Mission 3

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OUTLAND V1.02, updated 12/96 ======= -------------------- The sequel to Rebels V Laserthons: ---------------------------------- You will need: An ST or compatible with 1 Meg or more of RAM. An STE or compatible to enjoy sound effects Loads of free time, or a disk to save your game onto to continue at a later date. Outline: -------- Outland is a turn based strategy game for between 2 and 4 players. In it, each player takes control of an army of troops and/or a number of buildings which constitute a base. The aim of the game is to exterminate the other players' forces. There are many different units with which to achieve this, and the ability to construct troops should ensure that each game is different. Playing the Game: ----------------- To play the game, reset the computer with this disk in the drive. The title screen will autoboot - press any key to dispatch the intro sequence and load the game engine. Once the second program has loaded, you will be presented with a choice of 3 options. (1) Begin New game: ------------------- Use ye olde file selector to select the level on which you wish to fight. Use the mouse to select a map by double clicking on it. If you wish to quit from Outland to the Desktop, simply click on either the Return or Quit button with no filename selected. (2) Continue saved game: ------------------------ Loads a previously saved game and carries on from the point at which it was saved. (3) Leave Outland: ------------------ Choosing this option will drop you back into GEM. Handy if you want to read the documentation files, or if you're just plain bored of Outland. BEGINNING A NEW GAME ==================== Choose Your Allegiance: ----------------------- After the level has loaded and unpacked, each player may choose his allegiance. Players with tech level 0-8 must choose either Rebels or Laserthons, whereas players with tech level 9 must choose the Rebel/Laserthon alliance. Each side has its own strengths and weaknesses. Consult the lists later on in this document to find the exact units and buildings available for each side. Use the cursor keys or A/D to move the highlight over the desired side's logo. Press shift, return or S to select the side. After each player has chosen their allegiance, the game loads a randomly selected song, plays it and displays the beginning of turn screen. NOTE: Levels which have briefings may sometimes force you to play a particular side. You should be notified of this within the briefing. If this is the case, then you do not get to choose your allegiance. Beginning of Turn Screen ------------------------ This screen shows the turn number and the player whose turn it is. Once the player is ready to proceed with his turn, he should press any key. This game is designed to be played without watching the other players turn. This is because each player can only see areas which he has previously explored and thus allows cunning strategies and attacks to be carried out without the other player(S) finding out! At the beginning of a turn, all of the players units have their action points replenished to full. What is a turn? --------------- Each player has a turn, starting with player 1 and working up to player 4. If a player has been wiped out, he does not get a turn. During his turn, a player may perform actions with all of his units and buildings. Units may move about, attack in hand to hand, shoot and perform other actions. Some buildings may be set to produce units, structures and specials weapons, while others may be used to defend bases by firing weapons. Others may produce power, money or give the player a map. More details are given later. There is no time limit for a players turn. However, you may like to impose a time limit of your own to stop the game lasting too long. GAMEPLAY ======== The game is controlled using the keyboard, or a joystick and keys. The keys are as follows: Q = up+left A = leftArrow keys and joystick may be Z = down+leftused instead of these keys. X = down C = down+right D = right E = up+right W = up S / Return / joystick fire = Select K = Cancel Other keys are shown on the panel on the right hand side of the screen on the panel, underneath the radar display / team logo. Cursor Modes: ------------- The cursor has several modes with which you control your forces. The most common one is 'cursor mode' which is where the cursor is used to move around the map