Greek Campaign Screen

Playing a Stand-Alone Scenario
If you have downloaded any individual scenarios off of the internet, received one from a friend, or created one yourself, you can play them by clicking the Play Scenario button in the Single Player menu. On the Play Scenario screen, simply select the scenario you want to play and click the Load button. The Scenarios Intro/Briefing screen then appears and you can begin the game by clicking the Start button.

Playing a Saved Game

If you started playing a Single Player scenario (whether part of a campaign or not) or a Random Map game and saved it before you were finished, you can reload the game to continue playing from where you left off. In the Single Player menu click the Play Saved Game button. On the Play Saved Game screen, all your saved Single Player games are listed. Choose the one you want and click the Load button to start it. Clicking the Delete button will delete the highlighted saved game. You can also elect to play a saved game from the Play Campaign screen.

Multiplayer Games

Multiplayer games allow you to compete against human opponents over a Local Area Network (LAN) or the Internet. Click the Multiplayer button on Empire Earths Main Menu to go to the Multiplayer screen, from which you can choose to join or host a game. There are several ways to join or host a multiplayer game of Empire Earth, which are described below. Only the host has control over EEs various game options, including the choice of playing a saved multiplayer game.
NOTE: You must have a network or an Internet connection in order to play Multiplayer games of Empire Earth. Also, if the host should leave a game for any reason, Empire Earth will attempt to migrate the host duties to a new computer so that the remaining players can continue to play if they wish.
REFERENCE: Whether you are joining or hosting a game, you will eventually find yourself at the Game Setup screen. This screen is also used for Single Player Random Map games and is covered in the Game Setup section later in this chapter.

Join Network Game

To join a game over a Local Area Network (LAN), click on the Join Network Game tab and then select the game you want to join from the Available Games list. Click the Join button to go to the Game Setup screen (described later in this chapter).

Join by IP Address

Joining a game directly by using an IP (Internet Protocol) address requires that you know what the hosts IP address is. Have the host send you his or her IP address by email, instant messaging, telephone (if your phone line is not being tied up by your computer), or using some other method. When you have it, click the Join by IP Address tab and enter the IP address into the text box provided. Then click the Join button to go to the Game Setup screen.

Both Single Player and Multiplayer games of Empire Earth utilize the Game Setup screen, which offers a variety of options. For Multiplayer games, the Setup screen also offers a chat area so that players can chat with one another before the game starts. To chat, simply type a message into the chat text field and press Enter.
For Multiplayer games only. When checked, this box indicates that the associated player is ready to start the game. All players, including the host, must be checked in (ready) before the host can start the game. Players cannot change any options or leave the game while they are checked in.

Players

The Player column displays the state of each of the player slots and who (if anyone) is occupying those slots. The single-player or the multiplayer host can choose the status of each of the slots. The multiplayer host can allow additional human players into the game by opening slots or prevent players from joining by closing slots. Open An open slot indicates where a human player can join the game. Closed No one can join a closed slot. The host can eject players who have already joined by closing their slots.
Computer This means a computer player is occupying the slot. Single Player Random Map games require that there be at least one computer player. Player Name When a human player joins the game, his or her name occupies the slot. Observer A player can set his or her own slot to Observer (see below). Other players will see the players name written in green text. This option is for Multiplayer games only.
NOTE: During a game, you can check out each players status (e.g., disconnected, defeated, observer, etc.) by clicking the button and looking at the icons on the far left of the Alliances & Tributes screen. These icons are explained in Chapter IV.

Observer Mode

You can join a Multiplayer game of Empire Earth as an observer to watch the game as it is being played. Hosts can also be observers. Observers cannot participate in the game, but they can watch all the action and chat with one another (but not with the active players). Observers have full map visibility and no fog of war. Each observer takes up one player slot. For the observer, the word observer appears on the Multiplayer Setup screen instead of his or her name. For all other players, the observers player name appears in green text.
NOTE: Observers cannot save games unless they were observing the original game (before it was saved).

Teams and Player Colour

The Team control allows each player to pick his or her team. Players with the same team number start the game on the same team, meaning they are allies and they share Line Of Sight (LOS). A hyphen "-" indicates that no team is selected. (Also see the Lock Teams Game Option, below.) Next to each Team control is a Colour indicator that shows what colour each player will have during the game. Your player colour marks all your units and buildings in the game so that they can be identified as belonging to you. Player colour also shows up on the Mini-map.

Granary Build Button

Training/Creation Buttons
To fill out the ranks of your civilisation you can train additional Citizens and soldiers, and create weapons of war. Certain types of buildings Production Buildings such as the Barracks and Tank Factory are used for this purpose.
Prehistoric Citizen Training Button

Unit Upgrade Buttons

As your civilisation advances through the Epochs, new types of warriors and weapons become available. Many of these new military units are upgradesof earlier units. Upgrade buttons allow you to replace your older units with more up-to-date units. For example, Clubmen upgrade into Mace Men, Mace Men upgrade into Short Sword Men, and so on.

