The Best of Select: Games 4

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----------------------------------------------------------- S I L I C O N C I T Y D E M O Version 2.5 Published by Lyric Software Company 25 Woody Lane - Northport, NY 11768 Silicon City Software and Documentation Copyright (c) 1993, John Almberg All rights reserved ----------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a demonstration version of SILICON CITY that may be copied and distributed for evaluation purposes as described in the License Agreement below. However, IT MAY NOT BE DISTRIBUTED AS PART OF ANY OTHER SOFTWARE PACKAGE. Please report violations to Lyric Software Company, at the above address. N E W W O R L D N E E D E D ! --------------------------------- By the end of the twenty first century, it was clear something had to be done. Earth, poisoned by two centuries of human idiocy, was unlivable. Most of the atmosphere was gone; the little land not covered by city was desert; the oceans were a fetid swamp. But the disastrous Centuri operation proved that mass space travel was impractical and voluntary 'early termination' was unpopular with voters. The end seemed near for Earth's teeming trillions. Then, a miracle occurred. Scientists discovered a way to digitize human beings. Not their bodies, of course, just their personalities - their minds. A digitization chamber analyzed and processed test subjects. When the transformation was complete, their bodies were dead, but the volunteers still lived inside special computers. Though the early computer 'cities' were rudimentary, the new residents, in widely broadcast interviews, reported their new environment to be wildly liberating. Soon, millions were lining up to trade their miserable lives for a new chance on the digital frontier. In a creative frenzy, scientists made breakthrough after breakthrough. Not only were efficient ways of digitizing people found, but a zealous inventor even found a way to digitally 'clone' people from a speck of bone or tooth. Thus, all of Earth's people - even those long asleep - shared in Earth's second chance. The result of ten years work was Silicon City - a computer landscape big enough to hold Earth's entire population, and then some. It was more than a city, it was a new world of limitless possibilities. The engineers built it to last forever, with no maintenance. And into it, the entire population of the Earth poured eagerly. They declared Albert Einstein Mayor by acclamation. It was Utopia. But there were the viruses. No one knew where they came from, but they infected the City's most vulnerable - and controversial - component: the incubators. From the start, everyone knew that digitized people could not reproduce in the traditional biological sense. But philosophers and psychologists agreed that to avoid stagnation, the population required 'new blood', new people - babies. So, the scientists added incubators to the design. Randomly, but very slowly, perhaps every thousand years, an incubator would create a new person. They hoped that these children would continue to invigorate the race. But somehow the incubators had become infected with a deadly virus. Normally the virus lay dormant, harmless and undetectable somewhere in the incubator circuits. When it activated, triggered by some unknown phenomenon, the virus took over the infested incubator. Instead of creating a new baby once every thousand years, the incubator created a new copy of the virus every few microseconds. The viruses fed on human personalities, sucking the software right out of their victims. They spread quickly, infesting other incubators and threatening to take over the entire City. During the first outbreak, Einstein appointed a sheriff. He gave the Sheriff of Silicon City broad powers to use the incubators to create antiviruses to fight the virus menace. That first battle was close - before the sheriff suppressed the outbreak millions of citizens died. Since that day, the Sheriff has stood guard for the people of Silicon City, awaiting another outbreak. He stands ruthless, ready to stamp out the plague if - or when - it breaks out again. You are that sheriff. WHAT IS SHAREWARE? The shareware concept gives you a chance to try SILICON CITY before you buy it. If you try this demo of SILICON CITY, and decide that you like what you see, you can buy the full version. Copyright laws apply to both shareware and commercial software, and Lyric Software Company retains all rights to SILICON CITY. We specifically grant you the right to copy and distribute this demo software under the limitations of the license agreement found below. Shareware is a marketing method, not a type of software. The shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. SHAREWARE HAS THE ULTIMATE MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE - IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE PRODUCT, YOU DON'T PAY FOR IT! This demo of SILICON CITY is a shareware program and is provided at no charge to you for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another software package. The essence of shareware is to provide you with quality software without high prices, and yet to give us money we need to continue to create new games. