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SpiritWars™


Old Getting Started Tutorial

This was written during a closed beta of the member version of the game. It won't be a perfect match for what you find in the game today, but it may help you nontheless.
Starting A Game
1. Launch spiritwars.exe

2. Select <Go to Main Menu>

3. Select <Connect to Kellogg Creek>

Note: This assumes you are beta testing the member version of SpiritWars. If you are one of the World Opponent Network beta testers you will select <Connect to W.O.N.> instead, and your challenge interface will look a little different, but the following info about playing the game will be identical. (Remember: there is NO functional difference between the 2 versions of the game. The only difference is that members will gain or lose pieces every time they play. And during this testing phase, to give the playtesters as much flexibility as possible in dungeon creation, you won’t lose anything, but WILL gain spirits every time you win a game or successfully complete ten games.)

4. Select <Connect to Server>

5. Enter your password and hit Enter key.

Description: In the box in the upper left corner is a list of the available players.

6. Highlight a player and select <Get Player Info>

Note: This will show the player’s won-loss record and current rating. It might be best in your first game to try to play with a more experienced opponent, in case you have questions during the course of play.

7. Highlight a player and select <Send Message>

8. Type your message in the text box that is below your opponent’s won-loss information.

9. Select <Send>

Note: It is a good idea to wait for a response before issuing a challenge, just to make certain that your opponent is still connected to the internet, and hasn’t wandered away from the keyboard.

10. Highlight a player and select <Send Challenge>

11. When the button becomes active, select <Start Game>

Note: If someone challenges you, and you wish to accept, select <Accept Challenge> then select <Prepare Game> then select <Start Game>

 

Description: Once a challenge has been issued and accepted, you will be taken to the game board. The castle you see belongs to you. If you are Player #1 your castle and playing pieces will be silver and if you are Player #2 (the higher ranked player in member version games) your castle and pieces will be gold. Notice that all of the hexes within 2 spaces of your castle are visible. This is because your castle has a vision rating of 2. All of the physical spirits in the game have a distance they can "see." Most spells (and all attacks) can only affect opposing pieces that are currently in view. The color bars across the top of the screen show the quantities of energy currently in your pool. At this point, you will have 3 energy in your pool..
.


Editing A Dungeon
1. Launch spiritwars.exe

2. Select <Go to Main Menu>

3. Select <Edit Dungeon Population>

Note: SpiritWars allows a player to define 2 dungeon populations. (Players familiar with collectable trading card games can think of these as their playing decks.)

5. Click the option button for the dungeon you wish to edit, then select <Edit dungeon>

Description: This brings up the Dungeon editor screen. Near the top of the screen are list boxes labeled "Spirits in Kingdom" and "Spirits in Dungeon." ("Spirits in Kingdom" will contain a list of the names and quantity of all of the playing pieces you currently own. If this is the first time you are editing a particular dungeon, the "Spirits in Dungeon" list box will be empty.) Below the spirit list boxes are 2 combo boxes labeled "Homeland" and "Ally." Below these combo boxes is a text area with a description of whichever spirit is the currently active choice in the "Spirits in Kingdom" or "Spirits in Dungeon" lists. On the left of the Dungeon Editor screen are 2 sets of filters, "Homeland" and "Spirit Type."

Note: An important decision that each player must make is which spirits to include in a particular dungeon. Of course this will depend on the relative strengths of the spirits in one’s kingdom. In the free version, available exclusively on the World Opponent Network, all players will have identical kingdoms, so the choice will be mostly a matter of personal preference. In the membership version at Kellogg Creek Software’s servers, the dynamic additions and subtractions of spirits that the members’ kingdoms will undergo through winning and losing games will tend to shape these strategic decisions.

6. Under the Homeland filter select "Drylands," and under the Spirit Type filter select "Spells." The Spirits in Kingdom box will now show those Drylands spells that you currently own. Left click on each spell in turn, and read the description that appears in the text field below. Notice that the description is color-coded to match the piece’s Homeland type. Right clicking on a previously selected spirit will open a screen with more detailed information on that spirit.

7. Double click the name of a spirit in the Spirits in Kingdom box to move it into the current dungeon. Double click the name of a spirit in the Spirits in Dungeon box to remove it from the current dungeon.

Note
: If you are the type of person who wants to have a complete understanding of the strategic and tactical ramifications of each decision, then cycle through your pieces using the filters at the left. Methodically study the capabilities of your game pieces before deciding which spirits to include in a dungeon. If you’re the "Let’s just get started!" type, then simply pick your 2 or 3 favorite colors, put all the spirits you have of those colors into the current dungeon and get on with it.

8. If you want to start over with a clean slate, select <Clear Dungeon> in the lower left corner of the screen.

Note: Minimum dungeon size is 30 spirits, the maximum is 120, and of course you can’t include more of a particular spirit than you own.2

9. When you have finished putting your selected spirits in the dungeon, you need to choose the primary and secondary types of energy that your home castle will produce each turn in the game. This is done using the Homeland and Ally combo boxes. These can both be set to the same terrain type if you are playing a monochromatic dungeon.

Note: If you want to play a dungeon that has more than 2 colors, make certain that you include some matching energy pieces in that dungeon; otherwise, you will never be able to pay the appropriate casting costs. (Remember: only green energy can be used to activate Woodlands units and spells, for example.)

10. You can select <Analyze Dungeon> if you want to see statistics on the spirits you’ve included. Later this screen will give more detailed info than it does at present.

11. When you are finished, select <Close Editor> Then make sure you select which of your 2 dungeon definitions you will want to use the next time you play, and select <Return> to go to the main menu..