Upgrade Button

Research Buttons
Historically, progress has been measured in part by a societys technological advances and achievements. Your civilisation can perform technological research at certain types of buildings, such as the Capital and University. Technologies give your civilisation particular benefits, such as stronger buildings, stronger Citizens, or increased economic production.
Hafted Tools Button (+15% Stone Gathering)

Unit Improvement Buttons

All other things being equal, the army that has better equipment and training tends to prevail on the battlefield. In Empire Earth, military units can be customised by improving their attributes in essence, improving their equipment and training. Each type of soldier and military weapon has its own set of unique attributes. When you improve an attribute for an individual soldier, all soldiers of that type receive the improvement. For example, when you improve the Speed of a single Club Man, the Speed of all Club Men improves even ones you have not trained yet. Additionally, improvements carry over when you upgrade, so when Club Men are upgraded to Mace Men, the Speed improvement carries over. Each improvement costs your civilisation a certain amount of resources. Improvements are made in the Unit Information and Improvement area just click on the button of the attribute you want to improve. The number before the plus sign (+) for each attribute is the base level of that attribute. The number after the plus sign indicates by how much that attribute has been improved. Each individual attribute has a maximum amount that it can be improved. Additionally, you are allowed to make up to a maximum number of improvement steps in total. Each armour improvement counts as one step, and all other improvements count as 2 steps. The number on the unit portrait indicates the total number of steps so far.

Lets players select a civilisation (first 5 minutes of the game Civ Selections only) or view their selected civilisation (see Chapter III). This button also appears above the Mini-map at certain times and is used to allow players to spend Civ Points in scenarios. For scenarios only, this button displays the Intro screen so Briefing players can review the instructions and objectives for the scenario. This button also appears above the Mini-map and it blinks when new objectives are added. Previous Lists all the previously sent chat and dialogue messages, which Messages you can scroll through. This button appears only when there are messages to view and is particularly useful in scenarios.
Used to send messages to other players (see Chapter IX).

In-Game Options

The In-game Options menu, accessible by clicking the Game Options button, provides you with the following choices: Quit this Game Quit the game and exit to the statistics screen. This button is called Return to Editor if you are testing a scenario from the Scenario Editor, and it does just that. Game Settings Go to the Game Settings screen. (Remember: Multiplayer games do not pause.) Save Game Save the current game. Play continues after the save is complete. Play Saved Game Load and play a previously saved game (Single Player only). Resign Resign the current game and become an observer (results in your defeat). Restart Game Restart the current game from the beginning (Single Player only). Pause (Unpause) Game Pause (or unpause) the game. Play Scenario Load and play a stand-alone scenario (Single Player only). Return to Game Exit the menu and return to the current game.

Player Status

You can check the status of each player in the game by going to the Alliances & Tributes screen. The icons on the extreme left of the screen (next to the Chat checkboxes) indicate what the current status of each player is. Behind each icon, the background colour tells you whether the player is human (dark gold) or computer-controlled (light silver).
WHAT IT MEANS The player is connected and active in the game.
The player is disconnected and is not active in the game. The player either was dropped or left the game on purpose.
The player has been defeated and is not actively participating in the game anymore.

Settlements

A Settlement is a drop-off point for every kind of resource. By building a Settlement near a resource site you can increase the rate at which that resource is gathered by your Citizens because they do not have to walk as far to deposit their loads. Constructing a Settlement is also the first step in constructing Town Centres and, eventually, Capitals. Choose a resource site, such as a forest, that is not too close to your Capital and then construct a Settlement next to it.
INSTRUCTION To construct a Settlement (or any building), click on a Citizen and then click on the appropriate Build button in this case, the Settlement button. Then, click on the map where you want the building to be constructed. A ghost of the building helps you choose where to build it. Green means it is okay to construct the building there. Uneven ground or obstructing objects like trees make some sites unsuitable for construction. If the ghost building is tinted red, it means you cannot build there; you must choose a different location for the building.
REFERENCE: For more information about Settlements, Town Centres, and Capitals and how they work, see Chapter VII: City-States.
TIP: Once your Citizens are finished constructing the Settlement, youll notice that they start gathering from the nearest resource site (theyll gather wood if you built your Settlement next to a forest). If the Settlement isnt close enough to the resource site, they might not know what you want them to do, so they will wait for you to tell them. Select the idle Citizens and right-click on the nearest resource. You want to maintain a steady flow of raw materials for your civilisation, so it is a good idea to put idle Citizens back to work as quickly as possible. To help you find idle Citizens, you can click the Idle Citizens button below the Mini-map.

