Wages of War FAQ
12-04-96
These are some of the most common technical and game questions asked about Wages of
War.
Canceling interface commands:
Anytime you click on any action that requires you to indicate a target
(shooting, grenades, fist aid, exchanging, etc.), you can cancel that
command by simply clicking on the same button again.
Carrying wounded mercs:
Downed mercs (dead or incapacitated) can be carried off the field by their
comrades. Move the healthy merc directly over the downed one and go
to the actions menu, then click the button with the pictographs of the stick
figure picking up the other stick figure (middle left) and you will pick up
the other merc. Note that you can only walk and may not shoot while carrying
another merc. You will also have to put them down in order to open any
doors. When you reach a valid exit area, you will be asked if you wish to
evacuate your wounded partner If you say yes, you will then be asked if
you wish to leave. In this way a merc can carry off a downed comrade,
and then return to the fight.
Crew weapons:
The M-60 and the PKMS machine guns are considered crew weapons.
The mercenary firing the weapon (the Gunner) is unable to reload it himself.
The ammunition must be carried and loaded by a second merc (the Loader).
In order to reload, move them adjacent to each other, both must be alive
and functional. During the Gunner\'s turn select the reload button. You will
be asked to select the Loader (the cursor will turn into an ammo belt),
click on the Loader and the reload will be complete. Note that this action
takes AP\'s from both mercenaries, so make sure that the Loader has
positive AP, or the load will fail.
Game speed:
Smaller processors (486\'s) can sometimes get pretty slow during some
missions. One way to speed things up is to copy the \"wow\\anim\" folder
from the CD into your Wages of War directory. This takes a lot of hard
drive space, but can be a big help.
Exchanging and dropping items:
A merc may drop any item that he is carrying at any time by clicking on the
actions (!) menu and then clicking on the button with the hand and gun
(upper right corner). You will be shown a list of everything that merc is
carrying, and you can select which one you would like to drop. A mercenary
may exchange items with any other merc or any dead enemy. Move
merc adjacent to the person you wish to exchange with and click on the
drop item button. Your cursor will change into a hand, and just click on
the person to exchange with. If you click on yourself, you will get the drop
item list. To pick up a dropped item, move directly over it and click the drop
item button. To quickly drop an item, a handy shortcut is to right click on
the merc\'s portrait in the interface.
Improving mercenaries:
Mercenaries will gradually improve in skill as they go on more missions.
A mercenary who has been on many missions will often have improved
considerably. Generally the more skilled a merc, the more they cost, but
mercenaries who have improved up to the level of other mercs will always
cost less than their equivalent. This encourages players to use the same
people often, and to keep them alive. It is also satisfying to see a merc
improve dramatically after several missions.
Initiative and reaction fire:
Each turn, the computer determines the order of initiative for that turn,
based primarily on the EXP and WIL of each combatant. Reaction fire can
occur any time two combatants spot each other during movement. You
can react to an enemy moving into your field of view if you have a positive
number of AP, AND you are ahead of them in the initiative sequence.
Of course, the same is also true for you moving into an enemy\'s view.
Office detail level:
In the options menu from the main menu, there is a high/low detail toggle.
This actually refers to the level of involvement in the office segment of the
game. In high detail, the player must handle all contract negotiations, travel,
intelligence spending, and training. In low detail, the contracts are done
automatically, and the player need not worry about deadlines or training.
In this way players can decide how much of the business end of battle they
want to handle.
Quick Targeting:
Pressing the \"Tab\" key during combat will toggle the view through all the
enemies that your merc can see. Hit the \"Tab\" several times during each
merc\'s move, just to stay aware of enemies around you.
Rolodex:
For personal information about individual mercs, clicking on the face of
their rolodex card reveals a little bit about their history and skills. The rolodex
card will update after each mission with skill improvements and possible
changes in status (KIA, WIA).
Overhead Map:
Clicking on the map button below the mini-map changes the view to a full
screen overhead map. The overhead shows not only the locations of visible
enemies, but architecture that cannot be seen from the angle of the normal
battle screen (doors and windows), and the entrance and exit points for most
missions.
Setting explosives:
In order to set a satchel charge, you must also have an explosives timer
(without the timer, you may still throw it like a grenade). To set the charge
go to the actions menu and click on the clock button. You will be shown
an LED timer, set the amount of time desired (note that one game turn is
roughly 30 seconds), click \"Arm\", then \"Done.\" If you do not click \"Arm\",
the charge will not go off. Setting a charge costs 34 AP.
Training effects:
Training can temporarily improve each mercenary\'s skills for that specific
mission. The level of improvement is not large, but it can give your people
an edge. Weapon training affects each merc\'s WSK, while Mission training
affects EXP and WIL, and Tech training affects TCH.
This section is a list of keyboard shortcuts that are not listed in the manual.
Interface:
Center On Current Merc Home
End Turn End
Game Options Esc
Center On Enemy Tab (cycles through visible enemies)
Emulate Left Mouse Click Delete
Move Cursor Arrow keys
Move/Fire:
Stand Alt + S
Kneel Alt + K
Prone Alt + P
Open/Close Door Alt + D
Reload Alt + L
Throw explosive Alt + T
Walk Alt + W
Run Alt + R
Crawl Alt + C
Fire Weapon Alt + F
Hand to Hand Attack Alt + H
Actions:
Sight Mortar Ctrl + M
First Aid Ctrl + A
Cut Fence Ctrl + F
Carry Merc Ctrl + C
Review Intelligence Ctrl + I
Inventory Ctrl + V
Sound/Music:
Sound Volume Down -
Sound Volume Up +
Music Volume Down [
Music Volume Up ]
Music On/Off F2
This section is a list of each mission with a little information to get players
started in each. Most of what is here can be gleaned from reading each
intelligence brief, but we thought a more concise listing might be helpful
to people who are getting stuck.
