Warning!: You need to have installed the CivII: Fantastic Worlds disk
for this scenario to work! Otherwise it will NOT do anything for you.




              THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO (THE AZTEC'S ROAD TO EMPIRE)
			 Version 2.0 -- Dec 12, 1998
                      
                    by Jesús Balsinde (jbalsinde@ucsd.edu)



(v1.1 released February 10, 1998)
(v1.0 released February 6, 1998)

Come visit the Spanish Civilization II Site, where this scenario and 
all others I have designed to date are described in detail!  

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/1514/Spaciv.htm



WHAT'S NEW?

Version 2.0 of "The Conquest of Mexico" changes a lot of things with 
respect to previous version 1.1. I would even say it's almost a whole
new scenario! Better than writing down here the changes, I decided to
re-write entirely this document. Keep reading please.


BACKGROUND

The Aztecs entered Anáhuac (the Valley of Mexico) in the mid-thirteenth
century, but it was not until 1325 when they founded their capital
city, Tenochtitlán, in the place where an eagle was sighted killing a
snake on a cactus. Gradually the Aztecs transformed their capital from
a miserable village of thatched huts to a grand city with adobe houses
and stone temples. Paralleling the sophistication of their city, the
Aztecs put themselves on the road to empire. Aggressive expansionism
and wise alliances allowed the Aztecs to establish an empire that
encompassed most of Anáhuac, and a population that numbered in
millions. But the Aztec empire, cemented on hatred and tyranny, was
soon destined to meet its doomsday. Bearded white men from across the
seas terminated with the Aztec imperial illusions in only two years.
Would you be able to create an empire in Anáhuac strong enough to hold
off the devilish Spaniards? 



INSTALLATION

As indicated above, this scenario will only work with Civ2 version 
2.7.81, i.e the one provided by the Fantastic Worlds scenario disk. 
Make a new folder under the Scenarios folder. Call it "Mexico" and 
put all the files in it except extra5.vaw. Inside the "Mexico" folder 
make a sub-folder called "Sound" and place extra5.vaw in it. 

Now you have to run the sndsetup.bat file, which has to be placed 
in the "Mexico" folder (not the "sound" sub-folder!). The following
instructions teach you how:

SNDSETUP.BAT is a little batch file utility which automatically sets up
the sound support for THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. It does this in two steps.
First, it makes copies of sound files provided with the scenario if they are used more than 
once. Second, it copies and renames sound files from the main Civ2 sound 
directory. This way the size of the sound files included with the 
scenario can be drastically reduced.

How to use sndsetup.bat:
You can use sndsetup.bat like a normal program. Either run it by 
doubleclicking on it in Windows Explorer, or by using "Execute..." in the
Start menu, or run it in a DOS box from the command line. If sndsetup.bat
runs into a problem (which is not very likely) it will let you know. In
this case you might be told to use sndsetup.bat with one or two 
parameters. You will also be given help and further instructions about 
this by the utility. With the first parameter you can specify the source
path, usually the main Civ2 sound directory. With the second you can 
specify the target directory, which is the sound directory of the 
scenario. An example would be :

sndsetup.bat c:\mps\civ2\sound\ c:\mps\civ2\scenario\mexico\sound\
(The backslash at the end of the path is necessary.)

However, running sndsetup without parameters should work just fine if you
a) have the regular sounds installed in the main Civ2 sound directory and
b) sndsetup.bat is located in the same directory as the Main files for 
the scenario. If a) is not the case (because you have installed a ModPack
or so) run sndsetup with the path of the directory where the regular 
sounds are in as a parameter.

These instructions and the batch file itself were prepared by Chris 
Schlobach (uzsn8y@uni-bonn.de). Thanks Chris!

Now, you can finally play!!! 



RULES AND VICTORY CONDITIONS

Contrary to what that quote at the begining of the introductory text file
might suggest, this scenario does not deal with the conquest of Mexico by
a bunch of rude Spanish conquistadors. It deals with the conquest of Mexico
by the Aztecs! Of course the conquistadors have quite a few words to say 
in this scenario, but that is not the main point of it. 

The Conquest of Mexico v1.0 was an empire-building scenario. Version 2.0
changes to the objectives system. To balance the things, the Aztecs now 
have to start "from the scrath", i.e. they begin with one only city, the
mighty Tenochtitlán (the most beautiful city the world has seen, according
to Hernán Cortés). The scenario begins in 1325 (foundation of Tenochtitlán)
and ends in 1546, (Mayan resistence officially suppressed). There are 222
turns and each turn comprises 1 year.

