
Help for the Derelict Player
	Introduction Thanks for trying Derelict! We had alot of fun making this game, and we hope you're having just as much fun playing it. We realize, however, that sometimes, things just don't work the way you think they should, or you want just a little more information than what's provided in the tutorial levels. You did try those, right? Anyway, that's what this document is for. If you haven't yet purchased, please consider doing so. You get lots more levels, more aliens to shoot, and another character to play. You will also get some free level packs and updates in the future. Our intention is to support the game with extra, free content for at least the first year, and the only way you can enjoy that content is to be a registered owner. Controls Keyboard: Movement - Arrow keys Shoot Normal - Left Ctrl Key Shoot Strafe - Left Shift Key * Shoot Special - Space bar Gamepad/Joystick: ** Movement - D-pad Shoot Normal - Button 1 Shoot Strafe - Button 2 Shoot Special - Button 3 General controls Pause - ESC key or P Screen Shots - F2 * On Windows, the shift key is, by default, a system shortcut to some Accessability features. Pressing it rapidly 5 times in a row will cause a dialog box to appear, forcing Derelict to minimize. You have two options for dealing with this problem. The first is to disable the accessability shortcuts by opening the accessability control panel, clicking the first "Settings" button (for StickyKeys), and unchecking the "Use shortcut" button. The second option is to change the key bindings in the Derelict Options screen. ** Some controlers have the buttons labled differently, but they should always be the first three buttons on your controller. The Strafe Shot Mastering the Strafe Shot is the key to doing well at Derelict. In order to perform the strafe shot, point the character in the direction you wish to shoot. Then hold down the Shoot Strafe button (Left Shift key or button 2 on the game pad). As long as you hold that key down, you can move around all you wish, but you will continue to shoot in the same direction. It's very useful for maneuvering around corners, or sweeping across a wave of encroaching aliens. Multiplayer Derelict can be played with two players in a cooperative mode, but it requires that you have at least one gamepad or other game controller plugged in before you start the game. Our personal preference is to have two game controllers plugged in so both players can sit back and have fun instead of being tied to a keyboard. Our personal favorite gamepad is the Saitek P880, for a combination of price and features, and it feels better, we think, than many console gamepads. Games To start a new game, click the "New Game" button in the main menu, and if everything is the way you want it, click "Go!" and you're on your way to fighting all the aliens that can be packed into a spaceship. However, if you want to play around with the options, you can do a bunch of things. One of these is change the name of your player. Above each character picture, you will see a box that, by default, says either Player 1 or Player 2 (You will see two of them if you have a gamepad or other game controller plugged in when the game is started). If you click into that textbox, you can type your a name that is more apporpriate in the textbox. The names you type will become the basis for your saved game.So - if you type "Bob" as your name, when you play the game, it will automatically save your progress under "Bob". When you want to stop playing for awhile, you can just exit, and your progress will be saved. The next time, if you want to play as "Bob" again, where you left off, you can click "Load Game" from the menu, find "Bob.sav" in the list, and select it. Then click "Go!". If you start a new game, and leave "Bob" as the player name, your new game will overwrite the previous save for "Bob". You will be warned, and given the opportunity to continue your current game, but if you choose to start a new one, your previous "Bob" progress will be lost, though any score will remain in the High Scores list. Tips Don't skip the tutorial. Even if you've been through it before, and you know everything, you can get three extra special attacks and an extra gold key, as well as a few hundred points. Most powerup values are multiplicative, but generally limited to three at a time. Learn how to use the strafe key. It's an important tool in getting the best times and scores. You can set up your firing direction before going around a corner... very useful for keeping aliens off of you. The special weapon can be used to hit creatures across walls. You get one free one for each level you enter. Don't be afraid to use them. There are certain areas in the walls where you can find hidden items. Find them. Important things are sometimes hidden there. Some exits won't unlock until the entire area has been cleared of enemies. Be careful about stepping through teleporters. They go to the closest teleporter. And if it's not lit, it means it only accepts incoming teleports. You won't be able to teleport back. So make sure you complete all your business first. You don't earn bonus points if you don't finish within the time limit. You are still, however, given credit for completing the level if you exit it. Once you step through an exit, however, you can't redo the level. So if you think you can finish before time runs out, pause the game (esc key) and click "Restart" instead of exiting the level. If you see the X2 powerup (or several of them) next to some point bonuses, pick up the X2 powerup(s) before going after the point bonuses. The X2 will double the score you receive for each of the point bonuses. Multiple X2 powerups will give you even more. If you have the armor powerup, you don't take damage. But beware of getting caught by Ice Beasts - you can still be frozen. Ralph's weapon has an area effect, and explodes at the end of it's range. You don't necessarily have to be pinpoint accurate with him. You only need to complete 7 levels to be able to move on to the next Zone. I know - it says it in the tutorial, but if you ignored the first tip, you might not know it. Take advantage of this, especially if you're having a hard time completing a level. Pick up all of the crystals in each level. They are worth huge amounts of bonus points. Take out the generators as your first priority (well - after you've cleared a path to them). If the generator is gone - it can't create more enemies. If you are having trouble with aiming horizontally, line up the bullet shadows with the bottom of what you are shooting at (most problems with this are with generators, since they're really low). Troubleshooting If you are having problems with the game running, here are some things that should help you get going. First, check your video card drivers to be sure they are the latest. Derelict requires that your video card support OpenGL. The game has been tested on lots of ATI and NVidia cards, and should run well on almost all of them, with the proper drivers. They can be found at the following sites: http://www.nvidia.com http://www.ati.com Try turning off the music in the options dialog. Try closing all of your other programs, including instant messenger programs and audio programs like WinAmp or Media Player. In the options screen, turn off shadows If none of these suggestions help, don't hesitate to drop us a mail at questions@hamumu.com. Supported Video cards ATI Radeon cards - any model NVidia TNT, TNT2, and any GeForce models If you have another manufacturers card, Derelict should run if it has an OpenGL compliant driver and the card has at least 8mb of RAM.
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