and select units for movement. It can also be used to look around the map, get info on units and is the only mode from which you can end your turn. I = Info Brings up an information screen on the selected unit, displaying such stats as health, combat, firearms damage, etc. N = Next Moves the cursor to the next unit / building automatically. If you press Next and you are on your last unit, then the cursor is placed at the top left of the map to inform you that that was your last unit. Pressing Next again will move the cursor to your first unit / building. H = Home Returns the cursor to your Main Base (if you have one) 0 = End Turn This key ends your turn and passes control to the next player. There is no query to ask if you are sure, so make sure that you are certain that you have finished your turn when you press this. Pressing select when the cursor is over a unit with action points which is on your side will select it. Select Mode ----------- (i) Troops- This mode allows you to move troops around the map. As you move your troops, the black cloud covering much of the play area will be replaced by terrain. Once you have explored a region, you can see it even if your units leave the area. Therefore, it is advisable to explore the map early on to avoid unwanted skirmishes and to get the best view of your surroundings. Use the direction controls to move the cursor. Pressing the select button when the cursor is over a traversable location will move your unit to the location, provided he has at least 4 Action Points. If you press the select button while the cursor is over an enemy unit / structure, your unit will attack it provided he has at least 10 Action Points (see below). You cannot move over trees, cliffs, rocks or water unless the unit currently selected is a helicopter. You can never move through enemy units, only attack them. You can never move through your own units. F = Fire This enters you into fire mode provided the selected troop has a weapon. See below for fire mode. I = Info Same as in cursor mode. U = Unload This unloads troops carried by APCs or transports. See later for more details. O = Other The Menacer Heavy Tank is a real beauty, and pressing this switches between its Dual 105mm Cannons and its GP 1 Heat Seeking missile launcher! K = Cancel This returns you to cursor mode. (ii) Buildings- These make up your base. With these, you can build up an army to carry out your cunning plans. Unlike troops, buildings cannot move and very few can fire. F = Fire This enters you into fire mode provided the building selected has a weapon. See below for fire mode. B = Build Some buildings can construct things. The following buildings can build: MAIN BASE makes buildings BARRACKS / OUTPOST makes troops VEHICLE FACTORY / LANDING SITE makes vehicles DEFENCE BASE makes nuclear missiles ADVANCED COMMLINK makes particle laser shots HELIPAD makes helicopters P = Place Once a building has made something which requires placing, such as a unit or another building, use this to enter into place mode - see below for more details. R = Repair Damaged buildings can be repaired for a small cost. Repair uses 100 Action Points and costs a small amount of money. \ = Sell This button sells the currently selected building. Be careful that you do not press this by accident, as it is irreversible. You lose the building and anything currently in production, and get 75% of the buildings value paid to your account. K = Cancel Return to cursor mode. Fire Mode: ---------- The most common form of combat is ranged combat. Weapons ranging from miniguns to bazookas, shells to napalm rockets are available to blast your opponents with! Firing costs action points... the exact amount depends upon the weapon being fired. For more precise information, consult the lists later on or use the Info button to find the cost for individual units. Select the target using the direction keys. Weapons have a range, and the cursor is automatically limited to the range of the weapon. Once the target is selected, press the select button. This will launch the projectile. Unlike RVL I, weapons never miss. However, the amount of damage dealt is variable, and depends upon a random factor and also upon the type of weapon in use and the armour value of the target. You will be informed of the amount of damage dealt and, if necessary, the destruction of the target. Place Mode: ----------- Use the direction keys to select the location, then press