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RANGER & THE MASTER PRESENT:
GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR
DOCS
BY BILL M. SPRAGUE
COPYRIGHT (C) 1983, 84 APOLLO SOFTWARE, INC.
ALL RIGHT RESERVED
OUR PLANET IS STRUGGLING WITH THE NIGHTMARE OF A NUCLEAR WAR THAT IS ALL TOO PO
SSIBLE. NEVER BEFORE IN WORLD HISTORY HAS MANKIND POSSESED THE CAPABILITY TO REA
P SUCH DEVASTATING DESTRUCTION THAT THE EVENT SUCH DEVESTATING DESTRUCTION THAT
THE EVENT OF SUCH A HOLOCOST COULD RESULT IN THE POSSIBLE EXTINCTION OF THE HUMA
N RACE AS A WHOLE. IT IS NOT THE INTENTION OF THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER TO MAK
E ANY POLITICAL STATEMENT CONCERNING THE ISSUES OF NUCLEAR ARMORMENT OR WAR. INS
TEAD, WE WISH TO OFFER THE USER A SIMULATION OF A NUCLEAR HOLOCOST WHICH MAY LEN
D TOWARDS THE INDIVIDUALS AWARENESS OF THE CONSEQUENCES AND EFFECTS TOWARDS THE
INDIVIDUALS AWARENESS OF THE CONSEQUENCES AMD EFFECTS OF A REAL NUCLEAR ENGAGEME
NT. WHILE THE GAME CLOSELY SIMULATES THE CURRENT NUCLEAR WAR WEAPONS AND THEIR E
FFECT, THE RESULTS OF AN ACTUAL NUCLEAR WOULD PROBABLY BE MORE SEVERE THAN THOSE
DEPLICTED IN THE GAME.
COMMAND FORMAT
THE PLAYER OPERATES THE GAME BY TYPING INTO THE COMPUTER A COMMAND REQUEST CONS
ISTING OF SPECIFIC KEYWORDS. ALL KEYWORDS ARE DESTINGUISHED BY THEIR FIRST FOUR
LETTERS. THROUGHOUT THIS MANUAL, THE SPECIFIC KEYWORDS REQUIRED TO PERFORM THE I
NDICATED COMMAND ARE ENCLOSED IN POINTED BRACKETS <>. PLEASE NOTE THE TARGETING
MATRIX CURSOR IN THE STRATEGIC FORCES ASSIGNMENT SCREEN IS CONTROLLED BY THE CUR
SOR CONTROL KEYS. THE ESCAPE KEY MAY BE USED THROUGHOUT THE GAME TO ABORT AND RE
TURN FROM COMMANDS.
GAME OVERVIEW
UPON BOOTING THE GAME DISKETTE, THE PLAYER IS PRESENTED WITH AN OPENING SCREEN
DISPLAYING A COPYRIGHT MESSAGE AND INQUIRING WHICH OF THE TWO POSSIBLE SIDES THE
PLAYER WISHES TO PLAY. THE PLAYER MAY CHOOSE EITHER THE UNITED STATES (AND NATO
COUNTRIES) OR THE SOVIET UNION (AND WARSAW COUNTRIES). THE GLOBAL STRATEGIC DIS
PLAY IS THEN PRESENTED DISPLAYING A MAP OF THE GLOBE AND THE GAME THEN STARTS WI
TH THE PLAYER IN THE DEFENSIVE OF A NUCLEAR STRIKE FROM THE OPPONET PLAYED BY TH
E COMPUTER.
THE PLAYER, PROVIDED WITH ATTACK STATUS AND WAR STATUS REPORTS, FORMULATES A
COUNTER ATTACK STRATEGY AND DEFINES STRIKE PROFILES INCORPORATING A SELECTION OF
SIMULATED STRATEGIC WEAPON SYSTEMS AND TARGETING CROSS-SECTIONS. LAUNCHING STRI
KES AGAINST THE ENEMY WHILE SUBSTAINING MINIMAL LOSSES IN A SIMULATED GLOBAL NUC
LEAR WAR.
GAMEPLAY CONTINUES UNTIL ONE OF THE TWO SIDES SUBMIT TO CONDITIONAL CEASEFIRE
OR UNTIL A SIDE INCURRS LOSSES OF MORE THAN 70% OF ITS COMBINED MILITARY AND CI
VILIAN ASSETS (A FORCED SURRENDER).
