CD-ROM Magazin 1997 January/CD_01_97.ISO/readme.txt

Text File | 1995-09-27 | 21KB | 437 lines

Hello, and welcome to Millennia. As is usual with these projects,
the manual had to be written well before the game had been
finalized, so it was necessary to make a few changes here and
there as we ironed out the wrinkles. Also, we wanted to include
some tips for installation and a few strategies for game play that
you may find helpful.

  INSTALLATION
WIN '95 Setup:
From the desktop, click on "Start" in the lower left corner of the
screen. Now select  "Shut Down". This will give you the "Shut
Down Windows" option screen. Select the option that allows you
to restart the computer in the MS DOS mode. This will take you
to the DOS prompt in the windows directory. From here, you can
follow the manual's instructions for installing the game.

If you choose to set up a WIN '95 window in which to run the
game, you should need only to select "MS DOS Mode" under the
Advanced Program options of  the Program Properties.

Gravis Ultrasound Users
GUS users may need to run "Loadpats" before running Millennia.
You can include these in your Mil.bat if you prefer.

Mouse Problems:
If you are having difficulty with your mouse or are getting no
mouse at all in the game, go to your DOS prompt and type
"Mouse" then press enter. The screen should display the mouse
version installed on your computer. If your computer is using
Microsoft Mouse Version 8.20, contact Microsoft for an upgrade.

If you are having trouble with a technical situation that is not
addressed here, please feel free to contact TAKE 2 Tech. Support,
on [phone].


GAME PLAY UPDATES

Change to Gas Giants button in NAVCOM
The Gas Giants identification button in the XTM Navigation
screen has been altered slightly for your convenience. Pressing the
button now turns off all stars that are not Gas Giants on the
Galaxy Map. The Gas Giant systems will not change color (i.e.
White for unoccupied, Red for Microid, Yellow for Reptoid, etc.),
but will be the only ones displayed. While the map is in this mode,
the seventh light on the console to the right of it will glow purple.


Escape Galaxy button:
Pressing the Escape Galaxy button no longer displays the exterior
view of the XTM as described on page 6 of your manual. If you
press this now, and you have the necessary equipment, you will
initiate the escape galaxy wormhole sequence. If the proper
equipment has not been installed, ANGUS will let you know. If
you want to see the graphic display that shows you the equipment
already installed on your XTM, as well as that which is still
required, press the F9 key.

Changes to Advisor Button:
ANGUS now supplies you with information only in the Transport
and Navigation screens. These ended up being the only places
where he could really be of any use. So click on the advisor button
to have ANGUS display descriptions of Histograph icons and
items on the Transport room belt. In the other rooms, pressing
this button will have no result.

Axis:
At the center of the Echelon Galaxy there is a star system with a
barren planet called Axis. This system is the place where the
player will find himself at the begining of a new game. This
system contains a moderate risk Gas Giant and cannot be
colonized or terraformed by any species. This planet has been
placed in the game to act as a home base for the player. Whenever
ANGUS pulls you out of a battle where you are taking too much
damage, he will bring you to Axis.

Losing The Game:
In the manual, you will read a description of a lose game sequence
where a temporal storm would shatter your XTM. This was to
occur when you did something that would make finishing the
game impossible. As the game developed, we realized that, given
the multitude of options available to the player at any point in the
game, it is nearly impossible to determine when it would be
appropriate to tell him that he had lost.  Therefore, the lose game
sequence is not included in the game.

  HINT AND TACTICS
Getting Started
For basic hints on getting started. please check the manual that
was included with your copy of Millennia: Altered Destinies. This
manual will provide you with some game background and tell you
how to use the first person interface. As this is a strategy game, it
is essential that you at least refer to the game manual during play.
We have done our best to keep that document brief and easy to
read.

