Games PC GROUND CONTROL User Manual
GROUND
CONTROL
Field Commander’s Handbook
Version 1.61
TABLE OF CONTENTS 0
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Message From Crayven High Command ..............................2
Table of Contents ..............................................................3
1. Introduction ..................................................................5
System Requirements ......................................................6
Installing Ground Control....................................................6
Installing DirectX ..............................................................6
2. Background ..................................................................7
The Order of the New Dawn ..............................................7
The Crayven Corporation ................................................13
3. Quick Start ................................................................20
4. Playing the Game ........................................................21
Single Player Game ........................................................23
Multiplayer Game ..........................................................25
Options ........................................................................26
Credits..........................................................................26
5. The Management Interface ..........................................27
Briefing ........................................................................27
Configure Dropships........................................................27
Configure Squads ..........................................................29
Mission Debriefing ..........................................................30
6. Commanding your Strike Force ....................................31
The Command Environment ............................................31
Camera control ..............................................................31
The Tactical Map ............................................................32
Calling down the Dropships ..............................................33
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You will soon be a commander of a CLSV-601 Command APC, assigned to
active duty on the Crayven heavy cruiser CSS ASTRID attached to 34th Assault
Regiment located to the contested colony of Krig-7B. As a field commander in
the 34th Assault Regiment you will be required to configure your own strike
team as appropriate for missions assigned to you. You and your squads will be
transported to designated combat zones on the planet surface in UV/4
Dropships, where you will personally lead them into battle to complete your
mission objectives. Between active combat duty you will be accommodated
aboard the CSS ASTRID.
The acquisition operation on Krig-7B is under a joint corporate-military jurisdiction and your commanding officer on this campaign will be Director Enrica
Hayes. All information regarding this operation is to be viewed as strictly confidential. Breach of confidentiality will lead to summary execution according to
directive #9, paragraph 65.
To your aid you have received the Ground Control Direct Command Interface
System (GC-DCIS) and the Field Commander’s handbook.
Remember the Crayven Corporation allows you to be all you can be!
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This Field Commander’s Handbook will teach you how to interact with the
Ground Control Direct Command Interface System - GC-DCIS - available
onboard your CLSV-601 Command APC.
The Field Commander’s Handbook also contains a refreshment tactic section
intended to refresh the very basics of the tactics taught at the Ney Vesta
Academy of Martial Arts.
“Configuration of terrain is an aid to the enemy.
Analyzing the enemy, taking control of victory, estimating ravines and defiles, the distant and near, it
the Tao of the superior general. One who knows
these and employs them in combat will certainly be
victorious. One who does not know these or employ
them in combat will certainly be defeated.”
-Sun-Tsu
Please note that the keyboard commands mentioned in this manual are referenced to the default settings. If the default settings have been changed, the
keyboard commands may no longer be true to your system.
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The Squad Buttons ........................................................34
Squad Behavior Menu ....................................................35
Ordering your squads......................................................36
7. Options ......................................................................39
General Options..............................................................39
Video Options ................................................................39
8. Multiplayer ................................................................41
Multiplayer setup............................................................41
Internet Standard game ..................................................45
Internet Drop-in game ....................................................48
Local Area Network (LAN) ..............................................49
9. Ground Control Tactics ................................................50
Knowing your battlefield terrain ........................................50
Line of Sight ..................................................................50
Suppressive Fire ............................................................50
Flanking maneuvers ........................................................51
Friendly Fire ..................................................................51
Combined Arms ............................................................51
Squads and Experience....................................................52
10. Technical Manual ......................................................53
Crayven Corporation units................................................53
The Order of the New Dawn units ....................................68
11. Credits ....................................................................83
12. Technical Support......................................................87
13. Warranty ................................................................88
14. Default Buttons and Key Settings ..............................89
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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Minimum System Requirements
The Ground Control Direct Command Interface System (GC-DCIS) requires that
your Command APC onboard computer is equipped with:
Pentium II 233 MHz or Pentium II 200 with 3D Accelerator Card
32 MB RAM
250 MB HD Space
CD-ROM: 4x or better
640 x 480 SVGA high color (16-bit) 4 MB Video Card
DirectX 7.0a (included on CD)
Windows® compatible sound device
Mouse and Keyboard
Recommended System Requirements
For maximum combat performance Crayven Tactical Military Operations recommend the following:
Pentium II 333 MHz or better
64 MB RAM
3D accelerator card (Glide or Direct3D compatible)
450 MB HD Space
Installing Ground Control
Crayven High Command recommends that you take the time to run Disk
Defragmenter on the current hard drive before you install the game. Disk
Defragmenter is activated via the Start button on the Windows taskbar in the
[programs/accessories/system tools] group. Follow its instructions.
In order to install the GC-DCIS to your Command APC onboard computer safely, you need to insert the Ground Control CD into your CD-ROM and follow the
instructions on the screen.
