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<h1>Colossus README</h1>
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>Colossus is an attempt at a Java clone of Avalon Hill's Titan(tm)
boardgame.</p>
<p>It's not finished yet. Right now it allows hotseat play, and play
against a mostly working but not-quite-ready-for-prime-time AI.
Client/server networking is done but still a bit rough. You can play with
the standard Titan rules, or choose from several variants.</p>
<p>This program is freeware, distributed under the
<a href="http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/info/GPLv2.html">
GNU General Public License v2</a>
<a href="COPYING.GPL">(local copy)</a>
This means that you have the right to make and distribute changes, as long
as you always include the source code so that others can do the same. If
you fix any bugs or add any features, please send us a copy so that we can
fold them into the master code.</p>
<h2>Game requirements</h2>
<p>A 1.5 or later version of a JRE (Java runtime environment) or JDK (Java
development kit).</p>
<p>Unless you're an advanced Java user, then you should probably use
<a href="http://java.sun.com/products/javawebstart/">Java Web Start</a>
, which will automatically download and install the correct JRE for
you.</p>
<p>(Colossus will not run under Java versions before 1.5. It won't
run as an applet in a web browser. The obsolete Microsoft
JVM that's bundled with IE and Windows won't work.)</p>
<p>Windows, Solaris, and x86 Linux versions of the JRE and JDK are freely
downloadable from
<a href="http://java.sun.com/j2se">java.sun.com/j2se</a></p>
<p>The Mac version is at
<a href="http://apple.com/java">apple.com/java</a>.</p>
<p>Info on other ports (AIX, OS/2, etc.) is at
<a
href="http://java.sun.com/cgi-bin/java-ports.cgi">java.sun.com/cgi-bin/java-ports.cgi</a></p>
<p>The current recommended version is Sun JRE 1.5.0. You also need
a computer with a mouse and a color display. The minimum system spec is
about a Pentium 300 with 256MiB. The recommended system is about a 1 GHz
CPU and 512MiB. See
<a href="HW-SW-Req.html">Hardware and Software requirements</a>
for details.</p>
<h2>Getting the program to run</h2>
<p>The easiest way to run the game, if you already have Java Web Start
installed on your computer, is to click on the Java Web Start link on the
web page <a href="http://colossus.sf.net">colossus.sf.net</a>.
This will download the latest version of the game, upgrade your JRE if
necessary, make a shortcut icon if you want, etc. Pretty slick, when it
works. If it doesn't work, you have other choices.</p>
<p>Another option is to run the executable jar file, which is inside the
zip file. First you will need to unzip it using your favorite unzip tool
and find the jar file inside. Then try double-clicking on Colossus.jar in
your GUI file manager. If that fails, pop up a command prompt, cd to the
directory where you unzipped the zip file, and try typing
<b>java -jar Colossus.jar</b> (or use
<b>./run</b>
or
<b>run.bat</b>).</p>
<p>(Note: Other jar files are in the libs/ subdirectory. If you move
Colossus.jar somewhere else, it won't work.)</p>
<p>(Note: The Unix
<b>run</b>
script includes an
<b>xset b 0 0 0</b>
command to keep Java from constantly beeping at you. This is unfortunately
global, so if you want other programs to beep, modify this script or write
your own.)</p>
<h2>Game play instruction</h2>
<h4>Disclaimer</h4>
<p>I assume you already know how to play Titan. The full rules are
copyrighted, so we can't provide them. But Valley Games put them
online at http://www.boardgamegeek.com/file/download/30314/RULES.pdf</p>
<p>Titan is an excellent boardgame, and I recommend that everyone go buy a
copy now that Valley Games has reprinted it. See http://valleygames.ca</p>
<h4>Game start</h4>
<p>Once you get things running, a dialog should pop up, allowing you to
choose (usually) up to six player types: Human, Network, Various AI
types (AI = Aritificial Intelligence, i.e. robot players) or None,
and their names. See <A HREF="GetPlayersOptions.html">
Get Players startup dialog</A>
for how to use this and description of the various options.
<P>
You can also choose a variant (some variants allow 9 or 12 players).
