OPERATION "JUST BECAUSE" COPYRIGHT (C) 1994 ACCIDENTAL SOFTWARE "If it's good, it's ACCIDENTAL" Table of contents 1. Game features 2. System requirements 3. Registration 4. Registration Benefits 5. Printing a Registration Form 6. Installation / Set up 7. Game Startup 8. Start Up Options 9. Scenario 10. Main Menu 11. Player Interface 12. Setting Up The Battle 13. Fighting The Battle 14. Quitting The Battle 15. Scoring 16. Strategy 17. Trouble Shooting 18. Use with Windows 19. Other Accidental Games To PRINT A COPY OF THIS MANUAL, you can load this file "MANUAL.TXT" into your word processor (this file is ASCII text with no embedded characters). You can can redirect the manual to your printer by typing the following at the DOS command line. "TYPE MANUAL.TXT > PRN" then push ENTER or select REGISTER from the main menu of the program when it is running. GAME FEATURES This manual is written for the registered version of this game. To save disk space and provide an incentive for registration to those who consider this game to be a worthwhile investment, some game options are not available in the unregistered (shareware) version of this game. 1. Provides a Classic Battle Ship type game. 2. Play with one of 3 computer generated players. 3. Play against another "Human" player if desired. 4. Use Infrared technology to help seek out your enemy. 5. Use your jet fighter to help kill your enemy in the quickest fashion. 6. Access game information on line. 7. Set up your options for battle and the game will save your options. 8. Sound Blaster voice files are available to registered users who order them. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 1. IBM or 100% compatible computer. 2. EGA or VGA compatible display with 256K RAM on the video card. 3. Hard disk. 4. 520K of free RAM (530k with Sound Blaster) Desired equipment: 1. Mouse. 2. Sound Blaster. REGISTRATION 1. The game supplied is an unregistered version. This version is provided as a demonstration of the game capabilities and provides a functioning game. Some game enhancements are reserved for those users who find this game to be a worthwhile investment. Shareware is a try before you buy marketing method. If you make regular use of this software, you are expected to "purchase" it by paying the registration fee. Registered users will receive a disk with the most current version of this game. The registered version has several game enhancements not available in the shareware copy. These features are listed below. REGISTRATION BENEFITS 1. Your registered version implements all 3 computer generated opponents. 2. Your registered version implements the 2 player option. 3. Your registered version will save game options and recall them for follow on games. 4. Sound Blaster support is provided. If you have a Sound Blaster or 100% compatible system, you can order the optional voice pack for this game. These files will allow you to hear digital recordings for some computer generated opponents. 5. Registered users can order additional Accidental Software games at a discount. If you order the Voice Pack for OPERATION "JUST BECAUSE", you will receive the Voice Pack for any other games you purchase free. If these games are ordered at one time, you need only pay one shipping and handling fee for the entire order. See "OTHER ACCIDENTAL GAMES" at the end of this file for a description of these games. PRINTING A REGISTRATION FORM A registration / order form can be printed out from the game by selecting "REGISTER" from the main menu. The form is ASCII text and should print on most printers. If you can't print out of copy of the registration / order form, just send us the information above. The file name for the order form is "ORDERFRM.TXT", you can load this file into your word processor for print out if desired. Please include the type of disk desired. Better yet, call us a call at 1-800-771-6746 and charge it. Type "OJB.EXE" to start the game once it has been properly installed. START UP OPTIONS NO EXPANDED MEMORY: Type "OBJ NOES" to start the game with no expanded memory calls. If the game behaves erratically or locks up your computer, there may be a problem with your expanded memory manager and this game. If this is the case, attempt to run the program without expanded memory calls by using this option. SILENT MODE: Type "OJB SILENT" and the game will start without any sound effects being heard. This will turn off the Sound Blaster interface. The only way to get the Sound Blaster back after starting the game with "OJB SILENT" is to start the game with "OJB BLASTER". (Registered Version Only) SOUND BLASTER: To restore sound blaster function after starting the game with "OJB SILENT", type "OJB BLASTER". (Registered Version Only) SCENARIO You command an allied fleet charged with defending your area of responsibility (GRID SQUARE). You have 5 ships plus an addition- al cruiser/command ship. Your aircraft carrier is capable of launching one fighter attack aircraft equipped with radiation and infrared missiles. You have electronic counter measure jamming and infrared jamming available to spoil the enemy's air power attacks. Your infrared jammer will also jam his infrared detec- tion equipment (IR SCOPE). You may play against another person or against one of the enemy's top commanders. You will have to contend with his relentless shelling and possible air attacks. Beware, the waters may be mined. Your mission is to sink all of the enemy ships before he sinks yours. MAIN MENU When the game starts, you are presented with the MAIN MENU listed below. The first 4 menu selections provide much important infor- mation concerning game play. Please familiarize yourself with each of these selections before starting the battle. 