If no instructions shortly appear, double-click on the “my computer” icon on
your desktop. Double-click on the CD-ROM drive icon. In the file window, doubleclick on the file icon of AUTORUN.EXE. Follow the instructions on screen.
Installing DirectX
The Ground Control Direct Command Interface System requires that you have
Microsoft DirectX 7.0a or higher installed. During the installation your onboard
system will be checked to see if you have correct drivers installed. Should you
require new drivers, you will be asked if you would like to install DirectX 7.0a.
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THE ORDER OF THE NEW DAWN
Introduction
The Order of the New Dawn is Earth’s largest religious faith, and if its financial
strength were rated against the world’s corporations, it would be the third
largest. The Order counts nearly 700,000,000 Faithful among its ranks, and
its holdings range from Mars to the Spinward Reaches.
The Order’s ranks are divided into three great branches of service. The first
of these is the Manus Dei, “the Hands of God”, by far the largest grouping
of the Faithful; of the Order’s 700 million members, nearly 600 million belong
to the Manus Dei. The Hands of God are the workforce of the Order, both
Earthside and abroad. They come from every technical and labor discipline,
and many are recruited directly from the ranks of other corporations. While
there are laws regarding the appropriation of skilled workers between
corporations, religious conversion is currently unrestricted, and so the Manus
Dei is constantly being refreshed with a steady influx of talent. It is not unusual
for the Order to actively try to convert corporate personnel involved in hightech research projects.
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critics are quick to point out that this treasure was not saved merely for the
benefit of humanity. Since 2177, the works collected in the L.A.N. have been
protected under the existing salvage laws of the GCC, and are no longer considered to be “in the Public Domain”. Many irreplaceable classics of human art
and literature are thus copyrighted to the Church in perpetuity, and every reader of Charles Dickens, William Butler Yeats and Joseph Conrad must pay royalties to the church.
The ancient Order also preserved the Spicelegium Dei, “God’s Gleaning”, which
consists of over 700,000 cryogenically preserved tissue samples of human,
plant, and animal life on Earth. The S.D. has been replicated many thousands
of times since 2157, and is still archived by scholars of the Order on Earth,
Europa (Sol 5B), and Proxima 3. It has yet to be surpassed as a reference
library of uncorrupted genetic material from before the Age of Chaos.
Historians estimate that the Order’s underground shelters were opened in the
year 2097, just 48 months after the destruction of the Old World. Although
radiation levels were still dangerous, the brothers and sisters of the Order
quickly realized that the world above them had not been completely destroyed,
and that there were many survivors in need of help. Although their shelters
were not set to open for another fifteen years, the Order opened its doors and
returned to the surface early, hoping to make a difference to the billions of
refugees and convert them to the cause in the process. During the last six
months of a bitter nuclear winter, the Church set up way stations around the
globe to provide shelter to the homeless, and share its remaining supplies with
those in need.
Throughout the Age of Chaos, the Order of the New Dawn built and fortified
over 130 Sanctuaries world-wide. These facilities served many functions in
that dangerous age: to minister to the sick and starving, to provide shelter to
the weary and destitute, to educate the young, and to spread the teachings of
the New Dawn Bible. The most important function of the Sanctuaries, however, was to keep the peace; it was during these years that the armed forces
branch of the Church, the Pax Dei, was established. During this time the Vox
Dei and Manus Dei helped to reclaim thousands of hectares of farmland, and
began carefully supervised breeding programs to re-create many species of
livestock. By luck, faith, or just cold, shrewd sense, the Order came out of the
second Dark Age as the pre-eminent political and spiritual power on Earth.
Unfortunately for the long-term plans of the Order, although the 16 Minutes’
War killed hundreds of millions, destroyed dozens of great cities and brought
the human race very nearly to its knees, the long twilight of chaos was not
enough to kill many major Corporations. By the year 2157, several of these
mighty juggernauts had risen from the ashes, and were once again uniting vast
sections of the Earth under the terms of peace and profit. When the new
Global Central Command was established, the Order of the New Dawn considered it more of a Free Trade organization than an actual powerful ruling body.
This changed when the GCC passed the “Religious Constraint Agreement”-a
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The second branch of the Order is much smaller than the Manus Dei, but without them, no branch of the Order could exist. The Pax Dei, as they are
known—the “Peace of God”, in common tongue-is a standing security force of
over 90 million men and women. These soldiers form the colonial armies of
the New Dawn and see themselves as the Holy Defenders of the Faith, dedicated to protecting the Order and its interests on Earth and throughout the
galaxy. Members of the Pax Dei provide policing and security for the Order’s
settlements on no fewer than fourteen worlds, and they are also called to provide pilots and crew for any and all vessels belonging to the Church. Given
their grounding in the faith of the New Dawn, Pax Dei troops have a very high
morale factor under fire and will often fight to the last soldier unless directly
ordered to retreat.
