Westward III: Gold Rush - Cursors and Alerts

## Cursors

To alert you to different actions during gameplay, the cursor will change. Below are descriptions for these various in-game cursors.

| Default Cursor: This is the default cursor in Westward III and you will see this throughout the game. When an action can be taken by your character, the cursor will change into one of the following:
| Arrest: When someone in your town has become drunk due to lack of work, you'll need to send the law to arrest them. Drag a Sheriff or Deputy over the offending citizen and the Arrest cursor will appear. The lawman will take the drunk to the Sheriff's Office to sleep it off. Once they've sobered up, they will become a useful member of society again. Just make sure to employ them, or they'll go right back to the sauce.
| Attack: If an enemy appears in your town, it is up to you to protect your citizens. Form a posse consisting of your combat units and head them off at the pass. To engage in battle, click and drag your combat units on top of an enemy. When the icon changes to the Attack cursor, you can begin fighting.
| Build: To construct a building in your town, click on a citizen, then choose the Build icon. Select the building you'd like to build from one of the three building tabs and place it on an area of the screen. If any part of the building base is red, then it can't be built there. Once the whole building footprint is green, click the left mouse button and construction will begin.
| Clock: It takes time to construct new buildings, plant crops, or do anything in this world, and the clock will let you know how far along your project is.
| Employ: You can't run a business without employees, so make sure you assign someone to work in buildings that need workers. If you have citizens who are not employed anywhere, select them and drag your cursor to a building that is currently hiring. The Employ icon will appear letting you know that you can assign the citizen a job at this location. You can also select the citizen and right click on the building to employ them there.
| Extinguish Fire: Since the Wild West can be an unstable, accident prone place, fires can break out in buildings at the drop of a hat. Your citizens will need to fight them before too much damage is done, so make sure Wells are built in central locations as they will need to be quickly accessed for fire fightin' purposes.
| Grab: When you click on a citizen, and drag them to a spot on the map, the Grab cursor will let you know that you've got a hold of something on the move.
| No Repair: If you move the cursor over a building that has sustained damage, and it is not owned by your Settlers, the No Repair icon will appear. This means you cannot repair the building at this time.
| Pick Up: When your Settlers stumble upon something they can collect, the mouse cursor will change to the Pick Up cursor. This indicates that the item can be picked up.
| Repair: When disaster strikes, buildings can sustain damage. If too much damage occurs, the building will collapse and will need to be rebuilt, so it's best to make sure they don't get to that point. To repair a damaged building, click on a citizen and drag them onto it. The mouse cursor will change into a Hammer which means that they can repair the building. You can also click on the citizen, then select the Repair tool and the Repair cursor will appear. Then, click on the building that needs repair.

## Alert Icons

Alerts will appear on the left side of the main game window warning you of a problem in your town. It will alert you to your Settlers' needs and any other important information that will need to be addressed. Click on any of the alerts to be taken directly to the building, person, or situation.

| Attack: When there is trouble in your town, the Attack alert will go up, letting you know that someone, somewhere is attacking. It's in your best interest to attend to the situation as quickly as possible or you'll start losing people and buildings.
| Angry Unit: When your Settlers get upset, the Angry Unit icon will appear above their heads alerting you to their displeasure. If you ignore them for too long, or aren't quick enough to take care of their problem, they will leave town.
| Animal Attack: Sometimes, during your travels, you will cross the path of ferocious wild animals. It is strongly advised you don't poke them with short sticks, look in their general direction, or taunt them a second time. If you do, be prepared to say goodbye to your limbs.
| Bandit Attack: You might be simply minding your own business, growing the size of your town with not a care in the world. But, since this is the Wild West, bandits will attack, and they will attack often. When this happens, the Bandit Attack alert will go up. Round up your lawmen and gunslingers to repel the attack.
| Dialogue: In a growing settlement, people will always be wandering in off the not-yet-constructed streets. When they want to get your attention, they'll let you know. Click on the exclamation point above someone's head to see what they want to say to you. You can also click on the exclamation point on the left side of the game window to jump to the next person who has something to say.
| Drought: People need food. People need water to grow that food. That water will need to come from somewhere, so Wells and Water Towers will need to be built. If the Well water gets too low, your town can suffer from drought and this alert will appear. To resolve the situation, send a Settler to build a Well or Water Tower near the structure.
| Famine: Famine will strike when your town is running low on food. Always keep an eye on your food supply as it's necessary for your settlers' happiness and your town's survival. Look for berry bushes, or another quick source of food like fish, build a farm or ranch.
| Fire: From time to time, fires can break out in your new settlement. When they do, you'll have to act quickly to put them out. Grab a pail, a bucket, a sippy-cup...anything that you can use to carry water and get to fire extinguishin'.
| Hunger: If you take too long to gather Food, the Settlers in your town will get upset and start leaving. You can replace them, but it will be hard to keep people in town if there is no food to be had. Click on the Food alert to jump directly to the hungry Settler.
| Plague: If your food production takes a hit, a plague can strike one of your crops or food types. If this happens, you'll need to increase your food production by assigning more workers to your farms and ranches, foraging for berry bushes, or going fishing. If you take too long, townsfolk will start pulling up stakes and moving away, lowering your town happiness level because nobody wants to live in a town where there's no food.
| Quest: When someone wants to talk to you, this exclamation point alert will appear on the left side of the game screen. Click on it to jump directly to the character who wants to speak to you.
| Tornado: Natural disasters can strike at any time and a tornado will do some serious damage to your town. They will destroy anything in their path, so make sure to steer clear of these twisting funnels of fury.
| Water: When your town is running low on Water, this alert will appear. To increase the Water storage in your town, build more Water Towers and make sure you have enough Wells built to ensure a steady supply.