Facts

Welcome to the world of Hexadome - a new experience in on-line strategy gaming. Facts first:

1. Persistent. Unlike common computer strategy games in which each session marks a new game, Hexadome games run until there is a winner, or a certain date is reached. You can log in and out of the game as often as you want throughout this period.
2. Graphical UI. Unlike most other persistent strategy games on the Internet, Hexadome has high quality graphical UI.
3. Easy access. Hexadome does not require any special software to be installed on your computer, and it is not affected by security measures such as firewalls. All you need is a Java1.1 compliant browser.
4. Massive multiplayer. Hexadome requires very little bandwidth, and tolerates even large delays, and is because of this, not subject to the problems that limit other multiplayer games to 8 or less players.

Briefing

At ease, soldier. We´ll make this an informal briefing.

In a few moments, you will leave for Hexadome. Beware that anarchy rules, and the only laws that are still in effect, are those of Darwin - the stronger will survive.

Your primary objective is to locate, capture and hold as many of the energy outlets spread throughout the landscape as you can. You capture an outlet by placing a power pod on it.

Once taken, you will need to protect each outlet to prevent others from destroying your pods, taking what is rightfully yours.

You will, in other words, need to build and sustain an army. The credits you need to do this can be aquired in several ways. You can utilize the environmet by collecting and selling resources, you can raid your enemies or you can choose to become a mercenary by accepting missions for the empire.

Unit Properties

The army at your disposal constitutes a diverse selection of different unit types, and your success depends heavily on your ability to understand and utilize this diversity. Each unit is shaped to perform a single, or possibly a few, specific tasks, use it for anything else, and it will fail miserably. Beware that each area of the dome may have slightly different units or unit properties.

Though new units are readily available at the free market, you should not under estimate the power of an experienced unit. Experience is the one thing money can´t buy.

Small units can be useful for recon or diversive ops, but units generally stand better ground the larger they are. Think twice before dividing your troops - Armies of hundreds of small units may look impressive at first, but that wears off when they´re all dead.

A war is rarely without losses, on either side. Whenever you engage in combat you should expect a certain loss, regardless the outcome of the war. The more superior you are to your opponent the smaller the loss (if any).

A final word of advice: You can´t keep your units on the move forever. They´ll move a certain distance, but fatique will set in eventually, possibly leaving them stranded in enemy territory. Watch those movement points.

Defense

A units Ability to defend itself depends heavily on its type, its size and its experience, but also on the units surrounding it. In other words, units can provide protective cover when kept in close proximity of each other.

(Note: some units covers a larger area than others).

What this means, ofcourse, is that you should consider carefully how you group your units, and how they are placed with respect to each other.

Also, don´t forget to make use of the terrain - it can provide very efficient and very cheap cover for units that are not strong in defense.

A good defensive strategy in an emergency situation is to split your units - this puts a lit on the number of hits you can take on each attack, and subsequently buys you some time to move your more valuable units away from the war zone. This is obviously no ultimate solution, since smaller units has much less of a chance of surviving.

One final resource available to you in the name of defense, is the units ability to dig in. Each unit can "make camp" to protect itself, making it a much harder target. The side effect is that it takes time, and that the unit is incapable of doing anything else while camped. Leaving camp is also costly, so this option should be used only in absolute emergency or when carefully planned.

Offense

As with defense, the succes of an attack depends on both the unit leading the attack and on those supporting it. However, in the offensive situation, your support units are those surrounding the enemy.

(Note: again, some units have a wider range than others).

War is hard work. Your units will fatique faster and can thus move less if they engage in combat, how much less depends on the unit type. You need to be aware of this, or you might find yourself unable to move units out of the warzone after an attack, leaving them at the mercy of your opponent.

You also need to be aware that supporting an attack is not without a penalty - Any of your units in the vicinity of the enemy under attack will participate as support units and thus have their movement points reduced.

(most units will suffer less from supporting an attack than from leading it, and it is thus very significant what unit you choose to be your "lead dog").

Another thing to be aware of is the victims defense formation, or lack there of. In particular, buying information about key enemy units before the attack can prove well worth the price, and in fact turn out to be the difference between success and failure.

Just as splitting units can be an effective last-resort if you are under heavy attack, joining units can be an effective move before hitting an enemy.

Resources

Valuable resources are scattered throughout the terrain in various forms. Despite their differences, they all serve the same purpose: To aquire cash for the purchase of whatever instruments you need to fulfill your mission, and that without affecting the company cash balance.

You can sell your collected resources to any of the merchants constantly orbiting the planet, but they must first be carried to a resource portal, where merchants can evaluate and collect them. While this is not your primary objective, it is a task you need to be constantly aware of, and prepared to dedicate units to.

We can suggest the following methods of resource aquisition:

1. Killing.
   Attacking, killing and robbing competitors is not beneath us. In fact, it has the added benefit of beeing a major setback for their operation, so feel free to loot.
   ?/li>
2. Gold quaries.
   From time to time gold quaries are discovered beneath the surface. The gold is easy to access, so your units won´t need any special skills to access it. Be quick about it though - these quaries dont go very deep, and tend to be exhausted rather quickly.
   ?/li>
3. Salvaging wreckage.
   Occasionally, a hover craft or even a large transporter malfunctions and crash somewhere in the terrain. It may belong to someone, but if you can get there first... Well, finders keepers, you know.
   ?/li>

Energy Outlets

Energy, after all, is what you are here for. By placing energy pods on the various energy outlets located throughout the terrain, you help the company extend its energy reserve by exploiting planet core-heat. It is crucial that we capture the outlets before our competitors get a shot at it. You have license to use any means necesarry in order to complete your mission.

The Company will pay you a healthy bonus for each hour your pods are placed on an outlet.

Good luck!

While all the games here at Hexadome are based on the same concept, both game rules, unit properties and available features are determined by individual gamemasters and thus may differ from game to game.

You should always read the description associated with each individual game before playing (press the ´detail?link next to the game in the game list)

1. Facts
2. Briefing
3. Unit Properties
4. Defense
5. Offense
6. Resources
7. Energy Outlets

1. Console
2. Tutorial