For instructions and basic concepts, go to the Help section. To chat with players and look at the current high
scores, go to the War Room. The War Room is used mainly by simulation participants to benefit their play but
can also be viewed by the curious public. In the War Room, participants can conduct covert strategy and form
alliances or discuss strategy within alliances.
Dominate is a java-based multi-player simulation. For such a sophisticated program to run properly, certain
specifications must be met. Dominate has been tested with success on these machines
Windows 95/98/NT
MacOS 8
Linux
With all of these setups, a data connection of 28.8 k or faster and a java-enabled browser is required.
Although Dominate was created with entertainment as a high priority, the simulation contains a lot
of information in the field of military imperialism. First and foremost, the student discovers first-hand what
it's like to be a high-ranking general, as this is basically how they see wars. They never see the faces of
the men sent out to die. They never have to tell the victims' families about their loss. Although generals are
typically men who've fought on the front line, over time they've distanced themselves from the harsh realities
of war. While focused on war strategy, the death toll only appear to them as statistics.
Secondly, from within this point of view, the user does deal with a realistic war situation. Although the
placement of "castles" with "cities" may seem anachronistic, the whole simulation is symbolic; these are
just the icons most commonly associated with wars. Like most wars, there are two sides, represented in
Dominate by the light and dark sides. In addition, guerilla warfare is an option for the user who elects to
be a rebel. The user can switch to a different empire at any time by pressing the "Backstab" button; this
represents the defections commonly found in war. The user earns money from occupied land, especially from cities.
Armies are also recruited from the occupied land, but more armies can be trained with barracks.
As an added educational bonus, the user can optionally receive strategic "quick tips" every so often which
suggest methods for better empirical expansion, often based on historical precedent.
