BOLO II — MISSION CONFIGURATION

BOLO II

THE UNOFFICIAL SEQUEL

1. COMMANDER

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2. MODE

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3. MISSION & SETTINGS

CALLSIGN

COMMANDER HERALDRY

DEPLOYMENT VEHICLE CLASS

M4 TANK

All-Rounder • 155mm Heavy Artillery Shells • LGM Engineer

M998 HUMVEE

High Speed • Paved Roads • River Snorkel • SAM Missiles

AIRCRAFT CARRIER

Deep Sea Warship • Attack Chopper • 6-min Supply Airdrops

SELECT OPERATIONAL THEATER

OPEN LOBBIES: 0

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⚔️ ACTIVE GAMES: 0

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PLAYERS ONLINE: 1

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CREATE BATTLE

Host a battle room. Play solo against AI bots, invite friends via direct link, or host a public match.

SETUP WAR ROOM →

🔗

JOIN BATTLE

Browse open public battlefields or connect directly to a commander using their Room Code.

FIND BATTLE →

PUBLIC BATTLEFIELDS

Select an open battlefield to join immediately via direct P2P mesh.

No open public battles found. Create one or join via direct room code below!

OR ENTER DIRECT ROOM CODE

BATTLEFIELD MAP SURVEY

ISLAND SEED

BATTLEFIELD SETUP

FACTION TEAMS

VICTORY GOAL

LIST IN PUBLIC LOBBY BROWSER

TACTICAL ROOM CODE

BOLO-ROOM

FFA 🟡 VETERAN

DEPLOYED FORCES (1)

LAND: 1/16 | SHIPS: 0/2

HOST CAN REASSIGN PLAYERS & SQUADS

⏳ Waiting for Host commander to initiate battle launch...

About Bolo 2

BOLO II

THE UNOFFICIAL SEQUEL

HISTORICAL ATTRIBUTION & HERITAGE

Bolo was originally conceived and coded in 68000 assembly by Stuart Cheshire at Cambridge University between 1987 and 1992. As one of the earliest pioneer networked multiplayer games on AppleTalk and the Internet, it invented the genre of real-time top-down tactical tank combat, combat engineering with the "Little Green Man", and open alliance diplomacy.

SPECIAL DEDICATION & 1997 SEQUEL VISION

Dedicated with gratitude to Mr. Stobo, the junior high teacher who first introduced us to the magic of LAN Bolo on classroom Macintosh computers. Those hours spent learning teamwork, stealth tactics, and intense tank warfare across school local networks inspired this recreation. This is what we imagine the official Bolo sequel would have looked like in 1997 if we had gotten one: expanding the legendary formula with combined-arms warfare, naval carriers, amphibious reconnaissance, heavy artillery, and automated supply logistics while preserving the authentic 40 Hz deterministic heartbeat and Macintosh System 7 aesthetic.

THE BOLO II COMBINED-ARMS EVOLUTION

• Combined-Arms Vehicle Classes: Command the classic M4 Tank (heavy 155mm howitzer artillery shell, LGM engineer, tree harvesting), the M998 Humvee (high-speed paved road cruiser, river snorkel, SAM anti-air missiles), or the 100,000-ton Deep Ocean Aircraft Carrier (dual rotary naval gatling autocannons with realistic hydrodynamic momentum, scrambled coastal attack helicopter with door railgun, and 6-minute automated cargo supply parachute drops).
• Heavy 155mm Artillery System: 4-shot howitzer battery on standard tanks with a 2s reload, delivering 80% direct damage to enemy tanks, instant one-shot destruction against Humvees, and 4x bullet damage against carriers.
• Airborne Logistics & Combat Engineering: Timed parachute supply drops refilling ammo, armor, mines, timber, and scrap metal at friendly bases; Little Green Man engineer building roads, walls, pillboxes, military foundries, aegis pylons, radar uplinks, and naval shipyards.
• Tactical AI Personalities & Full Multiplayer: Adaptive AI bot commanders (Hunters, Sentries, Engineers, Guerillas) that engage in anti-air defense and shore bombardment, with serverless WebRTC P2P mesh networking.

Bolo 2 — Tactical Operations Manual

🛰️ UAV RECON DRONE (6 / U)

Deploy an aerial reconnaissance drone directly from your tank hull. Scans a 40-tile radius through the fog of war, detecting hidden enemy tanks, concealed mines, and defensive structures.

