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 wont 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 players
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
opponents 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 hasnt 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 ones 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 Softwares 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 pieces 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
youre the "Lets 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 cant 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 youve 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 dont 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 spirits statistics.
18. Select a destination space by clicking on it. Once a
piece is moved you cant change your mind, but if you select a piece that you
dont 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 opponents 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.
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 dont 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.