South America Warlords ][ scenario documentation - samerica.txt

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Scenario:   South America    (DOS directory: sameric)
            Race to control the New World

Creator:    Marcos Almeida   (mengo@cmu.edu)
            Summers of '95 and '97

Summary:    Space-time irregularities have brought several
            forces from different time periods together to
            fight it out for control of this exotic land.

Army set:   sameri - NEW!              Cities: 80
City set:   spectra                    Ruins:  40
Shield set: space                      Sides:   8

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    BACKGROUND:

  New York Times, September 16th, 2112

  For mankind, nothing is impossible. Technological advances in the
22nd century are happening at an incredible pace. Our scientists are
very close - and I mean VERY close - to finally attaining the long
dreamed of ability to travel through time. Many tests have already
been conducted, the early ones very uneventful. But as the tests
started yielding more interesting and mysterious results, scientists
decided to move the testing grounds to South America, a continent
now desolate due to the Biochemical war of April 2031. The latest
test, just under three months ago, was suddenly suspended and all
information was deemed "classified" by the military, to be made
public only 50 years from now.

  However, last night a reporter from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
shocked the world by revealing the secrets of the South America
incident. He claims to have traveled into the future and brought
back the published results of over 20 years worth of time travel
testing. He would not reveal how he acquired the time traveling
equipment, but authorities suspect a leak from Carnegie Mellon
University's Time Travel Institute, one of the world's most advanced
centers for time travel research. A summary of the article follows.

  "Space-time inconsistencies resulting from an experiment that went
tragically wrong have drastically changed the continent of South
America. The land has been completely terraformed to the way it was
in the end of the 20th century - not just the physical features, but
also the cities, highways and other man-made features. Fauna and
flora from several different ages were also spontaneously brought
back, including humans. Several different societies reappeared in
the continent, but eight groups have risen to become the prevailing
powers. The Incas and the Mundurucus date back from pre-Colombian
times. The Spaniards and the Portuguese colonized the continent
between the 16th and 18th centuries. The British had their colonial
empire peak in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A wave of European
immigrants hit the south during the 20th century World Wars. Out of
this mixture of cultures emerged the Brazilian people, who ruled the
region in the early 21st century. After the war of April 2031, the
few survivors who didn't flee to other parts of the world found
refuge in the southern Andes and later controlled Patagonia. Now all
these people are brought together at once, but nobody knows if they
will be able to coexist."

  The repercussions of this report have spread throughout the globe
like wildfire, and are a source of controversy especially among
descendants of the survivors of the Biochemical war. Many are very
excited about the developments in time travel - and the supposed
success of the Pittsburgh reporter's trip - but others criticize the
government for reckless experiments and altering the way of Nature.
But these people could be ignoring the most important problem at
hand: What will happen to South America?

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    THE MAKING OF THE SCENARIO:

  (By the way, just so you know, I am Brazilian.)

  The Map:

  This was probably my main motivation for making this scenario, and
the part I enjoyed the most. I fist traced the map out of an atlas.
Then I drew a coarse grid on it and blew it up by hand onto 5mm-
squared paper. Each square represented a square on the strategic
map. I went on to drawing each shore square on the squared paper,
including rivers and lakes, with detail showing if the shore was
a corner or a straight vertical line, etc. Then I put it all into
the scenario builder, again detailed square by detailed square,
varying the patters on the shore... Thankfully I could use the
"fill" feature to fill the continent with land!
  I wasn't so strict in putting the hills, mountains, forests,
cities, roads and ruins. I started thinking also about making a good
map for a game. For example, I wanted to put only the most important
cities, but in some places they are too close to each other, and in
others there are not enough and I had to put in some very unknown
little villages... The ruins were the most arbitrary, most are just
made up.

