Mega Lo Mania

Mega Lo Mania is a real-time strategy mission oriented and resource gathering computer game. It was developed by Sensible Software. The object of the game is to conquer 26 islands divided into sectors, with three islands per Epoch and one for the final Epoch.

The player must take on the role of one of four Gods: Scarlet (Red), Oberon (Yellow), Caesar (Green) or Madcap (Blue). As their God you must lead your people by instructing them to do a number of different tasks such as create buildings, design weapons, mine for elements or form an army. The ultimate aim is to defeat all the other Gods by destroying their towers and their people.

Epochs, Islands, Sectors

There are multiple sectors on each island, and multiple islands spanning different Epochs.

Each sector can be either empty, or be occupied by a particular people. Although you cannot see before you occupy the sector, each has different types of minerals and elements available to it that can put the occupier at an advantage or disadvantage.

Every island has a differing shape with different numbers of sectors dividing it. Some islands are small enough to only allow two different Gods to play against each other, whilst others are strategically designed for various gameplay scenarios, such as islands that are not connected, requiring flight in the form of jetplanes or biplanes for armies to attack each other.

Epochs determine the base technology level that each group of people begin with. For example, in the 1st Epoch, the starting technology level is equal to that of 9500 BC, meaning that each starting tower resembles a caveman's dwelling. In each Epoch (except the final Epoch) there are three islands and each must be conquered before proceeding to the next.

Gameplay

Beginning in the 1st Epoch, you choose an island and when you wish to play, a starting sector is chosen with a certain number of men to play; each other God playing this island also chooses theirs. Your starting sector is allocated a tower to house your men and the game begins. Depending on the Epoch being played, there are then a number of options available:

Create designs: here you can set your men to designing shields (to restore buildings), defences (to place in the turrets of your buildings), and weaponry for your armies. As you mine for elements, more potential designs become available which you can then begin by adding men to them. Adding more men results in designs being completed more quickly. A laboratory building allows more technological designs to be made.

Mine for elements: whilst some elements can be collected by hand and do not need to be mined, others must be dug for and you can set a certain number of men to mine for each element available (this becomes a requirement as the game advances when no plans can be created until elements are first mined). When a mine is constructed (4th Epoch+), further elements will become available that were not previously discovered. Adding more men results in element stocks accruing more quickly.

Deploy defences/armies: if there are both men and equipment available, you can deploy defence equipment into your building turrets, or select an army with the weaponry available. You can also send unarmed men out (for example to set up a tower in a new sector) and whilst they can throw stones this is inadvisable as they are mostly defenseless and could easily be destroyed by another army with weaponry.

Create buildings (4th Epoch+): a mine (4th Epoch+) that allows you to find new elements not previously available; a factory (5th Epoch+) to produce more complex types of weaponry that cannot be produced instantly from the elements available; and a laboratory (6th Epoch+) to produce new, technologically advanced designs.

Repair buildings: if shields have been created and are available, damaged buildings can be repaired. Sectors can also be shut down through this menu (see below).

Start production runs (5th Epoch+): complex designs such as planes and advanced weaponry must be built in a production run in the factory. Here you must decide the quantity of the item being made and the number of men to work in the factory to build the item. This of course uses your element stockpiles as detailed in the mine.

Check blueprints: this allows you to see all designs that have been made and see how many of which elements must be mined to create a particular design. Designs can be trashed, leaving it available to be redesigned, which may be beneficial if it is not an efficient design (listen for 'ergonomically terrific' or 'pukka design' when a design is complete, or a hand symbol in the blueprint itself).

Whilst adding more men to each task reduces the time taken to complete it, leaving more men without a task increases the speed that more men are added to your sector. Thus the outcome of the game depends on you selecting the correct number of men for each task given the current state of play.

The final epoch has just one, square island: Mega-Lo-Mania. The rules here differ in that only one action is available - forming an army. Although you form the army as 'unarmed men', each man is in fact armed with laser pistols and the sole objective is to destroy every other tower and all other men on the island.

The number of men available to you on this island depends on the number of men you have shut down in previous epochs. Shutting down a sector can only be performed when you have reached the highest tech level (2001 AD), you have sufficient men in your tower, and you have at least some men outside your tower (so that you aren't defeated immediately). Every man in the tower is then cryogenically frozen for the final battle; the more men you have when you shut down a tower, the more there will be in the final battle.