Shattered Union (XBOX) FAQ 1.3/Mar 2006
Author: saintly@innocent.com
This FAQ is copyright 2006, but 'Shattered Union', 'Xbox' and other
trademarkable names are probably trademarked by people like
'Take-Two Interactive' and 'Microsoft'.  This FAQ is not officially
endorsed or authorized by anyone.
To send questions about things not contained in the FAQ, suggestions
comments, spelling corrections or death threats, send email to me
at the above address.  I'll be more likely to read your message if
you include a subject line like
'Shattered Union 1.2' (or whatever version of the FAQ this is)
I still need help with:
- Tips/strategies for Campaign Mode
- Suggestions for more sections to add
- The experience system
I'll credit anyone who helps make this FAQ better.
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Table of Contents [QFC]
There are 'Quick-Find' tags at the start of each major section to
help you jump to them in your browser.  To jump to the 'Faction
Powers List', search for 'QFX'.  It should only be found at its
entry in the table of contents and the start of its section.
0. About this FAQ
1. What kind of game is Shattered Union? [QFA]
a. Where can I find more information?
b. Is this game popular?
2. Basic Game-play [QFG]
a. Purchase/Repair/Replace units
b. Deploy Units
c. Battle phases
3. Multiplayer [QFM]
4. Skirmish Strategy [QFB]
5. Unit Comparison Table [QFU]
6. Unit type discussions/Notes [QFD]
a. Single-Use units
b. Infantry units
c. Light Armor
d. Medium Armor
e. Heavy Armor
f. Artillery
g. Anti-Aircraft
h. Helicopters
i. Fighters and Bombers
j. Special Units
7. Game Mechanics [QFM]
a. Terrain Effects [QFT]
b. Refuelling & Repairing
c. Attack and Defense
d. Mines
e. Russian Aid
8. Factions [QFF]
a. New England Alliance
b. The Confederacy
c. Great Plains Federation
d. Republic of Texas
e. California Commonwealth
f. Pacifica
g. European Union
h. Russia
9. Reputation level & Faction powers [QFR]
10. Faction Powers List [QFX]
11. Power summary & quick-ref [QFS]
12. Full Powers Descriptions [QFD]
13. Campaign Mode [QFC]
a. Territory Values
b. AI notes
c. Controller tricks
d. Campaign Mode Strategies
e. Unit Experience
14. Campaign Mode Walkthrough [QFW]
a. Turn 1.
b. Beginning-Midgame (Turns 2-25 or so)
c. Midgame-End (Turns 25-50 or so)
d. Endgame (Turns 50+)
15. Campaign strategies
a. Playing as EU on Hard difficulty
16. 101 uses for a Partisan [QFP]
17. Cheat Codes
18. Misc
19. Version History
20. Acknowledgements
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0. About this FAQ
The latest version of this FAQ can be found at:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/
If you found it somewhere else, make sure to get the latest version before
sending me any questions or comments.   Other sites are free to post it
without asking me so long as:
1) It's posted in it's entirety
2) You don't charge people to see it
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1. What kind of game is Shattered Union? [QFA]
Shattered Union is a turn-based strategic warfare game, similar to
the SNES game 'Super Conflict' or the GBA series 'Advance Wars'.
If you haven't played those, you can think of it as being similar
to board games like 'Battletech', 'Warhammer' or even 'Risk' or
Chess.  All these games enjoyed a modest success, mostly with
strategy game fans.
In a turn-based strategy game you look down on a battlefield.  You
can see all your units and a certain distance away from them
(called their 'Sight Radius').  The rest of the map is hidden from
your view by the 'Fog of War'.  All you can see of the rest of the
map are basic terrain features.
On your turn, you can move any of your units to anywhere within
their movement range.  If you move them within range of an enemy
unit, you can attack it.  The other player cannot take any actions
during your turn, though their units will defend themselves if
attacked or perform other automatic tasks.
After you've moved as many units as you like, you end your turn
and can take no actions during your opponent's phase.
a. Where can I find more information?
The official site (with trailer, screenshots & game information) is:
http://www.2kgames.com/shatteredunion/home.php
PopTop Software has it's own website for the game, with links to
reviews from different magazines & websites:
http://www.poptop.com/su/index.html
GameFAQs has discussion boards for both the PC and Xbox versions:
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/gentopic.php?board=928045 (PC)
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/gentopic.php?board=928046 (Xbox)
Express World is a fan site dedicated to PopTop games, they have a
page for Shattered Union and a discussion forum:
http://www.expressworldforum.com/forum/index.php?board=5.0 (Forum)
http://www.express-world.co.uk/union/ (Shattered Union webpage)
b. Is this game popular?
Sadly, no.  It was released for the PC and only one console; the Xbox.
Console strategy games are rare, and most of them (and the people that
play them) are with the PC and PS2.  Furthermore, it was released
without any advertising at the end of the Xbox's life cycle.  To add
insult to injury, Poptop appears to have stopped all work on it, so
there won't be a PC demo, patches or a map editor unless diehard fans
create them themselves.
Reviewers generally liked it, calling it an above average game, but
not one of the outstanding best (it gots lots of 80% scores, 4 out of 5s,
8 out of 10s, etc..).
c. I really like it, what are similar games?
The MOST similar games I can think of are the old NES game 'Conflict',
and the SNES sequel 'Super Conflict'.  In both of them you have a hex
grid & modern military units.  The goal is to defeat your enemy's
'Flag Tank' (or 'Flag Ship' in Super Conflict).
The 'Advance Wars' series for the Game Boy are also similar, with
modern units on a square grid.
