conquer the new world

manual

Table of Content

1. Background 2. Overview 3. Installing Commander: Conquest of the Americas 4. Getting Started 5. Playing Commander: Conquest of the Americas 5.1. Playing the Campaign 5.2. Strategic Level 6. Colony Interface 6.1. Colony Actions 6.2. Natives 7. Buildings 8. Tactical Level 9. Ship Types 10. Credits 26 29

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Background

Several European nations raced for domination of the New World during the 16th-18th centuries. Founding new colonies was essential to establish foothold and base of operations. Natural resources were hoarded to colonies and then shipped back to Europe for huge profits: Gold, silver, gems, cocoa, spices, cotton Natives, pirates and other nations were a constant threat. Nations did not hesitate to attack each others colonies or squadrons. Pirates also plagued the shipping routes. Nations could enter into alliances, teaming up against a common enemy. Trading, management and war went hand in hand.

Overview

Commander: Conquest of the Americas is a game about being the viceroy of selected nation in the New World and to stay in position by satisfying different advisors. To accomplish this, player must found new colonies, nurture them to grow larger by protecting them from natives and other European powers, construction new buildings and by transporting exports from Europe. As colonies grow larger, their Sphere of Influence expands and more and more natural recourses flow into the colony. By building new buildings into the colony, these resources can further be turned into processed goods that can be turned into products.
Shipping resources and products back to Europe gives player money, which he can use to improve his colonies and to buy exports from Europe. Threat of violence is always present: Rival nations will not hesitate to attack your ships or invade your colonies. Pirates can appear from nowhere and capture your squadron loaded with gold. Natives can become aggressive, as your influence spreads to their home ground.
Installing Commander: Conquest of the Americas
Insert the DVD into your DVD-drive and follow the on screen instructions.

System Requirements

Minimum requirements: Operating system: Windows XP / Windows Vista / Windows 7 CPU: Intel Core Duo 2.00GHz or equivalent Memory: 2 GB Hard drive space: 4.0 GB Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 7800 or equivalent (256 MB ram,

Sounds:

3.0 pixel shader support required) DirectX 9.0c capable chip

Getting started

Commander: Conquest of the Americas offers 2 different campaigns and a battle mode where you can choose preset battles. These are accessed from the main menu after the games has loaded. The Main Menu has following items: Campaigns, Continue Campaign, Single Battle, Load Game, Options, Credits, Exit to Windows. There are two different campaigns to choose from, normal campaign and free play. You can choose between 3 difficulty settings. If you have played campaign before, you can quick start your last save from here. A number of preset single battles can be started from here. You can access your saved games here. Commander: Conquest of the Americas uses auto save feature, interval for this can be changed in options. You can change graphics and sound settings here. Keybinds and controls are also managed in the options. Quits and exits back to Windows.

Campaigns

Continue Campaign

Single Battle Load Game

Options

Exit to Windows

Playing Commander: Conquest of the Americas
You start the game as a viceroy of your chosen nation with small squadron on the edge of the New World. No colony spots have been found yet so youll have to do a bit of scouting to find a suitable place for your first colony. The advisors will give you some time to build your colony but later on they will start to give you tasks which will increase your respect with the advisors should you complete them. Failing to satisfy the advisors will lead to losing your position as a viceroy, thus, game over.

Playing the Campaign

Strategic Level
When the campaign game starts, you are in the Strategic Level.

Screen Top

Shows current month and year. Left click to change game speed, you can also use + and keys on keypad to change game speed. Indicates how many squadrons are currently at home port. Left click to open home port interface.
Amount of colonists currently available at home port. Amount of money you have on your account.

Minimap

World map is located on the lower left corner. It shows the game area. You can change the view by left-clicking on the world map.

Lower Navigation

Lower navigation in the center shows your squadrons. Each squadron is represented by a portrait of its commander. If the squadron is a part of a group it is indicated by a chain between the commanders. Left click to select squadron and open squadron interface. Second click will center view to selected squadron. You can also select squadron by clicking on it at the strategic level. Numbers at the bottom of the commander icon represent how many coastal vessels (on the left) and ocean going ships (on the right) are in the squadron. Stars indicate the commander level.

Mailbox

Click to open mailbox. You will get messages about completed tasks, contacts from other nations, news about their actions and more.

Advisors

Click to open advisors window. In this window you can check your current standing with each advisor and gain some advices what you should do to improve your standing with them. If you let the overall standing drop too low, you will begin to receive warning message and eventually lose the game if you dont react to the warning.

Missions

Click to open missions window. In this window you can check detailed information of current missions.

Financial

Click to open financial report.