select. BUILDINGS can only be constructed on clear, flat ground within 2 squares of an existing building. UNITS can only be placed within one square of the building which constructed them. Ending your turn: ----------------- Once you have done everything you can or want to do, end your turn by pressing 0 when in cursor mode. This passes play on to the next player... And basically that's it. However, there are many special features which make Outland the game it is. Below are descriptions of all of the special units, buildings, and so forth which can be used to outwit your opponents, as well as more advanced gaming terms which you need to understand to play well. Power ----- Each building has a power usage rating. You may have noticed at the bottom of the screen two figures... Power: X and Used: Y. These numbers are also denoted in graphical form by the bar on the very right of the screen. If your power rating is above your used rating then all is well. However, if your used rating ever falls below your power rating then some buildings cease to function, and you will lose your radar view if you have one. TURRETS, FLAME UNITS, FORTRESSES and LASER TOWERS will all be incapable of firing when there is a power shortage. DEFENCE BASES and ADVANCED COMMLINKS cannot use special weapons when short of power. SATELLITE CENTRES shutdown, taking your radar view with them! To bring your power rating back up, and thus your buildings back on line again, construct... MAIN BASE, produces 1 Unit of Power POWER PLANT, produces 4 Units of Power NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, produces 10 Units of Power Cash ---- This is a very important substance, without which your base cannot function. With it, you can building new structures, units and repair existing ones. Without it you are stuffed, well and truly. You have limited resources at the beginning of the game. For each Refinery you have, you gain 500 Credits at the beginning of each of your turns. Therefore, in order to have any income at all you need at least one refinery. They aren't that tough, so guard 'em well as if your opponent gets them you are in serious trouble. There is no limit to the number of refineries you can have. Although they are expensive and take time to build, after a while they will have payed you back for your time and effort and in the long term will ensure that you are the most powerful player! However, don't get too many refineries as it is a waste of time and you might not be able to spend all of the money! Helicopters ----------- Helicopters fly high above the battle field, strafing ground units with gunfire whilst staying out of range of the ground unit's guns! Only a few units can fire at helicopters. These units include those with missile weapons, SAM Silos and Air Defence Lasers - the last two can only fire at helicopters in fact. Even fewer units can attack helicopters in hand to hand.. these units being helicopters themselves, since choppers fly far too high to be attacked with chainsaws! Helicopters can only be made with a helipad. They can fly over all types of scenery, but not over enemy units or sandbags, electric fence or concrete walls. They cannot fly over structures (they would simply crash into most of the taller ones!) Helicopters are tough, fast and pack fearsome weapons. However, they don't come cheap and are prone to a well defended opponent. Careful use of helicopters can win battles, careless use can cost 2500 credits worth of equipment! Transporters ------------ APCs and Transports can carry one infantry squad. Transports fly, and therefore have all of the advantages of both helicopters and APCs. APCs and Transports can be boarded by highlight the transporter with the cursor when in select mode, and pressing the select button. The boarding unit must have at least 10 Action Points. The unit is reduced to 0 Action Points when it boards. APCs and Transports can unload in the same way as a barracks or outpost places newly constructed units. However, the transport and the unit must have at least 10 Action Points to spare for the time consuming action of bailing out. Units inside destroyed APCs or Transports are lost forever. Flame Throwers -------------- Hmm, can I smell burning? Flamers are one of the most potent anti-infantry weapons about. Capable of toasting dozens of men at once, these weapons are used primarily by Laserthons, although Rebel Flame Unit Turrets also incorporate them. Flamers