Wages of War

                 Frequently Asked Questions

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 APs from
both mercenaries, so make sure that the Loader has positive AP, or
the load will fail.

Game speed:

Smaller processors 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


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