The third and final branch of the Order is the Vox Dei, “the Voice of God”, and
functions as the spiritual arm of the church. Members of the Vox include
Ministers, Astronomers and Inquisitors. The Order only allows men to join the
ranks of the Vox Dei, and only after many months of continuous indoctrination.
The Ministers effectively rule the Order and make all strategic decisions, both
economic and military. The Sacred Astronomers are the priest-scientists of the
Order, and guide both the exploration of new worlds and research into new
technologies. The Inquisition is the Order’s internal police force and intelligence
division, and their task is to examine threats to the spiritual purity of the Order
from without and within. A sub-branch of the Inquisition trains the BattlePriests; these men accompany most military units to observe behavior in combat, and make sure field commanders are issuing orders that are “spiritually
correct”. The Vox Dei is the smallest of the 3 Order branches, and numbers
slightly over 10 million personnel.
History
Little is known of the earliest days of the Order, which was founded in the troubled years before the Sixteen Minutes’ War. Although it is believed that the
great majority of the Order’s pre-war records survived the nuclear exchange on
March 27, 2093 intact, they are believed to have been lost in the intervening
centuries. Today we know only that The Order of the New Dawn was founded
by a small coalition of men and women of Faith, who united in common cause
during the dark days of the latter 21st century. Foreseeing the coming cataclysm, these early cultists dedicated themselves to preserving as much technology and knowledge as possible, in order to bring about a New Dawn after
the inevitable holocaust. Many analysts have observed that without the Sixteen
Minutes’ War, the Order would have been just another apocalyptic cult.
But the End of the Civilized World did indeed come, and the proto-Order was
ready for it—and even the corporations, no matter what they may think of the
Order in the present day, do not deny the dept all of humanity owes them. The
greatest prize saved by the Order was the Liber Aurorae Novae, the Book of
the New Dawn: millions of digitally stored books, recordings, and images, which
members of the Order chose to save from the coming holocaust. Of course,
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resolve battles as fast as possible. When on the defensive, the Order will use
the speed of its armor to make a series of guerilla raids against enemy supply
and command centers until the enemy advance is slowed and the Order can
regain the initiative.
Despite their dependence on high technology, the backbone of the Pax Dei is
still the powered infantryman. Known as Crusaders, Order infantry takes the
brunt of any assault or defense mission. When combined with the Order’s
Heavy Artillery units, Crusaders can overwhelm almost any defense, and many
a corporate position has gone down under the human wave attacks of the Pax
Dei. While these tactics cost heavily in terms of manpower, the Order training
Seminaries produce Crusaders at the rate of over a million every solar year.
Between advanced weaponry and sheer manpower, the Pax Dei can continue a
campaign long after it becomes too expensive for even the richest corporation.
Intercepted Personnel File
Name: Brother Jarred Stone
Branch: Pax Dei
Rank: Deacon
Age: 29
Height: 5’11
Weight: 170 lbs
Date of Birth: 142-2390
Place of Birth: Rosario Sanctuary, Buenos Aires District
Education: Light of the Pampas Children’s Collective,
Rosario Sanctuary, XXX-2394
Osculum Dei Middle Seminary, 230—2404
Called to the Pax Dei: 015-2410
Basic Training: Dawn Forge Combat Seminary, Brasilia Sanctuary
Advanced training:
Sword of Dawn Testing Grounds, Mons Olympus Sanctuary
Assignment: Pax Dei Crusader Corps, 333-2414
Battle of Guderian Prime, 127-2415
Wounded: Received the Heart of Zion
Awards: The Order of Venus for Courage in the Field of Combat
Fleet Action, Battle of King’
s Cross 256-2416
Wounded: Received the Heart of Zion
Awards: The Star of Dawn for Heroism in the Field of Combat
Promoted to Deacon: 022-2417
Current Assignment: Defense of Krig-7B
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powerful legal block against the Order’s influence in economic matters, and one
that was backed with the armed force of corporate security divisions.
Despite their dedication to peace, the Order did not surrender its power easily,
and open warfare once more scarred the Earth’s surface as the Pax Dei battled corporate troops for control of various power centers. The Order and the
Corporations battled off and on for seventeen years, until a unilateral cease-fire
was signed in 2177, when the World Court announced that the Order would
be allowed to incorporate its holdings. While its power was greatly diminished,
and the Order now found itself constrained by most of the same laws that
bound the Corporations, the Order was still powerful, and retained many of the
lands and cities it had reclaimed during the Dark Years. Since then, The Order
of the New Dawn has been a respected member of the Terran Commodities
Exchange and a powerful corporation in its own right, holding many valuable
copyrights and patents.
Over the past two and a half centuries, the Order has pursued its interests
peacefully whenever possible, but the lesson of 2157 has never been forgotten, and the Church defends its interests with force when necessary.