are short range, and can only be fired in 8 directions. When firing, select the direction desired by moving the cursor to the desired adjacent square, then press the select button. Watch your opponents as they are consumed by flames, or if they aren't give them another shot. Burst Effect Weapons, ie. Missiles, Mortar ------------------------------------------ Some weapons affect an area of 3 x 3 squares. Usually, the central square is hit the worst. However, units on the edge of the area are sometimes dealt lethal damage from the flying debris and shards of metals spewed out of such explosions. When firing a burst weapon, bear in mind that the square you select is the centre of the explosion and units in adjacent squares will be injured too. THIS INCLUDES YOUR UNITS! Unlike all other weapons, burst weapons can be targeted on squares which contain no units/buildings. Great for ensuring that each shot inflicts maximum damage! Demolition Squads / Demolishers ------------------------------- These units are unarmed and thus prone in combat. However, they are superb against buildings, dealing massive damage in the order of hundreds of points. To explode a demolition squad and mess up an enemy building, simply move the squad over the building to be destroyed. Obviously you lose your squad in the process but there are always casualties in war, and if the building was a main base then it was probably worth it! Demolishing a building requires 10 APs. Virus Drones ------------ Complete sods capable of stealing enemy buildings! Simply move them over the building and gain control of it instantly. This can give you access to enemy buildings, units and weapons... great fun! You lose the Virus Drone squad in the process - they are assumed to be maintaining the equipment inside the building. Virus Drones are weak and unarmed, but stick them in an APC and away they go! Cause havoc in an instant - steal the enemy's main base! Pinching a building requires 10 APs. This means that they can't get out of an APC and steel a building in the same turn. Never mind eh? Menacer Heavy Tanks ------------------- Not only are they big, tough (and slow), but they are also armed with two destructive weapons. Dual shells are better against heavily armoured targets and have a high rate of fire, whereas GP1 Heat Seekers have a burst effect and can shoot at airbourne units. Pressing O when in select mode will toggle between Dual Shells and GP1 Heat Seekers. It toggles for all Menacer Heavy Tanks in play, not just the one currently controlled. You can tell which weapon is currently in use by either getting info on the Tank, selecting Fire Mode or by looking at which weapon is displayed first at the bottom of the screen when in select mode. Repair Pads ----------- Repair pads can heal units up at no cost except action points. Move the unit to be repaired over the repair pad (which must have 100 Action Points to function) and it will be healed. Its action points will be reduced to zero, as will the repair pad's. Note that infantry cannot be healed on a repair pad. Particle Laser -------------- This can be charged up using a Rebel Advanced Commlink. It takes 12 turns to charge, then it may be fired and recharged again and again. Particle lasers damage an area of 2 x 2 squares very heavily. You can unleash the lasers anywhere on the map, even unexplored territory. Nuclear Missile --------------- This can be manufactured using the Laserthon Defence Base. It takes 12 turns per missile, which may be fired at any location on the map, even unexplored territory. Nukes damage an area of 5 x 5 squares, heavily at the centre and lightly at the edges of the blast. Particle Lasers and Nuclear Missiles do less damage to structures than to units, partly to keep things realistic and partly to keep the game fair - I hate it when your main base just 'vanishes', and is replaced with a large piece of scorched land. This is also made up for by the fact that a building takes damage for each square that is hit, ie. a main base can be damaged up to 4 times by a laser/nuke hit. Rubble, Steel Walls ------------------- These are simply used to surround your base and thus prevent attack from certain directions. They do not count as buildings in that you cannot sandbag out to a location and then build a building near it. Sandbags and concrete walls don't belong to a specific player, and once constructed they cannot be selected, repaired or sold. Electric