Training an Army

Always keep in mind that there are rivals waiting for the opportunity to conquer your civilisation in this walkthrough, the computer player is your rival. Empire Earth has many options available to help you protect your civilisation. Training military units, for example, will help you defend against a possible enemy attack, as well as prepare for a future offensive of your own. The only military building available in the Prehistoric Age is the Barracks. At the Barracks you can train Clubmen and Rock Throwers. In later Epochs you can train other infantry units. Construct a Barracks near your Capital and then train five Clubmen.
INSTRUCTION First, have your Citizens construct a Barracks by selecting some Citizens and clicking the Build Barracks button. Then, place the Barracks on the map. Once the Barracks is finished, you can train Clubmen (dont forget to put your Citizens back to work!). To train five Clubman, click on the Barracks and then click on the Train Clubman button five times (you can also hold down the Shift key and click the Train Clubman button once). The resources required to train each Clubman are automatically deducted from your reserves. In a few moments, the Clubmen begin to appear next to the Barracks, one at a time.

NOTE: Regardless of where a resource is dropped-off, it goes into your civilisations resource reserves and can be used anywhere it is needed. To see how much of a particular resource your civilisation currently has on hand, check the Resource Inventories Bar near the bottom of the screen.
TIP: The more Citizens who work inside (Populate) a specific Settlement, Town Centre, or Capital, the greater the economic bonus you receive for dropping off stone, gold, or iron at that building. You can also populate a Granary to boost Farm production. See Chapter VII for more details.

Gathering Food

Food is the most basic of human resources as it is essential for our survival. Long ago, food was synonymous with power. Those who controlled the sources of food thrived while those who didnt tended to die out. Today, food is just one of several resources crucial to every modern nation. In Empire Earth, food is vital to your civilisation's continued development. Consequently, there are several ways to gather food. Your Citizens can forage, hunt, and farm. You can also build fishing boats to harvest fish from the seas.

Expanding your society

Foraging and Hunting
Early nomadic tribes were both hunters and gatherers. Employing both methods of acquisition broadened the range of potential food sources. Foraging for what nature provided was a holdover from more-primitive ancestors. The diet of early humans consisted largely of wild berries, grains, fruits, roots, and other vegetation. Hunting probably had a similar origin. Evidence suggests our ancestors started out as scavengers, taking advantage of kills left by more successful predators. In time, the advent of stone tools and weapons not to mention intelligence allowed humans to become formidable predators in their own right. But, despite such advances, some animals were still dangerous. To reduce the risks and increase the chance of success, individuals banded together into hunting parties. Citizens in Empire Earth can both forage for edible vegetation and hunt wild animals. When hunting, your Citizens will attempt to kill an animal and then butcher it for meat. Some animals wont go down without a fight. Your Citizens will not gather rotten meat, so dont leave a carcass alone for too long.

NOTE: Morale is not an additive effect. For example, if the areas of effect of two Town Centres overlap, units in the overlap area receive the higher of the two morale bonuses, not a sum of both. However, houses built within this overlapping area are shared by both Town Centres.

Economic Production

Settlements, Town Centres, and Capitals can have permanent civil workforces assigned to them (see Planning, below). A side benefit to populating these buildings with Citizens is the economic infrastructure these governmental-workers automatically provide. This infrastructure makes the Citizens dropping off resources (stone, gold, or iron) at the populated building more productive on each trip. Put simply, the more Citizens working in a Settlement, Town Centre, or Capital, the larger the economic benefit. A Capital, with its larger workforce, therefore provides the greatest economic benefit of the three buildings. You can also populate Granaries to increase your Farm production.
NOTE: To receive the economic bonus, drop-off buildings must be close to the resource site. Also, resource gathering in Tournament games is faster than in Standard games.

Protection

In addition to the benefits provided by civil buildings, you can construct other buildings to protect the towns and people of your civilisation.
Temples Protection against Calamities
In times of crisis, people throughout history have sought refuge in Temples. The feeling of safety provided by places of worship is a remarkable source of strength for the victims of natural as well as manmade disasters. Prophets, who are deeply attuned to the spiritual world, know they cannot overcome this overwhelming faith. Consequently, they cannot invoke calamities in the vicinity of a Temple.
Universities Protection against Conversions
Early Universities were steeped in religious tradition, while more modern institutions placed a heavier emphasis on science. Both approaches instilled strong beliefs in those who were attending the University. In Empire Earth, rival theologies will fail to find a sympathetic ear at your Universities. Therefore, members of your civilisation (buildings included) in the vicinity of a University cannot be converted by an enemys Priests.

TIP: If you assign an airplane a target that is beyond its flight range, it flies as far as it can, but will immediately return to its Airport as soon as it runs out of fuel. If this happens, try improving the airplanes Flight Time and/or Speed.
Refueling and Repairing Airplanes
Airplanes automatically return to their home Airport when they run out of fuel and ammunition (as measured by their Flight Time). Planes land and take-off one at a time so, when multiple aircraft return to a single Airport at the same time, they are given clearance to land in the order that they arrived. Planes are automatically refueled, rearmed, and repaired (if necessary) while hangared at an Airport. How long repairs take depends upon how much damage an aircraft has sustained. A plane will not re-launch until it has been completely repaired. A single Airport can accommodate up to 15 airplanes at once note that if an Airport is destroyed, any planes within are destroyed also.
TIP: Helicopters are automatically repaired when near an Airport, and they never need to be refueled.