When you're done, click <b>New game</b>.
<p>Now a window ("Server Startup progress log") will appear shortly;
if you have only local Human players, this disappears immediately
and you can ignore it; if remote (=Network) players are involved,
read here about <A HREF="network.html">Networked Colossus</A>.
<P>
Once all players (clients) are connected, the MasterBoard(s) appear
(one for each local Human player).
<P>
Next, for each client (the remote players get it on their own
sreen, of course) two dialogs will appear: first a flat, wide
dialog asking to pick the color (pick one), and then another
smaller one to pick his initial legion marker. Pick one. (If you
don't care about color and/or markers, use the <b>Auto pick
markers</b> option on the <A HREF="ClientPreferences.html#AutoplayTab">
autoplay tab of the Preferences window</A>.)</p>
<p>
After each player has picked his initial legion marker, the
MasterBoard window(s) will be available. Every player can modify
some settings (affecting then only him) using the
<a href="ClientPreferences.html">Preferences window</a>,
and for example which satellite windows (Game Status, Inspector,
Logwindow, ...) shall be displayed can be selected in the
<a href="ClientMenuBar.html">Menu bar in the MasterBoard window</a>.
<P>
You'll see
each player's initial legion marker sitting in a tower
hex. You'll also see a small window in the lower right corner
of the screen. This is the Game Status window, which tracks each
player's score, number of legion markers remaining, etc. And
there's a Caretaker window which tracks how many of each
creature remain in the stacks. (These are both optional: turn them
on or off from the <B>Window</B> menu. There are several other useful
viewers windows in the Window menu - try them!)</p>
You can
right-click (or control-click if you have a one-button mouse) on a
legion to see its contents - except if the setting <b>Viewable
legion content</b> in Game startup menu was changed from it's
default setting (more detailed <A
HREF="GetPlayersOptions.html">option descriptions here</A>).</p>
<P>You can right-click on a hex (empty hex, or on that small free
area beside a legion) to call up a menu, which lets you either see
what you can recruit in that hex, or its battle map.</p>
<h4>Splitting</h4> <p>The active player first needs to split his
initial 8-high legion. You'll notice that the hex containing
the active player's legion is lit up as a reminder; in future
turns this will happen for all 7-high legions. (It's also
legal to split legions with 4-6 characters in them, even though
they are not highlighted.) Click on the legion. A dialog will come
up to let you pick the new legion marker to use. Then another
dialog will come up, allowing you to move characters between the
two legions. The game will not let you leave the split phase on
the first turn until each of your legions contains three Creatures
and one Lord. When you're ready, select Done from the Phase
menu.</p> <h4>Masterboard movement</h4> <p>Next comes the movement
phase. The game will tell you your movement roll. Click on a
legion, and the places it can move will light up. Little pictures
of the creatures the legion can recruit in hex will also appear.
Click on one of those places, and the legion will move there. (In
some cases, you will need to choose whether to teleport or move
normally, or which lord teleports if there is more than once
choice.) The <b>Undo Last Move</b> and <b>Undo All Moves</b>
actions are there in case you change your mind. During the first
turn only, and once only, there will be a <b>Take Mulligan</b>
action which you can use to re-roll your movement. When you're
done moving everything you want to move, select Done. (If you look
closely at the menus you'll see that many of the frequently
used options have hotkeys, like <b>d</b> for <b>Done</b> .)</p>
<h4>Engagements</h4> <p>If you moved any legions onto enemy
legions, then next comes the engagement phase. Each hex with an
engagement will light up. Click on the one you want to resolve
first, and a window will pop up showing both legions and giving
the defender a chance to flee, if applicable. If the defender
doesn't flee, then the attacker is given a chance to concede.
