Lexicon | Game Play

Partial Documentation for Demonstration

AIWars:The Awakening Demonstration

Playing the Game

The game is a first-person 3D real-time action/strategy hybrid. Therefore expect to interact directly with both foes and allies, human or artificial, but also expect to need to do research on the area of your interest in order to gain more powerful or better software and hardware. This game does not spoon feed you with the required elements to finish it. You must look around and explore. You need to map out the different systems and gather precious datablocks to sell or to keep for yourself. All the systems are reset by the system administrators once you leave and since all the data is forever changing, a system will never contain the same data twice, so go back to your systems often. Make sure to note any clues that appear in your tactical display screen.

Characters that you can interact with populate the NET. In general, their predisposition towards you will be good and they will leave you alone. However, if you go into a system and start firing at everything in sight, get ready for a fight. For instance, if you attack a Warden, it will place your name in a hacker log. The next time that you enter this system, you will be attacked on sight. There are three possible types of games to play in AIWars. The first is to control the biggest portion of the NET (become an elite hacker of sorts), the second goal is to transfer your consciousness and memories into the NET to achieve immortality, and the third goal is to bring your agent to sentience. The last goal will develop naturally. So keep an eye on your agent, if it starts to ask strange questions or requests some memory blocks for a personal project...

Menus and Navigation

The escape key (ESC) is used to activate the main menu and close it. This can be done at any time in or out of the game environment. It is also used to navigate back to a previous menu when you are in a sub-menu. The game is not paused when menus are accessed.

Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate between items in a menu.

To activate a menu item use the enter key. If the item is a sub-menu this will bring that menu item up.

If the item is a toggle field, pressing the enter key will either toggle the item on or off (yes or no). If the item is a text entry field, pressing the enter key will put you in edit mode so that you may change the content of the field. Pressing the enter key again after your edit will confirm the change. If the item is a simple selection such as the Start Game menu item, pressing the enter key will make that action occur. If the menu item is a slider use the left and right arrows to decrease or increase the value.

The menu structure is as follows:

Main Menu (ESC)

Play Tutorial Level (Selection)

Create Single Player Game (Selection)

Game Settings

Difficulty Level (Toggle)

Achieve Immortality (Toggle)

Achieve Sentience (Toggle)

Control the net (Toggle)

Avatar Type (Toggle)

Player Name (Text entry)

Start Game (Selection)

Load or Save Single Player Game(Selection)

Spawn Multi Player Game (Selection)

Game Settings

IP Address (read-only)

Password (Text Entry) Leave blank for no password

Avatar Type (Toggle)

Player Name (Text entry)

Game Type (Toggle)

Start Game (Selection)

Join Multi Player Game (Selection)

Game Settings

IP Address (Numeric entry)

Password (Text Entry) Leave blank for no password

Avatar Type (Toggle)

Player Name (Text entry)

Connect (Selection)

Game Settings (Selection)

Display Mode (Selection)

… selection list of all the video modes supported by your card for the game.

Volume (Slider)

Play Audio CD (Toggle)

Player Name (Text entry)

Brightness (Slider)

Customize Controls (Selection)

… list of all the keys that can be remapped.

To change a key, select it, press the enter key to clear the old key mapping, and press the new key. Be careful, the system lets you assign the same key more than once.

About (Selection)

End Session (Selection)

HUD – Tactical Display

Here are some of the defensive, offensive and informational software that will be available to help you search, acquire, steal...whatever you need to get to your goal. You will start the game with level 1 software and as your game progresses, you will be able to acquire more powerful or updated versions. Some software needs to be recharged for further use.

Defensive applications

Masquerade

Permits you to hide your true point of origin in a system for a short period of time. This permits you to safely hack through doors. Careful, the level of your software may be too low to hide you. Also, you only have a limited number of these available.

Firewall

Protects your agent from various offensive applications.

