BEYOND SENSOR RANGE

Shareware Demo v .71

Help Manual

Copyright © 1996, 1997 Forceway Software

If you enjoy playing BSR, get the FULL VERSION today! You will get:

-a total of 7 bizzare ships!

-the double 3x3 shot, for a total of 6 shots, shoot twice in 1 round!

-more sensor array viruses, you wont be limited to 2

-nukes! Nuke a large area of board, including mines.

-decoys. Deceive and confuse the enemy. Use them with..

-dynamic mines, to gain the advantage! You can place these boys during play.

-the ability to load and save your game

-board loading and saving. Reuse your favorite setups

-several saved boards created by BSR Master Hig for use in your own games

-Hard skill level. Try and beat it..

-Custom games. Give yourself 80 mines and 30 viruses, give the enemy 23 Rat ships, etc.. You will have full control over the player and enemy Fleet makeup.

-FULL right click Intelligence and stats.

-rendered 3d VICTORY & DEFEAT artwork, & sounds. plus end of game tallys and stats.

-advanced user info: learn to modify ships, or make new ones!

-yup.., and more!

Ordering

The Story/About Beyond Sensor Range

How To Play

How To Play A 2 Player Internet Game

Menu Commands & Controls

Game Entities

About The Sounds

Contacting Forceway

You can distribute and upload the BSR demo anywhere (please do), so long as you are not directly charging for it. In other words YOU CANNOT SELL IT. Keep the following in mind…

DISCLAIMER

THIS GAME (BEYOND SENSOR RANGE SHAREWARE DEMO) IS PROVIDED "AS-IS", AND NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE), EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE FOR IT AND ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON. WE (FORCEWAY SOFTWARE) ARE NOT LIABILE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING FROM IT, INCLUDING THOSE FROM NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, EVEN AFTER NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. YOU MAY NOT DISASSEMBLE, DECOMPILE, OR OTHERWISE REVERSE ENGINEER BEYOND SENSOR RANGE. YOU MAY NOT DISTRIBUTE, LICENSE, RESELL, BUNDLE, OR PACKAGE THE BEYOND SENSOR RANGE SHAREWARE DEMO FOR PROFIT.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


Ordering
Ordering Information

Beyond Sensor Range: $29.95 (includes shipping)

Available on 3.5" (1.44MB) disk only.

For your convenience we have contracted NorthStar Solutions to process orders (you may place an order by check, cash, money order, Visa, MasterCard, or Discover card). Please be sure to mention you would like to order Beyond Sensor Range Product ID #1333 when placing your order:

Please note: Northstar takes orders ONLY. They will NOT answer tech support questions. Direct all technical inquires and related product questions to Forceway (see the contact section).

INTERNET ORDERS

You can now order Beyond Sensor Range right from the web. Use the online order form--fast and easy!  Head to: Http://www.forceway.com/ordering.htm

PHONED ORDERS

Calls are taken 10 am - 8 pm, EST, Monday thru Saturday.

1-800-699-6395 (From the U.S. only.)

or 1-803-699-6395

FAXED ORDERS

Available 24 hours. International & business orders are encouraged.

1-803-699-5465

E-MAILED ORDERS

CompuServe: 71561,2751

America Online: starmail

Internet: 71561.2751@compuserve.com

MAILED ORDERS

Cash, Check, or Money Order:

Make checks and money orders payable to "NorthStar Solutions" and send them to:

NorthStar Solutions

PO Box 25262

Columbia, SC 29224

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please provide (or be prepared to provide) the following information:

* The program you are registering. (Beyond Sensor Range ID #1333)

* Your mailing address.

* Your Visa, MasterCard, or Discover # and its expiration date (if using credit card).

* Your E-Mail address if available(so your order can be confirmed and so we can contact you easily with any important follow-up information, upgrade announcements, etc.).

------------------------------------------------------------------------

For example (you can paste this into an email, or print and mail it):

-------------------------------------------

I would like to order:

Beyond Sensor Range ID #1333

Joe Bob

34 Jefferson St.

Doren, CA 43281

Credit Card #: 1111 2222 3333 4444

Expires: 10/97

joebob@somenet.com

-------------------------------------------


How To Play
How to play:

(Always watch the status bar at the bottom of the game window. It will tell you whats going on.)

Start a new game, or a new 2 player game. You will be taken to the setup screen.