As you are already aware, you begin the game at the controls of a
time traveling space craft known as an XTM. You have been
placed here by an alien who wants you to use the XTM to defeat a
race of evil aliens known as "the Microids" and restore
equilibrium to his galaxy. As play commences, you are informed
by ANGUS, your ship's computer that four systems essential to
your return trip have been irrevocably damaged in transit. In order
to escape the Echelon Galaxy you will need to have these systems
replaced by the indigenous species. These replacements each
require the resources of an advanced civilization and as play
begins none of  those civilization yet exist.

First, here is some background information on each of the species
(other than yourself) that you will encounter as you play
Millennia. Hopefully the information provided will give you some
hints on how to deal with each friendly race, and explain to you
the motives of  your enemies.

    Reptoids:
The Reptoids are a bellicose and militant species that are native to
worlds with desert environments. They are powerful warriors that
delight in violence and bloodshed and despise weakness in any
form. Their strong sense of personal honor has a tendency to
overshadow their good judgment when confronted by a crisis. In
general, they do not thrive in an atmosphere of calm and
monotonous prosperity.

    Entomons:
The Entomons are an insectoid species that inhabit warm, tropical
planets. They are hard workers and excellent mathematicians that
perform well in rigidly structured groups with a defined hierarchy.
Individualism is a concept that is totally foreign to them. They
tend to lack imagination when dealing with problems and to rely
too heavily on a very constricted form of logic.

    Piscine:
These are a race of  aquatic creatures that live beneath the seas of
oceanic planets. They are in general a friendly species, that tends
toward individualism and believes in democratic principles. They
are excellent farmers and clever inventors that do well when they
confront aggression with technology rather than brute force.

    Slothoids:
The Slothoids are a mellow, philosophical species that combines
the ambition of a contented hamster with the physique of polar
bear. They are native to planets with frozen tundra environments
where they spend much of their free time in meditation and
religious contemplation. They are powerful opponents when
aroused, but are usually too complacent to be bothered. Their
fondness for new religious fads is an indulgence that often leads
them into trouble.

    Microids:
Little is known of these creatures. They appeared inexplicably in
Echelon in the game year 200. They quickly converted the first
planet that they encountered to a volcanic environment, and set it
up as base of operation for subjugating all other star systems in
the galaxy. They are reputed to be small, semi mechanical
creatures that work in concert to produce incredibly efficient space
craft and weapon's systems. They are known to be extremely
prolific and aggressive, with no regard for other life forms and a
voracious appetite for conquest.

    Hoods:
These are a race of mysterious time travelers of uncertain origin.
It is likely that their meddling in the timelines of the Echelon
Galaxy has created the crisis that now threatens their own
existence. It was the hoods that perfected the XTM with the
assistance of the four non Microid species and then recruited the
player to assist them in their endeavors. Now they find themselves
in a contiguous time loop where they alternately assist the
Microids and then the other races in a futile attempt to restore
balance to Echelon.


  Questions and Answers
To assist you in playing the game for the first time, we have
assembled a series of questions and answers that we hope will
address your basic concerns. We have found these to be the
questions most often asked by those that have never played
Millennia before.

******************************************************************************
 IF YOU ARE A HARD CORE GAMER WHO LIKES TO FIGURE EVERYTHING OUT FOR YOURSELF
                 STOP READING HERE.
******************************************************************************





The following will give away some (but not all) of the games
secrets that you may wish to discover on your own. Once again,
for information on working with the interface, please refer to the
manual where it is explained thoroughly.


"How do I seed a planet?"

To seed a planet go to the ship's transporter room. Click on the
scanner button to identify the planet environment. Each of the
game races is suited for a specific planet environment. Reptoids -
Desert, Slothoid - Tundra, Entomon - Tropical and the Piscine -
Oceanic. To access the seeds, click on the store toggle button. The
transmitter will slide open and reveal a conveyor belt.  By clicking
on the left and right arrow buttons, you can scroll the conveyor.
An object description can be obtained for each item that appears
in the window by clicking on the advisor button. Move the
appropriate seed into view on the conveyor and click on store
toggle to move it to the transmitter pad. Now, click on the
transmit button to send the seed to the surface.


"What is a Seed?"