Diplomacy

Click to open diplomacy window. From this window you can inspect the current relations between nations as well as rankings. Declaring war can be done through this window. Negotiations are also launched from this window.
Negotiations In this window you can make diplomatic offers to other nations. Possible deals include: Alliance, pact, peace and declaring war or peace to third party nation. You can offer money, items or strategic relation changes. How the other nation feels about the deal can be observed from the power bar. Offering a bad deal might drop the relation status between you two. You can trade items with other nations, note that the items you wish to trade need to be in your home port warehouse.

Click to access options.

Navigating on the Strategic Level

Squadron interface

Squadron interface is shown for the selected squadron, above the commander pool. It shows commander of the squadron, all ships in the squadron (maximum of 5), squadron status as dynamic text and then command icons.
Left click to open squadron info screen.
Left click to open ship info screen.
Shows the current status of the selected squadron. Click to order selected squadron to sail to home port. Click this button to activate group mode. When activated click another squadron in range to add or remove it from the group. Left click to stop selected squadron immediately and clear all orders. Left click to activate patrol-mode. Right click on strategic level to give the squadron a patrol destination. Hold CTRL to give multiple patrol waypoints. Squadron on patrol route will sail between patrol waypoints until given another command. Left click to open trade route planning window.

Left click to activate attack colony-command. Then right click on desired target colony. Selected squadron will sail to the colony and attack it.
Issuing move command to a squadron To give your active squadron a move command, simply right-click on open sea. The squadron will immediately start sailing towards that point. Squadrons will plot their course independently. It is worth noting that each ship type has different speed. The speed of the squadron is that of the slowest ship in it. If you want to have a fast squadron, be sure you do not include slow ships like Flute or Galleon into it. Squadron range A squadron is considered a coastal squadron as long as there is at least 1 coastal vessel in it. It is very important to notice that each coastal squadron has a range. Squadron range will decrease when it is sailing and it decreases slowly even if squadron is just floating in anchor. Squadron range is replenished automatically every time squadron visits a friendly colony. Range represents the need of coastal squadrons to visit colonies in order to get supplies. You can see the range of active squadron as a white circle. You might need to zoom the view out with mouse-wheel in order to see the range circle. Should your squadron run out of range, its speed will decrease dramatically. Squadrons will themselves take care of visiting colonies often enough, if they are on patrol or moving long distances. But if there are no possible colonies for your squadrons to visit, then you are in trouble. Ocean going vessels have no range, but they are so much slower at sailing there that it isnt wise to use them to do colony to colony trading. View range The filled circle around your squadron is a view range. All squadrons have one. You can see rival squadrons only when they are inside this circle.
Colony spots, resources and natives are also hidden at start, but once discovered they remain so for the rest of the game. Colonies have a Sphere of Influence (SoI). Their view range is slightly bigger than their SoI. Attacking other squadrons When you want to attack an enemy squadron with your active squadron, just right-click on the enemy. Note that the enemy squadron must be on the visual range of your active squadron. Once given an attack order, your squadron will try to close-in with the target squadron and then initiate battle. If the enemy gets too far away or outside the view range of your squadron, the pursuit is over. When two squadrons engage each other in the strategic level, pre-battle screen is launched. In the battle preparations screen you can see on the left side all your squadrons involved in this battle. On the right side, you can see the enemy squadrons. At this stage, you still have choices.

Left-click to engage the enemy in tactical level battle. Left-click to auto resolve this battle. If you attacked the enemy, but got second thoughts, you can still cancel your attack.
When battle starts, you are taken to the tactical level. See section Tactical Level for more information. Attacking colonies When you want to attack a colony with your active squadron, first left-click on the attack colony-command button and then just right-click on the colony you wish to attack. You can attack any colony that is controlled by another nation. When attacking squadron reaches the target colony, a battle preparations screen will be launched. If you were the attacker, you can still call off the attack at this point.
Groups You can create groups consisting of three squadrons maximum. Once a group is created, you can give commands to one of the squadrons in the group and the other squadrons will follow its lead, as in, do automatic trade routes together, attack enemy squadrons and colonies. This way you can have a maximum of 15 own ships in one tactical battle. To create a group, first select a squadron, then click on the group button found on the command interface then left click on a squadron you wish to add to the group, either on the strategic map or from the commander list at the bottom of the screen. Note that the squadron you wish to add to the group needs to be in range. To remove a squadron from a group, select a squadron you wish to stay in the group, click the group button and then click a squadron you wish to remove from the group. Founding colonies To found a new colony order your active squadron sail into a colony spot. You need a squadron with enough colonists on board. There are a number of colony spots in the New World, but you must first find them in order to found colonies in them. The first 2 colonies dont have a population limit but every colony after that requires that your total population is over a certain limit. The limit can be found in the diplomacy screen.