If both legions stick around, then a negotiation window pops up ,
where creatures can be clicked on to <b>X</b> them away. If the
combatants can come to an agreement where all the creatures on at
least one side die, then there's no need to fight. Otherwise,
it's time for battle.</p> <p>During a battle, the appropriate
BattleMap pops up, with each legion on the appropriate entry
side. (You have to choose an entry side during movement when more
than one is possible.) The defender goes first. Click on each
character, and the places it can move light up. Click on one of
those places, and the character moves there. Repeat until all
characters are on-board, unless you'd like to leave some
off-board to die for some reason. The <b>Undo Last Move</b> and
<b>Undo All Moves</b> menu options are available. When done
moving, click Done. The attacker repeats the process, except that
after he finishes moving, it's striking time.</p> <p>Any
creatures adjacent to an enemy must strike; rangestrikers with an
enemy in range and line of sight may strike. (If you turn on the
<b>Auto forced strike</b> option, then creatures that are forced
to strike and have only one legal target will strike first without
any intervention on your part, which speeds things up a bit.)
Click the striker, and all his legal targets light up. Pick one,
and he tries to strike it. (If it's legal to take a strike
penalty in order to carry, then a dialog will pop up to ask if you
want to do so.) The number of hits are displayed on the target. If
the target is dead, it will have a big <b>X</b> displayed over
it. If there is excess damage that can legally carry over, then
the legal carry target(s) will light up, and the cursor should
change to a number, and the striking player needs to pick which
one to carry to, or click somewhere else to decline the
carry. This carry process can repeat if the strike blows through
more than one creature. There's no way to undo strikes. (That
would be cheating.) When done striking, choose Done.</p> <p>After
the strike phase, the other player gets a strikeback phase.
It's identical to the strike phase, except that rangestrikes
are not allowed. Dead creatures do get to strike back before being
removed.</p> <h4>Summoning and acquiring</h4> <p>The first turn
after he kills an opposing character, the attacker may be allowed
to summon an angel or archangel, if there is one available in an
unengaged legion, and he hasn't yet summoned an angel this
turn, and the legion doesn't already have seven creatures. If
so, a dialog will appear and all MasterBoard hexes with summonable
angels will light up. The attacker must click on one of those
hexes, then select the angel or archangel as appropriate in the
dialog.</p> <p>During turn 4 of the battle, the defender may be
allowed to muster a recruit. If so, a dialog will pop up showing
the legal recruits. If desired, pick one. If no recruit is
desired, dismiss the recruit dialog. (Click on the X in the top
right corner, or double-click the top left corner, depending on
how you normally dismiss dialogs in your OS.)</p> <p>When the
battle finishes, the winner gets some points and maybe the option
of acquiring one or more angels or archangels. If the winner
didn't summon an angel or recruit a reinforcement earlier, he
will get another choice if eligible.</p> <h4>Mustering</h4>
<p>After all engagements are resolved, choose Done to proceed to
the mustering phase. Legions that moved and can recruit will light
up. Click on each one and choose a recruit. If more than one type
of creature is capable of summoning that recruit, you'll have
to choose the recruiter(s) to be revealed, unless the <b>Autopick
recruiter</b> option has been selected. When done, click Done and
pass the mouse to the next player.</p> <h4>Ending the game</h4>
<p>The game ends when zero or one Titans remain. The last player
standing is the winner; if the game ends with a mutual
elimination, it's a draw.</p> <h2>Improvements</h2> <p>If you
find any bugs that you think we can fix, please let us know, in as
much detail as possible. (In particular, include the operating
system and Java versions.)</p> <p>The best way to report bugs is
via the bug tracker at SourceForge -- go to <a
href="http://colossus.sf.net">colossus.sf.net</a> , click on the
SourceForge icon, and click on Bugs. (If that's too hard you
can just send email.)</p> <p>We've tried to get the rules
right, though a few areas (concession timing, in particular) are
still off. Bruno Wolff's <a
href="http://wolff.to/titan/errata.shtml">Titan Errata and
Clarifications</a> is a good place to check for rules issues.</p>
<h2>Links</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://colossus.sf.net">Colossus home page</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://wolff.to/titan/">Bruno's Titan Home Page</a>
You'll find there the
<a href="http://wolff.to/titan/errata.shtml">Titan Errata and
Clarifications</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.coiinc.com/people/scug/">Jerry's Titan page</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.cheewai.com/titan/">Chee-Wai's Titan page</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.desjardins.org/titan/strategy.txt">David
desJardins' basic Titan strategy guide</a>
</li>
</ul>
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