1. OPTIONS 2. DETAILS 3. SHIP INFO 4. OPPONENTS 5. START BATTLE 6. QUIT 7. REGISTER (shareware version) or HERO LIST (registered version) 1. OPTIONS - This menu selection allows you to change several features of the game, as desired. They are: KEYBOARD/MOUSE DAY/NIGHT FIGHTERS/MINES 1 OR 2 PLAYERS IR SCOPES Each of these is documented as it is selected. Different game options will dramatically change the intensity of the game. With all options selected, the game can be very fast paced and the outcome will be determined to a large extent on how well you can use your equipment. Any desired game options must be selected before START BATTLE. All game options are OFF unless selected, and are reset to OFF any time the MAIN MENU is entered in the shareware version of this game. In the registered version, all game options are saved and reloaded with each new game. To play against another person, select 1 OR 2 PLAYERS and chose the desired options from the menu presented. One player will play for the ALLIED FORCES and one player will play for the ENEMY FORCES. NOTE: Two the two player option is not implemented in the shareware version of this game. 2. DETAILS - Five pages of game information are presented in this menu choice. 3. SHIP INFO - A list of the ships available to each side is shown. Information concerning the number of hits required to sink a ship and its function in the battle can be found in this selection. 4. OPPONENTS - This item presents a short biography and picture of each computer opponent. Each opponent has a different strate- gy for attempting to sink your ships depending on which options are selected for game play. Each player presents a different difficulty level as listed below. #1 IVAN DEMONIAC - low difficulty #2 PERRY NOIA - medium difficulty #3 ULE SHEVA - high difficulty (not available in the shareware version of this game) 5. START BATTLE - This item takes you to the command ship where the battle takes place. 6. QUIT - Use this selection to end the game. 7. HERO LIST - will not be present on this menu in the shareware version of this game. Scores are saved when the game is QUIT and the player has earned some points for his/her performance during the battle. PLAYER INTERFACE (GAME INPUT) The primary game input device is a mouse. To select a menu item with the mouse, highlight the desired item by dragging the mouse to the item, then press the left mouse button. If you don't use a mouse, all game input may be done with the keyboard. Keyboard input is accomplished by highlighting the desired item with the arrow keys and pressing enter or by pressing the desired number key. Information for keyboard input is available from within the command ship by pressing [?] if there is no mouse present or keyboard has been selected as the playing option. SETTING UP THE BATTLE The battle takes place from inside your COMMAND SHIP. The com- mand ship is equipped with war status boards that track the number of hits and misses for each side. The ship is also equipped with a cannon used to fire on the other side. If you are playing with the FIGHTERS ACTIVE OPTION, you will also re- ceive information when the allied pilot is firing on the enemy and when the enemy pilot is firing on the allied position. To get started you must "PLACE YOUR SHIPS" in your battle square. The ally's battle square is the one on the left side of the ship and the enemy's battle square is on the right. Move the hand pointer to the ship you want to place in the BATTLE SQUARE and press the left mouse button. The ship will be highlighted with a box (see illustration) to let you know it is the one selected. Move the hand pointer to the grid you want to place the left most end of that ship on (for horizontally represented ships) or the grid you want to place the top most end of the ship on (for vertically represented ships); now press the left mouse button again. The ship will appear in the "battle square" in the posi- tion you selected. You may elect to have the computer select a random placement of the ships for you. To do this move the hand pointer to the [A] and push the left mouse button. Alternately, push the [A] key on the keyboard. NOTE: If you do not have a mouse, a help box will appear at the top of the screen to provide you with information for placing your ships. FIGHTING THE BATTLE Start the battle by SELECTING A TARGET GRID. Move the hand pointer to the enemy BATTLE SQUARE then choose a small square (grid) within the BATTLE SQUARE. Push the left mouse button to select that grid as your target. An X will mark that grid as the selected target and the FIRE and RESET buttons located below the ENEMY BATTLE SQUARE will change color to signify that they may now be used to fire the gun or reset the gun so that a different grid may be selected (see illustration). To FIRE the