Games PC RISE OF NATIONS-GOLD EDITION User Manual
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0303 Par t No. X09-58164
If Attacked With … Counter With …
Light Infantry Cavalry
Gunpowder Infantry Heavy Cavalry, Tanks
Modern Infantry Tanks, Machine Guns
Heavy Infantry Archers, Gunpowder Infantry
Machine Guns
Foot Archers Heavy Cavalry, Light Infantry
Machine Guns Tanks, Cavalry
Flamethrower Infantry, Machine Guns
Light Cavalry Heavy Infantry
Heavy Cavalry Heavy Infantry
Ranged Cavalry Archers, Tanks, Light Cavalry
Artillery Weapons Cavalry, Tanks
Anti-Aircraft Tanks, Infantry
Fighter Aircraft Fighter Aircraft, Anti-Aircraft,
Cruisers
Bomber Aircraft Fighter Aircraft, Anti-Aircraft
Helicopters Fighter Aircraft, Anti-Aircraft
Heavy Ships Fire Ships, Submarines
Light Ships Heavy Ships
Bombardment Ships Ships
Heavy Bombardment Ships Submarines, Aircraft
Fire Ships Light Ships
Aircraft Carriers Submarines, Light Ships,
Anti-Aircraft
Submarines Light Ships, Helicopters
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Rise of Nations™ is a real-time strategy game that spans all history. Start with
a single city in the Ancient Age; gather resources; build an infrastructure;
research technologies; construct Wonders of the World such as the Pyramids
and the Eiffel Tower; and expand your military might across the world,
conquering hostile nations with bombers, battleships, and tanks—all over
your lunch hour!
In Rise of Nations there are:
18 Nations—each with special abilities and unique military units.
Over a hundred military units operating on the ground, sea, and air—
from Hoplites to Frigates to Helicopters.
Over two dozen buildings with upgrades and technologies that will take
your nation from a small City to an Information Age society.
14 Wonders of the World—the Terra Cotta Army, the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel
Tower. Each gives your nation special bonuses.
More than a dozen map types, ranging from the Amazon Rainforest to
the Himalayas to the Nile Delta.
Conquer the World campaign—a linked series of dozens of scenarios.
Safety Warning
About Photosensitive Seizures
A very small percentage of people may experience a seizure when exposed to certain
visual images, including ashing lights or patterns that may appear in video games. Even
people who have no history of seizures or epilepsy may have an undiagnosed condition
that can cause these “photosensitive epileptic seizures” while watching video games.
These seizures may have a variety of symptoms, including lightheadedness, altered
vision, eye or face twitching, jerking or shaking of arms or legs, disorientation, confusion, or momentary loss of awareness. Seizures may also cause loss of consciousness
or convulsions that can lead to injury from falling down or striking nearby objects.
Immediately stop playing and consult a doctor if you experience any of these symptoms.
Parents should watch for or ask their children about the above symptoms—children and
teenagers are more likely than adults to experience these seizures.
The risk of photosensitive epileptic seizures may be reduced by taking the following
precautions:
• Play in a well-lit room.
• Do not play when you are drowsy or fatigued.
If you or any of your relatives have a history of seizures or epilepsy, consult a doctor
before playing.
Information in this document, including URL and other Internet Web site references, is subject to change
without notice. Unless otherwise noted, the example companies, organizations, products, people and
events depicted herein are ctitious and no association with any real company, organization, product,
person or event is intended or should be inferred. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the
responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be
reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express
written permission of Microsoft Corporation.
© 2003 Big Huge Games, Inc. Portions © & P 2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Big Huge
Games and the Big Huge Games logo are the exclusive trademarks of Big Huge Games, Inc. Microsoft,
Windows, DirectDraw, DirectPlay, DirectSound, DirectX , the Microsoft Games Studios logo, MSN, and Rise of
Nations are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and /or
other countries.
Microsoft may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property
rights covering subject matter in this document. Except as expressly provided in any written license
agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents,
trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property.