Pax Dei Technology and tactical doctrines
The Order of the New Dawn has possessed a technological advantage over
the corporations since the end of the Dark Years and, while that lead has been
diminished over the centuries, the Pax Dei still holds the high tech edge over
its opponents. While most corporate forces are restricted to high efficiency
bore cannons and mass drivers for heavy weapons, the Order has used it
mastery of high-energy physics to produce various beam weapons and lightning
generators. These energy weapons pack a much heavier punch than their
projectile counterparts and are, of course, free of logistical constraints like
ammunition.
The Order’s energy manipulation technology is also
displayed in their use of
anti-grav generators as
the propulsion for their
heavy armor units. This
generation of hoverdynes
being currently used by the
Pax Dei in the field are the
first of their kind to see
combat. A hoverdyne is
much faster and more
maneuverable than an
analogous terraydyne, but
it cannot currently pack as much armor. Later generations of hoverdynes may
have more powerful grav generators and hence heavier armor, but for the time
being, Pax Dei armored units will depend on speed and heavy firepower to
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THE CRAYVEN CORPORATION
Introduction
The Crayven Corporation is currently the largest incorporated body listed in by
the Terran Commodities Exchange. The organization employs over
900,000,000 men, women and children on Earth and abroad, and produces
a range of products as well developing vast off-world petrochemical and biological assets.
Crayven Corporation holdings span the known galaxy, from Earth to the furthest reaches of human-explored space. Although the output of Crayven factories, farms and mining facilities offer a wide range of production, they are perhaps best known for their terra-forming projects. Crayven technologies have
been crucial in the terra-forming of a variety of marginal worlds including the
eight colonies that Crayven has established under its sole ownership.
History
The Crayven Corporation began its life in the year 2162, as a small construction company; its original name was Crayven Construction, and it was based on
the Australian continent, jointly owned by the partnership of Crayven, Schindler
and Beck. The founder of the company, Reno Crayven, was a talented businessman and a gifted architect; he formed the triune partnership with
Schindler and Beck to take advantage of their greater capital and political
resources. The services that Crayven Construction provided were very much in
demand by various Australian business concerns during the Heresy War, and
Crayven backstabbed and hamstrung the competition unmercifully in search of
the mot lucrative and influential contracts. His company prospered and expanded, and the year before the armistice of 2177 was signed, Reno Crayven
bought out his partners in a bitter takeover struggle. Amidst rumors of kidnapping and blackmail, Reno consolidated his new company, the Crayven
Corporation, and applied for membership in the GCC in 2178.
The Crayven Corporation grew throughout the Reconstruction era, and many of
the structures that Reno Crayven built between 2178-2202 are still celebrated
as wonders of post-war architecture. The Kenji Arcology on Okinawa, the Sunrise
Cathedral in Monterrey, and the Domed Gardens of Mars are only a few of the
many buildings still standing which bear the stamp of Reno Crayven’s personal
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Jarred Stone was born behind the
walls of the Rosario Sanctuary, in an
Order hospital which had opened its
doors to the poor, and was adopted
by the Order of the New Dawn. He
was given the name Jarred Stone,
after the doctor and nurse who delivered him, and taken to the Light of
the Pampas Children’s Collective,
where the sisters of the Manus Dei
cared for him until his 14th birthday.
At this point, vocational testing
revealed he would best serve the
Order in the ranks of the Pax Dei, as
a soldier. And so he was sent on to
the Forge of Dawn combat seminary.
His first combat trainer, the Paladin Valerius, was so impressed with Brother
Stone’s aptitude for war that he made only one comment on the young man’s
chart: “Jarred Stone will make a perfect soldier; his body is strong and his
Faith is stronger. His one weakness may be that he has no weakness-even
when faced with the impossible, he shows no fear, no doubt, no hesitation.”
In his first year of active duty, Stone served on the line in no less than six
armed conflicts, including the battle of Guderian Prime. There Stone led two
squads of Crusaders over the walls of a Benton-Yutan mining fortress, and
destroyed the automated turrets which held the rest of his company pinned
against the bluffs. The lives of over a hundred of his fellow Crusaders were
thus saved, and although Brother Stone was badly injured, he was still able to
negotiate a peaceful surrender of the fortress without further bloodshed, once
he realized that his commanding officer had been killed in the fighting.
Brother Stone’s initiative and valor earned him a short rest at the Nova Roma
Sanctuary, where he received treatment for the injuries he suffered on
Guderian Prime. As soon as he was able, he rejoined his Company in a fleet
action at King’s Cross, where the Armada of Dawn captured two heavy cruisers belonging to Dai Sheung Heavy Industries.
Brother Stone distinguished himself once more in the boarding action against
the DSS Seoul’s Champion, when he broke though an enemy barricade and
rescued several brothers of the Vox Dei. The brothers, who had been captured by Dai Sheung when their Temple on King’s Cross 3 was destroyed, were
being held onboard the Lafayette for ransom. As a reward for his extreme
heroism, Jarred Stone was promoted to the rank of Deacon and given command of his own Company.
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valor. They did not interfere with the elder Crayven’s plans any further, and the
old man went ahead with his new initiative unopposed.