There are plenty of other turn-based strategy games though.  For the
PS2, 'Disgaea', 'La Pucelle Tactics' and 'Makai Kingdom' are all
fantasy turn-based strategy games.
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2. Basic Game-play [QFG]
Whether you're playing Campaign Mode or fighting a friend, the
heart of the game is the tactical battle.  In 'Skirmish' mode,
this is the whole game.
The tactical battle follows this game flow:
a. Purchase/Repair/Replace units
Repairing units is only done in Campaign mode (in Skirmish mode you
won't have any units to repair).  It costs about 30% of the unit's
price to completely repair it to full health.
If you're the defending player in Campaign mode, you can only repair
units or buy Single-use units.
If you accidentally buy something in Skirmish mode, hit 'Y' to go to
repair/sell mode and sell it back for full price.  This doesn't work
in Campaign mode, so be careful what you buy.
b. Deploy Units
The attacker goes first and can deploy units anywhere in the
highlighted yellow hexes.  You cannot attack or use any special powers
in 'Deploy Units' mode.  Press 'Back' to end your turn.  After the
defender deploys their units, the tactical battle starts.
c. Battle phases
Generally, the attacker has to capture a certain number of points worth
of towns or structures.  Each town has a different point rating, so
attackers often want to prioritize and focus their attack on a few key
cities.  Attackers can also win by destroying all the defender's units.
If the attacker fails to capture enough objectives within the allotted
time (15 turns), or all the attacking units are wiped out by the
defender, the attacker loses.
If the attacker wins in campaign mode, they capture that territory and
can launch attacks against other territories touching it.
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3. Multiplayer [QFM]
You can play this game against a human opponent.  The simplest
way to do this is the following:
On Controller 1, Pick 'Skirmish', then 'New'
Hit 'Start' on Controller 2
Each select starting faction, cash and reputation
Hit 'A' on Controller 1 when both players are ready
If you have only one controller, use 'R' on it to switch over to
the 'CPU' side, then go up and change the CPU type 'Human'.  Now
you will need to hand off the controller to the person playing.
This way is most like the 'Conflict' games, but some features of
the game (the Fog of War, mines, choosing units, etc..) will lose
some of their effectiveness since both players can see what the
other does on their turn.  It might be a good idea for each player
to step out of the room during the 'purchase' phase, at least.
The other options are to play against someone with their own
XBOX, copy of the game and separate TV via 'System Link', or find
an opponent on XBOX live.
Note that multiplayer is available only for 'Skirmish' mode, not
the full campaign.
You can select your starting reputation, or pick '?' or 'X'.  If
you pick 'X' you'll get no powers for the battle.  If you pick ?,
your reputation will be randomly selected (you don't get 5 random
powers, you get whatever powers you'd get normally for having the
reputation you're randomly given).
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4. Skirmish Strategy [QFB]
Both attacker and defender strategies are very different in skirmish
games, as opposed to the single-player campaign mode.  The defender
will usually want to have a different strategy from the attacker.
The attacker is focused on offense, attacking power and moving
quickly across the map to capture towns.  It's usually better to
keep pressing your attack and try to win quickly.  Other
strategies are possible (especially if you know the defender is
going to try a different strategy) but attackers usually aren't
good at defending and occupying territory.  It's often better to
avoid the defender's heavy defensive positions and capture as
much undefended area as you can, hoping to lure the defense out
into an offensive war they may not be equipped for.  Keep in mind
that defenders usually have a huge air advantage since their
airport can be placed well out of your reach.
The defender, on the other hand, is usually going to want to stay
focused on high-defense and long-range attacks, not worrying about
lack of mobility.  For this reason, the single-use units are a
great value: they have high defense and offense scores and are
dirt-cheap.  They're great for supplementing your units and making
any attacks on the major objectives costly for the attacker.  They
shouldn't be ignored because it looks like they "waste" money in
campaign mode.  It's far better to lose a bunker than a tank.
Since fighters & bombers can move over the entire map, you can place
your airport as far away as possible from the attackers and can
afford to invest more in fighters and bombers.  Put it on top of a
minor city to use it's 100HP to defend it.
These are the 'classic' strategies, but defenders can also try to
mix it up, perhaps trying to win by wiping out the attackers on
offense, or the attacker focusing on air strikes and air support.