The Activation Phase
12. Select <Courtyard>

Note
: These are the spirits that have left your dungeon and are available to be put into play. If this were a poker game, this would be your hand. Since nearly every activity in the game requires energy, and you can only bring one energy piece into play each turn, look in your courtyard for an energy piece. Most have a casting cost of zero, but check yours just in case. If you have more than one energy piece in your courtyard, you will probably want to cast the one that matches the color of the other spirits currently in your courtyard.

13. Select <Close> to move back to the main map screen.

Description
: Below the map are eight pictures and a list box of spirit names that represent your courtyard.

14. Double click the name of the energy spirit you wish to cast. If you were unfortunate enough not to have an energy piece in your courtyard to start the game, check in the courtyard for a cheap combat piece that you can afford to cast instead.

Note
: In the unlikely event that you don’t have any of those either, you have no choice but to wait until your second turn to activate any pieces. In that case, it would probably be a good idea to budget some time between games to read the strategy articles at the SpiritWars website to get a few tips about creating a successful dungeon.

15. The legal entry spaces will be highlighted in green. Select a hex by clicking on it.

Note
: The number of non-energy pieces that can be activated each turn is limited only by the amount of energy available in your energy pool.

16. When you have no more pieces that you wish to activate, select <End Phase> in the lower right box. Control of the board now passes to your opponent..


The Movement Phase
Note: Most spirits can not move on the turn they are brought into play. Spirits that are able to move in the current movement phase will be highlighted in red.

17. Select a piece that is eligible to move by clicking on it. Legal destination spaces will now be highlighted in green.

Note
: A right click on any spirit will bring up a small screen with the basic information about that piece. From there, selecting <View Detail> brings up a complete listing of that spirit’s statistics.

18. Select a destination space by clicking on it. Once a piece is moved you can’t change your mind, but if you select a piece that you don’t want to move, clicking on the piece again de-selects it.

Note
: Some combat spirits have an energy cost required to move them. This cost will automatically be deducted from your energy pool when you move into the new space. If you do not have enough energy to pay the move cost, you will not be permitted to move the piece.

19. When there are no more pieces that you wish to move, select <End Phase>

Note
: Only Wetlands (blue) spirits can be activated or move in the deep water/ocean spaces.

Note: "Map Magic" is not currently activated. However, when we turn this on in a few days, it will be during the movement phase were you can activate the various spells and magical abilities of the various spirits in play on the map..


The Combat Phase
Note: Most spirits can not attack on the turn they are brought into play. Spirits that are able to attack in the current combat phase will appear in a list box below the map. (This is a temporary attack interface; the next version will function much like the current movement interface.)

20. Select an attacker by left clicking on its name in the list box. It will now be highlighted on the map in ________, and its legal targets will be highlighted in ___________.

21. Select a highlighted enemy piece that you wish to attack by left clicking on it.

22. Select <Execute Attack> A scroll will appear, describing the outcome of the battle.

Note
: If you change your mind before executing the attack, you can select <Cancel Attack>

23. When you have no more spirits with which you wish to attack, select <End Attack Phase>

Note
: When it is your opponent’s combat phase, if one of your pieces is attacked, you can have three options, depending on the circumstances: defend self, block with Defender, or no defense. A spirit only gets one attack event per turn, which can be used on offense or defense. If one of your pieces that has already used its attack ability this turn is attacked again, it can only absorb the punishment; it can not itself deal out any damage. Defender spirits have the unique ability to interpose themselves between an enemy attacker and one of your pieces. To use this ability, the enemy attacker has to be within the blocking radius of your Defender. If this is the case, when your enemy attacks you can select <Block with Defender> Remember that like other pieces, the Defender spirits can only use this ability once per turn..


Resurrection (A sub-phase)
Note: If one of your spirits with the Resurrection special ability is killed, and you have an empty space in your courtyard, and you have enough energy in your energy pool to pay for the resurrection, you will be given the opportunity to bring that spirit back to life in your courtyard.

24. Select either <Yes> or <No>.


The Healing Phase
Note: The Healing phase isn’t turned on yet..


Overcrowding
Any time you end a turn with a full courtyard (eight spirits), you will be offered an overcrowding opportunity to remove one spirit from the courtyard. Remember that a new spirit can enter your courtyard at the beginning of a turn if there is room available. You will be presented a list of the spirits currently occupying the courtyard of your castle. If you wish to "discard" one of them, select the option button in front of that spirit. If you wish to keep all eight spirits in your courtyard, select the "Leave Courtyard Alone" button to continue..


The Energy Phase
Note: (The energy phase actually happens at the beginning of each turn, but since there is no chance of maintenance costs on turn one, it makes more sense to mention it here.) During this phase your home castle produces 3 points of energy, and the energy spirits you have put into play also contribute their value to your energy pool. Energy spirits located in a terrain space that matches their color will generate one additional energy point each turn they remain in play..


Maintenance (a sub-phase)
Note: Some pieces have a maintenance cost that must be paid in order to keep them in play. During this part of the energy phase, if you have any spirits which require a maintenance expenditure, they will appear in a list box.

25. If you have enough energy to pay for all of them, and you wish to do so, you can select <Pay For All>

26. If you can not afford to (or choose not to) pay for all of them, you can highlight each piece and select <Pay for this unit>

Note
: Any pieces that you don’t pay maintenance on will be removed from play immediately. You will also be notified any time your opponent loses pieces in play due to unpaid maintenance costs.

SpiritWars™ is a registered trademark of Kellogg Creek Software.