Controlling Aircraft

Fighters and Bombers can be given orders in two general ways: as individual planes or collectively through the air traffic control center of their home Airport. You give orders to planes in flight by selecting the aircraft and providing the orders, just like any other unit in Empire Earth. (The easiest way to select airplanes is with the Idle Aircraft hot keys, explained on the next page.) Once selected, aircraft can be ordered to move, attack, or stop what they are doing and fly in a circle. You can have airplanes land at a specific Airport by selecting them and right-clicking on the Airport (remember only 15 airplanes are allowed per Airport).
TIP: Each individual fighter can have a standing order set just for it. Select the fighter and then click its Rally Point button. Then right-click on the map to set the rally point for that plane. Note that if you have a rally point set for all fighters at an Airport (explained below), the individual fighter's rally point takes precedence over the Airport's
At the Airport, planes can be given objectives in the form of Rally Points, which are standing orders that tell the planes to fly to a particular location or target repeatedly until they are told to do something else. When you set a rally point, the planes take off, fly to the rally point (if they have enough Flight Time), carry out an attack (if there is anything to attack), and then return to the Airport to start the cycle over again. You can set a separate Rally Point for fighters, bombers, and atomic bombers there is a separate Action button for each. (To set a rally point for all planes at once, simply select the Airport and right-click on the target.) You can also Cancel all the orders to remove all Rally Points.

NOTE: Units in the process of being healed are indicated with a graphic effect.

Imperial Age

Imperial Age (AD)
The appearance of ships capable of circumnavigating the Earth heralded the beginning of the Imperial Age. Muzzle-loading cannons cast in bronze and later iron were introduced as seafaring nations battled for access to new resource-rich lands. Massive warships such as the Henry Grce Dieu, commissioned by and named after Henry VIII, carried a total of more than 150 large iron cannons and smaller guns. Small arms continued to advance as well. The flintlock musket was quicker to load and cheaper to produce than the earlier matchlock. As firearms got more accurate and reliable, the era of the archer slowly came to an end. But it wasnt until the introduction of the bayonet especially the under-the-barrel design adopted by the French army in 1688 that hand-to-hand weapons like the sword and halberd began finally to disappear. With that development, the fundamental shift from medieval to modern warfare was at hand. Major changes were also taking place in science. The Scientific Revolution was underway and its crowning achievement would be the establishment of the scientific method, which emphasised empirically-collected data and reproducible experiments. Galileo, an early proponent of the methods principles, used the newly-invented telescope to provide the first evidence that the Earth was not the centre of the universe. An important achievement in the 17th Century was the invention of calculus, with which Sir Isaac Newton was able to describe his laws of motion. The Catholic Church, meanwhile, was coming to grips with the Protestant Reformation. In addition to setting up a Roman Inquisition, which put Galileo himself under house arrest, the Church sent missionaries all over the world to convert populations in new lands as well as to reclaim those who had become Protestant.

Alliances

CHAPTER IX ALLIANCES
Political alliances have helped to maintain balances of power since the dawn of civilisation. Often, a common foe can form just as strong a bond between nations as a common heritage, especially when war is imminent. Direct dialogues between nations have served to both make and break friendships, as well as to draw proverbial lines that rivals are dared to cross. When warranted, gifts in the form of tributes have also been used to win friends, placate enemies, and even buy favours.

King Henry V of England Archive Photos
REFERENCE: For more information on unit improvements and upgrades, see Chapter IV.

Gilgamesh

Epoch: Copper Age Type: Warrior Gilgamesh became King of the City of Uruk sometime in the 3rd Millennium BC. The legends of this great warrior are perhaps the oldest surviving written stories and poems. The most complete version of the Epic of Gilgamesh is written on 12 clay tablets in the cuneiform script of the ancient Akkadian language. Though it is impossible to fully assess how much of the accounts are true, they are nevertheless considered among the greatest works of ancient Mesopotamia. In the legends, Gilgamesh is described as a skilled warrior who fights and then befriends the divinely-created wild man, Enkidu. Working together, they manage to kill the monster Huwawa, guardian of the forest, and the mighty bull of heaven sent by the goddess Ishtar to destroy Gilgamesh for jilting her. Enkidu then suddenly takes ill and dies, punished by the gods for helping Gilgamesh to slay the bull. Saddened and feeling vulnerable, Gilgamesh seeks out Utnapishtim, who is rumored to know the secret of eternal life. But, though he learns the secret, Gilgamesh ultimately falters and his desire for immortality goes unfulfilled.