GLOBAL STRATEGIC DISPLAY
THE GLOBAL STRATEGIC DISPLAY PROVIDES A GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE CURRENT
WORLDWIDE ASSAULT AND RESOURCE STATUS ON EACH SIDE. THIS DISPLAY MAY BE OPERATE
D IN ANY COMBINATIONOF THE FOLLOWING FOUR <DISPLAY> COMMAND MODES:
<DISPLAY BASES> DISPLAY POSITION OF SURVIVNG STRATEGIC WEAPON
INSTALLATIONS AND LAUNCHERS.
<DISPLAY TARGETS> DISPLAYS POSITION OF SURVIVING STRATEGIC UNARMED
TARGETS.
<DISPLAY MISSILES> DISPLAYS IN-FLIGHT MISSILE TRAJECTORIES AS TRACES
STARTING FROM LAUNCH POINT AND TERMINATING AT
PRIME TARGET IMPACT.
<DISPLAY AIRCRAFT> DISPLAYS IN-FLIGHT AIRCRAFT AND CRUISE MISSILES
POSITIONS DURING FLIGHT FROM LAUNCH POINT TO PRIME
TARGET IMPACT.
THE FIRST TWO <DISPLAY> COMMANDS PROVIDE GRAPHICAL ASSESSMENT OF EACH SIDE'S SU
MMARY STATUS FOR WEAPON AND VALUE TARGET RESOURCES. THE <REPORT WAR STATUS> COMM
AND, DESCRIBED BELOW, PROVIDES A MORE DETAILED AND ELABORATE ASSESSMENT OF EACH
SIDE'S RESOURCES.
THE LATER TWO <DISPLAY> COMMANDS GRAPHICALLY ILLUSTRATE CURRENT ATTCK POSTURE
ON A GLOBAL SCALE. IN-FLIGHT WEAPONS ARE DISPLAYED THROUGHOUT THEIR FLIGHT PROF
ILE UNTIL PRIME TARGET IMPACT. FOR A MORE DETAILED ASSESSMENT OF THE ATTACK POST
URE FOR EACH SIDE, SEE THE <REPORT WAR STATUS> COMMAND DESCRIBED BELOW.
EACH OF THE ABOVE COMMANDS MAY BE USED IN ANY COMBINATION AND INDIVIDUALLY AC
T AS A "TOGGIE" ON THE SELECTED ACTION. THAT IS IF AN ACTION IS SELECTED BY ONE
OF THE ABOVE COMMANDS, THEN REPEATING THAT COMMAND WILL CANCEL THE ACTION. ALSO,
NOTE THAT AT THE START OF THE GAME ALL DISPLAY GRAPHICS COMMAND ARE TOGGLED OFF
.
THE <CLEAR DISPLAY> AUXILLARY COMMAND IS PROVIDED TO CLEAR THE STRATEGIC DISP
LAY AND RESET ALL THE DISPLAY GRAPHICS COMMAND TOGGLES TO AN OFF STATUS.
STATUS REPORTS
TWO STATUS REPORT SCREENS ARE AVAILABLE TO THE PLAYER FOR ASSESSMENT OF THE CUR
RENT WAR SATUS AND ATTACK POSTURE OF EACH SIDE. THESE SCREENS CAN BE INVOKED AT
ANY POINT DURING GAMEPLAY BY THE COMMANDS <REPORT WAR STATUS> & <REPORT ATTACK S
TATUS> FROM THE STRATEGIC DISPLAY SCREEN.
WAR STATUS SCREEN. THIS SCREEN PROVIDES A DETAILED BREAKOUT OF THE CURRE
NT DAMAGES EFFECTED TO EACH SIDE IN SEVERAL COST AREAS IN THREE MAJOR CATAGORIES
; MILITARY FORCES, CIVILIAN ASSETS, AND HUMAN RESOURCES.
WITHIN THE FIRST CATEGORY, CURRENT LOSSES IN FOUR MAJOR WEAPON CLASSIFICA
TIONS ARE EXPRESSES IN PERCENT KILLED OR EXPENDED RELATIVE TO THE INITIAL INVENT
ORY. AN ADDITIONAL ENTRY IS IS PROVIDED DENOTING THE RELATIVE LOSS OF C-CUBED-I
(COMMAND, CONTROLED, COMMUNICATIONS, AND INTELLIGENGE) AND MILITARY RESOURCES.
THE NEXT CATEGORY SUMMERIZES KILL RATIOS IN SEVEN MAJOR CIVILIAN REALATED
AREAS; HOUSING, FOOD STOCKPILES, HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL RESOURCES,TRANSPORTATION,
COMMUNICATION, GOVERNMENT, AND ECONOMIC/INDUSTRIAL ASSETS.
