Glest starts with a nice menu
screen:
1.
New Game - This opens the next menu for choosing the type of game.
2. Join
Game - Allows you to join a network game. More on that later.
3. Options -
Opens the Options Menu for customizing settings.
4. About - About the
creators of glest.
5. Exit - Exits the game.
1.
Custom Game - Allows a game where you choose the factions, map and such. This is
the most commonly used.
2. Scenario - Plays a scenario where the map and
factions are set. May also have scripting, which adds to enjoyment.
3.
Tutorial - The same as a scenario, but made to teach you how to play
glest.
4. Return - Goes back to the previous menu.
1.
Control - Choose between who controls the factions. Human is you, cpu is a
normal computer, and cpu-ultra is a more powerful computer.
2. Faction -
Choose the faction for each player. The faction is the group like magic or tech
which they control.
3. Team - Choose the teams. Players with the same team
number are allies. Used for Team and Co-op matches.
4. Tileset - Changes the
tileset. The tileset is the way the map looks, it includes the trees, rocks,
ground, and more.
5. Tech Tree - Changes the Tech Tree. Tech trees contain
the factions. Examples of tech trees include Magitech and Nihilirian.
6. Map
- Changes the map. The map is the layout of the world. It includes the position
of trees and other objects, as well as players.
Once you are ready, hit Play
Now to play Glest, or hit return to go back to the previous menu.
1.
Scenario - Chooses the Scenario from a list. Scenarios are games with set
factions, Tilesets, and maps. Scripted scenarios are special scenarios
that are scripted to make the AI do special things and
provide more of a story.
The information below the scenario describes it. The
player is the faction you control, the difficulty is the difficulty level of the
scenario, the map is the map which you will play on, the tileset it the tileset
used for the scenario, and the tech tree is the tech tree used.



PLAYING GLEST
Now
for the actual guide for playing the game.
1.
Sever Type - Choose between entering a new IP or using one you've already
saved.
2. Server - The IP you're trying to connect to.
The will be more on
using Multiplayer later.
1.
Fx Volume - The volume of the special Fx, such as an attack sound or command
sound.
2. Ambient Volume - Volume of Ambience which is generally birds
chirping in the day, and crickets at night, but it varries per tileset.
3.
Music Volume - Volume of the factions main music.
4. Language - The language
for the menus and all to be. English is generally best because it is most
popular and better to understand in screenshots.
5. Filter - Either Bilinear
or Trilinear. Bilinear is recommended, since trilinear makes the game's frame
rate go down as it uses more memory.
6. Shadows - Either have no shadows,
projected are fast, but may be inaccurate, shadow mapping is slow, but exact
shadows.
7. 3D Textures - Weither or not to have 3D textures.
8. Max
Lights - The maximum lights the game will use. Depending on your graphics card,
you may go up to 8, but it may also slow down performance.
Once done, hit
return, or choose Auto Config to have Glest automatically set everything to a
good level for your computer. (Which is shown)
So you've started the game, You probably done the tutorials, if not, do them
now. For commands, the worker has the most. The Hand means stop, and as its name
implies, the unit will stop whatever it's doing. The next icon, the arrow, means
move. It tells the unit to move where ever you tell it to. The two icons afer
(the farm and castle pictures) are building. The first is build basic, the next
is build advanced. They both build a building if you meet the requirements. Next
two icons are the axe and pick-axe. They are for harvesting resources.
Resources are needed to build buildings and produce units, so therefore, they
are very important. The axe is harvest wood, which harvests wood from
trees, and the pick-axe is mine gold/stone, which mines either gold or stone
from the correspoding rocks. The last icon in the row is the repair icon, which
fixes up damaged buildings. The X in the bottom corner is the cancel icon, which
cancels any action.
Now above the icons are the units
stats. HP is health points, the first number is the current HP, and the second
is the max HP. When HP reaches 0, the unit dies. Some units regenerate HP, which
means they slowly get some back if they are damaged. Also, some units have EP,
or energy points, energy is used to cast spells, and if they don't have the
energy, they can't cast the spell. Armor is the armor of the unit, and the word
in brackets is the type of armor. Different types of armors defend better
against different types of attacks. The sight is how far the unit can see. The
sight repels the fog of war, which prevents sight of units. With attacking
units, the sight is how close the foe must be in order to attack them
automatically. When gathering resources, you'll notice the load will appear. The
load is how much of what kind of resource they are carrying. If the
unit consumes a resource to survive, such as food, the consume stat will
show, showing how much of what they consume. Lastly, the last option is the
current action. When producing a unit, a bar with the percentage done will
appear under that.
Now lets look at an attacking
unit.
Attacking units have an attack command. In this unit, the attack command is
symbolized with the sword. Attacks have a range, which is the distance they can
attack from, usually 1 in sword users, but archers can have much more. There is
the damage which can look something like 80 ... 120 whcih means the attack can
do 80-120 damage every time. If the attack is a spell, it may cost EP, and there
may also be a splash on the attack. A splash is the wave of damage that it can
do from the target. Splashes get weaker the further they are from the target.
The radius of the splash is how far the splash can go. 0 has no splash. The
shield icon is hold position. It needs an upgrade in tech, but is very useful
for archers becuase it has them hold position so that they stay in nice ranks to
prevent enemies from passing. Also helps prevent units from running off. The
swordman has a morph command, which allows it to morph into another unit, in
this case, the guard. When morphing, the costs are the same, but the discount
value is returned to you after the morph is done. Also, on attacking units, the
kills line is added to the stats. The lines in brackets are the levels. In this
picture, the swordman will become an elite swordman in 3 kills. With each level,
the stats rise, making the unit stronger. All kills count towards your kill
counter, including kills against allies and even
yourself.
Now lets look at a building.
Buildings usually produce units and upgrades, although a few (namely the defense
tower) can attack. Notice that buildings have very few stats, just armor, sight,
and HP. On the Barracks, there are 4 units that can be produced. The swordman,
archer, guard, and horseman. In this picture, the horseman is darkened because
we do not have the stable upgrade for it. The picture shows what resources you
need to produce the guard. It also shows the buildings you must have already
built to produce it. The production speed is the speed that the unit is produced
at.
Next there is the upgrades. The training field
is an upgrade. It allows units to use the hold position command, and increases
the production speed of the barracks. One thing that many producing buildings
have that nothing else has is the meeting point, symbolized by the flag icon.
Click the flag icon, then any place on the map and when a unit is produced in
that building, they will walk to that location. Useful to have three barracks
pumping swordman into one location, or having a castle send its workers directly
to mine gold. Buildings can generally be repaired by the worker if they have
been damaged.
That
basically sums up the basics to playing glest. Taking the tutorials, as well as
my own advanced magic and advanced tech tutorials (downloadable in glest.org's
download area) should explain in more depth all the units and commands. Also,
every mod is different, so these may not always be the same. For more advanced
tips and techniques, see the page for Glest Tips.