Sargon of Akkad

Epoch: Copper Age Type: Strategist Legend tells that Sargon had a meager upbringing, rising on his own merits to become ruler of Southern Mesopotamia. He spoke Akkadian, a Semitic language which supplanted the Sumerian spoken by earlier rulers. The name Akkad derives from Agade, the capital city founded by Sargon around 2300 BC. Sargon had a keen military mind. He first conquered the Sumerian city-states and maintained control over them throughout his reign. From there, Sargon expanded his empire into Syria, Anatolia, and parts of modern-day Iran. He also encouraged trade and turned Agade into a major trading centre. Sargon ruled for over 50 years, establishing the Akkadian Dynasty, which survived for 100 years after his death. So successful was Sargon that later Mesopotamians wrote epics about his life, regarding him as the originator of their military heritage. Today, he is widely considered to be the first great empire builder.

Hannibal

Epoch: Bronze Age Type: Warrior The great Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barca, brought his son, Hannibal, with him to Spain around 237 BC. In the wake of Carthages loss to Rome in the First Punic War, young Hannibal learned to hate the Romans. Hamilcar died in battle in 228 BC and his successor, Hasdrubal, gave Hannibal his first command. Hannibal performed brilliantly and assumed leadership of the army when Hasdrubal was assassinated in 221 BC. During Hannibals subsequent consolidation of Carthaginian holdings in Spain, he sacked the city of Saguntum. Rome, an ally of Saguntum, formally protested to Carthage and demanded the surrender of Hannibal. Carthage refused and the Second Punic War began. In the Spring of 218 BC, Hannibal began his famous march through Gaul and over the Alps, finally crossing into Italy some 5 months later. Hannibals army achieved numerous victories in Italy, securing local allies and approaching to within several miles of Rome itself. But the Romans adopted a strategy of harassing Hannibals forces without committing to an all-out battle. Instead, they sent legions to Spain and Northern Africa. Eventually Hannibals numbers waned and, in 203 BC, he left Italy with the remnants of his army to help defend Carthage. Hannibal launched a last-ditch attack, which ended in his only defeat at the Battle of Zama. Carthage lost the Second Punic War, and Hannibal later committed suicide rather than be captured by the Romans.

Choosing a Civilisation

CHAPTER XIV CHOOSING

A CIVILISATION

On a large scale, the whole of recorded history can be viewed as intertwined ascensions and declines of all the civilisations humanity has ever produced. Some civilisations expertly used their unique combination of societal and cultural attributes to attain a peak of excellence whose significance did not diminish with time. But, for every eminent civilisation, there were many that never reached their full potential, leaving at most only minor imprints on history. Such shortcomings may have had little to do with the underlying characteristics of these civilisations, but rather with how those characteristics were or were not put to use.

Civilisations

The chronicle of time has been inexorably tied to the ebb and flow of civilisation since its very beginning. The disintegration of the Roman Empire, for example, led in large part to the socalled Dark Ages and eventual rise of Feudalism. A millennium later, the unprecedented exploration of the world during the late 15th and 16th Centuries resulted in an age of imperialistic expansion. The history of the 20th Century revolved principally around international struggles which culminated in two World Wars and a lingering Cold War. Empire Earth offers you the opportunity to lead a civilisation of your choosing through any period of time in human history. You can also create a civilisation even one that never existed in history by using Empire Earths Civilisation Builder. However you choose to play, youll have the chance to make your own mark on the chronicle of time.

Historic Civilisations

Empire Earth comes with 21 great civilisations, each with its own strengths, ready for you to lead to world dominance and victory. These predefined Civilisations are from every era in history and include the Greeks, English, French, Germans, and Russians. Depending on the period of time you choose to play, you may want to select a civilisation that is appropriate to that period, though you do not have to. The choice is yours. When a Random Map game of Empire Earth starts, you have 5 minutes to choose the civilisation you want to play. Just click on the blinking Civilisation Selections button to bring up the list of predefined civilisations (assuming the Use Custom Civ option was not chosen during the Game Setup). Then, select the civilisation you want and click OK to return to the game.
REFERENCE: A list of all the predefined civilisations and their bonuses can be found in Appendix A. Details on how to choose a civ to use in a game are given in Chapter III.

The Civilisation Builder

For those who want to leave their own personal imprint on history, Empire Earths Civilisation Builder gives you the power to create your own customised civilisations. You can create different civilisations for different game situations, if you want to. For example, you could create a civilisation specifically for use in the Atomic Age or for Island Map Types. There are literally thousands of different civilisations you can create, but the process for making a civilisation is very simple. Civilisations in Empire Earth are distinguished from one another by their unique characteristics. While all civilisations are, for example, able to produce fighter aircraft starting in the Atomic Age, some can innately produce better fighters by virtue of their particular strengths. Creating a civilisation in the Civ Builder is simply a matter of choosing which strengths or bonuses you want to give your civilisation.