This product contains software technology licensed from GameSpy Industries, Inc. © 1999–2003 GameSpy
Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective
owners.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
GAME INSTALLATION...................................................................................... 3
GETTING HELP
............................................................................................... 3
GAME INTERFACE
........................................................................................... 4
Command Palette....................................................................................................6
UNITS ........................................................................................................... 9
Creating Units ......................................................................................................... 9
Selecting Units......................................................................................................... 9
Moving Units......................................................................................................... 10
Unit Waypoints...................................................................................................... 10
Attacking .............................................................................................................. 10
Health Bar............................................................................................................. 10
RESOURCES.................................................................................................. 11
Common Resources ...............................................................................................11
Rare Resources ......................................................................................................14
Ruins ....................................................................................................................14
BUILDINGS...................................................................................................15
City ......................................................................................................................15
Library ................................................................................................................. 16
Market...................................................................................................................17
Temple................................................................................................................. 18
Resource Enhancement Buildings........................................................................... 18
Military Buildings ..................................................................................................20
Forti cations ......................................................................................................... 24
Wonders of the World............................................................................................ 25
GAME CONCEPTS ......................................................................................... 26
Visibility ............................................................................................................... 26
National Border ..................................................................................................... 26
City Capture ..........................................................................................................27
Attrition Damage ................................................................................................... 27
MULTIPLAYER GAMES................................................................................... 28
Multiplayer Connections ........................................................................................28
Multiplayer Game Setup......................................................................................... 29
CONQUER THE WORLD ................................................................................. 30
How to Play Conquer the World ..............................................................................30
CONQUER THE WORLD STRATEGIC MAP.......................................................... 32
Tribute ................................................................................................................. 34
Supply Centers...................................................................................................... 34
Support Armies .....................................................................................................34
The Overrun Attack................................................................................................ 34
RISE OF NATIONS STRATEGIC OVERVIEW ........................................................ 35
CREDITS
..................................................................................................... 36
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
....................................................................................37
GAME INSTALLATION
Insert your Microsoft® Rise of Nations CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
On the Setup screen, click Express Install for a default installation without
further prompting. Or if you want to install the game to a location other than
the default, click Install and follow the instructions on the screen.
Note: Throughout this manual, “click” refers to using the left button on your
mouse. If you need to use the right mouse button, it will be speci cally called
out as “right-click.”
GETTING HELP
Rollover Help
Rise of Nations has extensive in-game rollover Help. Move the pointer over
any object and Help text appears in the lower-left portion of the screen. Help
text can be cycled between low, medium, and high levels of detail.
Tutorial
To begin the tutorials, click Learn to Play on the Main Menu. Beginning
players should start with “Boadicea.” Experienced real-time strategy players
may start with the “Quick Learn” tutorial.
Key Commands
Refer to the Quick Reference Card for a list of the basic key commands. To
see a full list of Key Commands and customize your key commands, select
Hotkeys in the Options & Pro les menu.
Help on the Web
To learn more about Rise of Nations, visit www.riseofnationsinsider.com.
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Unit/Building Display — Shows attributes of a
selected unit or building.
GAME INTERFACE
Objectives — Game Objectives/ Victory Conditions.
Minimap — Diagram of the main game map, showing the
locations of all known buildings, units, and rare resources.
Advanced Options — Click to toggle advanced controls
in Command Palette on/off.
Next Military — Click to nd the next military unit.
Command Palette —Depending
on the unit or building selected,
commands may be issued and
technologies/upgrades researched
here. See page 6.
Resource Display —
The amount and gather
rate of your resources.
Population Limit — Current and maximum
number of units.
City Limit Indicator — Current and
maximum number of Cities.
Help Text Detail — Click to cycle low,
medium, and high Help text levels.
Game Menu — Change game
options, save and load games,
or quit.
Data Display
Signal Other Player —
Sends a ashing signal to
other players.
Diplomacy — Click
to access the pop-up
Diplomacy Panel.
Chat — Click or press
ENTER to chat with other
players.
Data Display Button —
Click to cycle through game
data that appears in the
lower-right game screen.
Idle Citizen — If button is lit, click to nd idle Citizen.
Pause — Click to pause game.
Game Clock — Displays the
elapsed game time.
Help Text
Resource Infrastructure
Controlled Rare Resources
Game Events/Chat
Nation/Age
Commerce Limit —
The maximum resource
gather rate.
Current Research/
Building Progress
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Command Palette
Orders are issued from this palette to your Citizens, military, and other units.
If a building is selected, upgrades or new technologies may also be
researched here.
Citizen Command Palette
Citizens gather resources as well as create and repair buildings. Click a Citizen
to access the Citizen Command Palette in the lower-left corner.
Move
Moves Citizen to location indicated by clicking the main game
map or minimap. If another unit is clicked, that unit will follow
the rst unit ordered to Move.
Attack
Citizen will attack next enemy unit /building clicked.
Note: Citizens have limited attack capabilities.
Alarm
Click to garrison selected Citizens in the nearest City or
Forti cation.
Buildings
Click to access the menu that lets your Citizen build resourcegathering and other commerce structures such as Farms
and Mines. Note: The more Citizens you have constructing
a building, the faster it is built.
Military Buildings
Click to access the menu that allows your Citizen to build
military structures such as Barracks and Forts.
Wonders
Click to access the menu that allows your Citizen to build
Wonders of the World such as the Pyramids.