THE LAST CATEGORY EXPRESSES THE COSTS OF THE ENGAGEMENT IN TERMS OF HUMAN
LIFE. ABSOLUTE FIGURES ARE PROVIDED FOR BOTH POPULATION DEATHS AND NON-FATAL IN
JURIES FOR EACH SIDE. THESE FIGURES INCLUDE BOTH THE DIRECT EFFECT OF NUCLEAR BL
ASTS AND THE INDIRECT EFFECTS OF BOTH THE FIRECT EFFECT OF NUCLEAR BLASTS AND TH
E INDIRECT EFECTS OF RADIATION FALLOUT AS WELL AS LACK OF MEDICAL AND OTHER RESO
URCES.
'ATTACK STATUS SCREEN' PROVIDES A COMPARITIVE SUMMARY OF THE ATTACK POSTU
RE OF BOTH SIDES. THE CURRENT TOTAL NUMBER OF LAUNCH VEHICLES IN FLIGHT IS PROVI
DED FOR A SUB-LAUNCH BALLISTIC MISSLES, ICBM, AND STRATEGIC AIRCRAFT.
TARGETING DISTRIBUTION WITHIN SEVEN TARGET CLASSIFICATIONS IS PROVIDED AS
AN AID TO THE PLAYER'S ASSESSMENT OF THE OPPONENTS ATTACK STRATEGY. THE DISTRIB
UTION IS EXPRESSED AS RATIOS RELATIVE TO TOTAL VALUE OF CURRENT IN-FLIGHT LAUNCH
VEHICLES.
EACH REPORT RETURNS DIRECTLY TO THE STRATEGIC DISPLAY SCREEN UPON PRESSING THE
ESCAPE('ESC') KEY.
ATTACKING THE OPPONET
THE PLAYER ATTACKS BY LAUNCHING PRE-DEFINED STRIKES AT THE OPPOSING SIDE. STRIK
ES ARE DEFINED BY INCLUSION OF A PORTION OF THE PLAYER'S STRATEGIC FORCES (OF VA
RIOUS TARGETING CROSS SECTIONS) UNDER A SPECIFIC "LAUNCH CODES" COMPLETELY AT TH
E PLAYERS DICRETION.
STRIKE DEFINITION
THE PLAYER MAY HAVE DEFINED UP TO A MAXIMUM OF EIGHT STRIKES AT ANY POINT DURIN
G GAMEPLAY. TO BEGIN STRIKE DEFINITION THE PLAYER ENTERS THE COMMAND <DEFINE STR
IKE> FROM THE GLOBAL STRATEGIC DISPLAY. THE PLAYER WILL THEN BE PROMPTED FOR A L
AUNCH CODE. THE LAUNCH CODE IS ANY STRING OF THE PLAYER'S CHOOSING UP TO 6 CHAR
ACTERS IN LENGTH. IF YOU INTEND TO HAVE SEVERAL STRIKES DEFINED SIMULTANEOUSLY,
IT IS RECOMMENDED YOU CHOSE CODES THAT NOT ONLY INDICATE THE COMPOSITION OF THE
STRIKE BUT ALSO CAN BE REMEMBERED EASILY. IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO CORRECTLY RE-E
NTER THE CODE AT LAUNCH TIME IF THE STRIKE AND ITS INCLUDED FORCES ARE TO BE USE
D.
AFTER ENTERING THE LAUNCH CODE, THE PLAYER IS PRESENTED WITH THE STRATEGIC FORC
ES ASSIGNMENT SCREEN. HERE YOU WILL SELECT FROM THE UNASSIGNED AVAILABLE STRIKE
FORCES THE VARIOUS STRATEGIC BASES TO BE INCLUDED IN THE CURRENT STRIKE DEFINITI
ON. THE SCREEN CONSISTS OF TWO PARTS; A WEAPON BASE TARGETING CROSS-SECTION MATR
IX AND A STRIKE DEFINITION SUMMARY.
