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1993-06-19
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ParaDroid_II
THE STORY SO FAR ...
You've entered a world of the future ... A world where most of
the physical and menial tasks of everyday life are performed by
automated robots. A world where even wars are fought not by
men, but by the mechanized metallic androids created by men. A
world in which all hell is about to break loose.
While attempting to make contact with an alien race, the main
exploration and defense armada of the Galactic Confederation
was intercepted by a small probe. This probe emitted extremely
high concentrations of radiation, of such magnitude and power
our sensors could not identify it. The radiation quickly
penetrated and deactivated all defensive shields. Soon after,
we lost contact with the entire armada. The last reports
indicated that every electrical system had gone crazy -- acting
sporadically in an unpredictable manner. These systems,
unfortunately, included all the robots as well as all ship
guidance systems. The last known position of the armada was in
the Omega Quadrant, heading toward an uncharted area of the
galaxy.
There is only one opportunity left for us to recover our fleet.
One outpost lies on the edge of the Omega Quadrant. The last
known trajectory of the armada crosses within teleportation
distance of the outpost. Over the course of the last week, we
at Galactic Central have devised a plan.
A new robotic control device has been created by our top
scientists - one which should be impervious to all forms of
radiation. This device, controlled remotely with a time/space
distortion beacon, is equipped with anti-gravity thrusters and
a small laser. Although small and extremely defenseless to most
modern weapons, its power lies in its ability to override a
robot's multi-processor control unit, rendering the robot
immobile. Once the robot's brain has been disconnected from
its body, the remote control device can tap into the robot's
controls and serve as a substitute brain.
Your objective will be to control the unit remotely from the
outpost. The outpost is equipped with high-emission disruptors
that can be used to punch a hole in one of the lesser ship's
shields. A burst will be fired off as the armada passes by,
and we should be able to teleport one or possibly two control
units onto the ship. Once aboard, you are to destroy all
resistance so that the ship may be safely boarded by humans and
its guidance systems returned to normal. Once a ship is cleared
of all robot activity, you will be able to teleport to the next
ship in the same manner as with the outpost, only using the
ship's disruptors and teleporter instead of the outpost's. In
order for humans to be able to safely board and control the
ship, you must destroy the central command robot on the bridge
of each ship. Good luck.
SETTING UP THE GAME ...
ParaDroid_II will look for two sub-directories in the directory
ParaDroid_II is in - the `snd' and the `CTables' directories.
The CTables subdirectory should have six files in it, named
`Weapon0.ctb' - `Weapon5.ctb'. The `snd' directory should have
the following sound files in it:
background.snd bg.saucer0.snd elevatoron.snd
bg.body0.snd bg.saucer1.snd elevatorup.snd
bg.body1.snd bg.saucer2.snd energizer.snd
bg.body2.snd bg.saucer3.snd explosion.snd
bg.body3.snd bg.warp1.snd minilaser.snd
bg.body4.snd bg.warp2.snd nodeshot.snd
bg.body5.snd cleared.ship.snd shutdown.snd
bg.bridge.snd collision.snd transfer.init.snd
bg.neck1.snd damage.snd transfer.no.snd
bg.neck2.snd disruptor.snd transfer.start.snd
bg.neck3.snd elevatordown.snd transfer.yes.snd
elevatoroff.snd
I suppose that if you don't like the sounds, you can replace
them, but be ABSOLUTELY SURE that you use IFF sound files -
anything else and the game will mose likely guru, or sound very
funny.
ParaDroid_II uses no libraries, no devices, no multi-tasking,
and no strange commands. So it should be very easy to run, and
should NOT guru (unless one of the sound files isn't an iff
file).
You will be able to play the full version of ParaDroid_II if
your Amiga has one meg of chip ram or more, and some fast ram.
If you have 512K of chip ram and 512K of fast ram, you'll only
be able to play ParaDroid_II in one player mode, and the
majority of sound effects will not be used (boo-hoo). You will
also experience a reduced weapon-collision detection effect -
some weapons will look like they grazed an enemy robot, but
they will not hit. This reduced detection isn't very
noticeable, however, especially when your robot is careening
around a corner with a dual plasma discharge right up his
motivators. Other than that, gameplay is the same. You're
really missing out on the game if you don't have 1 meg of chip
ram - without all the sounds, the game's just not the same.