Fence -------------- These are slightly tougher than rubble, but injure any units (not buildings) in adjacent squares. They are a good, but expensive, line of base defence and can even damage helicopters (since the fence has a pointy up bit which fires sparks high into the sky). The damage is minimal... around 3 for light armour troops, 1 for heavy armour, but if a unit stands adjacent to 2 or more pieces of fencing the effects can be impressive. Electric fences can only be purchased by Laserthons or Alliance sides. Radar ----- In order to get a radar view of the map, you need a satellite centre and sufficient power. Once you meet these criteria, you will have a nifty overview map at the top of the status panel at the right of the screen. HINTS AND TIPS ============== * The best way to win is to use Virus Drones. They are great value and can wreak havoc in even the most well defended bases. Their surprise value is brilliant and they can be used as a good decoy for your main attack force. However, don't underestimate Demolition squads as they are blimmin' good too! Also, a full assault with a massive army works well but be careful because if you lose your opponent can just walk into your now deserted base! * The first thing you should do is build up a well defended base. Try to block all methods of entry and exit with units to stop APCs and Helicopters getting in without you being able to return fire. * Helicopters are great but your opponent will soon suss out that all he needs to do is build a few SAM silos and Anti-Air Lasers. Helicopters are still good for hit and run attacks on units outside their base, however. * A good way to demolish lightly armoured buildings is to attack them in hand to hand. As they automatically have a defence score of 0, they will suffer large amounts of damage per attack. * Nuclear Power Plants produce more power for their cost than normal power plants. So use Nuclear Power wherever possible, even though it takes an extra turn to make. However, if your entire base's defences go down and you only need a little bit of power, make a normal power plant! * When your opponent has nuke or particle laser capabilities, build a backup Main Base to ensure that if he blasts one of your Main Bases you'll still have another spare. Besides, Main Bases are handy to build two structures at once and thus build up your base twice as quick. INGAME MENU =========== Accessed by pressing SPACE when in cursor mode. (1) Music Selector: Choose which chip music tune you would like to listen to by pressing the relevant key. If the game cannot find the song, then it will turn off the music. (NOTE: You can put your own music into this game, but I'll leave it to you to find out how!) (2) Change Frequency: Change screen frequency from 50 to 60Hz or vice versa. (3) Toggle Quickshots: Quickshots default to ON. When firing, if quickshots are disabled then you will see the bullet as it moves towards the target. Best to leave it on. (4) Toggle Sounds (STE only): If you're using an STE then you will have the glorious sounds. If for some weird reason you want to turn them off then use this. (5) Surrender: Confirming this will remove you from the game, although all of your units and buildings will remain in play. Other players can get a few easy kills and nick some valuable buildings if they're quick enough. Anyway, what kind of person surrenders! (6) Save Game: Duh, guess what this does. STATISTICS ========== Please note that not all of these may be 100% accurate. A better way of determining stats is by using the Info button. Buildings: ---------- ___________________________________________________________________ Name |T.Lev|Size|Armour|Hlth|Weapon|P.Use|Cost|Time|Side ------------------------------------------------------------------- Main Base 9 2x2 H 200 None 0 5000 5 Power Plant 1 2x2 L 100 None 0 500 1 Refinery 2 2x2 L 150 None 2 4500 2 Landing Site 4 2x2 H 150 None 2 4000 4 Laserthon Vehicle Fact' 4 2x2 H 160 None 2 4200 4 Rebel Satel' Centre 5 2x2 H 250 None 4 2500 2 Defence Base 8 2x2 H 300 Nukes 8 6000 5 Laserthon Adv. Commlink 8 2x2 H 250 Laser 8 5500 5 Rebel Nuclear Pow. 6 2x2 L 150 None 0 1000 2 Helipad 6 2x2 H 150 None 2 1000 2 Barracks 1 2x2 L 150 None 1 700 1 Rebel Outpost 1 2x2 L 160 None 1 750 1 Laserthon Guardpost 3 1 L 150 M21 MG 0 1000 1 Rebel Fortress 6 1x2 H 225 GP1 HS 4 2000 2 Rebel Anti-Air Las 7 1 L 250 Air Las 6 2500 3 Rebel Flame Unit 4 1 L 150 Flamer 2 800 1 Turret 3 1 H 