PACIFIC GENERAL
-------------------
1.0 Release
7/3/97



Pacific General requires a Pentium 90, 16 megs of RAM, and DirectX 3.
We recommend running the game with 20+ megs of RAM (which increases load
times).

If you are having trouble running the game you can try running it with
one or more of the following options from the DOS prompt:

PACGEN <option1> <option2> <option3>

* NOSOUND -Turns off ALL sound
* NOVID -No Smacker
* NOWEATHERANIM -Turns off animating weather animations

If you do not have a sound card installed in your system, you will need
to run the game with the NOSOUND option.

If you experience music briefly pauses, you can change the rate at which
the music is streamed off the CD. Run the game with the following
option, and always list it first with other options:

PACGEN STREAMSIZE:<number>

* <number> -A number from 100000 to 500000 in multiples
of 100000

Pacific General uses a system of streaming music off of the game CD. This
allows us to provide approximately 50% more music and voice files.

The Japanese war machine began in direct response to Western
influences in the Asian theater. Seeing the Europeans and Americans
loot their backyard generated a fear that their own island would face
a similar fate. Thus was born the goal of a greater "Asian Unity"
and the death of isolationism. The Russians were first dealt a
humiliating loss before the Great War; then, Manchuko fell under
Japan's thumb. China, disorganized and wracked by internal conflict,
lie open and waiting for leadership.

The United States entered the 20th century with a great deal of zeal,
but not much foresight. The American role in WWI solidified their
position as one of the world s great powers. Isolationism and a lack
of planning followed this new position, shrinking US vision over
the next two decades. The British influence continued to decline
throughout the region, as the Germany's aggression in Europe diverted
attention and resources from the Orient. This left Hong Kong,
Australia, and India with little protection in the face of an
expansive enemy. America, fat on its laurels, has been attacked by
the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. The US has taken the lead in the war to
fight the Japanese and push them back to their island once and for all.

Pacific General is a simulation game set in the Pacific theater of
conflict in World War II, pitting the Japanese Empire against the
combined might of the Allied forces. In this game, it is possible
to take either side in the conflict, which can be played from the dawn
of combat in 1937 to the historical or hypothetical outcome(s) of the
war. Land, air, and naval operations play a key role in the battles
to be fought.

Pacific General is based on the 5-Star General engine first seen in
Panzer General. PacG creates a unique naval combat system and AI
to handle the all important sea war, secondary to games such as Panzer
and Allied General. This unique system, coupled with other
enhancements as outlined below, makes PacG an interesting addition to
the 5-Star Line.

When you first start the game, you will notice that there are no menus
active. The default setup is with the menus "up". You can pull
"down" the menus in one of two ways. If you press the Space Bar,
the menus will lock down on both sides of the screen. If you prefer
to leave the menus "up", you can pull down the menus as you need them
by moving the cursor to the bottom of the information menu (at the top
of the screen), along the bottom bar, on the left or right edge. The
menu for the side you are on will pull down. To select a button on a
menu, just move your cursor over the button and left click on it. All
of the buttons in the game are accompanied by hot text to describe its
function.

The menu on the left side of the screen is the Main Menu and has
functions such as saving and loading a game, the audio controls, end
turn, etc. If you have a unit active (see below), the left menu changes
to the Unit Menu. The unit menu contains all the commands for the
units in the game.

The menu on the right side of the screen is the Options Menu.
Functions such as turning hidden units on or off, viewing the
strategic map, or turning the hexsides on or off are on this menu.

To scroll the map, just move the mouse cursor to the edges of the map.

To select a unit, left click on the unit to activate it. The area
that the unit can move is highlighted. To move the unit, just left
click on the hex where you want the unit to move. To attack an
enemy unit, activate a unit, and move the mouse cursor over the enemy
unit. The cursor will change to a cross-hair, if you can attack the
unit. To attack the unit, just left click on the enemy unit. On the
cross-hair are a set of flags, each with a number below it. The flag
represents the side of each unit (your units have the American flag).
The numbers below the flags represent the expected results of the
combat. To deactivate a unit, just right click.

To view the statistics of the enemy units, right click on the unit.
You can view the statistics of your units in one of two ways. You
can click on the Go To Unit button on the Options menu, and scroll to
the unit. Or, you can just right click on a unit, but make sure that
you do not have a unit active ... otherwise the active unit will be
deactivated (see previous paragraph).

You can also bring up the Unit Menu by activating a unit, and left
clicking on the unit a second time.