To start ParaDroid_II on an Amiga with 512K of chip ram and
512K of fast ram, execute the following script (I have included
a copy for your pleasure)...
Stack 8192
RunBack ParaDroid_II
EndCLI >nil:
PLAYING THE GAME ...
It's easy to start this game - double click on the icon. If
you're going to start it from a command shell, you will need to
run ParaDroid_II as a background task, and close the shell when
the program prompts you to. ParaDroid_II closes the WorkBench,
since it needs all the chip memory it can get. Once all the
support files have been loaded, you will be prompted with the
main menu. Select one or two players with the joystick in port
2. If you're playing one or two player mode and another person
wants to join in, he can grab the joystick in the other port
and hit the button. To make things a little tougher, this can
only be done three times per player before the game must be
re-started from the beginning.
If you don't use the icon to start ParaDroid_II, be sure that
the stack is set to at least 8192 bytes, or the program WILL
crash.
Objective:
Your objective is simple - destroy everything, except the
other player. You can destroy an enemy robot in one of
three ways - shoot him or cause him to be shot by an
enemy, run into him and beat him up, or transfer into an
enemy robot. The higher your score, the better you're
doing.
Robots:
Robots are classified numerically from 007 to 999. The
higher the classification, the more powerful the robot.
Each robot has a certain weapon recharge rate (even if it
isn't armed), a certain armor rating, a certain amount of
power, a certain acceleration and maximum speed, and a
certain number of node shots. The 007 unit is the control
device unit. You start the game with the 007, and remain
in control of this unit at all times - it attaches itself
to other robots as you control them.
Weapons:
There are seven different types of weapons. The bigger
the weapon looks when it is fired, the more powerful. You
get bigger weapons when you transfer into a robot that
is equipped with one. You may fire a weapon by pressing
the joystick in some direction and hitting the fire
button. Once a weapon has been fired, it will take a
little time for the weapon to recharge before it can be
fired again. Different robots have different recharge
rates, so watch for robots with fast rechargers. You can
tell when your weapon has recharged by looking at the
gauge in the upper left hand corner of your console
display. When the gauge is full of green, it's time to
fire again.
Disruptors are a different kind of weapon. A disruptor
appears as a flash on the screen, and sounds pretty
weird, kind of like a Romulan disruptor or something.
Disruptors damage anything that is in sight of the robot
firing the disruptor. There are several robots that are
immune to disruptor fire - most upper level robots, and
the 409 and 666 class robots. Any robot not immune to
disruptor fire stands little to no chance against a robot
equipped with one.
When hit by a weapon, robots lose power. If you are in
control of a robot and his power reaches zero, the 007
unit will abort control of the robot and fly away as the
robot dies. Once the 007's power reaches zero, you're
dead.
Collisions:
When your robot and an enemy robot collide, they overlap
and begin fist-fighting with one another. Sometimes it's
hard to break this up - you'll encounter resistance as
you try to break away. As they fight, power is lost in
both robots. The bigger robot (the one with the higher
Armor rating) will generally win a sustained fight.
Transfers:
The most complicated and important part of this game is
transferring - the process through which your control
unit attempts to disconnect the robot's `brain' from his
control circuitry and connect itself to it instead. You
enter transfer mode by holding down the button WITHOUT
moving. Once the Transfer gauge fills up green, you may
start moving, while holding the button down. Releasing
the button will abort transfer mode. While in transfer
mode, touch the enemy robot you want to take over. The
grid then appears as a 3-d group of wires leading to
twelve boxes in the center. Whoever has more boxes in
the center that are his color wins. You control the side
closest to you, and the computer controls the other side.
Your color is light blue, and the enemy's is dark blue.
As soon as you enter transfer mode, let go of the button.
The transfer gauge will begin unfilling. During this
time, you can switch sides by pushing the joystick up.
Once you've got the side you want, hit the button or wait
until the transfer gauge unfills. Then, a gong will go
off and the battle will begin. You have a certain number
of node shots, displayed on the bottom of the screen.