Economy Resource Gathering 20% Wood Cutting Citizens & Fishing Boats 30% Hit Points 20% Cost Reduction Buildings, Walls, & Towers 50% Hit Points 20% Range Siege Weapons 30% Hit Points 20% Range 25% Rate of Fire Cybers - Combat 20% Attack 20% Range Cybers - Ultra 25% Hit Points 20% Speed 20% Cost Reduction
Rebel Forces: 21st Century
The establishment of Novaya Russia was not welcomed by all Russians. A resistance movement known simply as the Rebels kept constant pressure on Grigor Stoyanovich and his new State. The Rebels method of striking hard and then relocating their base of operation allowed them to keep up an effective insurgency for many decades. An underground network of international arms traders kept them supplied with modern weapons. Successes against the giant State prompted factions sympathetic to the Rebels to appear outside the country, especially in Europe, Southeast Asia and, later, the Americas. What had been just a resistance movement in Novaya Russia developed into a global Rebel network dedicated to the abolition of all forms of totalitarianism and the creation of a Free Earth based entirely on humanitarian principles. Rebel cadres set up secret bases and production facilities around the world. So widespread did these separate yet united cabals become that, by the turn of the 22nd Century, the Free Earth movement was effectively unconquerable there was no practical way to defeat them all. The movement that began as a rebellion may yet be the force that propels humankind to abandon its divisive tribal mentality and embrace a united Earth.
Economy Resource Gathering 15% Iron Mining Citizens & Fishing Boats 10% Build Time Decrease Infantry - Ranged 20% Attack 25% Hit Points 20% Range Tanks 20% Attack 20% Range Cybers - Combat 20% Range 20% Cost Reduction Bombers 25% Hit Points 20% Speed
The Eagle Attacks by Mark Churms 1999

Hot Keys

APPENDIX B HOT KEYS

Key Action

View Keys
Up Arrow Down Arrow Left Arrow Right Arrow Right Bracket Left Bracket Period F2 F5 F9 Shift F9 Ctrl F9 Alt F9 Space Scroll Up Scroll Down Scroll Left Scroll Right Zoom in Zoom out Follow Unit Toggle through perspective Zoom modes Toggle through 3 Show Hidden Units modes Take a Screen Shot with UI Take a Screen Shot without UI Take a Low Resolution Screen Shot of Entire Map Take a High Resolution Screen Shot of Entire Map Move to location of last player event (keep pressing to review the queue of recent events)

Selection Keys

Comma A B D F Ctrl - # Shift - # Alt - # # ## Idle Citizen Idle Military Unit Idle Atomic Bomber Idle Bomber Idle Fighter/Bomber Idle Fighter Create group # Add selection to group # Select and centre group # Select group # (Press the groups number) Select and centre group # (Press number twice)

Battle Book Series

TACTICS GUIDE

BY MARK WALKER

ACG's Battle Book arms gamers with the real-time tactics that win on Empire Earth III's battlefields.

BASED ON A GAME

RATED BY THE
www.empireearth.com/splash/

ESRB CONTENT RATING

BLOOD AND GORE LANGUAGE MILD SUGGESTIVE THEMES VIOLENCE
mpire Earth is a long and storied franchise. Starting with the original Empire Earth, which was released in November 2001, and continuing through Empire Earth II, the franchise received critical acclaim and significant sales. If there was one complaint, however, it was that the franchise was a bit too detailedpresented a few too many options. Some gamers were thrilled at the depth of the design, but some others were slightly intimidated. Sierra has listened to the legion of fans and have answered their call for a simpler, more streamlined version of their popular game. Empire Earth III is that answer. Gone are the semi-confusing multitudes of civilizations. Instead, Empire Earth III allows gamers to pick from three: the West, Middle East, and Far East. Although the reduction in civilizations certainly makes the game simpler, Mad Doc software has added some additional strategic flavor in the form of the turn-based, strategic game over the tactical, real-time strategy engine. Here gamers can determine exactly how they want to go about dominating the world. They can choose which provinces to defend, which
provinces to attack, and what to do with them after they are conquered. Of course conquering the world isnt an easy process. Youll not only need to fight opposing civilizations but native tribes, too. Although the tribes that are native to a region are usually not quite as formidable as an advanced civilization, they do require you to zoom into the province and get your hands dirty defeating them on the tactical
Empire Earth III is a beautiful game.
map. These intricacies, coupled with numerous epochs and hundreds of units make Empire Earth III a game that is not easily mastered. And that, my friend, is where this battle book may come in handy. Although not the definitive guide to all things Empire Earth III, it will help you hit the ground running. So, follow along as we take a look at the game and provide tips that will help you on your way to Empire Earth III mastery.

www.esrb.org

T TEEN BASED ON A GAME R GENERAL M C O P Y R I G H T , A R M C H A IBLOOD AND GORE A G A Z I N E , RATED BY THE LANGUAGE

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

w w w. a r m c h a i r g e n e r a l.c o m
Tickle Those Keys p.2 A Game of Economics p.5 Stategic Thinking p.6 Commerce and Technology p.7 The Final Strategy p.7
empire that is ready to kick serious Empire Earth III tail.
Are these guys working as hard as they should?