Each seed is a genetically engineered morph or chameleon like
creature that adapts it's physical appearance to emulate a member
of a specific indigenous species.  Once seeded, the morph
immediately sets about  influencing the planet's population to
undertake the initial steps for creating a recognizable civilization.
His first task is always to construct a temple that serves as a
platform for transmission of technology to and from the planet's
surface. The morph will also act as an emissary between yourself
and the seeded species as you attempt to influence its evolution.
Your emissary is effectively ageless. If left unmolested by outside
forces, he will stay on the planet where he was seeded until the
end of the 10,000 year time frame encompassed by the game.


"Why can I seed only one planet for each species?"

There is only one seed for each species. Keep in mind that the
seed is not the DNA for a species but a personal emissary for you
to use to organize and communicate with the indigenous primitive
life forms that already exist in the Echelon Galaxy. This emissary
will help you to build one of four distinct and necessary empires.


"What is a temporal storm?"

A temporal storm represents the disturbance in the time space
continuum that is created by changing an existing history. As a
device in the game, the temporal storm occurs when you or some
other entity changes time.

"What does it mean when I have done nothing to effect time and
all of the sudden a temporal storm happens.?"

This is an indication that an alternative version of yourself, one
that has been sent in to assist the Microids, has done something to
effect the timeline of one of your friendly species.  He is your
alter-ego.


"What is a Hood Attack?"

The hoods are the sixth species indigenous to the Echelon Galaxy.
If the "Hood Attack" icon appears in your timeline, it indicates the
intervention of hoods from another time space continuum. These
hoods are motivated by their own concerns and are attempting to
address problems relevant to their own time.


"What is the best strategy for choosing a planet to seed?"

There are three concerns that should be addressed when selecting
a planet for seeding. The first is proximity to the Microid home
world and the second is access to fuel for time/space travel. At the
beginning of play and before you seed a planet, go the ship's
navigation chamber (F2) and look at the star map. You will see a
single red star among all the white ones. This is the Microid home
world. If you advance time, using the right arrow button on the
interface, you can watch the Microids spread across the galaxy
until they occupy every star system. Note the star systems that are
conquered last. These would be the best choices for seeding. Be
sure to move the target time back to the actual date before seeding
a planet! Otherwise you will be dropping your seed on the planet
too late for it to develop enough to defend itself. Millennia is
designed so that even the most experienced players will require at
least 3000 years to bring any race up to the point of development
necessary to meet the victory requirements.

Fuel is the second concern to take into account when choosing a
planet to seed. Time and space travel require a considerable
amount of fuel. With this in mind, it is often wise to choose a star
system that contains a gas giant to place your seed. Go to the
navigation chamber and click on the "Gas Giant" button to
eliminate all stars systems from the galaxy map that do not
contain gas giants. Seeding planets in these systems will allow
you to refuel as you need to without traveling to a distant system.

A third concern is proximity to the other three "friendly" races. As
the various species develop and advance they will start competing
with each other for control of star systems. Some species are more
aggressive than others, but as a general rule, it is a good idea not
to seed planets too close to each other.


"I seeded a planet and then went to the Histograph it showed an
'Unoccupied Planet'."

This is a common mistake for new Millennia players. It will
happen when your ship is targeted on a planet other than the one
that you have seeded in the NAVCOM screen. To correct it, press
the "Target" button in the navigation interface. You will see a line
drawn from the planet that you are occupying to one that is
targeted. Move the target cross hairs over top of the planet that
you are orbiting and click on it. Now check the Histograph again.
The proper timeline should be displayed.


"I ordered my emissary to do something but I didn't get a temporal
storm, and when I checked the Histograph the planet's timeline
had not changed."

Not every solution offered in a conversation is going to change the
course of history. Some solutions fail. Others lead to time lines
that were even worse than the original one. If the timeline has not
changed, go back to your emissary and try another option.
Because alternative versions of you can never be in the same place
on the material plane at the same time, your emissary will usually
not recognize the fact that you have spoken to him already. As far
as he is concerned, this is your first encounter at that crisis event.

