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| Pocket Commander II | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General | |
| Author | John A. Reder |
| Type | Strategy |
| Version | 1.0.2 |
| License | Mixed |
| Last Updated | 2011/03/21 |
| Links | |
| Download | |
| Website | |
Pocket Commander II is a real time strategy game inspired by Modem Wars by Dan Bunten released in 1988.
It is a sequel of Pocket Commander, with expanded battlefield. Also the game features Probe launching and single button Group selection.
User guide
Your goal is to win. Knock out your opponent's commander, which is the brains of their operation. No brains, no operation. A commander is knocked out when its energy level goes to zero as a result of enemy attack. You'll use your robots and your commander's weapons to accomplish this.
Your commander is your remote eyes and ears. It along with your robot army are controlled by you. You have in your possession a pocket-sized hand-held command device designed to communicate directly to your command vehicle (Commander) and your robot army.
Your commander transmits its visual signal to your hand-held device. Once your commander is destroyed you will loose this signal along with all communication with your army, therefore you loose the battle. Note that when your commander takes damage, your signal may be temporarily disrupted. If you notice this disruption, it is a good indicator that you might want to get your commander out of danger or at least send in some help.
About battlefield:
- The size of the playing field is 125 spaces by 125 spaces.
- A space is the area a robot occupies.
- Each space can accommodate only one robot at a time and each space can be made up of only one type of terrain.
The three types of terrain are:
- Plain - Conatins no obstacles.
- Forest - Slows movement and hides robots. Reduces range of fire in most cases. Dampens damage from missiles attacks.
- Stream - Slows movement. Robots hit while in stream take extra damage.
Your Tactical Console shows the entire battlefield. You'll spend most of your time on this screen, maneuvering your forces and keeping your eye on the big picture.
Here's a complete list of robots you'll use in Pocket Commander. Note that you can't make robots shoot (with the exception of the Commander); they pick and shoot at the enemy when they're in range.
- GRUNT - Your basic foot soldier. Unlimited Ammo.
- MORTAR - Your big guns; they do the most damage. Unlimited Ammo.
- COMMANDER - Your headquarters. You lose the game if this gets knocked out. Each Commander starts the game with a pre determined number of missiles and Probes based on the scenario selected.
To move your robots:
- Using your direction controls, put the cursor (the red/white Box) on top of the robot and press A.
- It changes to a boxed icon for a brief moment and you'll hear a beep.
- You may wish to press B which will select all robots in a 11x11 square around the cursor.
- Then position the cursor anywhere on the map that has no robot on it to choose its/their waypoint and press A to start the robot(s) moving.
- Or you can select more robots with A/B to form a larger group.
- You can select any or all robots one after the other to grow the selected group.
- Then click anywhere else on the map to assign a single waypoint for all group members to travel to.
- After setting a waypoint selecting additional robots will start a new group.
The Stats Console shows you the current robot selected, and current team totals for both teams. This will also reposition your cursor over your Commander for an easy way to locate it when you loose track of its location.
Each Commander starts with a standby missile count determined by the scenario selected. Each Missile takes time to prep itself for firing. Missiles ready for firing mat be fired by selecting your target and pressing the A button.
Missiles do the most damage in the center of the target and inflict splash damage to other robots close by including robots on your own team so be careful. Note that the Commander cannot hurt itself with its own missiles.
Launch a probe and fly it around for a few moments to reveal enemy locations. All probed robots become known to both teams, so be careful not to launch one where your main army may be located.
Go for the win. If you happen to spot the enemy Commander, send your robots after it and knock it out for an immediate victory (your robots will automatically shoot when the enemy when it is in range).
Technical inforamtion
This section contains technical information. If you want the winning edge, this is recommended reading.
Robot health:
- Robots start the game fully charged (Health=100%). They lose health Whenever they're shot, or missiled.
- When health drops to zero as a result of an attack, they're out of the game and zapped off the battlefield.
- When the Commander loses all its health it's "knocked out."
- All you can do is hope that its health doesn't hit zero before the battle's over.
Robot speed:
- There are three speed categories. The Space Per Turn figures are for robots moving through open terrain.
- See Effects of Terrain for details on how certain terrain slow your robot's movements.
Effect of terrain:
| Type | Effect on Movement | Effect on Sighting | Effect on Combat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain | None. | Full range 3 spaces Grunt, 5 spaces Mortar. | None. |
| Stream | Move at 1/3 speed. | Can only see 2 spaces away. | Target in stream receives damage x 2. |
| Forest | Move at 1/2 speed. | Can be spotted only by adjacent enemy; can only see robots one space away. | Grunts and Mortars only fire at robots adjacent to them. Targets in Forrest sustains less damage. |
Robot sighting:
- Robots sight other robots when they come within a designated range.
- In Tactical and Missile Radar consoles. In the Radar console, enemy robots look brighter.
- A robot can't shoot at an enemy robot until it has sighted that enemy.
- Firing a Missile makes the Commander briefly visible.
| Robot Type | Vision Range (Open Plain, Stream, Forest) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Grunt | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Mortar | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Commander | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Radar/Missile | All visible units can bee seen and targeted, a commander can target any space on the map. | ||
Robot weapon range:
- Each robot has a weapon they'll shoot when the enemy's close enough to see.
- Terrain can effect a robot's shooting range, so be sure to refer to Effects of Terrain in this section of details.
- A robot may only fire once per turn.
Damage from emeny fire:
- Damage that your robot takes depends on who's giving and who's getting.
- This table shows the percentage of damage a robot inflicts when it hits its target.
- The numbers under the Commander column Target represent its Missile strikes.
| Damage to Health Table (by percent) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shooter | Target (Grunt, Mortar, Commander) | Notes | ||
| Grunt | 4 | 25 | 6 | |
| Mortar | 12 | 8 | 10 | |
| Commander - Missile Direct | 50 | 50 | 12 | |
| Commander - Missile Splash | 25 | 25 | 6 | |
| In Water | x2 | x2 | x2 | Modifier (Damage x 2). |
| In Forrest | 1/2 | 1/2 | 1/2 | Modifier (Damage cut in half). |
Points are awarded for damage inflicted to the enemy (deducted for missile damage to your own team).
Your score is zero if you loose the battle.
FAQ
Q. Why can't I see my opponent's robots on the Battle console?
They're too far away. You can only see the enemy robots when they're within a certain range of your robots (the exact ranges are listed under "Robot Sighting" in the Technical Information section) or when they're firing on you.
Q. How do I make my robots shoot?
You can't. Robots pick their own enemy targets to shoot at. The one exception is that you can select a target for your Commander in the Missile Radar Console.
Q Why are there no missiles?
You used them all up!
Q. Why won't the missile fire when I tell it to?
The Radar unit in your Commander isn't perfect, keep trying to fire; sometimes all it takes a couple of tries and a little luck.
Controls
Left/Right - Scroll through options
A - Select options
Hold D-Pad - Increase the speed of the cursor
Select - Stats
Start - Help/Credits
R - Missile Radar, Return to Tactical console, Launch a probe
Screenshots
Media
Pocket Commander II for the GBA (TacticalNeuronics)
Compatibility
You can run it with a GameBoy Advance emulator or install the ROM onto a flash cartridge for use on a GameBoy Advance.
External links
- Author's website - http://www.tacticalneuronics.com/content/PocketCommander.asp