100 Shells 2 1200 1 Laserthon Laser Tower 7 1x2 L 160 Laser 8 3500 3 Laserthon SAM Silo 3 2x1 L 200 SAM 1 1500 2 Laserthon Repair Pad 5 2x2 L 200 None 2 2500 2 Rubble 1 1 L 5 None 0 75 0 Electr. Fence 2 1 L 15 Shock 0 150 0 Laserthon Steel Wall 3 1 H 50 None 0 200 0 Blokes + Vehicles: ------------------ ___________________________________________________________________________ Unit Name |Cost|Time|Speed|Health|Armour|H2H|Side |T.Lev|Armament | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebel M.gun 300 1 20 10 L 2 Rebel 1 M1 Minigun Rebel Shtgun 350 1 18 10 L 2 Rebel 2 Pump Actions Rebel Bazooka 500 1 14 10 L 1 Rebel 4 GP2 AA Rebel L.sabre 275 1 22 12 L 5 Rebel 5 Light Sabres * Rebel Demo. 500 1 16 10 L 0 Rebel 6 AP20 Explosives * LThon M.gun 300 1 22 10 L 1 LT 1 M1 Minigun LThon Flamer 400 1 20 10 L 1 LT 2 Flame Throwers LThon Bazooka 500 1 18 10 L 0 LT 4 GP2 AA LThon Chainsaw325 1 24 11 L 6 LT 5 Fuel Chainsaws * LThon Demo. 500 1 18 10 L 0 LT 6 AP20 Explosives * Virus Drones 750 1 18 8 L 0 3 Persuader Unit Rebel Jeep 750 1 45 30 L 1 Rebel 3 Twin M1 Miniguns "Vanquisher" 1600 2 22 100 H 4 Rebel 5 Shells APC 1250 2 40 50 H 5 Rebel 4 M1 Minigun Missile Truck 1500 2 30 40 L 2 Rebel 6 GP1 Heat Seekers* "Menacer" 3000 3 14 200 H 3 Rebel 7 GP1 Heat Seekers* + Dual Shells LThon ATV 700 1 50 20 L 0 LT 3 Twin M1 Miniguns "Scorpion" 1200 2 30 75 H 4 LT 5 Shells Artillery 900 1 14 25 L 0 LT 5 Mortar Skimmer 1000 1 55 30 L 1 LT 6 GP2 AA * "Inferno" 1500 2 20 60 L 4 LT 7 Dual Flamers * SSM Truck 2500 3 22 50 L 2 7 Napalm Missiles ! "Nightwing" 2500 2 60 75 H 0 Rebel 7 GP2 AA H "Firestorm" 2500 2 55 100 H 0 LT 7 Heavy Gatling H Transporter 2500 3 50 75 H 0 8 None H * = requires Satellite Centre before it can be made. ! = requires Advanced Commlink or Defence Base before it can be made. H = manufactured by Helipads Weapons: -------- ___________________________________________________________________________ Name | Fire Cost | Range | Damage | Area of Effect | | | | L | H | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- M1 Minigun 33% 2 2-4 1-2 Twin M1 Mgun 25% 3 2-5 1-2 Pump Actions 50% 3 4-8 2-6 GP2 Anti Armour 50% 4 5-10 10-15 * Flamer 50% 1-3 5-10 2-3 Yes Shells 50% 4 5-10 10-20 GP1 Heat Seeker 33% 5 10-15 10-15 Yes, * Napalm Missiles 100% 9 15-40 5-15 Yes (of course) Mortar 50% 6 8-20 5-10 Yep Dual Flamer 25% 1-3 5-10 2-3 Yes! Dual Shells 25% 5 5-10 10-20 M21 Minigun and Heavy Gatling 25% 3 7-12 3-6 Laser 50% 6 15-30 50-70 'Righteous' Air Las 50% 6 15-30 50-100 # SAM 50% 5 15-30 35-40 # * = may fire at both air and ground targets # = may only fire at aerial targets, ie. Helicopters NOW GET OUT THERE AND KICK SOME METAL! Updates: -------- V1.01: Fixed loading transports so unit boarding now vanishes from the map. Previously his graphic remained although he did not. Fixed size of explosions when buildings are destroyed. Sometimes rubble could explode with a 10 x 10 explosion. Optimized scrolling routine. Fixed savegames. Previously it crashed if you had rubble, fence or steel wall. Changed cursor graphics. Firing cursor couldn't be seen very well on desert levels, cursor mode could not be seen in the snow. Fixed turret and flame unit prices. Made artillery more expensive for obvious reasons! Fixed side selector. Previously text was updated on physic, now updated on back. Put an exit option in on the Options screen. Quickshots default to on, since they always ended up being switched on anyway! Fixed hand to hand. Now damages buildings less and heavily armoured units more. Also made explosions centre over the correct square. Remade title program. Replaced music with ABK file which I had to rewrite when my disk drive ate the disk. V1.02: Fixed dodgy bottom of map. Previously you could move cursor onto bottom square but the screen would not follow it. Mission briefings added, to allow specific scenarios to be created. Fixed dodgy save routine. Previously, if disk had no space then program would 'hang'. Completely new sounds added. The old ones were naff anyway. This came about due to extra memory being freed up by altering a few wasteful variables. This also cut down the size of save games. Enabled firing at empty squares, but for area effect weapons such as mortar and missiles only. Joystick control fixed. Graphics tarted up a bit Radar now actually works! (ie, when a building is destroyed it is removed from the radar, etc!) Colours also altered a bit to make units show up better on radar.