Mission 1:
Your mission is to find and rescue Lizza Montague. She appears on the
mini-map as a blue dot and on the main screen in a white blouse and blue
skirt. You may start your team along any edge of the map. In order to rescue
Lizza, you must first neutralize the guard nearest her then move one of your
mercenaries nearby. You will be given a message saying that you have
rescued the hostage. From this point on, she will be under your control.
Move her and your team off any edge of the map and you win. Be careful
though, once the enemy is aware of your presence, they will try and
scape with her. One last thing, once you rescue the girl, the enemy will
consider her a target...
Mission 2:
You are in the dead zone looking for a briefcase at one of two wreckage sites.
There are a couple important things to keep in mind. First, if you spend to
much time in the area (15 min or more), your mercs will start taking damage
from radiation. Second, the area is infested with hostile mutants. Funny thing
about mutants is that they have a habit of scavenging things from wreckage
sites. Once you have the briefcase, return to the helicopter to exit.
Mission 3:
Government missions don\'t pay well, but they generate a lot of prestige,
so it\'s important that you do well here. That said, this mission is pretty
straight forward. Your mission is to land on the beach, then penetrate into
the enemy bunker, locate the stinger missiles inside, blow them up and go
home. Be very careful fighting inside the bunker. The enemy often puts up
a pretty good defense. When you do find the stingers, the safest thing
is to set satchel charges and clear the immediate area. Make sure you
destroy all the missiles, then exit at the boat.
Mission 4:
In mission four, you have to crack a safe to recover a set of blueprints, so
it is vital that you have at least one merc with an excellent tech skill rating.
The safe can be in several different locations on the map, and the enemy are
scattered around, so search thoroughly, and take your time. When you find
the safe, move your tech with the safecracker kit in front of it, and go to
the actions (!) menu on your interface, and then click the button that looks
like a finger pushing a button. Cracking the safe takes several turns, but
once you open it, your tech will automatically pick up the blueprints. Exit
any edge when finished.
Mission 5:
This hostage mission is not unlike mission one, except that there is a second
civilian on the map. David McCallom, your hostage, is wearing a blue shirt.
Exit the hostage and your team from the southwest corner where you entered.
Mission 6:
Your objective here is to destroy the oil pumping station, which is the large
circular object inside the enemy compound. You can enter along any point
on the edges of the map, so a wide range of approach options are possible.
Bear in mind, though, that the enemy here will by far be the best equipped
and trained you have encountered. Destroying the pump usually takes about
two satchel charges set next to it. Exit any edge.
Mission 7:
We won\'t kid you, this mission can be very difficult. You have to make a
night time paradrop into the center of an enemy position, destroy two different
objectives, then exit all of your mercs from the distant west side of the map.
Each merc can only carry limited equipment on the drop, so it is essential that
you buy a parachute canister and that you get your people to it on the ground
quickly. Ii is highly recommended that you equip as many of your mercs as
possible with night vision goggles.
Mission 8:
You have been hired to assassinate three businessmen staying at the familiar
Salvatore hacienda. You can enter and exit from any edge, so feel free to
experiment with different tactics, but watch out, the guards are a lot better
this time.
Mission 9:
You are supposed to hack a computer, so bring a few technicians on this
mission. The whole map is one big building, and the computer could be in
any of a half dozen or so places. Make sure you take a good look at the
photo of the computer in the intel brief, the whole place is full of different
computers, but you are looking for a very specific one. Your tech can begin
working on the computer the same way as the safe in mission four, only
you don\'t need any special tools. Once you have accessed the computer,
exit from the same place you came in.
Mission 10:
This parachute mission is a lot like mission seven, except that it\'s daytime.
Once you land, a large number of enemy soldiers will begin moving towards
you from the south. You will need to take out any enemies already at the
crossroads, plus all the ones coming at you, then exit your team to the north.
Mission 11:
You have been hired to capture a munitions factory (and we mean capture!).
Destroying any part of it could cause you to fail the mission. Once you have
neutralized all of the enemy, the area will be considered secured, and the
mission will end. This is a night mission, so equip accordingly.
Mission 12:
The Romanian government has hired you to attack the Russian supply lines
to help them in their war. The mission is reasonably straight forward. Take
out all defending forces and destroy the bridge, and the mission will end. But
be careful. These Russians are very well armed and quite numerous. The
mortar is available for this mission, and you owe it to yourself to have fun
with it. Destroying the bridge takes at least two satchel charges. Don\'t set
them too close together, or they won\'t have the same effect.
Mission 13:
Your mission is to recover a laser rifle prototype from the research compound.
The laser can start out in a couple of places, but the enemy has a bad habit
of moving it during the battle, so be thorough. Once you have the laser,
exit with it to the south.
Mission 14:
There are two possible missions you can go on for mission 14. Which one
you will be taken on will be determined by events in previous missions. You
will not know which it is beforehand. Either way, your objective is to
eliminate all enemy, at which point the mission will end.
Mission 15:
This is the final mission, and as you might expect, it has the potential to
be quite difficult. You are finally being sent to take out Salvatore himself.
He has made a few changes to his hacienda, so you will need some
explosives to get in (instead of fence cutters). As soon as he is aware
of you, Salvatore will try to escape, so you must move quickly. You may
enter and exit from any edge.