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5. Unit Comparison Table [QFU]
Legend:
Fl - Flag (The country/region that can buy these weapons)
$$ - Unit cost, in thousands
Attack - Damage vs Infantry (If), Vehicles (Vh), Aircraft (Ac)
Df/HP - Defense strength and hit points
CD - Collateral Damage
SR - Sight Range
(The unit clears the 'Fog of War' up to this distance)
TR - Target Range (Unit can attack this far away)
MV/Fuel - Movement range per turn, fuel supply
Attack
Unit Name        Fl  $$$  If/Vh/Ac  Df/HP  CD SR TR MV/Fuel
[Single-Use Units]
Militia            US    3  12/ 8/ 0   4/14   1  4  1  4/-
Sympathizers       RU    3  12/ 8/ 0   4/14   1  4  1  4/-
Peacekeepers       EU    3  12/ 8/ 0   4/14   1  4  1  4/-
FH 105mm           EU   10  14/11/ 0   3/20  12  3  4  0/-
155mm M777         US   15  15/14/ 0   3/20  16  3  5  0/-
M46 130mm          RU   15  17/13/ 0   3/20  15  3  5  0/-
FH 155mm           EU   15  15/14/ 0   3/20  16  3  5  0/-
Defense Tower      US   15  12/10/13  10/20   2  3  3  0/-
RU Defense Tower   RU   15  12/10/13  10/20   2  3  3  0/-
EU Defense Tower   EU   15  12/10/13  10/20   2  3  4  0/-
Bunker             US   15  10/14/ 0  11/21   3  2  2  0/-
RU Bunker          RU   15  10/14/ 0  11/21   3  2  2  0/-
EU Bunker          EU   15  10/14/ 6  11/21   3  2  2  0/-
[Infantry Units]
Heavy Infantry     US   10   6/13/ 9   3/15   4  3  2  3/-
Guards Infantry    RU   10   6/13/ 9   3/15   4  3  2  3/-
EU Heavy Infantry  EU   10   6/13/ 9   3/15   4  3  2  3/-
Engineer           US   14   5/11/ 0   4/17  10  3  1  4/-
Pioneer            RU   14   5/11/ 0   4/17  10  3  1  4/-
Sapper             EU   14   5/11/ 0   4/17  10  3  1  4/-
Commandos          US   15  15/15/ 0   7/18   3  3  1  4/-
Spetsnaz           RU   15  15/15/ 0   7/18   3  3  1  4/-
EU Commandos       EU   15  15/15/ 0   7/18   3  3  1  4/-
[Partisans]
PartisanNC         GP    3*  6/ 4/ 2   2/15   1  3  1  8/45
PartisanNE         NE    3*  4/ 4/ 4   2/15   1  3  1  8/45
PartisanNW         PA    3*  4/ 4/ 6   2/15   1  3  1  8/45
PartisanSC         TX    3*  8/ 5/ 2   2/15   1  3  1  8/47
PartisanSE         CF    3*  6/ 4/ 2   2/15   1  3  1  8/45
PartisanSW         CA    3*  4/ 6/ 2   2/15   1  3  1  8/47
[Light Armor]
Humvee             US    6   5/ 4/ 6   2/18   1  4  1 10/60
Vodnik             RU    6   5/ 4/ 6   2/18   1  4  1 10/60
VBL-1              EU    6   5/ 4/ 6   2/18   1  4  1 10/60
Striker            US   15  11/ 7/ 4   6/18   2  4  1  8/55
Pandur             EU   15  11/ 7/ 4   6/20   2  4  1  8/55
Bradley            US   25  13/13/ 4   8/20   1  3  1  5/40
BTR-90             RU   25  13/13/ 4   8/20   1  3  1  5/45
Marder             EU   25  13/13/ 4   8/20   1  3  1  5/40
[Medium Armor]
Sheridan           US   28  12/12/ 6   8/18   2  3  2  6/50
LAV                US   30   0/18/ 0  11/18   2  3  2  8/45
Vextra             EU   30   6/14/ 0   6/18   2  3  2  8/50
M8                 US   32  10/14/ 6   2/18   1  3  2  7/45
AMX 30             EU   32  10/14/ 6   9/18   3  3  2  7/45
[Heavy Armor]
T-55               RU   35  12/16/ 3  10/20   4  2  2  4/35
M60                US   36  10/16/ 6  10/20   4  2  2  5/35
Challenger 1       EU   36  10/16/ 6  10/20   4  2  2  6/35
Leopard 2          EU   42  12/17/ 6  12/21   4  2  2  5/35
Abrams             US   45  13/17/ 6  12/21   4  2  2  6/30
T-90               RU   50  14/18/ 6  13/22   5  2  2  6/30
FCS Stuart         PA   50  19/17/ 8  12/24   4  3  2  7/45
FCS Jackson        CA   50  20/17/ 6  13/30  10  2  1  6/30
EU Goliath         EU   51  14/18/ 6  13/23   7  2  2  5/35
FCS Bragg          NE   51  12/19/ 6  13/22   5  2  2  5/50
FCS Lee            CF   52  12/20/ 6  13/22   3  2  2  5/30
FCS Hood           TX   53  10/20/ 6  13/24   5  2  2  4/30
[Artillery]
Big Tom            US   35  17/13/ 0   3/16  16  3  4  4/45
Paladin            US   38  14/13/ 0   4/18  14  2  4  5/40
Zuzana             EU   38  18/13/ 4   2/20  16  1  5  5/40
MERL               US   40  18/13/ 0   4/20  19  1  5  5/40
PzH 2000           EU   42  12/17/ 0   6/22  15  3  4  5/35
Crusader           US   42  15/15/ 5   6/22  12  3  4  5/35
Smerch             RU   45  20/16/ 0   3/16  30  1  5  5/40
FCS Grant          GP   51  20/17/10  11/25  20  2  4  4/35
[Anti-Aircraft]
Chaparral          US   42   0/ 0/19   6/20   0  4  4  6/40
Avenger            US   46   8/ 5/14   6/20   1  4  3  8/40
Vulcan             US   46  11/10/15   7/21   4  3  2  6/40
Tridon             EU   50   6/12/15   7/20   7  5  2  8/50
Gepard             EU   55   8/12/17   8/21   3  3  4  5/40
Shilka             RU   56  12/13/16  10/25   8  4  2  6/45
[Helicopters]
Warrior            US   38  12/ 7/ 0   3/16   3  5  2 10/65
Mangusta           EU   45  12/15/ 5   4/18   5  4  2  8/50
Super Cobra        US   50  12/13/12   4/18   4  5  2  8/50
Apache             US   60  12/18/ 8   6/21   5  4  2  8/50
Tiger              EU   60  12/18/12   6/21   5  5  2  8/50
Hind               RU   65  15/16/ 5  10/25   8  4  2  6/45
[Fighters & Bombers]
Tornado            EU   95   0/ 0/16   6/20   0  5  2  -/-
Super Hornet       US  100   0/ 0/17   6/22   0  5  2  -/-
JSF                US  110   0/ 0/18   8/24   0  5  2  -/-
Mig-35 Interceptor RU  110   0/ 0/18   8/24   0  5  2  -/-
Typhoon            EU  112   0/ 0/18   8/25   0  5  2  -/-
A-10 Thunderbolt   US  115  14/18/ 0   8/20  13  5  1  -/-
Bear               RU  120  20/20/ 0   5/20  20  5  1  -/-
LA4 Nimrod         EU  120  20/20/ 0   5/18  20  5  1  -/-
Stealth Bomber     US  125  20/20/ 0   6/18  20  5  1  -/-
[Special Units]
Android/Cyborg/Borg -   30* 15/15/ 6   8/22   5  4  2  5/-
Airfield            -   10*  0/ 0/13  10/100  0  3  3  0/-
*Some unit prices are marked with the '*' (partisans, cyborgs, airfield).