We have balanced 5 additional scenarios specifically for multiplay. They
are listed at the top of the multiplay chat screen. They are Chunking,
Dutch East Indies, Halha River, Midway Invasion, and Operation Olympic.
Here is a brief description of the 5 multiplayer scenarios:

Chungking - Chungking is a meeting engagement. Both sides start even and
whoever ends up with the most points wins. The Japanese side is the one
that the more experienced player should run since it has a little bit of a
disadvantage in the air but should be able to make up for it on the ground.

Dutch East Indies - This scenario has the Japanese on the offense against an
Allied defense. There are enough opportunities in this one for each side to
prepare a bit of a surprise for their opponent. The Allied side is a bit more
challenging.

Halha River - Another meeting engagement. He who causes the most casualties
wins. The Japanese side is a bit more challenging.

Midway Invasion - Another Japanese offensive, but this time just against the
Americans. This one has the potential to be a real brawl. The Americans
need to be on their toes for this one.

Olympic - The proposed invasion of Japan. Here the Americans are on the
offensive against the Japanese. This one is a slugging match early and a
race later on. The Japanese side is the more challenging to play but can
provide a few surprises.


The following step-by-step instructions describe the process for creating
or joining a two-player Internet TCP/IP, Direct Modem Play or IPX Network
Connection Pacific General Game.

* SPECIAL NOTE
* For the Multiplay game, the music is defaulted to turn off. Some fast
* modems in combination with a SCSI CD controller may be capable of
* playing the streamed music and running the game. We recommend playing a
* Multiplayer game with music turned off.

1. Start up Pacific General.
2. In the start menu, click on the "Multiplay" button. The one
with the three soldiers on it.
3. Click on the "Modem Connection For DirectPlay" button.
4. Click on the "Host Game" button.
5. Click inside the "Enter Player Name" box. Backspace to clear
any previous entries, and type the name you wish go by in
the game, pressing the Enter key when you are finished.
6. Click inside the "Enter Session Name" box. Backspace to
clear any previous entries, and type the title you wish to
use for the game session, pressing the Enter key when you
are finished.
7. Click on the "Start" button located at the bottom of the menu.
8. Wait for the other player to connect by calling your modem
number.
9. Once you have connected, and are in the Scenario Selection
screen, choose a Scenario from the list on the left side
of the screen.
10. Choose the Prestige and Experience settings you wish to use.
11. Click on the "Start Scenario" button.

1. Start Pacific General.
2. Click on the "Multiplay" button. The one with the three
soldiers on it.
3. Click on the "Modem Connection For DirectPlay" button.
4. Click on the "Guest Game" button.
5. Click inside the "Enter Player Name" box. Backspace to clear
any previous entries and type the name you wish go by in the
game, pressing the Enter key when you are finished.
6. Click on the "Start" button.
7. Type in the phone number of the host s modem in the "Phone
Number" field of the pop-up window (dashes, parentheses, or
spaces are unnecessary).
8. Click on the "Connect" button.
9. Once you have connected and established a modem link with
your opponent, a window will appear with the title of the
game sessions that are currently available to you.
10. Click on the game session title you wish to join (it should
turn white when you have selected it).
11. Click on the "Start" button.
12. The Host will select the scenario and launch the game.

1. Start up Pacific General while connected to the network you
intend to play across.
2. In the start menu, click on the "Multiplay" button. The one
with the three soldiers on it.
3. Click on the "IPX Connection For DirectPlay" button.
4. Click on the "Host Game" button.
5. Click inside the "Enter Player Name" box. Backspace to clear
any previous entries and type the name you wish go by in
the game, pressing the Enter key when you are finished.
6. Click inside the "Enter Session Name" box. Backspace to clear
any previous entries and type the title you wish to use for
the game session, pressing the Enter key when you are
finished.
7. Click on the "Start" button located at the bottom of the menu.
8. Wait for the other player to join your session.
9. Once you have connected, and are in the Scenario Selection
screen, choose a Scenario from the list on the left side of
the screen.
10. Choose the Prestige and Experience settings you wish to use.
11. Click on the "Start Scenario" button.

1. Start Pacific General while connected to the network you
intend to play across.
2. Click on the "Multiplay" button. The one with the three
soldiers on it.
3. Click on the "IPX Connection For DirectPlay" button.
4. Click on the "Guest Game" button.
5. Click inside the "Enter Player Name" box. Backspace to
clear any previous entries and type the name you wish go
by in the game, pressing the Enter key when you are finished.
6. Click on the "Start" button located at the bottom of the menu.
7. A window listing the available sessions will appear.
8. Click on the title of the session you wish to join (it will
turn white when you have selected it).
9. Click on the "Start" button.
10. The Host will select the scenario and launch the game.

