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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.
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