Colony Interface

You can access the colony interface by selecting a colony from the strategic map. When you do so, a colony interface will appear on top of the commander pool.

Colony Actions

Click to open colony info. In this window you can see detailed information about the colony (such as, defences, existing buildings). You can also set the tax percentage in this window. Click to open trading post. In this window you can buy and sell items from your squadrons to trading post or move items to warehouse. Click to open building construction window. In this window you can construct, upgrade and demolish buildings. Click to open people window. In this window you can move colonists and soldiers from present squadrons to colony / home port and vice versa. You can also hire new commanders and specialists to your squadrons in this window. Click to open docks window. Built ships are located at the docks. In this window you can create new squadrons from ships at docks. You can also move ships between squadrons and docks. Ships are also repaired and sold in this window. Click to open shipyard. In this window you can build new ships. Note that you cant build coastal vessels at home port. Note that some ships are unlocked until certain year is reached. On queue tab you can see which ships are currently being built, and change the order of the ships to be built, or remove them from queue completely.
Indicates the amount of colonists in this colony. Indicates the morale of the colony.
Next to colonist and morale you can see the resources that flow into the colony. Resources that appear disabled are too far from the colony, you need to bring in more colonists to have access to them.

Natives

A colony might have a native tribe nearby. This will produce a bonus resource to the colony if you have an Indian Affairs Office built in the colony. Down side of having a nearby native tribe is a possible hostile action against your colony by the tribe. To lower the chance of these raids, you can construct a missionary building to the colony.

Buildings

All buildings have upkeep costs. Production and processing buildings generate tax income to the colony. Most of the buildings can be upgraded to be more efficient.

Tactical Level

All naval combat takes place at the tactical level.
You can press ESC at any time to pause the game and bring up the control panel. Note that you cannot save the game during battle. There are two distinctive modes of play in the tactical level: RTS-mode and Direct Command mode. In RTS-mode you control the ships in your squadrons in realtime, giving them commands. On top of the screen you can see power balance bars which indicates the power of the squadrons, flags under the bars identifies which nation is in question. Middle button opens up a quick review of the situation. The two buttons under it are used for changing modes between RTS-mode (on the left) and DCmode (on the right). On the left side of the screen you can see your squadron commanders and a minimap. Skills of the active commander are located on top of the minimap. Active skills have a cooldown bar beside them and can only be used in DC-mode.

RTS-mode

Cone on the minimap shows the current camera view area. Green dots are friendly ships and red dots are hostile ships. On the outer ring is a little circle with a number in it, that shows the current wind direction and speed. On the right side of the screen are ship info windows. To bring up ship info window, just left click on any ship. Ship info of own ships also has a button to open cargo screen, you can check what the selected ship has in the cargo hold and you can also dump cargo if you need the extra speed in battle, note that the dumped cargo is lost. On the bottom of the screen are selected command buttons. Ship status is located under the ship icon. Next to the ship icon are 3 quick info icons which go from green to yellow and red. They represent the current condition of hull, sails and crew in that order. Under the condition icons is the current speed of the ship. The bars beside the ship icon indicate cannon loading times. Command icons:
Orders the selected ship(s) to stop. Orders the selected ship(s) to hold fire / fire at will. Orders selected ship to initiate boarding action. Button is disabled if your ship is too far from the enemy ship, or you have multiple ships selected. Activates flee mode. When a ship in flee mode gets far enough from the enemy, it is removed from the battlefield. Orders the selected ship(s) to surrender. Select formation for selected ships. Select tactics for selected ships. Select ammunition for selected ships.

Formations:

Single line. Orders the selected ships to form a single line. Strongest ship will take the lead. No formation. Selected ships will have no formation and will move as fast as they are able to their destination. Selected ships will move at the speed of the slowest ship in the formation. Selected ships will move side by side. Strongest ship will take the center.

Tactics:

Orders the selected ships to attack their closest targets. Selected ships will attack the target you choose. Orders the selected ships to stay close range when attacking. Orders the selected ships to keep distance with the enemy.

Left click on enemy ship to show that ships info window. Mouse wheel to zoom in / out. Press and hold middle mouse button to rotate camera.
Keyboard controls: Open options screen ESC P / space Pause game F Hide / show ship names W Open sails S Heave sails A Turn left D Turn right Q Fire left side cannons E Fire right side cannons TAB Change camera 1-9 Use active skill G Hide / show GUI After the battle there is battle results screen which shows the status of every ship involved in the battle. If you were playing in campaign mode and lost, your fled ships will remain in your command when you return to strategic level. If you won, your surrendered ships will be back in your fleet and surrendered enemy ships will create a new squadron for you to command.

