Game Turn Player release "A5" is
the first to allow any game to be loaded, although we still
only have a game box for "Drive on Metz".
This version supports PBEM (play by email) and Live Play (playing
over the Internet or a LAN in "real" time). New in
release "A4" was computer assisted movement and combat.
In general, you begin by loading a game box file (.gtb), the
the game file (.gtg) using Open from the File menu. You then
move your units and conduct combat. When you are done you save
your moves to a "move file" (.gtm) and save your game.
You then send the move file to your opponent (usuall via email).
Upon receiving your move file, your opponent would start Game
Turn, load their current game, and then load your move file.
They make their move and the sequence repeats until the game
is done.
On the download page is a sample move file (usturn1.gtm), since
Metz is hard coded you won't need to load a game file before
the first turn. Of course, this will change in the future when
more games are available.
There are six windows in the Player. The toolbar at the top
of the display and the status bar at the bottom are also important
interface elements.
The Map window shows the game board. Click on a hex to select
it, clicking on a unit will select that unit (it will be outlined
in yellow). To move a unit click on an empty hex, the currently
selected unit will be moved to that hex. You can also hold down
the mouse button and drag a unit to a new position.
The Tray window shows units not currently on the map. You can
select the German or American forces by using the drop down
window. Units in the Tray can be dragged onto the map. Units
can also be dragged from the map to the tray.
The rules are displayed in an HTML window.
The Info window show the current terrain and unit characteristics.
The CRT window shows the possible results of the current combat
(if any).
The Message window is used to send messages to your opponent.
It can be used much like an Instant Message program. Two buttons
on the message window support rolling dice. Clicking on a roll
button brings up a window like this:
Up to three die can be rolled with an arbitrary number of sides
per die. Checking the "Save as default box" will skip
the dialog box the next time the roll button is clicked, which
is handy for games where the same type of roll is needed more
than once.
The preferences menu choice (in the game menu) should be used
to set your name:
The status bar:
The leftmost panel shows the current game turn. The red arrow
icon in the second panel shows a move file is being played back.
The third panel shows your Live Play status. The fourth panel
shows the current player (American or German in the case of
"Drive on Metz"). The fifthpanel is the current phase
(movement or combat in this case) and the sixth panel shows
the hex number of the currently selected hex. The final section
shows the number of victory points awarded to each player.
The Advance button on the toolbar advances the sequence of
play (and updates the turn, player and phase).
Recording and Saving Moves
Start by loading the Game Box for "Drive on Metz".
Choose "Open Game Box" from the "File" menu
and find metz_game.gtb.
After the American player plays his or her first turn, then
can save the moves they've made to a file using the file menu
(as seen above).
Choose "Save Moves..." from the File menu to save
the recorded moves. You can then email the saved move file to
your opponent. You should then use "Save Game" to
save the current game.
When receiving a move file, load your latest game (using "Open
Game") and then choose "Load Moves..." from the
file menu. You can then use the toolbar buttons "Step"
(or F7) to step through your opponents moves or all (F8) to
just accept all their moves.
Play Live
Two player can play "Drive on Metz" live by establishing
a peer to peer connection between their computers. Use "Connect..."
from the "Peer" menu. It will bring up this dialog
box:
The current version has no provision for working through firewalls,
so the ip or hostname and an open port is required for live
play. Port 9100 is the default.
During live play both players can move units, there is not
yet any concept of "sides" or "turns".
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