These units are always free to the side that gets them, but this is how
much they count as 'money lost' if they are destroyed.
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6. Unit type discussions/Notes [QFD]
a. Single-Use units
These units have good stats, and they are the only units you
can buy when it is not your turn (when other players attack you
in campaign mode).
Mostly not much use on offense since they can't move.  For an
offensive player, they are best used to defend your airbase or
your initial placement of artillery units.  The light infantry
make decent scouts for offense, you can buy 3 for the price of
1 heavy infantry.
For defense, these have stats comparable to the best tanks and
their lack of movement isn't a problem since the enemy will be
coming to you.  Later on in the game, you'll want to have
permanent versions of these units (Heavy Armor = Bunker/Tower,
Artillery = Guns), but if you are caught off guard on defense
and need a bunch of units, this is your only option.
Single-Use units disappear after they have been used in battle,
but you can "pre-buy" them and have them sitting around till
you need them.  Since you can buy them anytime, I don't see what
value this has, aside from possibly raising your unit count to
scare off attacks.
b. Infantry units
Commandos are cheap anti-tank and anti-infantry units.
If you place them in cities, they also have great armor.
Engineers are special units that can lay/destroy mines.
Generally, this isn't as useful since you fight most of
the battle at the front lines, and since the attacker gets
to go first, you may not have any time to lay mines.
Heavy Infantry are good at holding spots till your other units
can arrive.  Token forces of them at each city can buy some
time.  They're also useful for attacking patrolling aircraft
I don't usually bother with infantry units, preferring to save my
money for more heavy tanks.
c. Light Armor
These are your cheapest scouts.  They do the least damage of any
unit, but they're very fast and can explore the map quickly.
If you have several of them, you can use hit-and-run tactics
against a single enemy unit (which can only return fire once).
I start with a couple of Humvees, but when I have enough money
I replace them with Warrior helicopters for their wider sight
range.  If all their movement is along a road, Humvees can actually
move farther than Warrior helicopters.
d. Medium Armor
More armor than a scout, more mobile than heavy armor.  If you
want a vehicle that doesn't suck at anything, you could be
thinking about these.  For a defender, good for putting in the
cities you aren't expecting the enemy to attack.
The LAV is a cheap, nasty tank-killer and its more mobile than
heavy armor.
I start with a couple LAVs but eventually replace them with FCS
tanks.
e. Heavy Armor
The stars of the battlefield are your heavy armor.  They're the
slow, beefy musclemen that take forever to get somewhere, but
deal punishing damage when they do.  They're very vulnerable to
helicopters and bombers, so they should travel with an escort.
They're good for clearing infantry and especially good at
fighting other tanks.  Due to their slowness and massive armor
ratings, they're much better at defense than offense.
I like to have lots of these (preferably FCS tanks) since they're
great for defense and can eventually steamroll their way over
everything on offense.
f. Artillery
Although unable to defend themselves against attacks from close
range, and having generally weak armor, these units can all dish
out high damage from a distance.  Since they can attack 4-5
squares away, they can fire from the safety of your rear line,
while heavy tanks/bunkers/towers defend them.
They can all fire farther away than they can see, so to get the
most use out of them you need to have 'spotters' like your
scouts or infantry to spread out and expose enemy units to
shoot.  All these weapons have high collateral damage, and using
them a lot will make you more 'evil'
These would be nicer if it were easier to protect them, but as
soon as the AI sees them it sends every unit it has to blow them
up.  It's tough to keep these alive
If you're playing Pacifica, the FCS Stuart's high move rate and
ability to fire 2 squares away means it can deliver more firepower
than your artillery and reach almost as distant a target as the
best artillery every turn.
The Great Plain's special unit ('FCS Grant') fixes many of the
problems with artillery.  It has decent armor, can fend off enemy
helicopters and dish out quite a bit more damage.
For some reason, the CPU really loves artillery, so expect to see
a lot of it coming your way.  If you trap the last faction in a
lone territory and let them attack you repeatedly, they'll send
waves of artillery + infantry at you.
g. Anti-Aircraft
Many units can attack aircraft, but Anti-Aircraft units are the
best at it.  Even when it is not your turn, AA get to attack first
on any enemy fighter or bomber that tries to attack or patrol in
the AA unit's attack range.  They can respond unlimited times this
way, so the enemy can't get free bombing runs just by sending a
fighter on a suicide run.