🏭 MILITARY FOUNDRIES (7 / F)

Construct heavy manufacturing facilities using harvested timber. Foundries convert wood stocks into advanced ordnance, automated defense turrets, and high-velocity sabot shells.

🛡️ AEGIS DEFLECTOR SHIELD (7 / G)

Fortified military tech structure that radiates an energized forcefield. Deflects incoming enemy tank shells and absorbs artillery blast pressure, shielding nearby friendly bases and pillboxes.

📡 SATELLITE RADAR UPLINK (7 / V)

Synchronizes battlefield telemetry across all allied commanders. Grants real-time tactical radar coverage across the entire map, tracking hostile movements and territory capture.

⚓ NAVAL DOCKYARDS (7 / N)

Construct coastal shipyards to automate amphibious combat. Repairs waterborne boats and deploys naval combat craft along riverways and island shorelines.

🪖 COMBAT BARRACKS (7 / C)

Field garrison that trains and deploys automated combat engineers. Autonomous infantry reinforce frontlines, build defensive roads, repair damaged walls, and plant perimeter pillboxes.

TANK DRIVING & HULL

• W / Up: Accelerate forward
• S / Down: Brake, neutral, reverse
• A / D: Turn tank hull Left / Right
• Tanks travel fastest along roads and concrete. Travel over deep forest, swamp, and craters is slowed down.

TURRET, GUNSIGHT & ZOOM

• Mouse Aim: Independent 360° turret gunsight
• Scroll Wheel / [ ]: Adjust shell elevation & range
• ⌘+ / ⌘- / ⌘0: Zoom In (Classic Close-up), Zoom Out, or Reset Zoom
• Space / F: Fire primary tank cannon
• X / M: Lay naval or land mine (arms after 2s)

TELEGRAMS & DIPLOMACY

• Y / ⌘M: Open Telegram radio dispatch
• ⌘A: Open System 7 Treaties & Alliances window
• Tab: Live tactical match leaderboard & scores
• ⌘N: Open mission setup / game lobby

AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE

• Driving into open water automatically switches your tank into a patrol boat.
• Boats have different momentum and firing recoil on water.
• Land back onto any grass shoreline or beach to return to tank treads.

THE LITTLE GREEN MAN (ENGINEER)

• Press E / Click or number keys 1-5 to deploy your engineer.
• Your engineer disembarks and carries out tactical construction on foot.
• VULNERABILITY: Your tank is motionless and vulnerable while operating the aerial link! Press K to immediately recall the engineer.

WOOD HARVESTING (1 / T)

• Order your engineer to chop forest trees.
• Each fallen tree yields +4 Wood.
• Timber is the universal construction resource required for roads, walls, pillboxes, and military tech.

ROADS (2 / R) & BRIDGES

• Costs 2 Wood per tile.
• Roads dramatically boost tank acceleration and speed.
• Paving over shallow water or rivers automatically constructs heavy concrete bridges for convoy crossings.

WALLS (3 / B) & FORTIFICATIONS

• Costs 2 Wood per tile.
• Blocks enemy tank movements and absorbs shell impacts.
• Use walls to funnel enemy tanks into minefields or protect delicate refueling bases.

FORTIFIED BASES (16 ON ISLAND)

• Bases provide infinite replenishment of Armor, Shells, and Mines.
• Drive onto a base to automatically dock and reload.
• Neutral bases (Yellow) are claimed upon arrival. Hostile bases must be neutralized with cannon fire or engineer capture.

PILLBOX TURRETS (16 ON ISLAND)

• Automated defensive emplacements armed with high-cadence machine guns.
• Hostile pillboxes fire on sight with lethal precision.
• Destroy a pillbox with artillery shells, then order your engineer to retrieve the neutral pill and redeploy it anywhere (4 / P).

CONCEALED MINEFIELDS (5 / X)

• Lay land or sea mines into terrain. Mines blend seamlessly into grass, forest, and water.
• Arm after 2 seconds. Any tank (friend or foe) detonates them on contact.
• Clearing: Shoot suspected areas with cannon fire or send UAV recon drones.

WIN CONDITION & VICTORY

• The primary objective in Bolo is territorial and logistics supremacy.
• Capture all 16 military bases and eliminate all hostile pillbox emplacements to secure victory for your faction.

PRESS ESC OR CLICK DISMISS TO RETURN TO COMBAT