Crayven personally took the helm of the new division, Crayven Enterprises, and
laid out a bold plan for building a large-scale terra-forming project on Mars.
The result was the Domed Gardens, an indoor paradise containing over 50
square miles of ancient Earth-style forest. Filled with sparkling waterfalls and
lakes, a self-sustaining weather system, and over 5,000,000 species of plant
and animal life, this man-made Eden became the jewel in the Crayven corporate crown-as well as providing a test of Reno Crayven’s terra-forming theories
on an unprecedented scale. With the passing of the six-month milestone for
viability of the Gardens, plans moved forward for the colonization of the planet
known as Vesta 3-better known to us today as the jewel world Ney Vesta.
Because Reno Crayven’s own body was too frail to survive the rigors of FTL
travel, he was never able to see his dream being realized by the planetary engineers, construction crews, and science teams of Crayven Enterprises. Crayven
died on Mars in 2237, in a small pavilion in the center of his Domed Gardens.
A modest granite obelisk stands in the same spot today, and bears a simple
panel of stainless steel with his name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed
on it. It was the only monument stipulated in his will.
For nearly two hundred years since the landing of the first terra-forming crews
on Ney Vesta, the Crayven Corporation has pursued its goal to be first and
foremost among the stars. They have established seventeen colonies on fourteen separate worlds, as well as countless water- and ore-mining facilities on
asteroids and nearby moons. Crayven expertise in both terra-forming and
genetic engineering has made their consulting services the most valuable
investment that any would-be colony can make in its own future. This is why
the Crayven Corporation’s motto hasn’t changed for 182 years: “We Bring
New Worlds to Life”.
Crayven Security Forces
The Crayven military grew from a small self-defense force in the era following
the 16 Minutes’ War to a fully-fledged military unit during the Heresy Wars.
Crayven technology has always placed reliability at the forefront, and while other
Corporations can field equipment with higher performance characteristics,
Crayven vehicles and battle-suits are unmatched in their strength and durability
under fire.
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genius. Most of the profits from these rebuilding projects was funneled into
CrayArms, the wholly owned weapons and ammunition subsidiary of the Crayven
Corporation.
Reno Crayven was more just than a builder and an artist, however; he was
also a visionary. It was his dream not just to indulge his talent for architecture
on Earth, but to shape whole new worlds for the future. The discovery of FTL
drive in 2207 interested him greatly, and for many years he obsessively battled
other members of the GCC for their technological secrets. If his earlier business tactics might be regarded as unscrupulous, the Reno Crayven of this period could be called downright Machiavellian-but as always, he could never be
formally charged with any misconduct, since witnesses or claimants against
him had a tendency to die before they could testify against him. In the year
2231, when he was diagnosed with a rare and terminal form of bone cancer,
many of his enemies rejoiced and began counting his days.
But Reno Crayven was not finished. He was already heavily invested in antigrav and jump drive technologies. Given the limited time he had left among the
living, he decided to risk everything that he had gained from a lifetime of hard
work and sound investment to realize his greater dream. His impending death,
rather than inspiring cautious consolidation or the need to make amends,
made him even more bold in his ambitions; he felt that he had nothing to lose.
Unfortunately, Crayven’s descendants did not agree. While Reno Crayven liquidated billions of dollars of corporate assets, as well as the totality of his personal wealth, to form a new subsidiary known as Crayven Enterprises, his
immediate heirs, the children of his half-sister Murielle Crayven, protested this
endangerment of their long-awaited inheritance. Reno Crayven responded to
their gambit for control of the “family” company by ruthlessly crushing their
attempts to have him declared mentally incompetent, and writing them out of
his will completely. His eldest nephew, Julian Crayven, was ousted as chairman of the board of the Crayven Corporation, after his Uncle moved to deprive
him of his controlling share of the company’s stock. Whether Julian Crayven
intended to put up more of a fight against his Uncle Reno is unknown; the
younger man died in a plane crash within two weeks of the signing of the new
will, and thereafter his siblings decided that discretion was the better part of
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Personnel
Major Sarah Parker’s Bio
Age: 35
Height 5’8”
Weight: 155
Date of birth: 045-2384
Place of Birth: Chicago district, Crayven Holdings
Education: Training CrËche 1275DZ, Chicago district, Crayven Holding
Enlisted Crayven Security Division: 045-2401
Basic Training: Crayven Security Base Alpha, Panama district,
Crayven Holdings
Advanced training: Crayven Security Academy, Gamma Dome, Pluto
Assignment:
Crayven Security powered infantry corp.