  The Sides:

  Everybody *should* know the Incas... Their capital is still an
inhabited town in Peru today, with a mixture of surviving structures
and houses built by Spanish settlers - I've seen pictures of when
my parents went there. (Note: Besides looking at the atlas, I didn't
do any research specifically for this scenario, everything came from
what I learned in school, general knowledge and my imagination.)
  I chose the Mundurucu tribe to represent the "indians" that live
in the Amazon because I am a distant descendent of them. I don't
think the European settlers went around shooting the Brazilian
indians like what happened in North America, but It's probably
their fault they are reduced and secluded in reserves nowadays
anyway...
  The Spaniards first discovered the Americas (as far as recorded
history goes). They First arrived in the Caribbean, so I start them
off in the northern coast.
  Pedro Alvares Cabral was leading a large fleet from Portugal to
India via the recently discovered route around Africa, when
*supposedly* a storm blew them off course and towards Brazil. But
legends speak of a white man who lived among the indians long
before Cabral arrived - maybe the sole survivor of a previous
expedition?
  The Patagonians are a people I made up to fill up that gap in the
map. As the story goes, they were stubborn and refused to flee from
the Biochemical war of April 2031 (anyone notice the reference to
the Warrant song here?). They hid in the high peaks of the southern
Andes until the worse of the biochemical residue was gone. They lost
contact with the rest of modern civilization and became simple
farming communities in what is today (1997) Argentina, much like
the Mesopotamians.
  The proverbial belief that "God is Brazilian" describes these
people well. They are self-confident and optimistic. However, the
Brazilian "jeitinho", or easy way out, shows a tendency towards
selfishness and corruption, which keeps this country from becoming
a first-world nation. But we still love it! :)
  Yes, the Brits will stick their nose in everywhere... The conflict
between Argentina and Britain over the Falkland Islands reminded me
to stick these guys in there... But, as in real life, they are in
no position to take over the mainland... Or at least, not very
easily...................
  Last but not least are the immigrants. Well, aren't the Portuguese
and Spanish immigrants too, you ask? Yes, but in southern Brazil,
Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina there was an exceptional amount
of immigrants from all over Europe, and even some from the Middle
East or the Far East, who came to try their luck at a new life
(didn't the same happen in the US, when they were giving away free
land and so on?). That's where my Italian roots come from.

  The Army Set:

  I was sick of conquering a city and having to sack and rebuild
because the armies were useless. Also, I didn't like the way that
some weaker armies (in my opinion) were ranked better and cost
more than better armies. So this army set was made to please
me. It turned out pretty good to my liking, and I use it on random
maps all the time. Now I don't play as much as other people around
the net, and have never played by email, so maybe I don't see
Warlords like most other people out there...
  The Bandeirantes were the Portuguese colonists who set out to
explore inland. They weren't soldiers or explorers, just simple
people. They carried flags ("bandeira") to guide keep the group
together, much like tourist guides carry umbrellas nowadays.
  The Macaw, or Arara, is a larger, very colorful cousin of the
parrot. Some people have them as pets, but here they are your flying
explorers.
  Instead of light infantry, you get the Europeans' Conquistadors
and the native Guaranis, simple soldiers who are familiar in hills
and forest respectively.
  In the cattle ranching Pampas region, local ranchers were trained
to be swift mounted militia.
  The siege ram is a simple device, propelled by brute force against
the doors or walls of strongholds.
  Regular Infantry are fierce soldiers specialized in city defense.
  The Cayapos hunt with the Zarabatana, a tube through which they
blow a dart soaked in Curare poison. Now they have found a use for
it besides hunting...
  Some say the Vikings crossed over from Greenland before Columbus
discovered America. But who said they stopped their. Some say the
Mountainmen who live in the Andean volcanoes are their descendants.
  The Gaucho hails from the Pampas. His favorite drink is a tea
drunk from a cup carved from a gourd and through a filtered metal
straw called a pump. He also likes big knives.
  Traditional Cavalry units used in Europe were adopted in this
continent, but as usual they have problems anywhere but in plains.
  Yes, Llamas do spit! But these here have a powerfully poisonous
spit and are trained for battle!
  The slaves brought over from Africa practiced a martial art called
Capoeira, but their masters prohibited it fearing they could use it
to fight and escape. So they disguised it as a dance. The Berimbau
is the instrument they used to play their dancing music on, and
looks like a longbow with a hollow gourd for amplification.
  In remote rural regions far away from governing cities, the most
powerful land owners take the law into their own hands and hire
mercenary armies of Guerrillas.
  The Anaconda is the largest snake in the world, but is not
poisonous. Rather, it will squeeze the life out of its victims.
  The Condor is a majestic bird that lives in the high peaks of the
Andes.
  Crocodiles hide all over the murky swamps of the Pantanal, but
will also make great city defense in a moat.
  The Eagle was already known in Europe as a powerful bird of prey,
and it's South American cousins are no different.
  The largest South American representative of the cat family is the
Jaguar. Despite its size, nothing can match its speed and stealth.
  The Shaman is the spiritual leader of the tribes that live deep
within the jungle. He is said to be immortal and ride on a cushion
of air, much like a hovercraft.
  Many travelers passing through mountains and forests are haunted
by the Ghost Mule, who has fire spewing from her neck where her head
should be. Some even claim to have seen the Grim Reaper riding upon
her.
  The Bio-Zombie is another product of the waste from the Biochemical
war claims the government. But its dwellings often coincide with
alien sightings...
  Like the Aurora Borealis, the south pole also has its share of
mystical atmospheric phenomenons. It is said they occur when the
Storm Queen is furious with her followers.
  All over the world, the light and heat provided by the sun has
caused many civilizations to worship Solar Deities. But here they
have an extra reason: the god really exists!
  The Ice Lord visits plantations in July and August, destroying
crops with a thin, beautiful layer of frost, but at the same time
drawing thousands of tourists who marvel at this wonderful sight.
  Saci Perere is a mischievous little rascal. He only has one leg,
wears a Portuguese sailor's hood, smokes a pipe and rides around
in a little whirlwind.
  One day, the mighty Dragonriders descended from the clouds that
hide Neblina ("mist") Peak. You'd better hope they decide to fight
with you, not against you!
  The white hero id the almighty Inca, the leader of his people. He
wears a gold crown adorned with precious stones.
  The yellow hero is the Cacique, the tribe's chief. He wears a
headgear made of colorful feathers from the rarest birds.
  The orange hero is the great explorer and conqueror. He wears the
conquistador's trusty metal helmet.
  The red hero is the brave navigator who sails in search of
uncharted waters. He wears a hat from the Middle Ages.
  The green hero has proven his worth as the greatest hunter and
herder. He wears a leather cap.
  The light blue hero is also a skillful soccer player. He can be
seen controlling the ball on his head.
  The dark blue hero is the valiant leader of the royal guard. He
wears the traditional hat of the royal guard.
  The black hero enjoys good food and fine dancing from the Old
Continent. He wears an Austrian's feathered hat.