1. Start up Pacific General while you are online with your
Internet Service Provider.
2. In the start menu, click on the "Multiplay" button. The one
with the three soldiers on it.
3. Click on the "Internet TCP/IP Connection For DirectPlay"
button.
4. Click on the "Host Game" button.
5. Click inside the "Enter Player Name" box. Backspace to clear
any previous entries, and type the name you wish go by in
the game, pressing the Enter key when you are finished.
6. Click inside the "Enter Session Name" box. Backspace to clear
any previous entries, and type the title you wish to use for
the game session, pressing the Enter key when you are
finished.
7. Click on the "Start" button located at the bottom of the menu.
8. Wait for the other player to join your session (they will
need to enter your IP address).
9. Once you have connected, and are in the Scenario Selection
screen, choose a Scenario from the list on the left side of
the screen.
10. Choose the Prestige and Experience settings you wish to use.
11. Click on the "Start Scenario" button.

1. Start Pacific General while you are online with your Internet
Service Provider.
2. Click on the "Multiplay" button. The one with the three
soldiers on it.
3. Click on the "Internet TCP/IP Connection For DirectPlay"
button.
4. Click on the "Guest Game" button.
5. Click inside the "Enter Player Name" box. Backspace to clear
any previous entries and type the name you wish go by in the
game, pressing the Enter key when you are finished.
6. Click on the "Start" button located at the bottom of the menu.
7. Type in the IP address of your opponent (including the
periods) in the IP address field of the pop-up box.
8. Click on the "Connect" button.
9. Once you have connected with your opponent, a window will
appear with the name of the game sessions that are currently
available to you.
10. Click on the game session title you wish to join (it should
turn white when you have selected it).
11. Click on the "Start" button.
12. The Host will select the scenario and launch the game. Boom!

Score Screen - In the lower left corner of the screen, you will see two
icons each with a number next to it. The Star represent the current score
for the Allies in the scenario and the Circle represents the Axis. In the
lower right corner is the current status in the scenario: Defeat, Marginal,
Decisive. The status is calculated directly from the score. In a game
against the computer, you need a 3-2 ratio to achieve a Decisive victory
and a 5-4 ratio to achieve a Marginal victory. Anything less is considered
a loss. In a human vs. human game, the status is calculated from the same
ratio, but if neither side has a marginal or decisive, the game is a draw.

Unit Strength Marker - The unit strength marker four stages. A unit that
has not moved has a light marker and a unit that has moved has a dark
marker. New to the strength marker is "fired" marker. If a unit has
attacked in the current turn, a red box appears around the strength marker.
This can be especially helpful in determining if an enemy fighter has done
an interception during the turn.

Saved Games and Scenarios - All of the saved games (PBEM, regular saves,
home made scenarios) are saved into the SAVE directory on your hard drive.
If you want to load any game, you must make sure it resides in this
directory. If you want to play a home made scenario as a multiplayer game,
you must have the same scenario file on both systems that connect.

Upgrading Units - The system for upgrading units has been changed in this
game to make the system of upgrading units between scenarios easier. There is
one thing to remember when upgrading units. When you upgrade a unit, the
unit that you upgrade to is displayed in the box on the bottom right of the
screen. If you remember that, the system is very simple. This change was made
to allow you to quickly upgrade multiple units at a time. Just make sure
that the unit that you want to upgrade to is exactly as it appears in the
box. For example, if you want to upgrade an infantry with a truck to a
paratroop infantry unit with the same truck, select the paratroop unit to
upgrade to and the same truck transport. Otherwise, it is assumed that you
want to disband the truck.

Naval Gunfire Range Multiplier - In the Pacific War, naval ships were used to
support landing amphibious units. The range of many of the battleships was
often greater than the longest widths of the islands. To represent the firing
ranges of naval ships, the Naval Gunfire Range Multiplier has been added to
the Island scenarios. For example, if the NGRM of a scenario is set to 3 and
a battleship in the scenario has a firing range of 5 hexes, the adjusted
firing range for the battleship is 15. You can view the adjusted firing range
for naval units on the unit statistics display of the Go To Unit screen. The
current range is listed with the original number in parenthesis next to it.
In the previous example it would be 15(5). Here are the NGRM for the Island
scenarios in the game:

Admiralty Islands 3
Iwo Jima 3
Leyte Gulf 2
Mariana Islands 3
Marshall Islands 2
Solomon Islands 3
Tarawa 3

The naval range multiplier add a different level to the game. Battleships,
Heavy Cruisers and Light Cruisers have indirect fire and cause long term
suppression (until the end of the turn). This can be very helpful to prevent
enemy units from returning fire from direct fire attacks. Destroyers have
direct fire to land units and will cause more direct damage.

