Destruction Imminent Demo Atari ST/STE. 1 Meg and Colour Monitor Required Written by Andrew Gower. Copyright (c) 1996. Credits Programming, Music and SFX: Andrew Gower Graphics: Paul Gower, Andrew Gower Level design: Paul Gower Additional Graphics: Ian Gower Testing: Peter Oliver Installation The demo consists of the following files: DI_DEMO1.DAT to DI_DEMO6.DAT which must be placed in the root directory of the disk. DI_DEMO.PRG : Which must be placed in an auto folder. DI_DEMO.TXT : These instructions which should always remain with the demo Introduction Destruction Imminent is a 3D texture mapped blast'em down game for any Atari ST with at least 1024K of memory. Features are: - Completely interactive in full 3D vision. - High speed 3D texture mapped graphics engine. - A variety of music, played back in 16 Khz digitised sound. - Multiple digitised sound effects, and digital speech. - A large variety of weapons to collect. (Not all in demo) - Animated monsters to fight, each with their own characteristics. - Over 250K of between level sequences. (Not in demo) - Light sourced sprites and multiple dot explosions. - Secret rooms, and additional equipment to find. - Easy to use interface. See your exact status at a glance. - Ultra fast loading routine. (Not in demo) - STE enhanced. Better graphics, stereo sound, faster action. - 25 levels with increasing difficulty curve. (Not in demo) - Keyboard controls, with sidestep and run options. - Password options so you don't have to keep starting again. (Not in demo) - Mapper and radar tools to help you on your mission. (Only mapper in demo) The Plot After 3 months of intense fighting between the terran defence fleet, and evil robots under the control of an unknown entity, the planet has finally been defeated, and a reign of fear and destruction begun. Most of the survivors have been captured, and forced to fight for the entity, or used in experiments to create an army of deadly mutants. I am being held prisoner in one of the recently constructed underground bases. Soon I too will be deprived of my humanity. In my desperation I have formulated a plan of escape. After assaulting one of the guards, and grabbing a gun, I made a break for freedom. My plan to make my way to the centre of the base, overpower my captors, and blow up the complex with the enemy inside, setting earth free once more. The game takes place in the complex, it is filled with all manner of objects and monsters. Armed with your gun you must make your way to the centre and destroy the complex. The complex is divided into sections. At the end of each section is a lift which you must get to before you can move to the next. Loading Instructions 1: Turn off the computer and disconnect all unnecessary peripherals. I recommend that you leave your computer switched off for thirty seconds in case a virus has installed itself into your computer's memory. This will kill a virus if one is present. 2: Insert the disk into the drive and switch the computer on. The game will begin to load. Do not remove the disk from the drive whilst the game is playing. 3: The logo should appear shortly. Now wait for the game to load. If the screen turns black at any point do not be concerned as this just happens whilst the program is loading. Title Screen Once the title screen appears you have two options: 1: Listen to the music and read the plot which appears shortly. 2: Press fire to start the game. There is 1 complete level in the demo. Playing Destruction Imminent Once the level has loaded you will be presented with a screen divided into sections. The large box at the top shows your current view. You can move around by pushing the joystick in the desired direction. Around the edge is information about your status. Doors and Objects Collecting objects is simply a matter of walking over them. The control panel around the edge will automatically update to show any changes. Doors will open when you walk into them provided you are lined up straight. Some doors are locked, in which case you will be informed by a flashing box. Keyboard controls It is also possible to play the game using the keyboard. The keys are arranged as follows: Cursor keys: Turn left, Turn right, Walk Forward, Walk backward Control: Fire weapon, Insert: Side step left. Clr Home: Side step right, L Shift: Run/Fast turn. Other Controls You should be able to see 10 small boxes to the left and right of the main screen. Each of these corresponds to a different key (F1-F10). The keys are arranged as follows F1-F6 select different weapons. Some weapons will be shown darker than others. These have not yet been collected. To the bottom right of each weapon there is a number. This is the amount of ammunition remaining for that weapon. To fire a weapon simply press the fire button on the joystick. Your ammunition will be reduced accordingly. The weapons are: F1: Fist - Very basic method of attack, not recommended unless all your other weapons are out of ammunition. F2: Knife - Similar to fist, but more powerful. The disadvantage is that, like fist, it can only be used at close range, making you an easy target for the monsters. (not in demo) F3: Pistol - A small gun, which although not very powerful has the advantage it can be used at a distance. Several shots will probably be needed to kill most monsters though. F4: Machine gun - Similar to the pistol except it fires much more rapidly meaning the monsters will have less time to get to you. F5: Rocket launcher - The most powerful weapon. Launches a rocket straight ahead. A rocket will kill any monster it hits instantly and keeps travelling until it hits a wall! The only disadvantage is that you can only launch 1 at a time, and ammunition is limited. (not in demo) F6: Plasma gun - Not very powerful, but the only weapon which can damage energy lifeforms encountered on later levels. (not in demo) The keys F7-F10 select other functions as follows: F7: Grenade - Throws a grenade straight ahead. (Assuming you have one). Grenades kill any monsters nearby. F8: Keys - If you hit a locked door and have a key, then pressing F8 will use the key, and unlock the door. F9: Medikit - Using up a medikit restores 50% of your health. You cannot have more than 100% health though, so using a medikit when you health is above 50% means some restoration is wasted. F10: Pause/Help - Pauses the game, and displays a list of the keyboard controls. Pressing Q whilst the game is paused quits the current level. (not in demo) Enemies and Time Limit There are two ways in which you can die. If your health drops to 0% you are dead, and must start again. If you run out of time it is also gameover. Both your health, and the remaining time are shown in the middle bottom of the screen. There are various enemies in the maze. Some can only hurt you if they get close, but others can fire on you from a distance. Each enemy has different characteristics which you must learn to defeat them. Information about each enemy is shown after the plot on the title screen. Mapper and Radar As well as weapons, some levels may contain a mapper or radar. The mapper automatically maps where you go, and displays the surrounding area of map on a display to the bottom left of the screen. This helps to prevent you getting lost or exploring the same area twice. The radar shows nearby monsters or objects on a display to the bottom right of the screen. Monsters are shown in red, and objects in green. The radar adjusts it's display so that forwards is always to the top of the radar. Winning and Losing When you complete or lose the level you will be shown a short animation or picture, the game will then return to the title screen at which point you can start again if you wish. Hints and Tips - Collect all objects, remember you don't have to use medikits or grenades straight away, save them until they are most useful, but remember to use them as they cannot be carried between levels. - Try to shoot monsters around corners. If you move up to a wall, and move out slowly using the sidestep option you can often shoot the enemy without them seeing you. - Don't be afraid to retreat if you become overwhelmed, run back to a safe area and shoot the monsters through a narrow opening. - If you run at a robot it won't shoot you when you become to close, if you can't escape a robot try to pin it against a wall or door.