THE STRIKE DEFINITION SUMMARY APPEARS AT THE TOP OF THE SCREEN. IT PRESENTS AN
OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF THE STRIKE INCLUDING LAUNCH CODE. TOTAL NUMBER OF LAUNCH V
EHICLES, TOTAL WEAPON YIELD, TOTAL NUMBER OF TARGET CLUSTERS, AND TOTAL ESTIMATE
D VALUE INCLUDED IN THE STRIKE. THE SUMMARY ALSO INDICATES THE PRIMARY WEAPON/TA
RGET IN THE STRIKE DERIVED FROM THE MOST INCLUDE BASE CLASSIFICATION. THE TARGET
ING MATRIX CONSISTS OF FOUR COLUMNS OF LAUNCH VEHICLE TYPES AND SEVEN ROWS OF TA
RGET CLASSIFICATIONS. AN ENTRY WILL APPEAR IN THE MATRIX IF THE PLAYER HAS A WEA
PON BASE AVAILABLE CORRESPONDING TO THE INDICATED WEAPON AND TARGETING. THE ENTR
Y CONSISTS OF TWO NUMBERS INDICATING THE NUMBER OF OPERATIONAL LAUNCH VEHICLES A
SSIGNED TO THE BASE AND THE TOTAL YEILD OF EACH VEHICLE IN KILOTON EQUIVC TNT. N
OTE THAT IN GENERAL BASES WITH A HIGH TOTAL YEILD CORRESPOND TO HIGH TARGET VALU
ES. ADDITIONALLY, THE ENTRY DISPLAY WILL BE FLASHING IF THE BASE IS THREATENED B
Y CURRENT ENEMY INBOUNDS. DISPLAY SELECTION ORDER FOR BASES IN TARGETING MATRIX
IS BASED ON HIGHEST TARGETING VALUE. USING CTRL-A,Z,S,W, POSITION THE MATRIX CUR
SOR OVER A CANDIDATE ENTRY AND STRIKE THE RETURN KEY. A SUMMARY WILL BE ASSIGNED
TO THE BASE, THE TOTAL ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE TARGETS, AND THE SPECIFIC WEAPON
DEPLOYED. YOU WILL THEN BE PROMPTED FOR A COMMAND ENTRY. IT, UPON REVIEW OF THE
BASE SUMMARY, YOU DECIDE NOT TO INCLUDE THIS BASE IN THE STRIKE DEFINITION, STRI
KE THE ESCAPE KEY TO RETURN TO THE MATRIX. OTHERWISE, ENTER THE COMMAND <INCLUDE
>. THE BASE WILL BE ASSIGNED TO THE STRIKE AND THE NEXT HIGHEST VALUE BASE CORRE
SPONDING TO THE SAME MATRIX CLASSIFICATION WILL BE DISPLAYED. A BASE WITHIN THE
CLASSIFICATION MAY BE SKIPPED BY ENTERING THE <NEXT> COMMAND. THE DISPLAYED BASE
WILL NOT BE ASSIGNED AND THE DISPLAY WILL PROCEED TO THE NEXT HIGHEST VALUE BAS
E. THIS INCLUSION PROCESS MAY BE CONTINUED UNTIL THE LEAST VALUE BASE HAS BEEN D
ISPLAYED OR THE BASES FOR THE SELECTED CLASSIFICATION HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED. YOU C
AN BE RETURNED TO THE TARGETING MATRIX AT ANY POINT BY PRESSING THE 'ESC' KEY. Y
OU MAY AT ANY POINT RETURN TO THE GLOBAL STRATEGIC DISPLAY BY PRESSING THE 'ESC'
KEY. IF YOU FIND IT NECESSARY TO RETURN TO THE GLOBAL STRATEGIC DISPLAY BEFORE
COMPLETING YOUR STRIKE DEFINITION, YOU MAY CONTINUE THE SAME DEFINITION BY REISS
UING THE <DEFINE STRIKE> COMMAND AND ENTERING THE LAUNCH CODE CORRESPONDING TO T
HE STRIKE YOU WISH TO CONTINUE. NOTE THAT IF NO BASES HAVE BEEN INCLUDED UNDER T
HE LAUNCH CODE BEFORE LEAVING THE STARTEGIC FORCES ASSIGNMENT SCREEN, THE THE ST
RIKE IS CONSIDERD NULL AND THE LAUNCH CODE IS NOT ASSIGNED.
MAKE SURE TO CALL MASTER WORLD AT 213-478-5478
LAUNCHING A STRIKE
HAVING DEFINED ONE OR MORE STRIKES, YOU MAY SELECTIVELY LAUNCH A STRIKE AT ANY
POINT FROM THE GLOBAL STRATEGIC DISPLAY BY ISSUING THE <LAUNCH STRIKE>. YOU WILL
THEN BE PROMPTED TO ENTER THE CORRECT LAUNCH CODE INDENTIFYING THE STRIKE TO LA
UNCH. IF YOU DO NOT ENTER THE CORRECT CODE AN ERROR MESSAGE WILL BE DISPLAYED A
ND YOU WILL HAVE TO RESTART THE LAUNCH COMMAND. IF YOU DO NOT REMEMBER THE LAUNC
H CODE THEN ALL THE BASES INCLUDED IN THE CORRESPONDING STRIKE DEFINITION WILL B
E INACCESSABLE THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF THE GAME. UPON ENTRY OF THE CORRECT L
AUNCH CODE, A LAUNCH SEQUENCE WILL BE INITIATED FOR THE STRIKE INCLUDING AUTOMAT
IC TARGET SELECTION, TIME TO TARGET SELECTION, AND TOTAL YIELD SELECTION CIRRESP
ONDING TO THE DEFINED STRIKE. THE LAUNCH COMMAND WILL THEN BE TRANSFERED TO THE
INDIVIDUAL BASES AND LAUNCH WILL COMMENCE. PROGRESS OF THE STRIKE CAN BE VIEWED
VIA THE ATTACK STATUS REPORT AND THE GLOBAL STRATEGIC DISPLAY.