There are 33 objectives. The Aztecs are set as protagonists. At the 
beginning the Aztecs control only 3 of them. They need >11 for a 
marginal defeat, >18 for stalemate, >25 for a marginal victory, and >30
for a decisive victory.

The scenario is set up at difficulty level Deity. If you find it too
difficult at this level, you can always humble yourself and play at
King or Prince :-) Seriously, this is not a difficult scenario, trust me.

I usually list here the cities that are considered objectives, but I am
not going to do it this time. This is because not knowing which city is 
an objective and which city is not adds a feel of mystery that suits well
the scenario (my humble opinion)

It is strongly recommended that you play only with the Aztecs. The Maya 
are also playable but less fun (the events file was written for the 
Aztecs to be the human player. The rest of Amerindian tribes are severely
handicapped by their starting location and/or form of government, which 
cannot be changed. The Spaniards are way ahead in technology and their 
units are much, much better than those of the Amerindians, so it would 
no be fun at all to play with them. 

Please keep in mind that this scenario is pretty much two scenarios in
one: before and after the Spanish. Your goal should be to control as 
much of Anáhuac as possible before the Spanish arrive. When this happens
you are toast, man. The scenario can be decisively won even with the 
Spanish breaking havoc everywhere. But for that to happen, you need to 
have created a very strong empire in Anáhuac. If you did not, quit after 
the Spanish set foot on Mexico. At least you were able to duplicate the 
Aztec's road to empire.



ADVANCES

The tech tree has been taken directly from the "New World" scenario
that comes with the Fantastic Worlds CD. I have made several changes 
whose consequences are however dramatic. The science tree is chopped off
for the indians just before the acquisition of gunpowder. It means that 
if your research progresses fast you might run out of techs to discover!
I do not find it likely however, although the scenario's tech paradigm
is not very high (35/10). No tech can be acquired by conquest and there
are no goody huts. You can steal techs from rival civs, but you will
never be able to build conquistadors.

Other changes I made to the tech tree were in order to eliminate
anachronistic advances such as Horseback Riding, the Wheel, Bronze
Working, and Iron Working. Some of these have been eliminated, others
have been renamed.



UNITS

In order to completely prevent the Amerindian tribes from building cannon
or conquistadors, I had to take these units off the tech tree. Thus they
do not show up in the Civilopedia. Get to know the people who are going
to overrun your lands! 

----Attack/Defense/Movement (Hit Points/Firepower)----

Cannon,           33a,  4d,  2m    (2h, 5f) 
Infantry,          8a,  6d,  2m    (2h, 2f)
Pikemen,           1a,  4d,  1m    (2h, 1f) 
Harquebusier,     12a,  6d,  2m    (2h, 3f) 
Crossbowmen,      10a,  6d,  2m    (2h, 3f) 
Sword Horse,      14a,  7d,  3m    (3h, 4f) 
Lancers,          16a,  8d,  3m    (3h, 4f)  
Reinforcements    18a,  8d,  3m    (3h, 4f) 


Impressive, uh? Unless you send hundreds of warriors to battle, your
chances of winning against the Spaniards are close to zero. However, as
I suggested above, there are subtile ways to defeat the Spaniards. 

For comparison, take a look at the stats of your troops:

Warriors,         1a,   1d,  1m    (1h, 1f)  
Eagle Knights,    1a,   2d,  1m    (1h, 1f)  
Pipiltin,         6a,   2d,  2m    (1h, 1f)  
Slingers,         7a,   2d,  1m    (1h, 2f) 
Clubs,            4a,   1d,  1m    (1h, 1f)  
Jaguar Knights,   5a,   3d,  1m    (1h, 1f)  
Arrow Knights,    3a,   2d,  1m    (1h, 1f) 


Some useful information to finish this section: the settler-type units
are the "mayeques", the diplomats are "High Priest", and engineers are
tlacotin (Aztec-only). The trade units are "Pochteca".



WONDERS

Not all WoWs are available in this scenario. There are only 13 of them.
Only one is already built from the beginning: the Eagle and the Snake
(Copernicus) in Tenochtitlán.
These are the wonders available in this scenario, and the advances that
make them possible

WONDER OF ANAHUAC	   REPLACES		ADVANCE
Great Pyramid		   Pyramids		Masonry	
Rock Paintings		   Hanging Gardens	Pottery
Avenue of the Dead	   Colossus		Wood Carving
Nun's Quadrangle	   Oracle		Mysticism
The Atlantes		   Sun Tzu's		Monarchy
El Castillo		   King Richard's	Trade
El Caracol		   Marco Polo's		Tool Making
Popol Vuh		   Mike's		Polytheism
The Eagle and the Snake    Copernicus'		---
Great Ball Court	   Shakespeare's	Hunting/Gathering
Olmec Giant Heads	   JS Bach's		Theology
Pyramid of the Magician	   Adam Smith's		Banking
Quetzalcoátl		   Cancer		Nobility



MISCELLANEA

The Mixtec-Zapotecs begin with two palaces, Mitla and Monte Albán. The
Maya begin with three, Chichén Itzá, Uxmal and Mayapán. In both cases this
was done to highlight the importance of these five cities in pre-Columbian
times. So many palaces is good for two things: no corruption in these 
cities, and no possibility of bribery by enemy diplomats.