Repair
Select a Citizen, click this button, and then click a damaged
building that requires repair.
Auto Explore
Click to have a unit randomly search unexplored regions.
Auto Transport
Selected units automatically cross water by building transport
ships. Click to cycle on or off. This ability requires suf cient
Science technology and the construction of a Dock.
Halt
Selected Citizens stop their current task.
Garrison
Select a Citizen(s), click this button, and then click a City, Tower,
or Fort to move them inside for greater defense. Garrisoned
units increase the attack strength of these structures.
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Military Unit Command Palette
Military units defend your nation and may attack enemy nations’ units and
buildings. Click a military unit to access the Military Unit Command Palette in
the lower-left corner of the game screen.
Move
Moves unit to location indicated by clicking main game map or
the minimap. If another unit is clicked, that unit will follow the
rst unit ordered to Move.
Attack
Unit will attack next enemy unit/building clicked. If a location
is clicked on the map instead, the unit will perform an Attack
Move, engaging any enemies encountered along the way.
Note: Military units are effective against speci c types of
opposing military units (see back cover for details).
Garrison
Select a military unit(s), click this button, and then click a City,
Tower, or Fort to move them inside for greater defense and
healing/repair rates. Garrisoned units increase the attack
strength of these structures. Units may also garrison inside the
buildings that created them to heal, but they cannot attack until
they emerge and reengage an enemy.
UNITS
There are three basic unit types in Rise of Nations: Citizen, military, and
special. Citizens (see also Scholars and Caravans, page 13) gather resources,
construct and repair buildings, and in a limited fashion defend your nation
and attack enemies. Military units attack enemy units and buildings and
defend your nation. Depending on the type of military unit, they may operate
on land, sea, or air. Special units are those with additional powers; they are
Generals, Spies, Scouts, and Supply Wagons.
To view a unit’s properties, click it. The unit’s strength, armor and, if
applicable, range, appear in the Unit /Building Display.
Creating Units
Units are created by selecting a unit-producing building and then clicking a
unit button that appears in the Command Palette. Several units may be
queued for production by clicking their button multiple times.
Selecting Units
To select a single unit, click it.
To select a group of units, click and drag the pointer over multiple units or
hold SHIFT and click individual units. If you select a group containing military
and non-military units, only the military units will be selected.
To select all of one type of unit on the map, double-click that unit.
Groups
To create a group of units, select the units you want to include in the group,
and then press CTRL+0–9 or CTRL+F1–F8. The units in the group can then be
selected by pressing their associated number or F key.
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Moving Units
To move a unit or group of units, select the unit or group of units, and then
right-click the location on the map where you want them to move. You may
also right-click a location on the minimap to move selected units.
Unit Waypoints
You may move selected units along a de ned pathway through waypoints.
Set this path by selecting a unit or group of units and then holding SHIFT as
you right-click destinations on the map.
Attacking
To attack an enemy building or unit, select a unit or group of units, and then
right-click the opponent’s units or building you want attacked.
An Attack Move may also be issued when units move to a location, attacking
any enemies encountered along the way. To order an Attack Move, select a
unit or group of units, click the Attack button in the Command Palette, and
then click a location on the map or minimap.
All units have strengths against some units and weaknesses against others.
For more information, see the back cover.
Health Bar
The health of a selected unit or building is
indicated by a bar directly above the unit or
building. As a unit or building sustains damage,
the bar will shrink and change color from green
to yellow to red.
RESOURCES
Resources let you construct buildings and units as well as research upgrades
and technologies. Every City in your nation brings in a small xed income of
Food and Timber, but there are many other ways to increase resource
accumulation.
Common Resources
Common resources are gathered by Citizens in resource- gathering
structures, such as Farms and Mines. Each resource- gathering structure
can hold a certain number of workers. If the resource building still has room,
select a Citizen, and then right-click the building. The Citizen will move to that
building and gather its resource. To determine if a resource-gathering
building can support more workers, move the pointer over the building and
the number of remaining openings will be displayed.
Food
Gather Food by building Farms. Each City can
support a maximum of ve Farms. To build a
Farm, select a Citizen, click the Buildings button
in the Command Palette, click the Farm button,
and then click a location within your City’s radius
(see page 16) where you want the Farm built.
The Citizen will move to that location, build the Farm, and tend it. When
constructed, a Farm produces a one-time bonus of Food. Food may also
be gathered by Fishermen, who are created at a Dock (see page 21). Farm
productivity within a City is boosted by building a Granary in that City
(see page 18).
