Various Unprotection Examples/unprotect.zip/unprotect/WASTEPAK/WASTEM.DOC

Text File | 1989-03-11 | 46KB | 953 lines

                WASTELAND

                 MANUAL

                   by

                  GtR>









Another in a series of GtR> Plagarite document files.

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Note from the Programmer:

    During the two years of its development, Wasteland, and the system
used to create Wasteland, went through many changes.  We spent lots of hours
tweaking and redesigning the original concept.  We also put a lot of thought
into the game to make it more fun and easier for you to play.
    We sacrificed some features, like animated icons and intra-party
combat, so we could add ones that would make playing less frustrating and more
enjoyable.  Some of these features include a save command you can use anytime
and anywhere, a disband command that lets you split up your party, and a
combat system that's strategic, but easy enough for a beginner to use.
    There's a lot for you to see and do throughout the game, but you don't
have to follow any single path for success.  There's plenty of room to goof
off in this game.  So don't sweat it if you don't know what something is used
for -- you might not even need it to win.  But don't make too many judgement
errors too many times, or victory will slip farther and farther away.  We can't
make it too easy to win, after all.
    After you finish Wasteland the first time (for which we congratulate
you), you can go back and check out all the places you didn't get to fully
explore the first time through.  Play it again; try things a different way.
It's not over when it's over.


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The following is an excerpt from THE HISTORY OF THE DESERT RANGERS, THE EARLY
YEARS, by Karl Allard, 2087, Allard Press, Ranger Center. Hardbound pp. 293,
$20 gold.


    Tensions grew with the coming of 1998.  The United States' Citadel
Starstation was slated to be fully operational by March.  Soviet charges that
the space station was merely a military launching platform alarmed a number of
non-aligned nations.  The right wing governments in the South and Central
Americas, many of them set up by the U.S. during the Drug Wars (1987-1993),
pledged their support to the U.S.  The NATO nations, including the new African
members, also declared their alliance with the U.S.  That move forced most of
the remaining neutral powers to join the Soviet protest.  In six short weeks,
only Switzerland, Sweden, and Ireland continued to declare themselves neutral
nations.

    Two weeks before the Citadel was due for full operation, the station
transmitted a distress signal.  Immediately after the message was sent, most of
the satellites orbiting the planet were swept clean from the sky, leaving the
great powers blind.  In military panic, each sent 90 percent of their nuclear
arsenals skyward.  Although the destruction was tremendous, it was not compete.
Pockets of civilization remained, some even oblivious to the military exchange.

    On the same day that the U.S. and Soviet Union were attempting to
extinguish each other, a company of U.S. Army Engineers were in the
southwestern deserts building transportation bridges over dry riverbeds.  They
worked deep in the inhospitable desert valleys, surrounded by a number of
survivalist communities.  Located directly south of their position on that day
was a newly constructed federal prison.  In addition to housing the nation's
criminals condemned to death, the prison contained light industrial
manufacturing facilities.

    Shortly, after the nuclear attack began, the Engineers, seeking
shelter, took over the federal prison and expelled the prisoners into the
desolate desert to complete their sentences.  As the weeks passed, they invited
the nearby survivalist communities to join them and to help them build a new
society.  Because of each communities' suspicions towards one another, times
were difficult at first.  But as time nurtured trust, this settlement -- which
came to be known as Ranger Center -- grew to be one of the strongest outposts.
Ranger Center even proved powerful enough to repel the bands of rancorous
criminals who repeatedly attacked in attempts to reclaim what was once
"rightfully theirs."

    The citizens of Ranger Center, after first believing that they were the
only ones who survived the nuclear maelstrom, soon realized that communities
beyond the desert's grip had also survived.  Because they had such success in
constructing a new community, they felt compelled to help other survivors
rebuild and live in peace.

    Toward this end, the Desert Rangers, in the great tradition of the
Texas and Arizona Rangers a century before, were born.


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OBJECTIVE:
----------
Wasteland is a post-nuclear holocaust adventure.  Your party, the famed Desert
Rangers, have been assigned to investigate a series of disturbances in the
desert.  After several strategy meetings, you've decided to search for clues
in Highpool, the Agricultural Center, and the Rail Nomads' Camp, all of which
are located to the west of Ranger Center.

The first thing you need to do is read the Command Summary Card.  It tells you
how to get Wasteland up and running on your computer.  It also contains a
summary of the keystrok commands that you'll be using.  Once you load the game,
you'll find a part waiting by the Ranger Center.



THE PARTY:
----------
A party can have up to seven characters, four of whom you can create.  The four
that you can create are called Player Characters (PCs).  The other three spaces
are reserved for Non-Player Characters (NPCs), whom you'll meet during the
course of your adventure (see "Recruiting Allies" for more details on NPCs).
If you don't use all of the four slots for you player characters, you can fill
them with NPCs.

A party of four awaits your command: Hell Razor, Angela Deth, Thrasher, and
Snake Vargas.  This is a well balanced party quite capable of see you through
the entire game.  You can use them or create your own characters.

There are no special advantages to the characters in the original party -- no
divine insight, no super luck, no outrageous skills.  You could easily create
characters who are just as -- or even more -- effective.  If you prefer to
make your own characters, enter the Ranger Center to do this.  You'll have to
delete one or more of the existing characters to create your own.  But before
you wipe out the existing party, take a look at their profiles first by
pressing keys 1-4 to see each one.

At any time during the journey you can view your party roster by pressing the
spacebar.



CREATING CHARACTERS:
--------------------
Follow these steps to create a Desert Ranger.

1. Enter the Ranger Center.  If this is your first time in the game, you're
   already at the Ranger Center.
2. If the current party already contains four PCs, press D to delete one and
   make room for your new character.
3. Press C to create a new character.  At the top of the screen you'll see
   "Create a character." Below are the characters attributes -- the higher
   these values are, the better (see "Attributes and Personal Statistics"
   for complete details).  If you're not satisfied with these values, press
   the spacebar to "reroll" the values.  When you're satisfied, press <RETURN>.
4. Name your character (up to 13 letters).
5. Choose a sex.
6. Select a nationality.
7. Select the skills you want your character to have (see "Skills" for complete
   details).  Press <RETURN> when you're done.  If you make a mistake while
   allocating skills, press <CONTROL>-R to re-allocate them.
8. Press Y if you want to keep this character.  Press N if you don't want keep
   him or her.
9. Press S to leave the Ranger Center and start the game.



CHARACTER PROFILE:
------------------
To view any character's profile -- personal statistics, possesions, and skills.
Enter the character's roster number.  When you're done viewing each screen,
press the spacebar o