gun, move the hand pointer to the FIRE button and push the left mouse button. Select DETAILS from the MAIN MENU for a listing of other buttons and their functions. NOTE: If you do not have a mouse, move the flashing cursor to the desired grid then push [ENTER] or [SPACE]. To fire the gun push [ENTER] or [SPACE] again. Push [?] for a help box explaining keyboard input. After firing the gun you will be switched to a view from above the battle where you can watch the action. This view remains until both sides have shot their cannon. The battle will continue until one side has all its ships in the battle square sunk. When a ship is hit, the area hit will be superimposed with a bullseye. When a ship is entirely covered it is considered sunk. QUITTING THE BATTLE The game is quit from the MAIN MENU. To get back to the MAIN MENU, push [ESCAPE] from within the command ship view and select "Y" to the "MAIN MENU? (Y/N)" query. SCORING Your will receive a score for your performance during game play if you play at least 1 entire game that does not end in a draw. The highest possible score is 2500. Your score can be improved by: 1. Playing a minimum of 3 consecutive games (providing at least 2 of the 3 games are won). 2. Not missing any shots. 3. Playing against higher difficulty opponents (see OPPONENTS above for difficulty ratings). Human opponents are assigned a difficulty rating of medium. 4. Winning all games played. 5. The highest possible scores are obtained by using the IR SCOPES ON option and selecting the MASTER game level. STRATEGY OPTION: FIGHTERS ACTIVE Attempt to knock out your enemy's aircraft carrier so that his pilot will be forced to leave. Pilots can generally make 3 additional firing passes after that side's aircraft carrier is sunk before they leave the battle area. Air power is usually the deciding factor. If your jammers are out or degraded, the oppos- ing fighter becomes much more effective in finding targets. Target his jammers, as soon as one or more of his jammers are hit or sunk, your fighter becomes much more effective in finding targets. See FIGHTERS/MINES under the OPTION menu for a table that shows fighter effectiveness versus jammer damage. OPTION: IR SCOPES ACTIVE NOTE: Some enemy IR SCOPE technicians are very skilled and seldom miss a shot. IR SCOPE interpretation is an acquired skill. At first it may appear that there is merely a scattering of random false targets on your scope. Click on the gain up button to raise the gain. More targets will appear, you should now look for a series of repeating dots that may represent a ship. See IR SCOPES under the OPTIONS menu for more information concerning IR SCOPE inter- pretation and scope techniques. Try to target the enemy's INFRARED JAMMER (located on his de- stroyer) first. Once his IR JAMMER is destroyed or disabled, your IR SCOPE picture improves markedly and you should be able to target the remainder of his fleet. The IR SCOPE has a mine discrimination feature that may be help- ful. To use this feature, set the gain all the way down. The bottom 2 gain settings will allow the scope to show only possible mine positions and targets that have already been hit. Mines and false mine indications are shown as blue dots, any red dots correspond to ships already hit. Mines are difficult to discrim- inate and you will see many false mine indications. Your job will be to determine which are real and which are false. Use the EP (EMERGENCY POWER) button only when necessary since it will trigger temporary shut down of your IR SYSTEM for cool down. This temporary shut down will last until 3 additional shots are taken by that player. Three game levels are available if you select IR SCOPES ON. When first learning to use the IR SCOPES, you may want to use the RECRUIT setting and play against IVAN DEMONIAC until you gain some proficiency. TROUBLE SHOOTING If this game locks up your computer, the most likely cause is the Sound Blaster interface conflicting with some other portion of your system. A likely source of conflict may be your mouse driver. You can eliminate the Sound Blaster portion of this program by typing "OJB SILENT" when starting the game. If the game then runs you know the problem lies with the Sound Blaster. If this is the case, you could attempt to load a different mouse driver, then restart the game normally to see if that will cure your system lockup problems. USE WITH WINDOWS 1. This product was not written specifically for windows compatibility, but in most cases it can be used from WINDOWS 3.1. Compatibility with WINDOWS is not guaranteed. To use this product from windows perform the following. a. Install the program normally from DOS. Make note of the drive and directory on which you installed the program. b. Start Windows. Bring up the Program Manager. NOTE: If you want to place this file into an existing Program Group, select the program group you want this program to fit into and skip to step f. c. Click on File then click New. d. Select Program Group then click the OK button. e. In Description enter "ACCIDENTAL", then click the OK button. f. Click File from the Program Manager, then click New. g. Select Program Item then click the OK button. h. In the Program Item Properties box enter the following. Description : "OPERATION