Movement Table (found on pages 99 and 100) - The movement rates of the
following movement modes have been changed :

Wheeled
Terrain Dry Mud Snow
Dirt Road 1 3 2
Paved Road 1 1 2

Amphibious
Terrain Dry Mud Snow
Deep Ocean 3 3 3

Aircraft carriers can carry up to 8 planes. The carrier hangar bay
window can be viewed using the Special button from the Unit
Controls. The hangar window displays the carrier's hangar capacity as
slots for the number of planes that the carrier can hold. Planes are
launched by selecting them and left-clicking on the Launch Plane
button. Aircraft carriers with planes stored in hangar bays are
indicated by a blue dot symbol next the unit's strength indicator.

If a plane ends movement over a carrier, the plane lands and is placed
in the carrier's hangar. Planes can land on a carrier at night, but
have a chance to crash into the sea or into the carrier (automatic
critical hit). The percentage chance to land safely is influenced by
the plane's experience.

Aircraft carriers with planes stored in hangar bays have a blue dot
symbol to the right of their strength indicator. Clicking on the
Special button while an aircraft carrier is selected opens the Hangar
display which shows any aircraft on board the carrier. Left-clicking
on an aircraft displays its status and makes it available for launch
by clicking on the Launch button. After launch, the aircraft is
deployed over the carrier it can be moved normally this turn and
must be moved if more aircraft are to be launched.

Fighters in a naval scenario may be assigned to a Combat Air Patrol
(CAP). A CAP of up to seven fighters may be assigned to any aircraft
carrier, or battleship. A fighter on CAP moves with the assigned
ship, and is removed off CAP only after intercepting an enemy unit.
All of the units on CAP move as fast as the slowest moving unit, in
most all cases, the naval unit. The CAP fighters move along with the
naval unit it escorts at the same time that the naval unit moves. CAP
is represented on the plane by a small blue dot. Fighters on CAP are
refueled automatically.

Fighters can be assigned to act as combat air patrol for aircraft
carriers they are adjacent to using the Special button. When a fighter
is on CAP, there is a blue dot next to the right side of its strength
indicator. Up to seven fighters can be placed on CAP for any carrier,
one in each hex surrounding the carrier and one over the carrier. If
a fighter is on CAP over a carrier, no planes may land or launch from
the carrier. Each fighter on CAP attacks the first enemy plane that
tries to attack the carrier, if it has not already attacked during that
turn. Once it has attacked, the fighter is removed from CAP status,
but can be placed back on CAP the following turn.

There are three scenarios in the campaigns that have three different
sides. In those scenarios, the AI contols two of the players. If you
defeat the third player, all of that players objectives become yours.
This can be both a bonus and a hindrance. You can use the airfields
immediately, but if an AI unit is close to it, it will attempt to take
the airfield from you.

We have provided the entire unit database of over 800 units with this
game. To view the file PACGDATA.PDF that is in the root game directory,
install Acrobat from the Autorun on the game CD.

We hope you love Pacific General as much as we do. It's been an experience,
and there is quite a bit to it. If you have any questions or comments,
please let us know via www.pacificgeneral.com or the www.ssionline.com
websites. We have a strong commitment to making PacGen the best of the
5-Star series, so any problems you may have (or, god forbid, anything we
might have missed) will be fixed and addressed as quickly as we can.

Have fun in the Pacific - and here's to the legacy that is the 5-Star
Series!

- The PacGen Team
July, 1997


"...it's looking better than it should."
- Chuck Kroegel,
President, SSI

Producer John Eberhardt
Associate Producer Glen Cureton
Game Design SSI Special Projects Group
Lead Programmer Mike Coustier
Game Programmers Paul Murray, Reggie Seagraves, Ben Cooley
Audio Programming Ralph Thomas
Art Director Steve Burke
Lead Artist Mike Filippoff
Artists Ryan Paul, Grisha Grigoriev, Maurie Manning,
Dan Burke
Scripting James Young, Dave Merrick, Richard Wagenet
Audio Design Steven Lam, Lance Page
Multimedia Design Lee Crawford, Maurice Jackson, Miki Morris
Japanese and Title
Music Composed and
Performed by Danny Pelfrey and Rick Rhodes
Swing Music
Composed by Steve Lucky
Lead Product Tester Bill White
Assistant Lead Garrett Graham
SSI Test Team Chris Smith, George Chastain, Daniel Rivera,
Forrest Elam, Jeremy Dang, Jason Bredice, Kelly
Calabro, Nile Sabbagh, Sally Werner, Mark Schmidt,
Dion Burgoyne, Chris Lanka, Steve Peterson, Dave
Wallick
Executive Producer Dan Cermak

1/29/25 - Posted Guide