Although AA has low armor, they can move quite far each turn to
help you get within range of patrolling aircraft or helicopters.
They're nasty enough that I make them my primary target when attacking,
and always take them with me for defense.
A single 'Chaparral' can destroy a stealth bomber occasionally, but
two AAs in the same area can blow up nearly any aircraft that tries
to patrol or attack in their protected area.
An AA unit is also great for protecting your helicopters from enemy
fighters.  It can make a great 'base' to keep your helicopters around
when you're exploring.
If the AA can attack ground units, it can attack them at the same
range it attacks air units.  This isn't much help to US troops, but it
makes the EU's AA units double as weak artillery.
h. Helicopters
Helicopters are basically anti-tank weapons.  Although a couple
of them have a decent air-attack rating, they'll usually die if
they attack fighters.  Super Cobras are like weak, but fast
AA guns.  Unlike using a fighter to take out another helicopter,
Super Cobras don't trigger an auto-response from AA.
Warriors make great scouts, able to run over any type of terrain
and see up to 4 squares away.  Apaches and Tigers are probably the
best units in the game at destroying ground units.
The EU's "Tiger" is better in every way than the "Mangusta", so
you have no reason to keep the Mangustas around.  It's the best
attack helicopter around and is great at finishing off other
helicopters as well as the odd nearly-dead patrolling fighter.
Helicopters and jets are unable to capture territory.  If you send a
squad of copters to attack an enemy territory and destroy all the
defender units, you still won't take over that territory.  Ground units
can move through a helicopter unit, but can't stop on the same square
as one.  Helicopters can likewise fly over ground units.
i. Fighters and Bombers
Bombers do lots of damage to units (with high collateral damage)
Fighters basically defend against bombers and helicopters.  You
can put fighters on Patrol in an area to expose the map and
attack any bombers/helicopters that try to enter the protected
area.  They are basically very mobile Anti-Aircraft.
Fighters & Bombers aren't placed on the map like other units.
Instead you'll be asked to place a single 'Airfield' unit on the
map during the deployment phase.  Once placed, it cannot be
moved, and if it's destroyed you lose access to all aircraft and
aircraft-related special abilities until the next battle.
Press 'X' anywhere on the map to call up your aircraft menu.
Cycle through the available aircraft and assign as many as you
like to a task (bombing, patrolling, etc..)
If you see a lone Anti-aircraft unit, you can attempt to bomb it.
Instead of the AA getting to attack first like it usually does, it
will go after your bombing attack.  If your attack destroys the AA,
you will get away without taking damage.  If there are other AA
around, they still get to attack you first though, so this is a
tactic to be used with caution.
j. Special Units
Many people don't know that you can use the airfield to attack things.
Click it like a normal unit and attack an air unit within 3 squares.
It has 100 HPs, making it nearly impossible to destroy on one turn (it
would take something like 8 attacks from stealth bombers to blow it up,
or 9 or more heavy tanks).  Additionally, if it was placed in a city,
not used to attack, and you can clear the squares around it of enemy
units, it will regain 50 health every turn.
If an airfield is destroyed, ALL aircraft the owner brought to the battle
are also destroyed.  The manual states in one place that you just lose
access to them for the battle, but this is incorrect.
Androids, Cyborgs and Borgs are created by special powers.  They can be
dropped on any square within your sight radius, so they are particularly
nasty when combined with Pacifica's 'All Seeing Eye' (which lets you see
the entire battlefield).  Since they're free units, they're also
expendable.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Game Mechanics [QFM]
a. Terrain Effects [QFT]
Terrain has two effects.  Units that stand on it have a bonus
or penalty to their defense score, and it may hinder or help units
walking over it.  Aircraft are not affected by terrain at all,
though the airfield itself is affected as if it was a 'Ground Vehicle'
Effects on defense:
Unit type      City  Forest/Hill  Road  Clear/Field  Water
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Infantry        +5       +3        -1        -1        -2
Ground Vehicle  +1       +1        -1         0        -6
Note that infantry units never get their base defense, it will always
be lower or higher depending on the terrain.  If a road runs through
any kind of terrain, you still get the 'road' defense penalty for
standing on it.
Effects on movement are a bit harder to determine, but as best I
can figure out, it seems to work this way:
The unit's movement score is multiplied by 10.  Attempting to move
onto each kind of tile subtracts a certain number of points.  The
numbers below are my best guess at the moment:
Effects on movement:
Unit type      City  Fors Road  Clear  River  Mountain  Barrier  Lake
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Infantry        10    18     7     12    20       12+      +20      -
Ground Vehicle  12    20*    8     12    35        -       +50      -
Helicopter      10    10    10     10    10       10        10     10
Barriers are the movement-impairing traps laid by engineers,
'Dragons Teeth' are for vehicles and 'Barbed Wire' are for infantry.
They add their value to whatever the base modifier was for the tile.
Engineers ignore barriers and destroy them automatically when they walk
over them.
The costs for rivers and mountains are usually what is listed, but there
is a cost for climbing/descending heights that can raise the numbers.
Infantry can often move faster through mountains than over hills, since
they aren't moving from one height to a different one as much.
*Forest tiles are more difficult for some vehicles to move over than
others.  Vehicles are broken into 'wheeled', 'tread' and 'towed'
categories.  It costs 2 more points for 'tread' vehicles and 8 more
for 'towed' (I think only the Tridon is towed).
b. Refuelling & Repairing
If you don't move a unit or use it to attack, it can regain some health
and fuel at the end of your turn (and before the opponent gets to move).