Move the joystick right and left across the nodes and
wires to a wire that goes directly to a box. Hitting the
button connects the node to the wire, and (hopefully) to
a box in the middle. Some wires branch, so you can
control two boxes with one node shot. Other boxes take
two or three nodes connected up to make the box your
color. Nodes last only a short time before their power
is expended, so if you and the computer connect to the
same box, whoever connected to it last will control it.
Once the transfer gauge is filled again, transfer mode
ends. Whoever controls more boxes in the middle wins.
If you each control six, a tie is declared and you try
again with a different wire configuration. The more boxes
you control, the better.
Once you have control of the enemy robot, he will respond
to your commands just like the 007 does. However, you may
notice a small but consistent power drop. This power drop
is caused by the enemy robot's brain - any boxes he still
controls by the end of transfer are linked to functions
of the robot. The enemy robot brain uses these links to
fight against your control, resulting in a gradual power
drop. The more boxes the enemy robot controls, the faster
the power drop will be. If you control all twelve boxes
by the end of transfer mode, the enemy robot's brain has
been successfully disconnected completely from its body,
and there will be no gradual power drop at all.
While in transfer mode, you cannot be damaged by any
attacking robot or weapon. This is accomplished by a
special feature of the 007 - it taps into the power
supply of the robot it controls and uses the power as a
high-energy deflector shield. Unfortunately, this high-
energy output places a great deal of strain on the
robot's power supply, so the power supply is completely
burned out by the time the transfer is complete. So the
last robot under the 007's control is dead when you
transfer to a new robot. When transferring from a 007 to
any other robot, the 007 has to use its own power supply
to provide the shield. If transfer is successful, the
007 can replenish its own power supply from the newly
acquired robot. If transfer fails, the 007's power
supply dies.
Turbolifts:
Turbolifts are used to get from level to level. A
turbolift looks like a sealed door with a round unsealing
wheel, much like the doors on submarines. To use a
turbolift, position your robot on top of the turbolift
(you may find it easier to position him a little to the
right and down, making sure that the upper left hand
corner of your robot is over the turbolift), and hitting
the button without moving the joystick. Once on the
turbolift, you will see a door colored the same as the
level. Pushing the joystick up or down will move to the
next level, and the color of the door will change to
correspond with the color of the new level. When you
reach the level you wish to enter, hit the button. There
are many turbolift shafts, so you may have to use several
to get around the ship. The layout of the ship itself is
left as a bit of a mystery; that's for you to explore and
discover for yourself.
Energizers:
Energizers replenish your power supply. They also
diminish your score while they're used. If you have a
score of zero, you cannot use an energizer. An energizer
looks like a pulsating star-like blob. To use an
energizer, simply move the robot you control onto the
energizer until your power supply gauge is full or nearly
full. If the robot you control is deteriorating and you
are on top of an energizer, your score will continuously
go down until you move off the energizer, because the
power lost from the deterioration is immediately replaced
by the energizer. So, when you re-energize, re-fuel your
power supply to full and then get off the energizer as
soon as possible.
Consoles:
Consoles can be used to see a map of the level you're on
and to obtain specifications on any of the robots, up to
the numerical classification of the robot you control.
Consoles look like, well, a console, facing one of the
four main directions. To connect to a console, move
close to the console (make sure the upper left hand
corner of your robot is in the same square as the
console), and hold the button down while not moving the
joystick. Once the transfer gauge reaches one fourth of
the way to full, you will have connected to the console.
Connecting takes some time because an interface must be
attained and a power grid must be connected. While using
a console, your robot cannot be damaged - the 007 taps
into the power from the ship via the power grid
connection, and uses the power boost to energize the
high-energy deflector shield normally used during
transfer. Once connected, you will see a computer console
(an Amiga, of course), with three buttons on the screen.
Select one of the buttons by moving the joystick up and
down to highlight your selection, then pressing the
button. When you are done using the console, select the
Quit button.
Levels:
Each level of the ship contains different classes of
robots. Some levels contains low level robots, some
contain middle range robots, some contain high level
robots, and some can have any robot there is. Once a
level has been cleared of all robots, its color will turn
to dark grey and no enemy robots will ever be found on
that level again. No robots are permitted to use the
turbolifts except the 007 and 007-controlled robots,
unless directly ordered to; and since they don't take
orders anymore, they won't change levels.
