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- | | Mission Thunderbolt: Notes from email and newsgroup ver 11/5/92 | |
- | | | |
- | | __ __ Please send any hints, tips, or tricks | |
- | | (__` |__) to: jdsb@ee.egr.duke.edu | |
- | | ,__)terling |__)abcock Duke University Electrical Engineering | |
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- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Unanswered questions -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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- > Anybody found monsters that can be befriended by tossing them items OTHER
- than the dogs and snagglepi?
- > What to the "sweet" and "sour" pills do?
- > Is there any good way of figuring out what the pills do other than eating
- them or using a lib?
- > Are the green Zytt coins (oddly shaped) good for anything at all?
- > Can towels be used to wipe off armor/paint?
-
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- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Monsters -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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- > Making friends
- o You have to know what the monster wants before you can give it to him.
- I only know of a couple beasts that can be tamed by gifts.
- The snagglepus likes cookies and the dogs like bones.
- Use Put/Toss into adjacent location to give them the item.
- o The best way to make friends is to use a little electrical stimulation.
- The stimmer is a short range weapon which sometimes requires several
- applications to change a monster into a friend, sometimes whacking them
- upside the head before stimming helps.
-
- > STIMMERS: What animals are susceptible to stimmers?
- o Becomes friendly: Giant Tentacular Horrors, Tentacular Horrors, Snagglepus,
- Wild dogs
- o doscile: floating eye, radioactive swamp monsters?, flutterbangs?
- o Not: robots
-
- > MECHS: Can they fix things?
- o Sometimes. Sometimes they break them (thus the "oops!" sound).
- The robots have a 50/50 (?) chance of fixing things
-
- > ICKY LUMPS - reproduction
- o They will reproduce when you get near, even when you are near on levels
- past where they are. They don't multiply if you're not close to them.
- o If an infestation is only on part of a level, and you don't have the tools
- to destroy them, use holocubes or a door (they can't open them) to close
- them off.
- o Lumps *will* fall through holes and down stairs and step on teleport
- traps (including the kind that teleport you to other levels), so it's
- important to get rid of infestations that are near any of these things.
- o Never rest near lumps. Never rest on another level near the lumps.
-
- > ICKY LUMPS - killing with weapons
- o They are easy to kill and carry money.
- o Icky Lumps are best killed from a distance, with a laser rifle.
- o Close up work requires good weapons (antique sword or vibra knife) and
- good armor (Mark X Forcefield Pack plus Macro metal Armor). In a pinch,
- properly placed land mines and grenades can help out somewhat. Advice:
- leave 'em alone until you get good weapons/armor.
- o Find a vibra-knife possible. They kill lumps better than a macro-metal knife.
- o Failing a vibra-knife, get lot's and lot's of large powercells,
- a laser rifle and start blasting the little lumps to oblivion.
- BTW - the vending machines do not have an unlimited supply of powercells.
- Be sure to go to that region with full hit points and NEVER, NEVER
- rest on the same level as the lumps. That seems to cause them to
- multiple rapidly. Always leave the region and rest in a region that
- has no lumps in it.
- o Poison gas cannisters will kill quite a few, but it has a limited range.
- o You can also use a cameleon circuit if you can find one. It makes you
- invisible to most monsters, including lumps. They don't multiply or
- attack you while you're invisible (well, they attack by accident every
- once in a while). The c.c. is like a forcepack - requires charges.
-
- > ICKY LUMPS - killing with friends
- o Befriend a tentacular horror and let if follow you to the icky lumps.
- Once there, the 'lil horror will do most of the work for you.
- o Even better, befriend a Giant Tentacular Horror who will clean things
- up in short order.
- o Friends are always good. The best anti-lump technique is to get a
- "friend" with a big "activation radius" (the distance from you that a
- friendly monster will consider an unfriendly monster to be a threat,
- and go after it), like a snagglepuss, and go to the lump level.
- Get close enough to the lumps so that the snagglepuss will go kill them,
- but far enough away so that the lumps don't multiply. This makes very
- quick work of lump infestations.
-
- > What's a good way to kill off moppetts?
- o I found that if I hit it initially with my best weapon, he tickles me and I
- drop my weapon, and then I just wail on him with my bare hands until he dies.
