units is selected - UNDO cancels the movement/shooting of this particular unit, no mater when the unit performed that action - and you don’t have to rewind the whole queue of your movements.
Important Note: sometimes, after you apply UNDO to a particular unit, some other units may move back automatically - this means that the selected unit brought to its initial place block the movement of those other units.
- I selected "Don’t show this message again" option after reading a message box with explanations, which popped up during the game, and now it seems that I am missing some important gaming info. Can I return those messages back?
Yes. Click Menu, then Options then Gameplay Settings and there you can switch on/off those message groups.
- What are these long yellow arrows appearing while I am making my turn?
These yellow arrows show at which enemy unit your unit has fired. They are not too aesthetic but they are extremely useful during combat. You can switch them off: click Menu, then Options then Gameplay Settings and uncheck Show fire arrows checkbox.
- Why sometimes the enemy units regain their lives?
It may happen when you use REWIND or UNDO options, or when you REDIRECT unit’s fire or move the unit, which has already fired. All these actions lead to the cancellation of the unit’s previous fire. You may always repeat your cancelled action and repeat the firing.
- What are those red circles around units?
They show the unit’s fire range.
- What are terrain types in Massive Assault?
Here is the list of the game’s terrain types (with corresponding spot’s colors):
- Blue = water
- Thick Green or Thick Red - they "highlight" certain countries during Disclosure, Guerrilla or Recruitment Phases - you can click on such a country to mobilize/raise/recruit troops.
- Yellow - open terrain
- Orange - desert terrain
- Thick Green - forest
- White - road
- What is the difference between the folded and unfolded flags over the cities?
A folded flag means that this country is your SECRET Ally - i.e. it was not disclosed yet, and your enemy does not know about that. The enemy does NOT see these folded flags and for him/he this country looks like ordinary Neutral country.
Unfolded flag means that this country has been DISCLOSED - i.e. it is visible for both opponents, and if the enemy captures it, he/she will get the Indemnity.
- I have invaded a Neutral country and destroyed all enemy Guerrilla units - why don’t I get Revenue?
You must also capture the capital (city) - that will constitute full Control.
- I have captured a Neutral country and occupied the capital, why don’t I get Indemnity?
Indemnity can be received only from enemy DISCLOSED Ally - never from a Neutral country or undisclosed enemy Ally.
- What does "Possible" label mean (in the "Alliance" spot in the right-hand control panel)?
It means, that this country can theoretically be the enemy’s Secret Ally, but you cannot tell for sure - it may appear to be just an ordinary Neutral country.
- What are Neutral countries? And how can I be sure that a country is 100% Neutral?
Neutral country is neither your nor enemy Secret Ally. If it’s not your Secret Ally - you know it for sure, of course. However, ANY Neutral country, which is not you Secret Ally may appear to be enemy Secret Ally - that’s why they are marked with "Possible" label in the "Alliance" spot.
You can be 100% sure that a particular country is NOT enemy’s Secret Ally in the following cases:
- if the enemy invades it - because the invasion into your own Secret Allies is not allowed
- If the enemy has disclosed ALL his Secret Allies of the same economic type
Such 100% Neutral countries are marked by "Neutral" label in the "Alliance" spot.
- If I invade the enemy Secret Ally, does he/she have to disclose it?
NO! Secret Allies can be kept unrevealed as long as their owner wishes, no matter if the country is invaded or not.
- How do I select a Bomber?
To select a Bomber, which resides in the city - you should click in the CENTER OF THE CITY, not the Bomber. If there are a couple of Bombers in the city - you will be asked to select one of them. To select a Bomber, which resides on a Carrier - you should click on the Carrier.
- Can I save Disclosure money for future turns? What about Guerrilla and Treasury money?
Disclosure and Guerrilla money - NO - they cannot be saved for the future turns - they must be spent entirely during the given turn. However, the Treasury money (collected as Revenue and Indemnity) can be left for the following turns.
- I invaded a Neutral country and immediately occupied the capital - why can’t I get the Revenue?
There is an exceptional rule: If you invade a country and establish Control during the same turn - you will NOT get Revenue or Indemnity (if it was enemy Ally) at once - you will have to wait for the enemy to raise Guerrilla.
- How do I establish Control in a country?
Two things are required to establish Control in ANY country:
- NO enemy units on the territory
- you control the capital (its basement should be of your color).
You don’t have to keep your unit inside the capital forever - it may leave the city after it enters it.
- Why can’t I see enemy units or countries when World War starts?
The first turn of any World War game is a "Initial Disclosure Phase" - both players are conducting simultaneous blind deployment. That’s why neither you nor your enemy can see each other’s Secret Allies being disclosed or units being deployed. Only when both players disclose their first two countries, these two countries become visible to both parties.
- How can I get to know if a particular enemy unit will be able to fire at my unit?
When you keep SHIFT button of your keyboard pressed, you may see red circles over some enemy units. Such circle means that this enemy unit will be able to fire at the spot, at which the mouse cursor is pointing at the moment. Note that enemy unit’s movement during the next turn is also taken in consideration!
- Can I see the entire map grid?
Yes, just click Ctrl while playing.
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