HYW Announcements

Java FAQ

1) - How do I use quickmove in Java, and automatically stop when an army is found?

2) - Where can I find the maps?

3) - How do I know who has what fief?

4) - If I come into a fief with an army, how do I know whose army it is?

5) - What capabilities does Java have?

6) - How does one scout effectively in Java?

7) - Where are the commands I want to find?

8) - What are the general uses of the menus in Java?

1) - How do I use quickmove in Java, and automatically stop when an army is found?

The quick move option is available from the Travel Menu. On the Travel Menu, you enter the letter q (or q and another letter as shown below) and a series of one to seventy numbers (each number indicating a direction of movement as in normal movement.)

Quick Move allows you to enter many movement instructions at once. Instead of entering a number for the direction you want to go to, you enter something like;

q111447

The "111447" takes you in each of those directions, one after another. A set of movement numbers like "111447" is called a "movement string." The options available with Quick Move are shown below.

q<movement string> - move to a fief ignoring armies.

qa<movement string> - move to a fief but stop in any army is encountered.

qb<movement string> - move to a fief but stop if a brigand army is encountered.

qe<movement string> - move to a fief but stop if an English army is encountered.

qf<movement string> - move to a fief but stop if a French army is encountered.

qo<movement string> - move to a fief but stop if an Other army is encountered.

qs<number>s<movement string> - move to a fief but stop if PC number is found with army.

2) - Where can I find the maps?

They are accessible from each of the game pages, and can be found at: www.hyw.com/playhyw/maps/maps.asp

3) - How do I know who has what fief?

There is a new java feature, which pops up as you open the game, that shows who holds what fiefs. If you want more detail, try the options listed below:

While in the Travel menu, choose the Examine fief option when you move into the fief. You can also examine an Army from this menu.

From the main menu, if you Choose #11 you are given the option to look at every active position in the game and can see by choosing a position, what holdings that position owns and manages.

4) - If I come into a fief with an army, how do I know whose army it is?

You can use the Army Management menu to examine an army. (Menu option #9)

This can also be done from the Dirty Deeds Menu (Menu 4) while combating brigands.

5) - What capabilities does Java have?

Java has all the functionality of HYW. It is the original interface for the game, and the basis for the now-retired GFE. Every function in the GFE has a counterpart in Java (though a few are in different menus). It takes little time to get used to the location of commands, and once mastered, using Java is can be even quicker than the GFE ever was.

6) - How does one scout effectively in Java?

First of all, you start with a map of the game you can write on. Printable black and white copies are available on the maps web page.

You can scout one of two ways for information.

This is the easier way to scout, and you use it only to keep track of who has what. As a general rule, you don't need to know who owns a fief if your side holds it. So mark on your map which fiefs are owned by the French, by the English, by the Others and what is not owned. You do this by going to the #11 option and looking at all the active positions in the game and marking the map as you go.

Once you have this done, all you really have to do is look at the Herald each season and mark down which fiefs turn over. Some people use map pins with colored flags and have their maps on a bulletin board by their computer. Others use colored pencils that erase easily. Everyone finds an easy way that works best for them. Some folks keep lists in excel and update them seasonally.

More in depth scouting involves moving fief to fief in a given section of the map, and noting changes as you go by examining each fief in turn. It is possible to turn on an ASCII dump of the game or to cut and paste from java, and you can actually do an entire map section fairly quickly.

If you have scouts assigned to sections that they do regularly, they will learn quickly which fiefs need to be checked and which don't. For example, in a game where inactive fiefs cannot be taken, you don't look at those fiefs, you only look at active ones. You know what is active from your check of who holds what on your marked maps.

So you quickmove between fiefs or over fiefs you don't need to check, but you do that quickmove with the army hunt feature on so that you don't miss any armies. You report on whatever your King wants to know about the fiefs in play: Owner, Keep Level, Army present, Brigands and so on. You can also do tavern checks for good NPCs while you scout. It is also possible to check and see who is around by having a few NPCs with you who speak the languages of the fiefs you are traveling through. You use the kidnap function to take a look and see if anyone of interest is in the fief, and it doesn�t cost you any days at all.

We suggest you cut the scouting up into reasonable chunks and assign it to those who are interested in doing it. Some people prefer to be diplomats and they can be ideal scouts. Nobles with small purses, or lousy stats are often ideal scouts, as are female or juvenile PCs.

For example, the Roi might assign 5 -7 major scouts in France, splitting the map up by sections (Bretagne, Paris, Lorraine, Bordeaux etc) and giving 1 person the job of checking out the hiding holes in Spain and Italy. It pays to remember that any movement costs more days in winter than in other seasons.

Assuming the Roi works with the Emperor, they exchange information that they receive from their scouts, always keeping in mind that the Emperor may be selling information to the other Team.

It is possible, in a jam, for an experienced Scout to cover all of France in three seasons. All of England can be covered in 2. The English King usually splits his scouting between the London Map, the York/Scotland Map and the Wales Map.

Another technique that can be exploited to give you an idea about who might be in a fief, is to seed fiefs with NPC spies and use them to see if anyone is in a fief worth knowing about. It is important; however, to keep in mind that the more NPCs you have, the higher your expenses will be.

7) - Where are the commands I want to find?

All the commands are easily seen on the Java text menus. You can enter them either by using the letter commands, which are set off in brackets, or by using the number on that menu attached to the command.

The Main HYW Menu groups like things together, such as family menu, fief management, information about the game itself and so on.

You should take some time to examine the various menus and discover where the things you are looking for are. You will find that there is a good deal of crossover, since many things have functionality in more than one area. Fore example, the Travel Menu, Dirty Deeds Menu and Army Management Menu have many cross over points.

8) - What are the general uses of the menus in Java?

Basic use of Java and play of the game in general can be found in the Quickstart section, found at .