Awards: Bravery Bonus, 231-2404 (Acquisition Op, Wolf 328-2A) Bravery
Bonus, 011-2405 (Counter Insurgency op, Wolf 328-2A)
Conspicuous Gallantry Bonus, 351-2408
(Acquisition Op, Gamma Hydrea 4)
Wounded Bonus, 355-2408 (Acquisition Op, Gamma Hydrea 4)
Fines: None
Assignment:
Cross training, Crayven Security commando corp. 002-2409
Awards: Bravery Bonus, 304-2410 (Security Sweep Op, Barnard’s Star 2)
Wounded Bonus, 304-2410 (Security Sweep Op, Barnard’s Star 2)
Extreme Heroism Bonus, 115-2412
(Acquisition Defense Op, Sigma Draconis 4-G)
Wounded Bonus, 115-2412
(Acquisition Defense Op, Sigma Draconis 4-G)
Termination Achievement Bonus, 115-2412
(Acquisition Defense Op, Sigma Draconis 4-G)
Fines: Refusal Penalty, 323-2412 (Security Sweep Op, Wolf 328-2A)
Assignment:
Transfer Request, Crayven Security ground control. 089-2413
Awards: None
Fines: Refusal Penalty, 156-2414 (Counter Insurgency Op, Beta Iridani 2)
Dereliction Penalty, 200-2414 (Counter Insurgency Op, Beta Iridani 2)
Refusal Penalty, 045-2416 (Acquisition Defense Op, Wolf 328-6D)
Refusal Penalty, 306- 2418 (Acquisition Op, Epsilon Iridani 3)
Cur
rent Assignment: Acquisition Op, Krig-7B
Status: Probationary
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The Crayven Corporation fields a very balanced military force, centered around
their next-generation main battle terradyne. Heavy infantry is usually deployed
to screen the terradyne units from enemy anti-armor and artillery attacks.
While Crayven Commanders tend to save air assets for breakthroughs and
assaulting heavily fortified bases, an aeroydyne interceptor wing is almost
always attached to a ground division to act as combat air patrol for any operation.
The Crayven Corporation favors slow, methodical offensives, and this is reflected in their unit designs. Overall the Crayven vehicles have much stronger
armor in their front panels compared to the rear. The Crayven military motto
is “Better safe than sorry”, which is apparent in their terradyne designs.
Once enemy territory has been penetrated, the Crayven division on point will
dig in to secure the objective while a fresh unit moves up to take their place
on the spearhead.
This means most Crayven unit Commanders will see themselves in a series of
short tactical engagements over specific objectives instead of long strategic
advances. When deploying offensively, Crayven dropships will often try and
get as close to their objectives as possible before landing and dropping off
their troops. Some Crayven commanders prefer using dropships in waves, so
that the units from one drop will clear an objective in order for reinforcements
to arrive from another dropship. This “leapfrog” method of deployment has
become a Crayven Security hallmark, and it keeps enemy commanders from
correctly assessing the true objective or Crayven force levels.
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past 6 years, but each time her amazing record up to and including the action
on Sigma Draconis has won her a stay against dismissal.
At this point Major Parker can no longer be considered a promising officer and
she receives only low priority combat assignments where her usefulness on the
battlefield will not be compromised by her problems with Corporate authority.
0 2 BACKGROUND
18
Analysis
Major Parker had all the signs of
becoming a superlative soldier. She
applied for a position in the Crayven
Security the exact moment she
reached the age of consent at 14.
After an exemplary training period,
marred only by one or two incidences
of excessive force during combat exercises, she entered the Powered
Infantry Corps. During an acquisition
Operation against an illegal TerraTech
claim on Wolf 328-2A, Parker, then a
Corporal, single-handedly rallied her
platoon that had come under heavy
fire from TerraTech artillery.
Personally destroying 3 Artillery pieces
earned her a Bravery Bonus. The first
of many.
Sarah Parker quickly rose through the ranks while continuing to receive bonus
after bonus for her conduct on the battlefield. She was asked to take training
as a Commando and accepted the transfer in 2409. She achieved the rank of
Major by the age of 28 and seemed she was bound for the Fast Track until the
Battle of Hanson’s Rift in 2412.
Major Parker’s Commando unit was stationed at firebase Zulu on the main
continent of Sigma Draconis when it was attacked by the Order of the New
Dawn, who had declared the planet sacred ground and filed Jihad against any
corporate holding which did not immediately evacuate. The firebase was cut off
and subjected to wave after wave of attack. When relief finally arrived, they
found no Crayven survivors except for a badly wounded Major Parker, whose
bunker was surrounded by over 800 Crusader bodies. Major Parker underwent extensive psychiatric treatment.
When she returned to combat duty her CO noted that despite the rewards
given for her combat valor, she seemed strangely ungrateful, and the quality of
her performance became a problem. Things came to a head during a boarding action when she refused a direct order to void the atmosphere of an
enemy Drop ship.