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Timber
Gather Timber by building Woodcutter’s Camps
near forests. To build a Woodcutter’s Camp, select
a Citizen, click the Buildings button in the
Command Palette, click the Woodcutter’s
Camp
button, and then click the location where
you want it built. The more trees near the camp,
the more Woodcutters the camp may support. The Citizen will move to that
location, build the camp, and collect Timber. When built, a Woodcutter’s
Camp provides a one-time bonus of Timber. Woodcutter’s Camp productivity
within a City is boosted by building a Lumber Mill in that City (see page 19).
Metal
Gather Metal by building a Mine near mountains
or cliffs. Each nation may only build one mine at
each mountain or cliff, and only the sections of
mountains or cliffs within your National Borders
(see p. 26) may be mined.
To build a Mine, select a Citizen, click the
Buildings button in the Command Palette, click the Mine button, and then
click near a mountain or cliff. The Citizen will move there, build the Mine, and
gather Metal. When built, a Mine provides a one-time bonus of Metal. Mine
productivity within a City is boosted by building a Smelter in that City (see
page 19).
Oil
Gather Oil by building Oil Wells on ground-based
reserves and on water-based reserves. To build
these structures, select a Citizen, click the
Buildings button in the Command Palette,
click the Oil Well button, and then click the
oil reserve. When built, an Oil Well provides
a one-time bonus of Oil. Oil gather rates may be boosted by Re neries
(see page 20).
Wealth
Wealth is acquired by establishing Trade Routes
between your Cities and by researching Taxation
technologies at the Temple.
To establish a Trade Route, rst build a Market
near one of your Cities. To build a Market, select
a Citizen, click the Buildings button in the
Command Palette, click the Market button, and then click the map where
you want it built.
Next, select the Market, and then click the Caravan button in
the Command Palette. When created, this Caravan automatically proceeds to another one of your Cities and establishes a
Trade Route (or you may select the Caravan and right-click
another City to override this automatic selection).
Taxation is researched at your Temple (see page 18) and allows Wealth to be
generated based on the amount of territory you possess. As your National
Borders expand, the Wealth gathered through Taxation also increases.
Knowledge
Knowledge is gathered by Scholars, who are
created at Universities.
To build a University, select a Citizen, click the
Buildings button in the Command Palette, click
the University button, and then click the map
close to a City. The Citizen will move to that
location and build the University. When built, a University provides a one-time
bonus of Knowledge.
To create a Scholar, click the University, and then click the
Scholar button in the Command Palette. Universities can hold
up to seven Scholars.
Upgrades to Scholars’ Knowledge-gathering ef ciency can
be researched at Universities. To research upgrades, select
the University, and then click the upgrade button in the
Command Palette.
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Rare Resources
Rare resources are especially valuable commodities that can provide your nation with additional
common resources and/or special bene ts. They
are scattered throughout the world map and may
appear as glimmering gems, vineyards, or herds
of animals. They also appear on the minimap
as blue dots. To bene t from rare resources, you must rst claim them with
a Merchant.
To create a Merchant, select a Market, and then click the Merchant button.
When a Merchant is created, select him and then right-click the rare
resource. A green circle will appear around the resource, con rming this
action. The Merchant will set up a trade post near the resource, and you
will reap bene ts from that resource as long as your Merchant is there.
Ruins
Ruins are ancient places scattered across the
main game map. When a unit passes through
a Ruin, the nation that owns that unit acquires
a one-time bonus such as a cache of resources.
The Ruin then vanishes from the map.
BUILDINGS
Buildings may have a military or economic nature, or they may have a
special purpose such as the Library or a Wonder of the World. Citizens,
military, and other special units are created in buildings. To get more
information on any building, select it, and its properties will be shown in
the Unit/Building Display.
To construct any building, select a Citizen, click the Buildings, Military
Buildings, or Wonders button in the Command Palette, click the appropri-
ate building button, and then click a location on the map. If an invalid
construction site is selected, the pointer will turn red.
Many military structures have their own defenses. The range of these
defenses is shown in the Unit /Building Display. If a building has the ability to
garrison units, the current/maximum number of garrisoned units as well as
the garrison’s current/maximum power is also shown on the display.
Additional commands, upgrades, and orders associated with a building
appear in the Command Palette when the building is selected.
City
Cities start as small villages and grow into
metropolises as your nation matures. Cities are
your nation’s economic centers. The rst City built
will be your nation’s capital. Cities must be built in
territory controlled by your nation.
You may build additional Cities if you have
researched an appropriate level of Civic technology at the Library. The
number of Cities allowed is shown in the City Limit Indicator. New Cities must
be built a suf cient distance away from existing Cities.
Building additional Cities expands a nation’s territory and allows the creation
of additional Trade Routes. Each City also contributes slightly to your Foodand Timber-gathering rates.
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