[> President Elect Softdocs by The Archer <] Thanx to [> The Penguin - Jay of A.P.P.L.E. - The Duplicator - Doctor Amoeba [> These docs are written for any use you [the consumer] see fit <] Now on to the docs [> Introduction <] President Elect is a comprehensive simulation of presidential compaigning from labor day to the election night. Game functions are rooted as closely as possible to real life; to campaign players must plan and execute strategies to their own choosing success is a campaign is a function of these strategies thje inherent strengths and weaknesses of the candidates, chance events, anc pre-campaign situtation. [> The Set-Up <] The first question asked is: 1] Start a New Game 2] Continue Old Game 3] Demo of Graphics 4] Computer Demo of Game If you have selected a new game, you must construct your own scenario. The importance of this segment cannot be overstressed, as the variables you enter have a direct and powerful influence on the course of the game. To construct a scenario, answer each question as requested on the screen and refer to the game manual when necessary. Following are a few notes on setting up a scenario 1] Election years are different in two ways. First, the numbevr of popular and electoral votes conform to history, adjusted in the case of popular votes by likely voter turnout. Ex. Florida had 10 electoral votes in 1960 now it has 23 in 1984, due to population shifts. Second, each state is biased to a different degree for one party or another. Ex. Massachusetts is more liberal than Utah. The bias changes from election to elcetion. 2] Historical scenarios are just that - the historical candidates anc con- ditions are entered automatically. A historical scenario gives you the ability to change conditions anc candidates, even to the point of constructing a fictitious candidate. This allows YOU to run for president. 3] Candidates can be selected irrespective to their party to actual time frame, however unrealistic Goeogre McGovern running as a Republican in 1894 may seem. 4] How the Sate of the Union affects the campaign depends upon who is the incumbent, how the state of the union was when the incumbent party took office, and how good or bad current conditions are. The computer can manage all, some , or none of thje candidates. It will make the game decsions a humna must w/o cheating. If you want all the candidates to be run by the computer, then you can run the game on "Autopilot". The campaigning segment will take 45-60 minutes w/o any player input required. You regain control when the election returns begin. [> The Game <] The campaign is nine weeks [turns] long. Each week players receive poll that shows thje national popular vote with a 2% error margin [on rare occasions the error may be greater]. The individual states have a 4% margin of error. For a state to be considered likely to vote for a candidate the polls must show the candidate leading by over 4%. For a state to be considered solidly in support of a candidate thje candidate must be leading be over 8%. During the campaign the candidates try to improve their positions through the expenditure of campaign funds on overhead, advertising, campaign stops, and foreign travel [Overhead] Overhead is unaviodal, for major candidates overhead starts are $500 units a week and increases by $100 units each week. It does not con- tribute directly to swaying votes, but is essential is running a campaign. Overhead is variable for Third-Party-Candidates. [Advertising] There are three kinds of advertising, each serving a different purpose. 1] National advertising covers the entire nation. Dollar-for-dollar it sways the most net voets;however, it is not focused and is not the most effective way to swing particular states. 2] Regional advertising is more effective in swaying states , but only in the area chosen. 3] Individual state advertising is excellent for swaying large states where the voting is close, but it is a very expensive way to but votes. To select a state, enter its two-letter postal code shown on the map. [Campaign Stops] Each candidate may make appearances in the states/regions of his choice. Costs are incurred when entering a region, when entering a given state, and for each stop made. Fatigue effects occur after a given number of stops and no more given stops may be schedule for a dingle week. Stops have diminshing marginal effectiveness in a given week, but have a gradually increading effectiveness each week [Ex. 2 stops in 3 weeks is more effective than 6 stops in 1 one week, but is also more expensive] [Foriegn Visit] In the first week only, all candidates decide whether or not to take a trip, and if so who will go, where they will go, when, and for how long. Trips are pure gamble; sometimes they help, somtimes they hurt. All players recieve an intelligence report at the end of the campaign phase, showing estimate of each candidates's dollar expenditures in each state Also shown are the number of stops made by each candidate in each state. Each week the players are offered the opportunity to debate, if they are willing. Agreement come only through the mutual consent among potential debaters on who will debate and how many question will be asked. At the end of each week, strengths ar`e adjusted based on the decisions of the candidates and the events that have transpired. Each new week begins with a new poll. [> Election Night <] After the ninth week, result of the election are given and a winner is declared. The election night may be stimulated in real time [4-6 hours] or votes may be tailed in less than 15 seconds. The players are given the opportunity to decide how to resolve the election night.