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DEMO AND FULL GAME? This demo of SILICON CITY is a fully working version of the game except that only one map is provided. In the full version of the game, a new map is randomly generated each time you play. We think that you'll get a good taste of what SILICON CITY is all about from this demo. The game is extremely addictive and if this is the kind of game you like, we're sure you'll want to continue the challenge by ordering the full game. HOW TO REGISTER Your fully working version of SILICON CITY costs just $19.00. This represents a substantial savings from any game Lyric Software has ever released, and is a direct result of our 'cutting out the middle man' - the wholesaler, retailer and mail order distributor. Your $19.00 will buy a compete set of distribution disks, a fully illustrated manual, and a subscription to our newsletter, THE JOURNAL OF COMPUTER WARGAMING. Perhaps most importantly, you get the complete support of Lyric Software Company, one of the oldest computer game companies in the business. This means that if you find any problem with SILICON CITY, or just want to chat about it, you can write a letter or even call the developer on the phone. We're that eager to hear what you have to say. Just print out the order form (ORDER.FRM) and send it, along with $19.00 + $3.00 shipping and handling + sales tax (NY State residents, only) to: LYRIC SOFTWARE COMPANY 25 WOODY LANE NORTHPORT, NY 11768 Or, order by Master Card or VISA by calling: (516) 754-5570 Please include: o Your name o Your address o Your telephone number (daytime, if possible) o If you downloaded the demo from a BBS, the name and phone number of the BBS. (See notice to BBS operators and users, below). o We prefer to use 3.5" diskettes unless you only have 5.25" diskettes. You are encouraged to pass a copy of the SILICON CITY demo along to your friends and business associates for evaluation, but please don't share fully working copies of the game. And thanks for your support! COPYRIGHT NOTICES The Silicon City Demo Copyright (c) 1993 by John Almberg. First published in 1993 in New York by Lyric Software Company, 6 Beach Plum Drive, Northport, NY 11768. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Quality Assurance by Randy Robbins. Metagraphics MetaWINDOWS Copyright (c) 1986 by Metagraphics Software Corporation, Scotts Valley, CA. All rights reserved. LICENSE AGREEMENT The SILICON CITY DEMO and its documentation are copyrighted works protected by US and International copyright law. You are granted a license to use your copy of the SILICON CITY DEMO only under the terms and conditions specified in this license agreement. The SILICON CITY DEMO is a commercial software product. It is not free, nor is it in the public domain. It is distributed as shareware. You may freely copy the SILICON CITY DEMO for personal use. You may also give copies of the SILICON CITY DEMO to others if they also agree to the terms of this agreement. USERS OF THE SILICON CITY DEMO MUST ACCEPT THIS DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE SILICON CITY DEMO IS PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE IS WITH YOU. LYRIC SOFTWARE COMPANY ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES, DIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL, WHICH MAY RESULT FROM THE USE OF THE SILICON CITY DEMO. WHAT IS LYRIC SOFTWARE COMPANY? Lyric Software has been publishing computer strategy and wargames since 1987. In those five years, we've published three games which received terrific reviews in major publications like Computer Gaming World. UNDER THE ICE was published in 1987. This naval wargame foreshadowed many of the design elements which were later seen in games like Harpoon. WORLDS AT WAR was first published by Lyric Software in 1989, and was then picked up by a major publisher, RAW Entertainment. It's still in print and may be purchased from most mail order distributors. SILICON CITY was released in January of 1993. This demo version of the game represents an experiment on our part, to see if we can by-pass the usual distribution channels which simply serve to increase the price to you, the consumer. If it's a success, then we plan to release several other games in the next year or two. They'll all be released as shareware demos, but we'll give our registered users advance notice and special price advantages. Our goal? To create a relatively small, elite group of customers - you - who enjoy strategy games and wargames. We'll work closely with you, to find out what kind of games you like to play. And supply them to you, directly, at a price you can afford. Again, thanks for your support! AN IMPORTANT NOTICE TO BBS OPERATORS AND USERS We depend on you, the operators of BBSs across the nation, to forge a vital link between us and our customers. BBS operators and software game publishers have one thing in common: we dedicate a lot of time to our avocations, and usually spend more money than we take in. To recognize your contribution to our successs, we'd like to contribute $5.00 to your BBS, for each game that you help us sell. To do this, we need two things: First, you need to register your BBS, so that we know who you are, and where to send the checks. Print out the form BBS_REG.FRM, fill it out, and send it to Lyric Software Company. Second, post a notice to your users, reminding them to fill in the BBS section of their order form. Of course, if you publicize SILICON CITY, perhaps with an on-line review, we'll sell more games, your users