After suffering a fine for her misconduct, Major Parker requested a transfer
back to standard ground control, where she has remained to this day. Her
combat skills are still exemplary, but time and again she has refused to carry
out special commands given her regarding efficient termination of Enemy
Assets. She has been in front of a performance review board twice in the
-- GROUND CONTROL FIELD COMMANDER’S HANDBOOK -- -- GROUND CONTROL FIELD COMMANDER’S HANDBOOK --
4 PLAYING THE GAME 0
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Ground Control is a game of tactical action oriented combat. In Ground Control
you are the Commander of a special operations task force operating from a
starcruiser orbiting the planet Krig-7B. The goal of the game is to archive
your mission objectives, which will span from destroying enemy installations
to protecting engineer teams while they archive their objective. To aid you in
completing your objectives you have your task force. The task force consists of
several squads that you control. Before entering a mission you have the option
of changing their general outfit, unit type and equipment. Be careful with your
task force, as surviving squads will receive experience after each battle.
SQUADS
Your strike team consists of one or more squads. As the campaign progresses
you will receive new squads and destroyed squads will be replaced with fresh
new ones. The squad box indicates the squad’s name, current unit configuration
and attributes. A squad belongs to one of the four available branches:
Infantry The lightest and slowest soldier on the battlefield. They can be
transported inside the Command APC.
Assault Assault vehicles are the units that excel in offensive
maneuvers, and acquiring strategic locations.
Support Support units fill a special niche on the battlefield, be it anti-air
or long range artillery fire.
Aerodyne The airborne aerodynes’ main advantage is their great speed
and unobstructed movement.
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20
This section is for Field Commanders eager to start their Military career as
soon as possible. When you start up Ground Control you first have to select a
video renderer, and select what video mode in which to play the game.
Depending on your system configuration, different options will be displayed.
Click OK to continue.
After the movie is played you will see the main menu. Click on the
SINGLE
PLAYER
button. If it is the first time you run GC on your computer, you will be
asked to select difficulty. Select a difficulty level and then click OK.
The game will start, the three first missions will be the Boot Camp, which will
teach you how to play Ground Control and how to quickly master the basics
of the game.
When you have played through the Boot Camp missions continue to read
the next section in the manual
PLAYING THE GAME
.
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Single Player Game
Single Player Game allows you to access the single player game. The first
time you select Single Player Game on you computer you immediately start a
new game. You will be asked to provide a game name (optional) and to
select a difficulty level. The next time you access the Single Player Game you
will have a few options:
Continue Game
Continue Game will allow you to continue on the last game played. A description of the last game played will be displayed to show you the name of the
game, the name of the next mission and the difficulty setting. Selecting
CONTINUE GAME
will immediately take you to the current mission’s briefing.
Screenshot of the
Single Player
Game menu.
0 4 PLAYING THE GAME
22
A squad can be changed into another unit type of the same branch when that
unit type becomes available. For example in later missions a Marine squad can
be changed into a Jaeger Special Forces squad. For more information about
units see section 9, the Tactical Manual. Killed squads will be replaced with
new fresh inexperienced squads between missions but all experience and
medals will be lost in the process.
Dropships
Your strike force is brought down to the battlefield in large AV/U4 “Behemoth”
dropships. Each dropship is capable of transporting four squads complete with
equipment down to the battlefield.
The Ground Control Direct Command Interface System is an advanced piece of
software developed solely for the purpose of commanding military elements in
combat situations.
As a beginning Crayven Field Commander it is highly recommended that you
read through these directives to get familiar with the Ground Control interface.
Screenshot of the
Main Menu
-- GROUND CONTROL FIELD COMMANDER’S HANDBOOK -- -- GROUND CONTROL FIELD COMMANDER’S HANDBOOK --
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The list to the left contains all the saved games available. The list to the right
contains all missions played within a selected game. Choose a game and
a mission to start at, and then left click on
START GAME
.
Custom Game
Custom Game allows you to access missions and campaigns that you have
created yourself or downloaded from the Internet. Pressing
CANCEL
will take
you back to the Single Player Game screen.
Custom Campaigns
If you have any custom campaigns on your computer, you can select them in
the top left list and then click
START GAME
. A campaign is a series of missions,
usually linked together. When playing a custom campaign you will automatically
start the next mission after the debriefing as in the usual Single Player Game.
Custom Missions
Custom Missions allows you to play a single custom mission available on your
computer. Select a mission from the list and then click
START GAME
.
Multiplayer Game
Multiplayer Game allows you to engage in multiplayer battle over the Internet or
on a LAN (Local Area Network). A multiplayer game requires that you have an
Internet connection or access to a LAN in order to run. For more information of
how to play on the Internet over WON (World Opponent Network) or on a LAN
see section 8, Multiplayer.
Screenshot of the
Custom Game
screen.
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New Game
New Game will allow you to start a new game. Note that the previous game
will still be available, but through the Change Game selection. When you select
NEW GAME
, a prompt will ask you to name the game (optional) and select
difficulty. The difficulty levels are:
Easy, Normal
and
Hard.
The
Normal
difficulty
setting is recommended for most players. If you are a very experienced player,
you should select the
Hard
difficulty setting.
Load Game
Load Game allows you to load another game stored on your computer.
Selecting
LOAD GAME
takes you to a new screen.