Ruler names-- Those of the Aztecs, Tarascans and Tlaxcalans existed in
real life at the time the scenario takes place. I chose "Gerónimo" for the
Northern tribes' leader as the Apaches were the most representative of 
these nomadic tribes ("the tigers of human race"). Hernán Cortés was an 
obvious choice for the Spaniards. I did not know the name of any Mixtec-
Zapotec. So I picked up "Sayacu", which  was another name used by the 
Mixtecs to refer to their political center, Cuilapán. For the Maya I used
"Itzamana", a name found out on the Internet. I do not know if a ruler 
with that name ever existed but it sounded cool to me.

The title.gif depicts the Macuil Tonatiuh, or Aztec Sun Stone Calendar.



A SHORT NAHUATL-ENGLISH GLOSSARY

I have used quite a few words in Nahuatl in this scenario. This is what
they mean:

Cálmecac = School for the sons of the noblemen (replaces University)
Calpulli = a clan which owned land and paid tribute or taxes as a
      unit (replaces Stock Exchange)
Chichimec = Barbarian
Chinampa = "Floating Gardens" (replaces Supermaket. See Civilopedia
      entry for an explanation)
Huitzilopochtli = Blue Hummingbird on the Left (Aztec god of war)
Mayeques = Serfs (Settlers unit)
Nezahualcóyotl = Hungry Coyote (Texcocan king and poet, and the one
      who tells you epic stories)
Pipiltin = Aztec Noblemen
Pochteca = Merchant (Trade unit)
Quetzalcóatl = Feathered Serpent (Aztec god king) 
Sacbeob = Causeways
Telpóchcali = School (replaces Library)
Tlacotin = Slaves



THANKYOUS

I am sorry to say that I do not know who created the beautiful map used
in this scenario. Nor I remember where I took the map from. It has been
sitting under my main Civ2 directory for so long that I forgot this 
information. I would like very much to know who was the artist,
so if it is you, please drop me a line.

The people.gif file was originally from John Ellis' "Colonies" scenario. 
I have edited it a bit. From John Ellis' scenario I also "borrowed" some
ideas for the flags.

Many the Amerindian units were drawn by Harlan Thompson, who also provided
valuable advice on different aspects of the scenario. The Lancers unit
and the Spanish city icons style are from Michael Nielsen. I slightly
modified the latter. I do not know who created the Mesoamerican city 
icons.

The background motif for the pop-up boxes of this scenario is "borrowed"
from a icon designed by Jesús Muñoz for his "Spanish Odyssey".

Thanks to Gerrie Hoost and Dave Morovan for playtesting.

The rest of new units and new graphics were either created by me or 
adapted from other Microprose scenarios, particularly from "New World".
If you wish to use any of the units I've created/modified, please go ahead,
but give written credit, that is, acknowledge their origin somewhere in a text file just like 
this one, and do NOT remove my initials (JBR) from the graphics!

Historical accuracy of this scenario owes a lot to the following book:
Miller, Robert R. (1985) "Mexico: a History". Univ. Oklahoma Press,
Norman. And of course, to the hundreds of sites of Mexican history 
scattered thru the net.



THE SAGA CONTINUES...

As you may or may not know, I am dedicated to flood the net with Civ2 
scenarios about Spain, her history and legacy. Here is the list of those 
that I have completed to date: 

__"Spanish Pride, Iberian Pride"		(v4.0, October 7, 1998) 
__"Spanish Civil War. The Defense of Madrid"	(v2.1, November 2, 1998)
__"The Visigoths"				(v2.0, November 17, 1998)
__"The Conquest of Mexico"			(v2.0, December 12, 1998) 
__"Al-Andalus, the Trail of the Sun" 		(v2.0, May 9, 1998)
__"The Age of Philip II: the Time of Thunder"	(v1.0, May 4, 1998)
__"The Crimson Manuscript: War in Granada"	(v1.1, August 30, 1998)
__"Alba de América"				(v1.0, October 12, 1998)

All of them are available for download at several websites, but I would 
like to invite you to download them from the Spanish Civilization II Site.
The URL address is:
 
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/1514/Spaciv.htm