Setup your ships:

All your ships start in spacedock. Left click a position on the board to place them. When all ships of one specific type have been placed the counter will read 0. Click the left and right arrows in the Setup Panel to choose a different type to place. (shortcut: to switch from any ship straight to mines press m on the keyboard, to scroll through ships press left and right arrows on the keyboard) Once ships have been placed on the board, you can left click a ship and drag to move it, or double click to change its orientation (rotate). You can also right click while dragging a ship to rotate it. When you are done and all ships and mines have been removed from spacedock, choose Done Placing Ships from the Game menu, or click Done Placing in the Setup Panel. Play will begin when the enemy has finished setting his up as well. If you want a random setup, click Randomize in the Setup Panel.  This will remove your entire fleet from spacedock and randomly place it on the board.

Play:

When it is your turn you will choose a shot type to fire with from the action panel in the lower right of the game window. Each ship in your fleet can fire a specific shot or shots. All available shots are listed in the action panel. As your ships are destroyed, you will loose the ability to fire certain shots. These will be grayed out. You may not fire them any longer, most likely because you no longer have a ship capable of firing them. Choose a shot to fire by clicking one of the available shots. Next you must change to the enemy view (the red board), and choose a location to fire on. To fire, click somewhere on the enemy board. You must fire in such a way that a new space on the enemy board is hit. In other words you can overlap shots like the 5x5, hitting several of the same spaces over again (this has no effect), as long as at least one new one is hit. This is so that you cant pass. You must do something every turn. Now the hits and misses from your shot will show up. If you hit any mines, you must switch to your view (the green board) so you can reveal spaces on your ships. Do this by clicking one of your ships that fires the shot you just hit the mine with. These ships will be highlighted (the rest will be grayed out, you will not be able to click them). This is when you can activate one of your limited number of computer viruses planted in the enemy computer (essentially they let you lie). Click the virus icon (an evil smiley face with binary on it) in the Action Panel. Now you can reveal any space on your board (EXCEPT a space on a ship that fires the shot you hit the mine with, i.e. you may  not lie truthfully). If you hit something without hitting mines you will get to fire again. You may keep firing until you completely miss, or you hit a mine. Then your turn is over. The enemy now takes his turn. Everything he does will be highlighted in red. The one who completely destroys the others fleet first is the winner. When the game is over, the enemys board will be revealed to you.  One final note, always watch the status bar at the bottom of the window. It will tell you whats going on!

About the Intelligence view:

Right clicking either board at any time during setup, or during the game will bring up the Intelligence view. This gives you information on whatever space you right clicked. If you right click a ship, it will tell you what shots the ship can fire, if you click an empty space it will give you statistics about what % of the board has been hit, etc.. It will also give general information about the players fleet makeup, and about ships. When in the Intelligence view, you can left click ships in the Fleet Makeup display. This will give you specific information on that ship type. Left click again to go back. Also displayed in the fleet makeup is the number of options the player has (nukes, viruses, decoys, &dmines). One of the most important uses of the intelligence view is right clicking enemy minereports. Doing so will tell you what shot type was reported as (see Minereports), and help you to figure out what you are shooting at. Right click to leave the Intelligence view and return to the game.


Game Entities
Game Entities:

Minereport:

Looks like a green cross. Any space with a minereport on it is a space that the enemy had to reveal when he hit one of your mines.  Right clicking it will bring up the intelligence view which displays the kind of shot which hit your mine (see Mine). It will also highlight all ships which fire that shot. You use this information to guess what ship the revealed space is on. Remember that the enemy is able to infect your sensor array with computer viruses (see Virus), so the minereport may not be true.

Mine:

A mine is a small round device that takes up one square. When a mine is hit, it gathers information about the type of shot that hit it. A space on a ship (any ship) that can fire the shot must be revealed. Mines are placed during setup.

Virus:

Your people have managed to plant a limited number of computer viruses in the enemies sensor array. When you hit an enemy mine, these can be activated allowing you to control the location of the minereport. They let you lie. Use: when you hit mines, click the virus icon in the action panel, then click any shootable space on your board. You can click an empty space, a mine, a decoy, or another ship. The virus icon looks like an evil smiley face with binary on it.

Ships:

There are several different ships, of varying sizes and firepower. Some ships can fire more then one shot type, or fire the same shot as other ships. When its your turn, you may fire until you miss or hit mines. If you hit a mine all ships which fire the shot you hit the mine with will be highlighted on your board. Other ships fire more then one time in a turn. Even if they hit mines or miss, they get to keep firing until they have used up all ammo for that round.

Miss:

A blue hash pattern. These are spaces that were fired at and came up empty.

Hit:

A red X. These are spaces that were fired at and contain either ships, or decoys.


