User Guide
GAME mANUAL
22
Caesar
23
or off the toolbar entirely.
If you want more information on an icon, just point to it and click both the left
and right mouse buttons. A small panel will appear with the information you
want; right-click to exit the panel and continue.
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The steps in building a structure are covered in the next
chapter, Basic Concepts.
BASIC CONCEPTS
OVERVIEW
Life in the Roman Empire is in many ways different from what youre used to. So
to help you learn your way around Caesar, some of the basic concepts are
explained below:
1. Three Views of the Empire
2. Buildings and Structures
3. Time in Caesar
4. The Evolving City
5. Citizens and Soldiers
6. The Forum
7. Money in Caesar
8. Defense and the Roman Army
9. Promotion and Politics
1. THREE VIEWS OF THE EMPIRE
Your view of the Roman Empire (and the small part of it you control) comes to
you through three levels of detail.
The Roman Empire is divided into Provinces; at any point during the game you
are in charge of one of these provinces. The Map of the Empire displays all of
these provinces, with standards (the Roman equivalent of flags) marking both the
provinces you have previously controlled, and the one you control now. This map
appears before you start each province, and is available from the Forum.
LEARNING THE INTERFACE
This game has been designed with an easy to use, mouse-driven point and click
interface. Most commands you want to issue will be associated with an icon (a
small picture) on the screen. These icons are always along the bottom of the
screen in a toolbar; click on an icon to access its command. Other commands
will be accessible through panels, which list a series of options and commands at
once. These panels are available either from an icon, or from another panel.
MMOOUUSSEE CCOONNTTRROOLL MMOODDEESS ((CCOOMMMMAANNDD AANNDD SSCCRROOLLLL
) The mouse
pointer works in two modes. The game begins in the first one Command
mode. Here, the pointer looks like an arrow, and icons and panel options can be
selected by clicking on them. Note: in all screens but the City Level and
Provincial Level screens, the mouse remains in Command mode at all times.
The second mode is Scroll mode. If you give a command that needs a location
to be specified (like building something), the pointer will change - usually into a
picture of the thing you want to build and you are put into Scroll mode. Here,
when you move the mouse beyond one of the screen edges, the screen display
will move in that direction up to the border of the terrain area. Both of the main
terrain displays in the game, City and Provincial level, are of an area much larger
than what is first visible on the screen. The entire area is displayed in an optional
Position Indicator, located in the top-left corner of the screen.
You can switch between modes by clicking the right mouse button. If you had
selected an icon to build, you will be returned to command mode to select a new
icon. If you were in command mode, you will be put into scroll mode with con-
trol of the last icon you selected.
TTOOOOLLBBAARRSS
As stated before, toolbars contain the majority of commands you
wish to use in the form of icons. The majority of these icons involve some form
of construction, which always comes with a predetermined cost. Thus, to help
you decide what to build and when, the amount of your Available Funds are dis-
played at the end of every toolbar.
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The
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and
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toolbars are accessed from two icons on the main
City Level toolbar. These secondary toolbars will remain until you click on their left-most icon,
in the shape of a arrow facing left, or left-click above the toolbar while in command mode.
Remember that you can only affect toolbars while in command mode.
IIDDEENNTTIIFFYYIINNGG IICCOONNSS
If you are ever unsure of what an icon does, just
move the mouse pointer over it without pressing any buttons. The name of the
icon appears in the top-right corner until you move the mouse onto another icon,