JUST BECAUSE" Command Line : "OJB.EXE" Working Directory: (enter the drive and directory as noted in A above. EXAMPLE: "C:\OJB" i. Click Change Icon button then click the next OK button. j. In the File Name block enter "(drive and directory as noted in A above plus "\OJB.ICO"), then push the OK button. EXAMPLE: "C:\OJB\OJB.ICO". k. You should see the OPERATION JUST BECAUSE icon appear as the Program Item Properties dialogue box reappears. Push the OK button and you are now done. OTHER ACCIDENTAL GAMES These exciting and addictive games from Accidental Software will provide hours of entertainment and excitement. Each game has been carefully designed to provide a realistic simulation of the game it emulates. These games use keyboard or mouse and require 545K or less or Free RAM, EGA or VGA, DOS 3.1 or above, and a hard disk. Each game except Ultimate Poker has Sound Blaster support. NOTE: A sound blaster or 100% compatible system is required for sound support. ULTIMATE BACCARAT Have you always wondered how to play BACCARAT but were afraid to ask? Relax and pull up a chair at this friendly baccarat table. You can play with 3 computer generated characters, or if you prefer real human companionship, you can play with up to 5 other "human" players. A Tutor is provided to take you through the game step by step. Once you have learned the game you can turn the tutor off and go it on your own. You can check the game stats of any player at the table, change game speed, set your own bet amounts, repeat your last bet, push your last win, or lay a new bet. All bets are implemented. The dealer talks you through the game. Many more features. Be prepared for the best baccarat game in town and you don't even have to learn with real money. ULTIMATE GIN Pull up a seat and get ready for a great game of GIN RUMMY with one of 8 computer players. Choose the game variation you like to play (Standard Gin or one of 2 forms of Oklahoma Gin). Hollywood scoring is an option you can choose to spice up the game. How about the game score? You can set the game score and all bonus points to the way you want them. Play up to 40 games in a match with any of the 8 players. Continue the match at a later time, or start a new match if desired. Check out the player's biographies and see which one (playing skill for each is different) you want to challenge. Set the game speed, check the score book at any time and much more. ULTIMATE BLACKJACK Enter a fully animated casino card game and gambling school where you play solo against the dealer or with any of 12 computer characters, each with a different style of play (biographies included!). Set the number of decks, change the rules to match any casino, and monitor stats as the game progresses. See how the other player's strategies and bets fare in the long run. Want more, how about this -- a simulation feature lets you test custom strategies! You can even use 2 different card counting systems. Novices will also appreciate the slick online tutor that suggests the best moves. Even more features are included, but be prepared! If you take a seat at this table you may never get up! ULTIMATE ROULETTE Play roulette with up to 4 computer generated players. Learn all possible bets and their odds. Place your bets and spin the wheel. Choose the standard American wheel with green 00 and 0 bets or the European Wheel with only 0 green bets. Select the simulations feature, place your bets, then run a simulation of up to 30000 spins of the wheel to see how your strategy fairs. The simulations feature will also graph the results of the actual bets you have made as well as see a graph of the numbers that have dropped for the session so far. ULTIMATE POKER Play poker with any 3 of 8 computer opponents. Games include 5 card stud, 7 card stud, High Chicago, and Holdem. Use your mouse to point and click your way through the entire game. Access stats to help determine the best move. Change the table stakes, and game speed. This is a great game of poker, and that is no bluff. DIGITAL DOWNS Capture the excitement of spending a day at the races. This animated horse racing simulation will keep you coming back for more. This game incor- porates an easy to use mouse interface that allows you to point and click your way through the entire game. A data base of 3000 horses in 30 stables keeps the action fresh from race to race. Win, Place, Show, Exacta, Quenelle, and Daily Double bets are available. Many more features make ULTIMATE CRAPS Play craps with 3 computer generated players. Learn all possible bets and their odds. Place your bets and roll the dice. Three stats tables available to keep you appraised of your progress and help you determine which bets are working for you. Use Bet Units to system- atically increase bets or facilitate development of your own betting sytem. Virtually all major bets are available including Place, don't Place, Buy and Lay bets. Help screens are available for every major bet choice. This is the Ultimate Craps tool for learning the game and testing your strategies before using real money. ASP STATEMENT _______ ____|__ | (R) --| | | ---------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |------------------------- |___|___| MEMBER "This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.