- He seems less inclined to pop away if I'm bare-fisted and he gets in too many
- licks if I spend my turns trying trying to pickup/wield some weapon.
- Your mileage may vary depending on your character's characteristics.
-
- > THE SHIMMERING HAZE (or whatever it's called--looks like a lot of dots).
- o Dont touch them, they permanently drain constitution.
- Kill with a blaster or blaster rifle.
- o "friends" can hurt it.
- o If you think these guys are bad, wait until you run into a Vampire Mist.
-
- > What does one do about those darned vampire mists?
- 1) Try using a friendly android, snagglepus, or giant tentacular horror.
- 2) Try using a blaster.
-
- > Killing a Dreadnought?
- o Well, it takes quite a bit more than 8 granades, 1 LAWs, 1 landmine and an
- antique sword. Use a lot of land mines, more grenades, and befriend powerful
- monsters to lead to the dreadnought. Really, though, I didn't find it worth it
- to kill the dreadnought. You may gain a level, but you will use everything up.
- Now, I just lead them to levels that I am finished with and lose them there.
- o The only way I've ever seen one die was when I used a panic button:
- instead of teleporting to region 1, once it gave me 5 friendly 'jaunt
- troopers', who demolished the Dreadnought in 3 shots and 2 hits. The
- jaunt troopers disappear after something like 50 ticks.
-
- > TWO-HEADED MUTANT RADIOACTIVE THINGS.
- o Don't carry pills near them unless in a CLOSED container.
- o VERY VERY painful. It takes about 4 grenades and 30 gyrojets to kill.
- o These monsters seem quite vulnerable to laser rifles.
- o Grenades and landmines are good, too. Sometimes stimmers work, as well.
- o Just stay out of range and attack from distance.
- o Don't go into warrens until you have good weapons and a forcefield pack.
-
- > FANGWINGS
- o These will poison when you get close and they hide in the dark and
- behind doors
- o I usually do have something like a gyrojet rifle so I shoot them from far.
-
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- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Objects =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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- > HOW DO I FIGURE OUT WHAT A "Strange Device" IS???????
- o Go to a Library. (I think 100 coins per an item from you bank account).
-
- o Here's what I do when I get a strange device.
- 1. I inspect it.
- 2. I try and wear it.
- 3. I try to charge it.
- 4. I activate it.
- 5. If I can't wear it and it will activate, I throw it far away from me.
- Usually one of these actions will tell me of what exactly the strange device
- is. It's not a perfect routine though, I accidently broke a chronograph,
- when I threw it. Try this at your own risk.
-
- > CROWBARS:
- o MT tip for the day: always carry a crowbar. This item can do triple
- (or even quadruple) duty. First, in the very early stages of the game,
- it may be your best hand to hand weapon. Second, you can carry it
- instead of all those crazy keycards and use it to open locked doors and
- boxes. Third, you can use it to deactivate traps on boxes. And
- finally, you can use it to tear down walls (albeit slowly) - don't use
- your main weapon to do this, as tearing down walls dulls weapons quickly.
-
- > What in the world is a stepladder good for?
- o If there is a hole in the ceiling above you, placing a stepladder under
- it greatly improves your chance of success when trying to go up.
- o Suppose you have a level with dangerous things by the stairwell. Well,
- don't use the stairwell! Go to to a corner of the map. Dig a hole and
- go down there. Carry a stepladder and drop it after you get to the new level
- to remind you where to go up and to make an escape route.
-
- > Is there some way to toss a flare so that it illuminates a region?
- o Yes. Try throwing it somewhere where it won't land in liquid.
-
- > How about some container to put pills in so that if your _thrown_ into toxic
- > waste the pills don't dissolve away?
- o Put the pills in a chest and *close* it.
-
- >What are the trash can and trash can lid for?
- o You can wear the trash can lid for +1 armor protection.
- o I use the can as a repository to hold a lot of stuff in one place.
- o Try putting something in the can near a utility bot.
-
- > NEEDLES: What are needles for?
- Needles can be loaded into the needler (a weapon).
-
- > SKULLS:
- o I've seen skulls used as weapons by snaglepusses and have heard
- mention that it is effective agains other humans (terrorist
- collaborators i think)
-
- > TOWELS: Can towels be used to wipe off armor/paint?
- o You can wear them for an extra armor point.
-
- > SECURITY PASSES: How useful are security passes?