will be happy, and you'll be that much closer to getting that new CD ROM drive! In turn, we'll keep you supplied with the most up-to-date version of SILICON CITY, as well as all future releases. And we'll send our contributions to your BBS on a quarterly basis. To BBS users: when you order the full version of SILICON CITY, be sure to fill out the BBS section so that we can help support your local BBS operator. Thanks to all! GETTING STARTED The Silicon City demo is not protected by any disk- based copy protection scheme. It can be safely installed on any hard drive. We suggest that you copy the unzipped files onto a backup diskette. This will become your 'original diskette'. You can then play from the diskette, or install the game to your hard drive. To install Silicon City onto your hard disk drive, please make duplicates of your original diskettes, then do the following: o Insert the Silicon City disk into a floppy drive and switch to that drive. o Type install to start the install program. Follow the directions on screen To play the game, you'll need an Industry Standard PC with at least 640K and Tandy 1000, EGA or VGA graphics. Sorry, we don't support 4 color CGA or Hercules, anymore. To start Silicon City, do the following: o Switch to the Silicon City directory (the default is \SILCITY) o Type SILCITY to start the game After starting the game, click the mouse or press any key to pass through a series of title screens. After displaying the last title screen, the game takes a few moments to start. Press the F1 Key to display the Help Screen. This screen summarizes the mouse and keyboard commands you will use to play the game. You can view the Help Screen at any time. Click the mouse or press any key to remove the Help Screen. To play a previously saved game, press the F2 key to display the Menu. Click on the "Restore a saved game..." menu selection with the mouse, or use the cursor keys to highlight the selection and press Enter to start. A box will appear to prompt you for the name of the saved game. Type in the name and press Enter to restore the saved game. HOW TO SAVE, RESTORE AND QUIT A GAME To save the game in progress, press F2 to display the Menu. There are two game save options: "Save current game..." or "Exit, but first save the game..." Either option will save the game, but "Exit..." also ends the game. To select a save option, click on the menu selection with the mouse, or use the cursor keys to highlight the selection and press Enter. A box will appear to prompt you for a game name. The game name can be up to 8 characters long and may contain letters or numbers. After you have typed in the name, press Enter to save. To restore a previously saved game, press the F2 Key to display the Menu. To restore a saved game, click on the "Restore a saved game" menu selection with the mouse, or use the cursor keys to highlight the selection and press Enter. A box will appear to prompt you for the name of the saved game. Type in the name and press Enter to restore the saved game. To quit the game in progress, press the F2 Key to display the Menu. There are two quit options: "Exit without saving" or "Exit, but first save the game..." Either option will end the game, but "Exit, but first save the game..." will prompt you to save the game before exiting. [THIS AREA INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK] HOW TO MOVE A PIECE When the game begins, you see a map display depicting one level of Silicon City. Black tiles cover most of the map. You also see the icon for a single antivirus and the map tiles immediately surrounding the antivirus. Under the antivirus is an incubator which is under your control. Every few turns, this incubator will create a new antivirus. ----------------------------------------------------- | | | | | GAME | | | STATUS | | | | | |----------| | | | | |COMPRESSED| | | MAP | | | | | MAIN MAP VIEW |----------| | | | | |ATTRIBUTES| | | VIEW | | | | | |----------| | | | | | WORMHOLE | | | NETWORK | | | | |----------------------------------------|----------| FIGURE 1: PARTS OF THE SILICON CITY DISPLAY The black tiles indicate unexplored territory. At the beginning of each game, the computer randomly generates a new map (Full Version, only!). You must use some of your pieces as scouts, to explore each of the eight levels, and to find the locations of incubators and viruses. As your scouts explore, they reveal the terrain of Silicon City. They also uncover special features such as incubators, viruses or wormholes. Antiviruses, and the incubators that produce them, are red. Viruses, and virus producing incubators, are blue. As the sheriff of Silicon City, you control the red antiviruses. Your computer will control the blue viruses. Each turn, you will be able to give orders, such as 'move to...', to each of your antiviruses. Some commands, such as a long distance move, can take several turns to complete. When an antivirus has completed it's order, and needs a new one, it will glow yellow, instead of red. The game will pause until you give this antivirus a command. To give an antivirus a movement order using the mouse, position the direct movement mouse cursor over the tile you wish to explore. Click the left mouse button. The antivirus will move towards that tile. To give an antivirus a movement order using the cursor keys, first consult the figure at left. This diagram shows a portion of