Basic Strategy and Tips
Basic strategy and tips:

Setup your ships carefully. A good setup will win the game. Place mines off the end of ships or in places you think are likely to be hit. The more the enemy hits your mines the more spaces he will have to reveal. Also try to clump your ships together in confusing patterns. Since no ones ships are positively identified until the game is over, much of the strategy is in trying to guess what ship you just hit. In other words you are never positive you have destroyed a ship. For example if you put 3 1x2 ships side by side and put mines off both ends of it, and the enemy hits somewhere on it… he will likely figure it to be a 2x5 or 2x6 and will shoot right off the edge of your clump, hitting mines. Another good trick is to set aside a couple of mines in a clump. Then when you hit enemy mines and are forced to reveal a space on one of your ships, you can use a virus (lie) and reveal the clump of mines. When the enemy fires at it, thinking it to be your ship, he will in fact have hit several of your mines. Apply these techniques in reverse when you are firing at the enemy. Try to figure out what ship you are shooting at so you keep your shots on the ship and away from his mines, dont just fire blindly. And save your nukes for when you get in a situation where you arent sure what youre shooting at (like a big confusing mess of hits and misses). Put your decoys in places that will fool the enemy into thinking he has destroyed one of your ships, and your dynamic mines in places they will get hit! In short, the key to winning is in:

1. getting the enemy to hit as many mines as possible by use of viruses, dynamic mines, and a careful setup,

2. fooling the enemy into thinking he is hitting or has destroyed ship X when he is really hitting ship Y by use of viruses, decoys, and a careful setup,

3. not letting the enemy do these to you


About Beyond Sensor Range
The Story/About Beyond Sensor Range

500 years ago a new planet was discovered. Apart from the home world, it was the first known habitable planet. A group of the extremely wealthy upper-class developed a small colony there, and claimed the planet for themselves. Over the years they became increasingly defensive of it, until they controlled it completely. Now, today, an incredibly large asteroid has been detected on a collision course with the home world. All attempts to deflect or destroy it have failed. On top of that, the colonists on the new world refuse to offer sanctuary, and threaten to kill any refugees. Their fleet has been deployed. You are the commander of the home fleet. You have no choice but to destroy the rich boys fleet so your people can flee to the new world before the asteroid kills you all. This is no easy task, as current technology favors ships that have highly advanced weapons systems, but slow, weak engines. It was learned long ago that interstellar battles would be a complete obliteration of both sides, unless they eluded detection. So you must fight... BEYOND SENSOR RANGE!

Minimum supported requirements (may work with less):

-486 with 8 megabytes of RAM

-Windows 95 (strongly recommended), or Windows 3.1 w/Win32s update (untested under NT)

-a video card that supports at least 256 colors at a resolution of 640x480 in Windows

-a Windows compatible mouse

-for 2 player Internet games: an installed winsock stack like Trumpet, or win 95 dialup networking

Recommended:

-a Windows compatible sound card

-Windows 95 (get them new winders now man!)

Game Play Overview:

Beyond Sensor Range is a turn based board game that is set in space with strategy somewhere between chess and poker. The game begins with you maneuvering your fleet into position on your board, while the enemy does the same on his board.  You position not only your ships, but other items like mines.  When your fleet is positioned play begins.  You and the enemy take turns firing at each other until either your, or his fleet is destroyed. Victory is accomplished by being the first one to destroy the others fleet.  Firing on the enemy is done blindly, you dont know the location of his ships (until you hit one).  Each ship has one or more different shot types it can fire.  As ships are destroyed you will lose the ability to fire its shot types.  And if you hit a mine, you must reveal a space on one of your ships. You can use nukes to wreck havok on the enemy, and viruses, dynamic mines, and decoys to deceive him.

Credits:

Programming/Design - John McInnes

Original Concept - Bret Higman

Additional Concept - Shawn Reynolds (a real quack)

Artwork - Bret Higman, John McInnes, Elizabeth Cherrye

Lead Testing - David Yerrington

Additional Testing - you know who you are, thanks!

Sound - John McInnes

Music - David Yerrington

Sleeping Bags & Trail Supplies - everyone on #arb. uhhh, thanks guys..


Menu Commands and Controls
Menu Commands & Controls

File:

New Game:

Starts a new game against the computer. The new game dialog will be presented. Use it to choose who will take the first turn and the skill level you would like to play. Click the CUSTOM check box if you want to play a custom game. In a custom game you can enter how many of each ship you and the computer will get, and other options. The Easy skill level gives you a larger fleet then the computer, the Medium skill level an evenly matched fleet, and the hard skill level a smaller fleet.