TICKLE THOSE KEYS

Theres nothing to real-time strategy, right? You lasso some units here, click over there, build a building there, collect some resources, and you win. Theres nothing to real-time strategy right? Wrong. Theres quite a bit to it, and part of that bit begins with the interface. If you want to be good at Empire Earth III, you have to go beyond lassoing and clicking. You have to learn the shortcuts. Shortcuts both on the keyboard and with the mouse. Here are some of my favorites, and the actions that they perform. CTRL+COMMA This selects all idle builders. Why is that good? It helps you ensure that all your people are gainfully employed. A gainfully employed empire is a prosperous empire, and a prosperous empire is an
CTRL+NUMBER Pressing this combination does what it has done since the folks at Westwood came up with it way back in the days of Command and Conquer. It places the currently selected units into a group. This is useful for about a quarter million things, but Ill only mention a couple. Thing One: This allows you to form a group of units that provide mutual protection, for example, infantry, tanks, and mobile artillery pieces. The artillery pieces bombard opposing infantry and take out buildings. The tanks protect the mobile artillery, and the infantry protect the tanks from other infantry. Another good example is placing pikemen with archers. Pikemen
Nothing like an organized army. These guys are the dreaded Army 1.
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will protect the archers from cavalry, while the archers attrite any units attacking the pikemen. Thing Two: Keeping organized. Placing your units in groups allows you to better organize your attacks. For example, you can place your onagers in one group and your pikemen and archers in another. The second group can clear the enemy infantry units around the enemy buildings and protect the onagers while they rapidly (much more rapidly than the archers can) demolish the enemy buildings. move to keep the enemy units in range. This is a great stance to use when assigning units to watch over an important location, such as a market. The final stance, Guard, is like Hold on steroids, or off steroids, depending on how you look at it. Units in the Guard stance will only attack when attacked. There are three other useful combattype commands, Charge, Skirmish, and the

COMBAT KEYS I like to call these combat keys because they affect how your unit fights. Learning them might spell the difference between victory and Each culture has defeat, which is about seven letters a specific by my calculations. combat action. Unit stances are basic yet important combat keys. Your units can area-specific command that is specialized enter one of three stances: Standard, Hold, or Guard. for each group. Charge (short cut key C) Standard is just that, the standard is best used for melee specialty units, espestance, the mode in which your units will cially for big groups of them. Invoking this most often reside. In Standard mode they command gives the attacking units a bonus will attack any approaching enemy units, when they first enter combat. As you can and even chase them for a small distance imagine, its best used to shatter enemy but they wont go nuts chasing the units forces in one fell swoop. The ideal recipients back to their base (or wherever). This is of a charge attack are units that are strong important, as youll see when we get to the at range combat and weak at the hand-tocombat tips. hand stuff. Archers are a good example. In the Hold stance, units will engage Think of Skirmish as the opposite of units that come within range, but wont Charge. Units given the Skirmish order will
attempt to engage enemies at maximum range. It almost goes without saying, but Ill say it anyway, that this order is best given to units that are strong with ranged weaponry. For example, to continue in the Ancient epoch, archers. Each of the three cultures also has a specific skill. Westerners can recuperate, Far Easterners can dig in, and Mid-Easterners can spring an ambush. Use each intelligently. The Westerners ability to heal themselves is a significant skill, but it requires that the healing (or repairing) units do nothing else. So, when in contact with the enemy, you need at least two formations to take advantage of the skill: While one fights, the other can heal. After the resting formation is healed, it can once again be thrown against the bad guys, allowing the formerly engaged unit to retreat to the rear and recuperate themselves. The Far Easterners can use their dig-in skill on both offense and defense. On defense the skill can enhance the defenses of vital locations; its a straightforward application of the skill. On offense the employment is more subtle, but no less effective. Heres how you do it. Find a good defensive position near an enemy building or city center that you wish to take. This position must be close to your objective, but not so close that it immediately incites a counter attack. After you have chosen the position, dig in with all but a few units. This will increase the defensive bonus of those defending units. Of course, they wont be able to move until you choose to leave the fortifications, but thats okay. Now take the handful of your remaining mobile units and attack your objective. The goal is not to capture the objective, but rather trick the defenders into counterattacking. After you engage the enemy, retreat to your fortifications. With luck, the enemy will follow and dash themselves against your dug-in defenders. Repeat as necessary until the enemy has been sufficiently weakened. Then release your troops from the fortifications, attack, and take your objective. The Mid-Easterners ambush is perhaps the most interesting of the three unique combat actions. It works like this. Lasso a bunch of units, direct them to a location, and order them to spring an ambush. When enemies approach the position, your ambushers will attack them from the trees, bushes, building, or whatever, and assault them, receiving a bonus with their initial attack. The best way to employ this combat technique is similar to what we did with the dug in Far Easterners. Set the ambush, wait for the units to go stealthy, attack the enemy with a small number of decoy units, and then lead them back to the ambush.