ENDING THE GAME
IF THE PLAYER PERFORMS EFFECTIVE COUNTER-STRIKES AND REDUCES THE OPPONENTS COMB
INED ASSETS TO A SUFFICIENTLY LOW LEVEL, THE OPPONENT MAY OFFER HIS SURRENDER IN
TERMS OF A CONDITIONAL CEASE-FIRE. THE PLAYER WILL BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO
ACCEPT OR DECLINE THE OFFER. IF THE PLAYER ACCEPTS, THE GAME IS TERMINATED AT ON
CE. OTHERWISE PLAY CONTINUES UNTIL ONE OF THE TWO SIDES COMBINED MILITARY AND CI
VILIAN ASSETS ARE REDUCED BY 70%. THIS IS CONSIDERED A WIN FOR THE PREVAILING SI
DE. THE PLAYER MAY AT ANY POINT SURRENDER THE GAME TO THE ENEMY IN A CONDITIONAL
CEASE-FIRE BY ISSUING THE <SURRENDER> COMMAND FROM THE GLOBAL STRATEGIC DISPLAY
SCREEN. UPON GAME END, THE WAR STATUS SCREEN IS DISPLAYED SUMMARIZING THE FINAL
STATUS OF THE WAR AND THE INCURRED LOSSES FOR BOTH SIDES.
SIMULATED WEAPON SYSTEMS
DISTRIBUTION OF WEAPONS BETWEEN THE TWO SUPERPOWERS FOLLOW THE 1985 ESTIMATE CO
NSISTENT WITH SALT ][ (AS PRESENTED IN THE SALT TREATY HANDBOOK) ARE REPRESENTED
IN THE GAME AS ILLUSTRATED IN THE FOLLOWING TABLE (UNITED STEAS : SOVIET UNION)
:
LAUNCH VEHICLES MEGATONNAGE WARHEADS
ICBMS
MIRV 536 : 820 423 : 4314 1608 : 5752
NON-MIRV 504 : 360 1026 : 4590 504 : 480
SLBMS
MIRV 668 : 356 383 : 750 5648 : 3752
NON MIRV 240 : 620 81 : 796 240 : 1324
BOMBERS (ALCMS, SRAMS, GRAVITY BOMBS)
346 : 90 1624 : 420 4504 : 420
============ ========== ============
TOTAL 2160 : 2246 3537 :10870 12504 :11728
THE WEAPON SYSTEMS SIMULATED IN THE GAME ARE SUMMARIZED BELOW. LAUNCH VEHICLES
PERFORMANCE, BASING MODE/LOCATION, AND NUMERICAL DISTRIBUTION WERE TAKEN PRIMARI
LY FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PUBLICATION "SOVIET MILITARY POWER", SECO
ND EDITION, AND "THE WORLDS WEAPON SYSTEMS", GENERAL DYNAMICS, POMONA DIVISION.
UNITED STATES SOVIET UNION
=============== ==============
ICBMS (INTER-CONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSLES)
MINUTEMAN-II SS-11
MINUTEMAN-III SS-13
TITAN SS-17
MX (PEACEKEEPER) SS-18
SS-19
SLBMS (SUB-LAUNCHED BALLISTIC MISSLES)
POLARIS C-3 (U.K) SS - N - 6
POSEIDON C-3/C-4 SS - N - 8
TRIDENT C-4 SS - N - 17
SS - N - 18
SS - NX - 20
BOMBERS (INCLUDING ALCMS, SRAMS, GRAVITY BOMBS)
B-52G/H BACKFIRE
FB-111 BISON
B-1B BEAR
BADGER/BLINDER
BLACKJACK
THAT'S THE DOCS,
CREDITS GO TO
BROUGHT BY
DARK RANGER AND THE MASTER
TYPED BY
THE MASTER CALL MASTER WORLD AT
213-478-5478