Battle Results

Ship Types
Different ship types are better suited for different roles.

Barque

Barque has the longest range of coastal vessels, so it is ideal for trading between colonies that are far from each other. Having medium cannons, it can defend quite well against single pirate ship but for larger encounters, it requires escorts.

Caravel

Caravel is one the first ocean going trade ships you have access to. It has limited cargo space and low defensive capabilities. Low price and long range makes it a good ship to scout colony spots.

Carrack

Carrack is the first ocean going warship you have access to. Being slightly faster than the most common trade ship during the early 16th century, it is quite well suited for hunting them.
Merchant sloops are very fast, but due to their small size they cannot carry large amounts of cargo. With only 8 light cannons, the merchant sloops are barely able to defend themselves, so they should avoid confrontations with enemies.

Schooner

Schooners are fast ships that are well suited for trading and scouting. They have enough light cannons to be a threat to merchant ships, especially in large numbers. This makes them suitable for piracy and many pirates employ them as small fleets, quickly attacking lone cargo ships without escort.
Brigs are versatile ships that can be used as warships or transports. They are quite manoeuvrable and agile ships in battle. As cargo ships brigs have a moderate cargo space and they are relatively fast. They do require a large crew to operate them.
Flute, also known as Fluyt, is a transport ship originating from the Netherlands. It is a very seaworthy vessel, easily capable of enduring the long voyages on high seas. Flutes have medium cannons, but they are no match for warships and should avoid combat.

Indiaman

Indiamen were the largest class of ships for merchant vessels. The Indiaman is not solely designed for trading purposes, though, as these ships are well armed with heavy cannons in order to defend themselves. Indiamen are as close to warships as merchant ships can get.

Cutter

Naval cutters are the smallest warships. With their light cannons they have no chance against larger warships and should avoid getting too close to more heavily armed transports too. Their great speed is often their best advantage. Cutters are good vessels for scouting and in packs they can go against ships like xebecs that pirates often use.
Xebecs are usually slightly smaller than frigates and less heavily armed, as well. Xebecs have a history of being corsair ships and they were often seen in the Mediterranean. Their high speed gives them advantage over their slower-moving prey, and they also have good manoeuvrability.

Galleon

Galeon is a well-armed warship also capable of taking aboard large amounts of cargo. Galleons are best known for their role in the Spanish treasure fleet in the Caribbean. Galleons were originally developed during 16th century.

Frigate

Frigates are large warships that can be used in many different roles. They can go against any enemy, save for ship-of-the-line. Their high speed makes them good ships for escorting faster merchant ships.
Ship-of-the-line, 3rd rate
Ship-of-the-line was designed to be used in a line formation. This way they could sail past the enemy and fire a broadside after broadside in rapid succession. They can outgun a frigate, but they are not as agile or fast ships.

Ship-of-the-line

Ship-of-the-line 1st rate has heavy cannons in three decks. Ship-of-the-line can wreak havoc with a single broadside, but they are most effective in a line formation. No ship can withstand the continuous barrage from a line of these ships sailing by.

Credits

Nitro Games
Chairman of the Board Antti Villanen CEO Jussi Thtinen COO Brendon Neuweth Lead Designer Kim Soares Designers Markku Pitknen Aaro Sahari Lead Progammer Janne Niittymki Programmers Juho Jantunen Daniel Liljeqvist Tommi Niilola Ossi Pylvninen Jari Ravantti Samppa Rnk Panu Tertsunen Marko Turklin Art Director Lasse Lehmusvaara Lead 3D Artist Niko Pesonen 3D Artist Timo Rokka Content scripting Jesse Juva Jesse Mutru 2D graphics Janne Pitknen Jelena Jovovi Saryth Chareonpanichkul Sittisak Pusuwan Wanichaya Phraejanya Wanchana Intrasombat Palakorn Nawathong Panithan Paramatikul Jason Walton Agilecraft Ltd. Agile Coach Petri Heiramo Nitro FX Ltd. Sound FX Henri Ollinkari Tomi Nikulainen Tempo Music Studio Creative Director Orlando Salva Team Leads Wilson Pedro Jr. Hans Christian Caparoso Ships Carlos Gregor Calalec Regoloso Lascoa Jr. Music Vesa-Matti Mattsson Juho Roslakka Jussi Aronen Voice over Vesa-Matti Mattsson Gary Rewel Jr. Strawberry Bay Sound Additional SFX Wiljami Salminen Max Paananen Jonas Mki Lady Luck Digital Media Project Management Luis Manalac Isabel Manalac

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