This is normally 25% max health and 50% max fuel recovered (fractions
are rounded down), but these are doubled if the unit was in a city.
The airfield also regains health this way, recovering 50 HPs per turn
if it was placed in a city.  Since you cannot move an airfield, the
only reasons it won't recover are that an enemy is next to it, or
you used it to attack an air unit nearby.
An enemy unit can prevents the recovery of all units it is touching.
It does not prevent the recovery of units 2 or more squares away, even
it has an attack range of 2 or more.
Aircraft recover 25% of max health every turn they are not used.  They
never get the bonus for being in a city regardless of where the airfield
is placed.
c. Attack and Defense
The formula for determining damage from an attack seems to be:
Typical Damage = (Attack - Defense) * 1.5
Even though this is "typical", the amount can vary from as little as
2/3 of this amount to almost double this amount.  The extreme cases
are rare, but slight variations are more common.
Example:
Two 'Abrams' heavy armor tanks attack each other.  Both are on
roads, so both are getting -1 to DEF.  A vehicle attack score of
17 is attacking a defense score of 11.
(17 - 11) * 1.5 = 9
So they'll usually do about 9 damage.  Scores of 10 and 8 will be
about as common as 9.  It would be possible to do as much as 18 or
as little as 6, but these would both be extremely rare.
This formula breaks down when the Defense score is equal to or greater
than the attack score.  If the scores are tied, the attacker will do
from 1-3 damage, and if the defense score is higher the attacker has
a 50% chance of doing either 1 or 0 damage.
d. Mines
Engineer-laid "standard" mines appear to have an attack score of 20.
To lay a mine, select an engineer and press the 'DOWN' arrow on the
D-Pad (the manual says UP, but it's wrong).  The standard mine is to the
left, the dragons teeth are to the right, and barbed wire is 'up'.
Many of the 'evil' powers also leave behind squares that cause damage to
whoever passes through them.  The only ones that engineers can clear
are the mines from 'High Altitude Bombing'
e. Russian Aid
'Russian Aid' looks like brown boxes on the map.  If a ground unit moves
over it, it can turn into one of four things:
- Heals or resupplies fuel to the unit
- A temporary buff/bonus to the unit and/or adjacent units
- A bonus Russian unit appears to help you till the end of the battle
- A mine (this is very rare; attack strength is low as well, around 8)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Factions [QFF]
There are 8 different "teams" in this game, called 'Factions'.  In
Campaign Mode, Russian units will only appear in the final battle of
the game (after you have united America again).  In Skirmish mode,
you can pick from all 8.  All the american factions have basically
the same units, though each has one unique unit (usually a beefed-up
heavy armor tank) that no-one else can buy.
The European Union and Russia (if you're playing Skirmish mode)
have units all their own and can't buy the American units.
Aside from their unique units, each faction also has different
powers that become available as your political reputation changes.
If you do lots of collateral damage, you become more 'evil' and
gain access to nastier powers that let you bomb large areas.  If
you try to minimize CD, you become more 'good' and gain healing
and support powers.  Additionally, 'partisan' units (similar to
light armor) might join the "most good" side for a single fight
in campaign mode.
Most American factions have several unique powers that can be gained
for being extremely evil or good (the EU, Russia and the Great Plains
territory just have duplicates of other American faction powers)
In campaign mode, the different factions follow a specific turn
order.  This is only important on the first turn (if you pick EU,
you'll get to go only after New England and the Confederacy have had
a chance to take you out first).  The factions are:
a. New England Alliance [1st]
Starting in the Atlantic Northeast, this faction's special
power is manipulating the morale of units to inspire
courage or fear.
You have three opponents at the beginning of the game, but
you can probably wipe out the EU quickly to reduce that
to only two.  If you do that, this is one of the easier
factions to play.  Starting out with 'Mortar Attack' make
it easy for you to go Evil as well.
Unique unit:   FCS Bragg [Heavy Armor]
Unique powers: Persuade, Heroic Cause, Forced March
Demoralize, Forlorn Hope, Cower
b. The Confederacy [2nd]
Starting in the southwest, this faction's special powers
are related to disease or the use of nanites to boost the
abilities of your units.
They get a nice extra unique ability (Field Support) that
is available at the start of campaign mode, though you will
lose it as you approach an extreme alignment.
Unique unit:   FCS Lee [Heavy Armor]
Unique powers: Nanite Cloud, Clone, Microfilament Armor
Field Support,
Plague Bearer, Mortonanites, Ultimate Plague
c. Great Plains Federation [3rd]
This faction starts in the central north of the US.
This is probably the hardest faction to play, since you start with four
other big factions as opponents, all of whom will likely attack you.
Additionally, you get no upgraded FCS tank to defend or steamroll your
opponents with.
Your special powers & special unit are all geared around attacking from
a distance.  You also have an easier time going "Evil", which is handy
since your Evil powers are pretty decent and generally better than your
"Good" ones.
Unique unit:   FCS Grant [Artillery]
Unique powers: None (powers are a mix of New England & Confederacy)
d. Republic of Texas [4th]
This faction is centered around Texas in the central south of
the US.  They get the most unique powers, with the best mix of
different types.  Like the Great Plains and Confederacy, this
faction starts out with the most opponents on it's border.
Their unique unit (the FCS Hood) is a bit disappointing, it has
lower speed and infantry attack power than the other faction's
special tanks.  In return, it does slightly more collateral
damage (handy if you want to go evil) and has a couple
extra HPs.