New 2 Player Game:

Sets up a connection to a remote player and starts a new game against him. A dialog box will be presented for you to set connection and game options. Choose whether you will answer or call. If you are answering you also must choose who will go first and if it will be a custom game. If you are calling, you will need to enter the Internet address (IP or Domain Name) of the other player. The person who answers will be the game server.  This means BSR will sit and wait for an incoming connection (a caller). When it detects one it will notify you and ask if you want to accept the caller. BSR will display your IP and Domain Name as it waits. Your IP is your address on the Internet, and the person who calls will need to know it.  (Note: if BSR is unable to resolve, or look up, your domain name, it will display DN:FAILED.  This is a-ok, it simply means you will only be able to use your IP.) Once the connection is accepted, both players start setting up their ships. If the custom game option was enabled, both players will be presented with the custom game dialog. Once both players have agreed on custom settings, setup will begin. Players may chat with each other in BSR by choosing Send Chat from the game menu, or clicking the Send Chat button in the game panel.

Exit:

Quits the program.

Game:

Change View:

Toggles the view between the player board and the enemy board.

Send Chat Msg:

Sends a chat message to the remote player in 2 player games.

End Game:

Ends the current game and takes you back to the intro screen. Breaks the connection in a 2 player game.

Play Again/Reset:

Starts a new game without changing the settings. Does not break the connection in a 2 player game.

Sound on/off:

Toggles the sound effects on and off.

Autoflip on/off:

Toggles autoflipping. With autoflipping on, your view will be automatically changed depending on the state of the game.

Center Window:

Centers the game window in the screen.

Other commands/shortcuts:

Double clicking a ship in setup will rotate it. Right clicking it while you drag it will also do this.

Right clicking the board (both player and enemy) will bring up the Intelligence view. This displays information about whatever you right clicked on the board. You can also left click ships in the intelligence view to get information about them. Right click again to leave the intelligence view.

Pressing m while setting up your ships will bring you straight to Mines. If you press it again, it will return to what you were previously on.

Pressing the left or right arrow on the keyboard while setting up your ships will scroll through the fleet.

Alt+V will change the view

Alt+C will send a chat message

Placing your cursor over an action will bring up the # left if applicable (shots, nukes, viruses, etc..)


How To Play A 2 Player Game

Choose New 2 Player Game from the File menu. A dialog box will be presented for you to set connection and game options. Choose whether you will answer or call. If you are answering you also must choose who will go first and if it will be a custom game. If you are calling, you will need to enter the Internet address (IP or Domain Name) of the other player. The person who answers will be the game server.  This means BSR will sit and wait for an incoming connection (a caller). When it detects one it will notify you and ask if you want to accept the caller. BSR will display your IP and Domain Name as it waits. Your IP is your address on the Internet, and the person who calls will need to know it.  (Note: if BSR is unable to resolve, or look up, your domain name, it will display DN:FAILED.  This is a-ok, it simply means you will only be able to use your IP.) Once the connection is accepted, both players start setting up their ships. If the custom game option was enabled, both players will be presented with the custom game dialog. Once both players have agreed on custom settings, setup will begin. Players may chat with each other in BSR by choosing Send Chat from the game menu, or clicking the Send Chat button in the game panel.

If your IP is permanent you can simply communicate it to the other player beforehand.  However most dial in Internet connections like SLIP/PPP have dynamically assigned IPs.  Letting the other player know your IP can be a difficulty. One solution is to play through our web game server. Point your web browser to www.forceway.com (requires an AciveX enabled browser). Another way to meet players and get their IPs is on IRC (Internet relay chat). Meet in a preappointed  channel like #bsr. If you have no clue what irc is or want more info on it, check out www.irchelp.org. More info on Internet BSR can be found on our web site.

Problems:

The internet is a complex beast whos performance depends on several variables, most of which are out of our control. Connections can be fine one day, and time out the next. There may be times when your connection is glacier slow, or you are unable to even connect to someone. There isnt much you can do about this, other then only playing people who are netographically (kind of like geography of the net) close to you. Be patient though. BSR will notify you when the connection has in fact closed.

NOTE: Both players must have the same VERSION (check www.forceway.com for updates), and the same DEFINITION (.def) file. Someone with the demo version will not be able to play someone with the full version.


How to Contact
How to Contact:

Forceway Software

P.O. Box 55

Seldovia, AK 99663

(907) 234 7444

Web site: www.forceway.com

Technical support / questions:

email: support@forceway.com

Order inquires & product questions:

email: sales@forceway.com


About the Sound Effects
About the Sound Effects:

There are 12 different sounds you will hear in the BSR demo…

sound	when heard

_______________________

boom	player hits the enemy

clik	player presses buttons, or receives a chat message

cview	player changes the view

hitboom	enemy hits the player

hitmine	player hits a mine

incconn	remote player calls you for a 2 player game

incrept	after enemy hits mines and sends minereports

nuke	a nuke is fired

shot	shot 0 is fired

virus	player uses a virus

yourturn	its your turn

zapish	shot 1 is fired