SOH TACTICS GX 
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SCENARIO
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A remote continent of enigma and illusion. Once a century two brave knights errant are sent to conquer this mysterious place. Will they return victorious?


SET-UP / LOADING
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SOH Tactics GX is supplied as a .cpr file, suitable for use with a C4CPC cartridge. Set up the GX4000 and insert paddle controllers as described in the GX4000 user manual. 


CONTROLS
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SOH Tactics GX can be played with one or two players and is for use with paddle 
controllers only. Player 2-specific inputs use Paddle controller 2.

UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT - move in-game cursor and navigate menus
FIRE BUTTON 1 – select current in-game cursor position and confirm menu selections
FIRE BUTTON 2 – undo cursor selection and back-step between screens and menus
PAUSE – quit current mission when cursor is placed over character


GAMEPLAY
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The title screen menu has three options :

ONE PLAYER GAME – Begin a one-player game
TWO PLAYER GAME – Begin a two-player game
PASSWORD - Enter a password to restore a previous game 

The game consists of 35 stages spread over 5 different environments. The game is 
complete once all 35 stages have been successfully finished. 

The environments are accessed via the world map screen. Moving the glove pointer over an environment will display the number of missions that remain in that area, and pressing the Fire 1 button will select it. After you complete your first mission and thereafter, a password will be displayed in the lower right-hand corner of the world mapscreen that can be entered from the title screen.

The five environments are :
THE LAST OUTPOST – A human settlement that became separated from the rest of the world many millennia ago
DESERT OF ETERNITY – A harsh desert devoid of life except...
EERY WASTELAND – A barren wasteland roamed by the undead
ANCIENT FOREST – A hoary woodland inhabited by devious gnome creatures
ICE PALACE – A foreboding structure housing a company of noble dwarfs

Selecting an environment takes you to the mission selection screen. 
Moving the glove pointer over a particular mission will display a description of the mission, its objective and its current status, Available or Complete. Pressing the Fire 2 button will step back to the world map screen. A mission is selected by pressing the Fire 1 button, you will then be asked to select a blade. 

Press left and right on the directional pad to move between the blades and display their properties. Pressing the Fire 1 button will move to the mission board screen or in the case of a two player game, allow the second player to select a blade with Paddle controller 2.


MISSION BOARD
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A mission takes place on a board like the one shown in Fig 3, with a HUD below displaying information and mission updates. Play proceeds in turns. Turns are taken sequentially 
with Player 1 taking the first turn, Player 2 the second, followed by each enemy. The current turn is displayed in the HUD. Players or enemies who have been eliminated do not
take a turn. A mission is won once all enemies have been eliminated, or lost when the player (or both players in the case of a two player game) is killed.

After a player turn has been initiated, the player takes control of the board cursor. The cursor can be moved around freely and will display player and enemy stats in the HUD. 

Pressing the Pause button over either player gives the option to exit the mission using Paddle controller 1. Pressing Fire button 1 over the player will set an indicator arrow 
showing that the player is ready to be moved. The cursor will now display an Exhaustion stat increase in the HUD over available board positions. Pressing Fire button 1 over one of these squares will move the player. Pressing Fire button 1 over the existing player position will hold the player on their current square.

Once a player has moved, the cursor will flash over the player. At this stage the directional button can be used to adjust the direction in which the player is facing and Fire button 1 is used to confirm this choice. If no enemies are in range then this is the end of the turn. If an enemy is in range, the cursor will turn red. Note that the player must also be facing the enemy to launch an attack. The player may end their turn at this stage by pressing Fire button 1 or may launch an attack on the enemy by moving the red cursor over the enemy then pressing Fire button 1. The damage from an attack is displayed above the recipient.
 
A player or enemy destroyed by an attack is removed from play. Play proceeds in this manner until the mission is won or lost. 


STATISTICS
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The outcome of an attack depends on various stats:

    - Health Points (HP) – Decreased by opponent attacks. Once this reaches zero, the player or enemy is eliminated from the mission.
    - Exhaustion (EX) – Increases with distance and height moved. Has a detrimental effect on attacks and damage received. EX is replenished by a small amount at the end of the turn.
    - Skill (SK) – Increases the strength of attacks.
    - Armour (AR) – Reduces the amount of damage received from an attack.
    - Speed (SP) – Reduces the impact of Exhaustion.
    - Range (RN) – The range in squares over which an attack can be launched.
    - The player SK, AR, SP and RN stats are determined by their blade selection before commencing the mission. The blade stats are summarised in Table 1.

Blades reference table:

Equipment Set  SK  AR  SP  RN
Darkblade      45  10   4   2
Heroblade      55  16   1   1
Fireblade      40   4   1   6
Holyblade      50   6   2   3
Moonblade      48  12   3   1
Lifeblade      42   1   6   4


HINTS AND TIPS
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    - Exhaustion plays a very important role in the game, plan your moves carefully and pay attention to the board topography
    - Rushing in will go some way to ensuring defeat
    - Pay close attention to enemy stats
    - Experiment with different blades
    - Attacking from an elevation increases damage, fighting uphill reduces damage
    - There is a damage bonus for back hits
    - Player HP is halved in a two-player game!
    - Defeat all missions in a particular environment to access a fearsome boss mission


CREDITS
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Code, Graphics, Sound – S.Haywood
© 2023 S.O.H.D.E.