the numeric keypad. Make sure NumLock is off, and press any of the movement keys. The antivirus will move in the direction shown. An antivirus cannot move beyond the edge of the board. HOW TO GIVE PATROL MOVEMENT ORDERS You have just learned how to give a normal, or direct movement command, to an antivirus. To give a normal movement command to an antivirus, you use the straight arrow mouse cursor. But there are other commands you can give to your forces and other mouse cursors which represent them. To view the other mouse cursors, press the right mouse button, or the '=' key. The mouse cursor will cycle through the six command cursors. When the cursor displays a curved arrow, stop. To see how this works, position the cursor so it is five or six tiles away from an antivirus awaiting orders. If you don't have a mouse, you can move the cursor by holding the Shift key down and pressing the movement keys on the numeric keypad. Make sure you have the NumLock indicator off When you have the curved arrow cursor in position, issue the Patrol Movement Command by clicking the left mouse button, or by pressing the Enter key. After receiving the command, the antivirus will move to that position and then return to it's original position. (This may take more than one turn to complete.) HOW TO STOP AN ANTIVIRUS, OR CREATE A SENTRY There are times when you want to stop an antivirus, either temporarily or until you give it a command to reactivate. To issue a stop command, use the stop movement cursor. You can give a stop command to an antivirus at any time. To issue the stop command, select the stop cursor by pressing the right mouse button, or by pressing the '=' key. The stop cursor looks like an up-raised hand. Position it over the antivirus you wish to stop temporarily by moving the mouse or by pressing the cursor movement keys. Issue the command by pressing the left mouse button, or by pressing the Enter key. The stop command cancels a piece's movement for one turn. On the next turn, the antivirus will move again normally. But sometimes, you need a piece to stay in one place for a time. In this case, the stopped antivirus acts as a kind of sentry, very useful for guarding strategic locations. For example, you may wish to position several sentries around a key incubator or wormhole. To create a sentry, select the stop cursor and position it over the antivirus. Issue the sentry command by holding down the Shift key and clicking the left mouse button, or by holding the Shift key down and pressing the Enter key. A sentry will reactivate automatically when it detects an enemy piece. HOW TO MOVE A PIECE OUT OF ORDER, OR REACTIVATE A SENTRY Normally, the game selects an antivirus for you to move, automatically. But sometimes you need to move a piece out of order. For example: if several pieces are grouped at a wormhole entrance, you may need to move the pieces closest to the hole first, to get them out of the way. To select an antivirus to move, use the piece select cursor. It looks like an open rectangle. Remember that each antivirus can only move once per turn. You can only select a piece for movement if it hasn't already moved. If a piece is dark red, it's already moved and you can't select it. You can select a light red antivirus, because it hasn't moved yet. To move an antivirus out of order, choose the piece select cursor using the right mouse button or the '=' key. Move the cursor into position over a light red antivirus by using the mouse or cursor movement keys. Issue the select command by clicking the left mouse button, or by pressing the Enter key. The map then displays the antivirus in yellow, showing that the piece is awaiting orders. You also can use the piece select cursor to cancel a sentry command. Simply use the select cursor, as above, to reactivate a sentry. The piece will not move immediately, but will move in it's normal position next turn. MOVING THROUGH THE WORMHOLE MAZE As you move your pieces across Silicon City, exploring the unknown terrain, you will eventually discover something very important - a wormhole. Wormholes look like, well, holes! Viruses and antiviruses can move through wormholes to other levels of Silicon City. To move an antivirus through a wormhole, just move the antivirus to the tile containing the wormhole. Instantly, the wormhole transports the antivirus to another level. A few things to remember about wormholes are: o The map only displays wormhole entrances. It does not show wormhole exits. o Since you cannot see wormhole exits, you cannot know of them until an enemy piece suddenly appears on the map. Then you will know that the viruses have found a wormhole that leads to your level - but you will not know the location of the wormhole entrance until you find it yourself. o Wormholes work in one direction only. Once a piece moves through a wormhole, it cannot return. o Every level contains at least one wormhole which connects it to another level. That is, no level is a dead end. HOW TO ATTACK AN INCUBATOR OR ENEMY PIECE To win the game, you must gain an overwhelming advantage in victory points. You gain victory points each turn that you control more incubators than your opponent. When the game begins, you control one incubator. This incubator will produce a new antivirus every few turns. You will use your antiviruses to discover new incubators, to travel through wormholes to other levels, and to