Also, don't assume anything about the four races that you are
assisting. Just because one course of action is appropriate for one
species, it is not necessarily so for another. Remember that your
goal is to develop each species into its most viable form for
survival against the Microids, not to create a utopia for them.


"What do the red and green borders mean on the icons in the
Histograph?"

The red borders on Histograph icon represents a crisis event.
These are turning points in a species' history, and often represent
the times when it is most advantageous to communicate with your
emissary.

The green borders represent significant inventions developed by a
species. Any invention can be beamed up from the planet's surface
with equipment found in the XTM's transport chamber, though it
is not always advisable to undertake this course of action.


"Why doesn't my emissary have anything to say to me when I
contact him?"

This usually happens when you are contacting the emissary during
a noncrisis time period. If the targeted time on the Histograph
shows a crisis event when you are getting this result from
contacting your emissary, make sure that the targeted time is the
same as the actual time. You may need to travel through time to
talk to your emissary about the targeted crisis.


"No matter which course of action I choose in a conversation for a
crisis, I cannot effect the Histograph timeline."

Not every crisis can be solved by conversation. Sometimes your
emissary is powerless against the catastrophe confronting him.
Other times, he is oblivious to his impending doom. At these
junctures, the player may have to tamper with the timeline or
travel to the planet's surface to correct a problem.


"How do I refuel my ship?"

The source of fuel to power your ship is the gravitational fields of
planets.  Although all planets supply you with some fuel in the
form of trickle flow, the best sources are large, somewhat
amorphous planets known as Gas Giants.  These planets you can
actually fly by and graze their atmospheres in an effort to rapidly
replenish your fuel supply

The Refuel Control screen (F5) provides information on your
current fuel supply. Clicking on the Initiate Fly-by button here
will bring your ship close enough to a gas giant (if one is present)
to refuel it quickly. Due to friction with the gas giant's
atmosphere, this procedure can potentially cause damage to your
ship. ANGUS will inform you of any damage incurred during a
fly-by. You can abort a fly-by that is in progress by left clicking on
the Abort Fly-by button


"I'm traveling through time and all of the sudden, I'm floating in a
greenish void with another XTM facing me. What's going on?"

You are in the fifth dimension. One anomaly of time travel is that
on rare occasions you will actually meet another version of
yourself outside the material plane. He is traveling in the same
continuum but from another time. When you encounter this
phenomenon you can use it to your advantage, if you are very
clever....


"What does it mean to achieve Equilibrium?"

You can achieve equilibrium in the Echelon Galaxy by eradicating
the Microids and then developing each species to a point where it
controls approximately one quarter of the star systems at the game
year 10,000. This is one of the two objectives that you must
achieve to win the game. Unfortunately, in accomplishing this,
you often find yourself unable to accomplish the second goal
which is repairing your ship so that it can escape back to Milky
Way.


"How do you win the game?"

You have two goals in Millennia.  You must restore equilibrium
to the Echelon Galaxy as proscribed by the entity that sent you
there, and you have to find a means of escaping that galaxy once
you have accomplished the balance.  The order in which you
undertake these aims is entirely up to you.  You will find that in
the process of realizing one of these ends, you will necessarily
have to thwart the other.  In a balanced galaxy, none of the
indigenous species can evolve far enough or control sufficient
power to develop the technology that you need to escape.  It is
possible to escape the galaxy without restoring equilibrium, but,
the consequences of this course of action is arguably worse than
doing nothing at all.

FINALLY
Remember, crises are random and the game will not play the same
way twice.  You may get the same crisis for two different races,
but the solution will most likely not be the same.  The planets are
also random, as is the pattern of Microid conquest. If you get
stuck and want a hint, be sure to call us at 1 (900) 28TAKE2. One
way or the other we should be able to give you the information
that you need to get going.

With that being said, dig in and have fun. We hope that you will
be pleasantly surprised with what promises to be unique
experience in strategy gaming. We had fun with this one and we
hope you will too.

                Take 2 Interactive Software