Unique unit:   FCS Hood [Heavy Armor]
Unique powers: Strike force, Precision Guided Munitions,
Extra Fuel Cells, Double Time, GPS targeting,
Haywire, Tactical Adhesive, High-Altitude Bombing
e. California Commonwealth [5th]
Starting in the southwest, this faction has a number of unique
powers centered around communications and high-tech.  This is
a fairly good position to start in, having only Pacifica and
Texas as your enemies.
Unique unit:   FCS Jackson [Heavy Armor]
Unique powers: Advanced Reactive Armor, Miscommunication
Equipment Upgrade, High-Explosive rounds,
Code Breaker
f. Pacifica [6th]
This faction starts in the pacific northwest.  Their unique
powers relate to exposing the battlefield.  Although you
start with 3 factions on your border, California and the Great
Plains often go for Texas, leaving you with only two neighbors
and no-one attacking you for several turns.
Pacifica's unique unit, the FCS Stuart, is cheap and has great
stats, contributing to making Pacifica probably the easiest
place to start.
Unique unit:   FCS Stuart [Heavy Armor]
Unique powers: Ultimate Armor, All-Seeing Eye, Long-Range Patrol
Satellite Survey,
Volatile Charges, DU Munitions, MRV
g. European Union [7th]
This is the hardest faction to start with in campaign mode.  You
have only one territory in the Washington DC area and will likely
be attacked by your neighbors.  Unlike the other factions, you
can't even focus on defense for a few turns since you need to get
out and conquer to raise the money you need.
Your special powers are good, though you have none that aren't
available to the other american factions.
Unique unit:   All your units are unique
Unique powers: None
h. Russia [Not available in Campaign Mode]
Only available for skirmish battles, you get some pricey, but very
nice units.
Unique unit:   All your units are unique
Unique powers: None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Reputation level & Faction powers [QFR]
Your reputation starts out at 0 (Neutral).  This gives you access to 3 powers.
All of them can be used frequently, but none are very powerful.  As you use
(or refrain from using) attacks with high collateral damage (CD value), your
reputation goes up or down.  It can increase or decrease up to 5 points from
the starting value.
Each step gives you access to one beefier power, though you may lose some
powers you already have access to.  You can gain up to 5 powers at the
extremes of reputation.  Although middle ("Neutral" powers are not as
spectacular, you can use them a lot more often).
It's actually fairly difficult (requiring a lot of work) to become Evil.  The
'Collateral Damage bar' in battle represents how much "senseless" destruction
you've done.  It goes up a little if you use bombs or artillery on units in a
city.  It goes up slightly more if you just bomb or fire on an empty city
hex.  Additionally, once the hex is badly damaged, the amount of collateral
damage you get for shooting into it goes down.  Using an evil power like
'Dirty Bomb' or nukes on a bunch of city squares will raise it a lot, but
getting your reputation low enough to use those powers is tricky.
If you end the battle with less than half the collateral damage bar filled,
your reputation will go UP.  Every battle.  If you have half the bar or more
filled, your reputation will stay in place or go down.
This means that if you are trying to be Evil and want to stay that way, you
need to spend the first bunch of turns shooting at the cities you start with,
or trying to get a unit into a city to detonate 'Dirty Bomb' when it becomes
available.  The worst thing the enemy can do to you is to attack and die or
resign quickly, before you've gotten the bar halfway filled.  This will cause
you to gain reputation, possibly making you lose access to some evil powers.
If you play casually, you are extremely unlikely to go Evil, even if you
take all reasonable opportunities to bomb enemies in cities.  A lot of
artillery and stealth bombers are essential if you want to maintain an evil
reputation.  Even at the end of the campaign mode, when the enemy can be
easily slaughtered by a couple tanks, you need to bring a bunch of artillery
and bombers along to pointlessly blow things up.  The american public will
even forgive your wanton use of nuclear weapons in a few weeks.
This table shows your reputation and what power #s it gives access to.  For
example, at the second-highest 'good' rating, you'll have access to powers
1-5 from your factions power list.  At the most evil, you have access to
powers -2 through -6.  No matter which direction you go, you quickly lose
access to one of your starting powers and eventually you'll lose access to
all three of them.