seek and destroy the deadly viruses. Incubators are color coded to show who controls them. Your incubators are red, enemy incubators are blue, and neutral incubators are yellow. When you conquer a neutral incubator, it immediately begins producing new pieces for you. When you conquer an enemy incubator, it stops producing pieces for the enemy and begins producing them for you. Thus, you should make conquering enemy incubators a top priority. To attack an incubator is simple, just attempt to move one of your pieces onto the incubator's tile. If your attack is successful, the incubator turns red. If the incubator defenses defeat your antivirus, then the antivirus is destroyed and the map will not show it. You can toggle-off the attack sounds by pressing the F4 key. Eventually, you will discover some enemy viruses. While you do not get any victory points for destroying viruses, you must destroy as many as possible to limit his ability to counter-attack. To attack an enemy virus, order one of your pieces to enter the tile occupied by the enemy virus. This will start the attack. If the attack is successful, it eliminates the enemy virus and your antivirus occupies his tile. Otherwise the counter attack destroys the antivirus. But, to win the attack, you must know which antiviruses kill which viruses. A VIOLENT TRIANGLE During the first virus outbreak, scientists discovered there were actually three distinct types of viruses. They called them Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3. Type 1s were fast, but not very effective in attacking and converting incubators to virus production. Statistically, they lost most of their attacks against incubators. Type 3s were slow moving, but powerful attackers, winning more often than not in their attacks against incubators. And Type 2s were of average speed, winning less than Type 3s, but more than Type 1s when they attacked incubators. To counter the viruses, the scientists captured one of each virus type, broke the virus's software protection, removed the anti-social code that controlled their actions, and reprogrammed them to obey the orders of the Sheriff. Thus were created the antiviruses. But the ability of a virus to defeat and convert incubators had no bearing in a virus vs. antivirus fight. In this contest, scientists discovered a curious, triangular relationship. They found that, when an virus fights an antivirus: o Type 3s always defeat Type 2s o Type 2s always defeat Type 1s o Type 1s always defeat Type 3s As sheriff of Silicon City, you must use this knowledge of the viruses. Your strategy will depend on building the right mix of antivirus types, and positioning them in the right groupings. Your tactics will require the use of the right antivirus for the right job. INCUBATORS PRODUCE NEW PIECES When you conquer an incubator, a menu shows all the virus/antivirus types. You must choose one of these types to produce. To choose a type, click on it's menu selection with the mouse, or use the cursor keys to highlight the choice, then press Enter. You can view or change an incubator's production at any time. To view an incubator's current production, use the query cursor. The query cursor looks like a question mark. When you give a query command to an incubator, the Attribute Window displays the incubator's attributes. It's attack and defense strengths are shown - attacks can damage incubators, making them easier to defeat later. Of course, an incubator's movement attribute will always be zero. More importantly, an icon, displayed in the Attribute Window, shows the incubator's current production. Any incubator can by inspected this way - neutral incubators will, of course, not be producing either viruses or antiviruses. To change an incubator's current production, use the production cursor. The production cursor looks like a factory. When you give a production command to an incubator, a production box will appear. The menu highlights the incubator's current production. You can select a new production type, or maintain the same production by pressing the Escape key. You can only change the production of a red incubator. [THIS AREA INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK] HOW TO KNOW WHEN YOU ARE WINNING At the end of each turn, you and your opponent will receive a victory point for each incubator that you control. The game keeps a running total of victory points received by each side. To win, you must gain an overwhelming advantage in victory points - it is not necessary to eliminate your opponent. ----------------------- | --------- --------- | | | RPC | | BPC | | | --------- --------- | | ------------------- | | | INCUBATOR COUNT | | | ------------------- | | ------------------- | | | VICTORY POINTS | | | ------------------- | | ------------------- | | | GAME NAME | | | ------------------- | ----------------------- FIGURE 2: THE GAME STATUS VIEW Several indicators are available in the side-bar to help you keep abreast of the game situation. They are, from top to bottom: The Piece Count indicators show the number of pieces on each side. There are two indicators, one for the number of red pieces (RPC), and one for blue (BPC). For every turn that you control more incubators, you come closer to winning. Thus the number of incubators controlled by each player is an important factor. The Incubator Count bar graph shows the number of incubators controlled by each