  Graphics:

  Everyone's excuse is "I'm no artist". Well, I really am not! But I
still made an effort and I must confess I am quite proud of my army
pics. Some are based on the default army set, but others I created
entirely from scratch. But when I was faced with the city set, the
graphic size 4 times greater, I crumbled! So I chose the Spectramia
city set. It fits well, especially the ancient Greek columns for the
Aztecs, the barracks for the Brazilians (soccer training camps?) and
the mills for the hard working Immigrants. One thing I badly wanted
to do was make a nice shield set, but alas...

  Timeline:

  I went to high school in Vienna, Austria. I first experienced
Warlords I when I went to play volleyball in Munich. The kid whose
house I stayed at said this game was awesome - I just played it
because there was nothing better to do. But as you guessed, I got
hooked, and almost let my team down by staying up all night! Well,
back in Vienna someone in school came up with a Mac version, and I
got my friends hooked too. But soon we outplayed the limited
Warlords I, and the fever died down. Then, in the end of our senior
year, someone brought along Warlords ][. We spent that summer before
college playing it, but when we went off in different directions in
the fall, I only played occasionally, and by myself (against AI).
The next summer I went back to Vienna, but very few of my friends
did the same. Fortunately someone brought the Scenario Builder, and
that gave me something to do (yep, there is no life in Vienna...).
That was when South America the Scenario was born. Once it was
completed, we had some time to play with it before we went back to
our colleges. For the last two years, schoolwork and other activities
(plus the fact that now I own a Mac) have kept me away from WL. But
this summer, I'm staying at a friend's place and installed WL][ on
his PC. Plus, the hype about the PBEM world championship and the
upcoming release of Warlords 3 on the net encouraged me to show my
Scenario to the world. I'm really curious to know how it compares
to other scenarios, and what regular WL players think of it. But
most important of all, I enjoyed creating it and I hope you enjoy
playing it.

            ---Marcos.
               mengo@cmu.edu
               July 1st 1997.