GOOD/Green
5:  2 -  6
4:  1 -  5
3:  1 -  4
2:  0 -  3
1:  0 -  2
0: -1 -  1
-1:  0 - -2
-2:  0 - -3
-3: -1 - -4
-4: -1 - -5
-5: -2 - -6
EVIL/Red
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Faction Powers List [QFX]
New England Alliance:                 The Confederacy:
6. EMP (6/7)                          6. Nanite Cloud (5/6)
5. Persuade (4/5)                     5. Full Spec. Active Warriors (5/5)
4. Tomahawk (4/6)                     4. Clone (4/6)
3. Heroic Cause (3/7)                 3. Demilitarized Zone (5/5)
2. Laser Guided Bomb (3/3)            2. Microfilament Armor (3/5)
1. Forced March (2/4)                 1. Evasive Maneuvers (2/4)
0. Mortar Strike (0/2)                0. Field Support (0/1)
-1. Demoralize (2/5)                  -1. Feint (2/4)
-2. Napalm (3/5)                      -2. Plague Bearer (4/4)
-3. Forlorn Hope (4/6)                -3. Broken Arrow (2/4)
-4. Salvo (4/5)                       -4. Mortonanites (2/4)
-5. Cower (5/5)                       -5. Electronic Countermeasures (5/5)
-6. Thermonuclear War (7/7)           -6. Ultimate Plague (5/4)
Republic of Texas:                    Great Plains Federation:
6. Strike Force (6/6)                 6. EMP (6/7)
5. Precision Guided Munitions (5/5)   5. Full Spec. Active Warriors (5/5)
4. Extra Fuel Cells (4/4)             4. Tomahawk (4/6)
3. Smart Munitions (3/5)              3. Demilitarized Zone (3/10)
2. Double Time (2/4)                  2. Laser Guided Bomb (3/3)
1. Expert Gunners (2/4)               1. Evasive Maneuvers (2/4)
0. GPS Targeting (0/3)                0. Mortar Strike (0/2)
-1. Long Range Artillery (2/4)        -1. Feint (2/4)
-2. Haywire (2/4)                     -2. Napalm (3/5)
-3. Dirty Bomb (4/3)                  -3. Broken Arrow (2/4)
-4. Tactical Adhesive (4/4)           -4. Salvo (4/5)
-5. Fire Bombing (4/7)                -5. Electronic Countermeasures (5/5)
-6. High Altitude Bombing (4/5)       -6. Thermonuclear War (7/7)
California Commonwealth:              Pacifica:
6. Glory (6/7)                        6. Ultimate Armor (6/7)
5. Android Warriors (5/5)             5. Cyborg Soldiers (5/5)
4. Eulogy of Freedom (5/8)            4. All Seeing Eye (4/5)
3. Advanced Reactive Armor (4/5)      3. Nanotechnology (3/6)
2. Hold the Line (2/4)                2. Long Range Patrol (3/5)
1. Miscommunication (2/4)             1. Protonanites (2/3)
0. Rally (0/3)                        0. Satellite Survey (0/2)
-1. Equipment Upgrade (2/4)           -1. Corrode (2/5)
-2. Frenzy (3/4)                      -2. Volatile Charges
-3. High Explosive Rounds (3/4)       -3. Chemical Warfare (4/5)
-4. Sacrifice (4/5)                   -4. DU Munitions (4/5)
-5. Code Breaker (4/11)               -5. White Phosphorous (4/4)
-6. Mass Defection (6/7)              -6. MRV (6/6)
Russia:                               European Union:
6. EMP (6/7)                          6. Glory (6/7)
5. Android Warriors (5/5)             5. Android Warriors (5/5)
4. Tomahawk (4/6)                     4. Eulogy of Freedom (5/8)
3. Smart Munitions (3/5)              3. Nanotechnology (3/6)
2. Laser Guided Bomb (3/3)            2. Hold the Line (3/3)
1. Expert Gunners (2/4)               1. Protonanites (2/3)
0. Mortar Attack (0/2)                0. Rally (0/3)
-1. Long Range Artillery (2/4)        -1. Corrode (2/5)
-2. Napalm (3/5)                      -2. Frenzy (3/4)
-3. Dirty Bomb (4/3)                  -3. Chemical Warfare (4/5)
-4. Salvo (4/5)                       -4. Sacrifice (4/5)
-5. Fire Bombing (4/7)                -5. White Phosphorous (4/4)
-6. Thermonuclear War (7/7)           -6. Mass Defection (6/7)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Power summary & quick-ref [QFS]
There are 65 different powers (though 'Android Soldiers' and
'Cyborg Warriors' are basically the same), 5 at each level.
Some are available only to specific factions, others are more
common.
Lv  = Power level# (positive numbers = good, negative = evil)
CU  = Charge-Up (how long after battle starts before you can use it)
CL  = CooL-Down (how long after it's used before you can use it again)
AE  = Area-Effect (how wide the effect circle is, in hexes)
1 = Affects 1 hex/unit only
2 = Affects hexes surrounding target, 7 total hexes
3 = Affects 2 hexes away from target, 19 total hexes
4 = Affects 3 hexes away from target, 37 total hexes
DM  = Attack power/Damage to units in area
DR  = Duration, in turns, of powers with persistent effects
AR  = Attack Range
SR  = Sight Range
MR  = Movement Range per turn
CD  = Collateral Damage
DEF = Defense
ATK = Attack power (all)
MHP = Max hit points
HP  = hit points
regen = regenerate HP per turn
A duration of 'B' means the power leaves a permanent effect.  In the case of
'High-Altitude Bombing', the mines disappear once detonated, and can be
cleared by Engineers.  They are invisible to opponents and but visible
(and harmless) to you.
Some powers leave persistent effects on tiles that damage units passing
through.  A number in parentheses after the comment "Fallout (11)"
indicates the strength of the damage.  The damage tiles are usually visible
to opponents, who can choose to go around them and take no damage.
Name                   Lv CU CL AE Dm Dr  Comments
Nanite Cloud           +6  5  6  *  -  5  MHP +10, 8 HP/regen
Strike Force           +6  6  6  3  -  B  Creates 2 M8, 2 Humvee, 3 Commando
Ultimate Armor         +6  6  7  2  -  3  MHP +20, +10 DEF, 10 HP/regen
Glory                  +6  6  7  *  -  1  All units can attack again
EMP                    +6  6  7  3  -  6  Disable vehicles, destroy Aircraft
Persuade               +5  4  5  1  -  B  Convert enemy unit to your side
Prcs. Guid. Munitions  +5  5  5  2  -  B  AR +1
Android Warriors       +5  5  5  2  -  B  Create 2 Android special units
Cyborg Soldiers        +5  5  5  2  -  B  Create 2 Cyborg special units
F.S. Active Warriors   +5  5  5  2  -  B  Create 4 commandos
Clone                  +4  4  6  1  -  B  Make duplicate of your unit
Extra Fuel Cells       +4  4  4  2  -  1  MR +3, 20 fuel (up to max)