player. It shows the number of your incubators in red, the number of neutral incubators in white, and the number of enemy incubators in blue. The Victory Point bar graph shows who is ahead in victory points. Each turn that you control more incubators, the bar will become a little more red. Each turn that the enemy controls more incubator, the bar will become a little more blue. When the bar becomes all red or all blue, the game is over. Since it is the ratio of red to blue victory points that counts, and not the absolute value, it is possible for a player who leaps out in front to score a quick and decisive victory without conquering many incubators. The Game Name indicator shows the name of the last saved game file, or the default - SILCITY. CHOOSING A LEVEL TO VIEW, USING THE MAIN OR COMPRESSED MAPS After you have found a few worm holes, and have pieces on several levels, you will notice that the game automatically switches the main map view to display which ever level the active piece occupies. The game never requires you to switch manually between level views. However, it is useful to view a level on demand. For example, you might be planning on how best to distribute your forces, and need to see where you are strong, and where you need reinforcements. You can get a quick view away from the main map by using the compressed map display, on the side bar. This display shows the explored terrain types only - it does not display incubators or pieces. The compressed map view can display any of the eight level maps. To switch the compressed map view, click any of the buttons below the map with your mouse, or press the 1-8 keys. Note that the depressed button indicates the level displayed in the compressed map view. You also can view any of the levels in the main map viewport. To change the main map view, hold the Shift key down and click any of the buttons below the compressed map display. To use the keyboard, hold the Shift key down and press 1-8. Note that the red indicator on the button shows the level viewed in the main map viewport. You can return automatically to the map that contains the active piece at any time by pressing the Escape key. There is no mouse equivalent for this command. By the way, you can toggle-off the Level Change Alert boxes (which appear each time the map changes from displaying one level to another) by pressing the F5 key. Pressing F5 again turns the alert boxes back on. [THIS AREA INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK] HOW TO VIEW THE ATTRIBUTES OF A PIECE OR INCUBATOR Normally, the attribute view displays the attributes of your active piece. The attributes include the piece type (TYPE 1, TYPE 2, etc.), it's attack strength, defense strength, and movement factors, and a summary of attack relationships. ----------------------- | ------------------- | | | PIECE TYPE | | | ------------------- | | | | ATTACK RELATIONSHIP | | | | ------------------- | | | ATTACK STRENGTH | | | ------------------- | | | DEFENSE STRENGTH| | | ------------------- | | | MOVEMENT FACTORS| | | ------------------- | ----------------------- FIGURE 3: THE ATTRIBUTE VIEW The view shows a piece's attack, defense and movement attributes with special graphic elements. The green bar shows the current value of the attribute. If damage reduces the attribute, the green bar shrinks, revealing a smaller red bar. This red bar serves as a reminder of the maximum value of that attribute. From top to bottom, these indicators are: o Attack - the arrow symbol o Defense - the shield symbol o Movement - the movement symbol The strength of a piece determines how strong a virus or antivirus is when it attacks an incubator's defenses. Type 3s are the strongest, Type 1s the weakest. The movement attribute of a piece determines how far a virus or antivirus can move each turn. Type 1 pieces move the furthest, Type 3s move the shortest. When a virus and an antivirus fight, the result is always the same: o Type 3s kill Type 2s o Type 2s kill Type 1s o Type 1s kill Type 3s A piece's attribute box shows this relationship symbolically. In the Attack Relationship portion of the attribute box, the icon of the piece occupies the center. To it's left is the type of piece that kills the inspected piece. To it's right is the type of piece killed by the inspected piece. You can view the attributes of any incubator, virus or antivirus at any time with the attribute view display. The Query Attributes mouse cursor is used for this purpose. The query attributes cursor looks like a question mark. To view the attributes of an incubator or virus/antivirus, select the query attribute cursor by pressing the right mouse button, or by using the "=" key. Position the cursor over the piece in question and issue the query command either by clicking the left mouse button, or by pressing the Enter key. Note that when a virus/antivirus and an incubator occupy a single tile, the query command will always display the attributes of the incubator. There is no way to display the attributes of the occupying antivirus unless you move it off the incubator tile. HOW TERRAIN AFFECTS MOVEMENT If you've played the game for any length of time, you've probably noticed that some terrain tiles are more difficult for pieces to move across than others. And you're right - in general, the 'higher', or more densely populated, the terrain, the more difficult it is to move