A GAME OF ECONOMICS

Like most other real-time strategy games, Empire Earth III is actually a game of economics. Yes, you need to build armies, and yes, you need to be able to effectively fight with armies, but you need to be able to finance those armies (and so does your opponent) to win. This leads to some obvious, and some not-so-obvious decisions, on the tactical map. On the obvious side of things is the kets close to your city centers either. NOTE: The Western and Far Eastern civilizations use builders. The Far Easterns soldiers also double as builders, which is pretty neat. The point is, if one builder is good, two builders are better. You can assign a second builder to a construction site by clicking the builder and then right clicking the construction site. Doing so hastens the buildings completion. As soon as the buildings are completed, be sure to send out scouts (always in pairs) to explore the surrounding area. Keep in mind that the only thing better than one warehouse is two, and the same goes for markets. Remember, however, you can only place one market in each area. Finally, station a handful of units at remote or semi-remote warehouses and markets to protect them from enemy raids. And that brings us to the flip side of the coin. If warehouses and markets are good for you, they are good for your opponent too. Conversely, destroying his warehousesor at least the workers manning themis good for you. Scout the map, find your opponents warehouses (and markets), and attack them. The easiest way to do this, especially early in the game, is to attack remote warehouses. Attack them with fast units, such as cavalry or machine-gun-toting motorcycles. Even if you cant destroy the warehouse you can eliminate its workers, marginalizing its
Harassing an opponent's production.
construction of economy-growing buildings. These consist of warehouses and markets (bazaars, or what have you) and their derivatives. These are the first buildings you want to place. The city center produces small amounts of resources and money, but not enough to sustain a winning war effort. To do that, you have to place warehouses and markets. Furthermore, you have to ensure that both are fully staffed; this maximizes their production. It doesnt hurt to place your marwww.empireearth.com/splash/

effectiveness. A final note on production: Get your newly produced units to the front quickly. You can do so in one of two ways. The first is to use really fast mouse maneuvers: Flick back to your base, select a newly minted cal maps, and satisfies the megalomaniac in us all. Lets take a look at some techniques for maximizing your global effectiveness. WORLD EVENTS World events may seem like a distraction, but they are often anything but. These events offer unique opportunities to fight, expand, or conquer. Take advantage of these opportunities. The awards for successfully completing a world event are often unique to the event and unavailable in any other way. FIGHTING As you probably know by now, armies dont fight per se on the world map. Most battles are resolved on the battle map (of all places!) in a manner similar to a skirmish. That doesnt mean, however, that the makeup of the army isnt critical or that what you do on the world map doesnt affect the battle on the battle map. It does. Its important to have a good balance of military provinces. Each can hold two armies, and that is what you need to safely
Them markets are important."
unit, and then flick back to the battle and click where you want it to go. The mini-map speeds this process, but is nevertheless time-consuming and distracting when you have a battle to manage. The second method is much better. Click on the factory, barracks, or whatever, select the units that you want built and then right click on the location to which you want them to march, clank, roll, float, or fly after construction. Doing so supplies a continuous stream of units to the front, ready for your orders.
The world as Empire Earth knows it.

STRATEGIC THINKING

One of the most interesting things about Empire Earth III is the strategic overlay in World Domination mode. This turn-based global strategyscape (sic) gives greater meaning to the battles fought on the tactiwww.empireearth.com/splash/
attack many provinces, especially those held by more than native tribes. Although armies can be customized, the default load (attack, defense, or naval) works just fine for most instances. Armies only move one territory per turn, sometimes making it difficult to coordinate attacks on distant provinces. For that reason, I recommend immediately researching Roads and Infrastructure whenever available. Keep in mind that any province with Roads and Infrastructure grants a free move to an army moving through it, in essence allowing the army to move two provinces. Armies are valuable, and you should treat them accordingly. If an army loses a battle, its eliminated. Hence, dont throw armies into battles in which you dont feel confident. Be very careful using the games auto-resolve feature. Yes, it can be tedious building a base and fighting each battle, but it can be even more tedious constantly rebuilding armies. Simply put, if you dont have at least two to one (two armies against the opponents one army) odds and equal technology, dont attack. You can fudge that a little bit when combating native tribes. Frequently, you can win these battles with little more than one to one odds. Two words on militias build them. They arent very powerful, and they are immobile, but they are better than nothing.

COMMERCE AND TECHNOLOGY

As on the battle map, commerce and technology is very important on the strategic map. Its tempting to concentrate on military provinces, hoping to build a massive army capable of dominating the world. Resist that temptation. Capture provinces that have strong research and trade and then utilize them to the max. Trade provides the income to run your empire. Technology provides the means to

Armies on the move.

dominate your opponents. It is much easier to fight with a small number of high-technology units than it is a horde of low techers (sic).

THE FINAL STRATEGY

Empire Earth is a rich game, full of options and opportunities. There is no perfect strategy, no sure-fire way to win the game. I hope, however, that reading this battle book not only primes your interest but makes you a better player, a master of the globe.