Screenshot of the
Change Game
screen.
Screenshot of the
New Game
prompt.
-- GROUND CONTROL FIELD COMMANDER’S HANDBOOK -- -- GROUND CONTROL FIELD COMMANDER’S HANDBOOK --
5 THE MANAGEMENT INTERFACE 0
27
As a Field Commander in the Crayven Corporation, it is your duty to configure
your strike force before you are dropped into a combat zone. The GC-DCIS
software will aid you in this process but it is ultimately your responsibility to
make sure your strike force is balanced correctly.
Briefing
Before the mission you will receive a mission briefing stating your objectives.
Pay attention to the briefing, as it will give you hints of what to expect in
the mission.
During the briefing your objectives and other vital locations are displayed on
the tactical map. Move the mouse over the objective for a short description.
Use the REPLAY button to replay the briefing or SKIP button to skip it. When
you are ready to begin the mission select
START MISSION
or select
CONFIGURE DROPSHIPS
to configure your strike team.
Configure Dropships
Before you go into a mission you have the option to configure the strike force
you will be using. Once committed to a strike force, it is not possible to change
it during the mission. Changing your strike team is optional, if you don’t want to
worry about the strike team, ANNIE-1, the artificial intelligence advisor will do it
for you.
Screenshot of the
Mission Briefing
screen.
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26
Options
Options allows you to modify the performance of Ground Control or to configure
the controls. Note that all changes only apply to the current commander.
For more information about the different options, see section 7, Options.
Credits
Pressing Credits will show you the hard working people involved in the making
of Ground Control. Return to the main menu by pressing
ESCAPE
on
your keyboard.
-- GROUND CONTROL FIELD COMMANDER’S HANDBOOK -- -- GROUND CONTROL FIELD COMMANDER’S HANDBOOK --
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29
Configure Squads
On this screen you can configure the details for each Squad that you plan
to bring with you to the battlefield.
The left area of the screen shows you the Squads that are currently assigned
to the Dropship(s). The larger right part of the screen displays the details
of the currently selected (or highlighted) Squad.
LEFT-CLICK on a Squad Tab to start configuring it. The right part of the screen
shows you information about the chosen Unit Type, the Unit Edition and
the currently selected Special Weapon and Special Equipment.
To change Unit Type, click on one of the available unit type icons on the top of
the screen. Note that you will not always have access to all unit types. In early
missions only one type might be available, in later missions up to four possible
types may be available. For more information about unit types, see the Technical
Manual, Section 9
To change Unit Edition, click one of the four Edition Tabs below the unit description
text. The different editions slightly change Firepower, Speed, Armor and Range.
Pick an edition that is appropriate for the way you expect to command your
troops in the current mission.
To change Special Weapon and/or Special Equipment, click on one of the icons
in the lower part of the screen. Note that you will not always have access
to Special Weapons and Special Equipment. As the game progresses you will
receive more Weapons and Equipment to select from for each unit.
0 5 THE MANAGEMENT INTERFACE
28
Here you can decide what squads you want in each dropship. Early missions
allow you to put squads in only one dropship. Later missions allow you to add
squads to all three dropships and may provide more squad choices than you
can fit in all three dropships. Some squads may be left behind and you’ll have
to choose which ones you take into battle.
The list on the left of the screen contains slots for any unassigned squads.
The three areas on the right of the screen contain slots for each of the three
dropships. To move a squad from its current location, LEFT-CLICK on a Squad
Tab. This will pick up the Squad Tab. To place the Squad in a Dropship or in
the unused list, just LEFT-CLICK on an empty squad space in either area. If you
put it in a squad space that is occupied, you will switch Squad Tabs and
automatically pick up the one that previously occupied the slot.
To configure the details of the squads that are currently assigned to the
dropships, enter the CONFIGURE SQUADS screen by clicking on the Configure
Squads button in the bottom of the screen.
Autoload
The Artificial Advisor will automatically configure your drop ships if the AUTOLOAD
checkbox is checked. You can also manually move squads between drop ships
and the unassigned list by clicking on the squad to select it and then click
again on the slot you want it in. When the AUTOLOAD is checked, the advisor
will also configure your squads, equipping them with special weapons and
equipment. Click on CONFIGURE SQUADS to change their setup manually.
Note that only the squads in the drop ships will be available during the mission.
The Dropship Loadout
screen is where you
assign your available
squads to one of the
three available dropships.
1. Squad Tab
2. Dropship 1
3. Dropship 2
4. Dropship 3
5. Configure Squads
button
6. Available unassigne
squads
7. Autoload checkbox
8. Start Mission
button
-- GROUND CONTROL FIELD COMMANDER’S HANDBOOK -- -- GROUND CONTROL FIELD COMMANDER’S HANDBOOK --
The Configure Squad
screen allows you to
customize you squads.
1. Dropships
2. Squad Tab
3. Unit Type
4. Unit Edition
5. Special Weapon
6. Equipment
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