across. Although it may not seem so at first, the terrain has a significant impact on the game, especially at the beginning of a game. Each turn your pieces get a certain number of movement factors. Type 1 pieces get many factors, Type 3s get few. A piece 'spends' movement factors each time it enters a new tile. It costs only one movement factor to enter the least populated tile, but five MF to enter the most heavily occupied tile. If you are moving across a densely occupied section of the city, you may only be able to move one or two tiles per turn. At the same time, enemy pieces may be moving four or five tiles per turn, thus finding and capturing incubators at a faster rate. You can see that, by staying in the more open areas, you can explore more tiles per turn. Try scouting the outskirts of the populated areas, looking for incubators. After you've captured a few, build some Type 1s to use for exploring the more difficult sections of the city. HOW TO READ THE WORMHOLE NETWORK VIEW The wormhole network view displays all explored wormholes, while highlighting the wormholes on the current level. The eight levels of Silicon City are shown in the network view, with Level 1 at the bottom. Arrows from one level to another, show wormholes that have been discovered. The position of the arrows in the view indicate their horizontal location on the map. For example, if level one has two wormhole entrances, one on the left side of the map and one on the right side of the map, then their would be two arrows leading from level one, one on the left, and one on the right. HOW TO SET THE GAME'S VARIOUS OPTIONS Press the F3 key to bring up the Difficulty Level Dialog Box. You can make the game easier or harder to play by adjusting three play factors: the Victory Point Weight, the Rate of Infections, and the Odds. Adjust these factors using the three factor controls. The control shows the current factor value, and gives two buttons for changing the value. Pressing the left button makes the factor easier, pressing the right button makes the factor harder. Like so: Easier <----------> Harder Victory Point Weight - The Victory Point Graph is a bit like a symbolic game of tug-of-war played with a rope that's half red and half blue. To win, you must pull the rope so that only the red part shows. The more incubators you control, the harder you pull. The VP Weight makes the rope longer or shorter. The shorter the rope, the easier it is to win. To our way of thinking, this makes the game harder - since small advantages will make a big difference in the game. So: pressing the harder button makes the rope shorter, pressing the easier button makes the rope longer. Got it? Just remember - both sides are affected equally by this factor. Infections - You can use the Infections factor to control the rate of spontaneous virus infection (you are notified of spontaneous infections by "News Flashes"). Pressing the harder button will increase the rate of spontaneous infection, pressing the easier button will decrease it. If you get overwhelmed your first few games, try decreasing this factor. On the other hand, if you need a real challenge, increasing this factor will make the game very hard to beat. Odds - You can use the Odds factor to subtly affect the outcome of all attacks against incubators. The game uses a random number generator to determine the outcome of these attacks. Decreasing the Odds factor (by pressing the easier button) will skew the odds slightly in your favor. You will win slightly more often, the computer will lose slightly more often. Increasing the Odds factor will skew the odds slightly in favor of the computer. The main word here is slightly - you probably won't notice the affect of this factor unless you record the outcome of every attack - but in the long run, it does have an effect on the game. SOME FINAL THOUGHTS, HINTS, ETC. Winning Silicon City takes a combination of luck and good planning, but, to paraphrase Sun Tzu: good planning beats luck every time. So, you might ask, what can you do to beat this game? First, spread out as fast as you can. Get a toe- hold on as many levels as possible. Don't waste time, especially at the beginning of the game. Capture as many incubators as possible. Second, use strike teams composed of one of each type of antivirus. They can support each other and avoid situations where a single Type 1 virus wipes out a whole squad of Type 3 antiviruses. Finally, adjust production so you build pieces where you need them. Its hard to know what to build when you are exploring a level. Build randomly and adjust production later, when you know what you need. SILICON CITY ORDER FORM: A001 Mail orders to: Lyric Software Company 25 Woody Lane Northport, NY 11768 Phone orders to: (516) 754-5570 -------------------------------------------------- | Description | Price | Total | -------------------------------------------------- | SILICON CITY | $19.00 | $19.00 | | Sales Tax (NY Residents) | 1.62 | | | Extra shipping outside USA | 3.00 | | | Shipping and handling | 3.00 | 3.00 | -------------------------------------------------- TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED: | | ----------- Make checks payable to Lyric Software Company. Checks must be drawn on a US bank. If ordering outside the US, please use a credit card, or a postal money order in US Funds. 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