The one level you MUST clear off as soon as possible is
the bridge. You will recognize the bridge by its color -
it's crimson red. You will also find the two deadliest
robots on this level - the 911 and the 999. The 999 is
the central command robot - and he's mean. The 911 is
the `personal bodyguard' of the 999, and he will stop at
nothing to ensure your destruction.
Hints:
Transfer often - your score will suffer if you use the
energizers a lot. This will also provide you with a lot
of practice transferring. And if you can't get the hang
of transfer mode right off the bat, don't panic- it takes
time. Pretty soon you'll figure out how to pick which
side will get the best results (it depends on how many
node shots your robot has), and how to beat the computer
at the intricacies of transfer mode.
Concentrate on increasing the classification of the robot
you control to the highest you can possibly get.
Controlling the 999 or an 896 is the best strategy if you
want to win. Don't be hasty - playing conservatively is
a prudent choice. Work your way up gradually - my
favorite method is starting with the brown or earwax-
yellow level and transferring into a 199 or a 176, then
to the light purple level for a 345 or a 369, then to the
bright yellow level for a 488, then up one of the
shafts near the right end (the rear of the ship) on the
top or bottom wall to the medium purple level (it's very
long and narrow) for a 500 or 600 class robot, then to
the level just below it (the deep purple level) for a
721, then to the orange level just below the bright
yellow level for an 817 or a 777, then to the bridge for
the 999.
If you have a 999 and it's deteriorating fast, find an
896 and take it over. Chances are, with all the node
shots the 999 has, you'll get better control of the 896.
If you've got a 999 and it's not deteriorating, hold onto
it!!!
If you have two players, gang up on the big guys. Enemy
robots only fire at you when they can see you. If one
player concentrates on dodging shots, the other can stay
out of sight and nail the enemy from a distance.
Don't go onto a level with 700+ robots unless you have a
robot of a higher class, or a 409 or a 666. The disruptor
fire from the 700 class robots will ALWAYS kill you fast.
Try not to mess with the 911; in a dogfight, he'll almost
ALWAYS win. A 999 or an 896 are the best weapons against
the 911, but even though they have excellent weapons, the
911 has a FAST weapon recharge rate. Best to nail him
from a distance.
Transfer with a lot of different robots. Each robot has
at least one good thing about him. You may prefer a fast
weapon recharge to speed, or faster speed over a powerful
weapon.
DO NOT clear off the lower levels (the ones with 100-300
class robots) until the rest of the ship is cleared. Not
only is killing helpless robots easy, it's silly. In the
event that you get killed and lose control of a big
robot, you'll need to start from scratch and work your
way up. Once the levels with the hefty robots are
cleared, clean up the ship by removing the small robots
with a big one you control. You'll find it's easier,
faster, and more entertaining. Nothing quite like running
around in a 999 or an 896 picking off little 333's and
running over 069's!!!
OTHER INFORMATION ...
Greetings from the beautiful Rockies in Colorful Colorado!!!
This program is for you to play and enjoy. You may copy it,
distribute it for a nominal fee (no more than $6), share it
with your friends, put it on your hard drive and worship it, or
put it in your archives and never look at it again. Hopefully
you'll enjoy it as much as I do. I will not and cannot be held
liable for any damage or loss caused by this program, so be
careful with your joysticks. This program may be distributed
as long as this documentation file accompanies the executable,
and all the support files are included in the distribution
intact.
If you like this program and would like to see more, feel more
than welcome to send me a check or money order. Cash is okay
too, but t'isn't a good idea to send cash through the mail. I'm
hoping to get a positive response from everyone out there in
Amigaland, so I can be sure that programming software for this
incredible machine is worthwhile. If you can't afford money,
send me a postcard or a letter or an e-mail message and let me
know what you think about ParaDroid_II. It would be nice to see
just how many Amiga users there are that respond to starving
young college students in need of financial and moral support.
If I get a decent response and some good suggestions, I'll
probably make an update and send it out to anyone who sent me
fundage.
L-8-R Daze,
Marc S. Seter
1275 West 4th Avenue
Broomfield, CO 80020
InterNet:
marc@longs.lance.colostate.edu
PS, last name's pronounced SEH'TUR (lots of good it'll do ya)