Anti-virus

Used to fight off viral Infections by repairing the damage sustained. This will run automatically when an infection is detected. The Plus sign on the left of your tactical display will become red if your are infected. Beware, virus come in different flavors and because of that your anti-virus may be too low to fight off an infection. In that case, the neural net of your agent will slowly deteriorate until the agent is destroyed.

Spoof

Causes an enemy system to think that you are part of it. During an attack, this will stop an ICE or other avatar from being able to lock onto your system and attack.

Offensive applications

Crack

Permits you to open the door of a Warden I.C.E. even if you do not have a password. Careful because this method can cause an alarm!

Viral Infections

Permits you to infect a target with various strains of virulent computer viruses. Inflicts damage to the target agent.

IRC (Infinite Recursive Calculation)

What we like to call throwing a PI! Causes the target to start calculating the value of PI thus reducing its speed of attack and movement until the target can no longer react, much like a paralysis. The duration is based on the software level.

Informational applications

Encrypt

Permits you to encrypt a data block that you have found on the NET.

Decrypt

Permits you to decrypt a data block so that you may analyze it with a Data Manager.

Data Manager

Permits you to analyze the content of a datablock and recuperate it. It is also used to query other avatars or I.C.E. and is essential to communicate with market bots to complete commercial transactions.

Keyboard Mapping

F1: Switch to third person view

F2: Switch to first person view

ESC: Displays the game menu or if a menu is currently open, closes it.

T: Scrolls through the Technologies

B: Scrolls through the Breakthroughs

P: Scrolls through the Passwords in your list

M: E-mail (Chat) with other opponents

0-7: Selects particular software

0: Enables masquerading for the duration (HUD changes and timer starts)

1: Virus

2: IRC

3: Data Manager

4: Spoof

5: Crack

6: Decrypt

7: Encrypt

Right Ctrl: Scroll software to next available

Right Shift: Run

Right Arrow: Strafe right

Left Arrow: Strafe left

Up Arrow: Forward

Down Arrow: Backward

Mouse movement: Turns player around, Looks up and down

Left mouse button: Launch software

Right mouse button: Jump

Tab: Display current multi-player scores.

Accessing a system

A system is divided in public and private nodes. Any agent can access public nodes. They are online stores, public datastores, news groups and chat rooms. System’s Cores, secure datastores and private meeting rooms are private nodes. Access to the private nodes of a system requires passwords. A WARDEN ICE always guards the entry ports to the private nodes. Access will be granted if you interface with the Warden ICE while your Crack software and the password for the corresponding entry port are selected. Without the valid password, you can force the entry by launching your Crack software against the Warden ICE. Harder passwords will require many use of the Crack software. Each use can trigger an alarm. If you do not have your Masquerade software activated before trying to Crack the password of a Warden ICE, and are detected, the Warden ICE will launch an active alarm and record your identity. At this point, a Black ICE will be called to the Warden ICE location to eradicate you, and all the ICE that you will encounter afterward in that system will recognize you as an intruder and will try to eliminate you. Active Masquerade software will prevent active alarm. While the Masquerade is active, Warden ICE cannot call a Black ICE to its location. They can only launch a passive alarm against you. While under a passive alarm all the ICE that you will encounter afterward in that system will recognize you as an intruder and will try to eliminate you. To clear the alarms, you have to reach the system’s Core and interface with it to place a Backdoor.

Transactions

Some systems contain public markets where you can buy or sell software, Breakthroughs or Corporate Financial Data. Agents nicknamed "Market Bots" perform commercial transactions. To initiate the transaction, select your Data Manager software and interface with the "Market Bots" by touching it. A menu will appear letting you select the type of transaction. Different "Market Bots" will offer different types of transactions. To cancel a transaction press the ESC key until the menu disappears and move away from the "Market Bots". Selecting a software other then the Data Manager and exiting the menu will also break the interface link.

Achieving your goals

Taking control of the Net requires you to place a Backdoor in each Core of key systems. The Net Control counter will keep track of your progress. Be aware that a system administrator may find one of your Backdoor and remove it.

The following is only available in the full retail game.