- o If you are wearing the pass corresponding to the region number
- then the cyber cops will not attack you.
- o Not very. However, when you enter a security zone (claxon goes off)
- and a cybercop goes after you, it will not attack if you have the
- correct security badge.
-
- > Creating your own pocket-nukes
- o Try activating five grenades, putting them in a small chest (leave the lid
- open) and throwing the chest at something. By the way, 2 back to back hits
- with these 'pocket-nukes' did NOT take out a Dreadnought, nor did four
- consecutive (preloaded) gyrojet scattergun blasts.
-
- > Has any figured out what to do with the soft pillow?
- o If you rest on a square that has a soft pillow, you heal faster. This
- can be important for minimizing the number of "crackling energy fields"
- or "mysterious power drains" during the game. It doesn't seem to help
- if you carry the pillow; it's got to be on the floor. I've also only
- tried this with "rest soundly" - I assume it works for "rest".
-
- > FIX/REPAIR: How do you fix: Armor?
- o My friendly (healthy) mech will sometimes repair my battered armor.
- I suggest saving before trying since the mech often destroy the armor
- in the 'fixing' process.
-
- > FIX/REPAIR: How do you fix: Generator?
- o A sonic screwdriver will fix a generator (and many other things too)).
- Try a mech if you dare.
-
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- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Facilities -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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- > What do I do when thrown in jail?
- o What you do is while your still tied down in a chair, you just hit yourself
- against a wall. After a while, the chair will splinter. Then use the rubble
- from your chair and throw at the door repeatedly to break the door. Then You
- have to find a way out (explore the lower level completely). Don't worry,
- in any game you only go there once (you get killed after the first capture).
- If it seems like their is no exit, try banging on a wall (with the
- appropriate utensil).
- o If I ever get thrown in jail, I quit. It's not worth trying to get
- out. Once you get thrown in jail, you lose access to your bank account
- because "the bank thinks you're dead" and you have to open a new account
- with no balance!
-
- > What facilities are there?
- o data port, reclaimation center, library, autodoc, hospital?, bank,
- store?, factory outlet, transmat booth.
-
- > Bank information:
- o If you are thrown in jail the bank will think you are dead.
- Start a new bank account with a balance of 0.
- If you can find a reclamation center, you can live without a working bank.
-
- > FLOORS/LEVELS: Just how many levels are there?
- o There are 30 floors in each MTB complex. 16 main levels, followed by
- 2 detention levels. There are ? warren levels.
- The 2 detention levels are below the the 16th floor.
- The LAMB is on the 16th level.
-
- > How do you get out of gravity wells?
- 1) Try dropping everthing. If nothing (other than yourself) is currently
- on the floor over the gravity well, drop something useless there first,
- so that some useful item doesn't end up trapped over it. After you've
- dropped everything, you should be able to get away.
- 2) give it the "sonic" scewdriver treatment.
- 3) dig through it (if it is a diggable square).
- 4) use your panic button (if you are on level 1-15).
- 5) use your gravbelt (I haven't tried this).
- 6) Disable the trap with a sharp edged object (very expensive in terms
- of hit points - it can easily suck up 50+ hp.
-
- > What do the water fountains do?
- o If you drink from them, they will cure the "fuzzy headedness" you get from
- eating most monster corpses.
- o You can fill certain things (milk cartons, but not beer cans, apparently),
- and use it (the water-filled object) as a weapon against the various robots.
- A milk carton, however, isn't enough to even kill a widget. Maybe a trash can
-
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- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Message Meanings -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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- > MESSAGE MEANING: You hear a sudden crackling of energy
- o An enegry storm breaks loose on this level. Everything within it
- gets severely damaged or destroyed (including walls).
-
- > MESSAGE MEANING: You feel a sudden power drain on your equipment
- o All your items which carry charges are reduced in charge by one.
- Includes power cells, light globes, lasers, stimmer, panic button, ...
-
- > MESSAGE MEANING: The air is briefly electrified by strange forces
-
- > MESSAGE MEANING: You aren't feeling very well.
- o Carrying any rags with you? Drop 'em.
-
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- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= General Hints =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- > General Hints have all been classified in the sections above
- _____ _____
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- |___| Sterling Babcock jdsb@ee.egr.duke.edu Please email corrections. |___|
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