Time of Conflict - Frequently Asked Questions

Q. It seems as if the enemy has an unfair advantage. Once a single enemy destroyer sunk my battleship, or sometimes it will take seven and eight infantry to take one of the enemy's infantry. This should be impossible.
A. The computer does not have any advantages, and this includes the probability of an attack succeeding. It all comes down to luck. Just remember, luck goes both ways, and maybe the next time the enemy will lose its battleship to one of your destroyers.

Q. I have trouble working with maps Will this be a problem?
A. If you are good with maps, it might help, but in most cases this skill is not needed. If you think of the game as working with train and boat schedules, this may make it easier since you are more interested in getting your units from point one to Point two. You don't really care if the units need to navigate around a body of water since the game does this thinking for you, but you are still interested in how long the trip is. Also, if you are transferring to a ship, you want to make sure you can get there in a timely manner. Lists make it easy to ignore the actual layout of the map.

Q.How do I turn an operator off on a unit? These operators include convoying, flight paths, and production paths and auto sentry for cities.
A. The Wake-up command (W) will remove all operators from cities and units.

Q. Why is it that I have been playing for a while and I still have not encountered the enemy.
A. Depending on the size of the map, you may not encounter the enemy for twenty-five to two hundred time periods. You should spend this initial period exploring and building up your forces.

Q. I've done everything I want, but the game just sits there for five minutes or more before the next turn begins. What is happening?
A. The computer won't make its move until either of the following is true:
1. You have run out of time for this turn.
2. All of your units must have completed their moves. You can finish your turn more quickly by moving or assigning an operator to every one of your units. If you do not want to move a unit this turn, press space on the unit. The turn will immediately end once every one of your units have been given its orders.

Q. What exactly does the K key do?
A. The game decides at the beginning of a turn the order it will present each unit to you to accept commands. The K key goes through this list and finds the first one that has moves left this turn. That is why pressing the K key will keep returning you to the same unit until the unit has been given its orders or assigned an operator.

Q. What exactly is an operator and why are they so important?
A. An operator can be thought of as giving your units orders which may last many turns. Such things as telling them to stay on sentry until further notice, follow some other unit, go to a certain destination and so on. The game will stretch on considerably if you do not use operators since you will need to command every unit every turn.

Q. I used the From-To keystrokes (F and T) on a unit to set its destination but it didn't move, instead focus just moved to another unit. Did I do something wrong?
A. The unit has been assigned its operator and will be moved by the game sometime before the end of the turn.

Q. The enemy does not seem to be limited in its knowledge of the map's geography and where my units are located. Is this true?
A. Absolutely not. The game's artificial intelligence does not have access to any more information about the map than you do. It also only knows where you are once it encounters your units. It does make some guesses, but no more than you might make.

Q. I'd like to delay moving a unit until another unit is moved out of its way, but the game has its own thoughts on which unit should move first. What can I do?
A. Either Press the delay key (D) on the unit you wish to delay moving, or Shift-D on the unit you would like to move first.

Q. My unit was awakened by an adjacent enemy, but I'd like to ignore the enemy and let the operator controlled unit continue on its way. Can this be done?
A. As long as the enemy units are not blocking all possible routes to the destination, just press the Evade command (E key) and your unit will continue on its way.

Q. I have several units in a city which I do not want to move this turn, nor do I want to put them to sleep. Instead of pressing space as the game presents each one to me, what can I do?
A. You can select them from within a list, and then press either control-space to skip all of the units moves, or press Control-S and enter 1 when prompted for how long they should sleep. In either case, the units will be awake the next turn.

Q. Can a path be set which forces a land or sea unit to travel through a city?
A. Yes, no problem, as long as you own the city. The exception are flying units which always ent their operator's function when landing in a city.

Q. Sometimes the turns keep progressing automatically, but I'd like to interrupt the marching so that I can either change production or wake-up a unit. Is this possible?
A. Press Control-K to turn off auto move mode. The marching will end and you can make your change.

Q. I would like to assign a patrol that moves a unit from one point to another and back again. Is this possible?
A. Yes. You can use the Patrol operator to set two points of the patrol. The unit on patrol will continue moving between these points until you change their operator.

Q. Why would you ever need fighters? They don't seem to be very useful?
A. Fighters are excellent against enemy battleships, subs, and troop transports. They are also useful in scouting water approaches to your territory. They also have the advantage of quickly concentrating defensive or coordinating offensive power from large distances. Their ability to safely attack city defenses is another great attribute.

Q. Why are there some restrictions on some operators which work with fighters, such as the Follow operator? Also sentry does not seem to work for fighters unless they are on a carrier or in a city.
A. It all comes down to the limited amount of fuel fighters have. The game warns you when your fighter is half out of fuel or when it can't make it to a distant destination, but the above functions make it difficult for the game to know when to tell you your fighter is in danger of crashing. Both of these limitations are there for the gamers benefit.

Q. I have some sounds which I prefer to the ones provided. Can I use these?
A. Yes. The sound files should be in wave format and should be relatively short. You should be able to identify which of the files to change by their names. If not, consult the appropriate UDF text file.

Q. How can I tell how protected an enemy city is?
A. It may be wise to fly by the city or send a low valued unit up to the city and then take a look at it. You can get a list of the contents of cities if one of your units is adjacent to it.

Q. I keep trying to send armour and fighters into an enemy city, but it just stays where it is.
A. Only infantry may enter an unconquered city. Although, most bombarding units can attack a city from one or more units away.

Q. When are games saved? How can I pick my own name for a saved game?
A. Your game is saved every turn. By default, the game creates a name based on date and the type of map being created. You are not asked to name it. If you wish to name all new games, go to options, and change the option of "No prompt for save file" to false. You will then always be prompted for your own file name.

Q. Are there cheat codes for Time of Conflict?
A. No. And the chances are low that there ever will be since Time of Conflict has been designed as a multi-player game. Mind you, if you bribe the developer with large amounts of cash, they may change their minds...who knows.

Q. Why do I need to have a link to the internet before the game will allow me to register?
A. There are a few reasons. Firstly, Time of Conflict was primarily designed as a multi-player game which requires a link to the internet so the players can be connected. Secondly, it is important that the gamer has the most up-to-date version of the game, and this was again based on multi-player gaming. Lastly, the new user verification and security module performs a quick check to ensure the license is registered, and if not, the user is given an opportunity to register the game.